What Is Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists provide skilled care to clients of all ages with dysphagia.

Occupational therapists are trained professional that help individuals achieve independence in all aspects of their lives. A few of the health conditions that benefit from occupational therapy include: work-related injuries including lower back problems, limitations following a stroke or heart attack, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or other serious chronic conditions, birth injuries, learning problems, or developmental disabilities, mental health or behavioral problems including Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress, problems with substance use or eating disorders, burns, spinal cord injuries, or amputations, broken bones or other injuries from falls, sports injuries, or accidents and vision or cognitive problems that threaten the ability to drive. A few of the services that they typically provide are customized treatment programs to improve a person’s ability to perform daily activities, comprehensive home and job site evaluations with adaptation recommendations, performance skills assessments and treatment, adaptive equipment recommendations and usage training and guidance to family members and caregivers. A general program helps to accomplish and/or may include the following: assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as eating, dressing, bathing, using the toilet, handwriting, cooking, and basic housekeeping, social skills retraining, gait and balance retraining, involvement in community support groups, activities to improve cognitive impairments, such as difficulties with concentration, attention, memory, and poor judgment, education regarding the disease and disease process, goal setting (short- and long-term) involving the individual and family members.

Occupational therapy practitioners are skilled professionals whose education includes the study of human growth and development with specific emphasis on the social, emotional, and physiological effects of illness and injury. Occupational therapist receives education on the assessment and treatment of dysphagia as a part of their basic education. The occupational therapist must have a bachelors, masters, or doctoral degree, while the occupational therapy assistant typically earns an associate degree. Practitioners must complete supervised clinical internships in a variety of health care settings, and pass a national examination.

Every day, children and adults have or developed health conditions that notably affect their ability to manage their daily lives. With the help of occupational therapy, many of these individuals can achieve a higher level of independence. When skill and strength cannot be developed or improved, occupational therapy offers alternatives for carrying out daily activities. Historically the treatment of swallowing/eating disorders has been the role of occupational therapy. Medicare even recognizes the treatment of dysphagia by occupational therapists. “When swallowing is identified as a functional deficit, it is a critical component of the occupational therapy intervention” (AOTA.)

Occupational therapy related to Dysphagia

Dysphagia is any difficulty in the passage of food, liquid or medicine during any stage of swallowing that impairs the client’s