One of many observations for April is Occupational Therapy Month.

Guthrie County Hospital Occupational Therapist Rory Johnston says that a common misconception that people have about the field ties to the word “occupational,” causing them to think it is something that’s related to jobs or work. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that occupational therapy is actually used to help people get back to doing things that are important to them, or that are more every day based, and gives an example of that.

“We complete an initial evaluation or assessment. And during that we talk about what’s an obstacle for you to being able to do what’s important to you. So it could be, for example, that say you broke your wrist and you’d like to be able to golf again by golf league. So we may really focus on getting the motion and strength back in that wrist.”

Johnston mentions that occupational therapy works on more fine motor skills, problem solving, and adapting to do certain tasks with an injury or development issue. He adds that you should always get a recommendation from your physician on if you need therapy for an injury.