Published on: 07/11/22
This year’s Occupational Therapy Week runs from 7-13 November, with the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) launching a new campaign called ‘Lift Up Your Everyday’.
The nation’s health is being impacted by crisis after crisis, from the pandemic to the worsening economic situation. RCOT explains that access to GPs and hospital appointments are hard to come by.
RCOT states: “Occupational therapists help people to help themselves… to overcome challenges, such as completing everyday tasks or activities. However, not everyone is able to access this support. All areas of health and social care are experiencing increased demand which is expected to rise.”
85% OTs surveyed reported an increase in number of people seeking children’s services.1
‘Lift Up Your Everyday’ is about giving people the knowledge to make changes that will have a positive impact on their lives – it’s always easier with a little help from an expert.
We asked occupational therapists at The Children’s Trust to share their top life hacks.
Accessing everyday occupations
Ella’s hack - some of the children and young people we support need to use alternative access methods to complete daily tasks, such as using switches to access food mixers for cooking, hair dryers for drying your hair and fans when it's hot in the summer. This hack can enable children and young people to access everyday tasks independently.
Ask an occupational therapist or a member of the assistive technology team to help you if you need support with how best to set something up. It is important to mount the switch to enable the children and young people to access these occupations independently.
Environmental checklists
Mandie’s hack - It is important for us to understand the impact of the environment on children's access to learning; sometimes having an environmental checklist can help children and young people to engage in their learning at school.
This can be simple things, such as turning out lights or closing blinds, limiting noise and people coming into and out of the classroom, as well as limiting the amount of physical prompts you are giving a child or young person to enable them to access their learning in the best way possible.
Sleep
Chloe’s hack - simple things can help make going off to sleep easier and maintaining sleep better. These can include not using phones, playing computer games, or watching TV thirty minutes before you go to bed.
Using relaxation techniques such as guided mediation or progressive muscle relaxation. Certain smells like lavender can help with wind down time before bed too. It is important to maintain good ‘sleep hygiene’.
Click here to get involved with this year’s OT week and share your life hacks.
Find out more about how occupational therapists can support children and young people with brain injury here.
