THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITIES
AN INTRODUCTION
[LECTURE: 5&6]
“To provide an activity to pass time or to exercise a
limb is not very difficult, but to enable an individual
to engage in an activity that has purpose and meaning
for her or him and which will assist in the
development of performance skills is the highest art
of the Occupational Therapist”.
Therapeutic activities
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It involves using functional activities to improve
functional performance in
progressive
manner.
 These activities can be purposeful or nonpurposeful.
Intrinsic value of Therapeutic Activities
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Activities- both the process of doing them and their
end product have value at many different levels. Values
of an activity:
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Learning tools- develop skills
Structure time
Productive- meet needs of being purposeful and
creative
Allow expression and exploration of feelings
Stimulation and activation
Play, pleasure and social interaction and connection
Knowledge, competence and mastery
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Occupation and Purposeful Activity
The term Occupation and Purposeful activities used
interchangeably, the
commission
on
practice
discriminated between two; it defines Occupation as active
participation in self maintenance, work, leisure and play
and defined Purposeful activity as goal directed behaviors or
tasks that comprise occupations (AOTA, 1993)
Core Concepts:
Elements of
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Occupation
Personally experienced and goal directed
Reflects culture and cultural values
Provides meaning
Involves multiple tasks
Provides organization and structure to
living
Meets needs of the individual and others in
the social world
Fills time
Uses abilities and skills
May have a physical and/or mental
component
Is recognized by the culture
Provides pleasure and enjoyment
Contributes to family and broader
community
Contributes to health and well-being
Aligns with development of the individual
Purposeful Activity
 Small units of behavior
 Use of objects
 Action
 May or may not produce an object
 Goal directed
 Required for development, maturation and
use of sensory -perceptual, motor, social,
psychological, and intellectual functions
Purposeful and Non-purposeful Activity
A purposeful activity is the activity has an autonomous or
inherent goal beyond the motor functions required to
perform the task, conversely non-purposeful activity has
been defined as activity in which there is no inherent
goal other than the motor function used to perform the
activity.
Purposeful activity has both inherent as well as
therapeutic goals.
Pic.1: non-purposeful activity; shoulder wheel
Pic.2: Purposeful activity: Straw cutting activity
Pic.1: Wall mounted Finger ladder, Pic.2: Wall painting
Pic.1: Inclined Sanding Activity, Pic.2: Window Cleaning
Pic1/:Wood sanding, Pic.2: Tabletop cleaning, Pic.3: Ironing, Pic.4:
Horizontal sanding activity
Pic.1: Static Cycle, Pic.2: Pedo Cycle
Cycling: Purposeful Activity
Objectives of the therapeutic activity
Purposeful activities are used to or adopted to one or more of the
following objectives:
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To develop or maintain strength, endurance, tolerance, range of
motion and coordination.
To practice and use voluntary, automatic movements in goal
directed tasks
To provide for purposeful use of general exercise to affected parts
To explore vocational potential or trained in work skills
To improve sensation, perception and cognition
To improve socialization skills and enhance emotional growth and
development
Characteristics of therapeutic activities
Activities selected fir the therapeutic purpose should have following
characteristics:
 Be goal directed
 Have some meaning to the patient to meet individuals needs in
relation to social roles
 Requires the mental and physical participation of the patient
 Be designated to prevent or reverse dysfunction
 Develop skills to enhance performance in life roles
 Relate to the patient’s interest
 Be adaptable, gradable and age appropriate
 Be selected through knowledge and professional judgment of the
Occupational therapist in concert with the patient.
Activity Adaptation:
To adapt an activity means to modify it and it
involves changing the changing the components
that are required to complete the task.
Adaptations are made to allow the patient to
experience success in task accomplishment at
his/her level of functioning.
Activity Gradation:
Grading an activity refers to the process of
performance being viewed step by step in a
continuum that progress from simple to complex.