What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational Therapy in the Yorktown Central School District is provided to facilitate a student's independence in an educational program. As a related service, occupational therapy must be educationally relevant. The American Occupational Therapy Association identifies performance areas that can be addressed by occupational therapists (work, leisure and self care) and the performance components necessary to develop skills in these areas.

An occupational therapy program is designed to assist in developing underlying skills that support academic success. Occupational therapy may include interventions to improve gross and fine motor skills, visual perceptual motor skills, activities of daily living, sensory processing skills, and to organize and use materials appropriately, interact with peers, and attend to and focus on instructions or directions. When necessary, the use of assistive technology or compensatory strategies may be recommended. The following are examples of students who may require occupational therapy services:

• • Students who have problems with fine motor coordination and cannot effectively write, cut and construct.

  • Students who, because of poorly developed body scheme, have trouble organizing their bodies when learning new motor tasks and developing spatial concepts.

  • Students who have difficulty modulating their responses to environmental stimuli and are unable to attend to classroom lessons, stay in their seats, or tolerate close physical proximity to their peers.

  • Students whose classroom performance is significantly below the functional level of his/her classroom peers.