AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Wanted: Occupational Therapist

It may differ slightly from state to state and even from hospital to hospital, but generally Physical Therapists do Range of Motion (ROM) exercises and ambulatory exercises to increase muscle strength, flexability and patient stamina. Depending on the disease process, i.e. Respiratory conditions, they will also monitor patients oxygen consumption and saturation levels.

Occupational Therapist teach and assist patients with re-learning activities of daily life (ADL) such as eating, dressing, bathing, etc. These may or may not be assissted with medical devices geared to certain medical conditions. Sometimes special eating utensils or aids for bathing or dressing will be introduced.

Some patients will require the services of both physical therapists and occupational therapists. There is also Speech Therapy which is a whole other field.

In some facilities physical therapists are also responsible for doing dressing changes and wound care. Some hospitals actually have wound care departments/clinics that operate on an out patient basis.

I agree the two fields are very different in their modalities but Susan may be right about the child needing PT vs. OT at this point in time. Family interaction and participation can help the child learn to play again and re-develop motor skills.

It sounds like this child has a very close knit family that is making every effort to aquire the best care for him.

Best of luck to your family,
Tammy

Although I am not an occupational therapist, I am a mother of two children who have received both OT and PT during infancy. My
youngest child Haley had a bleed in the middle cerebral artery of her right brain that destroyed her parietal and occipital lobes at birth. (nearly 50%) Within in a few weeks of the bleed, she started receiving occupational therapy. OT works to retrain the brain and helps establish pathways and reroute around the damage. Several months later, she started receiving physical therapy to handle the physical aspects of her cerebral palsy. OT in infancy is particulary effective because of the neuroplasticity of the youngster's brain. Today she is a beautiful happy 9 year old. She has a modest IQ and "mild" cerebral palsy, but has far exceeded her original prognosis of possible "vegetative state". I am currently an Occupational Therapy Student and while I admit, I am not the expert, I've witnessed the power of "early intervention". I think long term OT and PT will be very necessary if Herb's child is to reach his potential, but in my experience, the sooner he receives help, the better off he will be. I am only drawing from my own experiences and the knowledge of my therapists. Thanks everyone for your interest. I'll keep posting until I find someone! Thanks again for the info Mayatravel. I will be contacting Harold.

[This message has been edited by Teenah (edited 09-02-2002).]

Bless you Teenah.