Every day, millions of children and adults of all ages require the assistance and know-how of an occupational therapist. These professionals help anyone whose daily activity has been afflicted by an injury, joint replacement, stroke, serious illness, paralysis or other condition causing temporary or lasting difficulties and help them adapt to these circumstances.
An OT might help the elderly learn how to stand up from a sitting position, redesign dressing, cooking, bathing and homemaking proficiency and use crutches or a walker. Or, the OT can teach a caretaker spouse the best way to assist with personal grooming and cope with a progressive disease like ALS. Or, teach the teenaged victim of a motorcycle accident how to adapt to living with a broken leg and arm for an extended time.
When a child has difficulty with home and school activities, like participating in age-appropriate games, a pediatric OT is trained to coach handwriting, feeding, grooming, eye-hand coordination methods, or train a child in how to deal with aversions that effect certain food, clothing or mood tolerances.
Modern occupational therapy began about 1917. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) now certifies and accredits all practitioners in the United States, and since 1980 has used the month of April to educate the public about its important work.
The AOTA holds its annual conference April 7-10, 2016, in Chicago. Known as the largest gathering of occupational therapist practitioners and students in the world, an expected 10,000 will attend the more than 1,000 educational sessions.
The AOTA 2016 theme is :Occupational Therapy:
Solutions to the Challenges of Everyday Life.
