OT Tip - What is OT? Series + Giveaway!

April is Occupational Therapy month! In honor of that I thought I would do a OT Tip series on what is Occupational Therapy and highlight some of the areas of practice that OT works in. I will also be hosting some special giveaways this month in honor of Autism Awareness and Occupational Therapy month. Check out my giveaway button on the left hand side of my blog and get the word out!

So before we get into what Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants do in different fields, what is Occupational Therapy?

The American Occupational Therapy Association describes OT as follows:

• In its simplest terms, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes. 

A term you will hear a lot with OT is Activities of Daily Living or ADL. This terms refers to any task or skill that a person needs to complete as part of their daily routine. Things such as bathing, toileting, cooking, cleaning, driving, and hobbies are things that Occupational Therapy professionals help their clients to either relearn or increase their strength in order to complete these skills again.

Areas that you will see Occupational Therapy professionals in are:

• Hospitals (acute and inpatient rehab) 
• Out-patient therapy centers (including hand therapy)
• Schools 
• Early Intervention (birth to 3)
• Nursing rehabilitation centers
• Mental health hospitals and centers
• Hippo-therapy (Using horses to increase better body mechanics and balance).

The next 3 weeks we will be taking a look at 3 of these areas a little more closely. My hope is that you will learn something new about OT and realize that there are many areas that we work in, helping people to regain their independence in life!

 

Now, the part you have been waiting for, the first giveaway of this month! All of the items for the giveaways for this month, I bought personally from The Therapy Shoppe. I was not asked by Therapy Shoppe to review any of their products and I did not receive any monetary compensation for this giveaway. I love this site and I buy things from here a lot for my work with kids. All of the giveaways this month are geared for children and Autism.

These are the two items 1 winner will receive:

 

Thinking Putty and 10 Flip Crayons.

The thinking putty is a great finger warm up exercise to have your child do before writing or any fine motor task such a coloring or cutting. The flip crayons are great for younger children who are learning to hold a writing utensil. The small size forces them to use the correct grasp when coloring. Also two colors on one crayon means less space you are taking up for storage!

Here is how to enter the giveaway...

Main Entry:

• Just leave a comment with a valid e-mail address. It's that easy! If you do not include a valid e-mail in your comment, your comment will not be counted.

Extra Entries:

• Follow Golden Reflections through Google Friend Connect. If you already do, just leave a comment that you already follow. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Subscribe to Golden Reflections through e-mail, on the right side of the site. You must validate your e-mail subscription to count. (2 comments, 2 entries) 
• Vote for Golden Reflections on Picket Fence Blogs. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Follow Golden Reflections on twitter. (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• Tweet about this giveaway (1 comment, 1 entry) 
• TherapyShoppe #Giveaway @goldenreflect Ends 4/12 at 11:59pm 

Giveaway ends Tuesday, April 12 at 11:59pm. A winner will be chosen via random.org. Winner's entry will be validated before a winner is announced. If the winner does not have a valid entry, a new winner will be chosen by random.org.

Good luck to everyone!

Disclaimer: I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. The advise in these tips is not a replacement for medical advise from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult their advice if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child