Occupational And Physical Therapy Case Study

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The elements within a space, and the configuration of these elements have the potential to influence use (Rodiek, 2006; Kytta, 2004). Therapists treat a wide range of diagnoses and skill levels within Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities. This requires them to have a variety of treatment options available to best facilitate their treatment goals. Both occupational and physical therapy staff were reported to be using the spaces on a “frequent or more” basis, in outdoor settings which provided a larger number, and wider variety of opportunities to address therapeutic goals. Twenty –one facilities had such opportunities description, however not all reported their staff to be frequent users. Four of these facilities reported occupational therapy as using the …show more content…

Having a variety of terrain and mobility options, a larger variety of plant material and planting options, the use of open areas to support a larger variety of goals, a variety of heights and things to reach, a variety of things to see can allow for increased affordance.
The ability of the environment to support treatment goals was the most important reason for using the spaces. The overall goal in rehabilitation is to assist an individual in maximizing their skills so they can participate as fully as possible in life situations after discharge. The ability to move through the environment, and to balance while performing tasks, can be critical components to performing occupational tasks important to an individual. Affordances for these two goal areas, functional mobility and functional balance, were the most sought after by both occupational and physical therapy staff when using the outdoor environment. These were followed by the component goal areas of upper extremity skills and cognitive skills for occupational therapy and safety and judgment and wayfinding by physical therapy.