Written and submitted by Carl Petitto, OT/L, CHT, Carthage Therapy Services
Occupational Therapists (OTs) in the United States and around the world help people to regain independence in their daily occupations.
Your life is made up of occupations—meaningful everyday activities. These occupations can include many roles, such as being a parent, a friend, a spouse, a tennis player, an artist, a cook, a musician, etc. We generally don’t think about our daily occupations until we have trouble doing them. Everyone has occupations— from the toddler whose occupations are play and learning to develop important skills, to the older adult whose occupations are engaging with family and friends and managing his or her home. If you are recovering from an accident or injury, your valued occupations may be disrupted. Occupational therapy incorporates your valued occupations into the rehabilitation process.
Occupational therapists use a combined adaptive and restorative approach to rehabilitation – they help people adapt to their disabilities while working to restore their abilities. For example, an OT may teach a person different ways of using their hand and arm to eat, including use of special tools or adaptive equipment. At the same time, the OT is also working to restore normal use of the hand and arm.
Occupational Therapists work with peoples’ cognitive (memory, planning, etc.), visual perceptual (accurately seeing and interpreting objects in our environment), and physical aspects during evaluation and treatment.
Occupational therapists also specialize in various areas. Occupational therapists at Carthage Area Hospital specialize in the areas of pediatrics (developmental delays, fine motor delays, & sensory processing) and hand therapy (rehabilitation of orthopedic conditions of the hand through the shoulder).
OTs have been working to get people back into their lives after and during debilitating events, as part of the healthcare team, since 1917. For more information, visit www.aota.org
About Carl Petitto, OT/L, CHT
Carl is an occupational therapist who has undergone additional training as a board certified hand therapist, specializing in rehabilitating patients with orthopedic conditions affecting the fingertips to the shoulder. Carl also fabricates custom splints as an additional tool to help people to get well in minimal time. He has been treating the upper extremity since 2000. Carl provides complimentary screenings – If you are having pain, stiffness, numbness, tingling…anywhere within your hand to shoulder, contact Carthage Area Hospital Therapy Services at 315-493-1340.