Division of Health Sciences
“Occupational therapy is largely about how people function and barriers
that prevent them functioning in the way they would like.”
This is how Matt Rogers, who’s just completed his degree, explains OT.
“Bullying is one such barrier which is getting in the way of children
learning, feeling safe at school or even coming to school. It also stops
teachers from teaching.”
As part of his final year practical, Matt and fellow student Chris Smith
identified a need to address bullying in schools, from an audit of
mental health in primary schools in SA’s mid-north.
“We wanted to help the school community come up with some strategies to
overcome bullying so that kids and teachers could function normally.”
Titled ‘Sticks and Stones’ the project was undertaken in partnership
with the Port Pirie Regional Health Service and aimed to complement the
positive work already being done at the school level by assisting the
community to gain a greater understanding of the specific issues
impacting on bullying behaviour.
“Group work undertaken with classes from the local primary schools
involved games and activities to engage the children to gain their
perspective of the issue. We then produced 2 TV commercials which aired
on regional TV stations, a website and posters as part of a campaign to
raise awareness of the issue, all of which used messages that the
children came up with.”
“The whole purpose of the project was to empower the children to be able
to impact on their environment and to show them that what they had to
say mattered and would be listened to.”
“The experience was fantastic!! Prior to completing this process I did
not feel ready to practice as a therapist, however the autonomy and
responsibility experienced as a part of this project has equipped me
with confidence in myself and the knowledge that I can do it.”
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