Schools and Occupational Therapy Treatment

Primary School

At the Primary School Occupational Therapy intervenes early when needed. It is important for a child to develop strong hand and trunk muscles so they are ready to cut, color and begin to use a tool to draw lines, shapes and letters to communicate meaning to themselves and others. When students are young many times therapy may focus on motor coordination/strength in preparation for sitting at the table or participating in daily tasks in the classroom setting. Often a child will develop a hand preference by the age of 3/4 in preparation for writing and cutting. A child will generally develop a hand dominance by the age of 4/5. This is important as we want students to choose one hand for all the tasks that we ask them to do in and out of the classroom. The dominant hand is often referred to as the "worker hand" and the non-dominant hand the "helper hand." Students need strong trunk and shoulder muscles (core muscles) to maintain good posture for moving and sitting. Given a strong core students are able to use their hands for classroom tasks like cutting, coloring, building, drawing and many other things.

Students are asked to print their first names in capital letters by the time they finish preschool. In kindergarten they learn how to print capital letters using the Handwriting Without Tears handwriting program and are also introduced to lower case letters the second half of the year. In first grade students are taught lower case letter with the same program. As students become more proficient in their printing they are also asked to follow the rules of writing: capitals, spaces, letters on the line and punctuation. Occupational Therapy supports teachers in their role of teaching students handwriting and serve a consultative role to determine if students have the foundational skills (pencil grasp, strength, coordination) to get the job done.

Students may also be challenged with paying attention in school or being organized for their day. Occupational Therapy can help provide ideas for students to focus (movement breaks, wiggle cushion, alternative seating) or to tolerate sensory input (headphones, squeeze ball, sensory box) in addition to assisting with cognitive and visual perceptual challenges.

Handwriting Without Tears Program

http://www.hwtears.com/hwt/why-it-works/research

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6_uhLdqCKc

Turkey Hill Middle School

As students move up in the grades the focus of Occupational Therapy treatment moves from foundational skills to writing, motor skills, pre-vocational skills and assitive technology. Students are most often seen during an English Langauge Arts Block in or out of the classroom. The Occupational Therapist works in collaboration with the classroom teacher and special education staff to help the child be successful in and out of the classroom.

Lunenburg Middle/High School

In the middle and high school most students that are seen for Occupational Therapy services are seen in a substantially separate classroom. Often the focus is on pre-vocational skills, typing, technology and/or transition.

ACE

In the ACE program students are primarily on for Occupational Therapy services as a consult. Often the student might have difficulty accessing the curriculum, need modifications to his/her work space, and need strategies to support their learning.