Thanks for the explanation. So, what does PT do in the school systems? ----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subj: [OTlist] A New One
ocn> Ron, I worked in a public school district for 5 years. There were only ocn> 2 kids (out of about 70 on OT caseload) who had diagnoses such as CP ocn> that caused them difficulty with transfers or ADL's. The majority of ocn> kids I saw had more "soft" neurological symptoms due to sensory issues, ocn> fetal alcohol syndrome, developmental delays, ADD/ADHD, or were ocn> somewhere on the autistic spectrum. The kids with the physical problems ocn> as well as those with the severe sensory issues were also going for ocn> extensive outpatient therapy 2-3 times a week at the same time that ocn> they were receiving school-based OT. Most all of these kids could walk, ocn> carry their lunch trays, get on and off the swings, but couldn't open ocn> and close scissors, use a ruler, or write. So while of course we worked ocn> on these things, we also worked on the underlying causes, such as trunk ocn> and upper extremity weakness, spatial skills, and yes, fine motor ocn> skills. Don't forget we work on the patient's goals, and most of these ocn> kids cared very much if they couldn't print their names or cut a ocn> straight line. These are all childhood occupations. On most ocn> school-based assessments, these very functional skills are classified ocn> under "fine motor skills" so I think when that teacher said "fine ocn> motor" she was thinking in terms of functional things like cutting, ocn> writing, etc, where you may be thinking of "fine motor" as pegs and ocn> other "exercises" that may constitute fine motor in an adult setting. ocn> Re: SLP's vs, OT's in SNF, when I see SLP's doing cognitive therapy in ocn> a SNF, they are doing tasks such as using flashcards, etc. for the ocn> purpose of remediation (which I think is silly when we are talking ocn> about dementia; it is not like TBI, in which functional gains could be ocn> realistically expected). When I do congitive "treatment" it is more ocn> compensatory to help a resident with orientation or ADL skills. An ocn> SLP's goals might consist of things like "Resident will recall 3/5 ocn> objects presented" where mine might be "resident will locate her room ocn> independently with visual cues (such as a picture placed on her door). ocn> I don't think we're necessarily competing with each other or working on the same things. ocn> Ilene Rosenthal, OTR/L ocn> -- ocn> Options? ocn> www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com ocn> Archive? ocn> www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
