They may design and make special equipment for disabled individuals and recommend changes in the home or work environment to facilitate functioning. Computer-aided adaptive equipment offers the prospect of independence to some severely disabled persons. Occupational therapists often work with rehabilitation engineers to develop such special equipment. Examples are microprocessing devices that permit paraplegic and quadriplegic patients to communicate while confined to a wheelchair or bed, help paraplegics walk, and enable quadriplegics to operate telephones and television sets. As such devices move out of the research and development stage, occupational therapists are involved in helping patients learn to use them.
Occupational therapists tend to work with a particular disability or age group.
A growing number of therapists are working in the wellness and health promotion areas. Often, the practice setting determines the age level and treatment needs of a therapist's patients. In home health care, for instance, a growing number of referrals involve elderly patients with conditions such as arthritis, cardiac problems, and hip and other fractures. The goal of occupational therapists working in public schools differs from those of therapists in other settings. Instead of emphasizing treatment and rehabilitation, as is the case in medically oriented settings, the emphasis in schools is on providing handicapped children with an education.