37-24-103. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply:
     (1) "Board" means the board of occupational therapy practice established by 2-15-1859.
     (2) "Certified occupational therapy assistant" means a person licensed to assist in the practice of occupational therapy under this chapter, who works under the general supervision of an occupational therapist in accordance with the provisions of the Essentials for an Approved Educational Program for the Occupational Therapy Assistant, published by the American occupational therapy association and adopted by the board.
     (3) "Department" means the department of commerce provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 18.
     (4) "Occupational therapist" means a person licensed to practice occupational therapy under this chapter.
     (5) "Occupational therapy" means the use of purposeful activity and interventions to achieve functional outcomes to maximize the independence and the maintenance of health of an individual who is limited by physical injury or illness, psychosocial dysfunction, mental illness, developmental or learning disability, the aging process, cognitive impairment, or an adverse environmental condition. The practice encompasses assessment, treatment, and consultation. Occupational therapy services may be provided individually, in groups, or through social systems. Occupational therapy interventions include but are not limited to:
     (a) teaching daily living skills;
     (b) developing perceptual-motor skills and sensory integrative functioning;
     (c) developing play skills and leisure capacities and enhancing educational performance skills;
     (d) designing, fabricating, or applying splints or selective adaptive equipment and training in the use of upper extremity prosthetics or upper extremity orthotic devices;
     (e) providing for the development of emotional, motivational, cognitive, psychosocial, or physical components of performance;
     (f) providing assessment and evaluation, including the use of skilled observation or the administration and interpretation of standardized or nonstandardized tests and measurements to identify areas for occupational therapy services;
     (g) adapting environments for the disabled, including assistive technology, such as environmental controls, wheelchair modifications, and positioning;
     (h) developing feeding and swallowing skills;
     (i) enhancing and assessing work performance and work readiness through occupational therapy intervention, including education and instruction, activities to increase and improve general work behavior and skill, job site evaluation, on-the-job training and evaluation, development of work-related activities, and supported employment placement;
     (j) providing neuromuscular facilitation and inhibition, including the activation, facilitation, and inhibition of muscle action, both voluntary and involuntary, through the use of appropriate sensory stimulation, including vibration or brushing, to evoke a desired muscular response;
     (k) employing physical agent modalities as defined in this section; and
     (l) promoting health and wellness.
     (6) "Occupational therapy aide" means a person who assists in the practice of occupational therapy under the direct supervision of an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant and whose activities require an understanding of occupational therapy but do not require professional or advanced training in the basic anatomical, biological, psychological, and social sciences involved in the practice of occupational therapy.
     (7) "Physical agent modalities" means those modalities that produce a response in soft tissue through the use of light, water, temperature, sound, or electricity. Physical agent modalities are characterized as adjunctive methods used in conjunction with or in immediate preparation for patient involvement in purposeful activity. Superficial physical agent modalities include hot packs, cold packs, ice, fluidotherapy, paraffin, water, and other commercially available superficial heating and cooling devices. Use of superficial physical agent modalities is limited to the shoulder, arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, and hand and is subject to the provisions of 37-24-105. Use of sound and electrical physical agent modality devices is limited to the elbow, forearm, wrist, and hand and is subject to the provisions of 37-24-106.
     (8) "Purposeful activity" means an activity in which the individual is an active, voluntary participant and is directed toward a goal that the individual considers meaningful. Purposeful activities are used to evaluate, facilitate, restore, or maintain individuals' abilities to function within their daily occupations.

     History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 629, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 35, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 297, L. 1993.