Occupational therapists help people participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports due to experiencing physical and cognitive changes. Occupational therapy services typically include:
- an individualized evaluation, during which an occupational therapist determines eligibility and goals,
- customized intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach identified goals, and
- and progress monitoring to ensure that the goals are being met and/or make changes to the educational plan.
For example, activities might include building fine motor skills, such as picking things up with tweezers. Exercises to improve gross motor skills might include jumping jacks or running an obstacle course. For someone who struggles with motor planning, therapists might work on daily routines like getting dressed.