The Occupational Therapy Department focuses on training patients with physical, mental, and learning disabilities to stimulate activities of daily living through various activities, which, in turn, stimulate the brain and nerve system. The Department’s well-experienced occupational therapists with professional licenses, who have been continuously trained in health promotion to keep improving treatment quality, also rely on their special techniques in helping adjust the environment and develop accessories so that patients can properly perform various activities in their daily lives.
Occupational therapy treatment program
- Hand function training program –
The program aims to promote and restore the ability of small hand muscles impaired by diseases, and practice controlling movement correlations and increase muscle power with a variety of tools including Rejoyce workstation, Biometrics E-LINK, Tyrostation.
- Swallowing screening test and training program –
This program is for people with difficulty swallowing such as patients with stroke, head and neck cancer, dementia patients, and pediatric patients with difficulty feeding and swallowing. It begins with assessment and testing of swallowing ability, assessment of types of food and drinks suiting the patient's abilities, training on special swallowing techniques, recommending proper posture while swallowing, and muscle exercises. Tools used in stimulating swallowing muscles include VitalStim therapy and Rephagia system with biofeedback.
- Perceptual-cognitive test and training program
This program provides evaluation through on standardized assessment forms and provide treatment through activities specifically developed and designed for an individual's problems, including restorative approaches to retrain memory, thinking and decision-making abilities using games and computer programs, and compensatory approaches where routine activities are applied to daily activities.
- Developmental screening test and training program –
This program provides activities to stimulate sensory integration together with treatment in the Snoezelen room to improve efficiency. The Snoezelen room provides multisensory stimulating environment to enhance the six important basic senses: vision, hearing, smell, touch, balance, and the perception of ligaments, bones, and joints. It helps children feel calm, relaxed, and aware of learning and concentrate better. The developmental screening test: Denver 2 (Thai edition) is also available. Plans are also designed to promote age-appropriate development in all aspects for children, whether they have developmental delays, physical disabilities, Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), or Down's syndrome. Also available are assessment and training to prepare children for school including skills in taking care of themselves, in doing daily activities, and in using small muscles. For example, children may be trained how to properly hold a pen or a pencil when writing.
- Activities for Daily Living Training
This training program is available for all age groups. Evaluation and recommendations can be made regarding modifications of home and environmental conditions to suit the patient's abilities. Consultation can be provided regarding caution and ADL techniques for those patients having undergone knee or joint replacement surgery.
- Splint design and fabrication -
Splints are designed and fabricated to support injured joints and muscles to give them some rest. Accessories are used in adjusting posture and supporting hand function. Some may be modified or fabricated to facilitate activities of daily living such as spoons and forks and tooth brushes with handles with extra grip.