Section 17-6305. SCOPE OF PRACTICE FOR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS

 

6305.1An occupational therapist shall exercise sound judgment and provide adequate care within the practice when using methods that include but are not exclusive of the following American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) standards for the scope of practice:

 

(a)Establishment, remediation or restoration of skill or ability in a client;

 

(b)Compensation, modification, or adaptation of activity or environment to enhance performance;

 

(c)Maintenance and enhancement of capabilities without which performance in everyday life would decline;

 

(d)Health and wellness promotion to enable or enhance performance in everyday life activities; and

 

(e)Prevention of barriers to performance, including disability prevention.

 

6305.2An occupational therapist shall exercise sound judgment when evaluating factors affecting activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation. These factors may include:

 

(a)Body functions and body structures;

 

(b)Habits, routines, roles, and behavior patterns;

 

(c)Cultural, physical, environmental, social, and spiritual contexts and activity demands that affect performance; and

 

(d)Performance skills including motor, process, and communication or interaction skills.

 

6305.3An occupational therapist shall exercise sound judgment and provide adequate care to a client when administering interventions and procedures to promote or enhance safety and performance in activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation, which may include the following:

 

(a)Therapeutic use of occupations, exercises, and activities;

 

(b)Training in self-care, self-management, home management, and community work reintegration;

 

(c)Development, remediation, or compensation of physical, cognitive, neuromuscular, sensory functions, and behavioral skills;

 

(d)Therapeutic use of self including one's personality, insights, perceptions, and judgments as part of the therapeutic process;

 

(e)Education and training of individuals, involved in the care of the client;

 

(f)Care coordination, case management, and transition services;

 

(g)Consultative services to groups, programs, organizations, or communities;

 

(h)Modification of environments and adaptation of processes, including the application of ergonomic principles;

 

(i)Assessment, design, fabrication, application, fitting and training in assistive technology, adaptive devices and orthotic devices, and training in the use of prosthetic devices;

 

(j)Assessment, recommendation, and training in techniques to enhance mobility including wheelchair management;

 

(k)Driver rehabilitation and community mobility;

 

(l)Management of feeding, eating, and swallowing to enable eating and feeding performance; and

 

(m)Application of physical agent modalities, and use of a range of specific therapeutic procedures to enhance performance skills.

 

 

authority

Section 302(14) of the District of Columbia Health Occupations Revision Act of 1985, effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-99; D.C. Official Code § 2-3303.2(14) (2001 ed.)), and Mayor's Order 98-140, dated August 20, 1998.

source

Final Rulemaking published at 53 DCR 4551 (June 9, 2006).