Occupational therapy

Frisbie Memorial Hospital's occupational therapy services are designed to help patients relearn how to participate in everyday activities or compensate for the loss of some bodily functions through guided practice and therapy.

Patients often receive occupational therapy after experiencing:

  • Brain injury (stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussion, hemorrhage, hypoxia)
  • Degenerative disorders (Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia, Alzheimer's disease)
  • Intellectual disabilities
  • Musculoskeletal injuries
  • Sensory processing difficulties
  • Visual perception deficit

Frisbie's occupational therapists work with individuals to help them return to their previous level of functioning following an injury, illness, or total joint replacement or other surgery. Occupational Therapy services are available in both outpatient and inpatient settings.

We treat the following diagnoses and conditions

  • Acquired brain injury (stroke, TBI, concussion, hemorrhage, hypoxia, disease)
  • Degenerative disorders (Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, dementia, Alzheimer's disease)
  • Intellectual disabilities
  • Sensory processing-visual perception deficit
  • Musculoskeletal injuries

Outpatient occupational therapy programs and techniques: Functional skills assessment

A Functional Skills Assessment is used to assess basic skills used in daily living such as the ability to manage money and medication, perform leisurely activities, self-care tasks, household chores, and to assess the individual’s ability to drive. Functional Skills Assessments are offered in both outpatient and inpatient settings to help determine a person's ability to function optimally and the appropriate amount of support they may need.

Our occupational therapists will assess in each individual:

  • Memory and attention
  • Insight and judgement
  • Planning and problem solving

We treat the following conditions:

  • Struggling with medications or money management
  • Memory loss, confusion, or difficulty understanding information
  • Making repeated mistakes with familiar activities
  • Driving difficulties i.e. getting lost or not being able to remember where the car is parked

LSBT BIG program

  • LSVT BIG is a physical therapy and occupational therapy program developed to improve physical abilities for those individuals with Parkinson’s disease and Parkinson’s-like diagnoses. The LSVT BIG program was developed specifically to address the unique movement impairments for people with Parkinson's Disease. After treatment, individuals will notice an improvement in the ability to walk faster and with bigger steps, balance, and in activities of daily living.
  • The LSVT BIG program is individualized to meet each person's specific needs, consisting of a total of 16 one-on-one sessions over the course of four weeks, with activities performed daily at home and carryover exercises to maximize outcomes. Our goal is to empower individuals with the potential to improve.
  • The LSVT BIG program is based on the founding principles of LSVT LOUD, which has been shown to improve vocal loudness, intonation, and voice quality nearly two years after treatment.

Upper extremity and hand injuries/post-operative care

Frisbie’s Occupational Therapists assess individuals' physical abilities and provide a specialized plan to improve their overall daily functioning. Our experienced Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) provides evaluation and treatment to shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand. We have experience in fabrication of splints, post-operative rehabilitation, physical agent modalities, and injury prevention.

We treat the following conditions:

  • Fractures
  • Tendon injury / lacerations
  • Muscle strains and tears of the upper extremity
  • Lateral and medial epicondylitis
  • Carpal and cubital tunnel syndrome
  • Amputation
  • DeQuervain's tenosynovitis
  • Dupuytren's Disease
  • Arthritis
  • Nerve injuries and conditions

Center for Pediatrics

The Center for Pediatrics is dedicated to providing skilled therapeutic outpatient services to infants, children, and adolescents. We develop individualized care plans to meet the unique needs of each child so that they may reach their fullest potential. We take a family-centered approach, engaging families throughout the process that includes comprehensive evaluations, education and treatment services.

Our Programs are designed to improve activities of daily functioning

  • Sensory processing and self-regulation skills
  • Praxis / motor planning
  • Muscle tone and postural controls
  • Gross motor control and coordination
  • Fine motor control and coordination
  • Bilateral coordination skills
  • Neuromusculoskeletal conditions
  • Genetic and/or development impairments
  • Ocular motor and visual perceptual skills
  • Feeding and oral motor skills
  • Executive functioning skills
  • Social skills / pragmatic skills
  • Coping skills / emotional regulation

Our therapists are specially trained and utilize innovative techniques, including the Pediatric Interactive Metronome as well as numerous regulation programs (How Does Your Engine Run, Zones of Regulation, and Quickshifts) to treat many diagnoses and conditions, including:

  • ADD / ADHD
  • Reflect integration / primary movement patterns
  • Autism
  • Post-concussions, pediatric stroke
  • Anxiety
  • Trauma and emotional dysregulation

In addition, when appropriate, we will work collaboratively with community-based service organizations for an integrated, longer-term intervention. Our treatment model places emphasis on all participants, from patients acquiring functional skills and achieving targeted goals, to parents and health care professionals working together to achieve those "magic moments." We truly believe parents are the key to their child's success.

We provide collaboration services for the following:

  • Interactive Metronome
  • Pediatric Feeding
  • Social Skill Development
  • Supportive Individual and Group Therapy

Caregiver training program

The caregiver training program is designed for individuals with dementia--and their family, or caregiver—to promote safety, improve their ability to function, and enhance overall quality of life. Frisbie's occupational therapists work with healthcare providers, social workers, and caregivers to ensure optimal benefits and outcomes.

Our treatment approach includes:

  • Caregiver support and education
  • Adapting the environment
  • Equipment recommendations
  • Alternative techniques for the patient and caregivers
  • Cueing strategies
  • Diagnosis education

Interactive Metronome

Interactive Metronome (IM) is a computer-based treatment tool used to strengthen motor, cognitive, and sensory organization skills, which are important to performing everyday activities such as walking, talking, reading, and planning or sustaining attention. Interactive Metronome therapy challenges individuals to synchronize a range of hand and foot movements (tapping exercises) to computer-generated sounds, which are heard through headphones, and matching rhythmic beats with different motor actions (clapping, toe taps, etc.).

These movements and motor actions are then incorporated into therapeutic activities that include touching targets on a wall, bouncing a ball, multitasking using simple math, and clapping repeating patterns.

We treat the following conditions:

  • Developmental, learning (non-verbal, dyslexia) or neuro-cognitive disabilities
  • Cerebral palsy, muscular sclerosis, stroke, TBI, spinal cord injury, or balance disorders
  • Sensory integration, ADHD, central auditory processing disorder, or autism spectrum disorder/Asperger's

Post-concussion therapy

Frisbie's occupational therapists work with individuals and their caregiver to develop personalized treatment plans for transitioning back to school, work, and daily routines post-concussion.

Post-concussion therapy can help with:

  • Self-management of symptoms
  • Organizational skills
  • Task simulation
  • Cognitive deficits
  • Visual changes
  • Sequencing
  • Compensatory techniques

Post-surgical orthopedic rehab

Frisbie's certified hand therapist works closely with local hand surgeons to help individuals who have had hand surgery.

We treat the following post-operative diagnoses:

  • Carpal tunnel release
  • Cubital tunnel release
  • Tendon repairs
  • Surgically repaired fractures
  • CMC joint replacement
  • Trigger finger release
  • Dequervain's release
  • Dupuytren's release

Vision therapy

Frisbie's occupational therapists help low vision individuals maintain independence and improve their ability to enjoy their favorite activities. They can recommend and teach environmental adjustments, task modifications, and compensatory techniques.

Benefits of vision therapy activities:

  • Eye teaming
  • Focusing
  • Eye movements
  • Peripheral vision
  • Depth perception
  • Visual motor skills
  • Visualization
  • Vision perception

We treat the Following diagnoses and conditions:

  • Post-concussion / TBI
  • Stroke
  • Degenerative visual disease
  • Post-chemotherapy
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Developmental / congenital visual impairments in pediatrics and adults