How Occupational Therapy Differs Between Schools and Clinics

You want the best for your child, and if they are experiencing developmental challenges, this means working with the best early intervention services. But with so many therapy options available, it can feel impossible to find the right fit for your family. It may be tempting to go with whatever therapy is offered by your child’s school, but these programs don’t always measure up to private clinics. As a pediatric therapy clinic, we have had countless parents come to us looking for a solution after trying school therapy programs that just couldn’t help their child with their development challenges. Here’s just a few of the benefits of occupational therapy in a private setting:

• It focuses on the whole child, not just isolated skills or challenges
• It targets the root cause of delays or difficulties, rather than only addressing surface-level symptoms
• Therapists are able to provide individualized care plans that are tailored to each child’s unique needs and goals
• Private therapy offers more time, frequency, and flexibility, allowing sessions to be adjusted as progress is made
• Parents are directly involved in the therapy process, giving them tools and strategies to support their child at home
• It addresses a wider range of needs, including physical, emotional, sensory, and developmental challenges
• Children often have access to a multidisciplinary medical team, allowing for more comprehensive and coordinated care

Let’s explore just how each of these private occupational therapy benefits help children with development challenges over school-based programs.

1. Focuses on the Whole Child, Not Just School Performance

While school-based early intervention services may help a child succeed in the classroom, this leaves out a score of other areas where they need assistance. With only school-based occupational therapy, children will learn to follow teacher instructions, complete written work, and use school tools to help them with their academic career. Private occupational therapy benefits go far beyond this. Instead of focusing on just school skills, private early intervention services help the child address real-life challenges they will face in the present and the future. This type of therapy will help children learn to dress, feed, and clean themselves as well as play with others. Children who receive private occupational therapy gain independence in all areas of their life, setting them up for success everywhere, not just in the classroom.

2. Targets Root Causes, Not Just Symptoms

School-based therapy only focuses on what will help a child function in the classroom, not necessarily what causes their developmental challenges. Without understanding the reasoning behind certain behaviors, it’s far less likely that children will be treated properly or that they will retain what they’ve learned. Private occupational therapy takes the time to understand why your child is struggling, whether it is due to a developmental disorder, anxiety, or some kind of trauma. With this understanding, therapists can then craft individualized plans to address the sensory, motor, or developmental challenges your child is facing. These kinds of plans don’t just help your child learn to cope but help them grow and improve in the long-term.

3. Highly Customized, Individualized Care Plans

In schools, occupational therapy services are limited by time, caseloads, and individualized education program (IEP) goals. This means that while a child may technically receive the occupational therapy necessary to help them learn, it may not be as effective as what a clinic could offer. After all, school-based therapy is restricted to school hours and must involve an occupational therapist, the child’s teachers, parents, and in some cases other therapists. As a result, children don’t always get enough time to work with their occupational therapist at school or works more with teachers who don’t have the same levels of experience. Not to mention school-based occupational therapists can only recommend treatment that is within budget or can be done in house. This often means children don’t get the most beneficial therapies for them since school therapists can’t perform them.

Private clinics on the other hand have entire teams devoted to determining the right therapy for your child to help them grow in every area of their life, not just academics. In this setting, your child receives different therapies targeted at helping them through different challenges. Instead of standard care plans that may or may not work, individualized care plans are designed to help your child specifically.

4. More Time, Frequency, and Flexibility

At the end of the day, the purpose of school is for your child to complete the school’s curriculum, not overcome any developmental challenges. As a result, there is far less emphasis placed on early intervention services in school settings since other lessons take precedence. This means children receive 30 minutes to an hour-long therapy session during the school day to keep students from missing class. Children are far less likely to learn the skills they need to overcome developmental difficulties if their therapy sessions are short and infrequent as most school-based programs are.

Private occupational therapy, on the other hand, provides more consistent sessions to children and offers flexible scheduling for parents trying to balance everything else in the family’s life. This allows for more consistent treatment, one of the greatest benefits of occupational therapy in private clinics. The more time a child gets to spend developing news skills like the ones they will learn in therapy, the faster progress they will make.

5. Direct Parent Involvement and Coaching

Oftentimes, occupational therapy services provided at school stay at school. Occupational therapists may give parents the occasional update during parent teacher conferences, but since the focus is on helping your child thrive academically, parents are rarely involved. Additionally, parents may also hear that their child is improving at school but experience more unwanted behavior at home. This could be because your child feels safer at home to express themselves, or they think they only need to apply school-based therapy lessons at school. And if occupational therapists aren’t providing parents with the strategies they’re using to treat a child’s behavioral issues, the parents can’t help their child continue developing at home.

Private occupational therapy helps both children and parents navigate developmental difficulties. Therapists will meet with parents and listen to their concerns. The therapist will then ask questions about the child’s behavior and history. Once they have a strong understanding of teh situation, they will provide the parents with personalized strategies to use at home to help continue their child’s growth and development. Some strategies may include:

• Learning how to spot your child’s triggers. When they start exhibiting unwanted behavior, observe them to see if your child is doing so because they are tired, overstimulated, or something else entirely.
• Building routines to make days predictable. This will help make your child feel safe as they know what’s coming next and won’t be caught by surprise. This may involve creating a visual schedule you and your child can use to see what to do next.
• Understanding your child’s sensory needs. Some children get overwhelmed by loud environments, certain textures, or bright lights. An occupational therapist can help you spot what exactly is triggering your child so you can take steps to help them manage these sensory issues.

It can be overwhelming to manage your child’s unwanted behavior alone. But with coaching from occupational therapists, parents can learn how to help their kids replace these behaviors and promote development.

6. Address a Wider Range of Needs

School-based occupation therapy often includes using school tools, managing time and classroom materials, working together with peers, and completing assignments on time. But the truth is that your child will likely only apply what they’ve learned at school instead of every aspect of their life. School-based therapy doesn’t look at the child holistically or have the time and budget to provide adequate treatment. As a result, children continue to struggle. Conversely, one of the benefits of occupational therapy in a private clinic is that it can treat a broad range of challenges, not just those that are academic. For example, private occupational therapy can treat:

• Sensory processing issues
• Feeding challenges
• Emotional regulation
• Daily living skills
• Physical coordination and strength

Private occupational therapy supports the full picture of your child’s development, preparing them for the rest of their lives.

7. Access to Multidisciplinary Medical Team

In school-based occupational therapy, teachers, families, and staff may work together to provide care for the child, but they will not include other medical professionals in their treatment. This can do a great disservice to the child by not providing them with the complete care that they need. Private occupational therapists work with the child and well as their parents, doctors, other therapists, and specialists, to ensure everyone on the care team is working toward the same goal. As a result, children and parents alike see more benefits of occupational therapy in a private setting since everyone is collaborating to provide the child with the best level of care in all areas of their life.

Help Your Child Overcome Developmental Challenges with The TEACH Group

Choosing the right therapy provider can feel overwhelming, even after narrowing your options down to private clinics. It’s important to note though that not every private therapy clinic offers the same kind of early intervention services. At The TEACH Group, we go beyond basic care and help your child build real skills that last a lifetime. Schedule an evaluation today to get your child to an occupational therapist that will help them in every area of their life, not just at-school issues.

School vs. Private Occupational Therapy FAQs