12 Occupational therapy tools and techniques to enhance your practice
Occupational therapy is a rewarding and challenging profession. As an occupational therapist (OT), your primary job is to help individuals overcome barriers that are impacting their daily activities. Yet, these barriers can come in all shapes and forms, including emotional, social, and physical disabilities or needs. However, occupational therapy tools can provide excellent ways to move past these barriers, helping your patients experience a higher quality of life.
So, let’s explore the occupational therapist toolkit further. What types of equipment should you know about? And how can these tools help your patients achieve their goals?
What are tools in occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy supplies include a range of tools, interventions, and adaptive equipment that can help bridge the gap, helping patients go about their daily living tasks. From specific tools for set activities and specialized equipment, to more general strategies and devices, an OT can help individuals refine their motor skills or use assistive technology to carry out a specific activity.
What tools does an occupational therapist use?
There are various types of tools an OT uses. These tools may include toys, games, exercises, worksheets, modifications in a patient’s home, specific interventions to help with classroom activities, pencil grips, visual stimulation devices, and more.
These tools help individuals with cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, multiple sclerosis, sensory processing disorder, fine motor skills issues, bone density problems, and more. All in all, these tools can help individuals gain independence and help them overcome barriers hindering this independence. So, let’s take a closer look at specific occupational therapy tools!
Pediatric occupational therapy equipment
Pediatric OTs work alongside children, usually developing their visual motor skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and, generally, helping them foster healthy development and perform tasks independently. Some of the tools used in these settings include the following.
Pediatric walkers
A pediatric walker provides support and stability for children who require assistance when walking, such as those who cannot bear their full weight on both legs. This tool can prove useful after injury or for children struggling with gait training.
Oral sensory tools for occupational therapy
Oral sensory tools help improve the sensory input involving the mouth and eating, such as the temperature of food or the texture of food. They may also be used to help improve speech. These tools and interventions may include oral motor activities, vibrating toothbrushes, blowing balloons or bubbles, or sensory “chew toys.” Either way, the goal is usually to improve motor function and sensory input of the mouth.
In fact, research suggests that these oral sensory tools may help with eating and speech challenges in children with Autism.
Fidget or stim toys
Fidget or stim toys are items, such as fidget spinners or puzzles, that can help improve fine motor skills, tactile stimulation and awareness, concentration, sensory stimulation, and more. These can help those with Autism and other conditions avoid self-stimulatory behaviour, such as rocking the body back and forth, flapping their hands, or finger flicking. In turn, this may help direct their attention during school or learning activities, avoid distracting other children, and help the child self-regulate.
Assistive occupational therapy technology
There are many tools that can help individuals carry out mobility activities, such as walking or sitting and standing, as outlined below.
Sit to stand frames
Sit to stand frames help individuals with special needs go from sitting to standing. Often, this assistive device is used by individuals who are largely confined to a wheelchair. However, it can improve their ability to move independently without needing to rely on others.
Wheeled walkers and rollators
Walkers and rollators can be used for all ages. However, they are more likely to be used by an elderly patient who may have lost their mobility with time or after surgery or injury. These devices have a supportive frame that the person can lean on for support, along with wheels underneath so they can easily move as the person walks.
Gait trainers
A gait trainer may resemble a walker. However, a gait trainer tends to provide a bit more support, particularly for individuals of varying capabilities. The benefit of a gait trainer is that it can help a person begin to learn or re-learn how to walk, despite not yet having proper postural control or cognitive skills to do so.
Tools and techniques for improving Range of Motion
Other OT tools include those that help increase a patient’s range of motion. This is important for proper muscle coordination and regaining adequate muscle strength.
Neuromuscular re-education
Neuromuscular re-education involves various techniques and exercises, such as postural training, standing balance exercises, movements on exercise balls, and more. These strategies are invaluable in helping re-train the nervous system and restoring normal movement patterns.
Strength training
Strength training may incorporate various different movement and exercise strategies, such as squatting, lunges, or weighted exercises. Inevitably, the goal here is to improve muscle strength, helping an individual perform daily tasks and activities with ease and without pain.
Dowel exercises
Dowel exercises involve the use of a dowel, usually a wooden stick. This dowel is used to help gain initial mobility and function of the shoulders. Typically, it will be held in both hands, and the patient will move their shoulder through various different movement patterns. This offers assistance for at-home exercises and allows the patient to potentially use their unaffected arm to regain mobility on their injured side.
Pulley exercises
Pulley exercises, similar to dowel exercises, provide patients with a way to assist themselves when it comes to regaining mobility of the shoulder or arm. They can use one arm to pull the affected or injured arm through various motions, with the ultimate goal being to improve the range of motion on the affected side.
Range of Motion measurement
Whilst using techniques and tools to improve their patients’ Range of Motion, occupational therapists want to ensure that ROM is measured accurately and efficiently. Digital range of motion measurement tools, such as the Halo digital goniometer and inclinometer, can achieve this. A traditional goniometer has room for error of up to 35 degrees. Yet, the Halo goniometer uses laser beams to project the full length of any limb for accurate measurements within 1 degree. Furthermore, Halo can measure any range of motion in just 5 seconds, and store measurement memories, so occupational therapists don’t have to step away to write them down.
Enhance your occupational therapy practice with best in class tools
In an ever-evolving, technology-focused world, it’s important that Occupational Therapists have their finger on the pulse of recent trends and innovations in OT tools. By utilising the latest technology and adopting more modern ways of working, Occupational Therapists can enhance processes in their practice, save time and improve accuracy in monitoring results of their patients.
We at Halo Medical Devices are passionate about providing accuracy and efficiency for health professionals all over the world.
Halo is a digital solution that improves reading accuracy within 1 degree. Our digital goniometer measures range of motion in 3 easy steps, making accuracy available for everyone. The Halo has a triple sensor chip that allows you to measure the planes our bodies move in. Save your last 5 measurements so you don’t need to remember, or interrupt your assessment to write down the result.
Now you can provide your patients a superior level of care that distinguishes you from competitors. Halo is available to buy now on Amazon USA.