Occupational Therapy in Charlotte

As a student, I had the opportunity to do an occupational therapy internship in a relatively large school system outside of Charlotte. After graduating, I decided I was interested in working outside of the schools, in an outpatient clinic. Although an occupational therapist can work on many of the same areas in the school and outpatient clinic settings, there are some key differences that I have learned about and that are key for parents to know.

The first is occupational therapy in school and educational settings are focused on, and even restricted to, areas related to educational participation, these include academic, mobility, psychosocial, behavioral, and self-care. Intervention which is considered to be purely medically necessary and unrelated to accessing education cannot be addressed. The model is based in a team aspect, or a collaboration between the child, family, teachers, therapists, and exceptional children specialists. The classic picture of this interaction occurs in IEP meetings, but collaboration is an ongoing exchange of information and reccomendations between the involved parties throughout the school year. Intervention is often carried out in the classroom or in individual or group pull out sessions during the school day. Intervention for sensory processing disorders with the use of large equipment is often limited, if available, due to a lack of access to equipment during the school day.

Occupational therapy in an outpatient clinic, like Child and Family Development, is also based on a team approach, which is called a multidisciplinary approach. In this model, an occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech therapist, pscyhologist and educational specialist are able to coordinate treatment together. Parents are interviewed and goals are written in collaboration. Information is often provided to physicians and classroom teachers based on parent consent. In the outpatient setting, occupational therapy intervention and goals are unrestricted and are focused on areas of need, including both medical and educational aspects. Evaluation and intervention often includes self-care, play skills, visual motor, motor development, sensory processing, visual perception, visual motor integration, fine motor development, feeding skills, bilateral coordination, social skills, grasping skills, upper body strength, handwriting, and caregiver education.