Inclusive education policies in Portugal: implications for the practice of occupational therapists

Abstract

This essay aims to analyze the implications of the current value framework and inclusive education policies in Portugal for the practice of occupational therapists. Taking as starting point the need for a practice guided by the biopsychosocial model, a multitier model of services delivery, and the universal design for learning, we discuss reconfigurations needed for occupational therapists’ practice within the educational context. In such reflections, we oppose the established rehabilitation practices, which are individual (in resource rooms) and remedial, to the need of expanding occupational therapists’ actions towards environmental qualification, intervention in and with the school community, and preventive-oriented responses directed to the school as a whole. From these vectors of expansion, we highlight the need for structured approaches to collaborative work, participation-oriented assessment and intervention models, and preventive programs to promote successful participation in the entire school community.