To the Editor:
April is Occupational Therapy Month. In celebration of the 102nd year of the profession, I would like to answer the question I get almost daily working as a home health occupational therapist on the Island — what is occupational therapy?
Occupational therapists treat people across the lifespan to help them do the things they want and need to do, through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations). We use a holistic and client-centered approach with interventions that include promoting productive aging and aging in place, assisting children with accessing the classroom, promoting skills and adapting the environment for individuals to participate in meaningful activities after an injury or disability. OTs and OT assistants work in various settings on the Island, including in the acute and subacute hospital setting, outpatient rehabilitation, home health, mental health, schools, and early childhood intervention. I would like to wish the 15 or so occupational therapists who live and work on the island a happy OT Month.
Alexandra Baxter
Edgartown