What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy professionals work with people to help them participate in the things they need to do, want to do, and are expected to do. This can include play, participation in daily routines, or self-help tasks; things that help people learn and develop life skills, be creative, derive joy, and thrive; activities that support health, well-being, and development as an individual.

Occupational therapy is inherently a collaborative process with the client, parent/caregiver, and the therapist working together to identify and meet the needs of clients experiencing disability, delays or challenges. 

Skilled evaluation of the client's motor skills, sensory systems, environments, and the impact of disability, illness, and impairment can help determine the client's individual level of development, learning, self-help and overall occupational performance. 

Occupational therapists use a wholistic perspective to determine goal directed, client specific treatment plans. We specialize in activity analysis and modification for maximal participation as is appropriate for each client. Occupational therapists identify and modify or compensate for barriers that interfere with or restrict functional performance. Occupational therapy's goal is to help participants achieve their maximal level of functionality.

At Interwoven Occupational Therapy we are dedicated to using established and empirically backed occupational therapy evaluation and intervention procedures to optimize the social, emotional, and cognitive development of each participant.

Evaluation

A comprehensive evaluation is important to developing a plan of care. We take our time at Interwoven and strive to understand the entire clinical picture. Through a combination of standardized testing, screening, and skilled clinical observations the therapist works to identify what we call "foundational deficits." These are the underlaying skills - the building blocks - that allow for age-appropriate participation in activities of daily living. Some examples of the areas we look at are: 

• Dexterity

• Visual motor skills

• Emotional regulation

• Sensory processing

• Coordination

• Strength

• Executive Function

Through breaking the client's difficulties down into these most basic skill types we are able to target treatment activities to work on a specific foundational skill. The goal is to then generalize the newly acquired skills to the client's daily routines. 

Interwoven Occupational Therapy takes a strength-based approach to evaluations. Identifying strengths is essential to completing a whole clinical picture. Knowing where a client is comfortable and confident helps with choosing and modifying treatment activities, so they are a "just right challenge."

After completing the comprehensive evaluation, the clinician writes a formal evaluation report. This is a roadmap to the treatment plan at Interwoven. It summarizes the client's strengths and areas of need, and it includes specific and measurable goals to gage progress in therapy. It is important that the goals are relevant to the client and meaningful to them and their family.

It is best practice to re-evaluate clients every six months to make sure the roadmap we are following continues to be pertinent and appropriate. 

Treatment Planning

Treatment plans revolve around animal caretaking activities with chickens, horses, guinea pigs, and rabbits. Each session necessitates choosing and tailoring activities to focus on the foundational skill deficits specific to each client. Activities need to be modified and adapted so that they can be engaging yet challenging to the client.  We call this a "just-right challenge."

Treatment is continued for as long as it is appropriate. The frequency and duration of visits can vary greatly based on the client's needs, progress, and motivation. As occupational therapy is a skilled intervention, it is not intended to be a perpetual time or financial burden on the family or client. While lifelong visits may be appropriate, the goal of occupational therapy is discharging to an appropriate community-based setting where the client can actively participate in meaningful occupations.

Fees

Interwoven Occupational Therapy is a fee-for-service practice. We do not bill insurance companies at this time. 

We offer a sliding scale, please get in touch to discuss the details.