Parent Question: Should my child receive Occupational Therapy (OT) at school or outside agency?

As a certified school psychologist turned educational advocate, in my experience even the most severe of cases needing OT did not get more than 30-min per week, which I didn't think was enough to be effective.  Instead, the burden of practicing OT skills learned to ensure success was on the parent working with their child outside of school.

My child needed speech therapy and because I was not pleased with services I witnessed provided in school systems within my state (Georgia), I took him to a hospital for weekly therapy where I could see with my own eyes the services being provided. Because OT services are so minimal and rarely provided by schools in comparison to other SPED services, I had very little interaction while working as a school psychologist with OT's. However, if I had the time, money or insurance coverage I would access OT, S&L, and other specialty services through outside agencies.