The Dilemma of Psychosocial Occupational Therapy in Public Schools

Abstract

This article presents the textual analysis of the responses of 373 occupational therapists working in school systems across the United States of America who responded to the question "List any obstacles to providing occupational therapy services to school aged students with severe emotional disturbance" on a recent survey. The purpose of the analysis is to describe some of the barriers and solutions to the provision of occupational therapy services to school aged students with emotional disturbance. The 754 responses received were categorized into themes. The themes which emerged from the occupational therapists' responses were: (1) role confusion; (2) limited knowledge base; (3) identification and provision of occupational therapy services; (4) administrative factors; (5) lack of efficient teaming; (6) classroom

Understanding the Psychosocial Knowledge and Attitudes of School-Based Occupational Therapists

“…While earlier studies suggested that therapists may have a negative attitude toward children with ED (Barnes et al, 2003;Beck, Barnes, Vogel, & Grice, 2006;Case-Smith & Archer, Downloaded by [University of Auckland Library] at 10:37 07 December 2014 2008), this study further enhanced the understanding of this attitude. Quantitative instrument items suggested therapists were neutral in their attitudes about schools' ability to pay for mental health services, that children with mental illness are scary, or that therapists need to be careful about what they say around students with mental illness.…”

Positioning Parenting Differently: The Need for Southern Perspectives

“…Parenting itself may become the focus of intervention, such as when children display behavioural challenges. These caregiver interventions aim to improve behaviour management 7 through advice around routine and consistency 8 , how caregivers' behaviours influence children 7 and positive behaviour-modification strategies 8 . Providing these interventions in ways that are relevant and appropriate for families requires an understanding of how parenting unfolds in context.…”