School Occupational Therapy Jobs
An occupational therapist is someone who helps people with mental, developmental, or emotional disabilities improve their performance of daily tasks. This may involve recovering lost skills or helping the patient learn new skills. School occupational therapy jobs typically focus on teaching children skills they will need in the school setting or those that will be helpful once they graduate from school.
To be eligible for one of these school occupational therapy jobs, the therapist must first have a Master’s degree in occupational therapy. Additionally, the therapist must pass the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy exam in order to receive certification and begin practicing.
The ability of schools to identify students with special needs has increased over the years. With this, parents have come an understanding of the services that schools can offer for their children. As more children are identified, more school occupational therapy jobs become available. A full time school occupational therapist earns approximately $50,000 annually. In addition to helping individual students, the therapist may also be asked to sit in on IEP or 504 meetings to help develop the overall individualized educational plan for the student.
School occupational therapy jobs require the therapist to evaluate individual students and create specific therapy routines to meet their needs. Physical exercise is used to help students who need to increase their dexterity and strength. Cognitive activities are used to help students who have difficulty with abstract reasoning, sequencing, decision-making, and perception. The therapist may also help create or locate equipment for students with severe communication problems or who have extreme physical limitations.
A less frequently considered aspect of school occupational therapy jobs is helping the parents. While technically they are not the client, many therapists find it is necessary to educate the parents in how to help their child succeed. Educating the parents and giving them exercises and possibly even resources to use at home, can help the student more quickly acquire new skills and master new objectives.
Procare Therapy specializes in placing professionals in a school setting. School occupational therapy jobs are available all over the country. If you are interested in this rewarding career, contact Procare Therapy and let the experts help you find your dream job.
