Supporting Students with Extensive Support Needs: Understanding the Challenge (Part 1)

Ever wondered how school-based OTs can meaningfully support students with extensive support needs? 

Supporting students with extensive support needs has long been one of the most challenging and under-resourced areas of school-based OT. In this first of a two-part episode, Dr. Savitha Sundar joins Jayson to unpack the history, systemic influences, and practitioner struggles that shape how services are delivered in special education classrooms today. From redefining outdated language to exploring how friendships and peer modeling can shift trajectories, this episode is a powerful reflection on the ethical and practical realities of inclusive education.

This episode sets the foundation for building more inclusive school communities—and why occupational therapists play a key role in leading that change.

🎧 Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll move into actionable strategies and systemic shifts.

Listen now to learn the following objectives:

-Learners will reflect on the historical and systemic factors that have contributed to the segregation of students with extensive support needs in school settings.

-Learners will identify challenges OTPs face when serving students in self-contained classrooms and how these challenges impact practice.

-Learners will understand the evolving terminology and research around inclusive education and how it relates to the role of school-based OTPs.

Thanks for tuning in!

Thanks for tuning into the OT Schoolhouse Podcast brought to you by the OT Schoolhouse Collaborative Community for school-based OTPs. In OTS Collab, we use community-powered professional development to learn together and implement strategies together.

Don't forget to subscribe to the show and check out the show notes for every episode at OTSchoolhouse.com

See you in the next episode!