What is Occupational Therapy?

If someone has suggested occupational therapy for you or a family member, you might be wondering what it actually is and how it helps. Occupational therapy, usually shortened to OT, helps people of all ages do the everyday activities they need or want to do, whether that is at home, at work, at school or out in the community.

An OT works with anyone facing physical, psychological or social difficulties, whether those are present from birth or follow an injury, illness or the changes that come with age. The aim is always the same: to help you live as independently as possible and do the things that matter to you.

When the activities most of us take for granted become difficult, having a shower, making a meal, getting dressed or getting to work, an occupational therapist can help. That might mean building up your skills and confidence, finding new ways of doing things, or recommending equipment and adaptations that make daily life easier.

What does an occupational therapy assessment involve?

An assessment starts with getting to know you. The OT looks at what you find difficult and what you are already managing well. They might check things like your range of movement, strength and balance, and how you carry out particular tasks.

From there, they look at the bigger picture: the activities that are important to you, any equipment or furniture involved, the layout of your home, school or workplace, and the support you have around you. The last step is agreeing which activities you most want to be able to do more easily.

Once the OT understands all of this, you work together on practical changes. Take someone using a wheelchair for the first time. They need to be able to get around their home, so the OT might recommend widening doorways alongside building up upper body strength so they can move more confidently. The OT works with you to put changes like these into practice, rather than simply handing over a report.

Where do occupational therapists work?

Most people first come across an OT in hospital, often as part of rehabilitation or in the run up to going home, where the OT makes sure you can manage safely once you are discharged. In that setting it might involve helping someone practise cooking after a stroke, or running activities that build up hand function.

If you are already at home and finding daily life harder, you may be referred to your local social services occupational therapy team, who can assess you for equipment or adaptations.

OTs also work well beyond health and social care. You will find them carrying out disability access audits for shops, schools and other businesses, assessing functional capacity for legal cases, providing manual handling training, completing ergonomic assessments at work, and teaching people how to conserve energy through the day when stamina is limited. It is a wide profession, which is part of why a good assessment is so specific to you.

Occupational therapy through social services

Through social services, an OT can show you and anyone who cares for you easier ways of managing at home. They can often arrange equipment such as grab rails or raised seating, and recommend minor adaptations. For bigger changes like a stairlift, a ramp or a level-access shower, they can advise on funding and make recommendations to your local council.

Major adaptations are sometimes funded through a Disabled Facilities Grant, which follows strict eligibility rules. If you are going down this route, it is worth asking your OT to explain clearly how the funding works before anything goes ahead. You can read more on the Disabled Facilities Grants page on GOV.UK.

The statutory route works, but it can come with waiting times and limits on what an OT is allowed to recommend. This is where private occupational therapy can help, by offering an independent assessment without the wait.

Equipment and adaptations

A lot of OT work comes down to matching the right equipment or change to the right person. That can be something small and simple, like a bath board, a raised toilet seat or a grab rail, or something more involved, like a riser recliner chair, a level-access shower or a stairlift.

The detail matters. Equipment needs to be the right size for you and your home, properly fitted and, ideally, tried before it is bought. A trained OT makes sure what is recommended will actually be used and make a real difference, rather than ending up in a cupboard.

How Inclusion can help

Inclusion is a network of independent and private Occupational Therapists working across the UK. We carry out private OT assessments for adults and children, in the home, at school or at work, without the waiting times that often come with statutory services.

Whether you are looking for support for an adult or a child, or you need a housing or equipment assessment, we can help you find the right OT for your situation.

If you think occupational therapy could help you or someone you care for, make an enquiry or find an occupational therapist in your area.