MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING

What is Occupational Therapy?

At Chilwell, as part of our Wellbeing Team,  we are fortunate enough to be able to draw on the expertise of Occupational Therapist (OT) Amy Frueh one day each week. Amy works closely with school staff to support and develop our skills. She has presented professional learning to our whole staff on a number of occasions and at our next Curriculum Day will present to our Education Support Staff regarding emotional regulation. 

We are also fortunate that Amy works alongside our Engagement and Wellbeing Leader, Jason Cole, to run some small groups with identified students. While Amy does not offer 1:1 student sessions, there are Occupational Therapists available in Geelong if you think your child may benefit from this type of short term or longer term support.

Many parents ask questions about the type of support an Occupational Therapist (OT) can provide. Occupational Therapists are able to support the development of many skills as Amy has outlined below. 

Virginnia Gilham

Inclusive Practices Leader

Every child develops in their own way. Occupational Therapists (OT) support children and families to participate in what is meaningful to them and part of their day to day life. Your child may benefit from OT if they need further support with:

-          Fine motor skills- this includes reviewing skills needed for writing, cutting, opening lunch packets, fastening buttons/zips etc. This can look like- short bursts of writing, swapping hands a lot during task, asking for help for self-care tasks (like opening packet/undoing a button/shoe laces).

-          Gross motor skills- this includes skills needed to dress, accessing playground equipment successfully, moving through classroom environment and sustaining seated position. This may look like- coordination difficulties, reduced participation in sport activities, body awareness challenges.

-          Emotional/sensory regulation- this includes reviewing skills for attention and focus for learning task, being in an optimal state of arousal for activities throughout the day and having language to check in/express needs. Common support includes environmental adaptations and tools for learning that support sensory needs. This can look like- difficulties regulating body movement, seeking input, internalising feelings and difficulties participating in one task for prolonged periods of time.

-          Executive functioning- this includes reviewing cognitive skills needed for learning like planning, organising, time management, working memory, emotional control, flexible thinking to follow routine and initiate learning tasks. Some supports can include visual timers and targeted/functional visual schedules. This can look like- cluttered working spaces, consistently losing items and challenges completing routines independently.

-          Play skills for younger years- this includes skills like interacting with others, initiating play ideas, flexibility in play, narrative (following a play theme, script, start- finish), attention and regulation. This can look like – jumping from one group of play to the next, having one peer as preferred play peer, repeating actions in play, overwhelms quickly with too many sequences or changes in play.

-          Routine support- this includes being able to transition between activities in the school day, understanding what may be next. This may look like- big emotions with changes to routine, overwhelm with change of environments.

Amy Frueh

Occupational Therapist