Occupational Therapy in Schools: Identifying Items for a Referral Instrument

Abstract

As the first step in developing an instrument for referring students to occupational therapy in schools, a survey of Canadian pediatric occupational therapists was conducted. Sixtysix behavioural items which covered daily living skills, psychosocial functioning, sensorimotor skills, cognition, and therapeutic adaptation were selected. Therapists rated each item on a four point scale which reflected the extent to which an item indicated a need for occupational therapy in a school setting. Useable responses were obtained from 192 therapists (response rate of 61.5%) who had an average of 6.5 years experience in pediatric occupational therapy, 39 of whom worked in integrated school settings. Over 70% of the therapists identified 31 items as often or always indicating a need for referral, none of which were in the psychosocial domain. Comparisons between therapists in different work settings revealed few significant differences. Implications for practice and future projects are discussed.