Pushing In, Collaborating and Supporting Children to be Happy. One Therapy Team's Experience in Creating a Positive Model

Background An Occupational Therapy team at the Northern School for Autism, Victoria, Australia was given the task of developing and implementing a Push In or Collaborative model of service delivery for students. Our school... [ view full abstract ]

Background
An Occupational Therapy team at the Northern School for Autism, Victoria, Australia was given the task of developing and implementing a Push In or Collaborative model of service delivery for students. Our school strives to be a centre for excellence. Our students are aged from 5-18 years and have various levels of skills and preferences.
Previous therapy models focused on student difficulties and less on a shared view of participation and positive outcome.

Methodology
A literature search revealed positive evidence for a Push In Model. The team reviewed evidence, consulted with teachers and reviewed parent and student feedback.
An OT study *(Villeneuve, 2012) outlined 12 principles for setting up a Push In Model. This became our framework for building the new approach to working alongside team members in the classroom. Trials of intensive OT work in the classrooms began, and the model was constantly reviewed.

Results
Satisfaction rate with OT interventions increased during the initial trial of the new model. Teachers were positive in response to the input, stating they learned more about levels of student ability from the shared perspective of therapy and education.
Parents and students responded positively as students achieved 84% of their personal learning goals.

Conclusions
The introduction of a Push In Model has provided the OT team with a positive way of interacting with our students. We know our students better and can work with them to make learning a happier experience. We will continue to support our students to be happy, healthy and fulfill their goals.

*Villeneuve, M., Shulha, L., (2012)
Learning together for effective collaboration in a school-based occupational therapy practice.
CJOT 79, 211-224 Doi:10.2182/CJOT.2012.79.5.6

No conflict of interest. Written Permission from parents has been obtained to include photos of 2 students in the poster presentation. No names have been used to identify students. Permission has been gained to cite the... [ view full abstract ]

No conflict of interest.
Written Permission from parents has been obtained to include photos of 2 students in the poster presentation.
No names have been used to identify students.
Permission has been gained to cite the journal article included in the abstract.