Occupational Therapy, often abbreviated as "OT", incorporates meaningful and purposeful occupation to enable people with limitations or impairments to participate in everyday life. Occupational therapists work with individuals, families, groups and populations to facilitate health and well-being through engagement or re-engagement in occupation. Occupational therapists are becoming increasingly involved in addressing the impact of social and environmental factors that contribute to exclusion and occupational deprivation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by enhancing the individual's ability to participate, by modifying the environment, or by adapting the activity to better support participation. Occupational therapy relies on understanding the importance of an activity to an individual, being able to analyze the physical, mental and social components of the activity, and then adapting the activity, the environment, and/or the person to enable them to resume the activity. Occupational therapists address the question, "Why does this person have difficulties managing his or her daily activities (or occupations), and what can we adapt to make it possible for him or her to manage better and how will this then impact his or her health and well-being?" Occupational therapy gives people the "skills for the job of living" necessary for "living life to its fullest."
How Does Occupational Therapy Work?
Occupational therapy provides the skills for the job of living to help people lead productive and satisfying lives. Occupational therapists consider occupation to be everything people do to occupy themselves, including looking after themselves (self-care), enjoying life (leisure), and contributing to the social and economic fabric of their communities (work/productivity). Occupational therapy works to break down the barriers which impede individuals in their everyday activities. Occupational therapists examine not only the physical effects of an injury or disease, but also address the psycho-social, community and environmental factors that influence function.