What is Rehabilitation

Illness and injury change the lives of thousands of Ontarians each year—resulting in physical or cognitive disabilities.

Rehabilitation can help.

Rehabilitation addresses a wide variety of impairments and problems. Some examples include:

• limited or painful movement of hands, arms, legs or other parts of the body
• difficulty with physical activities like sitting up, standing or walking
• difficulty with balance
• problems with breathing, swallowing or talking
• trouble problem-solving, or focusing and paying attention.

Rehabilitation helps individuals to improve their function, mobility, independence and quality of life. It helps individuals live fully regardless of impairment. It helps people who are aging or living with various health conditions to maintain the functioning they have.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines rehabilitation as follows:

Rehabilitation of people with disabilities is a process aimed at enabling them to reach and maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychological and social functional levels. Rehabilitation provides disabled people with the tools they need to attain independence and self-determination. (2007)