Observational Procedure - An organized method of recording what a client does for the purpose of documenting behavior; the emphasis is usually upon productivity, behavior patterns, expressed interest, and worker interaction. Used to gain information concerning a client's overall level of functioning. [Click Here To Return To List]

Obtunded - Mental blunting; mild to moderate reduction of alertness. [Click Here To Return To List]

Occipital Lobe - Region in the back of the brain which processes visual information. Damage to this lobe can cause visual deficits. [Click Here To Return To List]

Occupational Information - All pertinent facts about a job, or job cluster, which accurately define the characteristics and requirements of the job so that an individual looking for work will have correct, adequate information for making a vocational decision. [Click Here To Return To List]

Occupational Therapy - Occupational Therapy is the therapeutic use of self-care, work and play activities to increase independent function, enhance development and prevent disability; may include the adaptation of a task or the environment to achieve maximum independence and to enhance the quality of life. The term occupation, as used in occupational therapy, refers to any activity engaged in for evaluating, specifying and treating problems interfering with functional performance. [Click Here To Return To List]

On-the-Job Training - A planned experience in an actual work situation through which the client, under supervision, learns to perform all job operations of an occupation. [Click Here To Return To List]

Organization, Cognitive - Using selective attention skills, the individual correctly perceives stimulus attributes or task elements, selects a strategy, monitors use of the strategy and reaches a correct solution.

Low Level: Those individuals who can sustain attention and appropriately switch sets. Persons with low level organization ability usually "fall apart" in high stress situations.

High Level: Those individuals who can deal with multiple pieces of information and integrate them for accomplishing relatively complex tasks. Some persons demonstrating high level cognitive organization may still "fall apart" in high stress situations. [Click Here To Return To List]

Orientation - Awareness of one's environment and/or situation, along with the ability to use this information appropriately in a functional setting. See Disorientation. [Click Here To Return To List]

Orientation to Environment - Knowledge regarding the present environment including where one is at the time of the evaluation. Accurate awareness of place. [Click Here To Return To List]

Orientation, Left-Right - The ability to discriminate between left and right body parts on oneself and on others, as well as the ability to discriminate between left and right within the environment. [Click Here To Return To List]

Orientation, Personal - General knowledge related to oneself includes information regarding date of birth, age, name, and location of home. [Click Here To Return To List]

Orientation, Situational - The ability to accurately describe present circumstances. For example, in the acute stages of injury, brain-injured patients may be unable to respond accurately to questions such as, "Why are you in the hospital?" Situational disorientation is commonly observed during the period of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA). [Click Here To Return To List]

Orientation, Temporal - Knowledge of the current date, day, month and year. Includes knowledge of facts related to time of day. For example, a disoriented patient asked to name the next meal at 4 PM might say, "breakfast." [Click Here To Return To List]

Orthopedics - The branch of medicine devoted to the study and treatment of the skeletal system, its joints, muscles and associated structures. [Click Here To Return To List]

Orthosis - Splint or brace designed to improve function or provide stability. [Click Here To Return To List]

Orthotist - A skilled craftsman who develops and fits mechanical devices, such as a brace, splint or body jacket, designed to support or supplement a weakened body part, or function. [Click Here To Return To List]

Outcome - The end result. [Click Here To Return To List]

Outcome, Socio-Ecologic - The Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group (ISIG) Subcommittee on Outcome (of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine) drafted the following statement at its meeting in June 1990: "Brain-injured persons have a capacity to function in the community. Rehabilitation can increase the ability to contribute to society and reduce the negative socio-ecological consequences of brain injury. We are committed to the reliable, valid measures of outcome that consider socio-ecological factors. Outcome measures can be viewed from a variety of perspectives, including impairment, disability and handicap. We recommend that in our Standards of Practice, we not limit measurement of outcome to the realms of impairment or disability. We advocate for outcome measures to include the issue of handicap or the socio-ecological context so that we define outcome around individuals inside of a support system or context." [Click Here To Return To List]

Outpatient - The patient residing outside the hospital but returning on a regular basis for one or more therapeutic services. [Click Here To Return To List]

Overnight Drainage Bag (ONDB) - A large thick plastic bag that is connected to a urodrain. It hangs on the bed and is used to collect urine at night or when someone needs to be in bed during the day. [Click Here To Return To List]

O.T. - See Occupational Therapy. [Click Here To Return To List]

Oximeter - A device to monitor the patient's oxygen saturation levels to assist in the prevention of hypoxia. [Click Here To Return To List]