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In the United States, April was Occupational Therapy month.
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To celebrate Occupational Therapy in Ireland during April Cope Foundation Occupational Therapists told stories of their work and projects they were involved in throughout the organisation.
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The first project featured in April was about training sessions for parents of children with Autism. Parents of young children as well as parents of teenagers took part in workshops that included; “Understanding Sensory Processing”, “Motor Coordination” and “Personal Care”.
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Over 100 families were invited to attend these workshops. One parent who attended the motor workshop noted that “the group contribution was very helpful. There were great tips and practical ideas’.
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The second project featured in April was Occupational Therapy’s role alongside other disciplines in the Early Intervention Team.
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This project was made up of 3 workshops for Pre-School and Primary School staff members. The 1st week was all about accessing and meeting needs. The 2nd week was all about Lámh Signing.
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Occupational therapists delivered the 3rd week which was about preparing the child for school. This included instruction on how children learn to write and how teachers can make the classroom less challenging for children that Cope Foundation supports.
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All schools attending received a useful information pack.
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The third project featured in April was called Free to Wheel.
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This was a story about Evan a young boy attending St. Paul’s school who uses a wheelchair.
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With the support of Occupational Therapy Evan is now able to move around more independently using his new wheelchair which Occupational Therapy helped get for him. Evan, his parents and his teachers are very happy now that he can move around more on his own.
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The last project featured was called INSPIRE.
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This project was worked on by staff from Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy.
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INSPIRE was a pilot project that focuses on two adult individuals supported by Cope Foundation.
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INSPIRE helped to develop more individualised community-based supports for the two people in their local areas.
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Some of the personal goals which were achieved involved: being in a community walking group, performing a flash mob and joining a sports and social club.
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To find out more about Occupational Therapy, you can visit the OT page on our website.
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