OT Line – The OT Advantage
As an Occupational Therapist working in the school system for the past 8 years, I’ve seen an alarming increase in sensory and motor delays in elementary school children, effecting children’s ability to attend, print and read. On the Sunshine Coast, resource teachers report 20% of children grades K-3 have at least a 2 year delay in printing, and 30% of children grades K-6 have attention delays significant enough to impair learning. While causal factors are largely speculative, the advent of technology has certainly deprived children of the type and amount of sensation and movement necessary for normal neurological development.
According to Canadian statistics, children watch on average four hours per day of TV and video games, with subsequent correlations to increased aggression, obesity, and addictions. The American Pediatric Society has released a warning to parents to not allow children under the age of 2 years to watch TV due to subsequent delayed neurological development. As technological advances are likely to continue, OT’s have an advantage over other professionals in the education of children, teachers and parents regarding the needs for appropriate sensation and movement.
OT’s have a unique skill set that promotes taking complex theory and transforming it into practical and functional programs. Training in Sensory Integration enables OT’s to “make sense” out of what appears confusing by creating simple and easy to administer, yet effective programs. Sensory Integrative theory teaches us that Level 1 tactile, vestibular and proprioceptive stimuli need to be sufficient, and properly integrated for a child to be able to utilize Level 2 visual and auditory channels, in order to ultimately to optimize Level 3 learning and behavior.
When children use technology inappropriately, they become under stimulated in tactile, vestibular and proprioceptive channels, and over stimulated in the visual and auditory sensory channels, which results in neurological and academic delays. OT’s training in Sensory Integrative theory puts us on the leading edge of helping these children and adults learn to cope with what are often confusing and difficult “behaviours”.
So, as OT’s move into the 21st century, our “bag of tricks” is getting fuller, and our skill set longer as we rise to meet the challenges of our new world technology. Becoming aware of the disconnection technology has caused, and the subsequent importance in reconnecting with the “human factor” through the use of touch and movement, are importance messages to convey to children and adults alike.