As used in this article 270, unless the
context otherwise requires:
(1) Activities of daily living means activities that are oriented toward taking
care of one's own body, such as bathing, showering, bowel and bladder
management, dressing, eating, feeding, functional mobility, personal device care,
personal hygiene and grooming, sexual activity, sleep, rest, and toilet hygiene.
(2) Aide means a person who is not licensed by the director and who
provides supportive services to occupational therapists and occupational therapy
assistants.
(3) Behavioral health-care services means services to facilitate the
prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of, and for the recovery from, mental health
and substance use disorders within the scope of practice of occupational therapy.
(4) Client means an individual, group, population, community, or
organization that receives occupational therapy services.
(5) Functional cognition means the way in which an individual utilizes and
integrates the individual's thinking and processing skills to accomplish everyday
activities.
(6) Instrumental activities of daily living means activities that are oriented
toward interacting with the environment and that may be complex. Instrumental
activities of daily living includes care of others, care of pets, child-rearing,
communication device use, community mobility, financial management, health
management and maintenance, home establishment and management, meal
preparation and cleanup, religious and spiritual expression, safety procedures and
emergency responses, and shopping.
(7) Low-vision rehabilitation services means the evaluation, diagnosis,
management, and care of the low-vision client in visual acuity, visual field, and
oculomotor performance as it affects the client's occupational performance,
including low-vision rehabilitation therapy, education, and interdisciplinary
consultation.
(8) Occupation means an everyday, personalized activity in which people
participate as individuals, families, and communities to occupy time, earn income,
and bring meaning and purpose to life. Occupation includes an activity that a
person needs to do, wants to do, or is expected to do.
(9) Occupational therapist means a person licensed to practice
occupational therapy under this article 270.
(10) Occupational therapy means the therapeutic use of occupations,
including everyday life activities with individuals, groups, populations, or
organizations, to support participation, performance, and function in roles and
situations in home, school, workplace, community, and other settings. Occupational
therapy is provided for habilitation, rehabilitation, and the promotion of health and
wellness to individuals who have, or are at risk for developing, an illness, injury,
disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or
participation restriction. Occupational therapy uses everyday life activities to
promote mental health and support functioning in individuals who have, or who are
at risk of experiencing, a range of mental health disorders, including psychiatric,
behavioral, emotional, and substance use disorders. Occupational therapy
addresses the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, perceptual, and other
aspects of performance in a variety of contexts and environments to support
engagement in occupations that affect physical health, mental health, well-being,
and quality of life. The practice of occupational therapy includes:
(a) Evaluation of factors affecting activities of daily living, instrumental
activities of daily living, rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, social
participation, and health management, including:
(I) Client factors, including body functions such as sensory, visual,
perceptual, mental, cognitive, and pain factors; body structures such as
cardiovascular, digestive, nervous, integumentary, and genitourinary systems;
neuromusculoskeletal and movement-related functions; and values, beliefs, and
spirituality;
(II) Habits, routines, roles, rituals, and behavior patterns;
(III) Physical and social environments; cultural, personal, temporal, and
virtual contexts; and activity demands that affect performance; and
(IV) Performance skills, including motor, praxis, process, emotional
regulation, and communication; social interaction skills; and functional cognition;
(b) Methods or approaches selected to direct the process of interventions,
such as:
(I) Establishment, remediation, or restoration of a skill or ability that has not
yet developed, is impaired, or is in decline;
(II) Compensation, modification, or adaptation of an activity or environment
to enhance performance or to prevent injuries, disorders, or other conditions;
(III) Maintenance and enhancement of capabilities without which
performance in everyday life activities would decline;
(IV) Promotion of health and wellness, including the use of self-management
strategies, to enable or enhance performance in everyday life activities; and
(V) Prevention of barriers to performance and participation, including injury
and disability prevention;
(c) Interventions and procedures to promote or enhance safety and
performance in activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, rest
and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, social participation, and health
management, including:
(I) Therapeutic use of occupations, exercises, and activities;
(II) Training in self-care; self-management; self-regulation; health
management and maintenance; home management; community, volunteer, and
work integration and reintegration; school activities; and work performance;
(III) Identification, development, remediation, or compensation of physical,
cognitive, neuromusculoskeletal, sensory, visual, perceptual, and mental functions;
sensory processing; functional cognition; pain tolerance and management;
developmental skills; and behavioral skills;
(IV) Therapeutic use of self, including a person's personality, insights,
perceptions, and judgments, as part of the therapeutic process;
(V) Education and training of individuals, including family members,
caregivers, groups, populations, and others;
(VI) Care coordination, case management, and transition services; direct,
indirect, and consultative care; advocacy and self-advocacy; and other service
delivery methods;
(VII) Consultative services to individuals, groups, programs, organizations, or
communities;
(VIII) Modification of environments such as home, work, school, or
community, and adaptation of processes, including the application of ergonomic
principles;
(IX) Assessment, design, fabrication, application, fitting, and training in
assistive technology and adaptive and orthotic devices and training in seating and
positioning and in the use of prosthetic devices, excluding glasses, contact lenses,
or other prescriptive devices to correct vision unless prescribed by an optometrist;
(X) Assessment, recommendation, and training in techniques to enhance
functional mobility, including complex seating and management of wheelchairs and
other mobility devices;
(XI) Driver rehabilitation and community mobility;
(XII) Management of feeding, eating, and swallowing to support eating and
feeding performance necessary for nutrition, social participation, or other health or
wellness considerations;
(XIII) Application of physical agent modalities and therapeutic procedures
such as wound management; techniques to enhance, maintain, or prevent the
decline of sensory, perceptual, psychosocial, or cognitive processing; management
of pain; and manual techniques to enhance, maintain, or prevent the decline of
performance skills;
(XIV) The use of telehealth, telerehabilitation, and teletherapy pursuant to
rules as may be adopted by the director;
(XV) Low-vision rehabilitation services and vision therapy services under the
referral, prescription, supervision, or comanagement of an ophthalmologist or
optometrist;
(XVI) Facilitation of the occupational performance of individuals, groups,
populations, communities, or organizations through the modification of
environments and the adaptation of processes;
(XVII) Sensory-based interventions including equipment, environment, and
routine adaptations that support optimal sensory integration and processing; and
(XVIII) Behavioral health-care services to enhance, maintain, or prevent the
decline of occupational performance within the scope of practice of occupational
therapy;
(d) The authority to directly recommend and prescribe durable medical
equipment to a patient without requesting the prescription from a licensed
physician. A prescribing occupational therapist shall consult with the patient
concerning payment options for durable medical equipment.
(11) Occupational therapy assistant means a person licensed under this
article 270 to practice occupational therapy under the supervision of and in
partnership with an occupational therapist.
(12) Supervision means the giving of aid, directions, and instructions that
are adequate to ensure the safety and welfare of clients during the provision of
occupational therapy by the occupational therapist designated as the supervisor.
Responsible direction and supervision by the occupational therapist includes
consideration of factors such as level of skill, the establishment of service
competency, experience, work setting demands, the complexity and stability of the
client population, and other factors. Supervision is a collaborative process for
responsible, periodic review and inspection of all aspects of occupational therapy
services, and the occupational therapist is legally accountable for occupational
therapy services provided by the occupational therapy assistant and the aide.
(13) Telehealth means the use of electronic information and
telecommunications technology to support and promote access to clinical health
care, client and professional health-related education, public health, and health
administration.
(14) Telerehabilitation or teletherapy means the delivery of rehabilitation
and habilitation services via information and communication technologies,
commonly referred to as telehealth technologies.
(15) Vision therapy services means the assessment, diagnosis, treatment,
and management of a client with vision therapy, visual training, visual rehabilitation,
orthoptics, or eye exercises.