What is Occupational Therapy, Who is an Occupational Therapist?

Do you have a child with special needs who is experiencing developmental delay? Are you trying to recover from issues such as a brain hemorrhage, being in intensive care, or paralysis? Are you facing difficulties in your daily life due to a congenital or acquired physical disability or a psychological issue? If so, you may need to learn about occupational therapy and connect with an occupational therapist to find ways to make your life easier and to utilize your maximum capacity under the current conditions.

What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy is a health service aimed at improving the health and well-being of individuals or groups who are unable to participate in daily living activities for various reasons or can only participate in a limited way. Its primary goal is to enable the individual or community it serves to engage in activities they want to do, are expected to do, or need to do. It provides significant benefits to individuals exposed to pediatric, neurological, or geriatric diseases; those with issues such as attention deficit, autism, epilepsy; and those who use wheelchairs or crutches. It helps improve the individual's damaged sensory and motor skills, muscle strength, balance, and visual perceptions. This is done by guiding the individual, providing moral support, and offering information about environmental adjustments, adaptive equipment, and their usage.

Occupational therapy is a versatile service that caters to all age groups. An occupational therapist uses methods and approaches tailored to the personal needs of individuals with different issues. They can help someone who has lost a limb due to an accident learn to use that limb as efficiently as possible and to get the best support from their healthy limbs. They can assist a refugee in adapting to the new community they have entered. They can support individuals with special needs who are marginalized by society to participate in the community.

The application areas of occupational therapy are very diverse. It can be applied in homes, rehabilitation centers, correctional institutions, hospitals, nursing homes, factories, and workplaces.

Who is an Occupational Therapist?

An occupational therapist is a health professional who works to improve the quality of life of individuals whose activities are restricted and who have become disconnected from life for various reasons, helping them develop a more active lifestyle and minimizing their levels of dependency and need. They contribute to the treatment of individuals whose social or physical abilities have been impaired due to factors such as accidents, illness, aging, or congenital pathology. They guide and support individuals with such issues to become more independent and active. They fundamentally work to optimize the individual's level of functionality. They provide support in terms of movement ability, daily living activities, the use of tools and devices necessary for maintaining daily life, work/profession, and social participation to help them do their best.

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