School Readiness – Role of Occupational Therapy Occupational therapists support families and teachers to incorporate appropriate exercises and strategies in daily routines to help develop good school readiness skills. This is to help children to have an easy transition into the school environment. In some situations occupational therapists also support the school to make adaptations in the school environment to allow children equity with their peers. Occupational therapists are trained to identify if a child has deficits in one or more of the following areas and to help a child develop and improve those skills. fine / gross motor skills overall body strength/ motor planning/ coordination skills prewriting, drawing and writing skills and grasp pattern pretend play/ social play and narrative skills cognitive skills / visual perceptual skills, organizational skills, independence in self-care, self-regulation /concentration /sensory processing skills ability to access and participate in all areas of learning These are some tasks that are in general required from children when starting kindergarten which occupational therapists can help to develop: writing name/ recognizing numbers/ counting/ number value up to 10 ability to draw people/family cutting along lines and cutting out shapes knowledge of concepts e.g. prepositions, shapes, opposites, colors independent self-help skills for dressing, eating, managing lunchbox, toileting, personal hygiene ability to concentrate and complete tasks independently ability to communicate with other children and the teacher problem solving skills for tasks and social interactions copy and plan motor movements, follow instructions manage own emotions including frustration/ anger follow instructions in a structured environment and understand rules ability to play and interact with cooperatively with other children To locate your nearest Occupational Therapy click on this link