1. Exploring the opportunities and challenges experienced by paediatric occupational therapists when working with primary school teachers in the north-west of Ireland
Sharon McMorrow.
B.Sc.(Hons) Occupational Therapy
M.Sc. Advanced Occupational Therapy.

2. Study Context
Supporting the delivery of client-centred intervention and accessible education.
Clark, Jackson & Polichino (2011),
Primary occupation of childhood.
(Ziviani & Muhlenhaupt, 2006, in Ziviani & Rodgers, 2006
Legislative Developments
Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, (2004).

3. Rationale Literature review Only six studies met inclusion criteria.
Findings reinforced the need for this study.
Explore the subjective experiences of paediatric occupational therapists.
Identify and record specific elements.
Implications for practice.

4. Study Design. Qualitative research methodology.
Phenomenological approach.
Lived experiences.
Ethical approval.
University of Salford College of Health and Social Care Research and Governance Ethics Committee
Sligo University Hospital Research Ethics Committee
Letterkenny University Hospital Research Ethics Committee.

5. Data collection and analysis.
Sample
Purposive sampling (Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2007).
five participants.
Data collection.
Skype based semi-structured interviews.
Exploring broad concepts identified in the wider literature.
Data analysis
Thematic analysis.

6. Themes. The role of the occupational therapist.
The role of the primary school teacher.
“It depends…” (variation and individual factors).
Time
Resources.

7. The role of the occupational therapist.
Understanding of the role of occupational therapy
“They need to know why you’re coming out and how it can be of help to them and then as well I need to explain to them what my role is” Participant A
“I’ve gone into Facility C to do a day’s course, or I would maybe do a day’s training with teachers , every summer. So it’s becoming, they’re becoming more and more aware of what we can offer and that we have practical solutions” Participant B

8. The role of the occupational therapist.
Range of occupational therapy input
Types of interventions
Timescales of involvement with schools.
“… the planning and the layout of the school… elements of infection control… any physical adaptation… toileting, changing… manual handling … working very much with the principal, the class teacher, the SNA and the architect.” Participant E.

9. “It depends…” Variation and individual factors.
Higher level policies
School structures and policies
Individual attributes
“… it depends on the teacher's experience, it depends on the numbers and the principal, different schools are very different.” Participant D.
Commitment to the child’s wellbeing.

10. Time and Resources. Scheduling difficulties.
Dedicated time for therapeutic interventions.
Staffing resources.
“They really do need more help within the classroom.” Participant E
“They are just so under-resourced.” Participant B

11. Discussion The role of the occupational therapist.
Consistent with current literature.
Importance of education regarding the role of occupational therapy
The scope of occupational therapy in the school setting.
Specialised skill sets.

12. Discussion (cont’d). “It depends…”
Variation not discussed explicitly in other studies
Roles and responsibilities of classroom staff
Unique context in Ireland .

13. Discussion (cont’d). Time and resources
Impact of policies at various levels.
Effective collaboration
Limited opportunities for face-to-face interaction

14. Conclusion.
A lack of knowledge regarding the role of the occupational therapist.
Limitations regarding the scope of the role of occupational therapy.
The influence of higher level policies.
Time and resources.
Recommendations and implications for practice

15. Questions???

16. Contact details.

17. References.
Bose, P. and Hinojosa, J. (2008). Reported experiences from occupational therapists interacting with teachers in inclusive early childhood classrooms. American journal of occupational therapy. 62(3), pp
Campbell, W.N., Missiuna, C.A., Rivard, L.M. and Pollock, N.A. (2012). “Support for everyone”: Experiences of occupational therapists delivering a new model of school-based service. Canadian journal of occupational therapy. 79, pp DOI: /cjot
Clark, G.F., Jackson, L. & Polochino, J. (2011). Occupational therapy services in early childhood and school-based settings. American journal of occupational therapy.Vol.65 p Doi: /ajot S46.
Citizen’s information. (2014). Education (Welfare) Act Accessed at endance.html on 18/11/2016.
Government of Ireland. (2004). Education for persons with special educational needs act. The Stationary Office. Dublin. on April 12, 2017.
Jones, R. (2007). Strength of evidence in qualitative research. Journal of clinical epidemiology. 60, pp
Patton, S., Hutton, E., and MacCobb, S. (2015) Curriculum differentiation for handwriting and occupational therapy/teacher partnership: collaboration or conflict? Irish Educational Studies. 34:2, , DOI: /
Rens, L. and Joosten, A. (2014). Investigating the experiences in a school-based occupational therapy program to inform community-based paediatric occupational therapy practice. Australian occupational therapy journal. 61, pp DOI: /
Sensory Integration Network, United Kingdom and Ireland. (2017). SI Practitioner training- the SI modular pathway explained. Accessed at on 26/04/2017.
Ziviani, J., and Muhlenhaupt, M., (2006), Student participation in the classroom in Ziviani, J., and Rodger, S. (2006) (Eds.), Occupational therapy with children: Understanding children’s occupations and enabling participation. Oxford. Blackwell Publishing.