getting occupational therapy

jeehee · January 2017

Hi, there. I am currently a special educational teacher in Korea. I would like to know how Children with SEN can get services and support such as occupational therapy and physical therapy in the UK. Do they have an occupational therapist who resides at their school? Or do they request an occupational therapist to the local authority or other social agencies? How can the children get the services? Please let me know! Thanks in advance!

htlcy · January 2017

Hi jeehee, and thanks for posting! From my experience I had occupational therapy separately from my education. I also work in HE learning support in the UK and have never seen occupational therapy combined with school SEND provision. Instead I accessed occupational therapy through my GP, who referred me onto the service. SEND provision in the UK is facing massive cuts, so in my experience those with additional needs aren't always receiving adequate support. However OT and physio etc can still be accessed via one's GP or health service. Hope this helps!
Heather

jeehee · February 2017

Hi Heather. Thank you very much. I've read much information through this website. However, I still wondered whether there is an occupational therapist at each school that have children with SEN. Now, I clearly understand the system. It helps, indeed! Thanks again.

Jeehee

htlcy · February 2017

My pleasure. The only time an OT may be present is at a school specifically for those with disabilities. Other than that, the above applies.

jeehee · February 2017

Hi Heather, hang on!! Do you mean an OT can be presented at a school for disabled students? In my country, there was an occupational therapy teacher(we named this way) at special school. However, as educational provision changed, the occupational therapy teachers don't need to work at school. Disabled children can get the therapy at a private clinic instead.

But as far as I understand, there might be a full-time OT at a school for disabled children. However, many of them use GP or health service. Am I right? If someone is eligible for occupational therapy, would s/he pay for that? Maybe they use personal budget or other kinds of fund. Sorry for bothering you and thanks in advance.

htlcy · March 2017

From what I'm aware, it depends on the school and the provisions in place. The majority of students access OT provision through their local health services, accessed either through the GP or alternative channels. If accessed through the nhs and a referral approved, the treatment comes as no extra cost to the patient, as is the case with the nhs. People may access OT through private channels, and in that circumstance, they'd pay for the treatment themselves. Hope this helps!

LilyB · September 2019

안녕하세요 Jeehee, 어떻게 진내세요? Sorry that this response it so late! I only just joined Scope today. You've probably already sorted this out a while ago, but just in case- in my experience mainstream, i.e non-disability specialist schools, can have OTs and/or SEN coordinators. My junior school had an SEN coordinator, and although I dont remember much, I'm pretty sure there was an OT there too (I was not diagnosed at this point so didn't access it.) My current college is part of a group of colleges which share an OT. Not ideal as she is very busy, but I have seen her a couple of times. My junior school was just a mainstream state school, and my college is the same. In my experience, many more schools need OTs and SEN staff but there just aren't enough to go around. Hope things are going well for you

Chloe_Scope · September 2019

Hi @LilyB and a warm welcome to the community. Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. Is there anything we can do to help?

getting occupational therapy

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