How Occupational Therapy Helps You Maintain Independence As You Age
Learn new ways to perform old tasks.
Maintaining independence as we age is key to our health and happiness. But aching joints, weak muscles, fading vision, hearing loss and balance problems can conspire to make activities of daily living surprisingly difficult. And if you’re recovering from surgery, stroke or memory loss, the challenge can seem insurmountable. That’s where occupational therapy can help.What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is a type of rehabilitation that improves your ability to perform basic daily tasks, sometimes referred to as Activities of Daily Living or ADLs. Examples include:- Walking
- Transferring (e.g., from a bed to a chair)
- Personal hygiene, oral care and grooming
- Showering and bathing
- Toileting
- Dressing
- Eating
- Housekeeping and laundry
- Money management
- Meal preparation
- Shopping for groceries and other necessities
- Medication management
- Using the telephone or computer
1. Overcome everyday challenges. Relearn how to perform daily tasks such as combing your hair or using utensils. An occupational therapist may also recommend tools to help you perform daily tasks, such as built-up handles on toothbrushes, forks and spoons, especially if you have arthritic hands or a weak grip.
2. Prevent falls. Every 11 seconds, an elderly adult is treated in the ER for a fall. Occupational therapists are well aware of this and can teach you balancing and strengthening exercises to reduce your risk of falling.
3. Memory rehabilitation. An occupational therapist can retrain your neurological pathways to improve motor control and thinking skills. For seniors with dementia, occupational therapists can help make lists to simplify decision-making, put signs on doors to orient you, or organize a closet by season to make selecting clothes easier.
4. Better outlook. When you start to lose your abilities, you tend to lose interest in social gatherings and hobbies. Occupational therapists improve your ability to participate in life and enjoy a healthier, more fulfilling lifestyle.
5. Home modifications. To help you stay independent at home, occupational therapists can recommend simple modifications like getting a bathtub bench or grab bars to make bathing safer; raised toilet seats and seat-lifting chairs to support independence; and no-step walkways to reduce trip hazards.
6. Help with vision loss. Enhanced lighting, magnification devices, color-coded medication and removing clutter in the home are all simple modifications that can make a difference for people with poor vision.
