What exactly is OT?
The word "occupation" comes from an older use of the term that refers to how one spends his/her time. Students have many "occupations" including sitting and focusing for learning, writing stories, doing math problems, creating and organizing age-appropriate projects, moving on the playground or in the gym, keeping track of belongings and assignments and making friends. Generally, occupational therapy in the school setting focuses on the students’ fine motor, visual motor, perceptual, sensory and self-help functioning. This may include the students’ ability to successfully work with classroom materials, the ability to carry out classroom tasks such as cutting, the ability to perform self-help tasks at school such as feeding and dressing (i.e. putting on coat, managing fasteners), and the performance of visual motor tasks such as drawing, writing and copying. OT’s and COTA’s help students overcome challenges with school function through intervention, environmental acc
