What's in my OT Bag? - Simply Special Ed

Occupational therapists (OTs) or other itinerant service providers the public schools have one thing in common – they need a good bag! It can be challenging to alway have what you need when you travel between multiple buildings. Trust me. I know. I service four schools. While I am abundantly blessed to have a room to call “home” in each building [rare – I know!], I still need to bring some supplies from place to place. I typically keep the basics in my bag so that I’m never without! Below are my “go tos” as a school-based OT!

the inside of the front pocket of my OT bag that includes a charger, finger follow highlighter tool, Spot It game, pencil grips and a sensory fidget

1. Pencil Grips

student using a light blue pencil gripper to complete a worksheet

You would be surprised how many times a day I get asked for a pencil gripper [check out my blog on the top 5 questions I get as a school based OT here]! Students often lose them and need a replacement. A kindergarten teacher might want to try one for a new student. I may be screening a student prior to an evaluation, and want to try one out to see if it works! Pencil grippers make great pre-referral strategies! While there are definitely MANY ways to work on improving pencil grasp, sometimes a pencil gripper will do the trick. You always want to have one on hand!

These are a few of my favorites!

Ring Grip [affiliate link]
HandiWriter [affiliate link]

You don’t always need to add something to the pencil to improve the student’s grasp. Sometimes you need to take away! Using small writing utensils is another way to work on grasp. These are also items that I frequently keep in my OT bag!

person holding a broken yellow-green crayon with a mature grasp. Other colors of Flip Crayons and Pip Squeak small markers are also pictured

2. Spot It!

This [affiliate link] is one of my all time favorite games and is something that I can definitely always find in my OT bag! Students love to play this fun, fast-paced game! They don’t even know how many skills they are working on. As occupational therapists, we are masters of activity analysis and modification of activities. What I love about this game, is that you can set it up in so many different ways to target different skills. Want to work on far point copying [ex: taking notes from the chalkboard]? Put one of the cards at eye level and one on the table. Want to work on visual scanning/figure ground in order to pick things out of a busy background [ex: finding vocabulary words in a textbook, scanning text for answers]? Put out several cards and see how many matches you can find! The possibilities are endless with the small, portable, quick, easy and highly beneficial game!

3. Sensory Tools

Here at Simply Special Ed, we talk a lot about sensory processing. Check out the following blogs for more information:

I have a whole blog on how to support sensory seekers in the general education setting, but these are the kiddos that I’m typically thinking about when I keep a few things in my OT bag. I’ve got bracelets for skin pickers, necklace chewies for students who unsafely seek oral sensory input, theraputty [affiliate link], and so much more!

student using green theraputty to find hidden letter beads

4. Classroom Accommodations

In the above picture of my OT bag, you might have noticed the finger follow highlighter reading guide strips [affiliate link]. I love these for students who have a hard time with oculomotor skills required for tracking while reading. Students who have figure ground delays or other visual perceptual challenges benefit from the important information being highlighted while other, non-essential, information is temporarily occluded.

student using Bright Lines adapted paper to write with a mechanical pencil as a classroom accommodation

Developing classroom accommodations is an essential part of the job of a school-based OT. I also keep things like adapted paper [affiliate think], spacing manipulatives, letter strips, etc. in my bag in case I am pushing into a classroom and a student is in need. These items vary greatly depending on my caseload.

5. Laptop, iPad & Chargers

Starbucks coffee cup next to laptop with GermX in the background with a coaster that reads "Keep Calm I'm an Occupational Therapist"

Last, but certainly not least, I almost always have my laptop and an iPad! I do a lot of digital documentation, so I always want to have these things on hand. It can be easy to leave my charger in different buildings [that I may not be back to until the following week!], so I always make sure I have a charger in my bag! Whether is is prepping for a new school year [like I am now], or making data sheets for new students on my caseload, I am always using my laptop. I used to be pencil and paper girly, but I have learned to adapt. I now live by my Google Calendar and Google Tasks! Check out Sabrina’s blog on data tracking using Google Forms for ideas!

student using the Handwriting Without Tears Wet Dry Try app on an iPad with a Write Right stylus

And it is not just me who thrives on use of technology, but my students do too! I like to have an iPad on hand because there are some great OT apps out there that can be really beneficial for my students. Even if we aren’t using it for intervention, I find that having an iPad to take picture or video or to use free apps like Doodle Buddy comes in handy quite often!

BONUS – Visual Self Assessment [FREE!]

part of the free visual self assessment that includes options of Easy! I can do this alone [with a thumbs up], Okay! I need a little help [with an okay hand signal] and Hard! I still need lots of help! [with a thumbs down].

Self-monitoring and self-assessment are SO important! The FREE Visual Self Assessment Tool is a quick way to check in with how students are feeling with certain skills and build some executive functioning skills [more on those skills in my blog here]. Keep the visuals in your bag to use “on to go” wherever you end up!