Occupational Therapy exercises

While shadowing at Casa Colina I was able to observe different exercises and techniques OTs use to help patients function more independently. As well as ways patients could help themselves function better.

The first types of exercises I witnessed in the facilities were memory and scanning exercises
An OT student was working with a patient using a variety of felt shapes and a black felt background; there was a set for the OT and the patient. The OT student had the patient memorize a sequence of shapes of different colors within a certain amount of time. After counting the sequence was covered and the patient had to replicate the sequence using their set of felt shapes. This exercises was to work on the patients memory abilities which is suppose to help the patient remember the physical appearance of things or people [like a persons face].
My mentor had a different patient do a scanning and memory exercise designed to help the patient with those skills. She had set up number cards 1-10 in a room on the walls, non-numerically. The patient was instructed to go in the room and find all the numbers numerically, while being timed. The scanning and memory skills is important because it is needed when you're trying to find something, like your keys, wallet, etc.

The way my aunt explained the difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy is that physical therapy focuses more of getting a part of the body to start moving properly again whereas in occupational therapy everything has a function. An example is that a physical therapist will have a patient lift there arm 20 times until they have no problem doing it, while an occupational therapist will have a patient use that arm to reach for something or clutch on something.
My mentor was working with a patient who had trouble raising his arm who was kind of slouched/ hunched over. She analyzed the patients posture and had them sit up straight and raise their arm. When the patient did it this time, they were able to raise it all the way. As "homework" she had them try to sit up more straight which is a way patients could help themselves.