Occupational therapy and collaborative consultation: a narrative review of the literature.

Abstract

This study aimed to perform a reflective analysis of the national scientific literature on the role of Occupational Therapy in the inclusive education by Collaborative Consultation, identifying the difficulties found in the practice, as well as the strategies used and the resulting benefits. We conducted a survey of articles published in four online journals in the field of Occupational Therapy and Special Education, with the following keywords: “Occupational therapy”, “Collaborative Consultation”, “Educational Consultation” and “Educational Inclusion”; four articles were selected and analyzed. As a result we have: deficiency in gathering human resources and providing material resources as the main barrier of inclusive education; the strategies used vary, but meetings between occupational therapist and school staff are reported in all articles; the possibility of solving problems and offering technical support are among the benefits cited. As a conclusion, the studies present the collaborative consultation as a promising service provision model, but there is a need to develop more researches on this topic.