This document discusses key concepts in occupational therapy including occupation, areas of occupation, and the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework. It defines occupation as everyday activities that are meaningful and purposeful. The framework views people as occupational beings who engage in activities critical to their health, well-being, and social participation. It outlines the domains of occupation including activities of daily living, instrumental activities, rest, education, work, play, and social participation. Performance skills, patterns, context, and environments are described as influences on occupational performance. The overall goal of occupational therapy is supporting health through engagement in meaningful occupations.

1. Session 4A

2. Engagement  Occupation  Intervention

3. Many occupations are ordinary,
part daily living; and
are often taken for granted.
Occupations can be special when they
happen infrequently or when they
carry important symbolic meaning.

4. OTs base their work on understanding of
occupation and its role in health.
OTs can know occupation by -
• Looking inward – examining its form,
function, and meaning
• Looking outward – with observation
through an “occupational lens”

5. Language for Occupational Therapy

6. Uniform Terminology for Occupational Therapy

7. The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF)
A “summary of interrelated constructs that define and guide occupational therapy practice”
AOTA, 2008, p. 625

8. The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF)
Starts with
OCCUPATION

9. Scope of Practice
Evaluation

10. Occupational Therapy Lingo
Domain - The areas in which OT’s have an established body of
knowledge and expertise:
• Everyday life activities that people find meaningful and
purposeful
• Defines the focus of OT
Process - actions that OT practitioners take when providing
services that are client-centered and focused on engagement in
occupation
• Defines the delivery of OT.
• Evaluating + Intervening + Targeting Outcomes
Occupation remains central throughout process, with
collaboration w/ client in each aspect of service delivery.

11. The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF)
Aspects of Occupational Therapy’s Domain
(AOTA, 2008)

12. Areas of Occupation
1. Activities of Daily Living (ADL)
2. Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (iADL)
3. Rest and Sleep
4. Education
5. Work
6. Play
7. Leisure
8. Social Participation
Aspects of
Occupational
Therapy’s
Domain

13. Areas of Occupation:
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
• Bathing & showering
• Toileting & toilet
hygiene
• Dressing
• Swallowing/Eating
• Feeding
• Functional mobility
• Personal device care
• Personal hygiene &
grooming
• Sexual activity

14. Areas of Occupation:
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (iADLs)
• Care of others
• Care of pets
• Child rearing
• Communication
management
• Driving & Community
Mobility
• Financial management
• Health management &
maintenance
• Home establishment &
management
• Meal preparation &
cleanup
• Religious observance &
spiritual activities &
expression
• Safety & emergency
maintenance
• Shopping

15. Areas of Occupation:
Rest and Sleep
• Rest
• Sleep preparation
• Sleep participation

16. Areas of Occupation:
Education
• Formal educational
participation
• Informal personal
educational needs or
interests exploration
• Informal personal
education participation

17. Areas of Occupation:
Work
• Employment interests &
pursuits
• Employment seeking &
acquisition
• Job performance
• Retirement preparation
& adjustment
• Volunteer exploration
• Volunteer participation

18. Areas of Occupation:
Play and Leisure
• Play exploration
• Play participation
• Leisure exploration
• Leisure participation

19. Areas of Occupation:
Social participation
• Community
• Family
• Peer & friend

20. Occupational Therapy Lingo (con’t)
Occupational Performance: A client’s ability to carry out
activities of daily living
Occupational Choices: The client’s decision to participate in
certain occupations
Occupations: Everyday things that people do and that are
essential to one’s identity
The overarching goal of OT is: “supporting health and participation in life
through engagement in occupation” (O&H, p. 81).

21. Disruption in Occupational Performance
Video – “Because of Occupational Therapy”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud5Fp279g4Y

22. Occupational Therapy Lingo (con’t)
Client Factors: specific capabilities, characteristics, or beliefs
that reside within a person and that often influence and/or are
influenced by a person’s engagement in occupation
Performance Skills: Goal-directed actions that are observable
as small units that play a major role in successful participation
in daily life occupations.
• Learned and developed over time and are situated in
specific contexts and environments
• The client’s demonstrated abilities

23. Occupational Therapy Lingo (con’t)
Performance Patterns: habits, routines, roles, and rituals used
in the process of engaging in occupations or activities
Environment:
• Physical – Natural or man-made surroundings in which daily
life occupations occur
• Social – Relationships with and expectations of persons,
groups, and populations with whom a client has contact
Context: Elements within and surrounding a client that are
often less tangible than environments but still have a strong
influence on performance

24. Occupational Therapy Lingo (con’t)
Occupational Profile:
Summary of a client’s
background and
experiences, patterns
of daily living,
interests, values, and
needs

25. The Occupational Profile
• Obtained through interview and
conversation with client and/or
caregiver(s)
• An opportunity to begin to
establish a therapeutic
relationship
• Leads to an individualized
approach in the rest of the OT
process
Next step:
The OT reviews the info and
develops a working hypothesis
about why the problems
identified may be occurring.