The East
Bay Educational Collaborative's Occupational Therapy Department
consists of 8 OT service providers who offer OT services to the
Special Education Departments of Bristol-Warren and Newport
Regional. This encompasses the towns of Bristol, Warren, Middletown,
Portsmouth, Tiverton and Little Compton.
Occupational Therapy in the school setting deals with the child's
occupation, or functional performance at school.
A child's
occupation at school is to learn and function as independently as
possible during all parts of the school day. When the child
experiences difficulty in these areas, and the difficulty is due to
a deficit in a pre-requisite or "foundation skill", the child may
qualify to receive OT services. These foundation skills range from
physical dysfunction, visual perceptual motor deficits or sensory
processing issues.
The deficits in these areas manifest themselves by impacting
skills in various areas of classroom performance, which may include
poor handwriting, decreased self-care skills, attention to task,
etc. Through a school-based assessment, student's strengths and
needs are determined. Together, with the IEP team, a plan is written
for each individual child.
Treatment is delivered in a model known as the OT Triad. The
three points of the triad represent treatment approaches in: skill
improvement, material adaptation and environmental modifications.
The following examples of the triad model are a small sample of
the many individualized programs provided to improve functional
skills in the school setting:
- Working individually or in a group to provide specific hand
activities to improve manipulation of objects used in the
curriculum.
- Altering the physical environment of the classroom to decrease
sensory distractions that affect the child's ability to attend.
- Provide alternative materials, such as adaptive scissors and
writing tools, or providing an alternative method to learn
handwriting.
Occupational therapy intervention is provided
in the school setting to assist students in performing in the
classroom at their highest level of independence. Intervention can
be direct, in an effort to improve the student's skills in their
specific area or areas of need. Intervention can also be indirect,
in the form of environmental modifications and material adaptation.
Most often, occupational therapy intervention effects change in the
students performance when provided in both a direct and indirect
manner.
We define these three points of our treatment model as the OT
Triad.
While looking at the students needs from each point of the Triad,
we can identify areas of direct service intervention including
improvement of foundation skills which incorporate postural control,
hand skill development, motor planning, etc. We also identify areas
of indirect service intervention which include adaptation of
classroom materials and environmental modifications for school and
home to assist the child's ability to attend, learn, participate and
socialize.
In summary, the focus of occupational therapy services is to
allow the student to successfully participate in the school setting
and in doing so, facilitate growth toward their potential.
Classroom Tools
Professional Development 
