What is School-Based Occupational Therapy?
The role of occupational therapy in schools has been evolving from an individual impairment-focused approach to a comprehensive model to support schools to include and support all children to participate fully in all educational and social activities.
In 2016 the World Federation of Occupational Therapists published a position paper which states that occupational therapists need to “provide collaborative support to enable occupation and to remove or reduce barriers to participation of all students, particularly those with special educational needs” (WFOT, 2016). To facilitate this, it promotes a tiered approach to intervention, in line with approaches such as Response to Intervention (Ardoin et al, 2005) and Partnering for Change (Missiuna et al, 2012). The three tiers (or levels) as follows:
In 2016 the World Federation of Occupational Therapists published a position paper which states that occupational therapists need to “provide collaborative support to enable occupation and to remove or reduce barriers to participation of all students, particularly those with special educational needs” (WFOT, 2016). To facilitate this, it promotes a tiered approach to intervention, in line with approaches such as Response to Intervention (Ardoin et al, 2005) and Partnering for Change (Missiuna et al, 2012). The three tiers (or levels) as follows:
- At the Primary level of “Universal Design for Learning” the whole school / classroom environment and activities are designed keeping in mind all learners, e.g. inclusive lesson planning.
- At the Secondary level the focus is on “Differentiation”, for example adapting materials or activities for an individual child so they can participate in the same activities as their peers within the classroom.
- At the Tertiary level the focus is on “Accommodation and Individual Intervention”, which includes therapy outside class and providing individual activities or strategies within or outside the classroom.