Occupational therapy progress report template and example
An occupational therapy progress report template with a goal-by-goal table, routine changes and an example entry for each section.
✓Goal table with baseline and evidence
✓Daily routines parents recognise
✓Plain enough to share with school
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What's inside
Purpose and Reporting Period
Occupational Priorities Revisited
Progress Toward Goals
Performance in Daily Routines
Strategies, Equipment, and Adaptations in Use
Home and School Carryover
Barriers and Changes to the Plan
Therapist's Interpretation
+ 2 more sections
Preview · 10 sections
Occupational Therapy Progress Report
Child / client
Client ID
Date of birth
Report date
Therapist
Reporting period
Sessions offered
Sessions attended
Report prepared for
Languages at home
Purpose and Reporting Period
Who this report is forFor example parents, class teacher, referring paediatrician. Share outside the family only with consent.
Attendance and participationSessions offered and attended, and the reasons for any gaps.
Occupational Priorities Revisited
Priorities at the start of this period
Changes in the family's or client's priorities
Progress Toward Goals
Goal (as written in the plan)
Baseline
Current Performance
Evidence / Data Source
Status
Self-care and daily living
Fine motor and hand skills
Visual-motor and handwriting
Sensory processing and regulation
Play, school, or work participation
Performance in Daily Routines
Routine / Setting
What the Person Does Now
Support Still Needed
Reported or Observed By
Morning self-care
Mealtimes
Classroom or work tasks
Play and leisure
Strategies, Equipment, and Adaptations in Use
Strategies, equipment, and adaptationsWhere each is used, and whether it should continue, change, or stop.
Home and School Carryover
Home and school carryoverUse the home log and teacher notes.
Barriers and Changes to the Plan
Barriers and changes
Therapist's Interpretation
Therapist's interpretationBase this only on the goal and routine tables above.
Goals and Recommendations for the Next Period
Goal Area
Goal for the Next Period
Continued / Revised / New
Recommended frequency, referrals, and next review date
Therapist Sign-off
Therapist
Designation
Registration
Date
How to fill it in
1
Purpose and Reporting Period
Who the report is for, the dates covered, and sessions offered and attended.
More guidance
State who the report is for, the dates it covers, sessions offered and attended, and the reasons for gaps such as illness, exams or a trip to the family's hometown. Attendance explains a lot about progress, so give the numbers without blame. If the report is going to a school, say so at the top.
2
Occupational Priorities Revisited
The plan's priorities in a line each, and any change since.
More guidance
Restate the priorities from the treatment plan in a line each and note any change. Priorities shift as therapy goes on: once dressing is manageable, handwriting speed may matter more. Recording the shift explains why some goals end and others begin.
3
Progress Toward Goals
Each goal as written, its baseline, current performance on the same measure, and evidence.
More guidance
Copy each goal exactly as it appears in the plan, with its baseline. Describe current performance using the same measure, name the source of the evidence and give a status. If the measure had to change, say why. Leave out phrases such as 'improving well' unless data sits behind them.
4
Performance in Daily Routines
What the person does now in each routine, help still needed, and who reported it.
More guidance
This table shows the family what goal progress looks like in ordinary life. For each routine, describe what the person does now, the help still needed and who reported it. Include routines that were not goals if they changed noticeably.
5
Strategies, Equipment, and Adaptations in Use
What is in use, where, and whether it should continue, change or stop.
More guidance
List what is working, such as visual schedules, a pencil grip, a seating change, a warning before transitions or adapted cutlery. Say where each is used and whether it should continue, change or stop. A new teacher or covering therapist will use this section to get started quickly.
6
Home and School Carryover
What practice happened outside sessions and how it went, from logs and teacher notes.
More guidance
Describe what practice happened outside sessions and how it went, drawing on the home log or teacher notes. Be fair about what the family could manage. Where carryover was low, note the reasons and how the plan will adjust.
7
Barriers and Changes to the Plan
What affected progress and what you changed in response.
More guidance
Record anything that affected progress: illness, changes at home, new medicines, a new school or teacher. Say what you changed in response, whether the approach, the setting or a goal criterion, and why.
8
Therapist's Interpretation
Your own reading of the overall pattern of progress, based on the tables above.
More guidance
This is the treating occupational therapist's judgement about the overall pattern of progress and must be written and confirmed by them. Base it on the goal and routine tables above and do not introduce new findings. Where progress was slower than planned, describe the factors you have evidence for and what will change. Keep the wording plain enough for the family.
9
Goals and Recommendations for the Next Period
Next-period goals marked continued, revised or new, plus frequency and review date.
More guidance
List the goals for the next period and mark each as continued, revised or new. Add the recommended frequency, any referrals and the next review date. For achieved goals, say how the skill will be kept up at home.
Occupational therapy progress report template and example: filled sample
Fictional entries, initials only, showing the level of detail to aim for. Impression and summary sections are left for the treating clinician.
Purpose and Reporting Period
Prepared for parents and class teacher. Covers 6 January to 28 March. 22 sessions offered, 17 attended; 4 missed during a family visit to Madurai.
Occupational Priorities Revisited
At the start: dressing for school and eating lunch without help. Now: parents say mornings are manageable; their main concern is finishing class work.
Progress Toward Goals
Goal: fasten 5 school-shirt buttons within 3 minutes, no physical help, 4 of 5 mornings. Baseline: 2 of 5 with hand-over-hand help. Now: 5 of 5 in about 4 minutes on 4 of 5 mornings (home chart, March).
Performance in Daily Routines
Mealtime: eats rice and sambar with right hand; mother helps only to mix; finishes in about 25 minutes (mother's report, seen on video).
Strategies, Equipment, and Adaptations in Use
Sand timer before transitions at home: used daily, continue. Slant board in class: used 2 days of 5; teacher finds it hard to store, so trial a fold-flat version.
Home and School Carryover
Home log returned for 9 of 12 weeks; button practice done on most school days. Teacher reports he now unpacks his own bag.
Barriers and Changes to the Plan
New baby sibling in February, so less help in the mornings. Dressing practice moved to the evening bath routine for 3 weeks.
Goals and Recommendations for the Next Period
Revised: copy a three-line sentence in the four-line notebook within 5 minutes. New: pack his school bag using a picture checklist. Weekly sessions continue; review on [date].
OT progress report vs OT SOAP note
OT progress report
OT SOAP note
Covers
A reporting period of weeks or months
One session
Main readers
Family, school, referrer or payer
Treating therapist and the clinic team
Goal information
Progress on every goal against its baseline
Data on the goals worked on that day
Language
Plain, for readers outside OT
Agreed clinical shorthand is acceptable
Written from
Session notes, home logs, teacher feedback
What happened in the session
Tips and mistakes to avoid
Do
Keep a running goal table from your SOAP notes through the term.
Go through the report in the family's home language, and note that you did.
For school readers, end with one or two points the teacher can use.
Mark findings that came from parent videos, and keep clips in clinic records, not personal phones.
In healhab, progress reports draw on reviewed session information and publish only after therapist review.
Avoid
Rewording a goal between the plan and the report.
Reporting 'good progress' with no measure or source.
Leaving out missed sessions, the likeliest reason for slower progress.
Writing for therapists when parents and teachers are the readers.
About this progress report
An occupational therapy progress report tells the family, school or referrer what has changed since the treatment plan: attendance, progress on each goal with its evidence, how the person now manages daily routines, which strategies are in use, and the goals for the next period. This free OT progress report template keeps every statement tied to recorded data.
At the review date in the treatment plan
Parents need an update for school or doctor
Before a frequency change, break or transfer
End of term, for the class teacher
Read more
Written at the end of a therapy block or at the review date in the treatment plan. It looks back across weeks or months; some US clinics call a shorter version an OT progress note.
The treating OT writes it from session notes, home logs and teacher feedback. Goals are grouped by skill, and a routines table shows parents what progress looks like at home and school.
Questions
What should an OT progress report include?+
The reporting period and attendance, priorities, progress on each goal with baseline and evidence, daily routines now, strategies and equipment, home and school carryover, barriers, the therapist's interpretation and next-period goals.
Is an OT progress note the same as a progress report?+
In many US settings a progress note is a shorter update that payers require; the report is the fuller version for families and schools. Delete the routines table for a shorter note.
How often should OT progress reports be written?+
At the review dates in the treatment plan, often every three months for weekly therapy, and whenever the family, school or referrer needs an update.
How do I write an OT progress report for school?+
Say it is for school use, keep the language plain, focus on copying, organisation and lunch, and give the teacher a few practical strategies. Share it only with the family's consent.
Is there a filled sample of this progress report?+
Yes. Each section guide shows a fictional sample entry, initials only. The therapist's interpretation has no sample, because it must come from the treating therapist's own reading of the data.
Can I fill in this progress report online?+
Yes. Open it in the free editor, fill it in with no sign-up, and download a PDF. Drafts stay in your browser.
