What is occupational therapy and what roles do OTs have in the school? Occupational therapy encompasses a large range of roles throughout a variety of settings, such as schools, private clinics, hospitals, mental health facilities, patient's homes, and even prisons! In its simplest terms, OTs help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). In the school setting, occupational therapists are part of the education team and work with students in preschool, elementary, middle, and high school to support successful learning, appropriate behavior, and participation in daily school routines and activities. Services can be provided under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or as part of a multi-tiered problem-solving process for general education students (e.g., Response to Intervention, early intervening services). OTs also collaborate with teachers, parents, and education personnel on ways to support student learning throughout the school environment. Read more here if interested. Do you have suggestions for activities to do at home? To find a list of ideas for home activities that address certain areas of motor skills, please see below: *fine motor coordination and strength *crossing midline *bilateral coordination skills *motor planning *visual spatial and perceptual skills
What age should my child be able to zip his/her jacket? Please refer to our developmental milestones, found here
Recommendations for sensory strategies? Just like we need food throughout the day, kids need different sensory input from their environments to meet their needs. A sensory diet is a term used when an individual sensory "plan" is created to meet a child's needs. It is important to know the difference between sensory needs in order to provide the child with an appropriate sensory diet. If you have questions about your child's sensory needs, please contact your OT. To view a list of sensory strategies that may be used to create a sensory diet, click here The following are also recommended websites for further information regarding sensory processing: http://spdfoundation.net/ http://sensorysmarts.com/index.html http://www.spdparentzone.org/
Domain, IEP, Eligibility meeting, oh my! What's the difference between each type of meeting? The names and number of meetings can be overwhelming. Hopefully this brief description helps you understand each meeting and the importance of your and the team's role in determining the best support for your child in the school setting. - Domain Meeting: Domain meetings are brief meetings in which all the disciplines working with your child meet to discuss what assessments or evaluations, if any, will be completed to determine the appropriate services or supports for your child prior to his/her re-evaluation or initial evaluation. Once the domain meeting is complete, the team has 60 school days to complete the evaluation process. - Eligibility Meeting: Eligibility meetings occur roughly 60 school days after the domain meeting and occur either every 3 years (re-evaluation) or as part of the initial evaluation for special education services. At this time, the team shares results of the evaluations that were deemed pertinent at the domain meeting. Based on the results, the team determines if and what special education services your child is eligible for. - IEP or Annual Review: IEP meetings, or annual reviews, are held annually to discuss your child's progress with current goals and propose new goals for the following year. IEP meetings are not necessarily held at the beginning or end of the school year, but rather 1 year from your child's previous annual review.
With all the increased use in technology, is handwriting really that important? While the use of iPads, computers, and phones have increased significantly both within and outside of school and do reap some benefits, recent research suggests that handwriting provides some foundations for learning that keyboards do not. Some research studies have indicated that the sequential finger movements used to create strokes of letters activate regions of the brain associated with thinking, language, and working memory, whereas typing only requires pressing a single button. Other studies have supported that handwriting plays key roles in literacy and reading, composition, and expressing ideas in essays. Check this out for an interesting read!Handwriting Without Tears is also great program to help facilitate efficient and effective handwriting. Many OTs base their handwriting interventions off the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum. More information can be found at the Handwriting Without Tears website:http://www.hwtears.com/hwt