What Is the Goal of Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is a series of therapies that help a person regain or strengthen the ability to do their job, take care of their physical and mental needs, and overcome challenges that keep them from completing activities and instrumental activities of daily living.
What does an occupational therapist do to ensure your mom can do things independently when she’s diagnosed with multiple sclerosis? Here are the different ways an occupational therapist helps.
Occupational Therapy Has Three Goals
There are three key goals in any occupational therapy plan. They are to help improve or maintain skills needed for leisure, productivity, and self-care.
- Leisure – Ability to participate in favorite hobbies, sports, and social activities
- Productivity – Ability to complete tasks for your work, volunteer activities, or household management
- Self-care – Ability to take care of yourself through cooking meals, feeding yourself, maintaining grooming and hygiene, dressing, and walking around
Depending on the severity of the symptoms, your mom may regain skills or need to learn new ways to tackle daily tasks. This is the goal of occupational therapy.
How Do Occupational Therapists Help Your Mom?
What happens during an occupational therapy session that helps with these? An occupational therapist starts by assessing your mom’s abilities and emotional health.
They will discuss how MS impacts your mom’s life. Does she tire easily, struggle to maintain her balance, and experience pain? Can you bend over, reach something, or lift and carry items without struggling?
From here, they can work on exercises or how to use adaptive equipment like a cane to help her remain mobile and manage daily routines when pain is present. The disease is impacting your mom’s emotional and mental health. Her occupational therapist will work on ways to stay positive, de-stress, and learn how to release emotions when she’s having a bad day.
Your mom may need to learn how to use a grabber to reach cans from a cupboard or pick up items she’s dropped on the ground. Her therapist can teach her how to walk down the stairs while using a cane. Your mom learns how to get in and out of a shower using a grab bar for support.
If your mom’s cognitive function is impacted by the disease, her occupational therapist helps her work around issues. She’ll learn how to use apps on her phone to build lists and set reminders. She can use daily alarms on her phone to remind her to take medications. A pill organizer may help.
Ask your mom’s doctor about the benefits of occupational therapy. It’s one of the best ways to help your mom maintain her independence when MS is progressing. An occupational therapist will meet with your family, discuss the best approaches, and start working with your mom to help her with daily tasks.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring occupational therapy in Broomall, PA, and the surrounding area, please contact the friendly staff at Suma Home Care. (484) 206-4544
Ibrahim recently completed a Professional Certificate in Management; He is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Administrations (MBA) at a prestigious university in the UK.
With their passion for helping others and a strong background in customer services and clinical care, Ibrahim and his wife started assisting individuals in their homes.
Since started and operating Suma Home Care in 2010 in the basement of their home, Suma Home Care has provided professionals who work endlessly in providing clients with the highest quality of care, while enabling clients to maintain dignity, comfort and safety in their homes.
Suma Home Care, serves four counties in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia. Ibrahim is firmly connected to his local community and is always looking for ways to give back whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Ibrahim enjoys spending time with his wife and children, travelling and enjoys sports.
Mariama Suma-Keita BSN RN
Born in Sierra Leone west Africa, relocated to America in 1999 from a civil war and settled since in the U.S.A as a Naturalized citizen Graduated from National school of nursing with an associate , and completed BSN in Nursing from Immaculata University graduated with Honor roll Alpha Lambda sigma, After escaping the war served as a refugee nurse in Gambia and Guinea to other displaced refugees before coming to America.
In the states started in Homecare then then transition into hospital, worked in Jefferson hospital as a Registered nurse on Tele and general medsurg floor, also worked in Einstein hospital as an oncology transplant nurse , I realized that I enjoy working with patients so much and believe in quality and compassionate care one at a time dealing with an holistic approach in caring for patients and family in a familiar environment called home , I see the impact and progress when they’re home , it makes them feel relax and progress fast with recovering at home. As a nurse and entrepreneur I understand that dedication to meeting people and families needs is a priority, and able to foster relationships with family and patients that is professional and friendly to help them stay and settled home as a desire.
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