Occupational Therapy Work Training Programs For Brain-Damaged Individuals

Work is man's chief occupation (Yerxa and Baum, 1986; Jacobs, 1990). Adults devote the majority of their time to work (Kemp and Kleinplatz, 1985; Bing, 1989). Individuals in a modern society such as Sweden have the right to a meaningful and productive life (The Association, 1980; Viktorin, 1988; Krafft, Rigner, and Wilhelmson, 1988). Work is an important, necessary activity that is assumed to fulfill and satisfy fundamental human needs (Reed, 1983; Karlsson, 1986; Jacobs, 1990). The concept of work cannot be reduced to a single, simple definition (Karlsson, 1986; Kielhofner, 1985; Bing, 1989; Kemp and Kleinplatz, 1983; Holmes, 1985). In existing definitions, two extremes can be discerned. In one, work is activity that gives the performer some form of reward (Karlsson, 1986). In the other, work is all forms of productive occupation, rewarded or not (Kielhofner, 1985). Productive occupation means the production of goods or services needed by others or that afford the individual and society new abilities, ideas, knowledge, and experience. Work gives the individual life roles. Work thus consists of activities that are of value for the individual, for others, and for society. Work is considered by many a precondition of physical, mehtal, and social health. Illness or injury that alters an individual's work ability has serious consequences (Kemp and Kleinplatz, 1985; Holmes, 1985) for that individual's work role, habits, and tolerance (Yerxa and Baum, 1986). Traditionally, occupational therapists work as team members in rehabilitation (Marshall, 1985; Smith and Bohmfalk, 1985/86), with the goal that the individual will retain or return to work. The occupational therapist's role is to guide and support individuals in their endeavors to regain the necessary skills, control, and work endurance (Le Vesconte, 1970). The therapist needs to know how the individual handles tools and materials, the demands work tasks make on the individual, and how functional impairment affects work habits and work skill. The therapist