Occupational
Therapy Services
The occupational therapist at OSD is responsible for providing occupational
therapy services to students with disabilities who are enrolled at Edinboro
University. Occupational therapy
services are provided to maximize the level of independence reached by each
student throughout their college career.
The Life Skills
Center at Edinboro
University provides a setting where
the occupational therapist can work with students on independent living skills
and education. The Life Skills
Center is equipped with educational
materials along with a variety of adaptive equipment for students to use. The
setting is designed to help the occupational therapist work on the transition
of students from their home to a University setting and from the University to
living and working in the community. To promote independence the occupational
therapist works with the students in a number of areas including physical
functioning, social and psychological adjustment, assistive technology and
adaptive equipment, and education on different aspects of independent living.
The occupational therapist works with students to maintain their top level
of physical functioning based on their particular disability. Maintaining
physical function may include upper extremity exercise and range of motion,
proper positioning and mobility aides, fabrication of splints and assistive
devices, and promoting increased activity levels. The occupational therapist
supervises both the meal aide program and the academic aide program. Both of
these programs employ students to assist the students with disabilities with
physical activities such as reaching books on the library shelves. These two
programs allow the occupational therapist to continuously monitor the physical
functioning of students in both an academic situation and a social situation
like the cafeteria.
Often new students to the University have great difficulty adjusting to the
new environment and their new level of independence. The occupational therapist
conducts interviews with prospective students and their parents to educate
students about OSD services and how to use these services. Students are
educated on how to use the personal care system and how to work with attendants
and other students. As students progress through Edinboro
University the occupational
therapist addresses areas such as accessible housing, transportation, job site
adaptations and integration into the community. The occupational therapist
coordinates on site visits and testing by a representative of the Civil Service
to assist students with job placement.
The area of assistive technology and adaptive equipment is an important area
for the occupational therapist at Edinboro
University. The occupational
therapist works closely with the coordinator of the Assistive Technology
Program to provide students with state of the art equipment to maximize their
level of independence at school and in a work environment. The occupational
therapist provides evaluations and completes prescriptions for wheelchairs, custom
seating, environmental controls, bathroom equipment, ADL equipment, writing and
typing aides, and accessibility modifications. The occupational therapist works
closely with vendors on assistive technology prescriptions. The occupational
therapist also evaluates students to integrate wheelchair control with computer
access and environmental control access.
Throughout the students career at Edinboro
University the occupational
therapist serves as a resource for students. The role of the occupational
therapist is to help students to become educated consumers regarding the
equipment that they use and the community agencies and resources that are
available. The occupational therapist teaches students how to manage aspects of
their life such as personal care, using public transportation, finding
accessible housing, setting up an accessible work station, and taking care of
their equipment.
RN to BSN Program
