A Community Occupational Therapy Summer Program for Children

Abstract

This article describes a pilot project in which eleven out-patients of the Occupational Therapy Department at the Montreal Children's Hospital were integrated into a summer day camp of a local YMCA. The objectives of this program are outlined, as well as the actual description of the camp program. An evaluation of the project examines the results of a questionnaire administered to the subjects' parents before and after the camp experience as well as a discussion of some additional advantages and disadvantages observed in the program. It appears that there are many indications for screening and treating children in the community, and that providing occupational therapy services to children in their natural milieu may be of significant benefit to the child. It is suggested that the integration of occupational therapy in the community be carried out permanently and extensively and that such programs deserve further study.