The origins of occupational therapy date back to 1917. At this time, military hospitals and activities were introduced for the men confined there. Within the occupations, they had basketry, board games, and weaving, among others.
The purpose of men engaging in such activities was to stimulate their minds. They thus ensured that they provided an intermediate situation between chronic disability and leisure. When this happens, it is observed that there is a need for specialized personnel to help these people. For motor skills, occupational therapy is mostly used. It is beneficial in sending signals to nerves and whole body treatment.
The most important objectives pursued by occupational therapy are:
- Prevent and reduce disabilities in addition to the difficulties that appear due to physical, mental, sensory, or social disorders.
- Restore lost function. This is done by improving residual capacities. That is, the environment or environment is adapted to the needs of the individual.
Occupational therapy is present and necessary everywhere. It is usually put into practice in hospitals, day centres, residences, and labour insurance companies, and rehabilitation clinics, associations of affected people, schools, or private homes. Pediatric occupational therapy san diego is in charge of performing occupational therapy with the best results.
Role of an occupational therapist
The occupational therapist works within an interdisciplinary team. His function is to enable or rehabilitate the person. Thus, it will give you the necessary resources for your integration or reintegration into daily life.
In addition, Occupational Therapy San Diego performs an assessment of the subject’s physical and mental abilities. In this way, she will be able to establish some objectives to develop in the treatment plan, and, successively, she will evaluate the results.
Both the assessment of the degree of independence and the enhancement of skills are carried out through the activity. Therapy is the main tool of treatment. It is not only the end but also the means to achieve the objectives that the therapist has previously established.
What benefits does occupational therapy have?
The activity of occupational therapy is a key element in everyday life. Well, it’s part of it. It is necessary and characteristic of the existence and survival of the human being. Some of its benefits can be:
- Increases autonomy. It is the main reason why occupational therapy is so beneficial. San diego occupational therapy allows patients with limitations to work on improving them. Nobody likes to feel useless or dependent on anything or anyone. For this reason, occupational therapy allows the patient to acquire greater autonomy and face her situation as much as possible.
- Improves strength and endurance for functional tasks. The ability of occupational therapy to assess the physical or mental demands of daily jobs sets it apart from other types of therapy. Likewise, creative activity implementation is encouraged. Additionally, there are workouts created especially to help you acquire the precise abilities required to obtain or enhance your independence.
- Work with functional cognition. The occupational team raises awareness based on functional needs. To do this, occupational therapy focuses on practicing activities that require organization, attention, and reasoning. Thus the patient’s cognition, which he needs to be able to complete daily tasks, will improve.
- Home adaptation. Occupational therapy offers the opportunity to adapt patients to the environment in which they live. That is, the therapeutic teams suggest to the subjects the modification of their home to make it more accessible to their needs.
- Offer support. Occupational therapists are not only dedicated to setting goals and fulfilling them. Its function goes beyond the physical. Therapists also listen to patients. They give them the opportunity to tell and express their problems so that the therapeutic activity and process are not only physical. There must also be moral support.
For most treatments, the activity and creativity of the therapist are necessary. It is beneficial for the patients that the therapist is integrated into the place where he imparts his work. Occupational therapy is vocational since you deal with people physically and mentally. And, when you teach them the activity, these people depend largely on the work and the interest you put into them. In conclusion, the main objective of the professional and therapeutic team is to improve the patient’s quality of life.