Irrespective of the fact that the person is born with impairment or has acquired it due to illness or accident, any person having long term condition is likely to avail the services of an OT at different stages of life. The question here is what exactly is done by these professionals?
Understanding the fundamentals
The OT professionals help the patients to have their conditions managed in the right manner and to live an independent life. What occupational therapists are known to have in common about people in general is ‘occupational beings’ who can benefit immensely by undertaking different types of activities. Hence, they try supporting the clients in leading lives, which are fulfilling and productive, enabling them to recover, maintain existing skills and to develop for daily living/
Contacting the OT professionals
The patient’s initial contact with such professional services may come when a GP, social worker or physician may suggest the person requiring assessments, so that the right services, housing adaptions and occupational therapy instruments can be accessed and life made much easier. A major challenge with regards to OT services is termed to be fragmentation. These days, people are trying hard to find different ways for providing a service which is more joined up, offering pool of aids of lower cost, which could be accessed by social and health care OTs.
Looking at budgeted options
Nowadays, with rising expenses and inflation, people have become all the more budget conscience. But medical ailments are something that cannot be postponed for a later date or some treatments avoided, just to save some precious money. The bottom line is that one has to pay attention to the minute needs of the body, so as to take care of the prevailing issues and not to skimp on things which are considered to be necessities. It does hold true in today’s therapy world and also true among all disciplines.
As reimbursement cuts have become the norm of the day, there are many who have been trying to find ways and means for lowering their expenditure on equipments. There are present different OT tools which are to be used for accomplishing the objectives with patients and to provide high quality solution. Patients in huge numbers have been resistant towards purchasing rehab equipment due to the inflated daily expenditures they have to meet. With additional benefits of making use of everyday items being that patients are likely to continue performing exercises on their own. It is what is said to have pushed some to be creative as to how solutions are approached for the patients.
Some alternatives
- Furniture dolly, Beach ball / arm skate
- Detergent bottle, duct tape and clothesline // sock aid, dressing stick
- Panel board, weights, telephone book // incline board
- Coat hanger, duct tape and PVC pipe piece / jux-a cisor arm exerciser
- Socks, rope, PVC pipe, soup cans / over-the-door pulley
- Hula hoop with curtain rings plastic shower / shoulder arc
- Tube sock / shower mitt
- Therapy clay
The above are few of the budgeted alternatives available to those who seek budgeted OT options.
