What is Ergotherapy?

What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational Therapist, a person-centered health profession that aims to improve health and well-being through meaningful and purposeful activities.

Who Is an Occupational Therapist?

Individuals who complete the Occupational Therapy program in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the university receive the title of Occupational Therapist.

With Which Groups Can Ergotherapists Work? What Are Their Areas of Practice?

Occupational Therapists can work with individuals of all ages who experience difficulties in participating in daily life activities. This means that an ergotherapist can work with a child diagnosed with autism who has difficulty in peer communication due to sensory sensitivities, or with a child diagnosed with ADHD who has difficulty focusing and therefore does not want to study, or with an adult who has difficulty continuing their roles due to hand impairment after a stroke, or with a dementia patient who confuses and forgets their daily activities, leading to feelings of unhappiness and helplessness.

Areas of Practice:

• Pediatric Rehabilitation
• Neurological Rehabilitation
• Geriatric Rehabilitation
• Hand Rehabilitation
• Cognitive Rehabilitation
• Psychiatric Rehabilitation
• Oncological Rehabilitation
• Vocational Rehabilitation

After graduating, Occupational Therapists determine their areas of practice based on their interests. I work with individuals aged 0-14 because I want to work with children. My training and expertise, including my thesis, are focused on children.

Is Occupational Therapy Sufficiently Recognized in Turkey?

With the opening of the Occupational Therapy Department at Hacettepe University's Faculty of Health Sciences in 2009, Occupational Therapists began to be trained in our country. Although the profession of Occupational Therapy is considered relatively new in Turkey, it has a much older history. In the 1960s, Occupational Therapists were referred to as the "miracle of modern medicine." Over time, other professionals have also recognized the impact of Occupational Therapy and started to understand it. However, its recognition in Turkey has not reached the desired level. Nevertheless, many professionals who refer their clients to Occupational Therapists have reported positive developments. Occupational Therapy work in collaboration with other professionals during the Occupational Therapy process. The team includes doctors,Occupational Therapysts, child development specialists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, special education teachers, psychologists, and other professionals who work with children. Communication among team members and collaborative planning of the process lead to more positive outcomes.

What Are the Goals of an Occupational Therapists?

The goal of an Occupational Therapist is to maximize an individual's participation in daily life activities with maximum independence. Identifying the factors that affect an individual's participation in daily life activities is essential for an ergotherapist Occupational Therapist.

How Is the Occupational Therapy Process Determined?

Accurate assessment is crucial for the ergotherapy process to progress in the best and healthiest way. Accurate assessment is achieved through observation, obtaining information from caregivers, and using assessment tools.

Individual

Experiencing Difficulty in Participating in Daily Life Activities

In Which Activities Is the Individual Struggling?

What Are the Causes of Difficulty in the Activity?

• Physical factors
• Environmental factors
• Psychological factors

Analysis of the Activity in Which Participation Is Challenging

Occupational Therapists conduct a comprehensive assessment of the individual within a biopsychosocial framework. There can be various issues that affect activity participation (the individual's sensory profile, anxiety levels, negative factors in social life), so a comprehensive assessment provides a more accurate picture. Based on the individual's and caregivers' expectations, the therapist's observations, and assessment results, an intervention program is developed. For example, if the assessed individual is a child, the necessary support for the family is explained in a simple and understandable way. Information is provided on how to support the child and their needs. Family support is highly valuable in this process. Families actively contribute to a child's daily life more than any other experts. Therefore, informing the family accurately about their child, what to support, and how to support is crucial for the child. Likewise, the family should also inform the expert about the process. It should not be forgotten that families are experts about their children, just as we are experts in our own professions. Collaboration is invaluable. Occupational Therapists prepare an individualized intervention plan. The same intervention is not applied to every individual. The progress rate of each individual is also not the same. When determining the intervention plan, we use meaningful and purposeful activities for the individual. The activities we choose should be age-appropriate, appeal to the individual's interests, and be activities they enjoy. For children, play is a meaningful and purposeful activity, so we use play in Occupational Therapy. Pediatric Occupational Therapists' rooms resemble play areas for this reason. Each toy we use has a purpose for us and the child's development. We use play as a tool in Occupational Therapy.

The Difference Between Sensory Integration and Occupational Therapy Is Frequently Asked

Occupational Therapy is a healthcare profession. It is a bachelor's degree program in the Faculties of Health Sciences at universities. Sensory integration, on the other hand, is an approach used in Occupational Therapy. Occupational Therapists use the sensory integration approach if a child has sensory integration issues that affect their participation in daily life. Occupational Therapists have acquired the knowledge of sensory integration in their undergraduate education. In other words, Occupational Therapists are practitioners of sensory integration, and sensory integration is just one of the approaches Occupational Therapists use.