Eve Hutton

Occupational therapy in mainstream primary schools: an evaluation of a pilot project

This article describes the outcome of an evaluation of a paediatric occupational therapy intervention piloted in two primary schools in East Kent. Two therapists were based in schools and worked in partnership with teachers and teaching assistants (TAs). They spent the equivalent of 2 days a week in the school, with the aim of increasing the knowledge and skills of teachers and TAs in the engagement and participation of children in a range of school-based occupations. Interviews with the teaching team carried out at the conclusion of the intervention explored the impact on the knowledge and skills of the school staff and the quality of the childrens school experience. The positive response of the schools has led to the development of a bank of occupational therapy resources for primary schools. The work associated with the development of the resources has been supported by a 2008 Training Development Agency for schools Research and Development Award. The possibilities of extending this approach are explored.

Involving parents as service users in an interprofessional research project

This report describes the process of involving parents in the development of a research study. The involvement of participants in the design and development of research is now a requirement of publicly funded research (INVOLVE, 2002). In response to a call for proposals from the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) funding scheme, a collaborative team of academics and therapists began the process of designing a study which aimed to improve postural management for children with physical disabilities who attend mainstream schools. Children with physical disabilities require support from both education services and the National Health Service, and their postural care programmes require specialist equipment and exercises that are ideally incorporated into the daily routine at both home and school. Therapeutic input is designed to prevent longer-term health problems and to promote the child’s comfort and active participation in functional activities at home and school. To be successful, the interprofessional team needs to work closely with both families and the child’s school (Lightfoot, 2002).

Curriculum Differentiation for Handwriting and Occupational Therapy/Teacher Partnership: Collaboration or Conflict?.

Collaborative practice between health and education professionals is considered central to the implementation of inclusion policies and best practice to support children with special educational needs (SEN). However, in Ireland, barriers to collaborative practice between occupational therapists and teachers include limited contact in practice settings and lack of interagency collaboration structures. This paper investigates the process of collaborative practice using findings of a study involving 46 children with Down Syndrome (DS), their teachers and an occupational therapist in the collaborative application of a handwriting teaching method. While teachers reported finding the collaborative approach useful, conflict arose regarding how to differentiate the curriculum to meet complex individual needs. Findings are discussed in the light of current resource constraints, the agenda for inclusive practice, and amalgamating differing professional perspectives to ensure appropriate curriculum differentiation. This paper concludes that ongoing occupational therapy (OT)–teacher collaboration is essential in developing appropriate educational goals and curriculum differentiation strategies for children with DS. Joint collaboration in educational policy development is advised. OT involvement in initial teacher education and continuing professional development, and joint pre-/post-qualification education opportunities are recommended to enhance shared professional understandings. Government commitment to resourcing and developing structures to facilitate interagency collaboration is crucial.

‘Back to school’ – piloting an occupational therapy service in mainstream schools in the UK

This paper gives an account of learning, which occurred as a result of occupational therapists piloting a new occupational therapy service in two mainstream schools in a socially deprived area of the South East of England. The paper explores how therapists, familiar with working within the National Health Service, developed new approaches and understandings of their role, in order to meet the challenges of working as part of a team in a mainstream school. The paper considers how new understandings have led therapists to contemplate changes in their practice and possibilities for the future development of the occupational therapy service.

Making a case for universal and targeted children’s occupational therapy in the United Kingdom

This article makes the case for increasing the reach and the impact of childrens occupational therapy in the United Kingdom, through inclusion of universal and targeted services alongside specialist provision. It is proposed that achieving a greater balance between these different levels or tiers of provision can promote the health, well-being and participation of all children, including those with additional needs. During a time of austerity, we argue that a broader offer also distributes finite public resources more effectively – potentially reducing pressure on scarce specialist resources. Sustainable options for meeting greater population need are proposed and occupational therapists are encouraged to evaluate the effect of changing the balance of provision to inform future commissioning.

Parent/carer views on personal health budgets for disabled children who use rehabilitation therapy services

Abstract Personalised budgets are promoted as the person-centred alternative to generically provided services. Nine parents/carers of disabled children (aged 18 years or younger) who accessed at least two rehabilitation therapy services (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy) were recruited from one region in England. Focus group/interviews explored their views on the proposed introduction of personalised budgets. Parents and carers viewed a personal health budget with caution and perceived benefits were tempered by their experiences of current provision. Concerns were raised about entitlement and how a personal budget would work in practice.

Exploring the participation of children with Down Syndrome in Handwriting Without Tears

ABSTRACT Children with Down Syndrome typically experience difficulties with attention to task and lack motivation when learning to write. This article provides an evaluation of the HWT (Handwriting Without Tears) method applied as an intervention to promote handwriting among children with Down Syndrome attending mainstream school in the Republic of Ireland. In the absence of standardized measures, a purpose-designed HWT group task participation scale and pre- and postintervention teacher/parent questionnaire were developed by the first author and used to investigate the participation of 40 children with Down Syndrome in HWT activities. Positive changes in participation in HWT activities were recorded in group data and in teacher/parent reports. Tentative findings suggest that hands-on multisensory learning approaches such as HWT may encourage children with Down Syndrome to participate in activities that promote handwriting skills. Further research and the development of robust measures to evaluate handwriting intervention for this population of children is required.

‘Lessons Learned’ from introducing universal strategies designed to support the motor and functional skills of Reception and Year 1 children in a sample of primary schools in South East England

This article describes an evaluation of universal resources designed to support motor development in Reception and Year 1 children. Four schools (Year R–Year 6) in the South East of England, three with high numbers of disadvantaged children participated. Senior leadership influenced take up of the initiative. Health and well-being practitioners and occupational therapy students contributed to ‘roll out’ of the resources with support provided by the authors over 12 weeks. Interview and focus group data from participating staff were gathered alongside examples of schoolwork from pupils. School staff needed access to support when incorporating universal strategies. The initiative contributed to schools working towards Healthy Schools targets. At the end of 12 weeks, improvements in childrens sitting position, handwriting and lunchtime skills were noted, warranting further exploration of this approach to address the needs of children with poor motor skills at school entry.

Writing Readiness and Children with Down Syndrome in an Irish Context.

There is a dearth of studies investigating writing readiness in children with Down Syndrome (DS) and limited information on appropriate interventions. This article reports on a study conducted in the Republic of Ireland. An uncontrolled pretest-posttest design was implemented using writing readiness measures specifically adapted/developed from the literature to collect data on the writing readiness skills of 28 school-aged children with DS attending mainstream schools in the Republic of Ireland. Teacher/parent perspectives were also gathered during focus groups. The children presented with complex needs in relation to posture, pencil grasp, copying basic shapes, name/letter copying. Teacher and parent reports highlighted the need for collaborative intervention with occupational therapy. Findings from the study support the need for targeted early collaborative syndrome-specific intervention to support the development of writing readiness in children with DS as an important part of school readiness. Intervention should include adopting a broader emergent literacy approach, teacher education regarding writing readiness and parental involvement in intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]