7th October 2020
Own Correspondent
Occupational Therapy solutions officially opened its doors to stakeholders over the weekend to provide people across their lifespan with skills sets required in recreational and other activities by empowering children with disabilities to participate in school situations as well as helping people recover from injury to regain skills and capacitating older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes.
“Occupational therapy services may include comprehensive evaluations of the clients home and other environments(eg. Workplace, school) recommendations for adaptive equipment and training in its use and guidance and education for family members and caregivers. Occupational therapy practitioners have a holistic perspective, in which the focus is on adapting the environment to fit the person and the person is an integral part of the therapy team,” said Tauya Simbanegavi, Director and Occupational Therapist for Meribah Occupational Solutions.
He said, “We have partnered with various pre schools so as to identify children with learning challenges including handwriting, social behaviours and cognitive functions among others. This allows for early identification and intervention in our loved pre-scholars. We also carry out parent and teacher training workshops, so as to raise awareness about disability as well as handling techniques at home and school for children with disabilities.”
According to Meribah Occupational Therapy solutions many childhood disabilities are discovered later in life mostly due to lack of knowledge on how to identify difficulties especially in children, with most of them being identified when children start going to pre-school.
It is also observed that knowledge of occupational therapy is very low amongst very low amongst health professionals, social workers, education officers among others leading to a delay in referral process and eventually to a reduced success with regard to certain disabilities and disabling conditions.
For children, their main jobs are playing, learning and completing daily self-care activities. Sometimes these jobs are interrupted by motor, sensory processing, attentional, emotional, behavioural or cognitive barriers.
An occupational therapist can evaluate a child’s skills and recommend the necessary steps and activities for helping them reach age appropriate levels for play, social interactions, school performances and daily activities.
Simbanegavi, said “We have partnered with local health insurance or medical aid services providers to ensure that clients in need of early occupational therapy service provision do so as timely as possible with less concerns about the financial implications.”
Occupational therapists help children with basic skills like writing letters, copying a, grasping a writing instrument, sensory integration, fine motor skills, gross motor skills and feeding themselves.
A recent client incurred debilitating injuries after a car accident and is now on the road to recovery.
Thato Bolotsang, said “I have done 2 sessions of occupational therapy. They are working with me to do things myself like dressing, bathing and swimming exercises.”
She said, “I got a spinal cord injury in a car accident in February 2018. I am now using walking frame since February 2020. I am working hard on my recovery.
Conditions benefitting from occupational therapy include autism, neurological conditions, mental health concerns, amputations, cancer, leukemia, genetic disorder, arthritis and traumatic brain injuries.
The reintegration of people with serious injuries into normal life is not easy. Societal stereotypes do not make things any easier with institutions not geared towards integrating them into their systems.
“I work part time. It is very difficult because there are not a lot of opportunities. It looks like it will be very good. I have been to other therapists but I feel like this one will help me get a lot better. Their service is superior,” said Bolotsang.
