Terapeuta Ocupacional

Occupational Therapy

In School Settings
Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants are part of the education team within a school district. The profession of occupational therapyis concerned with a person’s ability to participate in desired daily life activities or “occupations.” In the schools, occupational therapy practitioners use their unique expertise to help childrento prepare for and perform important learning and school-related activities and to fulfill their role as students. In this setting, occupational therapists (and occupational therapy assistants, underthe supervision of the occupational therapist) support academic and non-academic outcomes, including social skills, math, reading and writing (i.e., literacy), behavior management, recess,participation in sports, self-help skills, prevocational/vocational participation, and more, for children and students with disabilities, 3 to 21 years of age. Practitioners are particularly skilled infacilitating student access to curricular and extracurricular activities through supports, designing and planning, and other methods. Additionally, they play a critical role in training parents, other staffmembers, and caregivers regarding educating students with diverse learning needs. Occupational therapy practitioners have specific knowledge and expertise to appropriately address student needs.Occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants know how to • observe a student engaging in an activity and provide strategies to facilitate the student’s full participation; • reduce barriersthat limit student participation within the school environment; • use assistive technology to support student success; • support the needs of students with significant challenges, such as by helpingto determine methods for alternate assessment; • help identify long-term goals for appropriate post-school outcomes; • help plan relevant instructional activities for ongoing implementation in the...