What is occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy enables people of all ages to participate in daily living.
Occupational therapy promotes health, well-being, and participation
Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants focus on the things you want and need to do in your daily life. Occupational therapy intervention uses everyday life activities (occupations) to promote health, well-being, and your ability to participate in the important activities in your life. This includes any meaningful activity that a person wants to accomplish, including taking care of yourself and your family, working, volunteering, going to school, among many others.
Occupational therapy services typically include:
- an evaluation made just for you that lets us know your history, life experiences, and your interests. We call this your occupational profile, and it tells us what values and activities are important to you during this conversation.
- an intervention plan that is unique to you to improve your ability to perform daily activities and reach your goals,
- and an outcomes evaluation to make sure that the goals you set with your occupational therapy practitioner are being met.
What can occupational therapy do for you?
Occupational therapy can help you participate in life activities (occupations) and provide recommendations for:
- Activities of daily living (such as bathing, dressing, and eating)
- Adaptive equipment (such as shower chairs, or equipment to make daily tasks easier)
- Caregiver and family training
- Planning and making the most of daily routines
- Returning to work, school, and leisure activities
- Techniques to aid in memory, concentration, and executive functioning (e.g., planning and prioritizing, functional cognition)
- Falls prevention and home safety and accessibility
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Ask for OT
Do you or someone you know have difficulties completing everyday activities? Use these resources to learn how occupational therapy services could help.
Where do occupational therapy practitioners work?
Occupational therapy services are provided by licensed occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, to people of all ages in homes, communities, schools, and healthcare settings.
Occupational therapy services may be provided in a client's home, community settings (e.g., community centers, shelters, free clinics), hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, primary care offices, schools, and many other locations.
Occupational therapy practitioners may also work as consultants and experts in health information technology, human centered design, addressing the health of communities, education (e.g. schools, higher education), health promotion programs, driving and community mobility, and many others.
Wherever daily activities occur, occupational therapy services can be provided!
Occupational therapy helps you achieve your goals
From a child with autism to a wounded warrior with a double amputation to an older adult aging in place, these stories highlight the benefits of occupational therapy.
At AOTA’s 2017 Annual Conference & Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia, Al Roker of the Today Show shared his family's story. Roker explains that he, like a lot of people, did not know much about occupational therapy until someone close to him needed it: his son Nick.
For the media
Need an expert to round out an article or serve as a radio or TV guest? AOTA staff and association members are available to speak about a variety of topics.
AOTA welcomes journalists, reporters, radio personalities, photographers, film crews, and other members of the traditional news media at our conferences and events.
AOTA promotes the profession in the mainstream media by sharing news about issues affecting the profession, success stories, and more through press releases.