Occupational Therapy in the Schools

 

END OF THE YEAR REPORT 2005-2006

Submitted June 23, 2006 – Revised June 29, 2006

 

WOTA Committee:  Occupational Therapy in Schools (OTIS)

Committee Co-Chairs:  Dottie Handley-More, Yvonne Swinth, Sara Woodward

 

OTIS Mission Statement:

As a standing committee of the WOTA, the mission of OTIS is to support a professional community for members involved in school-based practice. OTIS facilitates enhanced service delivery in school-based settings, expanded networking among school-based therapists across the state, the communication and use of best evidence in practice, and improved awareness of the purpose and value of occupational therapy in educational environments.

 

Accomplishments/Meetings/News to Report:

OTIS co-chairs met 5 times throughout the year.  Quarterly reports were prepared and submitted. 

 

Goals/Objectives for the year:

OTIS will:

1.         Communicate with WOTA leadership and membership regarding current issues affecting school-based practice.

1.1       OTIS will provide school-based practice updates via the WOTA newsletter.  Objective met.  OTIS Updates and Ask OTIS columns were submitted for all published WOTA newsletters.

1.2       OTIS will provide specific updates regarding federal legislation such as the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.  Objective met.  These updates were provided via OTIS Updates in each WOTA newsletter.

1.3              OTIS will analyze and distribute results of the WOTA online survey of WA state school-based occupational therapists and use findings to prioritize future goals and objectives.  Objective not yet met.

1.4              OTIS will work with the Conference Committee to further develop opportunities for school-based practitioners at annual WOTA conference.  Objective met.  The 2005 Conference pediatric/school-based track included a presentation on the reauthorization of IDEA and other current issues of practice by Leslie Jackson from AOTA Federal Affairs and Practice Departments; a no-host dinner/discussion with Leslie Jackson; a collaborative presentation on the use of the OTPF in serving children; the use of yoga with children with motor delays by Christine Coble; “Playing With Food:  A Hands-On Approach to Feeding Groups” by Jennifer Ponsford, SLP and Nancy Fox, OT; turn-taking and sharing for students with autism spectrum disorders by UW students; and pediatric assessment tools by Yvonne and Dottie.  4 weeks of post-conference discussions with conference presenters were held on the OTIS listserv.  OTIS has worked to include a variety of practice areas and age groups.  Karla Gray reported that the Occupational Therapy In Schools (OTIS) standing committee contributed a great deal to the success of the conference by developing a track of interest to members in that practice area.  Current plans for the 2006 WOTA Conference include presentations on Data collection, Use of resources to guide decision-making, Clinical reasoning, Evidence based practice, Vision, and Assessment and the OTPF.  OTIS is requesting that WOTA authorize another national speaker, Barbara Hanft, to present an institute at this year’s conference.  See Needs/Future Goals below.

 

2.         Provide current resources to WA state school-based occupational therapy practitioners for the express purpose of enhancing service delivery through the use of best evidence.

2.1       OTIS will maintain a listserv for its members.  Objective met.

2.2       OTIS will develop Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Tip Sheets, e.g., Caseload, OT Role in the Schools, and Supervision, for distribution via the OTIS web pages.  Objective met.  Ask OTIS columns were submitted for all published WOTA newsletters.  Ask OTIS and Basic Resources are available on the OTIS webpages.

2.3       OTIS membership will assemble quarterly to network with other practitioners.  Objective met.  The first OTIS meeting of the year was held at conference and was a no-host dinner/discussion with Leslie Jackson.  The meeting was attended by 30 OT practitioners and covered a variety of topics.  The second OTIS meeting was held May 11 at the Federal Way WEA offices.  There were approximate 30 participants in attendance and an additional 6 in Spokane via web-based videoconference.  The third OTIS meeting was held June 15 at the Federal Way WEA offices. There were approximately 15 participants in attendance and an additional 6 who attended remotely via web-based presentation and teleconference.

2.4       OTIS will develop & update web pages for the WOTA website to include Mission and Goals, FAQ/Tip Sheets/ Q & A, Resource List, Listserv information, Links to AOTA, SETC, OSPI, etc.  Objective met.  OTIS sponsored a logo contest for the new OTIS webpages.  Tom Steinbeck was the winner, earning a $50 voucher to use towards WOTA sponsored events/membership.  Ron Stone has been a tremendous support in getting the OTIS webpages up and running.  OTIS Pages can be accessed from the WOTA homepage.  Currently available resources include OTIS Home; Mission, Goals, & Objectives; Ask OTIS; Join the Listserv; Resource Lists; OTIS Reports; Meet OTIS Chairs; WOTA Home; and Join WOTA.

 

3.         Collaborate with other professional associations, organizations, and committees, in order to address the needs of schools and school-based therapists. 

3.1       OTIS will explore development of a joint statement with the Physical Therapy Association of Washington (PTWA) regarding role delineation within school-based practice.  Objective not met.  PTWA & WASHA representatives attended the OTIS membership meeting on the 3:1 model and will work with OTIS for future joint events and/or incorporating similar web-based video conferencing into their groups.

3.2       OTIS will maintain membership in local and state committees as they exist, including Special Education/ELL Joint Task Force on the Certificate of Mastery, Washington State Special Education Coalition, and Washington Educational Staff Associates Council.  Objective met.  Ongoing meetings for WSSEC with WOTA representation (see WSSEC End of Year Report).

3.3       OTIS will establish, build, and maintain relationships with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Washington Education Association (WEA).  Objective met.  May 11 and June 15 OTIS membership meetings were held via web-based video conference at WEA’s Federal Way office.  WEA has been a tremendous support in reaching East and West side practitioners.  OTIS has nominated Pat Steinberg of WEA for the Presidential Commendation award.

 

Needs/Future Goals:

  • Finalize, analyze, and distribute results of the WOTA online survey of WA state school-based occupational therapists
  • Finalize OTIS SOPs
  • Present a 90-minute workshop at the 2007 AOTA conference on developing school-based committees at the state association level.

 

Motion:

We move that WOTA authorizes Barbara Hanft to be a presenter at conference for a pre-conference institute.  Her typical speaker fee is $3000 plus travel expenses (airfare from the DC area - approximately $500 and hotel and food - we don't know the conference rate for the hotel).  She did say she may consider coming for $2500, but that is not guaranteed.