A number of COLT children have regular individual sessions with the Occupational Therapy (OT) students and are really progressing well. Our one 5 year old girl has quickly developed fine motor skills so that cutting with scissors is no longer a struggle for her – it’s wonderful to watch her cut with such confidence now. At first, one of our 5 year old boys didn’t want to attend the OT sessions and would stand at the door and shake his head. Now he enjoys the sessions so much that he finds it hard to leave and go back to class!
It often takes time for the OT student to slowly build a therapeutic relationship with a child especially if there is a language barrier, or learning challenges. From this relationship the process of improving fine motor skills can flow, and happens in a non-threatening and safe space.