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Occupational Therapy Groups
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| Throughout the course of the year, the Occupational Therapist in each classroom may lead several group activities. These groups will vary according to thematic units, teacher preference, as well as student needs and skill level. Groups help improve a student’s attention to a task as well as group interaction. In addition, OT groups will target a number of areas including sensorimotor, fine and visual motor skills. |
Sensorimotor Groups: Children learn from their environment. They organize information gathered from their senses to perform daily activities. Sensorimotor groups work to help students organize sensory and motor experiences. They may incorporate activities that focus on the development of balance, eye-hand coordination, posture, strength and stability, refinement of movement and improvement of body awareness for better motor planning. The development of these sensory and motor skills enable students to attend, practice and succeed in skills such as coloring, writing and self-care skills necessary for school success.
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| Fine Motor Groups: These groups will focus on hand and finger development and strength which are necessary for many functional school skills including coloring, cutting, manipulating clothing fasteners and using utensils. |
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| Visual Motor Groups : Eye-hand coordination skills are important for cutting accurately, copying shapes, pre-writing, coloring within lines and assembling puzzles. These skills will help children develop the necessary skills for future tracking when reading and copying letters. |
| Handy Learning Groups: The Jefferson Preschool Occupational Therapy department has received a grant to launch a new set of therapeutic modules based on The Handy Learning Program. This program is researched, peer-reviewed, and evidence based aimed at developing fine motor skills in young children. Portions of the program are implemented in the classrooms based on the specific needs and curricular activities of that particular classroom.For more information regarding the Handy Learning Program , please see the website http://handylearning.com/ |
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Handwriting Without Tears: Jefferson Preschool occupational therapists work closely with the teachers to implement developmentally appropriate pre-writing and writing programs based on the Handwriting Without Tears method. This program provides easy-to-learn, easy-to-teach, multi-sensory materials and methods to develop handwriting and other school readiness skills. The program is implemented in the classrooms based on the specific needs and curricular activities of that particular classroom. Please see http://www.hwtears.com/ for more information regarding this program. |
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