Curriculum Differentiation for Handwriting and Occupational Therapy/Teacher Partnership: Collaboration or Conflict?.

Collaborative practice between health and education professionals is considered central to the implementation of inclusion policies and best practice to support children with special educational needs (SEN). However, in Ireland, barriers to collaborative practice between occupational therapists and teachers include limited contact in practice settings and lack of interagency collaboration structures. This paper investigates the process of collaborative practice using findings of a study involving 46 children with Down Syndrome (DS), their teachers and an occupational therapist in the collaborative application of a handwriting teaching method. While teachers reported finding the collaborative approach useful, conflict arose regarding how to differentiate the curriculum to meet complex individual needs. Findings are discussed in the light of current resource constraints, the agenda for inclusive practice, and amalgamating differing professional perspectives to ensure appropriate curriculum differentiation. ...