OBJECTIVE. We aimed to corroborate the effectiveness of the Collaborative Consultation for Participation of Students With Intellectual Disability (Co-PID), intended for enhancing participation in classroom-related activities. METHOD. The study took place in two special education schools and included students with moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities ages 7–20 yr. The schools were randomly assigned to intervention (Co-PID; n = 28 students, n = 4 teachers) and control (In-Service [IS]; n = 32 students, n = 7 teachers) groups. Participation was evaluated at pre- and posttest of an 8-mo intervention. RESULTS. The Co-PID improved students’ ability to choose among provided options. Additionally, the Co-PID group achieved more goals (measured by goal attainment scaling) than the IS group in all participation areas, and their enhanced participation transferred to other school environments (as measured by the School Function Assessment). CONCLUSION. The Co-PID was found to be an effective program for enhancing classroom and school participation.

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) provides standards and guidance for accessibility and accommodations that remove barriers to facilitate community social participation for individuals with disabilities. However, ADA implementation does not yet fully address the diverse access needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), who continue to face barriers to community social participation. This article explores the potential for occupational therapy practitioners to provide organization-level consultation as a means of maximizing community social participation among people with IDD. Case examples of occupational therapy practitioners working with community organizations are presented to illustrate organization-level consultation that addresses access needs across diverse community contexts. The relevance of supporting community social participation within the context of health equity is discussed, and key next steps, including developing population-based outcome measures, addressing reimbursement considerations, and developing best practices for organization-level consultation, are outlined.

PURPOSE. We measured fine motor and emergent literacy outcomes in kindergarteners enrolled in two integrated kindergarten classrooms. The students received fully integrated occupational therapy services. Most occupational therapy services focused on planning and teacher consultation versus direct intervention. METHOD. A one-group pretest–posttest descriptive design was used to measure occupational therapy and emergent literacy outcomes in a convenience sample of 37 kindergarten-age children with and without disabilities. Four fine motor and two emergent literacy assessments were administered at the beginning and end of the school year. Data on the amount and type of occupational therapy services were documented over 7.months. RESULTS. Children without disabilities made statistically significant changes in all areas. Children with disabilities made significant changes in two of the fine motor and three of the emergent literacy assessments. CONCLUSION. Findings demonstrated that for this sample of children, significant improvements in fine motor and emergent literacy function were made.

The role of the occupational therapist working in the school system is to facilitate a student’s task performance or ability to do purposeful and meaningful activities so that the student benefits from the educational experience. To fulfill this role, occupational therapists need assessments that address functional performance issues in the classroom and provide information for effective programming and consultation. The School Version of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (School AMPS) is an observational evaluation of functional skills in the classroom. Common classroom activities are observed to assess a child’s school motor and school process skills. This study examined the validity of the School AMPS by comparing it to the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale–Fine Motor (PDMS-FM), a common assessment used in local area school districts in Edmonton, Alberta. Results show a higher correlation of the PDMS-FM with the motor scale of the School AMPS than with the process scale of the School AMPS, which was expected. The School AMPS appears to be a promising instrument for measuring the constructs of school motor and school process skills within a naturalistic setting.

Objective. This study examined the intervention success of weekly collaborative consultation between therapists and teachers. Method. Ten therapist–teacher pairs consulted for 60 min weekly throughout the school year about students identified as having sensory integration dysfunction with learning problems. Each week, the pairs identified a specific functional classroom goal then designed either a remedial or compensatory intervention and set criteria for intervention success. At each successive weekly meeting, the pairs determined whether the goal was met. Intervention success was analyzed across 10 students (for a total of 213 goals). Results. There was a positive effect for overall intervention success. Although remedial and compensatory interventions were equally successful across student performance areas, therapist–teacher pairs demonstrated a preference for compensatory and academic goals. Conclusion. The overall positive effect for intervention success suggests that when occupational therapists and teachers collaborate on behalf of students, they can facilitate student success in a variety of performance areas. Therapist–teacher preference for compensatory and academic goals indicates that therapist–teacher collaboration can be useful for occupational therapists to link interventions to academic goals in school contexts.

Objective. Occupational therapists with advanced experience or expertise provide supervision and consultation services in a variety of settings. This pilot study examined the use of such supervision and consultation services by pediatric occupational therapists. Method. Special education administrators and pediatric occupational therapists from Massachusetts, a state often regarded as a leader in special education, responded to surveys designed especially for this study. These surveys asked about current supervision and consultation use, satisfaction with present services, and the need for additional resources in this area. Opinions regarding practice areas that would best be addressed by supervision and consultation were also obtained. Results. Both administrator and therapist respondents agreed that expert occupational therapy supervision and consultation are needed. Identified areas of interest were classroom supervision and consultation strategies, service delivery decisions, and evaluation methods. Conclusion. Pediatric occupational therapists need expert supervision and consultation from occupational therapists with advanced experience or expertise in addition to traditional management, education, and training methods.

Objectives. Although alternative treatment methods are becoming more widely discussed and implemented in pediatric occupational therapy, empirical data demonstrating the effectiveness of these treatment methods are lacking. The present study compares the effectiveness of an alternative treatment method (group/consultation) to traditional direct therapy. Method. Eighteen preschool subjects classified as developmentally delayed received either individual/direct therapy or group/consultation therapy. Each child was assessed initially and again 7 months later with three standardized tests assessing fine motor and gross motor development, functional skills in the home, and nonverbal intelligence. Results. Subjects in both treatment methods demonstrated significant increases in both fine and gross motor skills with the rate approximating that of the normal distribution of typically developing children. Conclusion. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment methods on any of the assessments.

Occupational therapy is a related service when provided within the public schools, which means that services must enhance or support educational goals. Three service provision models have been described for school therapists: direct service, monitoring, and consultation. Direct service addresses individualized needs that require specialized intervention strategies which can safely be performed only by the occupational therapist. Monitoring, which is sometimes referred to as integrated programming, uses therapeutic expertise within functional tasks to maximize opportunities for practice and generalization. Consultation addresses problems by enabling others to work more effectively on the educational goals they have set for the students. Evidence is accumulating to demonstrate that each model is effective when chosen and applied appropriately. This paper reviews each model, provides examples of studies that have been conducted, and suggests directions for future research.