Occupational therapy is about finding what is meaningful in your day: finding out what you want to do, need to do, or would like to do and how to get you going. Much of the support is through modifying, adapting, and/or grading work to best fit the individual for a just right challenge and then advancing their skills to meet the demands they are faced with. 

In the school setting, OTs care about the student's occupations and the skills they need to meet those demands. Much of the focus is on self-help, fine motor, visual motor, and sensory motor skills that a child needs to have to access education to the best of their abilities. Explaining developmental projections, age-appropriate play activities, facilitating graded work, providing adaptive equipment, educating use of assistive technology, and teacher collaboration to carryover skills are all included in what an OT does to help.

Physical therapy is about getting you where you need to go and want to go as well as providing and training you on the equipment you may need to get there. Like occupational therapy, physical therapy provides the appropriate grading of skills, equipment, and use of exercises to improve mobility.

In the school setting, PTs care about the student's ability to access the school environment using their gross motor skills. Such an area of skills are needed from getting from one class to another, going to the cafeteria to eat with friends, participating in specials, and accessing playground equipment. A PT will help with navigation skills with equipment as needed, education in ergonomics and positioning, providing customized adaptive equipment as needed, and teacher training/collaboration to continue the student's journey on carryover of skills.