• 🔍 Definition

    Activity Analysis is the process of breaking down an occupation to understand:

    • Its demands

    • The skills required

    • How it can be matched, graded, or adapted to a client’s abilities  

    👉 Core OT Skill

    🧠 Clinical Anchor

    Activity analysis is how OT:
    👉 Bridges the gap between ability and participation  

    Concept

    Key Focus

    Activity Analysis

    Breaks down occupation to match client abilities

    Task Analysis

    Focuses on person–occupation–environment interaction, often in work/ergonomics

    🎯 Purpose (Why It Matters)

    Activity analysis allows you to:

    • Match activity demands ↔ client ability

    • Identify barriers to participation

    • Design targeted, meaningful interventions

    • Improve functional independence and quality of life  

    🧩 CORE COMPONENTS

    1. Activity (The Occupation)

    Break down:

    • Objects used

    • Steps / sequencing

    • Time demands

    • Required skills

    • Safety considerations  

    2. Client Performance

    Assess:

    • Strength, ROM, coordination

    • Sensation

    • Cognition (attention, memory, sequencing)

    • Psychosocial factors

    👉 Question:
    “Can they do this as-is?”  

    3. Environment

    Analyze:

    • Space & layout

    • Surface height

    • Lighting, noise

    • Social context

    • Accessibility

    👉 Small changes here = huge performance shifts  

    🧠 OT Mental Model (Keep This)

    👉 Activity Analysis =
    Activity + Person + Environment

    🔄 CLINICAL PROCESS FLOW

    Step 1: Identify

    • Meaningful occupation

    • Client goals (occupation-as-end)

    Step 2: Break it down

    • Activity demands

    • Required skills

    Step 3: Compare

    • Client ability vs demand

    Step 4: Decide

    • Perform as-is

    • Grade

    • Adapt

    📈 GRADING (Skill Building)

    👉 Definition: Modify challenge level

    Goal: “Just-right challenge”

    🔼 Upgrade (Harder)

    • Increase resistance

    • Increase complexity

    • Add steps

    • Increase speed

    • Reduce support

    🔽 Downgrade (Easier)

    • Decrease resistance

    • Simplify steps

    • Reduce cognitive demand

    • Provide support

    • Shorten duration

    🧠 Key Rule:

    👉 Change 1–2 variables at a time  

    🔑 Common Grading Variables

    • ROM

    • Strength / resistance

    • Speed

    • Position (sit vs stand)

    • Duration

    • Repetition

    • Complexity

    • Assistance level  

    🔧 ADAPTATION (Compensation)

    👉 Definition: Modify task/environment to enable performance

    🎯 Purpose

    • Reduce barriers

    • Enable participation

    • Promote independence

    🔄 Types of Adaptation

    1. Task

    • Simplify steps

    • Change method (one-handed dressing)

    2. Environment

    • Adjust height, lighting, layout

    • Reduce clutter

    3. Tools / Equipment

    • Built-up handles

    • Weighted utensils

    • Assistive devices

    🧠 Key Principle

    👉 Adaptation should:

    • Be safe

    • Support normal movement

    • Preserve meaning of activity  

    🧪 EXAMPLES (High Yield)

    🧓 “Meemaw” Cooking Example

    Grading

    • Sit → stand progression

    • Light → heavy cookware

    • Short → longer duration  

    Adaptation

    • Microwave meals

    • Prepped food

    • Family assistance

    • Air fryer  

    🧠 CLINICAL GOLD (This is OT Identity)

    👉 Occupation is both:

    Occupation-as-End

    • Real-life roles (ADLs, work, leisure)

    Occupation-as-Means

    • Used to build skills

    ⚠️ Over-reliance on rote exercise → ↓ meaning & carryover  

    ⚡ OTCC QUICK USE (30-sec reference)

    Ask yourself:

    1. What does the task require?

    2. What can the client do?

    3. What is getting in the way?

    4. Do I:

      • Grade?

      • Adapt?

      • Or change the task entirely?

    🧭 CLINICAL ANCHOR (FINAL LINE)

    Activity analysis is how OT turns movement into meaning and ability into participation.

  • 🔍 Definition

    Differential diagnosis is a clinical reasoning process used to determine the underlying cause of symptoms and functional limitations by distinguishing between conditions with similar presentations.

    🧠 Clinical Anchor

    👉 Not diagnosing — but not guessing either.
    You are identifying the primary driver of dysfunction so your intervention actually works.

    ⚖️ OT Scope Perspective

    Occupational therapists do NOT medically diagnose, but we:

    • Rule out non-OT issues

    • Identify the primary impairment

    • Guide targeted intervention planning  

    🎯 Purpose (Why It Matters)

    Differential reasoning ensures:

    • You treat the right structure/system

    • You avoid wasted or harmful interventions

    • Your plan is efficient, precise, and defensible

    🧠 OT DIFFERENTIAL REASONING FLOW

    1. Occupational Profile

    • Mechanism of injury

    • Onset (acute vs gradual)

    • Context (life roles, recent changes)

    👉 Often where the answer starts revealing itself

    2. Observation

    • Movement patterns

    • Guarding / compensation

    • Functional limitations

    3. Objective Testing

    • ROM

    • Strength

    • Sensation

    • Special tests

    👉 This is where you confirm or challenge your hypothesis

    4. Pattern Recognition

    Ask:

    • Does this presentation fit the condition?

    • Or does something feel off?

    5. Clinical Decision

    • Confirm likely impairment

    • OR pivot and test a different system

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