Occupational Therapy Introduction

Improved Essays
4. Results of the Study
Introduction
This chapter presents the results from the survey created to examine the areas of growth of OT within the school-based setting. The results included in this chapter look at the question “What are the biggest challenges facing occupational therapy in the school system?” We will also look at the following survey questions: “Which skills are underutilized in the school system by OT? Do you feel the role of occupational therapy is understood by your co-workers (teachers, principals, other therapists)? Why or why not? Are you satisfied with your job? Why or Why not? “
Survey
There were a total of 72 respondents that completed the survey through survey monkey. 91.55% of the study was completed by Occupational
…show more content…
Respondents mentioned that leadership and co-workers do not understand the scope of OT, and see therapists as handwriting teachers. Another top response mentioned is the education of the leaders/co-worker support and education (14) to ensure the proper use and implementation of school-based OT. Also mentioned frequently is the lack of time/time management (13) amongst OT practitioners as well as inadequate funding/equipment (13), space (9)with a large caseload …show more content…
Why or why not? 44.44% of the respondents feel like their co-workers do not understand the role of occupational therapy in the school-based setting. Respondents mentioned that they are seen as fine motor therapists or glorified writing teachers. 36.11% of respondents felt like their co-workers somewhat understand the role of OT in the school-based setting. The respondents stated that the physical therapists, speech language pathologists and some teachers understood the role of OT. They also mentioned that most principals and leaders within the school district do not understand the role of OT. Only 18.05% felt like their co-workers understood the role of OT in the school-based setting (1.4% left no response to the question).
Subquestion 4
The fourth question asked: Are you satisfied with your job? Why or Why not? 59 out of 72 respondents are somewhat to completely satisfied with their job as an OT practitioner in the school-based setting. OT practitioners mentioned the love of children and role of OT as the main reasons for their enjoyment of the profession within the school-based setting. The 12 respondents who are not satisfied with their job stated that poor leadership, lack of appreciation and large caseload are the main reasons for their

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    The objective of this paper is to discuss in detail why Occupational Therapy Assistant is my program of choice. My Program The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) defines Occupational therapy as the “only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do…

    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Prior to beginning the masters of occupational therapy program it was as if I was an ancient wanderer in the dark ages, eager to learn new ideas and discover new places not sure what the world would throw at me next. Over the next eight years I found myself at a series of personal crossroads one encounters during life’s journey. Not the crossroad where one sells their soul to the devil for some magical power. It was more of one of those forks in the road, a kin to the Robert Frost Poem, where one path leads to life A and the other leads to life B. Crossroads that impacted my future, shaped who I am and my character, influenced life changes, which led to a transition that will influence me and my family for generations to come. I come from…

    • 1592 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this paper I will be talking about what I learned in my interview with Lauren Roberts an Occupational Therapist at The Kids SpOT. I will also talk about how I will use her advice and information she shared with me to take my next steps toward my career. Also, overall how I feel about Occupational Therapy. Research…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As a child, when someone asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I would always answer that I want to help people. I might not have known at the time what the field of occupational therapy entailed, but I now know this is the field that will allow me to achieve my dreams of touching as many lives as I can. I believe that the best way to do great things is to make difference in someone else’s life and to love what you do. I believe that occupational therapy is the way I can truly make a difference and I can’t wait to be part of such a tremendously rewarding and diverse career by working closely with people and helping them progress closer to their goals of living an independent life My interest in occupational therapy began while pursuing…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    At first I didn’t want to be an occupational therapist assistant. I had dreams of becoming a nurse and following my passion of science. I became a certified nursing assistant in hopes of becoming a nurse then began to realize I didn’t like nursing as much as I assumed I would, but this exposed me to occupational therapy. I quickly realized I wanted to be an occupational therapist assistant where I could see personally the results of my efforts, and spend more time with patients impacting their life, as the occupational therapist assistant impacted my residents. I have always loved helping others and empowering others to help themselves.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant has been a big ambition for several years now. By researching and talking to people in this field, I have decided to make this my career. My passion is to help people by seeing them progress and recover from their injuries or disabilities. Helping them to be more independent and relying on themselves. I am a very family and church-oriented person.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Unit 3: Transitions Our lives are composed of transitions. From infancy to childhood to adolescence to adulthood, we are constantly faced with change. How we adjust to these changes define our character and outcome.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Physical Therapists make good money, which will help out in the future. Athletic Trainers work with athletes, and I love athletes. But, Occupational Therapists work with special needs children, which is important in this day of age. This is why, instead of being a Physical Therapist or an Athletic Trainer, I’m going to be an Occupational Therapist. Physical Therapists, Athletic Trainers, and Occupational Therapists all have different tasks.…

    • 1720 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The article focused on two different assessments from MOHO, OCAIRS and MOHOST. Practicing occupational therapists were surveyed to…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    When I think about me now and compare myself to me before starting this OTD program, I have a new outlook on the profession and the work that still needs to be done. Before starting this program I was content with sitting in the background within my place of employment. This program helped me realized as the program progressed that occupational therapy practitioners still needs to do research to support the profession. I also realized it is critical to for me to continue to read evidenced-based articles in order for me to be effective within my profession. I learned while in the 734 course from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) sensory integration guideline there was not a lot of strong evidence to support the recommendations.…

    • 334 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    This realisation showed me the versatility of the roles of an occupational therapist within any work environment which in turn makes occupational therapists important within many industries and not just within the health sector. After defining occupational therapy and identifying the roles of an occupational therapist we began exploring the different aspects within the definition of occupational therapy by defining the client centred approach and discussing the importance of occupations in a person’s daily…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Everyday tasks that are carried out by most people can be taken for granted, including getting dressed or even combing the hair. However, these jobs can become difficult for individuals suffering from mental, social and physical health problems. Occupational therapists can help them get back to having a satisfactory quality of life. The primary role of an occupational therapist is to provide a service to improve and maintain patient’s skills that will help them with their day to day activities resulting in enhancing their quality of life.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I received responses from some OT students and one faculty member who were willing to partake in my video. In order to make this project happen, I used my phone to videotape several occupational therapy students and one occupational therapy faculty member, to share their perspective about the OT profession. Firstly, they will describe what is occupational therapy and how occupational therapists help people with disabilities to get back to their normal activities and the occupations that are meaningful to them. After watching the video that was made by me, people will know that occupational therapy is a career that could be suited to their own personalities and abilities. People will be excited about the diverse nature of the work and the effect that meaningful activities or occupations can have in helping patients to improve their goals and quality of lives.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    It was in this chapter that Widing1 highlighted her belief that it is challenging to clearly express and define occupational therapy. This provided the incentive needed to find a definition for OT, or at least something I could say to quell the rather puzzled look that greeted me every time I informed a fellow first year that I was studying OT. Due to this I came to define OT as: ‘the therapeutic use of everyday life activities (occupations) with individuals or groups for the purpose of enhancing or enabling participation in roles, habits, and routines in home, school, workplace, community and other settings’2. I now had a definition, which I believed at the time was all I needed and so I neglected to research and fully understand what these terms meant within an occupational therapy context. It was this failure to place information within an occupational therapy context that left me without a true understanding of OT.…

    • 1829 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Prosthetic Rehabilitation

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages

    When breaking down the complete problem, there are two minor issues that we want to solve with the help of integrating this class into the PT and OT curriculum. The main problem we want to address with this proposal is the issue that physical and occupational therapy students do not have the chance to work alongside each other in a learning environment before entering fieldwork and the professional workplace. The other area of concern that we hope to address within this proposal includes having a class that allows the PT and OT students to keep up with the constantly advancing technology of prosthetics and learn how to appropriately treat patients with…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays