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PediaStaff Corner: Course Review – The Nuts and Bolts to Becoming a Successful School OT

Reviewed by Sunita Murty,  Clinical OT Supervisor/Mentor, PediaStaff

The Nuts and Bolts to Becoming a Successful School Occupational Therapist by Ushma Sampat, is a very well thought out, organized and informative course! What a great way to have everything you could possibly need for school therapy in one place! I have been a school and outpatient practitioner since 2004 as well as a clinical coordinator for PediaStaff since 2006, and I found this course to be informative and comprehensive.

School-based occupational therapy comes with a unique set of rules and expectations and is easily overwhelming to a new OT or COTA. This course provides detailed information to guide you or your practitioners through all the background components needed in a school setting. Ushma does a great job of explaining the difference between the school-based and medical model in occupational therapy. This is often difficult to understand and explain to families, as the job title is the same, however the roles are markedly different.  She breaks down laws, IEP and 504s into understandable components. Ushma explains the expectations of the practitioner providing assessment templates, goal writing instructions coupled with treatment objectives and means to effectively communicate with all team members, as this is a crucial part of being a school-based practitioner.

Ushma provides a wealth of resources from checklists and introduction materials for starting the year as a school practitioner to daily data collection forms, IEP and assessment trackers, scheduling worksheets in working forms and printable options as well as parent permission forms. Also, with increased teletherapy, she has compiled information to help the therapist organize her/himself as well as materials for parents to make sessions more efficient.

It can be extremely daunting for a new OT in schools and this course is wonderful in bridging the gap of knowledge. Ushma offers needed forms, tips for managing caseloads and on-going support to facilitate obstacles as they arise.”

 

About Sunita: Sunita Murty-Gami, MS-OT is the owner of  Imagination Therapy, PLLC, in Raleigh, NC.  Additionally she works as the Occupational Therapy Clinical Coordinator, for PediaStaff, a leader in school-based therapy staffing, since 2006.

 

PediaStaff hires pediatric and school-based professionals nationwide for contract assignments of 2 to 12 months. We also help clinics, hospitals, schools, and home health agencies to find and hire these professionals directly. We work with Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational and Physical Therapists, School Psychologists, and others in pediatric therapy and education.

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