What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational Therapy

is a way of viewing the world that leads to interventions in:

- the environment

- an activity and/ or

- a persons capacity or skill.

Interventions

are plans and actions designed to facilitate changes that assist a person to achieve goals and improve quality of life.

Occupations

are Activities - so why call them Occupations?

An Occupation is a meaningful activity and most of us have many of these.

Activities of Daily Living

Everyday activities such as showering, dressing, eating, toileting and grooming are considered to be meaningful activities (occupations) for all people and we call these the Activities of Daily Living (ADL's). These include Personal ADL's like those listed above and also Instrumental ALD's such as shopping, cooking, cleaning, financial management and others.

Beyond these ADL's, each of us have other occupations which are meaningful activities to us also.

Summary

So the Occupational Therapist is trained to view your situation using the way of viewing that is Occupational Therapy so they can identify what is important to you, discover from you what all your strategies currently are to do your best and then see if they can think of other strategies you may be interested in pursuing.

Some strategies will focus on the environment and if changing it with modification or equipment may be of benefit. Some strategies will focus on the meaning of an occupation so that alternative activities can be explored that carry the same meaning. Some strategies will focus on building skills and capacity within the person to improve independence in activities.

Occupational Therapy uses individualised assessment and objective assessment tools to understand an individual’s functional capacity, and to inform potential interventions to assist in overcoming barriers.

Adjustability Occupational Therapists are willing and able to assist you with reports for your NDIS needs as well as the assessment, intervention and planning to assist you towards your goals.

What sets our Occupational Therapists apart?

Our Occupational Therapists are very skilled assessors. Knowing the right information is key to writing an accurate and robust report and identifying the best strategies for improvement.

At Adjustability, we ensure that we do not make assumptions about people or their capacities. We question in a targeted way to understand as much as possible regarding the origins of identified issues. We also conduct standardised assessment when needed.

What is a standardised assessment tool?

A standardised assessment tool is designed to measure a persons ability / disability (capacity/ incapacity) compared to the average (standard) population.

It is used to show that someone is in need of assistance (diagnosis of disability) and to measure the effectiveness of a treatment plan (before and after scores).

The score on the standardised assessment tool can be compared across time e.g. from the initial assessment to the time for a plan review. The standardised assessment tool is therefore an objective measure that aids in understanding the improvement or worsening in function over time.

When do Adjustability therapists use standardised assessment tools?

We use these tools to provide evidence of a participants need to the NDIS so that the NDIS will fund the items identified as required to maximise functional capacity, engage in social participation and reach participant goals.

An assessment tool such as the WHODAS 2.0 may be used with you at your initial assessment and again at a later date to inform the Occupational Therapy report used at your plan review.

We keep the standardised assessment to a minimum and explore in-depth individualised assessment to understand what makes our clients tick because each person is unique.

We also collect information from previous clinical reports (when provided to us), as well as liaising with existing supports, to minimise the need for people to repeat their stories to us yet again.

Assessments are targeted to reveal the information needed to inform the most appropriate and tailored intervention strategies.

What can I expect from my first appointment?

Your initial appointment will generally take 1.5-2 hours.

Over this time, your Occupational Therapist (OT) will ask a range of questions to understand your history, current functional capacity, and goals.

They will also take time to understand barriers that are preventing your full inclusion in everyday life and activities that are meaningful to you.

Your OT may have you complete a standardised assessment tool to establish a baseline score of functional capacity.

By the end of your appointment, you should have agreed on the next steps to be taken with your OT. This may include measuring up for home modifications, being fitted for aids and equipment, or booking in again for OT therapy input towards your goals.

After your initial appointment, your OT will provide you with a written report, and a proposed schedule of supports that outlines the proposed treatment plan and the hours involved in doing it.

You will generally receive the OT report within two weeks of your appointment.