Tips from a school OT :)

I am copy/pasting tips from an e-mail I got recently from a school OT I will name “L”! Great ideas/thoughts that she gave, as always use at your own risk!

One of the things I have been loving lately are mechanical pencils. They are wonderful tools for those students who push too hard on their pencil or their pencil is never sharp. Some teachers only allow sharpening 3 pencils at the beginning of the day and then that is it. Unfortunately, the students I see need sharp pencils! This also isn't as nice to chew on as wood pencils-although if there is a will there is a way!

I also use the rubber tubing at the top of pencils for a chewy section. I used to glue them in when they didn't seem to fit right, however I found just wrapping the pencil with tape can provide enough diameter to make the chewy part stay put.

I love adapted paper and carry it with me practically everywhere. I keep it in a binder tucked in sheet protectors and refill when I am in the office. I also put screening tools in there and freebies off of the HWT website-like the sheet that tells how to form all the letters appropriately.

Planning and scheduling can be very difficult-I work in small school districts so I hit one school district Monday through Thursday. At the beginning of the year I set up a schedule for the students on IEP's and try to work around activities as much as possible. What is difficult is I think in days of the week, so when it is Tuesday and I forgot something on Monday, I am not going to remember it until next Monday-probably when I am already at the school. I just purchased a Samsung Galaxy S and am using for my calendar and notes and whatnot. I still have a hard planner and write things down in there as well.