Does Occupational Therapy Practitioners Use A Frame Of Reference?
In this paper, we are going to be comparing two frames of references. A frame of reference is defined as a guideline of practice based on theory (Sladyk, & Ryan, 2015, p. 73). Occupational Therapy Practitioners use the frame of reference (FOR) to identify theories that are relevant to treatment, which then provides a guideline for therapists to use when assessing the patients and providing treatment. A theory is defined as ideas or beliefs that one assumes to be true. For one to choose the correct frame of reference, they must be familiar with the model. A model is defined as theoretical concepts used to guide practice in a specific arena (Sladyk & Ryan, 2015, p. 72). This paper will be comparing the similarities and differences of the cognitive
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rehabilitation and the rehabilitation FOR.
Assumptions are beliefs that one believes to be true and can be proven true once it has been tested. Assumptions are made when explaining frames of references for one to assume that it will work as a treatment for a specific deficit. For example, if you are working with a patient who has no range of motion in their left upper extremity, then you would most likely choose the frame of reference known as biomechanical. One assumption for biomechanical FOR, is that therapist should engage their patient in a purposeful activity to remediate loss of range of motion, strength, and endurance (Sladyk & Ryan, 2015, p. 74). Another part of the theoretical assumption is that once the patient regains their range of motion, strength, and endurance, then they will use these skills to regain their everyday life functions.
The first frame of reference that we are going to discuss is the rehabilitation frame of reference. Rehabilitation is when you help to restore one’s health after an injury or illness. The rehabilitation FOR helps an individual gain independence by engaging in tasks that are part of their activities of daily living (ADLs). Occupational therapists provide rehabilitation to help remove barriers that the client may face. For example, if you have a patient who has had a spinal cord injury and they are in a wheelchair, then a therapist may work on performing some of their everyday tasks from their wheelchair for them to be able to go home and live independently. Although you cannot change the deficit, rehabilitation helps to compensate for the deficit by using equipment, and finding other ways perform a task. An example of a task that one may learn through rehabilitation would be transferring from a wheelchair to their bed or learning to walk with a walker.
The next FOR we are going to discuss is the cognitive rehabilitation FOR.
This FOR helps to rehabilitate thinking skills and help patients who have a cognitive impairment to adapt or overcome limitations. For example, someone with a brain injury who has lost function of one side of their body may have trouble performing an ADL such as tying their shoes. Therefore, one may have to think about the steps to learn a new way to perform that ADL. Once the patient achieves the task at their level, they are then able to seek more difficult tasks, such as cooking or washing clothes, that help to send them on their way to live independently. The cognitive rehabilitation FOR helps patients to use information and work on thinking skills to think of new ways to perform their ADLs due to barriers and …show more content…
limitations.
The rehabilitation FOR and the cognitive rehabilitation FOR are similar in many ways. Both FORs require some form of thought process to think and learn new ways to perform ADLs, due to the deficits that a patient might be facing. For example, the rehabilitation FOR uses emotional and cognitive skills to learn ways to compensate for their deficits. While the cognitive rehabilitation FOR uses thinking skills to think of a new thought process on how to perform tasks step by step so that the patient can achieve the task. The indicators of function and dysfunction, also known as evaluation, for both FORs want to make sure that ADLs are being performed at a functional and safe level for the patient. For one to reach independence for the rehabilitation FOR, they must use their cognitive skills to think of ways to perform their ADLs due to their deficits. Similarly, for one to reach independence for the cognitive rehabilitation FOR, they must be able to think of different ways to use equipment to achieve their task.
Although both rehabilitation and cognitive rehabilitation FOR have many similarities, they also have differences.
Rehabilitation FOR focuses on working with patients on movements by using activities with equipment for rehab, while the cognitive rehabilitation FOR focuses more on the cognitive thought process and working with the patient on their thought process. This is so that the patient can think and use the information that they know to perform ADLs when there may be barriers or limitations. For example, when using the rehabilitation FOR, you may see a therapist doing an activity with the patient that involves helping them learn to get around in a wheelchair. Whereas in the cognitive rehabilitation FOR, you may see a therapist working with the patient on ways to think of a new process on how to achieve tasks from a
wheelchair.
Frank was admitted to a rehabilitation hospital and was diagnosed with right cerebrovascular accident (CVA) of the internal carotid artery with left neglect (Halloran & Lowenstein, 2015, p.36). Due to Frank’s injury, he suffers from many deficits that involve both his thought process and his capability of performing activities of daily living. Therefore, both rehabilitation FOR and cognitive rehabilitation FOR are appropriate to use in Frank’s case. For example, they observed that Frank has cognitive deficits such as poor attention span, insight, judgment, and safety awareness (Halloran & Lowenstein, 2015, p. 36). Frank continues to have trouble moving around and continuously runs into things. Cognitive rehabilitation FOR would be appropriate to use to treat these deficits to help Frank make a better judgment or recall from memory where things that he continuously runs into are located. Cognitive rehabilitation FOR would also be useful in helping Frank, due to him having right-left confusion as well as profound left neglect. The therapist can use this FOR to help train Frank on strategies and think of different ways to perform certain tasks that interfere with his right-left confusion and profound left neglect.
Rehabilitation FOR is appropriate to use because Frank has many issues with his ADLs. For example, Frank has trouble walking with his walker and requires assistance due to his poor balance. Therefore, the therapist can have Frank perform certain activities to help Frank achieve better balance, therefore allowing him to eventually walk with his walker with no assistance. By using the rehabilitation FOR to help treat Frank, the therapist can provide safety education as well as modifications to help assist Frank when it comes to using his walker and making transfers. Frank also does not use his left side, so he is unable to retrieve things from the left side of the sink. This FOR can be used to help Frank make modifications and adapt to using only his right side to retrieve things he needs from both, his left and right side.
It is extremely important that OT practitioners base their approach to client treatment on a frame of reference because, depending on the injury that the patient has, depends on the type of treatment that they will need. Without a FOR, you may apply treatment to something that is not there to address. For example, someone like Frank who is having trouble with his ADLs would not need treatment in psychodynamic, because he is not having the issues that the specific FOR addresses. Therefore, it would be an ineffective treatment for Frank if he was doing treatments in an area that was not needed. A practitioner will want to make sure that each treatment is client-centered because you do not want to work on skills that the client may not use, such as cooking skills if the client is not the one who cooks at home.
Frames of Reference are used to recognize theories that are relevant to treatment. There are many FORs that you can use together to treat injuries, but there are also FORs that are not useful to use due to the patient not having an issue with that area. Due to the specific injuries that a patient may develop, the therapist will need to pick the correct Frame of Reference or References to help provide effective treatments.
rehabilitation and the rehabilitation FOR.
Assumptions are beliefs that one believes to be true and can be proven true once it has been tested. Assumptions are made when explaining frames of references for one to assume that it will work as a treatment for a specific deficit. For example, if you are working with a patient who has no range of motion in their left upper extremity, then you would most likely choose the frame of reference known as biomechanical. One assumption for biomechanical FOR, is that therapist should engage their patient in a purposeful activity to remediate loss of range of motion, strength, and endurance (Sladyk & Ryan, 2015, p. 74). Another part of the theoretical assumption is that once the patient regains their range of motion, strength, and endurance, then they will use these skills to regain their everyday life functions.
The first frame of reference that we are going to discuss is the rehabilitation frame of reference. Rehabilitation is when you help to restore one’s health after an injury or illness. The rehabilitation FOR helps an individual gain independence by engaging in tasks that are part of their activities of daily living (ADLs). Occupational therapists provide rehabilitation to help remove barriers that the client may face. For example, if you have a patient who has had a spinal cord injury and they are in a wheelchair, then a therapist may work on performing some of their everyday tasks from their wheelchair for them to be able to go home and live independently. Although you cannot change the deficit, rehabilitation helps to compensate for the deficit by using equipment, and finding other ways perform a task. An example of a task that one may learn through rehabilitation would be transferring from a wheelchair to their bed or learning to walk with a walker.
The next FOR we are going to discuss is the cognitive rehabilitation FOR.
This FOR helps to rehabilitate thinking skills and help patients who have a cognitive impairment to adapt or overcome limitations. For example, someone with a brain injury who has lost function of one side of their body may have trouble performing an ADL such as tying their shoes. Therefore, one may have to think about the steps to learn a new way to perform that ADL. Once the patient achieves the task at their level, they are then able to seek more difficult tasks, such as cooking or washing clothes, that help to send them on their way to live independently. The cognitive rehabilitation FOR helps patients to use information and work on thinking skills to think of new ways to perform their ADLs due to barriers and …show more content…
limitations.
The rehabilitation FOR and the cognitive rehabilitation FOR are similar in many ways. Both FORs require some form of thought process to think and learn new ways to perform ADLs, due to the deficits that a patient might be facing. For example, the rehabilitation FOR uses emotional and cognitive skills to learn ways to compensate for their deficits. While the cognitive rehabilitation FOR uses thinking skills to think of a new thought process on how to perform tasks step by step so that the patient can achieve the task. The indicators of function and dysfunction, also known as evaluation, for both FORs want to make sure that ADLs are being performed at a functional and safe level for the patient. For one to reach independence for the rehabilitation FOR, they must use their cognitive skills to think of ways to perform their ADLs due to their deficits. Similarly, for one to reach independence for the cognitive rehabilitation FOR, they must be able to think of different ways to use equipment to achieve their task.
Although both rehabilitation and cognitive rehabilitation FOR have many similarities, they also have differences.
Rehabilitation FOR focuses on working with patients on movements by using activities with equipment for rehab, while the cognitive rehabilitation FOR focuses more on the cognitive thought process and working with the patient on their thought process. This is so that the patient can think and use the information that they know to perform ADLs when there may be barriers or limitations. For example, when using the rehabilitation FOR, you may see a therapist doing an activity with the patient that involves helping them learn to get around in a wheelchair. Whereas in the cognitive rehabilitation FOR, you may see a therapist working with the patient on ways to think of a new process on how to achieve tasks from a
wheelchair.
Frank was admitted to a rehabilitation hospital and was diagnosed with right cerebrovascular accident (CVA) of the internal carotid artery with left neglect (Halloran & Lowenstein, 2015, p.36). Due to Frank’s injury, he suffers from many deficits that involve both his thought process and his capability of performing activities of daily living. Therefore, both rehabilitation FOR and cognitive rehabilitation FOR are appropriate to use in Frank’s case. For example, they observed that Frank has cognitive deficits such as poor attention span, insight, judgment, and safety awareness (Halloran & Lowenstein, 2015, p. 36). Frank continues to have trouble moving around and continuously runs into things. Cognitive rehabilitation FOR would be appropriate to use to treat these deficits to help Frank make a better judgment or recall from memory where things that he continuously runs into are located. Cognitive rehabilitation FOR would also be useful in helping Frank, due to him having right-left confusion as well as profound left neglect. The therapist can use this FOR to help train Frank on strategies and think of different ways to perform certain tasks that interfere with his right-left confusion and profound left neglect.
Rehabilitation FOR is appropriate to use because Frank has many issues with his ADLs. For example, Frank has trouble walking with his walker and requires assistance due to his poor balance. Therefore, the therapist can have Frank perform certain activities to help Frank achieve better balance, therefore allowing him to eventually walk with his walker with no assistance. By using the rehabilitation FOR to help treat Frank, the therapist can provide safety education as well as modifications to help assist Frank when it comes to using his walker and making transfers. Frank also does not use his left side, so he is unable to retrieve things from the left side of the sink. This FOR can be used to help Frank make modifications and adapt to using only his right side to retrieve things he needs from both, his left and right side.
It is extremely important that OT practitioners base their approach to client treatment on a frame of reference because, depending on the injury that the patient has, depends on the type of treatment that they will need. Without a FOR, you may apply treatment to something that is not there to address. For example, someone like Frank who is having trouble with his ADLs would not need treatment in psychodynamic, because he is not having the issues that the specific FOR addresses. Therefore, it would be an ineffective treatment for Frank if he was doing treatments in an area that was not needed. A practitioner will want to make sure that each treatment is client-centered because you do not want to work on skills that the client may not use, such as cooking skills if the client is not the one who cooks at home.
Frames of Reference are used to recognize theories that are relevant to treatment. There are many FORs that you can use together to treat injuries, but there are also FORs that are not useful to use due to the patient not having an issue with that area. Due to the specific injuries that a patient may develop, the therapist will need to pick the correct Frame of Reference or References to help provide effective treatments.