Collaborative Occupational Therapy: Teachers' Impressions of the Partnering for Change (P4C) Model

Occupational therapists (OTs) often face barriers when trying to collaborate with teachers in school-based settings. Partnering for change (P4C), a collaborative practice model designed to support children with developmental coordination disorder, could potentially support all students with special needs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore how teachers experience OT services delivered using the P4C model to support children with a variety of special needs.

P4C was implemented at one elementary school in Courtenay, British Columbia. Eleven teachers participated in two focus groups and a one-on-one interview to gather descriptive, qualitative data. Grounded theory techniques were used for data analysis.

Four themes (collaborating in the thick of it all, learning and taking risks, managing limited time and resources, and appreciating responsive OT support) represented teachers' experiences of P4C.

Teachers strongly preferred collaborative OT services based on the P4C model. Students with a variety of special needs were supported within their classrooms as teachers learned new strategies from the OT and found ways to embed these strategies into their daily routines.