Occupational Therapy and ASL
- Marian Santiago-Galarza
- Nov 7, 2021
- 3 min read
This is the site that talks about the need for implementing ASL within Occupational Therapy or bringing attention to the need of working with Deaf individuals when trying to provide them therapy. #ASLandOT
With bring an Occupational Therapist (OT) you interact with a variety of patients from a variety of ethnicity, disabilities, and more and with that you have to try your best in incorporating their needs in the practice to provide the best care possible.
Summary of Occupational Therapist
Note that an Occupational therapist’s goal is to work with individuals who are in need of rehabilitation or to help them to adjust and be able to be as independent as possible with their disability. Some disabilities that they work with are those of Autism, developmental delay, permanent disabilities and more.
With being an Occupational Therapist you have to work with a variety of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, such as ethnicity, race, religion, and disability.
Impact of Deaf community within OT
A community that may need an OT is the Deaf community. The Deaf community are those who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing or are experiencing hearing loss. It is a thing to note that within the Deaf community that it has been increasing. This is due to a variety of reasons: Baby boomers becoming old, newborns who are born Deaf, and those who are working in conditions with a chance of hearing loss, and more.
In fact, the WHO stated that by 2050 there will be about 2.5 billion people who will have some form of hearing loss and 700 million people will need rehabilitation.
More information about this can be found here:
With the rise of those within the Deaf community, it is important to provide services for them which include interpreters, translators, oral transliteration and more. It also brings the importance of those within the healthcare community to try and incorporate the Deaf people and community by learning sign language as well as easier communication methods between them and technology to be able to communicate more effectively and efficiently with them.
A video by Disability Rights CA shows an example of this through different methods in use in a demonstration:
Why OT should incorporate ASL
One of the main things that should be incorporated within Occupational Therapy is learning ASL to be able to communicate with clients and although they can use a interpreter it would also be beneficial for the therapist to learn it as well.
It is important to work with the individuals from a variety of backgrounds especially since there is an increase in the need for OT as well not only for the Deaf community but other communities as well. This is due to the fact that people are getting older, people who are disabled are living longer due to technological advances, and people become disabled through day to day life activities.
In fact OT have been an increase within the healthcare field as well. The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that Occupational Therapist have a 17% increase in job outlook and estimated 10,100 job opening each year for the next decade. As well as there already being 131,600 job openings for those in 2020.
More can be found in the link below:
Overall, it is important to adapt and grow from the changes that have been happening in the healthcare field. One way that Occupational Therapists can do that is to work hand in hand with some of the important communities that they work with and try to incorporate inclusiveness and allow them to be able to get the best care they need and one way of doing that is learning ASL for those of the Deaf community.
A summary of this can be found in the video below:
Summary
Although there are services and other options that can be used for those who are Deaf and dont have a ASL speaking Occupational Therapist, this type of change even small should start to be embedded within the curriculum. Not only for Occupational Therapist, but for other healthcare workers to learn and understand ASL in some form and with it can be a great stepping stone in working with those with disabilities and creating a better healthcare experience and inclusiveness within the healthcare community. If we start with something as simple as learning a new language to help those that we meet in the future, it can also help create more inclusiveness outside the healthcare field not only for the Deaf community, but for other communities as well.
More Resources that talk about the benefits of Occupational Therapy in the hearing community
https://www.hearandsay.com.au/the-importance-of-occupational-therapy/
Here is another website that talks about the benefits of Occupational Therapy within the world of Deaf or Hard of Hearing. It also talks about what an Occupational Therapist can be used for within the hearing community.
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