Title: Occupational Therapy functional assessments | Youth Living Skills
Headings: What is an Occupational Therapy functional assessment?
What is an Occupational Therapy functional assessment?
The Occupational Therapy (OT) functional assessment
Why would a person need an assessment?
What does the OT functional assessment involve?
What happens after the OT assessment is completed?

Content: The person’s age needs to be taken into account and medical condition (s); i.e. meal preparation skills of a young child would generally not be appropriate for assessment. The initial step for the OT is usually to gain a medical and social history of the person before conducting the assessment, to better understand the purpose and context of the assessment. This includes learning about the person’s medical background, communication skills, home environment, work or education situation, what they do for recreation/leisure and interests, as well as their sleep/rest habits. Once this information has been collected, the assessment can usually proceed. At the very least, OT assessments usually involve evaluating the following basic skill areas: – Mobility and transfers
– Showering
– Dressing, grooming and hygiene
– Toileting
– Feeding/eating
If appropriate to the person’s age and social situation, the assessment may also explore the person’s skills in the areas of: – Home maintenance (e.g. completion of household chores, gardening)
– Money management and budgeting
– Meal preparation and cooking
– Medication management
– Telephone use
– Travel and transport
– Shopping
– Laundry/washing
What happens after the OT assessment is completed? Once the OT has performed the face-to-face portion of the assessment, they will develop a report outlining what the assessment involved, the person’s general level of functioning and highlighting areas where the person is least/most dependent or independent. Depending on the initial aim of the assessment, the OT will also make recommendations about suitable accommodation (and the level and type of supports and supervision/assistance they need), current and future goals for therapy (for OT as well as for other disciplines), and any equipment or assistive technology they may need.