What assistance do occupational therapists provide in fitting assistive devices?

There are different phases in the use of assistive devices. The first step is to determine needs: Are there any motor deficits that can no longer be compensated for by the patient’s own body? What restrictions in everyday life and range of action result from the motor deficit and how can an assistive device help to overcome this deficit? Occupational therapists already play an important role in this clarification of needs. The deficits are identified by patients themselves, by doctors, but also by occupational therapists as part of their therapy or through separate appointments that serve to explicitly determine needs. In a second phase of the provision of aids, the necessary aid (e.g. a power wheelchair) is adapted to the patient’s individual body and needs.

Fitting and testing is predominantly carried out by assistive technology providers. Occupational therapists are important members of the medical supply retailer’s team, particularly in the case of suppliers of aids for complex care (e.g. medical supply retailers for power wheelchairs, special controls and environmental controls), and carry out the adaptation of the aid (e.g. individual adaptation of the wheelchair control to the patient or programming of special controls according to the user’s needs).

Occupational therapists can also provide support in fitting aids independently of medical supply stores. The occupational therapy unit can be used to instruct, correct and practice the use of aids. This helps to overcome patients’ uncertainties when fitting aids, correct application errors and reduce the risks that can arise from incorrect use of the aid. For example, the use of a power wheelchair can be restricted by psychological barriers, but also by unresolved technical issues. Occupational therapists can provide important assistance in clarifying these open questions directly or after consultation with medical supply stores.

Another challenge in the provision of assistive technology is the adaptation of assistive technology to changing needs. Occupational therapists – alongside doctors and assistive technology providers – have the role of recognizing the changed needs and adapting the assistive technology to the changed deficits through their continuous monitoring of the disease process. In the case of technical aids, for example, it is necessary to contact a medical supply store to arrange for the device settings to be changed (e.g. reprogramming of the special control of a power wheelchair in the event of reduced movement patterns) or the re-supply of an aid. Occupational therapists can play an important supporting role in all matters relating to the provision of assistive devices.