CS Ch 24 9:8 - Case-Smith\'s Occupational Therapy for Children (8th ed) Chapter 24. About school PDF

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Case-Smith's Occupational Therapy for Children (8th ed) Chapter 24. About school based occupational therapy services...

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CH. 24 School Based Occupational Therapy: p. 627-633 Federal Legislation and State-Led Initiatives Influencing School-Based Practice  1930s: legislation established education/well-being rights for children -> 1975 “Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA)” specifically addressed needs of children with disabilities  EHA caused influx of OTs working in schools Individuals With Disabilities Education Act  Current iteration of EHA  Requires states to provide free and public education (FAPE) to children in LRE  Specifies need for IEP for children 3-21 in order for child to receive necessary services Eligibility  Disability defined by one or more disability categories under IDEA  May include children with various impairments or children with significant developmental delays

 Free and Appropriate Public Education  (1). Meet standards of SEA  (2). Be provided at public expense  (3). Be under public supervision and direction  (4). Include appropriate education at all levels  (5). Be provided in accordance with IEP

“Appropriate services” does not guarantee students receive most advance/innovative/high tech materials to meet needs  Supports and services deemed “appropriate” will be noted in student’s IEP Least Restrictive Environment  Requires students receive education with gen ed students to maximum extent possible  Does not guarantee all students are placed in gen ed classrooms all day  Placement decisions may not be based on availability of space/resources  Services a child may receive in an effort to accommodate LRE may include: gen ed room with aid, special classroom or school building, therapeutic day school, home, hospital or residential facility  IEP must document severity of educational needs and specify why setting chosen is the LRE Evolution of IDEA  1986 -> preschool and early intervention services for children w/ disabilities 3-5 yo  1990 -> name changed to IDEA; authorized AT and transition planning  1997 -> emphasis on keeping child in gen ed classroom – shift away from pulling students out to receive services; required students w/ disabilities to be included in state/district-wide assessments  2004 -> changed to Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act – focus of education on results, prevention through early intervention, improvement of academic achievement, functional outcomes and post-secondary success Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act  Child may receive services through 504 or ADA if they are not eligible under IDEA  504 -> requires schools w/ federal funds provide access to public education to students w/ documented disabilities  ADA -> ensures educational program is accessible to individuals w/ disabilities and may include specific accommodations  Definition of disability under these documents is “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity” – broader definition of disability than IDEA  Schools are not required to develop IEPs for students receiving services under 504 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015  ESEA -> ensures all children, in all public schools, have equal opportunity to participate in and receive good education in school o In 2002 became “No Child Left Behind (NCLB)” o Emphasizes increased accountability for educational outcomes o Aim is to close the achievement gap between children from disadvantaged background (includes socioeconomic status) o Allows students to transfer out of low performing schools for tutoring services  ESSA -> authorized to replace NCLB; allows local education agencies to establish own accountability goals – less reliant on standardized and single measures of performance o OTs are “specialized instructional support personnel” (SISP) 

o Expected to engage with team members to support academic achievement and promote professional dev. Common Core Standards: A State-Led Initiative  ESSA requires schools establish academic standards to guide educational outcomes  Common Core Standards (CCS) was developed with consideration for what info students need post-secondary and academic standards of high performing countries  Focus of CCs is promotion of college/career readiness for children with and without disabilities Private Schools and Federal Legislation  Students in private schools are not guaranteed FAPE  Public schools are required to give some of their federal funding to students in their district, requiring services in private schools  $$$ is allocated based on the number and needs of eligible students -> still does not mean all students in who need services in private schools will get them  Students enrolled in private schools may be transported to the public schools to receive services with funding from public schools  Private schools who accept federal funding, even thorugh the public school, must comply with ADA Occupational Therapy Services for Children and Youth in Schools o The Educational Model and Occupational Therapy  All goals are focused on participation/performance in student role  Student Role Performance – participating in educational and extracurricular activities, self-management of behavior, conditions and learning  OTs can promote self-help skills, positioning, sensorimotor processing, fine motor performance, psychosocial function and life skills training  OTs attend to client factors or isolated skills o OT and OTA Collaboration  OTs and OTAs both provide services under education model  OTs provide supervision o Shifts In Occupational Therapy Service Provision  Increasing opportunity to work more with health promotion and prevention  OTs may also work with gen ed students w/o disabilities and students 18+ w/ disabilities receiving transitioning services  Shift is partly result of ESSA emphasis on schoolwide system of support and multi-tiered model of education

Occupational Therapy Process in General  Education o Comprehensive early intervening services (EIS) to gen ed students needing academic and behavioral support o Per ESSA, OTs may function as specialized instructional support personnel, participating ins schoolwide system of support o Response to Intervention (RTI) process -> use progress monitoring data to decide level of support/service student requires for success o Overall purpose of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is prevention and early intervention  High quality gen ed instruction, continuous progress monitoring, universal screening of academics/behavior, use of multiple tiers of instruction based on student response o MTSS and RTI common within most schools districts o Problem-solving teams analyze progress-monitoring data, identify reason for student’s difficulty and develop intervention plan for monitoring progress  MTSS Model o Most are 3 tiers (1). Universal or core instruction, (2). Targeted intervention, (3). Intensive intervention o Tier 1 = instructional, behavioral and social supports for all students; may include handwriting curriculum or schoolwide character dev. program o Tier 2 = interventions are developed to address specific student needs; may include small groups or tutoring o Tier 1 allows OTs opportunity to generate change at systematic level

CH. 15 Assessment and Treatment of Educational Performance: p. 374-375 Education as an Occupation  Engaging in academic and nonacademic (recess, lunch, locker management, extracurricular, pre-vocational and vocational) activities  Academic and nonacademic achievement provide opportunities for self-esteem growth and future vocational pursuits  Student Role Competence: successful performance in 2 major components of education  Students must learn, then demonstrate what they learned  Self-regulation, critical thinking, building relationships, higher-order learning, critical thinking skills are all required client factors for learning  Students are assessed for competency via tests, essays, presentation, performance, or handwriting  Self-efficacy must be reinforced to sustain motivation for life-long learning Roles of the Student

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Increased student interest in activities = increased reinforcement of skills = increased effectiveness in student role Task demands impact successful performance Consideration of required actions and performance skills, body functions/structures and relevance and importance to the student will impact educational performance

p. 382 Universal Design for Learning  Proactive principles shaping teaching methodologies to student’s strengths and knowledge  Includes access to learning through curriculum structures, alternative options for learning and assignments for all students  OTs collaborate with teachers to develop modifications  OT contributes through observations of performance skills/patterns and activity demands  **key** aspect is engagement function (student’s interest level, persistence and moving toward coping in school environment) Preparatory Activities  Little evidence to support use without engagement in occupations  Activities focus on increasing, decreasing or balancing muscle tone or proximal stability p. 388-391 Sensory Regulation Intervention  Sensory strategies are often used as preparatory techniques with goal of facilitating appropriate response for safe and successful participation in school-related activities  Examples include: providing external supports for additional sensory input, rearranging classroom seating, minimizing visual stimuli  Breathing and controlled movements may change sensory or emotional state to help student focus on task

 Movement Programs  Address inattention, fidgeting and restlessness  Recommended for gen ed classrooms  Short-term movement intervals is effective for student attention, focus and learning  Students are taught concepts about self-regulation, engage these strategies throughout the day and are more effective in school participation Mental Health Considerations  Sensory needs may manifest as mental health challenges, issues with efficacy, motivation and desire for engagement  Opportunties for students to engage in sensory activities with increasing complexity, thus increasing their capacity for skill-building  Middle/High school -> self-regulation is approached from self-determination theory perspective – reinforcing student’s sense of ownership, advocacy and independence  Self-determination theory perspective helps prepare students for vocational expectations after high school Cognitive Interventions  Cognitive-functional (Cog-Fun) intervention facilitates skill acquisition for students with executive functioning problems  Skill-acquisition refers to prevocational and vocational skills in middle/high school...