Let’s think about the word "occupation." To many of us, occupation is what we do, maybe from about 9;00 a.m. to 5;00 p.m. on weekdays. It’s our job, our profession ―the role we take on to get a salary.

Yes, it’s that, but so much more. In the world of occupational therapy, our occupations are what we do from the moment we wake up in the morning to the moment we go to sleep at night. As per the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT), occupation is defined as “everything that people do during the course of everyday life […] that is essential to our health and well-being.” Essentially, the notion of occupation is used to describe who you are and how you feel about yourself.

So what are a child’s occupations? There are lots. On a daily basis, children take on the roles of students, playmates, teammates, mini-superheroes, princesses, and maybe fish-bowl cleaners. It is important to consider, however, that children must learn how to play these roles. And learning is precisely the primary activity they do every single day (not to say that learning ceases to a halt once they reach adulthood!). Of course, a huge part of development and learning happens at home from their first teachers ―their parents, family members and loved ones. As of the age of four or five, however, a large part of learning is shifted to one of the most important and memorable places in a child’s life; at school.

If we take a moment to think about the types of activities children do at school, the list can be quite lengthy; reading, writing, language arts, math, arts and crafts, physical education and team sports, projects, school plays, and so on. But first, in order to participate in these activities, they must learn to sit still, listen, look at the teacher or board, hold a pencil, wait their turn, raise their hand, follow the routine, organize their belongings, socialize with their peers and teachers, and be able to regulate their own behavior throughout the school day. Phew! That’s a lot of work for these kids! This is just to illustrate a few examples of the foundation skills underlying school performance.

For many students, acquiring these foundation skills occur naturally. However, in some instances, learning them can be a problem and therefore, hinder a student’s achievement in school. Children with special needs may present with difficulties among these areas. As all children have the right to education without discrimination, it is crucial that school staff and in-school health practitioners collaborate to optimize the learning environment for these students in order to promote their success. These teams can comprise of parents, teachers, principals, school support staff, school nurses, social workers, school psychologists, speech and language pathologists, and – more often now than before – occupational therapists (OT).

The main goal of the school-based OT is to maximize the student’s occupational performance in day-to-day activities that are necessary to function in school. This applies to all students, with or without special needs and no matter how large or small the need. That being said, occupational therapists can be found working in either special education schools or within inclusive education settings, to serve the needs of all students.

A child’s occupational performance may be challenged by physical, developmental, sensory and/or learning difficulties. Some of the skills commonly addressed in occupational therapy can include fine motor skills (use of hands to write, color, cut), gross motor skills (use of bigger muscles to run, jump, skip, balance), sensory processing skills (the way a child processes information from the senses and interprets it), visual motor and visual perceptual skills, self-care/autonomy skills, and cognitive skills. The school-based OT can intervene either directly by working with the student in his/her environment, or indirectly via collaborative consultation with teachers and/or parents in order to help the student improve or maintain his/her functional skills needed for learning. The OT will also examine a student’s environment and help identify the barriers or facilitators in order to match the student’s abilities with the school tasks to create the “just-right” challenge. The OT can help in modifying or adapting a task so that the child can take part in the learning activity. For example, a student who is having difficulty with printing may be referred for OT services. The therapist may assess the student’s skills, the environment and the task to determine where the difficulties stem from. Possible interventions may include adjusting the ergonomics to improve posture, provide a pencil grip to improve the grasp, recommend a home program to strengthen fine motor skills, teach printing tricks to remember how to form letters, or recommend assistive technology, depending on the student’s grade and skill level. This is just one of the many examples an OT can be involved. By analyzing the student’s strengths and limitations, the environment, and the task (or student’s occupation), occupational therapy can contribute in providing students of all abilities a nurturing environment so they can develop and flourish in order to reach their full potential.

School-based occupational therapy is becoming more widespread. With this growth, there is hope the roles of school OTs will continue to broaden to help children fulfill their occupational roles as students. So, when your son or daughter comes home from school, you can ask something along the lines of “How was work today?”