The Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Team: The Occupational Therapist

An important member of the brain injury treatment team will likely be an occupational therapist. Occupational therapists help patients improve their ability to perform tasks in living and working environments. This kind therapy focuses on enabling individuals who suffer from mental, physical, developmental, or emotionally disabling conditions to do, and manage, the activities of daily life [ADL]. ADL can include, just by example, using a computer, dressing, cooking, eating, bathing as well as job-related tasks.

Occupational therapists are highly educated. A master's degree, or higher, in occupational therapy is the minimum requirement for entry into the field. Coursework in occupational therapy programs include the physical, biological, and behavioral sciences as well as the application of occupational therapy theory and skills. Programs also require the completion of 6 months of supervised fieldwork.

Occupational therapy works with individuals no matter their age. In addition to traditional medical settings, occupational therapists can see people recovering from brain injury in birth-to-three early intervention programs, in public school settings, as job coaches, and as part of community mental health.

An occupational therapist is a health professional. According to an Ohio State University website, "Occupational therapy is a healthcare profession that uses "occupation," or purposeful activity, to help persons with physical, developmental, or emotional disabilities lead independent, productive, and satisfying lives." This occupational therapist evaluates the self-care, work and leisure skills of a person and plans and implements social and interpersonal activities to develop, restore, and/or maintain the person's ability to accomplish ADL. The therapist helps to improve basic motor functions and reasoning abilities, but also to compensate for permanent loss of function. The ultimate goal is to return the person to an independent, productive and satisfying life.

Occupational therapists treatments range from the physical to the mental. Physical exercises may be used to increase strength and dexterity, while other activities may be chosen to improve visual acuity or the ability to discern patterns. For example, a person with short-term memory loss might be encouraged to make lists to aid recall while a person with coordination problems might be assigned exercises to improve hand-eye coordination. Occupational therapists also use computer programs to help improve decision-making, abstract-reasoning, problem-solving, and perceptual skills, as well as memory, sequencing, and coordination—all of which are important for independent living.

Other treatments can include the use of adaptive equipment, including wheelchairs, eating aids, dressing aids, design or build special equipment needed at home or at work, including computer-aided adaptive equipment. Teaching can be used on how to use the equipment to improve communication and control various situations in their environment

Occupational therapy is used in treating traumatic brain injury [TBI] during many phases of recovery and rehabilitation. Such therapy may be involved in providing sensory, motor, and positioning supports during periods of coma. As the patient improves and regains skills, occupational therapy eases the process and re-teaches skills ranging from basic self-care, to complex cognitive skills such as memory and problem solving.

WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR IN AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST?

The following is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list of the questions or concerns you should have when choosing an occupational therapist nor is the following meant to disqualify any occupational therapist you are considering, these are meant to enable you to begin a discussion with the occupational therapist.

1. Look for licensing as, typically, such therapists must be licensed, requiring a master's degree in occupational therapy, 6 months of supervised fieldwork, and passing scores on national and State examinations.

2. Do they work full-time in their profession? More than a quarter of occupational therapists work part time.

3. How often will the therapist assess and record your activities? Progress is an important part of an occupational therapist's job. Accurate records are essential for evaluating clients, for billing, and for reporting to physicians and other health care providers.

4. Does the therapist specialize. Some occupational therapists may work exclusively with individuals in a particular age group or with a particular disability. In a school setting, a therapist may work with children individually. Some therapists provide early intervention therapy to infants and toddlers who have, or are at risk of having, developmental delays. Some occupational therapists work only with elderly patients.

5. Will the therapist make home visits? It is important, once you begin to re-establish your independence that you take into account the role TBI will play in coping with your daily life. An occupational therapist can make recommendations for adaptive equipment, training to prolong driving independence, assess homes for hazards and identify environmental factors that could contribute to further injury and injury prevention.

6. Will the therapist visit, and assess, your work environment?

* American Occupational Therapy Association, 4720 Montgomery Lane, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220. Internet: http://www.aota.org

Copyright (c) 2008 David Bressman