What Is The Difference Between Rehabilitative And Habilitative Services

Lisa Murphy OTD, OTR/L, SWC

November 14th, 2018

Although they are often used in conjunction, there is a deviation between habilitation and rehabilitation. Physical, occupational, and oral communication therapies utilize both habilitative and rehabilitative approaches to enable persons with disabilities to achieve and maintain maximum independence, in all aspects of life .

Habilitation

Habilitation refers to a process aimed at helping individuals with disabilities accomplish, keep, or improve skills and operation for daily living. For pediatric patients, habilitative therapy often aims to help a kid develop motor skills that they take nonetheless to accomplish.

For instance, a child with cerebral palsy may require the assistance of a physical therapist to larn how to sit down. Or some other child may need speech communication therapy to learn how to say their R sounds. Because both of these are skills that the children have yet to accomplish, the aim of the therapy is habilitation.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation refers to regaining skills, abilities, or knowledge that may have been lost or compromised every bit a result of affliction, injury, or acquiring a disability.

For instance – a 30-year-old man who is an active runner trips over a stone and injures his ankle. Due to his injury, this man is unable to walk or run without limping and seeks the assistance of a concrete therapist to exist able to walk and run as he did earlier. The aim of this therapy is considered rehabilitation , helping this human being regain a lost skill.

Nosotros hope you lot establish this quick habilitative vs. rehabilitative overview helpful.

Observe Boosted Resources in the NAPA Blog:

Occupational Therapy vs. Physical Therapy
What are the Benefits of Pediatric Physical Therapy?
7 Occupational Therapy Activities to Endeavor at Home
Gross Motor Development for Infants and Toddlers

Early on Childhood Habilitation Services at NAPA Heart

At NAPA Center, we take an individualized arroyo to therapy because we understand that each child is unique with very specific needs. We cover differences with an agreement that individualized programs work better. For this reason, no two therapeutic programs are alike. If your child needs early childhood habilitation, habilitative therapy, or rehabilitation therapy, nosotros will piece of work closely with you to select the all-time therapies for them, creating a customized programme specific to your child's needs and your family's goals. Let your child's journey begin today by contacting us to learn more.