Activities of Daily Living
Occupational Therapist assess a persons ability to perform their activities of daily living to allow us to identify a persons needs in achieving a purposeful and meaningful life.
We do this by usually meeting and observing a person in their own home environment. Areas which we assess include:
- Self care activities such as showering, dressing, hygiene management, grooming and eating;
• Housekeeping tasks such as household cleaning, laundry and changing bed linen;
• Home Maintenance tasks such as garden maintenance, lawn mowing, home maintenance and wood fire management;
• Community Tasks such as shopping, bill paying and banking, finding your way around;
• Parenting skills;
• Use of telephone and computer;
• Being able to spend time alone;
• Accessing transport;
• Interpersonal skills such as getting along with people and managing frustrations; and
• Ability to undertake previous hobbies and interests
A comparison of a client’s previous level of functioning and current level of functioning can provide details about:
• The impact of injury/illness on a client’s functional skills;
• Changes overtime associated with ageing or illness
• The needs for additional services/supports e.g. support workers, Meals on Wheels.
A treatment program can be developed to assist a client to achieve optimal independence and participation in functional tasks. Treatment may include:
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Skill development,
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The use of compensatory strategies,
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Equipment prescription (Assistive Technology) and
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Environmental modifications.