Pediatric Rehabilitation Assessment and Consultation Services (PRACS) 49th Street Community Health Centre Bay A 4755 49th

h Street RED DEER, AB T4N 1T6 Phone: (403) 314-5240 Fax: (403) 314-5230

O.T. Notes
Volume 2, Issue 4

Tips and Strategies from your Occupational Therapist.

January 2010

How to make a referral to Occupational Therapy:

Teacher to complete
referral package. Parent to complete referral package and consent form. School coordinator/ Director of Student Services to ensure all documentation is completed and signed. Completed referral package to be sent to the PRACS Intake Resource Coordinator by mail or fax. ***Services are funded by Student Health Partnerships.***

Classroom Seating
In order for children to be most successful with fine motor tasks such as printing it is important that they be well positioned. Ensure that the table and chair and/or desk the student is using is the correct size for him or her. Make sure: enough to allow feet to be placed flat on the floor.

Height of the table/desk should

The student can clearly see what

he/she is writing.

The students hand rests easily on

the desk/table surface without shoulders hiked, back hunched or arms uncomfortably stretched.

come up to 1-2 above the childs bent elbow. This allows the forearm to lay flat along the tabletop and prevents the child from having to lean too far forward or backward to reach their work.

The students feet are not dangling

but are placed flat on the floor. If you do not have a chair that is low enough, a small footstool or telephone book can be used to support the feet.

Did you Know?

Good posture is very important to your health and well-being. Proper posture helps prevent fatigue, headaches, eye strain, and chronic muscular tension. In addition, good posture can help improve circulation and digestion, enhance sleep, and prevent cramping of internal organs. Correct postural alignment can boost self-image and clear the mind, contributing to sharper senses. Proper posture can improve your quality of life.

Furniture Sizing Length of seat should allow the child to bend his/her knees 90 degrees and still have his/her buttocks pushed to the back of the chair. This allows the child to sit up straight, with their back supported and body stabilized.

Other Tips Encourage your child/student to maintain a nice, upright sitting posture facing the desk squarely. Discourage laying across the desk top, slouching in the chair, wrapping legs around chair legs and sitting on one or both feet.

If you see the student in any of

Height of the chair should be low

these positions, it may be an indication that their desk or chair is not the right size for them.

Its Time to Move (A Movement Break Idea)

Add some more creativity to your curriculum based activities. Here are some more ideas that were found on www.ourbrainbuddies.com For example, in Science, try: Five Senses Stations: Partners take a card with a sensory picture or message and deliver it to the appropriate station identifying the sense involved. Run in place, then check heart beat under the chin. Solar System: Assign a sun and planet names to students, position them in order and have them walk through their orbits, staying in position order around the person named as the sun. Make up rhyming songs and motions to recall bones in the skeleton, chemical names, or action within an atom.