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Have you considered an OT practice specializing in older adults?\u00a0 This population was my absolute favorite population as an OT and serving older adults in home health was incredibly rewarding.<\/p>\nHave you considered an OT practice specializing in older adults?\u00a0 This population was my absolute favorite population as an OT and serving older adults in home health was incredibly rewarding.<\/p>\n
Demand is there.\u00a0 As we all know, the over 65 age cohort is the largest growing segment of the population not only in the U.S. but worldwide.\u00a0 In more than 1,400 U.S. counties older adults outnumber children \u2013 that\u2019s almost 1\/2 of the counties in the country.\u00a0\u00a0 In addition, older adults overwhelmingly want to stay in their home.\u00a0 Aging in place is an attractive option because older adults can remain in a place where they have community and memories; they continue to have control over daily decisions and can maintain their privacy; and it is often less expensive than senior living.<\/p>\n
So, as an OT, what expertise do you need to serve this population well?<\/p>\n
Key to good care is developing a keen understanding of the needs of older adults.\u00a0 A multitude of physical, cognitive, and emotional changes occur with aging that will drive the OT treatment plan.\u00a0 The most common physical challenges include issues with bones, joints and muscles; balance and mobility challenges; chronic health conditions and a decline in senses and fine motor skills. \u00a0Older adults commonly experience normal cognitive slowing that can be exacerbated by medical issues, medications and nutrition.\u00a0 Age is also the biggest risk factor for MCI, dementia and Alzheimer\u2019s. \u00a0\u00a0Finally, while many older adults report greater happiness later in life, the physical and cognitive challenges listed can also weigh on emotional health.\u00a0 So listen to your patients and consider all the factors that may be roadblocks to their pursuit of their most important occupations.<\/p>\n
Prepare for the appointment with appropriate assessment tools.\u00a0 AOTA has a very comprehensive list with links on their website<\/a>, but some of my go-to assessments are:<\/p>\n As you listen to your older patients, one theme you will hear is the desire to maintain independence in daily living. Assistance with ADLs is a wonderful strength of occupational therapy!\u00a0 Helping patients with techniques, adaptive equipment and even technology to improve their ability to toilet, dress, bath, and eat independently is magically rewarding for the OT and the patient.\u00a0 OT can also support independence with more complex IADLs like medication management, meal prep, transportation, shopping, communication and leisure.\u00a0 Technology supports can really be valuable with IADLs.\u00a0 Underpinning these efforts, OT can build a functional strengthening program customized to the patient.\u00a0 OT also brings a series of supports to the management of chronic conditions just as dementia, arthritis, COPD, Parkinson’s, and diabetes.<\/p>\n If you are providing OT via home health, you can have a tremendous impact in creating a safe home environment.\u00a0 OT is expert in evaluating a patient\u2019s home and environment for safety concerns and fall hazards.\u00a0 In addition to suggesting modifications to the physical space, OT can evaluate the need for assistive devices.\u00a0 One of the most common evaluations includes mobility and balance \u2013 aids that could be useful include walkers, rollators, canes or stair lifts.\u00a0 OT can also offer valuable advice on safety in one of the home\u2019s most dangerous rooms \u2013 the bathroom.\u00a0 Grab bars, raised toilet seats or toilet frames and shower chairs or transfer benches are a few of the ways OT can help preserve independence and privacy for patients.\u00a0 OT can also make recommendations to improve safety at home using smart home technology, medication organizers\/reminder systems and medical alert devices.\u00a0\u00a0 Finally OT can recommend devices to compensate for fine motor skills deficits while dressing or cooking and ways to compensate for low vision.<\/p>\n Occupational Therapy brings a holistic approach to care that considers what the patient wants first.\u00a0 With that lens, OT can put the supports in place for their patient to maintain independence and continue participation in important occupations.\u00a0 Nowhere is this more important than for older adults.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you considered an OT practice specializing in older adults?\u00a0 This population was my absolute favorite population as an OT and serving older adults in home health was incredibly rewarding. Demand is there.\u00a0 As we all know, the over 65 age cohort is the largest growing segment of the population…<\/p>\n Read more<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OT-and-Older-Adults-Blog-FB.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7959"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7962,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7959\/revisions\/7962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottoolkit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n