Active Participation

Goals: Role of OT and PT in a Trans-disciplinary Model  What is the overall educational goal?  How can I best support the student in achieving this goal?  Primary Role  Secondary Role  Supportive Role

Primary Role  Increase independence in mobility Kate will walk from her classroom to the gym...  Maximize physical function and motor skill Timmy will independently transfer from his wheelchair to his desk chair…  Increase independence in self care Pierre will remain dry between trips to the toilet and void in the toilet… Lucy will bring a loaded spoon from the bowl to her mouth with an elbow prompt...

Secondary Role  Provide access Joey will press a switch on an AAC device within 10 seconds of being greeted by a peer…  Increase participation Jamal will use his standing frame to allow him to participate in circle time activities  Support self-regulation Anna will chose a break card from a choice board…

Supportive Role  Equipment – Ramps, Toilet Armrests, Supportive Seating, Orthotics, Wheelchairs, Gait Trainers, Standers  Problem Solving – Modify activities, adapt materials, change the environment  Build Capacity – What is sensory processing? Why is it important to maintain range of motion? How does physical activity affect learning? How can we work together as a team to support this student?

Consultation vs Collaboration  “an approach to service provision in which the consultant, a specialist, assists another person, in a problem-solving process with regards to a third individual”  “interactions between occupational therapists and educators are dependent upon shared expertise, rather than on a superior knowledge base of the occupational therapist” (Villeneuve, M., 2009, p. 207)

Excellent Activity Checklist

Excellent Activities…  Support development in at least one school community  Are meaningful to the student  Can be part of a consistent routine  Have a beginning, middle, and end  Include an active role for the student  Include at least one of John O’Brien’s Quality of Life Indicators

School Communities

Learning Physical Social Emotional Curricular Goals Behaviour Goals Communication Goals Social/Emotional Goals Physical Goals (Shelley Moore, July 2015)

Meaning

Interests/Likes  Nobody does anything without a reason that makes sense to them.  Build the student’s interests into activities whenever possible (e.g., music, movement, favourite people, food, praise).  Think about the student's age and what his/her peers are interested in.

Meaning Peers  Almost all students are motivated by peers.  Peers help each other learn.  Promotes Inclusion  Involve peers in one-to-one activities, small groups, or within the entire class.

Meaning Multi-Sensory Feedback  Increase the variety of sensory feedback  Combine interesting visual, tactile, smell, and auditory experiences into routine activities

Meaning Multi-Sensory Video of Kai

Meaning Object Cues  Pair familiar objects with an activity.  Objects need to be meaningful to the student, as well as the activity.  Use a finished box to place the object into once the activity is completed.  This builds familiarity for choice making.

Object Schedule

Meaning Use Simple Language  Talk to the student about upcoming steps/activities.  Talk to the student about what he/she is currently doing.  Label activities and objects the student is engaged with to build receptive language.  Keep language simple.  Don’t bombard with instructions or prompts.

Routine

Routines  Students will learn best when activities are part of a consistent routine.  Practice and repetition are the keys to learning.  Ask yourself, “Is there more than one opportunity to participate in this activity?”

Beginning Middle End

Beginning, Middle, End Beginning = Set Up for Activity Middle = Doing the Activity End = Clean Up of Activity

Beginning, Middle, End  All activities have a beginning, middle, and end.  Creates structure to the activity and helps student make sense of daily schedule.  Students should have an active role during each part of the activity.  There are many opportunities to work on skills during all parts of each activity.

Active Participation

 Learning is most likely to occur when the student is an active participant.  Task must meet the “best fit” criteria to ensure success and learning.  Often participation is done in a hand over hand fashion, which can lead to passivity.  Students are at school to LEARN, not just to be cared for or entertained.

Quality of Life

 Does the activity contribute to community presence?  Does the activity allow the student to make choices?  Does the activity allow the student to develop and demonstrate competence?  Does the activity put the student in a position of respect?  Does the activity facilitate inclusion?

Choice Choice Making  Incorporate opportunities to make choices for familiar activities and objects into daily routines.  Depending on the student, this might involve single or multiple object or picture choices.

Choice

Competence Ask yourself:  Does the activity allow for the student to learn a new skill?  Does the activity allow the student to practice a skill?  How does the activity demonstrate to others what the student can do?

Competence Examples of skills to work on:  Gross and Fine Motor Skills  Mobility  Communication  Assistive Technology  Academic Skills  Work Experience  Other

Competence Assistive Technology  AbleNet Powerlink  Access computer using switch-adapted mouse or Hitch  Voice output device (BIGmack or Step-by- Step)  Battery Interrupter  iPad  Switch-activated door

Competence Building Skills and Increasing Competence  Backward Chaining: When a task has multiple steps, the student is expected to perform the last step as independently as possible, so that they end with success. Gradually, the student will complete more steps in the task, until they are able to complete it with the least amount of support.

Competence Building Skills and Increasing Competence  Prompting: Prompting refers to the amount of support needed to complete each step of an activity.  Prompt Fading: Once a baseline is established, up the ante by trying to use the prompt level that is one step less intrusive.

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Competence Building Skills and Increasing Competence  Response Time: Students will take longer to process and instruction and respond, so don’t rush! Count slowly and silently to 10 to allow the student to process directions and get his/her body to do what he/she wants it to do.

Activity  Case Study Kid  Age, grade  List strengths, stretches, likes  List goals  Subject/learning activity  Design an excellent activity that meets the criteria…

Excellent Activities…  Support development in at least one school community  Are meaningful to the student  Can be part of a consistent routine  Have a beginning, middle, and end  Include an active role for the student  Include at least one of John O’Brien’s Quality of Life Indicators

Questions?