What
Are Direct and Indirect School OT Services?
Which
Students Are Eligible for School OT Services?
Who
Provides School OT Services?
What
is the Difference Between School OT and Medical OT?
How
Can I Find Out More About School-Based OT?
What
Is School Occupational Therapy (OT)?
As
a related service the goal of occupational therapy (OT) is to enable
students with disabilities to be functional participants in their educational
environment. Occupational therapists (OT's) provide direct and indirect
services to students when it is required in order to implement the students'
educational programs. These services to students, school teams, and
families may include:
· Helping school teams devise strategies and adaptive aids in
order to improve school performance, and to include students with disabilities
in school activities.
· Helping teachers understand the sensorimotor aspects of school
activities such as writing, eating, and handling materials, in order
to address problems in those areas.
· Developing activities to improve fine motor control, to improve
oral motor control for feeding, or to promote sensorimotor development
(body awareness, postural control, eye-hand coordination).
School
OT intervention is limited to those services that are required for a
student to benefit from their educational program. There may be aspects
of a student's disability that do not interfere with education but could
be addressed by an occupational therapist in another setting.
What
Are Direct and Indirect School OT Services?
INDIRECT
OT SERVICES are services to school teams on behalf of a student. They
may include:
· Explaining how a student's medical or sensorimotor problems
will affect school performance.
· Suggesting modifications to school activities and the school
environment.
· Adapting materials for use in school.
· Referring a student for an assistive technology consultation.
· Recommending consultation with adapted physical education specialists.
· Helping to set realistic expectations for the student's performance.
· Monitoring the effectiveness of therapeutic modifications and
accommodations carried out by school personnel.
DIRECT
OT SERVICES are services provided directly to students, either individually
or in a group. They may include:
· Exploring and monitoring seating and positioning adaptations
to increase independence and participation in school activities. Example:
extra support to allow control for writing or cutting tasks.
· Exploring modifications to school activities. Example: adapting
worksheets and using materials that are easier to handle or to control.
· Exploring individualized adaptations of school materials to
increase independence and school participation. Example: adapting feeding
utensils, pencils, or scissors.
· Developing a program of therapeutic activities to support a
student's performance in the educational environment. Example: hand
strengthening activities for writing, cutting, or opening containers.
· Training school staff in techniques for handling, feeding,
or helping a student use special equipment and then monitoring use of
the techniques.
· Ongoing reassessment of the student's needs and the role of
OT in addressing those needs.
Which
Students Are Eligible for School OT Services?
To
be eligible for school OT services students must:
· Be identified as having a disability that interferes with education
under the criteria of IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
· And have sensorimotor problems that interfere with their ability
to manage classroom materials, activities, or their self-care needs
in school;
· And need OT intervention to become more independent or better
able to participate in school activities.
Who
Provides School OT Services?
School
OT services are provided by Maryland licensed occupational therapists
and Maryland licensed occupational therapy assistants.
OT's
and OTA's are part of the multidisciplinary team that plans and monitors
the student's special education Individualized Education Program or
written 504 Plan.
What
is the Difference Between School OT and Medical OT?
School
OT intervention consists of services that are required for students
to benefit from their educational programs. There may be facets of a
student's disability, which do not interfere with education but could
be addressed by an occupational therapist in another setting.
How
Can I Find Out More About School-Based OT?
If
your child attends a Baltimore county Public School:
Contact your child's teacher, school administrator, or the occupational
therapist assigned to your child's school.
If
your child is birth to three years:
Contact Baltimore County's Infants & Toddlers Program at 410-887-2169
If
your child is three years old to 21 years old and does not attend a
BCPS:
Contact the Office of Child Find at 410-887-3017
Beth
George, Team Leader