Occupational therapy is a healthcare profession aimed at recovering, developing, and maintaining individuals’ motor and cognitive abilities. It uses activities as a rehabilitative method, with the ultimate goal of ensuring the patient’s independence in daily life.
What Does an Occupational Therapist Do?
Every individual carries out daily activities, some common to all, others more personal. Following adverse events such as trauma or illness, a person’s abilities may change, leading to a loss of independence. The occupational therapist supports individuals in recovering, improving, and/or maintaining the skills needed to perform their everyday activities.
Occupational therapy aims to restore lost independence, because routines and the activities we perform within them are integral to our identity. They define our role in society and the way we interact with our environment.
When independence is lost, one’s sense of self, role, and identity are also affected.
The occupational therapist has the expertise to identify personalized strategies or specific aids that enable the individual to become an active participant in their own life again.
In Which Areas Does an Occupational Therapist Work?
Occupational therapists are trained to work with various conditions that may cause loss of independence or affect well-being in daily activities. Some of the areas they work in include:
- Behavioral disorders, ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in children.
- Pathways related to degenerative diseases (cognitive and motor).
- Psychiatric disorders.
- Hand rehabilitation.
- Rehabilitation following traumatic injuries.
- Developmental support for individuals with congenital or acquired motor disabilities.
- Post-stroke rehabilitation.
- Rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury.
- Mood disorders.
- Designing and creating assistive devices and orthoses.
Regardless of the condition, the occupational therapist has the skills to assist the person in acquiring or regaining motor or cognitive abilities, with the goal of achieving greater independence.
What Can Polispecialistico Paradiso Offer?
Polispecialistico Paradiso is a multidisciplinary rehabilitation center with professionals dedicated to care and well-being. Our specialists provide support both at the clinic—equipped with specific machines and instruments—and at the patient’s home. This service aims to offer a pathway tailored and personalized to each patient’s needs. In addition to the team of occupational therapists, Polispecialistico also provides professionals from various disciplines related to personal care and well-being. Among the available services are:- Physiotherapy
- Nutrition
- Pilates and therapeutic massage
