Who Benefits From Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy can be beneficial to people of all ages, from all walks of life. As occupational therapists, we work with people who strive to participate as active members of society but are limited by physical, developmental, cognitive, or emotional difficulties. We assist people in learning skills for living independent, creative and satisfying lives and are trained to provide services in all of the everyday activities in which people participate. Occupational therapists design intervention that is meaningful to the client through an understanding of the individual’s needs.

Within our unique profession, we’ve been working with people with disabilities for decades. In addition, there has been an increased awareness in recent years that “prevention is better than a cure”, and as a result, occupational therapists have begun to work with healthy populations to prevent future injuries and disabilities and to facilitate maximum health and quality of life.

Our profession places an emphasis on fields of intervention such as ergonomics and adaptation of work and educational environments.

You will find occupational therapists providing services in hospitals, schools, government and community settings, private practice and industry. Generally, occupational therapists embrace interdisciplinary and team approaches to providing health-promoting services. We work with a wide variety of people, including children with developmental delays, individuals with emotional limitations, rehabilitation patients, premature infants and victims of terror.