What is World Occupational Therapy Day?
Each year on October 27th is World Occupational Therapy Day, launched by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Its goal is to celebrate the role of occupational therapists (OTs) and help others learn about occupational therapy.
This year’s theme is “Unity Through Community.”
“The theme promotes our role in working together with others to facilitate participation and community interaction. As a profession, we collaborate with many groups and communities for the benefit of individuals and society as a whole.”
https://wfot.org/world-occupational-therapy-day
How does “Unity Through Community” relate to OT?
An important aspect of OT is the understanding that we do not exist solely as individuals, but are surrounded by complex communities and connections to others, the things we do and our environment.
As OTs, we are connected to communities through:
- Collaborating with many different people and groups,
- Supporting people to take part in their communities or access new communities
- Working with a person’s community to help achieve their goals in different contexts
- Learning about each client’s personal communities
As paediatric occupational therapists, at Kids That Go we work with a large range of people including:
- Children and their families
- Support workers
- Allied health practitioners – e.g. other occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists
- NDIS support coordinators
- Teachers
- Medical professionals like GPs and specialists.
How is Kids That Go creating unity through community?
We see unity through community within so much of what we and other OTs do. Here are a few examples:
- Our free weekly bub hub for young parents and their babies
- Regular group therapy with different goals including toileting and emotional regulation
- Working with other occupational therapists within the clinic and at other practices.
- By supporting clients in their communities or to access and participate in their communities.
Respecting and understanding an individual’s communities and how they interact with them is an integral part of the occupational therapy process. By taking the time to get to know our clients and what is important to them, we can help support them in the best way. We are so proud to be Occupational Therapists!
SIENNA SMILEY
Occupational Therapist.
