Effects of school-based occupational therapy program for children with disabilities in elementary school in Korea: a case study

Abstract

Abstract Background The purpose of this case study was to explore the effects of a school-based occupational therapy on children’s attention, school adaptation, sensory processing, and motor function for children in special classes in elementary school in Korea. Case presentation The subjects of this study were a 7-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder and a 9-year-old girl with intellectual disability. The school-based occupational therapy program consisted of 10 sessions and was conducted once a week for an hour and a half. The program consisted of classroom activities, use of school facilities, emotional management, and activities based on sensory integration, and was conducted as individual and group programs according to sessions. As a result of the study, all improved when the pre- and post-scores of the two children’s attention assessment, school adjustment scale, sensory processing evaluation tool for the children in school and BOT-2-SF were compared. Conclusions Although the results from two cases cannot be generalized, the findings suggest the school-based occupational therapy program may help a positive effect on the school life of children with disabilities. Further investigation is necessary.