The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) asserts that occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, through the use of occupations and activities, facilitate clients’ cognitive functioning to enhance occupational performance, self-efficacy, participation, and perceived quality of life. Cognitive processes are integral to effective performance across the broad range of daily occupations such as work, educational pursuits, home management, and play and leisure. Cognition plays an integral role in human development and in the ability to learn, retain, and use new information to enable occupational performance across the lifespan.
This statement defines the role of occupational therapy in evaluating and addressing cognitive functioning to help clients maintain and improve occupational performance. The intended primary audience is practitioners1 within the profession of occupational therapy. The statement also may be used to inform recipients of occupational therapy services, practitioners in other disciplines, and the wider community regarding occupational therapy theory and methods and to articulate the expertise of occupational therapy practitioners in addressing cognition and challenges in adapting to cognitive dysfunction.
Standardized tests are often used to assess the cognitive status of individuals who have sustained traumatic brain injuries. However, recent research indicates that these evaluation tools are not always reliable measures of cognitive function. This is particularly evident when assessing executive functions. This article illustrates the use of a work simulation model within a therapeutic setting. Described are two individuals with traumatic brain injury, both physicians, who exhibited high level cognitive deficits during formal testing and little insight into their problem areas. Specific components of the work simulations are explained as well as outcomes and applications of this diagnostic technique.
Date Presented 03/26/20
Concussion can cause changes in emotion and functioning. Symptoms, whether resolving in a few days or persisting for months, can disrupt academic life, causing disengagement or poor performance. Lingering symptoms, impact on quality of life and academics, and coping strategies utilized by students in the management of concussion will be identified. The potential role of OT faculty as consultants to the Office of Disabilities for environmental adaptations to optimize engagement is discussed.
Primary Author and Speaker: Elizabeth Wescott
Additional Authors and Speakers: Salvador Bondoc
Contributing Authors: Barbara Nadeau, Emily Czaja, Anna DeSimone, Alexandra Goldstein, Brittney Gravel, Megan Hayward, Noelle Johnson, Melissa Ricciuto, Katelyn Santos
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