Occupational therapy aims to help people engage in meaningful daily activities to improve health and well-being. Occupational therapists use activities of daily living, work, and leisure to increase independence and prevent disability. They commonly work with children who have developmental, learning, speech, hearing, physical, emotional, or mental impairments. The principles of occupational therapy include accountability, maintaining professional boundaries, obtaining informed consent, ensuring confidentiality, effective communication, transparency, and avoiding conflicts of interest.

1. INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL
THERAPY

2.  Occupational therapy (OT) has been
described as “the art and science of helping
people
do the day-to-day activities that are
important and meaningful to their health and
well being
through engagement in valued occupations”

3.  Acc. To American Occupational Therapy
Association(AOTA)
It is the art and science of directing man’s
participation in selected tasks to restore, reinforce
and enhance performance ,facilitate learning of those
skills and function essential for adaptation and
productivity diminish or correct pathology and to
promote and maintain health.
Its fundamental concern is the capacity through out
life span to perform with satisfaction to self and
others those tasks and roles essential to productive
living and to the mastery of self and the environment.

4.  The following definition is adopted by Representative
Assembly in Apr 1986,
Therapeutic use of self care , work and play activities
to increase independent function , enhance
development and prevent disability.
Main focus of OT intervention is the performance
areas of self care , work and leisure while
consideration is given to the human and non human
environment and cultural and social environment
within which the person is functioning.

5.  OT s are employed in public school system
with children with developmental disabilities ,
learning disabilities ; speech ,language and
hearing impairment and physical, emotional
and mental impairment

6.  PRINCIPLES

7.  Accountability
As regulated professionals, occupational therapists
are required to clearly demonstrate that they serve
the
client’s best interest. Accountability means the
therapist is responsible for his or her actions.
Therapists
have an obligation to account for and explain their
actions. A consciously competent therapist is aware
of
his or her strengths and limits, knows the guidelines
and rules, makes appropriate choices consciously
and
deliberately, and is able to explain why he or she took
a particular course of action.

8.  Professional Boundaries
 A professional-client relationship is an unequal
relationship and the therapist is responsible for
 establishing and maintaining professional boundaries with
their clients. The professional is in a position
 of power because of the knowledge they hold and the
client’s need for that knowledge. In order to ensure
 a trusting relationship the professional must not misuse or
abuse the position of power by crossing
 boundaries. In order to maintain healthy trusting
professional relationships therapists must ensure their
 own competence, integrity and dependability

9.  Informed Consent
 Informed consent of the client promotes free
choice. It supports an honest, client-centred
approach
 that helps to ensure the client’s best interests
are served. Consent is defined as the client’s
permission to
 proceed with an agreed upon course of action.
Informed consent requires that the person
making the

10.  decision receive all the information that a
reasonable person in the same
circumstances would require
 in order to make a decision, including
alternative options and responding to any
requests for additional
 information about the matter.

11.  Confidentiality
 Occupational therapists are entrusted with personal
and often sensitive information about their clients.
 The therapist has a responsibility to respect, secure
and protect the privacy of this information. Even when
 sharing with those individuals who have the
appropriate authority to receive it, the quantity and
content
 of information provided should reflect a principle of a
“need to know” basis only.

12.  Effective Communication
 Clear communication is core to the development
of the client-therapist relationship. It is
considered
 a competency of practice for the therapist to
utilize a communication process that promotes
shared
 understanding with those with whom they
interact. Effective communication involves the
establishment
 of a feedback process and includes appropriate
use of verbal, non-verbal and written
communication.

13.  Transparency
 Transparent practice requires full disclosure, which
ensures integrity within the client-therapist
 relationship and requires clear, open and thorough
communication. It is inappropriate to withhold
 information, intentionally or not, that may impact the
client’s ability to become involved as an informed
 participant. The therapist is responsible for
ascertaining the nature and extent of information to
be shared
 and with whom it needs to be shared.

14.  Conflict of Interest
 A conflict of interest arises when the therapist
has a relationship or interest that could be seen
as
 improperly influencing the therapist’s
professional judgment or ability to act in the best
interest of the
 client. Conflicts may present in different ways
and if identified, whether they are real or
perceived,