Blog

What is Occupational Therapy & Why Is it beneficial for Seniors

by Elizabeth Brophy, OT | FOX Rehabilitation

In April we celebrate Occupational Therapy Month and we wanted to take this opportunity to learn a little bit more about what Occupational Therapy is and why it is beneficial for seniors. To help us answer these questions we’ve invited Occupational Therapist, Elizabeth Brophy, OT SLC Lead Clinician from FOX Rehabilitation to contribute to our blog as a guest writer. Liz graduated from the University of Maine with an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology and then got her Masters Degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Southern Maine.

Liz has been an Occupational Therapist for almost 10 years and has been with FOX Rehabilitation since they first came to Maine in 2022.

Northbridge partners with FOX Rehabilitation in Maine and Massachusetts bringing Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy into our communities.

In her blog, Liz goes over the benefits of Occupational Therapy for Seniors, signs it might be time for Occupational Therapy and what a typical Occupational Therapy Session looks like in Senior Living.

One of the most common questions I get when I tell people I’m an Occupational Therapist is, what does an Occupational Therapist do?

Over the years, as I’ve answered the question for many different people, I’ve developed a bit of an elevator pitch that keeps it simple – I’m a creative problem solver that helps people to be able to complete their daily activities more safely and more easily.

Of course there is a lot more to it than that. Occupational Therapy is a holistic, evidence-based profession that focuses on enabling participation in daily life, helping people function better when they have an illness, disability or injury and focuses on helping people to complete the activities that are meaningful and important to them.

It’s that last part that really drew me into becoming an Occupational Therapist. I had an undergraduate degree in psychology and loved learning about how people think and function and it was a great lead into my graduate program in Occupational Therapy. I love that a big part of my job is finding what is most important to an individual client and focusing on enabling them to participate in those meaningful activities.

I have spent my whole career working with seniors both in long term care and in senior living facilities and have developed a love for working with the population, I have a special passion for working with residents in a memory care facility like Avita of Stroudwater.

In my blog, I’ll touch on why Occupational Therapy is beneficial for seniors and also what the process looks like from thinking mom or dad might need help to seeing the improvements and what makes our partnership with Northbridge unique.

Why is Occupational Therapy beneficial for seniors:

As part of the natural aging process, people lose strength and some level of memory decline tends to happen, and people are often more prone to injuries and illnesses – all of this affects how a person is able to function in daily life. This can lead to increased difficulty performing necessary daily activities as well as  a sense of role loss, Occupational Therapy is a great way to help seniors keep doing things that are meaningful and important to them.

Other benefits include:

• Reduce Fall Risk – FOX Rehab is part of the Falls Prevention Program at Northbridge and as part of that program we do a routine screening when a resident moves in, anytime there is a fall, and every six months. This screening includes: looking for any new difficulties the resident is experiencing, standardized balance tests like the timed up and go, and the 5 time sit to stand. Tests like this give us a good idea of leg strength and potential fall risk.
• Transition to an Assisted Living Facility – if mom or dad are moving into an assisted living facility, either from home, or from a rehab or skilled nursing facility, the change in environment may lead to confusion. Occupational Therapy can be so valuable in helping to reestablish roles and find things that they enjoy doing with their time in a new setting and getting set up in a way that they know how to navigate their new environment. One great thing about Occupational Therapy is that we work with family members and the facility to get an idea of what the new residents routine was like day to day prior to moving in to get a good idea of what we are aiming to simulate or finding aspects of that routine to build into their new routine at the assisted living facility. We want to do as much as we can to make things familiar so it is more comfortable and less scary of a transition so that they’re able to be as safe and independent as possible. A big part of my job is finding what strategies, set ups and cues work for each individual client and sharing that information with the family and care staff.
• Support Aging in Place – this is for clients who choose to stay at home and also those living at an assisted living facility. Occupational Therapy can support aging in place by modifying things in the home or assisted living apartment and recommending equipment to allow people to get around more safely and easily.
• Finding Community Resources –  we work to make sure the needs of our clients are met, sometimes this means recommending outside resources that aid in what the client needs.

You may be wondering, what should I be looking for to decide if Occupational Therapy is needed for my mom or dad? People are pre-programmed to not want to do things that are challenging for them throughout life, but especially as you age. If it starts to require a lot more energy to do something, we might not feel it’s as important to do everyday, like changing our clothes or showering.

Here are a few signs that it might be time to consider Occupational Therapy:

1. Falls
2. Trouble getting through morning routine
3. Repeating clothes or mixing up clean/dirty clothes often
4. Decrease in showering/ appearing more disheveled
5. Expressing a fear of falling
6. Changes in memory
7. Difficulty getting out of a chair that is commonly used
8. Complaints of pain that impacts daily activities

If you start to notice any of the above signs, it might be time to get in contact with a physician to get a referral.

So you decide to start Occupational Therapy, now what?

There is no such thing as a typical session for our clients because every client has individualized goals and things that are important to them. Since I work with residents in traditional assisted living and memory care, let’s talk about the goals we are typically working toward and how they differ in both settings.

Memory Care: most clients in memory care have goals around self care skills. This means a lot of times I try to see clients when they’re first starting their routine in the morning. We go through getting out of bed, getting washed up, and getting dressed with a focus on adapting the environment or the task to and finding strategies to make it easier for the client. Shower safety is a big one with memory care. Sometimes it’s getting equipment in place to make it easier to balance and manage things in the shower, or cues like setting the shower temperature. If I’m not working on self-care skills we do a lot of exercise and balance work, trying to build in as much functional activity as possible, like making their bed, picking up their room or organizing their closet to make things easier to find. I also work with staff a lot on recommending the best approaches, setup, or cueing techniques for the individual client.

Traditional Assisted Living: these sessions are a bit more structured, clients know that I’m coming and we have a plan for what we are working on. Self-care skills are built in but more of the session is focused on higher level balance and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living.

A typical session will last anywhere from 30-60 minutes depending on the client and what our goals are. I usually meet with clients 2-3 times a week for around 4-6 weeks as an average course of treatment but it’s very individualized depending on their needs and sometimes what their insurance allows.

One thing I love about working with seniors is how much fun they are, with so many of them you can get pretty far with a sense of humor and a genuine interest in their lives.

I think that most people have a basic grasp on what we do as Occupational Therapists but sometimes it looks a lot more simple then it is. We work on cognitive skills, balance, endurance, so many different things at the same time. There is so much fundamental knowledge that you need to provide these treatments.

My hope after reading this blog is that if you already knew a little something about Occupational Therapy, that you learned more about why it is beneficial for seniors. If you had no idea what Occupational Therapy was, I  hope I was able to open your mind to the benefits of my profession. Want to know the best part? Next time you meet an Occupational Therapist, your first question won’t have to be – so what does an Occupational Therapist do?

Liz works at Northbridge communities, Stroudwater Lodge and Avita of Stroudwater meeting with residents to provide Occupational Therapy services.

To learn more about FOX Rehabilitation be sure to check out their website – foxrehab.org.

To learn more about the partnership a Northbridge Community near you has with FOX Rehabilitation, click here to find a Northbridge community near you and connect with one of our helpful Sales Directors!

We’re here to answer any of your questions, please contact us if we can provide further information or if you would like to schedule a personalized tour.