School-Based Occupational Therapy for Children with Fine Motor Difficulties

Abstract

Consultative occupational therapy services are becoming widely used in the school environment. However, few studies have evaluated the utility of and the process by which these services are delivered. This study examined whether the written communication and fine motor skills of 23 children with fine motor difficulties improved after receiving school-based occupational therapy from a program whose mandate was to deliver services according to a consultation model of service delivery. In addition, the study assessed the process of service delivery, including treatment fidelity, or the extent to which consultation services were implemented as intended. Statistically significant and practically meaningful improvement was found in written communication on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-Classroom Edition (VABS-C) and School Functional Assessment-Version 3.0 (SFA), and in fine motor skills on the SFA, but not on the VABS-C. An examination of the service delivery process revealed that therapists deviated from a purely consultative model, with 86% providing some direct therapy to children. Parents were mostly satisfied with services received, whereas teachers were indifferent or somewhat dissatisfied. Treatment fidelity is taken into consideration when discussing study findings. Recommendations to enhance school-based occupational therapy services delivered according to a primarily consultative model, and suggestions for future research, are provided.

Inter-Professional Role Perception and Communication of Preservice Students and Therapists in Schools and Early Intervention

“…Research supports the use of collaboration as an effective strategy for school-based practice (Bayona, McDougall, Tucker, Nichols, & Mandich, 2006;Bose & Hinojosa, 2008;Dreiling & Bundy, 2003;Hanft & Swinth, 2011). Although the majority of this collaboration may occur with teachers, therapists across disciplines must also collaborate with one another to provide appropriate recommendations in the classroom and other school environments.…”

The occupations of literacy: Occupational therapy’s role

“…○ Consultation services have been as effective as direct therapy services (Davies & Gavin, 1994;Drieling & Bundy, 2003;Ratzon et al, 2009) with visual-motor and fine-motor skills. ○ Research using consultation-only models showed significant gain in children's performance and high satisfaction with this model (Bayona, McDougall, Tucker, Nichols, & Mandich, 2006;Reid, Chiu, Sinclair, Wehrmann, & Naseer, 2006). ○ Embedding services within the classroom, including a coteaching model, demonstrated gains in handwriting legibility and fine-motor skills (Bazyk et al, 2009;Case-Smith, Holland, Lane, & White, 2012).…”

Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of the Apollo Model of Pediatric Rehabilitation Service Delivery

“…The process of the coordinated service delivery and follow-up is proposed to integrate all the different service components into a global, coordinated program and is supported by the notion that coordinated services influence program efficiency (King & Meyer, 2006). The individual, group, and community interventions originally included in the model were maintained; the former are the traditional way of providing rehabilitation services, but group and community interventions are increasingly reported as more cost-effective methods of service delivery (Bayona, McDougall, Tucker, Nichols, & Mandich, 2006;Hung & Pang, 2010).…”