What’s in a name?

[TherapyJobs.com]

PT, COTA, SLP, OTR/L...therapists regularly reference the profession using a “code” that is largely unrecognized by the general public. But even the expanded terms - physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech-language pathologist - can be confusing to those who have never required therapy.

By now, you’ve learned how to summarize what you do in a couple of sentences to satisfy the inevitable questions, but for Occupational Therapists, the summary may be slightly more complicated. After all, the word “occupation” suggests a job, or a profession, so the title itself can be misleading. While the modifiers “physical” and “speech” indicate the focus of that particular kind of therapy, the term “occupational” might suggest a therapy that focuses on job skills. Certainly an Occupational Therapist might prepare a patient to function in a work environment, but the broader focus of OT is on any activity, or occupation, that is meaningful to an individual or necessary to live a full, independent life. To quote the American Occupational Therapist Association, Occupational Therapy allows patients to carry out “the job of living.”

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