Occupational Analysis and Activity Analysis OT 603 Foundations of OT Practice

OT Evaluation Occupational Profile 2014 OTPF: Summary of the clients occupational history and experiences, patterns of daily living, interests, values, and needs Analysis of Occupational Performance 2014 OTPF: Act of doing and accomplishing a selected action, activity, or occupation that results from the dynamic transaction among the client, the context, and the activity

Why is this necessary? To understand the complexity of an activity To understand the meaning it has to the client To identify performance strengths and barriers To identify the therapeutic potential

Taking Two Perspectives… Activity Analysis Occupational Analysis W&S, Ch. 21. page 236 Words Matter: Defining Activity and Occupation

Activity Analysis 2014 OTPF: Analysis of “typical demands of an activity, the range of skills involved in its performance, and the various cultural meanings that might be ascribed to it” Activity: Purposeful, occupational, functional Typically smaller units of behavior Includes actions and use of objects May or may not result in a product Is goal directed

Occupational Analysis Personally experienced and goal directed Fills/ occupies time Provides meaning Is recognized by the culture Contributes to health and well-being Reflects culture and cultural values

Occupational Analysis Occupational Analysis places the person in the foreground by taking into account the particular person’s life experiences, values, interests, goals. Occupational Analysis may be focused: a. On a particular task such as using a keyboard on the computer or brushing one’s teeth, or… b. On a broader scope of how individuals orchestrate numerous aspects of occupational performance into daily life, such as being an effective worker

Occupational Analysis and Meaning OT practitioners must continually remind themselves that meaning is: 1. individually constructed and interpreted 2. is central to human existence OT Practitioner is obligated to understand the meaning of occupations from the client’s persoective * Be careful of the assumptions you bring to the analysis process: roles, culture, values and context

Occupation as Therapy Grading Scaffolding Fading Adapt and Modify

Grading: Sequentially increasing demands to stimulate the person’s function or reducing the activity demands to respond to client difficulties Scaffolding: Helping the client by doing parts of the task that are too hard, but allowing the client to do the rest Fading: Withdrawing supports as clients develop or improve their skills, so that the task demands increase until the person is doing the whole task or occupation independently

Coaching: Providing verbal expectations and support designed to help the individual engage in and sustain growth or changes Adaptation: Changing the demands of the occupation so they are congruent with the person’s ability level Modification: Changing the occupation itself by reducing its demands, using assistive devices, or changing the physical or social environment