Job description accepted by the American Occupational Therapy Association Representative Assembly in 1981*:
"Occupational therapy is the use of purposeful activity with individuals who are limited by physical injury or illness, psychosocial dysfunction, developmental or learning disabilities, poverty and cultural differences or the aging process, in order to maximize independence, prevent disability, and maintain health. The practice encompasses evaluation, treatment, and consultations. Specific occupational therapy services include teaching daily living skills; developing perceptual motor skills and sensory integrative functioning; developing play skills and prevocational and leisure capacities; designing, fabricating or applying selecting orthotic and prosthetic devices or selective adaptive equipment; using specifically designed crafts and exercises to enhance functional performance; administering and interpreting tests such as manual muscle testing and range of motion; and adapting environments for the handicapped. These services are provided individually, in groups, or through social systems."
* provided by Opportunities in Occupational Therapy Careers by Zona R. Weeks
"Occupational therapy is the use of purposeful activity with individuals who are limited by physical injury or illness, psychosocial dysfunction, developmental or learning disabilities, poverty and cultural differences or the aging process, in order to maximize independence, prevent disability, and maintain health. The practice encompasses evaluation, treatment, and consultations. Specific occupational therapy services include teaching daily living skills; developing perceptual motor skills and sensory integrative functioning; developing play skills and prevocational and leisure capacities; designing, fabricating or applying selecting orthotic and prosthetic devices or selective adaptive equipment; using specifically designed crafts and exercises to enhance functional performance; administering and interpreting tests such as manual muscle testing and range of motion; and adapting environments for the handicapped. These services are provided individually, in groups, or through social systems."
* provided by Opportunities in Occupational Therapy Careers by Zona R. Weeks