Buffalo Occupational Therapy

Buffalo Occupational Therapy Specialized Memory Care, Resources, and Consultation services in Buffalo, NY. Advanced training in memory loss and movement disorders.

Host to Brainwaves of America and BOT Portal Occupational Therapy Resources.

We talk a lot about “occupation-based practice,” but most of us were never actually taught where occupation came from.
S...
12/01/2025

We talk a lot about “occupation-based practice,” but most of us were never actually taught where occupation came from.

Spoiler: it wasn’t brushing teeth or simulated ADLs.

From 1790–1899, occupation was skilled craftwork, identity rebuilding, community participation, and meaningful contribution.
People weren’t “practicing functioning.” They were reclaiming themselves.

Somewhere along the line, we shrank that history into an ADL checklist — and now insurance companies use that misunderstanding to deny skilled care.

This episode breaks down the TRUE roots of our profession… and how misunderstanding them is trapping OT today.

🎧 Episode 1 is live: 1790–1899 — The Origins of Occupation Under Pressure

A brutally honest look at where OT really started, and the one thing you can do this week to reclaim meaning in your practice.
If history has taught us anything… it’s to stay outspoken.

11/26/2025

🚨 FLASH DEAL — Only 72 Hours! 📸
The biggest BOT Portal flash of 2025 is officially live.

If you know me, you know this:
I’m a clinician first. I love clear structure, education, handouts, and practical tools you can actually use with real clients. My patients have responded to this approach for 8+ years — and honestly, so do most OTs.

Because I’ve worked across nearly every setting (teletherapy, acute care, SNF, home health, outpatient, and private practice) I had to build resources that actually work in the real world. And because I’m also a researcher, I can’t help but back everything with evidence and clinical reasoning.

The result?
A massive, ever-growing OT toolkit designed to make your practice easier, clearer, and more confident — plus:

✨ Monthly live, theme-based meetups
✨ Weekly check-ins inside the community forum
✨ Support + guidance to help you grow your clinical voice

If you’re ready for resources that actually support your thinking and elevate your practice, this is the moment to jump in. It’s quick and it won’t be back anytime soon. 😮😮

If you’re not ready to jump in yet, save this reel so you don’t lose the code later. You never know when you’ll need a confidence boost, a resource, or a clinical refresher — and I want you to have this when the moment comes.

Comment “FLASH” and I’ll send you the 72-hour code.
Then save it for when you’re ready.

If you’ve been watching from the sidelines…
THIS is your sign. ⚡Get 3 months of free access inside the BOT Portal and se...
11/24/2025

If you’ve been watching from the sidelines…

THIS is your sign. ⚡

Get 3 months of free access inside the BOT Portal and see why thousands of OTs say it finally helped them understand real OT practice.

Tap in. Explore. Build confidence.

You’ve got nothing to lose — and skills to gain. 💪

However…..if you have already been in the BOT Portal free membership and you are ready to launch into confidence - now is the time to jump in!

🔥 Episode 8 is here — and it’s the one every OT needs to hear.HR1 didn’t just adjust student loans…
It exposed the crack...
11/23/2025

🔥 Episode 8 is here — and it’s the one every OT needs to hear.

HR1 didn’t just adjust student loans…

It exposed the cracks our profession has been quietly standing on for a decade.

OT was left off the “professional program” list.
Loan caps were slashed in half.
Grad PLUS is gone.
Students can’t afford tuition.
Programs are panicking.
And the entire workforce pipeline is suddenly at risk.

But here’s the real truth:
HR1 didn’t cause the crisis — it made it impossible to ignore.
For years we’ve absorbed shrinking reimbursement, rising tuition, exploding prior auths, identity confusion, and being overlooked in policy conversations… all while staying polite and hoping someone else would advocate for us.

This episode breaks down exactly:
• what HR1 actually did
• why OT got left off the list
• how this threatens the future of our profession
• and what we must do next if we want OT to survive, grow, and finally be taken seriously

This isn’t fear-mongering.
This is a wake-up call.

And if you’re an OT student, practitioner, educator, or someone who cares about the future of this field…
you need to hear this.

🎧 Go listen to Episode 8: “HR1 Exposed Us: The Financial Crisis OT Should’ve Seen Coming.”
Your profession depends on understanding what’s happening — and what happens next.

➡️ Full episode now live.

🌿 Occupational Therapy for Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD)Corticobasal Degeneration is a rare neurodegenerative conditio...
10/28/2025

🌿 Occupational Therapy for Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD)

Corticobasal Degeneration is a rare neurodegenerative condition that affects both movement and cognition. In this case study, our OT team worked to preserve independence, optimize mobility, and enhance quality of life — even as the disease progressed.

🧠 Focus Areas:

Executive function & cognitive retraining

Upper extremity neuro rehabilitation

Balance and mobility training

Compensatory and adaptive strategies

Caregiver and home program education

💪 OT’s Lasting Impact:

Through proactive intervention and education, occupational therapy supported the client’s dignity, safety, and participation throughout the course of disease — demonstrating that even when cure isn’t possible, meaningful function is.

A special thanks to our Level 2 Fieldwork Student - Emily - for this awesome post! 😁

Clinicians have an identity. We want the medical model. We want to be respected on the medical model. We will organize t...
10/27/2025

Clinicians have an identity. We want the medical model. We want to be respected on the medical model. We will organize to make progress around the country. Let’s do it together 🤝

Voices are stronger when we know who has our back. The way forward is to unify our voice 🗣️

A century ago, one of our founders called on occupational therapists to organize our own voice—not to wait for the association to do it for us.

That time has come again.

The United States Occupational Therapy Clinician Coalition (OTCC) exists to unify clinicians and strengthen occupational therapy’s place within the medical model.

We advocate for recognition, reimbursement, and representation that reflect our true scope across the cognitive, psychosocial, and physical domains of care.
Together, we are the organized voice Kidner envisioned: clinicians standing as one for the science, integrity, and future of our profession.

“How is it possible to work intelligently for a cure unless the condition to be cured is recognized and understood?”More...
10/24/2025

“How is it possible to work intelligently for a cure unless the condition to be cured is recognized and understood?”

More than a century ago, our founders warned against practicing therapy without understanding the diagnosis. They saw that intention — not activity — is what makes occupation therapeutic.

Knowing a diagnosis doesn’t limit us. It informs us. It sharpens our reasoning, strengthens our plan, and gives occupation its curative power.
Cure requires understanding.


They’ll pay another credentialed provider to do the same service… but not the therapist who’s actually trained to do it....
10/20/2025

They’ll pay another credentialed provider to do the same service… but not the therapist who’s actually trained to do it.

Read that again.

“The skills of a therapist may also be furnished by an appropriately trained and experienced physician or NPP.”

That’s Medicare’s own language.

So when a doctor provides “therapy skills,” it’s covered.

But when an occupational therapist does — it’s questioned, audited, or denied.

This isn’t about “skill.” It’s about hierarchy.

It’s about a system that assumes therapy is less than medicine, even when the outcomes prove otherwise.

OTs aren’t assistants to the medical model.
We are clinicians. We are evidence-based.
We are skilled.

It’s time to start saying so — loudly.

🧠

“The point is not to produce a good basket.”In the early decades of occupational therapy, our founders fought hard to de...
10/19/2025

“The point is not to produce a good basket.”

In the early decades of occupational therapy, our founders fought hard to define the profession as curative, not sentimental. They warned that when therapy becomes diversion, and happiness becomes the goal, we lose our clinical power.

Occupational therapy was never meant to be “activity for the sake of doing.” It was the deliberate use of occupation as medicine — to reorganize the brain, rebuild movement, and restore function.

Our role is not to create joy, but to rebuild the capacity for it.

⚪️ Cure over craft.
⚪️ Intention over diversion.
⚪️ Capacity over comfort.

Let’s not forget what made this profession revolutionary in the first place.

🧠✨ Cognitive load + inhibition = everyday executive function skills we all address in practice. Whether you’re supportin...
09/13/2025

🧠✨ Cognitive load + inhibition = everyday executive function skills we all address in practice. Whether you’re supporting stroke recovery, brain injury, ADHD, or aging clients, teaching strategies to manage “mental overload” and filter distractions is KEY for participation.

📚 Try breaking it down:
➡️ Anchor focus to one task at a time
➡️ Pause + breathe before switching
➡️ Practice small task shifts
➡️ Slow down when overload hits

As OTs, we can make these invisible cognitive processes visible and give clients practical tools for success in real life. 💡🙌

When your client’s weaker arm flexes as they stand, cough, or lift, that’s an associated reaction—automatic overflow dur...
08/30/2025

When your client’s weaker arm flexes as they stand, cough, or lift, that’s an associated reaction—automatic overflow during early motor relearning, not “trying to move.” Normalize it, protect safety, and shape it into function. 💪

Quick clinical cues:

🌬️ Exhale on effort to reduce overflow
🪑 Position & give proximal support
🤲 Use bilateral/symmetrical tasks
🖐️ Encourage open-hand/weight-bearing to dampen flexor synergy
⏱️ Grade the task & pace reps

OT

Address

1404 Sweet Home Road, Ste 11
Amherst, NY
14228

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 9pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+17162353013

Website

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Buffalo Occupational Therapy

Outpatient rehabilitation through Buffalo Occupational Therapy is a complete head to toe rehabilitation approach. We not only address your physical needs through stretching, exercises, guided activity, manual therapy, and modalities, but we also address psychological, social, environmental, and cognitive needs. We begin by addressing your physical function and end with ensuring you can apply these physical performance skills to your daily life through functional performance skills.

Just as there are specialized doctors of medicine, there are outpatient therapists who focus their research, attention, study, and practice on specific methods and approaches to rehabilitation. Buffalo Occupational Therapy is set apart in their comprehensive approach to restoring function which allows us to great outcomes when addressing specific areas. We use our hybrid method, neurocentric vantage point, and function-based approach to help you get the results you want out of your outpatient rehabilitation experience!

Buffalo Occupational Therapy works with you one-on-one to create a treatment plan that will meet your needs, accomplish your desired outcomes, and restore your hope in recovery. Our practitioners are committed to maintaining current competencies, meeting monthly continuing education goals, and being well-versed in the latest evidence-based, research-driven treatment models in order to offer you the best treatment possible.