Jeannie Burgess MS, OTR/L
Owner/Occupational Therapist
Restored Hope Therapy Services, PLLC
April is Occupational Therapy Month. Occupational Therapists work with clients to help them reach their fullest potential in areas of life that matter the most to that individual. OTs are known to work with all ages from birth to the end of life. Many work in settings that range from NICU, schools, clinics, hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities, to name a few. Occupational Therapists address skills that range from sensory processing, emotional regulation, motor coordination, feeding, activities of daily living, life skills, fall prevention, range of motion, strength, endurance, and environmental modifications for aging in place to name a few. If you have a goal to regain or continue a daily skill, an Occupational Therapist can help you reach your desired outcome. Over the years I have found that community also has a huge impact on the progress towards those goals.
After 18 years in the field of Occupational Therapy, I found myself burnt out from meeting productivity standards, inability to fully address areas of a client’s life that were considered “non-traditional” and sensing a lack of community. Does community matter to you? I believe and have found that whether we admit it or not community does matter. The environment around us matters. The people that you surround yourself with matter. I heard it said that “We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.” Or said a little differently, “Show me your friends (we could say community) and I’ll show you your future.”
After much thought and prayer, I branched out in 2021 to open my own private pediatric OT practice. My vision was to not only provide services to “treat” an individual physically but what if we went further and sought out to address all areas of an individual's life. Isn’t that what all OTs want anyway! Would healing shift into wholeness? Over the past year and half, I have seen when we add community outreaches and events for families to come together and partner with other local organizations; a shift begins to take place. An individual that now has resources for all areas of their life begins to see healing take place in their physical body, mentally, spiritually, financially, and socially. A healing begins to take place that results in wholeness not only for that individual but the family and ultimately the community.
Networks like Think Crunchy know the value of community. It consists of providers and businesses that provide services and products to assist your family in healing. This network goes a step further to provide resources from each other to address the whole person. Does community matter? I believe that it can be the difference in healing and wholeness.
This April, as we celebrate OT month remember that OTs are here to help you live life to the fullest. Do you have a child in your life that you’re concerned about their development? If your child is not meeting developmental milestones, demonstrating increased meltdowns, and/or having difficulty completing daily tasks; you may want to reach out for a comprehensive evaluation. There are many great Occupational Therapists that would love to walk beside you on your journey.