The OT Schoolhouse Podcast for School-Based OT Practitioners

In this episode of the OT School House Podcast, we are talking to recent graduate, Alexa Corley, about her OTD capstone where she surveyed and interviewed therapists, teachers, and administrators about the idea and use of a workload model. Listen in to hear her findings and a discussion about the positive effects of using a workload model. View the full show notes and transcript at otschoolhouse.c...

We are kicking off the 2021-22 school year with the perfect topic - Ergonomics. For the better part of 18 months, many of us have been working from home and students have been learning from their couches, beds, & Kitchen table. If you are lucky, you have had a desk in your home to work from.  Now, Most of us are heading back into the school buildings and that is going to be a big change on our...

Welcome to the show notes for Episode 79 of the OT School House Podcast. Money makes the world go round.  It's that simple...  Okay, well, maybe it's not that simple. But even if you don't believe that money makes the world go around, as an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant who has graduated in the past 10 years, you know that money does pay your student loans...

Today we are talking with school-based OT and creator of the popular LegiLiner tool, Polly Benson, OTR/L. After years of drawing lines on paper for kids and trying to convince teachers to do the same for kids in classrooms, Polly took action in her own hands to create the LegiLiner tool back in 2019.  With more than a dozen varied rolling stamps that instantly create lines for kids to write on, Po...

Today we are talking with a former school-based OT who is well aware of the struggles OTs come across while working in the schools. In fact, it is that school-based experience in conjunction with other OT experiences that led Joseph DiFrancisco, MS, OT/L, (AKA - Joe Friendly) to create a new line of adapted shoes for people of all ages! If you have ever had a parent ask about a shoe tying goal, be...

Have you ever heard of the Schoodles School Fine Motor Assessment tool? I recently became aware of it and have now added it to my repertoire of evaluations tools that I can use. In Episode 76 of the OT School House I am welcoming to the podcast the Authors of the Schoodles Assessment to further understand for myself why this tool is so valuable and how we as OTs can use it to support our practice...

In this episode of the OT School House Podcast, Jayson gets real while breaking down a 2018 article outlining a specific typing program and it's effectiveness versus a free typing program. In this discussion, we will look at various typing methods, the lack of available norms for typing speed, Motor Learning Theory and Keyboarding, and how a premium paid program compares to a free program. Li...

 "What is the difference between ADHD and Sensory Processing disorder?" Has a parent or a teacher ever asked you that question? This has always been a touch question for me to answer. I could always explain sensory processing well, but I hadn't learned much about the neurological processes behind ADHD. To help you and I better understand the differences between ADHD and SPD, I am we...

Today, we are going to talk about 10 things that you can do right now, at the end of this school year, to make NEXT school year a little bit easier. Some of these are going to be pretty straightforward and you may already be doing some of them. But some of these are going to be a little bit more reflective in nature. I'm going to ask you to go a step deeper with me and think about how you can...

Today, we are focusing on the activities children participate in during education in 3 specific grade levels as we discuss a recent brief report published in the American Journal of OT. The report is titled Fine Motor Activities in Elementary School Children: A Replication Study and was published in January of 2020. Together, we are going to discus what percentage of the day students spend complet...

In today's episode, we have Dr. Kelly Mahler on to introduce us to Interoception. Very few people have ever heard of interception and even less know what it means. This may even be the first time you hearing the word interoception. Well, whether it is or is not, you're going to want to listen to this episode. Dr. Mahler is a true genius when it comes to interoception and she has so much...

Whether you trained in the USA, Greece, India, or anywhere else in the world to be an OT, this episode with Ushma Sampat is sure to teach you several valuable lessons on understanding cultural differences, systematic biases, and how to be a better school-based OT! Ushma is a now a private practice owner in the Bay Area of California where she see clients in their natural setting, including kids in...

In this OT Month special episode, I am teaming up with Sarah Putt from the OT 4 Lyfe Podcast to talk about the importance of supporting our OT associations. We will discus the perks, the costs, and the reasons why we support our local, national, and world OT associations. The OT associations need our support so that they can turn around and effectively support us. At the end of the episode, we ann...

In this episode we are highlighting travel opportunities as an occupational therapy practitioner with Devon Breithart, OTR/L. But that's not all! We will start this conversation by discussing what you need to know if you are looking into a travel therapy position as an employee for a 3rd party company. But we are also going to discus with Devon how she used a coaching model during  the pandem...

Sometimes we simply forget what average is and need a reminder. In episode 67, we are having a discussion about a recent journal article that looks at the typical handwriting abilities among second graders and compares their scores on the Evaluation Tool of Children's Handwriting - Manuscript to the teacher's subjective observations of the children's work samples.  Links to Show Ref...

Have you ever wondered what to do with your high school students? Did you there is such a thing as a Post Secondary Transition Plan that is required for every high school student on an IEP? If not, this is the episode for you! Today, I am welcoming to the podcast, Dr. Liz Abadiotakis, OTD, OTR/L to share with her experiences working with Post Secondary Transition Plans as part of an IEP team.  Key...

In episode 65, we are having a discussion about a recent journal article that looks at school-based occupational therapists' role and capabilities in implementing a mental health tier 1 MTSS intervention. Today's article is titled The Comfortable Cafeteria Program for Promoting Student Participation and Enjoyment: An Outcome Study. This journal comes from the American Journal of occupati...

Today, I am welcoming Olivia Martinez-Hauge, MFTA, OTR/L, back to the podcast. Olivia is a school-based OT, a parent of a child with special needs, and a soon-to-be licensed marriage and family therapist as she furthers her education to support children with special needs. In this episode, Olivia and I are going to provide updates as to how this year has gone compared to our expectations back in A...

In episode 63 of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, Jayson interviews a leader in the sensory integration community. Dr. Susanne Smith Roley, OTR/L, OTD, FOTA joins the podcast to talk about how she came to know and love both occupational therapy and sensory integration. We also talk a bit about the history and future of SI. We even address the difficult topic of how and why sensory integration has been...

In this episode, I interview Amy Laurent, Ph. D., OTR/L, from the SCERTS Model and Autism Level up. Amy uniquely holds degrees in OT, special education, and developmental psychology and she is a Co-author of the SCERTS model which is being used worldwide as a way to support children with Autism. Listen in to learn about the evidence supporting the SCERTS Model and how Amy continues to support the...

In episode 61 of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, I have a fantastic conversation with Jill Maglio, OTR/L, on how she incorporates her passion for circus in her everyday therapy practice. We will talk not only about how she uses circus in here day to day therapy with kids, but also how she has made a living helping people around the world with circus.   View all of the extras from this show at otschool...

In this episode, I am looking back at what I learned from 2020 and sharing what you can expect from the OT Schoolhouse in 2021. We will also review 5 new years resolutions fit for any School-Based OT and one special announcement. A-Z School-based OT Occupationaltherapy.com View full show notes Click here to register & get the best deal on the 2026 Back to School Conference!  Thanks for tuning...

 In this episode, I'm sharing with you the who, what, when, where, why & how of screenings in the school-based OT setting. Whether you are a brand new occupational therapist or a seasoned School-Based OT, the likelihood that you are using screenings and the subsequent opportunities to their full potential are unlikely simply because it is not something we are trained in. I hope this podca...

In this episode of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, I have a conversation with Amanda Speights, OTR/L about what occupational therapy looks like in a preschool. She works in a model preschool and I work in... well, a preschool, not sure I would call it a model preschool =P Anyways, in this episode we talk about the what the goal is for working with preschoolers, the referral and assessment process, and...

 In this second episode of the 2-part teletherapy series, I discuss the pros and cons of the most popular telehealth platforms being used by public schools districts and some tips on how to use both Google Meet and Zoom. I then go into what a school-based occupational therapy evaluation may look like through a telehealth model. We will look at what assessments tools may or may not be possible. And...