Occupational therapy (OT) focuses on self-care activities and improvement of fine motor coordination of muscles and joints, particularly in the upper extremities. Unlike physical therapy, which focuses on muscle strength and joint range of motion, OT focuses on activities of daily living (ADLs) because they are the cornerstone of independent living.
Basic ADLs (BADLs) include eating, dressing, bathing, grooming, toileting, and transferring (ie, moving between surfaces such as the bed, chair, and bathtub or shower).
Instrumental ADLs (IADLs) require more complex cognitive functioning than BADLs. IADLs include preparing meals; communicating by telephone, writing, or computer; managing finances and daily medication regimens; cleaning; doing laundry, food shopping, and other errands; traveling as a pedestrian or by public transportation; and driving. Driving is particularly complex, requiring integration of visual, physical, and cognitive tasks.
(See also Overview of Rehabilitation.)
Evaluation
OT can be initiated when a physician writes a referral for rehabilitation, which is similar to writing a prescription. The referral should be detailed, including a brief history of the problem (eg, type and duration of the disorder or injury) and establishing the goals of therapy (eg, training in IADLs). Lists of occupational therapists may be obtained from a patient’s insurance carrier, a local hospital, state occupational training organizations, or the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Patients are evaluated for limitations that require intervention and for strengths that can be used to compensate for weaknesses. Limitations may involve motor function, sensation, cognition, or psychosocial function. Examiners determine which activities (eg, work, leisure, social, learning) patients want or need help with. Patients may need help with a general type of activity (eg, social) or a specific activity (eg, attending church), or they may need to be motivated to do an activity.
Therapists may use an assessment instrument to help in the evaluation. Several different functional measurement scales are available, and their use depends on the patient's condition, specific functional domains that need assessment, and the clinical setting. Examples include the Barthel Index, Katz Index, Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). Patients are asked about their mobility; continence; ability to dress, toilet, transfer position, feed, walk, and communicate; social and family roles; habits; and social support systems. The availability of resources (eg, community programs and services, private attendants) should be determined. A higher score on the Barthel, Katz, FIM, or PROMIS indicates more independence.
Occupational therapists may also assess the home for hazards and make recommendations to ensure home safety (eg, removing throw rugs, increasing hallway and kitchen lighting, moving a night table within reach of the bed, placing a family picture on a door to help patients recognize their room).
Determining when driving is a risk and whether driver retraining is indicated is often done by occupational therapists with specialized training. Information that can help older drivers and their caregivers in coping with changing driving abilities is available from the American Occupational Therapy Association and the American Association for Retired Persons (also see The Older Driver).
Interventions
OT may consist of one consultation or frequent sessions of varying intensity. Sessions may occur in various settings:
Acute care, rehabilitation, outpatient, adult day care, skilled nursing, or long-term care facilities
The home (as part of home health care)
Senior housing developments
Life-care or assisted-living communities
Occupational therapists develop an individualized program to enhance patients’ motor, cognitive, communication, and interaction capabilities. The goal is not only to help patients do ADLs but also to do appropriate preferred leisure activities and to foster and maintain social integration and participation.
Before developing a program, a therapist observes patients doing each activity of the daily routine to learn what is needed to ensure safe, successful completion of the activities. Therapists can then recommend ways to eliminate or reduce maladaptive patterns and to establish routines that promote function and health. Specific performance-oriented exercises are also recommended. Therapists emphasize that exercises must be practiced and motivate patients to do so by focusing on exercise as a means of becoming more active at home and in the community.
Patients are taught creative ways to facilitate social activities (eg, how to get to museums or church without driving, how to use hearing aids or other assistive communication devices in different settings, how to travel safely with or without a cane or walker). Therapists may suggest new activities (eg, volunteering in foster grandparent programs, schools, or hospitals).
Patients are taught strategies to compensate for their limitations (eg, to sit when gardening). The therapist may identify various assistive devices that can help patients do many activities of daily living (see table Assistive Devices). Most occupational therapists can select wheelchairs appropriate for patients’ needs and provide training for people with upper-extremity amputations. Occupational therapists may construct and fit devices to prevent contractures and treat other functional disorders.
Assistive Devices
Problem | Device |
|---|---|
Difficulty with bathing due to impaired balance and/or leg weakness | Grab bars on the side and back of the bathtub or toilet; bathtub benches; shower chairs |
Difficulty standing up | Raised toilet seats and chair leg extenders (which make the chair's seat higher) |
Weak grip | Eating utensils, shoehorns, and other tools with large, built-up handles |
Tremors | Weighted eating utensils, cups with lids, and swivel spoons |
Coordination problems | Plates with rims and rubber grips (to prevent slipping) |
Difficulty reaching or limited movement | Grabbers that can pick items off the floor or from a shelf |
Hand problems | Tools with spring-loaded or electronic controls |
Limited movement or coordination | Devices that turn electrical appliances (eg, lamps, radios, fans) on or off at the sound of the voice or through use of a smart home device or cell phone app |
Paralysis of arms or legs or other disorders that greatly limit function | Computer-assisted devices |
Impaired vision | Larger buttons or voice-control functionality on telephones and large-print or audio books |
Hearing loss | Telephones and doorbells that display a flashing light when they ring; smart phones with real-time speech-to-text transcription |
Difficulty remembering | Automatic dialing on a telephone, devices that remind people when to take a medication, pocket devices and smart device apps that record and play back messages (reminders, instructions, lists) at the appropriate time, and wearable safety devices to track location |
