Back to School: How Occupational Therapy Can Help

How our OTs support children and families through the back-to-school transition

Heading back to school can be a challenging time for everyone, especially during big transitions like starting Prep, moving to a new school, or stepping into high school. Our OTs are here to support children and families through these changes, helping to reduce stress and make the transition back to school feel smoother, calmer, and more manageable. 

We’ve outlined some of the key ways our OTs can support your family during this time, helping make the transition back to school a positive and supported one.

Collaborative Social Stories

Starting school (or returning after the holidays) can bring a lot of unknowns. Our OTs work collaboratively with children and families to create personalised social stories that explain what to expect during the school day. These stories can include arrival routines, classroom expectations, playground time, and pick-up routines, helping children feel prepared, reduce anxiety, and build confidence before stepping into the school environment.

Parent Sessions

A parent session provides dedicated time to chat in depth with one of our OTs about your child, your concerns, and what’s been feeling tricky during the back-to-school period. These sessions offer a space to share observations, ask questions, and collaboratively brainstorm practical, personalised strategies together. Whether it’s supporting school-based skills, navigating restraint collapse, or managing challenging transitions, your OT will work alongside you to develop strategies that feel realistic, supportive, and suited to your family’s daily routines.

Routine Support

New school terms often mean new routines. Our OTs can support families by creating visual supports for morning, after-school, or bedtime routines to help children understand expectations and move through their day with greater independence. Visuals can reduce overwhelm, support executive functioning, and create predictability during a busy time of change.

“About Me” Student Profiles

Starting a new school year means new teachers getting to know your child. OTs can collaborate with your child and family to create an “About Me” profile that can be shared with teachers at the start of the year. These profiles highlight your child’s interests, strengths, preferred communication styles, sensory preferences, areas they are working on, and what helps them learn and regulate best, so your teachers are supported to understand your child from day one.

Recommendation Letters

To help set your child up for success, your OT can provide a written recommendation letter for the school. These letters are based on clinical observations and outline practical strategies, accommodations, and supports that may help your child participate and engage at school. Sharing this information early can support proactive planning and collaboration with school staff.

School Observations

Once your child has had time to settle into their school routine, a school observation may be beneficial. This allows your OT to observe your child within their natural learning environment, including classroom participation, peer interactions, sensory demands, and transitions. Observations help inform targeted strategies and ensure support recommendations are relevant to the real-world school setting.

DIP Observations and Reports

If required, your OT can collaborate with your school’s wellbeing and inclusion team to complete observations and documentation for Disability Inclusion Profile (DIP) funding. This collaborative approach ensures that your child’s strengths, needs, and support requirements are clearly communicated and aligned across home, school, and therapy settings.

Getting back to school can be tricky and bring with it a lot of anxiety, but when our kids are supported from the get go we are setting them up to thrive. By ensuring strategies are in place early on, we can help every child step back into school feeling safe, capable, and supported.