10/01/2026
Meet Caroline, an occupational therapist at ACCEL. 💛
When she first met one of her students, he could only scribble briefly across the paper before pushing the pencil away. He couldn't focus long enough to copy even the simplest pre-writing stroke.
Most students spend years building up to writing letters. Caroline didn't want him to lose any more precious learning time, so she skipped ahead and set one goal: writing the first letter of his name.
She and the classroom staff got to work. They started with sensory breaks, joint compressions, and noise-reducing headphones so he could feel calm and ready to learn. Then they taught the motions with tactile boundaries to guide his hand, since he couldn't focus visually for long.
"The first time I saw that student write the first letter of his name all by himself, I literally jumped up and down and cheered."
Once he was regulated, his fine motor skills flourished.
Caroline says OTs wear many hats. She teaches skills like writing and cutting, adapts tools and spaces so every student can take part, and uses sensory strategies to get students ready to learn. What she wishes people understood:
"There is so much more to our students than meets the eye. The non-verbal students understand so much more than people give them credit for."
Thank you, Caroline, for helping our students do things no one thought possible. 👏
