National School Backpack Awareness Day

NATIONAL SCHOOL BACKPACK AWARENESS DAY -- (Senate - September 12, 2005)

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, on September 21, 2005, the American Occupational Therapy Association and more than 700 occupational therapy practitioners nationwide and around the world will be celebrating National School Backpack Awareness Day. They will be working with over 150,000 children to teach them how to prevent backpack-related injuries and to remain healthy and successful in school. In my home State of Maine, occupational therapists have arranged events in 15 schools and will be reaching over 5,000 students.

According to a number of studies done both internationally and in the United States, children using overloaded and improperly worn backpacks experience neck, should, and back pain and have problems with breathing and fatigue at significantly higher rates than students wearing backpacks properly and with appropriate loads. No child should regularly carry more than 15 percent of their body weight on their back. At Backpack Awareness Day events, which will be held in schools, stores, hospitals, shopping malls, and a variety of other venues, occupational therapy practitioners will ``weigh-in'' children and their backpacks to make sure that the backpacks do not surpass 15 percent of the child's body weight. The therapists will provide guidance about how to properly load and carry a backpack will also share tips about how to stay healthy and succeed in school. In Maine, these weigh-ins are being conducted in local schools from Saco to Skowhegan, and also in communities like Farmington, where Franklin Memorial Hospital is sponsoring a weigh-in as part of their Youth Health Fest.

Occupational therapy practitioners work with individuals across the lifespan. In schools occupational therapists work to modify educational environments to ensure that all students can achieve academic success. Occupational therapists provide assistance to teachers and school administrators in order to make school environments more accessible and conducive to learning. They also consult with educators to improve students' academic functioning and work to help prevent learning, mental, and physical disabilities from getting in the way of academic success. Occupational therapy practitioners in schools work directly with students, parents, and teachers to develop plans to improve students' function and productivity and to foster success and maximize their independence within the academic environment.

National School Backpack Awareness Day is a good example of how occupational therapists work within our schools and communities to promote wellness, and I am pleased to have this opportunity to acknowledge their valuable contributions. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting September 21, 2005, as National School Backpack Awareness Day.

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