An elderly person with dementia or a neurodegenerative disease, a drug-dependent adult or a child with a profound intellectual disability. In many of these cases it will be necessary to teach these people to put into practice various attitudes and skills that are necessary for correct personal functioning or that allow these skills to be maintained for as long as possible.
One of the means to carry out this learning is the use of occupational therapy, a field of health that has its own university degree in many Spanish-speaking countries. In this article we will learn how it works and what methods it uses.
Occupational therapy is a set of therapeutic techniques, methods and treatments that, through carrying out a series of activities or occupations, the treated person is stimulated so that they can develop the basic capabilities necessary for their daily life, prevent disease. or disability, recover or maintain faculties, learn new ways of acting and/or adapt to your situation. The objective is to ensure that the patient substantially improves their quality of life and strengthen their autonomy.
The different activities to be carried out can work both physically and mentally: fine motor skills, memory, cognition o executive functions are usually the most worked on elements in occupational therapy. Occupational therapy is generally used with a rehabilitative purpose, but it can also be dedicated to learning to enjoy or creating a series of skills that allow the realization of a future job.
The activities to be carried out can be very varied, depending on the type of problems being worked on and the objective to be achieved. The ways of applying these activities can also vary greatly: physical games, mental exercises, dance or music therapy can be applied, for example. In any case, efforts are made that refer directly to the day’s activities to patient day and that are interesting and significant for him.
Other needs and uses of this type of therapy
They must be designed in such a way that the state of the subject, its performance and evolution can be evaluated, and the priorities and needs of the subject in question are also taken into account.
It is common that among the various tasks there are mental exercises that force one to remember, plan and organize, as well as perform basic self-care and allow the learning of motor and behavioral skills essential to maintain well-being. It is not a mere entertainment or something to pass the time: all the activities carried out (even if the aim is for the subject to learn to enjoy their leisure) have the purpose of stimulating the patient and helping them to face their difficulties, having therapeutic guidance.
This type of therapy is often carried out in a group format, bringing together various subjects with the same problem or with similar profiles who need to work on the same area or basic activity in the same session. Despite this, it can also be used individually when the aim is to teach a skill.
There are a large number of people who may require the use of occupational therapy, several typical cases having been mentioned in the introduction of this article.
So occupational therapy It is well known and applied in the world of geriatrics, in older people and the elderly. This is due to the functional limitations caused by the aging of the organism. And it is especially common in patients who have neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, in which the aim is to maintain and optimize the autonomous functioning of the subject to the extent possible.
Another group that we have already mentioned has to do with the population with intellectual disabilities, who in some cases (especially when the disability is moderate, severe or profound) may require stimulation and learning of basic activities through this therapy format. The same is true for other neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.
Finally, all those people who have suffered some type of disease (whether congenital or acquired) or disabling disorder will benefit greatly from this type of therapy. Examples of this can be found in people who have cerebral palsy. Also in patients with cancer, sensory deficits or disabilities, substance dependencies or psychological disorders.
Benefits of this intervention
Carrying out occupational therapy is very beneficial for maintaining the state of mental health and prolonging basic functionality in patients with different diseases. In subjects who present a progressive degeneration of functions, it can prolong normal functioning and slow down the degeneration process.
Both in these cases and in those in which there is no loss of functions, allows physical, mental and sensory stimulation, the enhancement of skills and sometimes the learning of essential activities and skills. It also allows the patient to maintain and sometimes see increased self-esteem and independence. Likewise, they can also lead to social and labor inclusion by developing behaviors that allow it to be achieved.
Finally, observing other patients in similar situations allows both socialization and the subject not to feel different, being able to also express your emotions and doubts before people in conditions parallel to their own.
Despite the above, it is important to keep one thing in mind: occupational therapy It is not a curative treatment, but rather a support and a way to alleviate the disability that various conditions can cause.
