New England - Occupational Therapy Workshop
The New England region has identified a significant number of children with learning difficulties due to visual perceptual and motor coordination problems. Learning and support teams and teachers from the Department of Education rely on Occupational Therapists to assess children with learning difficulties and to make recommendations regarding necessary support structures in the class room and in the home.
This project involved the attendance of seven Occupational Therapists at a specialised Paediatric Occupational Therapy workshop addressing learning difficulties in children with visual perceptual and motor coordination problems. This was an interactive workshop where participants attended the facilitator's rooms making use of the resources and equipment. The workshop was experiential, focusing on assessment and intervention skills and involved assessments and intervention with child clients. The facilitator was a highly experienced Occupational Therapist having graduated in 1954. In 1986 she completed her Masters of Science and in 1998 received the Sylvia Docker Memorial award for her services to the profession of Occupational Therapy.
The Occupational Therapists reported that the workshop was very beneficial. The course was tailored to meet the needs of the OTs from New England Area Health Service. Key issues discussed included a review of therapy assessment techniques and appropriate and adequate documentation of results.
The OT's found the course was relevant and practical and the learning goals could be applied to current practice. OT's reported that since the training they have modified their assessment processes to be more in depth, comprehensive and holistic.