The OT Schoolhouse Podcast for School-Based OT Practitioners

By Jayson Davies

Education

What's The OT Schoolhouse Podcast for School-Based OT Practitioners about?

Jayson Davies, OTR/L, from OTSchoolhouse.com dives into the areas of school-based Occupational Therapy most frequently discussed by therapists. Join Jayson and special guests in exploring new practice strategies and earn professional development for certification renewal.

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Exploring Dyslexia: Underst...

05.30.2023

How much do you really know about dyslexia? Join us as we explore this often-misunderstood learning disorder. Jayson and Penny dive into the importance of evaluation, therapy, and the crucial support needed for teachers and students facing dyslexia. Tune in ...

The OT Schoolhouse Podcast for School-Based OT Practitioners episodes:

05.30.2023 Exploring Dyslexia: Understanding and Supporting Students How much do you really know about dyslexia? Join us as we explore this often-misunderstood learning disorder. Jayson and Penny dive into the importance of evaluation, therapy, and the crucial support needed for teachers and students facing dyslexia. Tune in ...
05.15.2023 School-Based Benefits of Aquatic Therapy In this podcast episode, Maggie Aschenbrener discusses how she applies her passions for water, children, and occupational therapy by utilizing aquatic therapy in a school-based setting. In addition, she shares valuable insights on the benefits of aquatic therapy, the types ...
05.01.2023 Incorporating Movement and Sensory in the Classroom Ready to talk All Things Sensory? In this episode of the OT Schoolhouse podcast, Jayson interviews Rachel Harrington, COTA/L AC, and Jessica Hill, COTA/L, about incorporating movement and sensory activities in the classroom and at home. We discuss sensory diets, ...
04.17.2023 Your Questions, Jayson's Answers: An OT Month Special Episode on Sensory, Handwriting, Tiered Intervention, & More Welcome to a special episode of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, where we celebrate OT Month and the anniversary of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast! We're excited to bring you an episode packed with valuable insights, as Jayson answers questions submitted by ...
04.03.2023 Choose Wisely: Linking Motor Reflex Integration to Occupation Do you ever wonder how much our early reflexes impact our physical, cognitive, and emotional development? What about the importance of reflex integration and rhythmic movements in shaping these abilities? In this episode, Sonia Story sheds light on these intriguing ...
03.20.2023 The Role SLPs Play in Schools Are you an OT who wants to level up your knowledge on how to work collaboratively with SLPs to support students in school? Well, you're in for a treat! Today's episode features a special guest, Rose, a school-based speech therapist ...
03.06.2023 Supporting Students to Self-Regulate with The Alert Program® Do you know how your engine is running right now? Is it high, low, or just right? In this episode of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, Sherry and Molly discuss the OG self-regulation program that helps all ages understand their alertness. ...
02.21.2023 Learning with LEGO: 9 Creative Ideas for Occupational Therapy in Schools Today, we're talking about one of the most popular and versatile tools in the world of school-based occupational therapy: LEGO. That's right, we're diving into the benefits of using LEGO in therapy sessions. LEGO provides a fun and engaging way ...
02.06.2023 Supporting Teachers: A Win-Win Situation Being OTPs in a Teacher’s world is not always easy. In this episode, I am sharing a supportive tool I have used to support my students and build rapport with the teachers I work with daily. I have provided small ...
01.23.2023 Challenging Typical Handwriting Traditions Have you ever thought of having your students be the handwriting teachers? By having students apply what they learned during an OT session, they can go back into the classroom to share the letter stories and formations with everyone… including ...
01.09.2023 Going Beyond Trauma-Informed Care What do you think of when you hear the phrase trauma responsive? This concept goes beyond trauma-informed care. Tune in to hear Dr. Gibbs speak about her book, Trauma Treatment in Action, and how as OTPs, we need to be ...
12.12.2022 Dysgraphia: How You Can Support Teachers & Students Did you know that Einstein and Thomas Edison may have had dysgraphia? In our chat with Cheri Dotterer today, she discusses the truth about dysgraphia. A lot of us have had specific beliefs about what dysgraphia consists of, but the ...
11.14.2022 Finding Motivation in Transition-Aged Students: From Limitations to Success Have you ever thought about what it might look like working with transition-aged students? Even if you are currently working with them now, you may still question how to best use your skills to work with these older school-aged students ...
10.24.2022 Why the CDC Updated the Developmental Milestones Checklist Were you flabbergasted when the CDC changed the guidelines for developmental milestones In February? You weren’t alone. But it is important to look deeper at why these changes were made. The CDC was tasked with updating the milestones and making ...
10.10.2022 Back To Our Roots: Mental Health and The School-Based Role As OTPs we were taught that our profession was founded on providing a safe space for those who had a mental illness, and we were there to help them engage in occupations that were meaningful to them, yet we tend ...
09.26.2022 Common Core left Handwriting Behind! School-based OT practitioners are not handwriting teachers! However, handwriting is often the most common reason for referral. In our chat with Debra Collette, OTD, OTR/L, we are discussing a recent article where she surveyed teachers, administrators, and therapists on the ...
09.12.2022 From One Coffee Cart to an entire Community-Based Instruction Program Did you know that transitional services can be implemented even before a student gets to high school? In this episode, we talk about how community-based instruction (CBI) can be implemented in the elementary school setting and how these children benefit ...
08.29.2022 Frameworks used in School-based Occupational Therapy Have you ever thought about the shifts that have happened throughout the history of Occupational Therapy in the schools? Occupational therapy has been a part of the school systems since the ‘70s when legislation was enacted at the national level. ...
08.15.2022 Using PLAY as an Acronym to Support Students (Earn Continuing Education) Our guest today proves how it is possible to make the best of a situation when unforeseen circumstances happen. The Covid Pandemic derailed Alvin from starting his private practice. Still, it allowed him to build up his social media and ...
08.01.2022 Goal Writing in School-based OT As OTP’s we know that goal writing can get a bit difficult at times. Understanding each component of a goal will ultimately lead to better goal writing. Taking the time to write goals is a huge part of helping the ...
07.18.2022 Why I Created My Own Adapted Handwriting Paper As an OT practitioner in the schools, it doesn’t take long to realize that most of the evaluation referrals coming your way are due to handwriting concerns. As such, you have probably begun to fine-tune your ability to promote increased ...
07.05.2022 Supporting Parents of Neurodiverse Children with Laura Petix of The OT Butterfly As OTPs in the schools, we all work with children with Sensory Processing Disorder. But our guest today has gone a step further in how she supports the families of neurodiverse children. Laura Petix, MS, OTR/L, dives into her passion ...
06.20.2022 Getting Student-Centered with the CO-OP Approach Featuring Dr. Helene Polatajko and Dr. Lara Barros Are you constantly wondering how to be more evidence-based when working in a school setting? In this episode of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, we discuss how using client-centered top-down approaches will allow for more evidence-based practices and what top-down approaches ...
06.06.2022 Landing and Starting Your First School-Based OT Job with Jhennylyn Rivera, MOT, OTR/L Are you a new grad OT practitioner ready to find your first school-based OT job? If so, hit play now! In this episode, I am interviewing Jhenny Rivera about her recent experiences of searching for, finding, interviewing, and starting in ...
05.23.2022 School-Based OT Within the OT Practice Framework In OT school, most students are tasked with doing a deep dive into the OT Practice Framework, better known as the OTPF. But have you taken a second to reflect on the OTPF since you landed your school-based OT job? ...
05.09.2022 100th Episode Celebration: Why the OT Schoolhouse For our 100th episode, we are celebrating in a very special way. I don't want to give away too much, so I'll just tell you this. You may already be pretty familiar with our special guest today. Listen in to ...
04.25.2022 The ABCs of School-Based OT (U-Z) To celebrate OT Month, the #ABCsofOT are taking over the OT Schoolhouse Podcast for the month of April. More specifically, we are taking on the ABCs of School-Based OT In this fourth episode in a four-part series, we will be ...
04.18.2022 The ABCs of School-Based OT (N-T) To celebrate OT Month, the #ABCsofOT are taking over the OT Schoolhouse Podcast for the month of April. More specifically, we are taking on the ABCs of School-Based OT In this third episode in a four-part series, we will be ...
04.11.2022 The ABCs of School-Based OT (G-M) To celebrate OT Month, the #ABCsofOT are taking over the OT Schoolhouse Podcast for the month of April. More specifically, we are taking on the ABCs of School-Based OT In this second episode of a four-part series, we will be ...
04.04.2022 OT Month Special: ABCs of School-Based OT Happy OT Month! To celebrate, the #ABCsofOT are taking over the OT Schoolhouse Podcast for the month of April. More specifically, we are taking on the ABCs of School-Based OT In this first episode of a four-part series, we will ...
03.28.2022 Answering OT Practitioners' Questions About Real School-Based OT Problems In this episode of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, I am answering the questions submitted by several of our OT Schoolhouse Podcast listeners. From "what is a consult?" to "how do I implement sensory strategies?" I am answering a dozen questions ...
03.14.2022 10 Ways to Celebrate OT Month as a School-Based OTP [Free Handout] Today on the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, we are talking about OT Month coming up in April. Why are we doing this in March, you ask? Because OT Month is worth planning for, of course! In this episode, I am going ...
02.28.2022 How OTPs Support Kinship Families in Education with Angela Provenzano In this episode of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, we are joined by Angela Provenzano, OTD Student, to discuss kinship families and what we should know as school-based OTs who support students who may be a part of a kinship family. ...
02.14.2022 Incorporating Mindfulness as a School-Based OT Practitioner feat. Deirdre Azzopardi, OTD, OTR/L In this episode of the OT schoolhouse podcast, we discuss mindfulness in school-based OT with Dr. Deirdre Azzopardi of TheMindfulSchoolOT.com. Dierdre is an experienced school-based OT who has been incorporating mindful practices into her life personally and professionally. She uses ...
01.31.2022 OTS 91: What the Every Student Succeeds Act means for OTPs with Abe Saffer, MPM Our role in special education was established in 1775 with the passing of The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. A lot has changed since then and we now have what is called the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. ...
01.17.2022 Teletherapy Beyond the Pandemic with Kristin Martinez , M.A., CCC-SLP & Tasha Holmes, MOT During the pandemic, teletherapy found its foothold as the world shut down and continues to now reopen. However, despite schools and businesses reopening, this is just the beginning of the story for occupational therapy and the doors that have opened ...
01.03.2022 Handwriting & Beyond in School-Based OT with Dr. Beverly Moskowitz, DOT, MS, OTR/L, FAOTA In this episode of the OT School House Podcast, we have a very special guest with decades of experience in helping therapists, teachers, and adults around the world to support students with handwriting difficulties. Dr. Bev is a nationally recognized ...
12.13.2021 Changing the Face of School OT Feat. Jaime Spencer, MS, OTR/L School-based Occupational therapists have been a part of public education since legislation was initially enacted in the 1970’s. Contrary to this, school-based OT practitioners often do not have pathways to educational leadership. OT practitioners are unable to serve as administrators ...
11.29.2021 Fostering Safe & Regulating Environments in the Classroom with Dr. Jamie Chaves, OTD, OTR/L, SWC School-based occupational therapists wear many hats. Sometimes we treat students individually and other times we have to train the teachers in ways they can support students in the classroom. Today, we are focusing on supporting teachers in fostering safe and ...
11.08.2021 Journal Club: The Problem with Caseloads In this journal club edition of the OT School House Podcast, we are examining the 2020 Seruya & Garfinkle article about current workload trends in school-based OT. We will discuss the findings from a survey of 571 OT Practitioners working ...
10.25.2021 Moving Toward Collaborative Services Featuring Meghan Fox, OTR/L In this episode, I am bringing on Meghan Fox, OTR/L, from Wootherapy.com to talk about her transition from providing primarily pull-out OT services, to a more collaborative service approach. Meghan shares with us why she decided to make the move ...
10.11.2021 Journal Club: OT in High School & Post-Secondary Transition Planning Help! I was just assigned to a high school & I have no idea what to do!! Ever had that thought before? It is not uncommon for me to receive an email with something like that in my inbox. Now, ...
09.27.2021 Evaluations vs. Screenings In this episode, Jayson shares the difference between screenings and evaluations. Using AOTA documents, IDEA references, and court cases, we will discuss when it is and is not appropriate to use screenings in a school-based setting. We will also briefly ...
09.13.2021 Handwriting With At-Risk Kindergarteners (Journal Club) Have you ever wondered if that handwriting intervention you provide is helpful? Or how about what that intervention in the research article actually looked like? In this episode of the OT School House Podcast, we are going beyond the article ...
08.30.2021 School-Based OT Workloads With Alexa Corley, OTD 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 ...
08.16.2021 Ergonomics In and Out of School with Kirsten Beshay, OTD, MA, OTR/L 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 ...
07.26.2021 Budgeting & Tackling Student Loans With Amirra Condelee, OTD, OTR/L 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 ...
07.12.2021 Writing Easier With the Legiliner & Polly Benson, OTR/L 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 ...
06.07.2021 Friendly Adapted Shoes with Joseph DiFrancisco, MS, OT/L, Chief Friendly Officer 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 ...
05.24.2021 Diving into the Schoodles: School Fine Motor Assessment with Authors Marie Frank, OTR/L & Monica Fortunato, OTR/L 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 ...

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