OSWEGO COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
DENNIS P. NORFLEET, M.D.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH
70 BUNNER STREET, OSWEGO, NY 13126
PHONE 315.349.3545  FAX 315.349.3435
Guide for Determining Eligibility for OT Services
This guide was developed by a sub group of the Oswego County Preschool Workgroup. The subgroup consisted of
two Occupational Therapists, Terri Scoville and Beth Jordan, as well as Kathy Pitcher, Municipal Representative, Maria
Gill from the Early Childhood Direction Center and Tammy Thompson, Director of Programs for Children with Special
Needs. The group represented those with many years of work in the preschool setting, school age setting and diagnostic
settings. The guide was developed to help create some consistency among the nine school districts in Oswego County
and give CPSE chairs concrete information that will help the committee in making a determination about a child’s
eligibility for OT services.
The following is a list of suggested testing materials that will help you measure a child’s functioning in both the fine
motor, sensory and if necessary, the adaptive areas of development. (Please note, the most current edition of the test
must be used)
Fine Motor
PDMS 2 - Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, 2nd Edition
Beery VMI - Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, 6th Edition
Miller Funcion & Participation Skills
WRAVMA - Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Ability
B & O -Brunicks Osertsky Test of Motor Proficiency
T.I.M.E. – Toddle and Infant Motor Evaluation
TVPS-3 - Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills
MVPT – 3 -Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, Third Edition
DAYC – Developmental Assessment of Young Children (for overall Physical Development)
Sensory
TSI - DeGangi-Berk Test of Sensory Integration
Sensory Integration Inventory
Sensory Profile
Sensory Profile – short form (should be used as a screening)
Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile
Sensory Profile School Companion
SPM-P – Sensory Processing Measure – Preschool
As a reminder, the observation of child in their current setting is a vital part of the evaluation process.
If a child is in a preschool setting, it is imperative to observe the child in that setting which should include a
consultation with the classroom teacher. It is further suggested that if sensory is one of the concerns, have the
classroom teacher fill out a sensory profile in addition to the parents.
Please also note that the same test may not be used within 6 months of the date it was given.
The following page “ Guidelines for determining for OT service in preschoolers” should be filled out for each child that
is evaluated and returned with the full evaluation report and also used at annual review time.
We hope you find this guide to determining eligibility for OT services a helpful tool.
Oswego County
Guide for Determining Eligibility for OT Services
Eligibility for preschools
A child with a delay or disability in motor development demonstrates a deficit beyond normal variability for age and
experience in either coordination, movement patterns, quality, or range of motion or strength and endurance of gross
motor, fine motor, or perceptual motor abilities that adversely affects the child’s ability to learn and acquire skills
relative to one or more of the following:
_____maintaining or controlling posture
_____ functional mobility (i.e. walking or running)
_____ sensory awareness of the body or movement
_____ Perceptual motor abilities (i.e. Eye-hand
coordination for tracing)
_____reach and/or grasp of objects
_____ tool use
_____ sensory-integration
_____ sequencing motor components to achieve a
functional goal
Factors, considerations, and observable behaviors that support or demonstrate the presence of a delay or disability in
motor development.
_____ The child is unable to maintain a stable posture or transition between positions (for example, to go from
standing to floor sitting) to support learning or interactive tasks.
_____ The child is unable to move about the environment in an efficient way that is not disruptive to others.
Efficient mobility refers to both the time required for moving from one place to another and the amount
of energy the child must expend to move.
_____ The child uses an inefficient or abnormal grasp or reach pattern that limits the ability to either explore
or use objects. An inefficient grasp or reach is one which does not enable flexible manipulation, limits
use of tools such as writing implements or silverware in functional tasks, leads to fatigue, or limits the
child’s ability to obtain or use learning materials.
_____ The child has problems with learning new gross and/or fine motor abilities or in using motor skills in a
flexible functional way. The child does not seem to accomplish motor tasks automatically after practice
and attends to the motor aspects rather than cognitive or exploratory components of play or preacademic programming.
_____ The child may achieve developmentally appropriate skills as measured on formal testing but has
significant asymmetry that interferes with bilateral manipulation or tool use (for example, child is unable
to transfer objects from hand to hand or stabilize paper when writing or cutting).
_____The child is unable to sequence one or more motor actions in order to accomplish a goal. This includes
the child with clumsiness that consistently interferes with goal oriented social or object interaction.
_____ The child has difficulty participating in gross motor activities, is unable to complete many of the tasks
performed by typically developing peers, or may refuse to participate in activities rather than seem
uncoordinated.
_____ The child has problems in the neurological processing of information from any of the senses and
organizing it.
*A determination must be made on the child’s lack of exposure or familiarity with the function of instruments used to
determine motor behavior. For example, does the child know how scissors are supposed to work?
Taken from: Guide for Determining Eligibility and Special Education Programs and/or Service for Preschool Students with
Disabilities. NYSED
Sensory Challenge
Observable Behavior
Impulsive, easily distracted
Running, moving constantly, attending to
everything around them
Says negative things about themselves
Changing from one activity to another, going
from one place to another (i.e., home to daycare)
Sleeps very little or sleeps all the time
Poor self-image
Difficulty with transitions
Difficulty establishing appropriate sleeping
and eating patterns
Unable to calm themselves
Overreaction to stimuli
Unusually high activity level
Unusually low activity level
Social problems
Emotional responses
Speech and language delays
Gross and fine motor coordination
problems
Aimless running
Cries uncontrollably when the fire alarm goes
off; gags on certain foods
Always on the go
Moves slowly; tires easily; little interest in the
World
Trouble getting along with others; doesn’t like
people to get too close or is always touching or
getting too close to others
Overly sensitive, demanding, aggressive,
irritable, isolated
Hitting, biting, pushing, pinching
The child’s body may be unusually tense or
loose; the child may be clumsy or accident
prone