Wednesday, November 23, 2011

NEED FOR PAEDIATRIC OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS IN SCHOOLS


Paediatric health care in metropolitan cities in addition to maintain disease free status and optimal health status also includes identification of delay in children’s occupations of daily living i.e. play, school work and social skills.

Paediatric occupational therapy emerged as a speciality branch of occupational therapy in view of this need. Paediatric occupational therapists work from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit(NICU) addressing neurological delay affecting development to school setups involving difficulties in social skills, cognitive skills, perceptual skills, writing skills ,attention issues and sensory processing issues.

Inclusive education laws require that all children have a right to education and going to a regular school (the so-called normal school). If the needs exceed a regular school and are not met then a special school catering to the needs of the child is required.

One would wonder why a paediatric OT would intervene at the school. In a school setup which is the natural environment, therapists can understand the magnitude of a problem better as the child is surrounded by children of his age. He would react very differently when other children of his age are around as compared to being alone. That is why children react differently when they are seen at a clinic then at school or even home.           

Occupational therapists are employed in few school and not many as the need for the same is not felt in regular schools as compared to those who admit differently abled children.
The therapist assesses the child referred by the teacher when presented with the following concerns:

·        Difficulty with maintaining attention
·        Writing problems
·        Social skills deficits
·        Difficulty in performing daily skills in school e.g. Toileting, washing hands, face, care of personal stuff, eating, and functional mobility.
·        Time management problems.
·   Cognitive skills required in school tasks- sorting, sequencing, memory, good activity performance.
·        Visual deficits
·        Perception deficits.
·        Sensory processing problems.
·        Gross motor and fine motor co-ordination difficulties
·        Endurance problems e.g. getting tired easily.
·        Behavioural problems.

Following the referral, the therapist undertakes an evaluation including history of the child and the presenting problems on part of the parent followed by assessing the child. This helps the therapist to develop a guideline proforma for developing treatment goals.

The treatment sessions begin after a detailed evaluation report is submitted to the parents and the school management. The sessions are usually scheduled in the school hours and duration includes 30-45 minutes on a twice to thrice a week basis depending on the needs of the child.
This enables addressal of problems at the school level with co-operation from the school staff and enables improved efficacy of efforts helping the child to function effectively and independently in every walk of life.
 
It is a pleasure to see the smile of confidence on a child’s face and only those who value it would cherish it.


Dr. Namita G. Shenai
Paediatric Occupational Therapist
DISHA Centre, Santacruz (w).
Contact No: 9769011233, 9821205194


This article is based on the need for creating awareness about paediatric occupational therapy in the schools and their stuff.