Occupational therapy is a valuable tool for enhancing learners’ academic, physical, social, and emotional growth when paired with tailored special needs education.
As a parent, choosing the right school for your child can feel overwhelming. Rest assured, occupational therapy at Unity College is designed to support your child academically while nurturing their emotions and building their self-confidence in tackling everyday challenges.
Below, we’ll explore the value that occupational therapy brings to special needs education and how it supports the development of various skills crucial for independent living.
1. Functional Skills Development: Building Necessary Life Skills
A central goal of occupational therapy is to help children develop the skills they need in everyday life, often called ‘activities of daily living’ (ADLs). These skills include personal care tasks like getting dressed, grooming, and eating – tasks often taken for granted in neurotypical development but can present significant challenges for children with special needs.
Occupational therapists assess each pupil’s ability to perform these tasks and work collaboratively with teachers and parents to create individualised strategies for improvement. For children at Unity College, mastering these ADLs is an essential step toward independence, both in school and in life beyond the classroom.
The small classes and integrated therapeutic sessions at Unity College ensure our learners are continuously supported in developing their functional life skills. From a young age, they learn to manage personal hygiene, organise their belongings, and participate in the classroom routine with increasing autonomy.
2. Sensory Integration: Creating a Balanced Sensory Experience
Sensory problems can hinder children with developmental challenges from focusing and learning. Sensory processing issues may cause children to overreact or underreact to stimuli like noise, light, or textures. Sensory-based activities designed by occupational therapists help children balance sensory input, making school less overwhelming and more conducive to learning. For example, a child with sensitivity issues may benefit from sensory-friendly tools like compression vests or weighted blankets.
3. Adaptive Equipment and Assistive Technology
Adaptive equipment and assistive technology can assist those learners who face specific physical or coordination challenges in the classroom. Examples of these tools include customised writing utensils to improve fine motor skills or specialised chairs and desks to promote good posture and accessibility during lessons.
Adaptive equipment doesn’t just make physical tasks easier – it can also empower students by allowing them to participate in class more independently. The right tools give children the confidence they need to meet school-related physical challenges head-on. Occupational therapists regularly collaborate with teachers and families at Unity College to ensure learners are getting optimal benefits from this equipment and technology.
4. Educational Modifications: A Customised Approach to Learning
Occupational therapists are responsible for making educational modifications that cater to each pupil’s unique physical, cognitive, and emotional needs. These modifications could involve anything from adapting the layout of a classroom to ensuring that teachers break down tasks into manageable steps.
Occupational therapists also work with teachers to modify lesson plans and classroom activities that may otherwise be inaccessible to children with sensory, motor, or cognitive difficulties. For example, a child with difficulty grasping small objects might benefit from modified fine motor tasks, such as using bigger objects for sorting exercises.
5. Transition Planning: Preparing for Life Beyond School
As children with special needs approach adulthood, the goal of occupational therapy extends to helping them succeed in more complex activities of daily living (ADLs) and guiding them through one of the most significant transitions in their lives – leaving school and navigating the world as a young adult. This process often involves teaching skills such as money management, job interviews, cooking, and transportation. Transition planning is a key part of our curriculum at Unity College, where older students participate in a Work Experience Programme designed to give them real-world exposure.
Choose a Special Needs School with Occupational Therapy
At Unity College, our occupational therapists work as part of a dedicated team to provide personalised interventions for each child. From improving gross motor skills to balancing sensory processing. Contact us today to learn more about our holistic approach to special needs education.