Homeschooling is becoming a solid option for families of children with diverse learning needs. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 3% to 4% of school-aged children were being homeschooled. Recent data supports an increase of ~6% of school-aged children being homeschooled in the 2021-2022 school year. Though the growth rate previous to COVID-19 was between 2% and 8% over the past few years, the pandemic significantly grew the popularity of homeschooling.
As an occupational therapist who’s worked in schools and supported homeschooled learners, I can see why homeschooling has such popularity. Children with diverse learning needs often need more kinesthetic instruction and project-based learning than a traditional school (in the United States) provides. Children learn best when they can apply their knowledge into a real-world scenario. Though some teachers are successful at this, children with diverse learning needs often need additional supports to be successful in the busy classroom environment. Homeschool offers families the opportunity to create a curriculum that meets their child’s individual needs. Families can expand their child’s strengths and more quickly progress them through the curriculum, or slow down the curriculum for educational areas that require additional support.
Another aspect of homeschooling that families appreciate is the ability to choose outside service providers for their children. Outside providers include occupational therapists, speech therapists, physical therapists, social workers, and learning specialists. Homeschool services are typically provided in the home, so families are able to be a part of sessions, providers can consult with the families in real-time, and provide education on strategies to best support the student’s learning.
What does an occupational therapist do in the homeschooling setting?
Occupational therapists (OTs) play a unique role in the homeschooling community as the resource for sensory processing and regulation, visual motor abilities, and routine-based strategies. Unlike school-based OTs that are bound to provide educational-relevant services, occupational therapists providing homeschooling support can address and support educational learning and home-based needs. This includes:
- Sensory processing, including attention and regulation
- Executive functioning skills, such as initiation, continuation, sequencing, and termination of a task, and following multi-step directions
- Participation in activities of daily living, such as sleeping, eating, dressing, grooming, and bathing
- Social interactions and building and maintaining friendships
- Visual motor skills, such as reading strategies, handwriting, and art projects
- Play, including playing independently and with others
- Following a routine
With OTs addressing any activity that the child performs during the day, sessions can occur at a time when the families feels they need additional guidance or support.
Who could benefit from OT in the homeschooling environment?
Depending on OT State Practice guidelines, individuals who receive occupational therapy must have either 1) an IEP (which includes an educational diagnosis) or 504 (which includes a medical diagnosis), or 2) a prescription from a doctor with a diagnosis. Often when parents are noticing their child has difficulty with an area in their lives, parents seek out professional help, whether it’s at their child’s school or going to their pediatrician, as a starting ground for guidance on how to best help their child. Children who receive occupational therapy services typically have diverse learning needs that include:
- Having a hard time attending for a sustained period
- Difficulties with handwriting and/or art projects
- Difficulties following multi-step directions
- Needing more movement than their peers during the day
- One or more activities of daily living are a struggle for the family (i.e. hard time falling asleep or staying asleep, picky eating, etc.)
How can an occupational therapist help in the homeschooling setting?
Occupational therapists are trained in task analysis, where OTs break down a task into smaller parts to understand the barriers to participation, performance, and independence. After breaking down the task, OTs address the underlying skills that need to be worked on to better participate in the task. OTs use their knowledge in the skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems to analyze what is impacting physiological and psychological functioning, and therefore impacting everyday activities. OT interventions in homeschooling include:
- Looking at routines and seeing how to make routines more efficient
- If a child is having difficulty with regulation and attention, OTs can suggest different pieces of equipment and seating options that would be beneficial to help regulate the body so the student can better attend for learning; change in routine, including incorporating a sensory diet and movement into the routine; and creating a sensory diet.
- Providing learning strategies for handwriting, copying, and reading
- Supporting executive functioning skills, such as supports and modifications for following and completing multi-step directions
- Using a strength-based, client-centered approach where interventions focus on the family’s strengths
What would an OT session look like in the homeschooling setting?
Occupational Therapy Evaluation: The first step in starting OT services is for the OT to evaluate the child. Evaluations are an opportunity for the OT to collaborate with the family on what struggles the child is having using interviewing, questionnaires, and standardized assessments. Assessment measures typically include a sensory processing measure, motor abilities, executive functioning abilities, and overal participation in daily activities. Based on the information provided by the families and scores on the measures used, the OT will create a treatment plan that is focused on the areas of highest concern.
Occupational Therapy Treatment Sessions: Following the evaluation, OT sessions typically occur 1-3 times a week (depending on the child’s needs) for 60 minutes at home or anywhere in the community. Sessions can occur during the time of day when the family needs the most support. During the session, the OT can assess if the environment can be adapted to better meet the student’s learning needs, consult on adjustments to routine for optimal learning, and working directly with the students on skills that are a barrier to learning. Sessions may start off with movement for regulation, then transition into a functional activity, such as a project the student is working on, handwriting, play, or an adaptive skill. Sessions are focused on building skills for the student to carry over the skills into their everyday activities.
Updates to the Treatment Plan: As the student and family meet their goals, goals are updated based on the student’s current needs. Goals can be updated at any time if the therapist or family feels the current goals have been met or are no longer relevant.
How can a family who is homeschooling access occupational therapy services?
Each state has different funding sources for families who are homeschooling. I reside in Florida where families can apply for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA) via Step Up for Students. The state provides funding to families based on the grade the child is in, and the family decides how they want to use their funding each year. Funding can go toward specialized services, such as occupational therapy services. The provider submits the bill into the Step Up system, and the parent approves the services on their portal.
To find out how to support a student in another state, National School Choice Week provides a solid outline for all states on how funding for special needs students works when homeschooling.
If your family is homeschooling and you think your child would benefit from occupational therapy services, reach out! info@sensoryinnovationtherapies.com or call (772) 410-3499
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About the Author
Dr. Leah Dunleavy, M.A., BCBA, OTR/L, OTD is an occupational therapist and behavior analyst and the owner of Sensory Innovation Therapies located in South Florida’s Treasure Coast. She serves families in the home and school setting in St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties. Dr. Leah has been working with the neurodiverse population for over 15 years, and has been practicing, managing, and mentoring in Chicago for the last 10 years. She has brought her expertise in sensory processing back to her hometown to support her community. Dr. Leah uses a relationship-based approach to guide families to meet their goals.