All About Occupational Therapy (OT) in Schools

OTs are health professionals, trained in behavioural and neurological sciences.

OTs in schools focus on activities that children engage in at school. They assist children to develop the skills to gain and maintain independence.  

They facilitate children’s independent engagement in school roles, activities and routines.  These include children as students, players and self-carers.

The role of being a student requires such things as the ability to:  stay seated, attend, wait, turn take, transition between activities and self-regulate

The domains targeted by OTs are:

·       Learning to learn (engagement and attention)

·       Activities of daily living

·       Play

·       Gross motor

·       Fine motor

·       Handwriting

       If we look at the Pyramid of Learning, we see that all areas of the pyramid need to be covered before reaching the top where academic learning takes place.  OT’s assist with helping underpin most of this pyramid if strengthening is required.

Darine Groch