School-Based

SC19-OTAs in the School Setting

Presenters: Amanda Freebeck & Jeanne Rehr

Description: This presentation is to look at the current way OTAs work in a school setting from the perspective of 2 OTAs. Guidelines reviewed, treatment approaches touched upon, and the various areas of the school programs that the OTAs may work in.

SC20-State of Illinois School Occupational Therapy: The Next Evolution-Professional Educator Licensure

Presenters: Carol Michels, Michelle Ponsolle-Mays & Rebecca Lastres

Description: School-based occupational therapy has evolved and yet barriers to obtaining educational licensure and State-credentialed leadership positions remain. We will share survey results regarding practitioner roles and familiarity with educational policy, report on town hall emergent themes, and outline considerations for next steps.

SC21- Promoting Self-determined Participation in Meal Planning, Grocery Shopping, and Meal Preparation: A Toolbox for School-Based OTs

Presenters: Phoebe Jerousek, OTD, OTR/L

Description: Post-school outcomes - including independent living, employment, postsecondary education, and participation in leisure and community activities - for students with disabilities are bleak, and have remained largely unchanged over the last ten years (Education Data, 2019; Eismann et al., 2017; Medisked & The Arc, 2018; Test et al., 2014; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). The evidence shows that for students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), participation in the IADL activities of meal planning, grocery shopping, and meal preparation is both important for post-school success, and particularly difficult due to the complexity and cognitive demands of the tasks themselves, in addition to challenges generalizing skills across settings (Ayres et al., 2013; Bouck et al., 2017; Dalia et al., 2015; Drysdale, 2008; Goo et al., 2016; Gray et al., 2020; Jekel et al., 2015; Law et al., 2012; Ma et al., 2018; Mechling et al., 2002; Morse & Schuster, 1996; Morse & Schuster, 2000; O’Neill & Gutman, 2020; Reifenberg et al., 2018). The purpose of this Project was to create a toolbox of resources for school-based occupational therapy practitioners to facilitate development of client-centered, occupation-based interventions in meal planning, grocery shopping, and meal preparation. A suite of interview and survey tools were designed to gather data and anecdotal information from the student, their families, and their educators, on student participation and routines in these IADLs, with which the OT practitioner could develop the occupational profile and design contextually-relevant and student-driven therapeutic interventions. The Project included strategies for school-based OT practitioners to utilize the toolbox with elementary, middle, and high school students with I/DD and ASD, and to advocate for the importance of focusing on these IADL domains within school-based OT practice across grade levels, when speaking with team members and administrators.