Currently in the United States, 20% of children ages 6 years or younger live in poverty. Poor children have fewer opportunities than their peers to resources that are important for child development. At the same time, the prevalence of developmental disabilities has increased to 1 in every 6 children. 
Early identification of developmental delays is critical, and more than half of all American parents do not know the warning signs. Occupational therapy professionals in early intervention and preschool practice can provide the necessary services to support children's health in early childhood. 
This Practice Guideline explains the occupational therapy process for young children--and their families, caregivers, and teachers--which includes evaluation, intervention, and outcomes planning to enhance a child's occupational performance, adaptation, health and wellness, community participation, role competence, and self-advocacy. Topics include social-emotional development; feeding, eating, and swallowing; cognitive and motor development; service delivery; autism; obesity, cerebral palsy; and parent training. 
This work can help occupational therapy practitioners, as well as those who manage, reimburse, or set policy regarding occupational therapy services, understand the contribution of occupational therapy in evaluating and serving young children. This guideline can also serve as a resource for parents, school administrators, educators, and other early childhood staff.

Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Early Childhood: Birth Through 5 Years

Gloria Frolek Clark

Karrie Kingsley

Health, Fitness & Dieting

AOTA Press

Nearly 22% of school occupational therapy practitioners work in school settings, creating demand for current, effective, and evidence-based best practices for students. Reflecting the extensiveness of occupational therapy practice in schools, this exciting publication contains best practices from preschool to postsecondary transitions, from ADLs to driving. Highlights include (1) foundations of school practice, covering topics such as history, the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, ethics, role of OTAs, state guidelines, leadership, professional access and negotiation, and student access; (2) systems-level considerations such as evaluation, intervention, documentation, program evaluation, workloads, fieldwork, collaborating, resolving conflicts, early intervening services and response to intervention, health and wellness, mental health, universal design for learning, transportation, preschooler transition, and postsecondary transition; (3) population-based planning to support participation, covering topics such as 504 plans, autism, emotional disturbance, hearing impairments and deafness, low-incidence disabilities, health impairments, physical disabilities, learning disabilities, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairments; (4) performance-based considerations such as cognition and executive functioning, sensory processing skills, motor and praxis skills, visual perception, fine motor and visual-perceptual skills, and communication and social skills; and (6) activity-based considerations such as literacy, handwriting, assistive technology, ADLs, IADLs, eating and swallowing, play and leisure, and driver's education. With a deliberate focus on student participation, this book provides practical applications of evidence-based research to daily practice. Destined to become an occupational therapy classic, Best Practices for Occupational Therapy in Schools is the most comprehensive publication available for practice in schools.

Best Practices for Occupational Therapy in Schools

Medical Books

Barbara E. Chandler

Allied Health Professions

This timely resource provides practical, how-to information on how to document occupational therapy services while meeting federal, state, and district requirements for screening and evaluation, intervention, outcomes and program evaluation, and OTA supervision. A flash drive includes forms for all aspects of documenting occupational therapy in schools, along with documentation samples and case examples.

Best Practices for Documenting Occupational Therapy Services in Schools

Dottie Handley-Moore

American Occupational Therapy

Nearly 20% of occupational therapy practitioners work in school settings, requiring current, effective, and evidence-based best practices for students. Reflecting the extensiveness of occupational therapy practice in schools, the second edition of this bestseller contains best practices from preschool to postsecondary transitions, from ADLs to driving. The latest edition of Best Practices for Occupational Therapy in Schools promotes best school practices, education, research, and policy and provides school occupational therapy practitioners with current, effective information to use in their daily practices. This comprehensive text details working with multiple student populations, transition planning, assistive technology, enhancing student participation, and work readiness. Appendixes provide resources for educators using the text in the classroom, documentation, assessment tools, liability issues, and templates for the occupational profile and occupational therapy intervention plan.

Best Practices for Occupational Therapy in Schools, 2nd Ed.

Joyce E. Rioux

Staying current on new evidence and practice across the field of early childhood can be challenging and time consuming. This comprehensive new text covers all aspects of occupational therapy in early childhood across early intervention, preschools, and health care, providing the most effective, evidence-guided practices to equip practitioners working with young children. Best Practices for Occupational Therapy in Early Childhood addresses legislative, professional, and contextual influences on providing occupational therapy to young children and their families and promotes coordination of services across settings. Chapters cover essential considerations, best practices, case examples, and key terms and concepts of occupation, development, participation, family- and client-centered practices, and community partnerships. Wide in scope but detailed in practical, evidence-based information, Best Practices for Occupational Therapy in Early Childhood prepares practitioners to support and enhance outcomes for occupational therapy’s youngest clients and their families.

Best Practices for Occupational Therapy in Early Childhood

Stephanie Parks