School Occupational Therapist

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Provides occupational therapy services to students by conducting assessments with the educational setting using an ecological model to determine level of need.
• Develops educationally relevant therapeutic plans, which include goals that can be linked as part of a student’s educational program.
• Reviews reports from other health care providers who are requesting occupational therapy services, evaluates student progress on individual therapy plans, and revises goals as needed.
• Prepares reports of occupational therapy interventions and outcomes.
• Collaborates with parents and staff on occupational therapy interventions for students on site and through home programs.
• Attends Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) meetings as necessary to ensure that interventions blend with educational goals.
• Collaborates with student’s other health care providers and medical protocols.
• Coordinates services with school nurses.
• Instructs paraprofessionals in occupational therapy and instructional support on understanding, interpreting, and implementing intervention procedures.
• Provides in-service training and continuing professional development to teachers and resource personnel.
• Promotes the need for occupational therapy services to teachers and administrators.
• Develops up-to-date best practices for therapy services.
• Ensures the documentation of services is professional, efficient, and accountable, and in conformance with the policies of state and other agencies.
• Modifies and may design adaptive equipment that enhances students’ ability to access learning and technology.

Knowledge And Skills

• Physical, sensory, intellectual, social, and emotional growth patterns of children including the developmental and educational needs of children with disabilities.
• Current theories and best practices in the application of occupational therapy techniques, including oral motor facilitation, daily living activities, psychodynamics of being disabled, and normal and abnormal child development.
• State Education Code as it applies to the specific accountability of this position.
• Personal computer applications to use common office productivity software, internet, and specialized computer-aided programs supporting diagnostic assessment.
• Advanced math and interpretive skill to conduct and evaluate statistics.
• Human relations skills to achieve and maintain trust and cooperation with peers and clients, to deliver formal discussion with classroom-sized groups, to resolve conflict, and to use advanced lines of inquiry to obtain personal information from clients.
• Professional writing skills sufficient to write reports and correspondence that may be sensitive and have legal implications.

Abilities

• Understand differences among children with various handicapping conditions.
• Absorb and apply State and Federal requirements and objectives for academic achievement including Individualized Educational Plans.
• Work effectively with fellow professionals and paraprofessionals in carrying out regular and remedial therapeutic programs.
• Perform statistical analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.
• Relate well with students, parents, and all levels of staff.
• Present self in a professional manner to students, parents, and staff.
• Maintain confidentiality of private information.
• Optimize a work schedule that involves multiple locations.
• Carry out all aspects of the position.

Physical Abilities

• Function effectively in classroom and office environments, engaged in work of a moderately active nature.
• Ambulatory ability to move to various class and meeting room settings, to stoop, bend and kneel, and to reach.
• Hand-arm motion ability and coordination to assist others with physical movements.
• Hand-eye-arm coordination ability to use special diagnostic devices and a personal computer keyboard to access and record information.
• Visual ability to recognize words, numbers, and non-verbal actions of people.
• Auditory ability to project voice and carry out conversations with individuals and small groups in person and over the phone.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy or closely related field. One year of practicum and/or experience providing occupational therapy services. Experience with children with special needs is desirable.
• Licenses and Certificates: Valid California Occupational Therapist license. Valid registration by the American Occupational Therapy Association. Valid California driver’s license.