Building Blocks for Learning Occupational Therapy Approaches is a resource book for educational staff and pediatric occupational therapists, especially those new to the field. It shows how the implications of physical, psychological, social, and learning difficulties impact upon children’s abilities. This highly practical book will help readers recognize when a student’s poor performance within the classroom is a result of a medical condition or underlying motor and perceptual deficits.

Table of Contents:
Foreword ix Acknowledgements xi Introduction xiii Online resources xvii Foundation Skills 1 Introduction to foundation skills 1 FS 1 Introduction to sensory processing 5 FS 1A Vestibular processing (movement and balance sense) 11 FS 1B Tactile sense and tactile processing 15 FS 1C Proprioceptive processing/sense 19 FS 1D Auditory processing 23 FS 1E Visual processing 27 FS 2 Introduction to gross motor coordination 31 FS 2A Motor planning 35 FS 2B Postural stability and balance 39 FS 2C Spatial and body awareness 43 FS 2D Bilateral integration 47 FS 2E Midline crossing and laterality 51 FS 3 Introduction to fine motor control 55 FS 3A Visual motor integration 59 FS 3B Vision and ocular motor control 63 FS 3C Manual dexterity 69 FS 4 Introduction to perception 73 FS 4A Visual discrimination 77 FS 4B Visual spatial relationships 81 FS 4C Visual form constancy 85 FS 4D Visual figure ground discrimination 89 FS 4E Visual closure 93 FS 4F Visual memory 97 FS 5 Introduction to language 101 FS 5A Attention and listening 103 FS 5B Receptive language 105 FS 5C Expressive language 107 FS 5D Auditory memory 109 FS 6 Organisation 111 FS 7 Social and emotional aspects 113 Subject Areas 119 Introduction to subject areas 119 SA 1 General behaviour 122 SA 2 Literacy 126 SA 3 Numeracy 130 SA 4 Science 134 SA 5 Art and Design 138 SA 6 Information Communication Technology 144 SA 7 Physical Education 146 Subject areas teacher observation summary chart 150 Personalised profile for child 151 Medical Conditions 153 Introduction to medical conditions 153 MC 1 Attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder 155 MC 2 Autistic spectrum disorders, including Asperger’s syndrome 175 MC 3 Cerebral palsy 197 MC 4 Developmental coordination disorder including dyspraxia 221 MC 5 Physical disabilities 243 Occupational Therapy Approaches 247 Introduction to occupational therapy approaches 247 OTA 1 Building firm foundations for spatial and body awareness 249 OTA 2 Building firm foundations for left/right awareness 253 General activities 253 Activities to help with left/right discrimination on oneself 254 Activities to help with left/right orientation on others 255 Activities to help with left/right discrimination of objects 255 Activities to help with left/right orientation and tracking when writing 256 OTA 3 Building firm foundations for fine motor control 259 Warm up for the upper limb 259 Handwriting warm up 261 Hand gym 263 Ideas for using therapeutic putty 265 Pencil aerobics 267 Doodle games 268 Hand/finger relaxation strategies 269 OTA 4 Building firm foundations for handwriting 271 Handwriting 271 Development of pencil grasp 273 Efficient and inefficient grasps 274 Improving pencil grasp 276 Three easy stages for teaching pencil grip 277 Equipment to help develop pencil grasp and fluency 278 Commercially available equipment 279 Hand development for handwriting 280 Ergonomics 281 Table surface 282 Texture of writing paper or surface 283 Paper position 284 Position in class 284 Development of pencil skills 285 Pre-writing skills, based around using your senses 286 Multi-sensory handwriting approach 288 Establishing correct pressure 292 Consolidation for efficient handwriting 293 Rules for writing tasks 294 Activities to encourage self-evaluation of handwriting 296 Copying from the board 297 Specific advice for left-handed children 298 OTA 5 Building firm foundations for alternative methods of recording 305 Complexity of handwriting 305 Low-tech alternatives 306 Interactive whiteboards 306 Digital cameras 307 Word processing as an alternative 308 ICT resources 310 Suggested equipment 310 Software 310 Adaptations/strategies to try 311 Further resources 312 OTA 6 Building firm foundations for dressing skills 315 OTA 7 Building firm foundations for scissor development 319 The 14 steps in scissor skill development 319 Activities to develop pre-scissor skills 320 Activities to help with scissor skills 320 Equipment to help with scissor control 321 OTA 8 Sensory strategies 323 OTA 9 Self-organisation approaches 327 OTA 10 Consolidating foundation skills through group activities 333 Establishing groups 334 Non-themed activity groups 336 Themed activity groups 336 OTA 10A Gross motor activities for pirate groups 340 OTA 10B Fine motor activities for pirate groups 344 OTA 11 Consolidating foundation skills for transition from primary to secondary school 349 Appendices 359 A 1 Ages and stages of development 361 A 2 Alphabet ABC sentences 369 A 3 Fine motor circuit score sheet 371 A 4 Handwriting self-evaluation checklist 373 A 5 Handwriting programmes and fine motor resources 375 A 6 Information communication technology checklist 379 A 7 Movement programmes and gross motor resources 381 A 8 Individual child profile 387 A 9 Resources for developing social, emotional and behavioural skills 389 A 10 Teachers’ checklist for visual signs 395 A 11 Thinking skills 397 A 12 Twelve rules of legibility 401 A 13 Visual perception resources 403 A 14 Work system 405 Equipment Resources 407 Suppliers’ Addresses 413 Useful Addresses 417 Further Reading 421 Glossary 423 Index 427