BSc OT; OT Reg.SK
Occupational Therapist
400 Saskatchewan Ave.W.
(Outook town office building)
Box 133
Outlook, SK. S0L2N0
Phone (306) 867-4578
Toll Free Fax (866)882-1346
ot@ableliving.ca
www.ableliving.ca
Kirsti Haugen is a registered member of:
• Saskatchewan Society of Occupational Therapists
• Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists
• Canadian Association of Hand Therapists
Able Living Occupational Therapy
is a private practice. Fee for service is billed to the client. Application and refund from person medical insurance is the responsibility of the client.
"Occupations" are the activities in our lives that are important to us. Our occupations include *self care tasks* (ie. dressing, bathing, eating, mobility), *leisure activities* (ie. social groups, hobbies, sports), and *productivity* (ie. school, volunteer work, employment, homemaking).
When a person’s activities of daily living or ‘occupations’ are affected by a disability, an injury or illness, the quality and enjoyment of life is affected.
An Occupational Therapist helps a client identify specific strengths and challenges in their ability to do activities, determine personal goals and then use therapeutic activity and/or intervention to relearn, improve or maintain the skills needed for those daily tasks. This may involve a change in how the task is done, modifications to the environment, use of adaptive or specialized equipment or use of outside resources.
Some examples of how clients use Occupational Therapy services:
• After a stroke affecting the functional use of his left arm, a man learns how to dress himself in a different way, learns tricks to cut his meat, and learns exercises to improve use of his affected arm
• A 16 year old girl with paraplegia would like to be independent with her mobility. She learns about the different options for light weight w/c's that will suit her needs. She learns how to get in and out of the w/c herself, how to protect her skin on vulnerable areas, and how to access places such as school, stores and public washrooms.
• An elderly gentleman has become more unstable on his feet. He is fitted with a walker that meets his needs. An assessment of his home is done to improve his safety in his own environment. Throw rugs are removed to decrease his risk of falls, wall bars are put up in his shower and a raised toilet seat put on his toilet.
• A lady spends 6 to 7 hours a day in front of a computer at her job. She is experiencing neck and shoulder discomfort and headaches. An assessment of her work environment and job tasks is done to determine if improvements can be made. It is suggested that she move the location of her computer screen, use a document holder, adjust the height on her chair, and move her telephone to the other side of her desk.
• A young man had surgery on his left finger following a sports injury.
After the surgery his finger is very tender, swollen and stiff. He has regular hand therapy, a splint is custom made for him and a functional plan for the increase use of his hand is determined.
• An elderly woman enjoys going downtown to get her mail daily but finds it too difficult to walk that distance anymore. She is assessed for the use of a scooter.