Toileting: Identifying and Treating the Unspoken ADL

Presented by Lindsey Vestal

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Video Runtime: 39 Minutes, Learning Assessments: 37 Minutes

Lindsey Vestal, an occupational therapist specializing in pelvic health, takes pride in making complex ideas more accessible. In this course, she clarifies why and how toileting is well within the scope of any occupational therapy practitioner, regardless of experience level. Participants will learn how to improve intake language for an environment where both the practitioner and the client feel more at ease discussing sensitive issues. This intentional intake style allows clearer identification of client-centered goals and ultimately expands a client’s occupational performance in self-care, home and community mobility, social participation, and role management (AOTA, 2020). After this course, participants will be more self-assured when recommending behavioral modifications, toileting products, and integrating new habits into existing routines.

Meet your instructor

Lindsey Vestal

Lindsey Vestal is an occupational therapist internationally known for her advocacy for occupational therapy’s role in pelvic health. She was the first OT to start a private practice specializing in pelvic health in New York City in 2014 and in Paris in 2019. Now her company, The Functional Pelvis, focuses solely on teaching…

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Chapters & learning objectives

OTs Can Treat the Pelvic Floor!

1. OTs Can Treat the Pelvic Floor!

Occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) across various settings encounter toileting, either directly or indirectly, when collaborating with clients. Take this time to remind yourself that toileting, like other ADLs, is a task within our scope to identify and reduce barriers within the environment, the routine, or the client’s skill set.

You Are Already Equipped!

2. You Are Already Equipped!

As an OTP, you will recognize how your training is a natural extension of your client’s quality of life, self-perception, and occupational performance. You will apply therapeutic use of self and components from both the occupational therapy domain and process to address socially sensitive needs.

The Taboo ADL: Open Language for the Interview Process

3. The Taboo ADL: Open Language for the Interview Process

You will observe the use of accessible, nonjudgmental language for optimal completion of an intake form related to toileting.

The Fun Part: Interventions for Positive Outcomes

4. The Fun Part: Interventions for Positive Outcomes

You will customize effective interventions by extrapolating client-specific details captured during the intake interview. Applying task analysis enables OTPs to grade the task and modify physical, cognitive, and environmental factors.