Unsung healthcare heroes shine during Occupational Therapy Month

If you’ve ever experienced occupational therapy as part of recovery from an injury or surgery, you know what lifesavers these people are! If not — trust us. These men and women are kind, creative and endlessly supportive to people who are trying to get back to their most active life possible, and they can work wonders.

We’re happy to honor and celebrate them during Occupational Therapy Month, brought to us by the American Occupational Therapy Association. Occupational therapy helps people of all ages do the things they want and need to do, and help them heal from, live better with or even prevent injury, illness or disability.

Did you know that occupational therapists also work with children with disabilities so they can more fully participate in school and social situations? Or with older adults who are experiencing not just physical issues, but cognitive and awareness changes?

According to the AOTA, that includes:

•       an individualized evaluation, during which the client/family and occupational therapist determine the person’s goals 
•       customized intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach the goals
•        an outcomes evaluation to ensure that the goals are being met and/or make changes to the intervention plan

A lot, right? They do all that and more, thanks to a holistic perspective that considers the person’s environment, and then adapts it to fit where that individual is. Science meets with intuition and compassion, allowing therapists not just to assist, but to also work closely with their patients so that it’s a real team effort.

This year’s theme for Occupational Therapy Month is “Occupational Therapy: Living Life To Its Fullest™” and here are some ideas to celebrate if you’re a therapist, work with them or just want to give back for the care and support you may have received from the members of this profession, seek them out to say hello, and make sure that anyone you know who needs assistance is aware of all that an occupational therapist can do to make life fuller and more enjoyable.

Use Autism Awareness Month as a platform for learning and understanding

Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is a tough condition to understand. Those with it usually begin to show symptoms as children, when they begin to show difficulty communicating and interacting with others. There is no known single cause for ASD.

The word “spectrum” on ASD means that there are many different degrees of autism, and how it affects someone who has it. According to the Autism Society, some behaviors associated with autism include:

•      delayed learning of language;
•       difficulty making eye contact or holding a conversation;
•       difficulty with executive functioning, which relates to reasoning and planning;
•       narrow, intense interests;
•       poor motor skills; and
•       sensory sensitivities.

Someone on the spectrum might exhibit all of these behaviors, or just a few of them, coupled with others not listed here. And any or all the behaviors can and often are more or less severe with each individual on the spectrum.

There is much to learn about ASD, but one thing for sure is that increased awareness is crucial. That’s because early diagnosis and intervention can help someone with ASD in many ways. For starters, early diagnosis means quicker access to services and support — and improved outcomes.

The United Nations created World Autism Awareness Day, every April 2, to raise awareness about this disorder, which affects one in every 68 children. But one day isn’t nearly enough time to spend on ASD awareness, and so the Autism Society promotes the entire month of April as National Autism Awareness Month.

Do you know someone with ASD, or with a friend or family member on the spectrum? Find out how you can help bring awareness and support research in your community. Scientists are hard at work of finding the cause of autism, but also laboring away on the development of therapies and treatments that make living on the spectrum easier.

Autism may be hard to understand, but kindness, caring and compassion come easy to those of us in healthcare. Let’s see what we can do to help unlock this puzzle!

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