Occupational and Physical Therapy
What is Occupational Therapy? |
Occupational Therapy is a related service that enhances or increases a child’s ability to access or benefit from instruction provided by a general education or a special education teacher. Services should enhance the student’s ability to participate in the educational process.
Occupational therapy is a “..supportive service required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education…” Students who receive occupational therapy services in the school setting have been determined to need occupational therapy in order to benefit educationally. Occupational therapy combines the art and science of providing and directing activities that serve to restore and enhance performance of skills needed for functional daily living. The occupational therapist uses a variety of tasks and exercises in the areas of self-care, work and play to increase functional independence, enhance development, and prevent disability. The task or the environment may be adapted to promote maximum independence and improve quality of life. Services can be provided as direct services or consultative services Services can be provided in collaboration and in a co-treatment format with Speech Language Therapists, Physical Therapist, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Teacher of the Deaf, Special Education Teacher, General Education Teacher, ESOL Teacher |
Frequently Asked Questions |
1) How does this relate to occupational therapy in the school setting?
One of a child’s roles is to be successful both academically and socially in school. Some children require a modified curriculum and/or additional assistance to achieve mastery in these areas. Through the use of adaptation, teaching, therapeutic exercise and play, an occupational therapist may support a child in reaching their curriculum goals. 2) If a child qualifies for occupational therapy, how often will he/she receive services?Occupational therapy services can be provided in a variety of ways as determined by the IEP team. Based on educational needs, time may be used to work directly with the student, consult with the teaching staff or parent, and/or to address equipment/modification needs. As an example, one child may require weekly intervention to support his/her IEP goals while another child may require support once a semester to ensure that feeding and/or equipment needs are being met. 3) What areas do occupational therapists address with their students in the school setting?
4) Why doesn’t occupational therapy routinely provide services to the student on a daily basis? Because occupational therapy is a support service, one of our main goals is to assure that the child receives recommended programs and adaptations throughout each school day. To accomplish this, the staff is trained by the occupational therapist to carry out these programs in all areas of the child’s educational environment. Working together as a team, the occupational therapist and school staff are able to provide the optimum means of achieving the IEP goals. Federal law mandates that each child should be served in the least restrictive environment. This often means that the child is working daily with his/her classroom teacher on a program recommended by the occupational therapist. |