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Physical Limitations In Occupational Therapy

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As an Occupational therapy assistant student, it is important for me to understand the many ways I can assist older adults in the area of driving and community mobility. Driving is an instrumental activity of daily living that allows older adults to be independent in many regions of the United States through using a car to shop, go to doctor’s appointments and access the environment. Community mobility is also an instrumental activity of daily living that allows older adults to be independent in accessing the environment. In this paper, I will discuss how I can address physical deficits in an OT treatment session, ways to promote community mobility as well as my own experience as an OTAS. To begin, as an occupational therapy practitioner, …show more content…

In an OT session, I may work on range of motion, strength, bilateral coordination and modifications to driving with a patient who fractured or injured an arm, hip, neck or leg or experiencing hemiparesis. As an OT practitioner, I may also train a patient on the use of adaptive equipment, such as a seat belt extenders, swivel seats, additional mirrors or other basic adaptive driving aids. I may also operate as an educator in programs such as Car Fit to promote and train older adults on the safe use of a vehicle. As an OT practitioner, I may also create a transportation plan or passenger safety plan for an older adult who is not able to drive or access a car safely. Recently, my mother-in-law mentioned to me how she did not feel comfortable driving due to decreased vision and blood pressure issues. We discussed how she may maintain her independence despite not being able to drive through the use of her support system of friends and family. This allowed for me to see the comfort level of the driver is also …show more content…

First, learning activity analysis addressing any assists me in knowing the skills required so I can find out how I can remediate cognitive and/or physical limitations of the patient to achieve the goals. Then, tailoring the intervention through client-centered occupation-based strategies really allows me to look at patients as individual rather than as a general disability. Also, it is important to note how the Model of Human Occupation can be used as a guide to use volition, habituation and performance capacity to reach the patient through intervention. Finally, the Car Fit training allowed me to learn how to educate older adults on safety guidelines for use of their

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