By Lisa Gullett
Outpatient Area Rehab Director
As spring weather emerges and the calendar turns from March to April, it can only mean one thing- time to celebrate National Occupational Therapy Month! Initiated in 1980, Occupational Therapy Month was introduced to go hand in hand with AOTA’s (American Occupational Therapy Association) annual expo and conference. Although OT month began in 1980, the history of the profession of occupational therapy is over 100 years old! And while we love to celebrate our occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants within our company, it is also about celebrating the incredible achievements of our patients and the steps they take to achieve the things they want and need to do each day.
Occupational therapy, often mistaken as a vocational coach or mixed up with someone who works in occupational health and safety, has been around since the early 1900’s. Occupational therapists, often known as a “jack of all trades,” can help our patients with what they want and need to do throughout the lifespan. Cognition, upper extremity strengthening, ADLs, equipment recommendations and low vision training are a few areas of the ways OTs can help their patients. Occupational therapists look at their patient holistically with the goal of helping them overcome the challenges faced in daily life and assisting in any adaptations that may need to be made. Almost all OTs have an “elevator pitch” to help explain what they can do and all the areas they can assist in.
During the month of April, take some time to recognize and celebrate the occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and certified occupational therapy assistants in your life and workplace. OT Month is the perfect time to educate yourself about the profession and spread the word on everything an OT can do. We thank all our OTs, OTAs, and COTAs for the hard work they do for their patients and for Infinity Rehab. We are proud you are a part of our team and value the drive and skills that you bring each day.
Feel free to post about your favorite OT, OTA, or COTA and what occupational therapy means to you by using the hashtag #OTMonth and #InfinityOTs and tagging @infinityrehab. You can also nominate a fellow occupational colleague as an OT hero here.
