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Revolutionizing Rehabilitation: How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping the Future of Occupational Therapy

by: Felica Anderson
Category: SIS Article
Tags
Mar
12
kristian llaca jacqueline achonRevolutionizing Rehabilitation: How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping the Future of Occupational Therapy
 
Dr. Jacqueline Achon & Dr. Kristian Llaca
Technology Special Interest Section
 
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the healthcare industry, and occupational therapy (OT) is no exception. AI has the potential to enhance clinical decision-making, personalize interventions, streamline administrative tasks, and improve accessibility for both practitioners and clients. However, its integration into OT practice also presents ethical and logistical challenges. This discussion article explores AI’s applications in OT, the challenges it presents, and the ethical considerations that must be addressed for its responsible use.
Introduction
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare has expanded rapidly, offering innovative solutions for patient care and professional practice. Occupational therapists have begun to turn to AI-powered tools to optimize rehabilitation plans, analyze patient progress, and automate documentation. The role of AI in occupational therapy (OT) continues to evolve, providing opportunities to enhance efficiency and patient outcomes. As these technologies become more prevalent, therapists must understand both their benefits and limitations to ensure equitable and effective care delivery (Mavani et al., 2023).
Applications of AI in Occupational Therapy
AI is transforming occupational therapy in several key areas. One major advancement is in clinical decision-making, where AI-powered tools analyze large datasets to help therapists develop evidence-based interventions. Predictive analytics can now identify patterns in patient progress and recommend treatment adjustments, leading to more precise and timely interventions (Mavani et al., 2024). Studies indicate that AI-driven rehabilitation plans may also improve accuracy and patient outcomes compared to traditional methods (Khalid et al., 2024).
Another crucial application is personalized interventions. AI-integrated wearable devices monitor movement patterns, activity levels, and physiological data in real-time, allowing therapists to tailor interventions to each client’s needs (Sali et al., 2025). AI has also been used as an interactive and personalized agent that is capable of supporting OT clients between therapy sessions by reminding them of their OT goal-attainment strategies (Kaelin et al., 2024). These technologies help ensure that rehabilitation strategies remain both effective and adaptable to individual progress.
AI has also begun to play a significant role in streamlining administrative tasks. Occupational therapists often face a heavy documentation burden, limiting the time available for direct patient care. AI-powered natural language processing tools can transcribe session notes, generate reports, and manage scheduling, reducing administrative workload and improving productivity. By adopting AI-powered intelligent document processing (IDP), organizations may be able to eliminate inefficiencies, enhance compliance, and reduce fraud risks, leading to billions in cost savings and improved customer experience (Pingili, 2025).
Challenges and Ethical Considerations
Despite its numerous benefits, integrating AI into OT practice presents challenges that must be carefully navigated. Data privacy and security are among the most pressing concerns. AI systems rely on extensive health data, making it essential to ensure compliance with regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The risk of data breaches or unauthorized access raises ethical questions regarding how patient information is stored, shared, and used (Pina et al., 2024).
Algorithmic bias and equity in care present additional challenges. AI models are trained on existing healthcare data, which may contain biases that result in unequal treatment recommendations. If AI tools do not account for diverse populations, they may reinforce healthcare disparities, leading to suboptimal interventions for underrepresented groups. Occupational therapists must critically evaluate AI-generated recommendations to ensure fairness in care delivery (Ueda et al., 2024).
Another concern is the human element in therapy. Occupational therapy is inherently client-centered, emphasizing therapeutic relationships, emotional support, and individualized care. While AI enhances efficiency, it cannot replace the empathy and clinical reasoning that therapists provide. Over-reliance on AI may depersonalize care, affecting client engagement and trust in the therapeutic process (Dasgupta, A., 2023).
The digital divide and accessibility limitations must also be considered. Not all therapy settings, particularly those in rural or low-resource areas, have access to AI-driven technologies. Clients may struggle to benefit from AI-enhanced interventions if they lack necessary devices, internet access, or financial resources to afford high-tech rehabilitation solutions. Addressing these disparities requires strategic investment in accessible and affordable healthcare technology (Behzadifar et al., 2024).
Lastly, therapist education, training and adaptation present hurdles in AI integration. AI presents challenges across various fields of academia, including occupational therapy. The unethical use of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT has been observed in universities among prospective healthcare students, raising concerns that the consequences may not become apparent until they enter the workforce (Avello-Sáez & Estrada-Palavecino, 2023). The use of ChatGPT providing specific answers to questions posed in continuing education courses necessary for maintaining OT licensure may also diminish the competency of practicing OT’s entering new fields. Such practices could negatively impact the quality of care provided to clients receiving OT services. Therefore with the emergence of ChatGPT and other AI tools may require a review and adjustment of the competencies that both students and licensed professionals will be expected to develop  (Avello-Sáez et al., 2022;Charumbira et al., 2021;Miller et al., 2001)
Conclusion
AI is revolutionizing occupational therapy by enhancing clinical decision-making, personalizing interventions, reducing administrative burdens, and expanding accessibility. However, its implementation must be approached with caution, ensuring ethical considerations, data security, and equitable access. Occupational therapists must remain engaged in the ongoing conversation about AI’s role in healthcare to maximize its benefits while addressing its challenges. By integrating AI responsibly, OT professionals can harness its potential to improve patient care and advance the field.
 
 
 
References
Avello-Sáez, D., Helbig-Soto, F., Lucero-González, N., & Fernández-Martínez, MDM (2022). What competencies does a community occupational therapist need in neurorehabilitation? Qualitative Perspectives. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(10), 1-17.;Charumbira et al., 2021;Miller et al., 2001)
Avello-Sáez, D., & Estrada-Palavecino, L. (2023). ChatGPT and its impact on competence training in occupational therapists: A reflection on academic integrity. Cadernos Brasileiros de Terapia Ocupacional, 31, e3534. https://doi.org/10.1590/2526-8910.ctoen271035342
Behzadifar, M., Yarahmadi, M., Saran, M., & Behzadifar, M. (2024). Health technology assessment: A key tool for advancing equity in universal health coverage. Health Technology Assessment in Action, 8(2).
Charumbira, MY, Berner, K., & Louw, QA (2021). Research competencies for undergraduate rehabilitation students: a scoping review. African Journal of Health Professions Education, 13(1), 52-58.;Miller et al., 2001)
Dasgupta, A. (2023). Intrusion Of Technology Ushering a New Concept from the Perspective of Promoting Patient-Centered-Care.
Kaelin, V. C., Nilsson, I., & Lindgren, H. (2024). Occupational therapy in the space of artificial intelligence: Ethical considerations and human-centered efforts. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/11038128.2024.2421355
Khalid, U. bint, Naeem, M., Stasolla, F., Syed, M. H., Abbas, M., & Coronato, A. (2024). Impact of AI-Powered Solutions in Rehabilitation Process: Recent Improvements and Future Trends. International Journal of General Medicine, 17, 943–969. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S453903
Kumar, W. (2024). Ethical Horizons in AI Development: Interdisciplinary Perspectives for Responsible Progress (No. 12711). EasyChair.
Mavani, C., Mistry, H. K., Patel, R., & Goswami, A. (2024). A Systematic Review on Data 
Science and Artificial Intelligence Applications in Healthcare Sector. International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication, 12(2), 519-28.
Miller, L. T., Bossers, A. M., Polatajko, H. J., & Hartley, M. (2001). Development of the Competency Based Fieldwork Evaluation (CBFE). Occupational Therapy International, 8(4), 244-262.
Pina, E., Ramos, J., Jorge, H., Váz, P., Silva, J., Wanzeller, C., ... & Martins, P. (2024). Data privacy and ethical considerations in database management. Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, 4(3), 494-517.
Pingili, R. (2025). AI-driven intelligent document processing for healthcare and insurance.
Sali, S., Chai, R., & Ganesan, B. (2025). Recent trends and digital technology applications in lower limb injury rehabilitation. In Digital Technology in Public Health and Rehabilitation Care (pp. 99-124). Academic Press.
Smith, A., & Taylor, R. (2021). AI-enhanced documentation tools: Reducing administrative burden in occupational therapy. Journal of Occupational Therapy Practice, 14(2), 32–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2021.1871234
Ueda, D., Kakinuma, T., Fujita, S., Kamagata, K., Fushimi, Y., Ito, R., ... & Naganawa, S. (2024). Fairness of artificial intelligence in healthcare: review and recommendations. Japanese Journal of Radiology, 42(1), 3-15.

Use of ChatGPT and artificial intelligence (AI) in the Home and Community Health therapy setting

by: Felica Anderson
Category: Leadership Development
Tags
Feb
24
Amanda KUse of ChatGPT and artificial intelligence (AI) in the Home and Community Health therapy setting
Amanda Kotolski, Ph.D., OTR/L
Introduction
 
Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly evolving and is now being used for everything from creating resumes or music lyrics to planning parties, writing code, and helping with travel plans. AI has also integrated itself into the medical and health-related fields, including occupational therapy practice. In occupational therapy (OT), we use assistive technology with prosthetics, splints, alternative and augmentative communication devices, and seating and mobility devices (Cortez, 2023). Therapists use virtual reality (VR) for stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation. The newest form of AI includes open AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. These are "computing systems that are able to engage in human-like processes such as learning, adapting, synthesizing, self-correction, and use of data for complex processing tasks."
 
ChatGPT: An Overview
 
ChatGPT stands for Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer. It is an interactive chatbot that answers questions in a human-like way. It was developed and launched by OpenAI, an artificial intelligence research organization, in late November 2022 (Gadkari, 2023). It became instantly popular, with 1 million users signing up within 5 days (Nguyen, 2022). When asking ChatGPT, "What is ChatGPT?" it responded, "I’m ChatGPT, an AI language model created by OpenAI. I’m here to help with answering questions, providing explanations, brainstorming ideas, writing content, coding, or assisting with various tasks." Regarding occupational therapy, this technology has benefits for both the client and therapist.
 
Benefits of AI in Occupational Therapy
 
Artificial intelligence, primarily open AI programs like ChatGPT, can assist therapists with symptom checking, education on diseases and conditions, medical documentation, clinical decision-making using data, and providing mental health support (Hinge Health, 2023). It assists clients by providing additional information regarding therapists’ recommendations, answering questions about specific diagnoses, symptoms, and treatment plans, providing instructions on how to perform exercises, offering motivational messages and encouragement to help stay on track between appointments, tracking progress by asking questions about symptoms, pain level, and range of motion, and sending reminders to complete exercises and schedule and attend appointments. With all technology, there are pros and cons to using it.
 
Pros and Cons of AI in Therapy
 
Pros include saving time analyzing research and information, efficiency, conversational nature without medical jargon, and potential to encourage clients too shy to seek professional help. However, open AI is not HIPAA compliant, lacks context, and answers may not be applicable to a client’s specific situation. It has vast amounts of information on topics but responses may not be as accurate or comprehensive as those provided by a medical professional. It often cannot cite sources of where information was gathered and will acknowledge its inability to do so, lacks a human touch and cannot provide hands-on experience for learning certain skills, and can provide biased information based on research, and is unable to think outside the box to tailor recommendations to personal situations (Gadkari, 2023; Hinge Health, 2023).
 
Practical Uses for Practitioners
 
For practitioners, ChatGPT has many practical uses. For therapists who do not have immediate colleagues, it can provide a discussion or conversation to brainstorm ideas (Schwartz, 2024). It can adapt and has multiple prompts to help rewrite and edit, generate medical documentation like long- and short-term goals, progress notes, treatment plans, treatment session notes, and discharge summaries, making the therapist more productive. After inputting data about interests and abilities, ChatGPT can suggest appropriate interventions, saving therapist time with treatment planning and increasing client motivation during treatment. While therapists already spend considerable time gathering and creating home exercise programs (HEPs), open AI can develop personalized HEPs instead of recycling programs or photocopying pre-printed worksheets (Cortez, 2023). ChatGPT can also assist with locating the latest information and research for therapists to provide best practice.
 
Impact on Higher Education
 
Open AI also affects higher education, including OT students and faculty. Research shows that ChatGPT use among students can enhance classroom performance through interactive help, self-directed learning, real-time feedback, accessibility, convenience, and flexible learning opportunities (Firat, 2023; Sallam, 2023). ChatGPT can also complete systematic reviews, create data and content, and provide language translation of non-English language-based research, assisting and promoting academic equity and diversity (Lund & Wang, 2023). Open AI does not have unlimited boundaries. Research has found that it often provides inaccurate information, citations, and references, even though it visually looks credible. Content is also limited to data used prior to 2021 due to its data being used in training and development of the coding (Alkaissi & McFarlane, 2023; Khan et al., 2023; Sallam, 2023).
 
Concerns and Challenges
 
Plagiarism, research fraud, academic dishonesty, and copyright issues are major concerns with open AI (Thacker, Mason, & Weir, 2024). Academic dishonesty is a major challenge in higher education. With open AI providing individualized feedback, students can have open AI draft papers and answer open-ended questions without the professor’s knowledge. At this time, plagiarism detectors are unable to determine if assignments were created using ChatGPT since there are no documented sources (Thacker, Mason, & Weir, 2024). If a student only uses ChatGPT for assignments, it will ultimately harm them when it comes to passing state licensure and NBCOT exams since course materials were never truly learned and applied. An apparent example of ChatGPT intelligence is provided by Kung et al. (2023), who found that ChatGPT performed at or near the passing threshold of 60%, approximately at the level of a first-year medical resident, on the United States Medical Licensing Exam. Clear guidelines and consequences of open AI use among higher education courses are critical to prevent academic dishonesty.
 
Conclusion
 
Therapists should embrace the new technology and adapt it to fit their professional needs while using their clinical decision-making and judgment. As Mesko and colleagues (2018) put it, "AI is not meant to replace medical professionals, but the ones using AI will probably replace the ones that don’t."
 
Please like our Facebook HCH SIS page: www.facebook.com/FOTAHomeandCommunityHealthSIS/
 
References
Alkaissi , H., & McFarlane, S. I. (2023). Artificial hallucinations in ChatGPT: Implications in 
scientific writing. Cureus, 15(2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.35179
Firat, M. (2023, January 12). How Chat GPT can transform autodidactic experiences and open 
Gadkari, S. (July 2023). The advent of artificial intelligence: OT and ChatGPT. Retrieved from 
Hinge Health. (May 15, 2023). ChatGPT and Physical Therapy: What You Need to Know. 
Khan, R. A., Jawaid, M., Khan, A. R., & Sajjad, M. (2023). ChatGPT—Reshaping medical 
education and clinical management. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 39, 605–607.https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.39.2.7653
Kung, T. H., Cheatham, M., Medenilla, A., Sillos, C., De Leon, L., Elepaño, C., … Tseng, V. 
(2023). Performance of ChatGPT on USMLE: Potential for AI-assisted medical education using large language models. PLoS Digital Health, 2(2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000198
Lund, B. D., & Wang, T. (2023). Chatting about ChatGPT: How may AI and GPT impact 
academia and libraries? Library Hi Tech News, 40(3), 26–29. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-01-2023-0009
Mesko, B., Hetenyi, G., & Gyorffy, Z. (2018). Will artificial intelligence solve the human 
resource crisis in healthcare? BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3359-4

Nguyen, B. (2022, Dec 5). A new AI chatbot is getting buzz for being able to have intelligent-sounding conversations, write music and even code. Business Insider.https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-new-ai-chatbot-conversation-with-questions-answers-examples-2022-12

Sallam, M. (2023). ChatGPT utility in healthcare education, research, and practice: Systematic review on the promising perspectives and valid concerns. Healthcare 2023, 11, 1–20.http://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11060887


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The Expanding Role of Occupational Therapy: Insights from the Doctoral Entry Level

by: Felica Anderson
Category: SIS Article
Tags
Feb
24
pam kasyanThe Expanding Role of Occupational Therapy: Insights from the Doctoral Entry Level
By Pamela Kasyan-Howe, OTD, OTR/L
The entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) degree marks a transformative advancement in OT education. It enables students to go beyond the basics of becoming an entry-level generalist, focused on reimbursable aspects of the profession, and develop into practitioners with advanced knowledge and skills in a specialized area of their own choosing.
This advanced degree has the potential to enhance the knowledge and skills of occupational therapists to handle the complexities of today's fast paced and changing healthcare system. Current healthcare trends include value-based care, using technology like telehealth, and focusing on personalized medicine. Shifting towards paying healthcare providers based on the quality of patient outcomes, rather than the volume of services, fits well with occupational therapy. 
Value based care is particularly effective for managing individuals with chronic illnesses, which are often more challenging, however, these are the same populations that OT is effective.  However, our traditional approaches focus on intervention at the individual level, and it's important to think about treating chronic illness at a broader levels—such as described in the occupational therapy practice framework (4th ed.) we can treat groups or entire communities, not just individuals (AOTA, 2020).  Exploring our roles at the population level, this is where students in the OTD program can really add value to the field.
Broadening Professional Scope and Enhancing Critical Thinking
Traditionally, occupational therapy has centered on helping individual patients with everyday activities, a focus largely dictated by insurance coverage. This narrow scope often limits therapists' ability to fully address the diverse challenges that individuals may face in their daily lives. The OTD entry point seeks to change this by encouraging students to pursue their unique interests within the field working with groups, populations and communities. This approach not only diversifies the areas of practice beyond those typically covered by insurance but also sets the stage for therapists to open private practices that cater to a broader range of needs.
In the long run, this shift offers OT practitioners the opportunity to provide services that more comprehensively improve public health and wellness, addressing needs that are currently underserved by the existing healthcare models.
Encouraging Innovation Through Capstone Projects
A key component of the OTD curriculum is the capstone, which includes both a hands-on experience (capstone experience) and an individual project (capstone project). This element of the program is designed to spark creativity and innovation, allowing students to explore specific areas of interest under the guidance of experienced professionals and experts.
These projects are tailored to the students' career aspirations and interests, fostering a highly engaging and personalized educational experience. The outcome has the potential to create a generation of occupational therapists who bring new ideas and approaches to solving health and wellness challenges, enhancing the field's overall creativity and problem-solving capacity inside and outside traditional reimbursement models. 
Developing Leadership and Expanding Professional Development
Leadership development is another critical aspect of the OTD program. Students are encouraged to delve into roles that involve advocacy, policy development, and community leadership. These experiences equip them with the skills necessary to effect positive changes in healthcare practices and policies.
The OTD also prepares therapists for roles beyond clinical practice, including in education, administration, and research. These roles are crucial for advancing the profession and ensuring occupational therapy has a prominent voice in the health sector.
Supporting Research and Building Evidence
The OTD entry point aligns with the AOTA’s research agenda to encourage studies that fill the existing knowledge gaps about the effectiveness of OT services for a broad scope of populations. This alignment encourages exploration and research to address the current gaps in knowledge about the effectiveness of OT services across a broad range of populations. Such focused efforts are crucial for enhancing the educational framework and deepening our understanding of the impact of the doctoral capstone to provide OT services. 
Although OT capstone projects do not have to be focused soley on research, the requirement to disseminate the outcomes of the OTD student project will contribute to the publication of services OT’s can provide in relation to student projects such as program development, education, leadership, or management.  Over time, dissemination of student capstone projects will build a repository that can be captured in a larger scale to provide evidence of position outcome from ot interventions. 
Conclusion
The OTD degree is reshaping the field of occupational therapy by expanding its scope is reality versus in theory, fostering innovation, and reinforcing the importance of leadership and advocacy. This advanced approach ensures that occupational therapists are better equipped to address the evolving needs of the population, ultimately leading to a more effective and responsive healthcare system. As research continues to highlight the value of the OTD pathway, it is clear that this level of training is crucial for the ongoing growth and success of the profession in improving quality of life for individuals and communities alike.
References
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2018). Occupational therapy Education Research Agenda—Revised. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72(Suppl. 2), 7212420070. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2018.72S218

Volunteering As a Work-Related Occupation: A Case Study

by: Felica Anderson
Category: SIS Article
Tags
Dec
09
Katie reginaVolunteering As a Work-Related Occupation: A Case Study
 
Regina Bonynge, OTR/L 
Katie Hart, OTR/L

Volunteering makes us feel good. However, what is the science behind it? A recent study has validated the benefits of volunteering, notably, reduced mortality, increased quality of life improved and social supports (Nichol et al., 2023). The benefits of volunteering are not predisposed to those who come into it with higher levels of happiness. On the contrary, research shows that those with lower reported happiness levels reap more benefits from volunteering (Binder & Freytag, 2013). 

As occupational therapists, how can we leverage the power of volunteering to support our clients on their journey? Volunteering creates a safe place for many to “try out” a work environment and safely address their deficits in a controlled environment (space, schedule, time, tasks, etc). This article includes a case study of Lisa and her recovery from a stroke, using volunteering as a steppingstone to support return to work skills. 

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OT’s Role in Firefighter Mental Health

by: Felica Anderson
Category: Membership Blog
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May
09

Alyssa garciaOT’s Role in Firefighter Mental Health

Alyssa M. Garcia, OTD, OTR/L

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Secondary stroke prevention: an occupational therapy program

by: Katie Lynch
Category: SIS Article
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Jul
13

     In the United States, a stroke occurs approximately 800,000 individuals annually, accounting for a large population of severe long-term disabilities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021). In the United States, 25% of all strokes, approximately 610,000, occur among those individuals who have already had a previous stroke, raising the risks of long-term disability (CDC, 2021). NORD (2020) reports stroke recurrence leads to poorer functional outcomes, quality of life, and increased incidence of mortality. Stroke recurrence affects a large population, so reducing secondary stroke is essential to reduce mortality and disability risks.

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Revamping our fieldwork teaching approaches for "zillennials"

by: Katie Lynch
Category: Membership Blog
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Jul
02

      Have you ever spoken to fieldwork students and felt like it went in one ear and out the other? Well maybe because it has. Let’s take a step back and consider it from the student’s learning perspective; it is not due to their unwillingness to learn. Most universities have adopted an adult learning style to meet the learning needs of students from younger generations, however, fieldwork educators may continue to use the same teaching strategies from previous generations. As these students’ learning styles have evolved, we cannot continue to propose the same teaching styles we used 15, 10, or even 5 years ago. As occupational therapists, we adapt our therapeutic use of self to meet the individual needs of our clients. Fieldwork educators must also adjust our therapeutic use of self to enhance our interactions with fieldwork students for their learning experience.

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FOCUS Quarterly Deadline Approaching

by: Janine Silvaroli
Category: Membership Blog
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Feb
22
FOCUS quarterly
FOCUS QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER DEADLINE IS MARCH 15

FOTA Boosts Quarterly Publication 

In a persistent move towards meeting the needs of its membership and readers, FOCUS, the official publication of the Florida Occupational Therapy Association (FOTA) has been renamed The FOCUS Quarterly.  The Author’s Guidelines have been adapted to include formal review of submitted materials, and inclusion of a variety of opportunities for the novice and seasoned writers in the community of occupational therapy and collaborating partners.  

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Social Disengagement and Isolation During a Global Pandemic: Occupational Therapy Strategies for You and Your Client

by: Anjali K. Parti, OTD, OTR/L Mental Health Special Interest Section FOTA
Category: uncategorized
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Aug
19

Social Disengagement and Isolation During a Global Pandemic: Occupational Therapy Strategies for You and Your Client 

by: Anjali K. Parti, OTD, OTR/L
Mental Health Special Interest Section FOTA

As you are all aware, the United States along with the global community is experiencing a period of social isolation, disengagement, social distancing, heightened public health precautions, and an overall sense of change in ‘normal’ due to a novel strain of the Coronavirus, COVID-19. Several countries are experiencing new social realities and limitations in order to prevent retrieving or spreading the virus. All Americans are encouraged to self-quarantine and limit exposure to gatherings or environments of a quantity of 10 or less people and implement 6-foot distance between one another. In short, Americans are discouraged from leaving their homes if possible. This is a significant societal shift which can yield many challenges to routine, personal and professional growth, emotional regulation, wellness, mental health, coping strategies stemming from a general feeling of ‘cabin fever’.

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The Role of Occupational Therapy: Providing Care in a Pandemic

by: Janine Silvaroli
Category: PRESIDENTIAL BLOG
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Mar
24

From AOTA

The Role of Occupational Therapy: Providing Care in a Pandemic

This is an unprecedented time in health care that is evolving every day. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, many organizations and occupational therapy practitioners are struggling with the question, “what is the appropriate role of occupational therapy during a pandemic?” Guidance from federal agencies is continually shared as the status of the pandemic within the United States is evolving on a daily basis. AOTA urges occupational therapy practitioners to continue to check guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the most up-to-date information. More

Musings on Oxytocin in Things We Do and Those We Care about Abstract

by: Carrasco, R.C., D'amico, M., Yetman, K.
Category: SIS Article
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Nov
07

Musings on Oxytocin in Things We Do and Those We Care about

Abstract

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Practitioners: Let's Go Ahead and Complain about Medicaid in Florida

by: Brent Cheyne
Category: PRESIDENTIAL BLOG
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May
20

Invitation to Take Action and Send in Concerns

FOTA representatives had a sit-down question-and-answer session with Florida Medicaid officials in March of 2018. I called in by phone. We had several questions about Medicaid policies regarding both pediatric and adult care issues. After all was said and done, the most striking comment we had to take away from our informative and respectful meeting was this:

“We just haven’t had many complaints about Occupational Therapy and Medicaid….you need to encourage your clients and practitioners to contact Medicaid to raise their concerns. When we have more complaints filed, we can look at our policies and consider what changes need to be made.”

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child mental health awareness day

by: Brent Cheyne
Category: PRESIDENTIAL BLOG
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May
10

Celebrating National Children's Mental Health Day: May 10th, 2018

 Join the FOTA leadership and membership in acknowledging National Children's Mental Health Day, May 10th, 2018. In service of our FOTA vision to be the respected authority on occupational therapy’s contribution to health and well-being in Florida, we have assembled a humble offering of clinician's resources and supportive information for OTs from across the state to use in service to children's mental health. Our Ad Hoc Committee on School Mental Health is developing further programming to offer to our members in the future, and we are developing policy statements to share with our advocacy team and our Florida legislators. 

FOTA believes in the potential for OT practitioners to impact child well being and provide new and innovative programs to meet the needs of our students in schools across Florida. We believe in the preventative model, nurturing social and emotional learning, and skills for emotional regulation, social skills, and collaborative learning -- all through occupation-based activities. Please take time today, and everyday to nurture the wellness of children in your life and in your practice. See our resources below --an assemblage that is still a work in development.  Take Care!

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