Lesya Dyk
Lesya Dyk, owner and operator of LDOT Occupational Therapy joins us to discuss the role of occupational Therapy and its importance in the insurance of a safe and complete home renovation Aging in Place project.
Lesya has been a clinical and professional leader in the Rehabilitation, Regulation and Professional organization industry for the past 27 years. Working primarily in the auto insurance sector as an Occupational Therapist since opening her own practice Lesya Dyk, O.T. Services Inc. in 1998, her focus is on individuals with Chronic Pain, Brain Injury, Muskulo-skeletal disorders, and psycho-social disorders that arise from disability. She previously held positions as staff Occupational Therapist and Medical Legal Clinical Coordinator at Day Programme for Chronic Pain Management at Chedoke Hospital.
Lesya has been involved with McMaster University since 1990, tutoring in the Occupational Therapy programme, Programme for Faculty Development, and the DeGroote School of Medicine. Currently holds position of Clinical Lecturer. Elected to Council of the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario (COTO) in 2005. First elected President of the COTO in 2011. Held this office until her 3rd three-year term ended, March 2014.
Lesya’s experience in the home modification arena of Aging in Place has always coexisted with her rehabilitation work and she recognizes the importance of home safety as it pertains to all individuals whether they are recovering from injury or looking to remain in their homes as they age. Lesya’s strong commitment to getting things done right and her straightforward approach allows her to be a strong advocate for the role of the Occupational Therapist within the Aging in Place sector. She is a long-standing member of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists’ Home Modification Task Force as well as a member of the Canadian Home Builder’s Association’s Home Modifications Counsel, where she represented the CAOT. Her experience and voice have now led her to becoming the Chairperson for the National Research Council’s Aging in Place Challenge. This project looks to expand the learnings, products, and services to Canadians within the Aging in Place segment as it grows across Canada. We congratulate her on this appointment.
As Lesya explains during our talk, although many who are starting out to research Aging in Place do not equate Occupational Therapy as having a key role in the overall picture, she equates very succinctly that the involvement of an OT is a cheap and easy insurance policy.
Those of us in the business have all seen completed projects that are rendered almost useless when the individual’s needs, abilities and daily activities are not considered. These are the OT’s expertise and for the time, cost and deliverables, it is, as Lesya explains, an easy and effective insurance policy to ensure that the clients’ goals are fully met by having an OT involved from the beginning.