Kioko Center

Both occupational and physical therapists are licensed professionals who graduated from an accredited program (occupational therapy is an entry-level master’s or doctorate, and physical therapy is a doctoral-level degree). In a school setting, physical and  occupational therapy are added to a qualifying child’s plan to support their educational outcomes. For example, suppose a child has an abnormal gait pattern but can still navigate their classroom environment safely and efficiently. In that case, they may not qualify for school-based physical therapy.

Most children benefit from proprioceptive sensory work built into their day.  The proprioceptive system receptors are located in our joints and muscles and tell us where our body is in space.  The benefits of stimulating this system vary for different children but can help children feel regulated, calm, and ready to focus.  Unlike the   vestibular  syste m , the proprioceptive system cannot be overloaded.  The benefits of heavy work last for up to two hours after engaging.  Try to build planned activities into your day to support your student or child’s participation all day long. Play:  Play is a creative and natural method of learning and exploring the world.  Encourage running and jumping as part of play, draw a hopscotch game in chalk or offer a jump rope.  Indoor and outdoor trampolines provide lots of sensory input to the lower body.  If you have monkey bars nearby, try to test how long you can hang on.  Create an obstacl...

An occupational therapist (OT) also evaluates and treats students, but instead of focusing on physical motor skills, they support participation in meaningful activities. During the school day, activities might include lessons, lunch, social participation, transitions, specials, and more. An OT creates an intervention plan to build student skills, change the activity, or modify the environment for successful student participation. Different types of occupational therapies are used to enhance different kinds of abilities like Occupational Therapy for self-regulation helps people to enhance their ability to control and adjust their emotions, behaviors, energy level, and attention. Some examples of occupational therapy intervention include:   Handwriting: Using visual motor skills to use lines to create letters and aligning the letters on the baseline. Sensory processing: Integrating all of the sensory information in a classroom in a way that is adaptive and doesn’t inhibit t...