Occupational Therapist
Ms. Andrea M. Southard is an Occupational Therapist in Leawood, KS
with special training and skill in holistically treating injured, ill, or disabled patients through therapeutic activities that help them develop, recover, improve, and maintain the skills needed for daily living and working.
As an Occupational Therapist, Andrea M. Southard, OT-RL performs
rehabilitation of patients with mental, emotional, and physical disabilities by planning and administering medically prescribed occupational therapy. Occupational Therapy is
physiological treatment of patients recuperating from physical or mental illness that encourages rehabilitation through the performance of activities required in daily life. Significant diseases and conditions treated by
Occupational Therapists include work related upper extremity injuries, amputees and people with special prosthetics, stroke or heart attack victims, arthritis, multiple sclerosis or permanent disabilities patients, patients with head injuries and mental disabilities, severe burn and spinal cord trauma patients.
Medical tests, procedures and therapies provided by Occupational Therapists
include individualized evaluation to determine the patient's goals; customized intervention to improve the patient's ability to perform daily activities, and outcome evaluation to ensure that the goals are being met and/or intervention plan adjusted.
An occupational therapist is a person who has graduated from an entry-level occupational therapy program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) or predecessor organizations, or approved by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT), or an equivalent international occupational therapy education program; has successfully completed a period of supervised fieldwork experience required by the occupational therapy program; has passed a nationally recognized entry-level examination for occupational therapists, and fulfills state requirements for licensure, certification, or registration. An occupational therapist provides interventions based on evaluation and which emphasize the therapeutic use of everyday life activities (i.e., occupations) with individuals or groups for the purpose of facilitating participation in roles and situations and in home, school, workplace, community and other settings. Occupational therapy services are provided for the purpose of promoting health and wellness and are provided to those who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. Occupational therapists address the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, and other aspects of occupational performance in a variety of contexts to support engagement in everyday life activities that affect health, well-being, and quality of life.
Occupational Therapists in Leawood, KS
Pediatrics Occupational Therapist
Ms. Andrea M. Southard is a Pediatrics Occupational Therapist in Leawood, KS
with special training and skill in helping physically or mentally disabled children develop cognitive, motor, social, and self-care skills.
As a Pediatrics Occupational Therapist, Andrea M. Southard, OT-RL performs
educational and physical learning exercises with children disabled by injury or illness. Pediatric Occupational Therapy is
a medical specialty dedicated to helping disabled children gain personal independence by improving sensory, motor, visual perception, and social interaction skills. Significant diseases and conditions treated by
Pediatric Occupational Therapists include impairments resulting from birth injuries or defects, sensory processing disorders, traumatic injuries, autism, childhood arthritis, spina bifida, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, and many other conditions that affect children's motor and learning skills.
Medical tests, procedures and therapies provided by Pediatric Occupational Therapists
include play therapy, handwriting exercises, motor planning, gross motor coordination, sensory modulation, visual perception skills, and parental education.
Occupational therapists provide services to infants, toddlers and children who have or who are at risk for developmental delays or disabilities. Occupational therapy is concerned with a child's ability to participate in daily life activities or "occupations." Occupational therapists use their unique expertise to help children with social-emotional, physical, cognitive, communication, and adaptive behavioral challenges and to help children to be prepared for and perform important learning and school-related activities and to fulfill their rule as students. Through an understanding of the impact of disability, illness, and impairment on a child's development, plan, ability to learn new skills, and overall occupational performance, occupational therapists design interventions that promote healthy development, establish needed skills, and/or modify environments, all in support of participation in daily activities.
Pediatric Occupational Therapists in Leawood, KS
Pediatric Physical Therapist
Ms. Andrea M. Southard is a Pediatric Physical Therapist in Leawood, KS
with special training and skill in diagnosing, treating, and managing a variety of developmental, neuromuscular, congenital, skeletal, and acquired diseases and disorders in infants, children and adolescents.
As a Pediatric Physical Therapist, Andrea M. Southard, OT-RL performs
medical diagnosis and treatment of balance and coordination disorders, impaired motor skills, strength and endurance disorders, and cognitive and sensory processing disorders. Pediatric Physical Therapy is
a medical specialty dealing with children's musculoskeletal, spinal, neurological, balance, and cognitive disorders. Significant diseases and conditions treated by
Pediatric Physical Therapists include multiple sclerosis (MS), orthopedic and skeletal dysfunction, spina bifida, athletic or traumatic injury, congenital physical impairment, spinal cord injury, neurological disorders like stroke, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and Parkinson's disease.
Medical tests, procedures and therapies provided by Pediatric Physical Therapists
include diagnostic imaging, practical development of motor and mobility skills, adapting toys for play, therapeutic strength and endurance exercise, balance and coordination activities, parental care education, water therapy, and applying assistive technology.
A licensed physical therapist, including but not limited to an individual who is a Board Certified Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy, who has demonstrated specialized knowledge and skill in anatomy, histology, including embryonic development, genetics, biomechanics, neurological function, neuroscience, and pathology, behavioral sciences, and understanding of diseases or conditions that necessitate physical therapy care, that affect systems that in turn necessitate physical therapy care (comorbidities), and that influence the type of intervention that can be given.
Pediatric Physical Therapists in Leawood, KS
