Frame of Reference

FOR!!

Frame Of Reference, FOR, is very important! Because frame of reference helps the occupational therapist to stay organize with their specialty!

Frame of Reference contains these FIVE things:

Population:



 

Who is the clients? Does the client has a mental, physical or a social need?

Continuum of function/dysfunction:

 

Where is the client level in the spectrum of function or dysfunction?

Theory Regarding Change:

Role of the practitioner:

Assessment Instructions: What kind of evaluation should the practitioner do? Interview, observation or standard test?

 

 

 

Picture credit: Wan Wan

Yes, OT works hard to get to know their client.

One time, I asked the occupational therapist whom I volunteer with what kind of frame of reference she and her other therapists use in the rehabilitation center……..

 

 

My textbook says that because OT practitioners specialized in their field for so long, they actually remember the frame of reference that they are using. As a result, they hardly refer to the frame of reference, and sometimes forget the type of frame of reference they are using. 

          Against, thanks to my textbook, Introduction to Occupational Therapy, so I can get to know all of these information!

Citation!

O’ Brien J.C & Hussey S.M (2012) Introduction to Occupational Therapy, Washington: Elsevier

And thanks to Wan Wan to allow me to use her animated MSN Emoticons!

Wan Wan (n.d.) Animated MSN Emoticons http://cwwany.pixnet.net/album/photo/198907126

A.L

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Three Occupational Therapy Values

There are three main values under occupational therapy:

People are an open system to their environments.

Unlike the medical specialists who only focus on their client’s organ, OT practitioners view their clients as a whole. In other words, OT practitioners view their clients as people interacts with their biological, psychological and sociocultural aspect of their environment. 

If any of these environment is disturbed, then the patient is going to have a problem! As a result, when an occupational therapist sees a client, s/he must know what his/her client’s social role and his/her client’s biological and psychological health status. 

 OT believes that a client learns through repetitively doing their occupations. In other words:

“Occupation as means and Occupation as ends”

-O’Brien and Hussey, 2012

Occupation as means refers to the fact that doing an occupation that the client’ like is important during the therapy. Occupation as an end means that the goal of having a therapy is to allow the client to able independently to do the things that they like to do!

Client first. Aka customer first.

The third crucial believe of an OT practitioner is that the therapy should be conducted by his/her client’s need desires. In other words, OT practitioner believes that client should take part in organizing the therapy process, especially making their therapeutic goals.  

 

 

 

A.L

Reference:

O’Brien J.C & Hussey S.M (2012) Introduction to Occupational Therapy, Washington: Elsevier

 

 

 

The five types of intervention in Occupational Therapy.

There are five different ways to give intervention in Occupational Therapy, aka OT:

1)   Create and Promote: This is when an OT practitioner creates a workshop or promotes healthy living that benefits all people!

2)  Maintain: The occupational therapists use this form of intervention to maintain client’s ability to do their occupations. For example, the occupational therapists may give grab bars to their clients, so the grab bars can prevent the client from having another fall, and thus maintain their ability to live alone.

 

3)  Establish/Restore: OT practitioners work with the clients to develop or to restore their skills that they need for their occupations. For example, pediatric occupational therapists may teach their kiddie client to hold a pencil, and the geriatric occupational therapists teach elderlies with stroke to learn how to dress again.

 

4) 

Modify:

When a client has a lack of ability to do a certain activity, the occupational therapists may change the activity or the environment to promote client’s functioning. For example...

if a kid is writing very lightly that his/her handwriting is barely visible, an occupational therapist would give the kid a pencil weight. So it is like writing with bar bells!

 

5)  Prevention:

This is an intervention when an occupational therapists are trying to avoid or even slow down a chronic diseases. For example, if a particular village children have an extremely high chance to get tooth decay, the therapist can go over there to teach them how to brush their teeth and eat appropriate food.

 

A.L

Reference:

I learn all of these information from

O’ Brien J.C & Hussey S.M (2012) Introduction to Occupational Therapy, Washington: Elsevier

Photo Credits:

Abby. (2011, December 12). : Why do we use weighted pencils in therapy?. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://abbypediatricot.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-do-we-use-weighted-pencils-in.html

Installing Grab Bars and Shower Bars. (2012, January 1). The Handicapped Bathroom. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.handicappedbathroom.org/grab-bars

The Rewards of Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy may not be the most popular or known career but it definitely qualifies as one of the most rewarding. It involves not only helping clients get back to their lives and the activities they love but helps their families return to theirs as well, giving them a little peace of mind on their loved one's part along the way.

While working with clients of all ages and diagnoses, OT's aim to help people get back to their daily lives, whether that means being able to do the basic everyday tasks of feeding and/or cleaning themselves, or getting back to doing what they enjoy such as gardening or drawing. Imagine if you couldn't do something that you loved. For me, I love to dance but also enjoy shooting my bow. If something happened where I wasn't able to do these things, such as if I couldn't use my fingers to shoot my bow for example, I would be very hurt. Occupational therapists can help people get back to activities like this and work to make it so they get back to being their independent and happy selves. Throughout my observations of the OT field I've seen many happy clients leave the practice with a renewed sense of purpose and feeling that they are now able to do what they want to do without relying on anyone else, and it's all because of what OT's do everyday for their clients and the people around them. Who could ask for a better job?

So what do OT's do and why is it so rewarding? They get to make people feel...

:) 

T.R.

Forms of Occupation

6) Play:

Some OTs will teach kids how to play and pursuit their interest.

 8) Social Participation:

OT practitioners help people to develop and maintain their social relationships! For example…….                 

Now you know all the areas of occupation!

A.L  

What is Occupational Therapy?

When I told my friend that I want to become an occupational therapist, they always have this face when they hear my answers:

Credit: Wan Wan

Yes, it is very unfortunate that OT is one of the most unheard jobs in the U.S. To make it worse, sometimes they ask me:

       "Is an Occupational Therapist a job counselor?"

NO!!

Let’s dissect OT down bit by bit:

Occupation means activities that people find meaningful things to do.

Therapy means a treatment of a physical or a mental illness.

So occupational therapy means a treatment that promotes people of all ages and diagnoses to do activities that they want and must do to stay alive. 

Reference:

O’ Brien J.C & Hussey S.M (2012) Introduction to Occupational Therapy, Washington: Elsevier

Wan Wan (n.d.) Animated MSN Emoticons http://cwwany.pixnet.net/album/photo/198907126

1)   I like it because you can work “with clients of all ages and diagnoses.” (O’Brien and Hussey, 2012)

1)   You work through all kinds of problems!

Including:

1)   Because you can spend time with your clients and be friends with them!

1)   I can apply what I learn from my major, psychology!

1)   OT works in various settings, such as:

And infinitely more places. All the pictures are being made by me. Reference to reason 1, 2 and 5: O’ Brien J.C & Hussey S.M (2012) Introduction to Occupational Therapy, Washington: Elsevier A.L P.S: Writing this article makes me more desperate for going to an Occupational Therapy Program. How desperate am I? Message to Occupational Therapy Program Staff. Dear Occupational therapy Program Staff: PLEASE ACCEPT ME! J A.L

Because of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is a field that often gets overlooked but helps people in so many different and important ways. I think this video really puts some of the general ideas of OT into perspective.

Credit: Foster, Chad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud5Fp279g4Y .

T.R.