HOW DO WE HELP YOU?
When you are suffering from an illness, disability or injury, or when you simply require Occupational Therapy care without waiting for an appointment, we are the provider you need. Our team of BAOT registered Therapists are equipped to handle a comprehensive range of conditions.
​
​You can be assured – we have a commitment to excellence when it comes to the level of care we provide, so please get in touch and book a FREE 15 Minute Telephone appointment with Engage Occupational Therapy.
ASSESSMENT
One of Engage Occupational Therapy’s Occupational Therapists will come to your home or business to complete a full OT assessment of your abilities. This assessment will include discussing your own abilities and difficulties, and asking you to demonstrate some of the activities that you find hard i.e. getting up from you chair, going up the stairs, putting your socks on etc.
The Occupational Therapist may also complete further assessments in order to fully understand your problem.
Assessments will usually cover:
-
Your own ability to move, including your co-ordination, balance and stability skills
-
The movement, dexterity, manipulation skills, and strength of your hands (Fine Motor Skills)
-
How your brain interprets what you can see (Visual Perception)
-
How you sit, and whether improving you seated position will reduce pain, increase comfort or help you to achieve greater independence
-
The techniques that you or other people use to assist your movements; for example standing from your chair, moving from a wheelchair to another seat or the bed, or getting in or out of the bath. (Manual Handling Methods)
-
Other issues that may be contributing to your problems for example your home environment, or your memory skills
The Occupational Therapist may observe you completing an everyday activity or they may use standardised assessment tests to identify why you have difficulties, and the best way to help you.
ADAPTATIONS & EQUIPMENT
There is a wide range of special or adaptive equipment available to help you retain or regain your independence. Specialist equipment has been designed to assist in all aspects of daily living including bathing, dressing, cooking, moving, working and completing leisure activities.
An Engage Occupational Therapy Occupational Therapist can assess the activity that you are finding difficult and identify the most suitable equipment for your needs. In most instances it will be possible to arrange for you to try the equipment before you purchase it.
Most homes and business premises were not built to make life easier for people who have reduced movement, or who experience pain. Many buildings have steps at the front door, curved stairways, small bathrooms and standard fixtures.
There are many ways to change a building so that it works with you, rather than against you. The Occupational Therapist will identify individual modifications that fit with your style or decor, and which will not only meet your immediate needs but will provide you with a long term solution. We are particularly skilled at finding solutions which are homely, rather than medical in appearance.
Some adaptations are quite small, for example installation of an extra banister, a rail, or a half step. Others involve redesign of the entire building, for example to enable full wheelchair access within a property.
If you decide to progress with a large or small modification we can give advice to your own builder or architect.
When major adaptations are required, the local authority has a duty to assess your needs and advise on eligibility for a Disabled Facilities Grant to contribute towards the cost. An Occupational Therapy assessment is completed to establish the need for adaptations and they can be accessed through the local authority social services department, or privately. Prior to the undertaking of a private assessment contact will be made with your local council to ensure private occupational therapy assessment reports are accepted in your DFG application.
“A Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a local council grant to help towards the cost of adapting your home to enable you to continue to live there. A grant is paid when the council considers that changes are necessary to meet your needs, and that the work is reasonable and practical”. (www.direct.gov.uk) Disabled Facilities Grants are means tested grants and a financial assessment will need to be carried out by your local council to establish whether you are eligible.
Minor and major adaptations and equipment will be recommended throughout interventions as required.