At Turning Point Advocacy Services, we are excited to offer Occupational Therapy (OT) as a new service designed to support survivors & their children of domestic and sexual violence, stalking, and human trafficking.

Purpose:
Our OT program provides therapeutic support by focusing on the use of everyday activities, or “occupations,” to enhance health, well-being, and participation in both necessary and meaningful daily activities. OT services include habilitation, rehabilitation, and the promotion of physical and mental wellness, tailored to meet each individual’s unique needs. The goal is to help individuals regain control and independence, enabling them to thrive in various environments such as home, school, and the community.

Process:
When a client expresses interest in Occupational Therapy, we start with an intake process to assess their specific needs, including their occupational history, values, interests, and current performance in daily activities. This evaluation helps us create a personalized intervention plan tailored to their unique goals. Our OT services aim to promote independence and empowerment by addressing challenges related to trauma, daily activities, and emotional regulation, supporting clients in improving their daily performance and achieving personal goals.

Through promoting independence, autonomy, and education, OT can help individuals in the following areas of occupation:

• Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): Personal hygiene & grooming, bathing, dressing, eating/feeding, toileting.
• Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs): Care of others and pets, communication device management, community mobility, cleaning & housekeeping, managing money & paying bills, shopping, planning & preparing meals.
• Health & Wellness: Social & emotional health (mental health), sensory regulation (managing sensory sensitivities such as textures, sounds, lights), stress management, symptom & condition management, identification of healthcare system resources, medication management, physical activity, nutrition management, personal care device management.
• Sleep: Rest, sleep hygiene, sleep routines.
• Education: Exploration of educational needs/wants, participation in education, supporting pre-academic skills (e.g., shapes, colors, letters), developing attention and focus, following instructions and routines.
• Play: Development of play skills, exploring various types of play, addressing developmental milestones and other skills through play.
• Leisure: Leisure exploration, leisure participation, addressing other skills through preferred leisure activities.
• Social Participation: Community participation, peer group participation, healthy relationships & communication, boundaries, frustration tolerance, developing age-appropriate social interaction skills (e.g., emotional regulation, coping skills, turn-taking, sharing).
• Body Functions: Fine motor skills (hand-eye coordination, dexterity, grasp, handwriting), gross motor skills (balance, strength, endurance, body awareness, motor planning), visual motor skills, endurance, postural control.
• Executive Functioning: Memory, organization, task initiation/completion, impulse control, attention, time management, sequencing tasks (completing steps in order).
• Sensory System Regulation: Visual (sight), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch), interoception (awareness of internal state such as hunger, body temperature, heart rate), proprioception (awareness of body positioning), vestibular (balance).

Outcomes: The goal of our OT program is to provide a safe space where individuals can identify and address areas of their daily lives that may need improvement, leading to enhanced daily performance, overall quality of life, and increased independence from their abuser. We aim for outcomes that help clients improve the following skills to enhance ease and participation in daily activities:

• Emotional Regulation & Coping Skills
• Self-Care
• Social Engagement
• Tolerance of Sensory Inputs and Nervous System Dysregulation
• & More

For more information, contact us at 636-456-1186. (Please note, we do not currently offer outreach services.)