Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-gvh9x Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-20T19:12:10.803Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Visiting Occupational Therapy Service to Indigenous Children in School: Results of A Pilot Project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2016

Alison Nelson  and
Heather Allison
Alison Nelson
Affiliation:
Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
Heather Allison
Affiliation:
Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia
Get access

Abstract

The need for additional support for Indigenous children at school is well documented. Occupational therapists are well positioned to form part of this support. However, many occupational therapists report that Indigenous families do not access their services and when they do, the occupational therapist feels uncertain about how best to meet their needs. This article documents a pilot project which delivered occupational therapy services within several schools and preschools in Brisbane which had significant numbers of Indigenous students. The project was evaluated using a qualitative methodology and included focus groups and interviews with teachers and parents. The results indicated that in general the service provided valuable support to students, teachers and parents. In particular, providing the service within the school context was seen as critical to its success. Suggestions for improvements in future support services are also provided.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 33 , 2004 , pp. 55 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Coombs, H. C., Brandl, M. M., & Snowdon, W. E. (1983). A certain heritage: Programs for and by Aboriginal families in Australia (CRES Monograph 9). Canberra: Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University.Google Scholar
Donovan, R. J., & Spark, R. (1997). Towards guidelines for survey research in remote Aboriginal communities. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 21(1), 89–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Erhardt, R. R., & Merrill, S. C. (1998). Neurological dysfunction in children. In Neistadt, M. E. & Crepeau, E. Blesedell (Eds.), Willard and Spackman’s occupational therapy, 9th ed. (pp. 582–607). Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott.Google Scholar
Gray, A., Trompf, P., & Houston, S. (1991). The decline and rise of Aboriginal families. In Reid, J. & Trompf, P. (Eds.), The health of Aboriginal Australia (pp. 1–36). Sydney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Nelson, A. & Allison, H. (2000). Values of urban Aboriginal parents: Food before thought. The Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 47, 28–40.Google Scholar
Ranka, J. & Chapparo, C. (1997). Occupational performance: A practical model for occupational therapy. In Chapparo, C. & Ranka, J. (Eds.), Occupational performance model (Australia), Monograph 1, (pp. 45–55). Sydney: Occupational Performance Network.Google Scholar
Saggers, S. (1993). “But that was all in the past”: The importance of history to contemporary Aboriginal health. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 40, 153–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shannon, C. (1994). Social and cultural differences affect medical treatment. Australian Family Physician, 23, 33–35.Google ScholarPubMed
Wolstenholme, R. (1996). Caring for Aboriginal people with disabilities. Australian Disability Review, 3, 3–14.Google Scholar