Friends of ASCCA: Windsor Shares About Occupational Therapy Month

April is not only awareness month for autism but also Occupational Therapy Month as well. We have it in April to recognize and honor both occupational therapists and their assistants. Occupational Therapy Month was started in 1980, and during the entire month people try to educate everyone on the importance of occupational therapy.

Occupational therapy is all about helping people improve their ability to do daily tasks, such as brushing their teeth, washing their face, getting dressed, etc., and living as independently as possible. It’s focused on helping you accomplish all your routine tasks and do your favorite activities safely as well.

The history of occupational therapy is interesting. The roots of the profession of occupational therapy date back to 100 B.C., which is when people started using activities to treat mental and emotional disorders at the time. We can thank William Rush Dunton Jr. as the founder of occupational therapy. However, the occupational therapy that we know today has been around since 1917.

While occupational therapy does not have an official awareness color, some people say it is teal because the color is often associated with the profession in some occupational therapy communities.

Many people at Camp ASCCA use occupational therapy for their special needs. There are ways to make occupational therapy fun as well, such as turning some exercises into a game or coming up with small goals to achieve. Some small goals would be to move something such as your fingers, wrist, or arm.

There are some arm exercise machines, often called an upper body ergometer, that you can find at gyms. However, you can have them at home to help with your hand and arm as well. There are some bike machines designed for the legs, but you can also use them for your hands, and that is what I do at home. I have an under-desk bicycle pedal that I use on a table for my arms.

I started with occupational therapy immediately after my brain surgery. Once I got home, I continued therapy. As you may recall, I have the full use of only my right arm and hand, and I am very limited in the use of my left side. As a result, I had to learn how to do things with just one arm, such as putting on a jacket; the left arm always goes first.

During my occupational therapy, we played all sorts of games that required the use of my left hand. They were simple games, such as having something on the therapist’s shoulder that I had to remove with my left hand. This gradually advanced to having something on my shoulder that I had to remove with my left hand. Over time the item would be placed even higher so my reach would increase.

In another activity, I had to stack cones in certain patterns to help strengthen my grasp. Turning door knobs helped my wrist. There were also various simple exercises that focused on strengthening my muscles and encouraging range of motion.

Thanks to occupational therapy, I can really enjoy the pond games and archery at Camp ASCCA.

I wish I could go back and thank my original occupational therapists at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham and Baptist East in Montgomery. I remember them fondly. They made occupational therapy lots of fun for my 11-year-old self. Thank you to all occupational therapists for all you do for us!