Little Canaries

Occupational Therapy (OT)

From the AOTA website:

Occupational therapy is skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all facets of their lives. It gives people the "skills for the job of living" necessary for independent and satisfying lives. Services typically include:

Occupational therapy practitioners are skilled professionals whose education includes the study of human growth and development with specific emphasis on the social, emotional, and physiological effects of illness and injury.

The occupational therapist enters the field with a bachelors, masters, or doctoral degree. The occupational therapy assistant generally earns an associate degree.

Practitioners must complete supervised clinical internships in a variety of health care settings, and pass a national examination. Most states also regulate occupational therapy practice.

A wide variety of people can benefit from occupational therapy, including those with

Physical Therapy (PT)

From the APTA website:

The physical therapist provides services aimed at preventing the onset and/or slowing the progression of conditions resulting from injury, disease, and other causes. The physical therapist provides these services to people of all ages who have functional conditions resulting from back and neck injuries, sprains/strains and fractures, arthritis, burns, amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, birth defects such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida, injuries related to work and sports, and others.

Although many physical therapists practice in hospitals, nearly 80 percent practice in:

The minimum educational requirement is a post-baccalaureate degree from an accredited education program. While many programs offer a master's degree, a growing majority of programs offer the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. Currently, 209 colleges and universities nationwide offer professional physical therapist education programs; 55% offer the DPT and another 40% are planning to convert.

Here's a nice summary article:  http://www.apta.org/pt_magazine/oct99/closer.html

Hippotherapy

Many children with autism also benefit from hippotherapy (horse riding).  Here's some information from the AHA website:

Hippotherapy is a treatment that uses the multidimensional movement of the horse; from the Greek word "hippos" which means horse. Specially trained physical, occupational and speech therapists use this medical treatment for clients who have movement dysfunction. Historically, the therapeutic benefits of the horse were recognized as early as 460 BC. The use of the horse as therapy evolved throughout Europe, the United States and Canada.

Hippotherapy uses activities on the horse that are meaningful to the client. Treatment takes place in a controlled environment where graded sensory input can elicit appropriate adaptive responses from the client. Specific riding skills are not taught (as in therapeutic riding), but rather a foundation is established to improve neurological function and sensory processing. This foundation can then be generalized to a wide range of daily activities.

The horse's walk provides sensory input through movement which is variable, rhythmic and repetitive. The resultant movement responses in the client are similar to human movement patterns of the pelvis while walking. The variability of the horse's gait enables the therapist to grade the degree of sensory input to the client, then use this movement in combination with other clinical treatments to achieve desired results. Clients respond enthusiastically to this enjoyable learning experience in a natural setting.

Physically, hippotherapy can improve balance, posture, mobility and function. Hippotherapy may also affect psychological, cognitive, behavioral and communication functions for clients of all ages. Clients who may benefit from hippotherapy can have a variety of diagnoses: examples include Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Developmental Delay, Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke, Autism and Learning or Language Disabilities. However, hippotherapy is not for every client. Each potential client must be evaluated on an individual basis by specially trained health professionals.

Speech Therapy (ST)

From http://en.wikipedia.org:

Speech therapy is the corrective or rehabilitative treatment of physical and/or cognitive deficits/disorders resulting in difficulty with verbal communication. This includes both speech (articulation, intonation, rate, intensity) and language (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, both receptive and expressive language, including reading and writing). Depending on the nature and severity of the disorder, common treatments may range from physical strengthening exercises, instructive or repetitive practice and drilling, to the use of audio-visual aids.

Speech and language therapists (SLTs) or speech-language pathologists (SLPs) provide a wide range of services for all ages, in early intervention (ages 0-3 years old), preschool, primary and secondary schooling, home care, and hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and nursing homes. Professionals often work with stroke victims, individuals with Asperger's syndrome or speech disorders (e.g. lisps, stammers), and with the deaf and hearing impaired. SLPs also provide services for individuals with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing).

For more information, visit the ASHA website.

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Last modified: 04/24/05