Best Practice in School-Based Occupational Therapy: An Evidence Based Practice Approach to Choosing Therapeutic Activities

Course Description

Best Practice in School-Based Occupational Therapy: An Evidence Based Practice Approach to Choosing Therapeutic Activities is designed for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants.  This course addresses the issue of utilizing a best practice, research-based approach to school-based practice. This course links current research to areas of practice, citing recent studies.  This course attempts to improve the practices of therapists, as well as increase therapist knowledge in the areas of research based best practice strategies. This course provides information on why school therapy is important, as well as the history and rules regarding school therapy.  It provides information regarding best practice guidelines for school therapy and reviews current research in common areas school therapists address.  This course links theory to research to help therapists chose the best treatment activities.  This course relates assessments to goal development, treatment planning, treatment recommendations and service delivery models.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Provide information on why school based therapy is important.
• Provide a brief review of the history and rules and regulations.
• Provide best practice guidelines for school-based therapy.
• Review current research studies in eight areas that are commonly addressed by school-based occupational therapists.
• Provide assistance to occupational therapists in choosing therapeutic activities that are based on best practice literature.
• Assist occupational therapists in articulating “why they do what they do” with children to teachers, administrators, parents and caregivers.
• Link theory and research to help the occupational therapists chose the best treatment activities and provide the best evidenced-based therapy possible.
• Provide examples of activities based on evidenced based research.
• Provide information regarding the use of assessments as related to goal development, treatment planning and the use of evidenced based activities.
• Provide information regarding the use of assessments as related documentation and the articulation of student progress.
• Provide information regarding service delivery models and treatment recommendations.

• Prerequisites

  None

• Educational Level

  Basic

• Other

  Satisfactory completion of this course will require the participant to complete a 10 question post-test with a minimum passing score of 70%.