Occupational Therapy Services

What is occupational therapy?

Occupational therapy (OT) is provided to patients referred by a physician due to difficulties in performing activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), such as home-management, driving etc. due to physical injury, trauma, disease processes or aging. Occupational therapy helps people to live as independently as possible, by maximizing abilities for self-care, work and leisure. Treatment goals are focused on improving underlying impairments, helping people re-learn skills, self-manage and adapt to their home and work environment safely.

What is an occupational therapist?

An occupational therapist (OT) is a licensed health care professional who screens, assesses and treats patients with impairments that are impacting functional independence.

An occupational therapist aims to help patients to return to their highest level of function in everyday life. This includes basic ADLs, self-care, and IADLs for work, school or driving.

Occupational therapy services include but are not limited to restoring physical and cognitive impairments through carefully selected therapeutic exercises, functional training, modalities, adapted activities, environmental (home and work) modifications and prescription of durable medical equipment and assistive devices. Caregiver and patient education for self-management is important to empower patients.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi provides Occupational therapy services in the following settings:

Inpatient occupational therapy

• Intensive Care Unit: Hyperacute rehabilitation which includes functional mobility and basic self-care. Functional cognitive training for disturbances or altered levels of consciousness and disorganized thinking following any critical care condition.
• Neurology Acute Care: Safety awareness training, bed and functional mobility training, upper extremity retraining, visuospatial training, orientation and cognitive assessment, and stimulation, including driver screening when appropriate.
• Cardiovascular Acute Care: Functional training, strength and endurance training within the context of promoting ADLs and return to work and driving when appropriate.
• Cancer Rehabilitation: Functional retraining, use of adaptive strategies, energy conservation techniques and therapeutic exercises to reduce edema, pain and improve ROM and muscle strength. Preventive strategies for healthy living.
• General Medical/Surgical Acute Care: Provide therapeutic exercises to improve strength, endurance and promote functional retraining and teach adaptive strategies.
• Equipment prescription: Assessment and identification of equipment and assistive device needs for the home setting and/or return to community activities. Recommendations for off the shelf and/or customized devices and seating options. Patient and caregiver training on adaptive equipment and devices.
• Environmental modification: Identification and recommendations for home and work modifications and adaptations.

Outpatient occupational therapy

• Cardiac Rehabilitation Stage 2: Assessment of functional capacity for everyday living. Provision of a structured graded activity tolerance program for ADLs and IADLs. Adaptation and modification of activities based on health condition. Therapeutic exercise for upper extremity strength and endurance. Treatment can be a one-to-one session or in our group settings.

• Neurological Rehabilitation: ADLs and IADLs training, tone management for the arm and hand, upper limb functional retraining, cognitive training, falls prevention training, safety awareness and insight.
• Cognitive Rehabilitation: Assessment and treatment of cognitive deficits, including dementia. Cognitive training in the use of strategies for attention, memory, problem solving, information processing, safety awareness and insight. Family support and training.
• Cancer Rehabilitation: Includes energy conservation and adaptation of techniques for ADLs and IADLs. Progressive graded ADLs and IADLs program. Treatment modalities for residual pain and numbness. Functional capacity evaluation for return to work. Driver screening.
• Lymphedema Management: Includes complete decongestive therapy program (manual lymph drainage, compression therapy).
• Hand Therapy Program: Functional retraining programs for acute and chronic hand and arm conditions. Therapeutic exercise for hand dexterity, manipulation, range and strength. Hand splinting, desensitization programs and sensory and neuromuscular re-education.
• Equipment Prescription: Assessment and identification of equipment and assistive device needs. Recommendations for off the shelf and customized devices and seating options. Patient and caregiver training on adaptive equipment and devices.
• Vocational Rehabilitation: Selected tests that evaluate physical and cognitive abilities and performance deficits related to job duties. Simulated work assessment and work training programs.

To learn more about our Occupational Therapy services, please email us: [email protected]

 

Clinical Expertise in Neurorehabilitation

We offer a comprehensive range of interventions helping patients affected by neurological injury or disease.

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