OT in Mainstream Media


Sharp Rise in Occupational Therapy Cases at New York’s Schools

     The New York Times has over one million subscribers both digitally and in print. With this being said, it encourages me to see articles pertaining to occupational therapy (OT) within this major newspaper! One of the goals as an occupational therapist includes advocacy-for the profession and services that is provides.

     This article does a wonderful job of expressing the broad and ever-growing nature of occupational therapy. The services that are provided extend to many different populations and needs. According to the article, New York city schools have seen a 30% increase in the number of referrals for occupational therapy. This trend is also seen in many other cities across the United States. In fact, the need for occupational therapy services is growing at such a rapid rate, there is a nation-wide shortage of occupational therapists to fill these openings. The article cites an increase in autism diagnoses in a society where integration in the classroom is becoming a point of emphasis as a major cause of the increase in OT referrals. Additionally, the increase of rigor in the curriculum of the lower grades has caused a spike in OT referrals as many believe more children are not developmentally ready to keep up in the classroom. I believe that many private schools should also consider providing more available OT services. If there really is such a need for services and OT has proven results, all schools should really be have conversations on how OT can be implemented within their student body. Another note I would like to make is that I truly believe OT referrals are increasing in large numbers nation-wide in part to how the profession is really starting to become known and respected in the health care system. OTs and OT organizations are advocating for the validity of the profession as well as educating the population about what OT actually is and the areas that OT services can be beneficial. 

      A remaining final point addressed in the article was the "over-identification" that some OTs can fall in to, meaning that they can sometimes add services to children who do not really need them. One thing I would like to state in response to this is that there is a push in the profession to be evidence-based. This means using the best available resources to first decide if OT would be beneficial and secondly to seek out the best interventions. This emphasis on evidence-based practice will hopefully diminish any unnecessary interventions that could take away from individuals that truly need OT services. 

      Overall, I enjoyed this article and how it portrays the need and growth of occupational therapy. It included specific examples of children in the area and how their lives have been impacted because of occupational therapy services, beginning in the classroom.

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