Activities for
Occupational Therapists

An occupational therapist is able to provide assistance to people who are unable to help themselves around as a result of aging, sickness, or a subsisting physical disability. There are many activities that the therapist can engage their clients in.

Outdoor Activities for Seniors: A change of environment proves to be vital to clients’ well being and as such, they are encouraged to include outdoor visits and events, in order to ward off depression and have fresh memories that enliven them.

In accordance with a clients physical abilities, a fun activity Occupational Therapists can do is take their clients to the park. At the park clients can enjoy a walk and the fresh air, this alone can increase wellbeing. But there are many other activities that can be done outdoors, like puzzles, low stress games involving balloons, gardening, and getting lunch somewhere new.

Seniors can get a lot of joy from feeding the birds or local wildlife, there are pigeons at almost all parks! The occupational therapist and the client can take turns to toss grains at these birds and over the course of an hour or two, you can be sure this will be eventful.

Arts & Craft with Seniors: Making a craft can be done inside a nursing facility, in the garden, or even with a client at their bed. The objective is to have the client exercise their cognitive abilities, from physical hand movements to stimulating creative thoughts. Your presence as an occupational therapist will be the motivation for the craft work, and this can take the shape of knitting, sculpting or drawing, and again, always ask the client what they like doing, what they have done before, and work around them.

Go Shopping for Gift Ideas: Here is a unique outdoor activity idea: take your clients out shopping, an event in itself, and have them help you buy the craft materials they will use to make presents for their loved ones! Handmade homemade gifts are the most touching to give and to receive. Go to the mall, explore the stores. Go to the local markets. Or even make a plan a few days earlier with your clients to give them something to look forward to later in the week.

The client might end up being driven by the occupational therapist to the shopping venue or arrange for some means of transport to get there, like a Taxi.