Occupational therapists in education? Routes and possibilities for/in Latin America and the Caribbean from a Community of Practice

Abstract

This paper results from discussions carried out in a Community of Practice of Occupational Therapists from Latin America and the Caribbean who work with Education (TOE Latin America). TOE Latin America arises to strengthen the collective work of occupational therapists in the field of education within the specificities of Latin American social organizations. Therefore, here we come to share a little of this path, presenting three themes in this essay: First, we describe the concrete reasons for our existence, how we work and what the group's proposals really are; Then, we bring a central debate on the right to education and the historical problems that involve Latin America and its populations, as well as identifying the role and importance of the Occupational Therapist in access to equal conditions in education; Finally, it seems relevant to point out the emergence of the current debate that involves the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the lives of individuals and populations, which directly interferes with education, to say once again about our therapeutic-occupational task facing this.