Essay On Occupational Therapy

762 Words4 Pages
Endeavoring for a degree in occupational therapy is my goal. In occupational therapy, individuals are taught how to live and work around physical or mental injuries with the use of special equipment. Occupational therapy falls under the healthcare professions; if for whatever reason I am unable to obtain a degree in occupational therapy, I will have many other career choices similar to it. Health care professions similar to occupational therapy include physical therapy, speech therapy, and recreational therapy because they provide services for the mental and or physical betterment of individuals. The healthcare professions strive to provide services to those who are sick and disabled. Physical therapy is often confused with occupational therapy.…show more content…
They help individuals with disabilities and disorders—in this case speech and swallowing impairments—adapt and cope with their lives, “[Speech and language therapists] teach alternative communication methods, such as sign language, to patients with little or no speech capability” (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Speech and language therapists work with individuals and help them cope and recover from strokes, brain injuries, hearing loss, cerebral palsy, or emotional problems. More generally, they “assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent communication and swallowing disorders in patients” (Bureau of Labor Statistics). In addition to speech and language therapists teaching their patients how to make sounds, they also teach their patients how to read and write. Speech and language therapists also use vocal exercises to help their patients regain muscle for swallowing. Like occupational therapists, speech and language therapists can work with a variety of people—different ethnicities and age groups. In addition to working with a variety of people, speech and language therapists can also work with a variety of healthcare professionals such as physicians, surgeons, social workers, and psychologists (Bureau of Labor
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