Occupational therapy in school

Also called OT, Paediatric OT, Sensory integration

Therapy for the practical business of doing things — handwriting, self-care, sensory regulation, access.

What it is

Occupational therapy helps children take part in the everyday activities of childhood: dressing, eating, handwriting, using equipment, managing a sensory environment.

In schools it commonly covers fine and gross motor skills, seating and posture, and sensory processing strategies.

Where it applies

Children with motor coordination difficulties including developmental coordination disorder, sensory processing differences, physical disabilities, and many autistic children.

How it works

As with SALT, OT that supports access to learning is usually educational provision belonging in Section F, and the same argument about Section G recurs.

Provision is often a programme delivered by school staff with periodic OT review, plus equipment recommendations — a sloping board, a cushion, adapted scissors, a movement break schedule.

What you can ask for

Ask for equipment recommendations to be written into the plan, including who buys and maintains it.

Ask for the sensory strategies to be in the classroom, not in a report in a drawer. A sensory diet nobody implements is not provision.

Ask whether an OT assessment has been sought at all. Motor difficulty and handwriting are frequently attributed to effort rather than assessed.

Where to get help

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists, and RCOT's directory for independent practitioners. The school's SENCO for what is commissioned locally.