Providing Effective Therapy in the School Setting: A Look at the Current Research

Course Description

This course will provide a brief overview of school-based therapy, regulations and will review evidenced-based versus research-based treatment selections. It will address occupational therapy in the school setting and the use of a multi-tiered approach to provide assistance to general and special education teachers and children. This course will provide best practice guidelines for conducting an evaluation, providing recommendations, writing goals and documentation. Current areas that occupational therapists address in the school setting will be reviewed as well as how to choose appropriate strategies in both the therapy and classroom settings. These areas include: fine motor skills, handwriting, handwriting technology, sensory integration, self-regulation, visual perceptual skills, assistive technology, executive functioning and play-based developmental skills. After taking this course, therapists will have the information necessary to articulate “why they are doing what they are doing” and the research behind it.

Course Objectives

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

• Recall the rules and regulations involved with school-based therapy.
• Define “evidenced-based” versus “research-based” treatment approaches.
• Describe the role of the occupational therapist in relation to the Multi-Tiered System approach in schools.
• Recognize best practice guidelines for conducting an school based occupational therapy evaluation, providing therapy recommendations, designing treatment sessions, providing classroom accommodations/ modifications, writing goals and documentation.
• Identify evidenced-based/research-based treatment strategies for the following areas: fine motor skills, handwriting, handwriting technology, sensory integration, self-regulation, visual-perceptual skills, assistive technology, executive functioning and play-based developmental skills.

• Prerequisites

  None

• Educational Level

  Basic

• Other

  Satisfactory completion of this course will require the participant to respond to various polling questions asked throughout the webinar.