As an occupational therapist (OT) in the sch ool setting, I have the unique opportunity to work with children who have a wide variety of special needs from kindergarten thru 5th grade, as well as some preschoolers! While my students face additional challenges which impact their play skills and learning, they show so much growth and potential when given strategies and supports that fit them "just-right".
In school-based occupational therapy, we help children develop the sensory motor skills they need to be able to participate and do their "jobs" at school as independently as possible.
For many students, this begins with movement activities such as stretching so that their bodies and brains are both ready for learning! We also work on fine and visual motor skills for class activities like coloring, tracing, printing and typing.
My Project
Having a tablet will allow my younger students to have access to educational and therapeutic ap ps for a variety of purposes during occupational therapy sessions, including movement, music and yoga (Super Stretch) to help with their body awareness, gross motor development, self-regulation skills, and calming strategies. Other apps will help develop their fine and visual motor skills and grasp patterns for tracing pre-writing strokes and shapes, as well as printing letters, numbers and words (Dexteria Jr, Writing Wizard). In addition, a Chromebook will allow my older students to learn basic computer skills including accessing Google docs and practicing typing during OT.
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