Author: Dominique Hewat B.OT
Have you heard of Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy is a person-centred health profession focused on helping people participate in the activities of their everyday lives. Importantly, “occupation” focuses on how people occupy their time, not limited only to paid work or employment (WFOT 2024).
In Occupational Therapy, activities of everyday life include all the things you need to do, want to do, or are expected to do. Some examples may include getting dressed, preparing meals, managing your energy across the day, parenting, studying, working, socialising, or accessing your community.
Occupational Therapists work with people to understand what helps or gets in the way of these activities. This includes looking at a person’s strengths, challenges, health, routines, environments, and supports. Once barriers are identified, an Occupational Therapist supports collaborative problem-solving it find practical, realistic ways to reduce those barriers and increase participation.
Everyone has strengths and challenges that affect their ability to do everyday activities. When those challenges start to significantly impact daily life, an Occupational Therapist may be able to help.
What does an Occupational Therapist actually do?
Occupational Therapists are trained to look at the whole person in their context, not just a diagnosis or a single difficulty. They consider how a person, their environment, and the activity itself interact.
An Occupational Therapist may help you explore:
- Personal Factorssuch as strengths, skills, health conditions, sensory needs, fatigue, emotional wellbeing, or executive functioning.
- Environmental factors including your home, workplace, school, community spaces, social environments, and whether these support or hinder participation.
- Task demandsthe specific requirements of an activity from a physical, cognitive, emotional or social perspective.
- The interactions between all these elements and how small changes can make big differences.
For example, difficulty preparing meals may not be about motivation or effort. It could be related more to factors like fatigue, pain, sensory overload, memory demands, sequencing, planning, time pressures, strength, coordination, the physical layout of the kitchen… and generally it is a combination of factors.
How can Occupational Therapy help in everyday life?
Once challenges are identified, an Occupational Therapist works with you to develop a plan that supports participation in ways that align with your goals, preferences, and daily life.
This often includes one or more of the following approaches:
Skill development
Supporting you to learn new skills or adapt existing ones so activities feel more manageable.
Examples may include:
- Developing strategies to manage fatigue or conserve energy across the day.
- Learning ways to organise tasks when attention or executive functioning is impacted.
- Re-learning daily activities following illness or injury.
This can also include education or training for family members, carers, or support people.
Environmental adaptation
Changing aspects of the environment to reduce barriers and improve participation.
Examples may include:
- Modifying all or part of a home layout to reduce physical strain.
- Adjusting lighting, noise, or sensory inputs.
- Creating visuals supports, refining routines, or determining reminders.
- Adapting a workspace to better support focus and comfort.
Aids, equipment, and assistive technology
Using tools or supports that make activities easier, safer, or possible.
Examples may include:
- Food preparation equipment to help increase the ease of kitchen tasks, with reduced load onto the hand.
- Shower stool to support safety and conserve energy while showering, or long handled sponges to support reaching.
- Communication supports that help organise ideas that need to be communicated, in a way that requires reduced effort.
- Digital tools such as reminder apps or to do lists.
Assistance animals are one form of assistive technology, used when appropriate, which is often when other lower-intensity support options are not sufficient or suitable.
… and Assistance Animals?
Under Australian legislation, an Assistance Animal is a trained support designed to facilitate participation for people with disability across personal and public life (AHRC, 2024).
Many people are familiar with Dog Guides (commonly referred to as Guide Dogs and Seeing-Eye Dogs) who provide navigation and orientation to individuals who are blind or vision impaired. However, Assistance Animals can support a wide range of needs, including medical alert, mobility assistance, psychiatric support, and task prompting. They may include different species, breeds, and training approaches depending on the role they perform. For example, a Blue and Yellow Tailed Macaw detecting changes in blood sugar, or a Border Collie providing mobility and psychological support.
How can an Occupational Therapist support in the Assistance Animal Process?
Occupational Therapists bring a functional, real-world perspective to the consideration of Assistance Animals, helping ensure the support genuinely improves participation and quality of life in the ways intended.
Exploring reasonable alternatives
Selecting, training, and maintaining an Assistance Animal is time-intensive and costly, an Occupational Therapist can help explore if other support may meet your needs more effectively or with less strain. This includes considering lifestyle, daily routines, capacity to care for an animal, and predicted long-term sustainability.
Understanding functional impacts
Through functional assessment, an Occupational Therapist can work with you to identify how disability or health-related challenges affect daily activities, and whether tasks performed by an Assistance Animal are likely to meaningfully reduce those barriers. This process helps ensure that any support chosen is likely to offer the greatest benefit
Considering a match for the right type of Assistance Animal
Occupational Therapists can help as part of the team in the consideration process practical factors such as:
- Animal size and physical demands
- Grooming, exercise, and care requirements
- Home environment and access to outdoor space
- What happens if the animal becomes unwell, injured, or needs to retire
For example, some individuals may benefit from a larger animal for mobility support, while others may need an option that is lower maintenance, with low energy levels and more likely to fit within their daily life.
Supporting training and implementation
Training an Assistance Animal is a significant undertaking, particularly for people already navigating the challenges associated with disability or chronic health conditions. An Occupational Therapist can help determine whether self-training, working with a trainer, or applying for a pre-trained animal will be the best fit for the circumstances. They can also liaise with trainers or organisations to ensure approaches align with the individual’s needs and increase the likelihood of success in the short-, medium- and long-term.
More than paperwork
As you can see, Occupational Therapists can be involved in supporting far more than just completing reports or funding paperwork! They help people make sense of challenges, identify meaningful goals, and find practical, sustainable ways to participate more fully in everyday life.
Where can I find an Occupational Therapist?
Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA) is the peak body for the profession of Occupational Therapy in Australia (WFOT 2024). You can visit OTA at www.otaus.com.au to find a suitable OT.
The Working Animals Federation of Australia is also in the process of developing a nationally accredited course and credential for Occupational Therapists who wish to upskill in this area. They will be listed at www.workinganimals.com.au in the future.
Disclaimer: Please note the above article is intended for general information only and does not constitute advice or guidance for your specific situation. Always consult with a qualified (and where relevant registered) professional for personalised guidance related to your or your animal’s requirements.
References.
World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). (2024). About Occupational Therapy. Last accessed 10/11/2024 at https://wfot.org/about/about-occupational-therapy
Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). (2024). Assistance Animals and the DDA. Last accessed 10/11/2024 at https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/disability-rights/projects/assistance-animals-and-disability-discrimination-act-1992-cth
About the Author: Dominique Hewat is a dedicated Occupational Therapist with over 10 years of experience in disability and mental health services, focusing on empowering neurodivergent individuals to engage meaningfully in their daily lives. Her approach combines Occupational Therapy principles with coaching, designed to help clients navigate their unique strengths and challenges in ways that align with their values. Dominique’s practice is distinguished by her commitment to inclusivity, affirming support for diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and fostering an environment where clients feel safe to express their true selves. Through trauma-responsive, strengths-based approaches, Dominique partners with clients to set personalised goals that promote wellbeing, autonomy, and a sense of purpose. Her additional training in mindfulness, nature-facilitated therapy, and Occupational Performance Coaching enriches her practice, making her a trusted guide for individuals seeking meaningful participation in life. To learn more about Dom and her Assistance Animal Aurora visit her business page at https://discoverwe.com.au