April 26, 2025 • 34 mins
Discover the transformative world of school-based occupational therapy with Taylor Pinson, an experienced OT working across all grade levels. Far beyond the common misconceptions of painful physical therapy, school OTs help students develop crucial skills for educational success through thoughtfully tailored interventions.
Taylor demystifies how occupational therapy adapts across developmental stages - from foundational play and fine motor skills in preschoolers to classroom tool mastery in elementary years, and finally to executive functioning and vocational preparation for teenagers. She explains how therapists create personalized "sensory profiles" to understand each student's unique regulatory needs, then develop customized "sensory diets" of activities and supports that help students maintain optimal regulation throughout their school day.
What truly distinguishes exceptional occupational therapy is the creativity and problem-solving involved. Taylor shares inspiring examples of ingenious adaptations that foster true independence - like modifying a Swiffer to help a student in a power wheelchair clean library tables independently, or creating a door-opening tool for a student who wanted to navigate hallways without waiting for assistance. These solutions embody the concept of "modified independence," allowing students to complete tasks autonomously with appropriate adaptations.
Perhaps most compelling is Taylor's pragmatic approach to preparing students for real-world success. Rather than expecting the world to change for students with disabilities, she equips them with practical strategies and adaptations that work within existing environments. She emphasizes making interventions accessible and affordable, often engineering solutions from everyday items instead of recommending expensive specialty equipment.
Whether you're a parent trying to understand your child's therapy, an educator collaborating with OT professionals, or someone curious about this multifaceted profession, this conversation illuminates how occupational therapy empowers students to engage fully in their education and develop skills for lifelong independence.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
so at the time of this recording, it is monday
evening, april 21st.
I'm very excited about thisweek for three reasons, for
reasons thrice.
Number one one Thursday is theNFL draft.
Number two we are one weekcloser to the end of school, we
(00:33):
have five weeks left.
And number three is our guestthis evening.
Now, this is somebody who we'vehad the privilege of working
with, I think, for the majorityof our time at our current
school, so it's probably beenwhat about four years-ish.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Four years, is that right?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I think so, and so she's one of those that.
So every once in a while, lauraand I will meet young ladies,
and it's like, man, I wish wehad another son, because I want
that kid in our family.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
And tonight's guest is one of those.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
She's so much fun but at the same time, has so much
to share a whole lot ofknowledge on the topic of
occupational therapy.
So now what I'm going to do isI'm going to hand it over to my
better half and let herintroduce you, even though I
sort of already did.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Well, it's like this is becoming a trend and they're
going to think, oh, she justsays everybody's their friend,
but I mean, it's true.
So we forge these relationshipswith these service providers
and parents and coworkers.
And so, once again, this is,you know, started as a coworker.
Now consider a friend.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
It is the occupational therapist and one
of the two three in the countyand one of the two three in the
county, two evaluatingoccupational therapists, which
is me, and then another personwho's actually a friend of mine,
a true friend plus colleague,and her name is Courtney Joseph.
(02:01):
And then we have oh, weactually have Wendy Yoder.
She is an OT as well, and thenwe have two occupational therapy
assistants.
So they basically do everythingwe do, minus, I say, the
paperwork.
They were the smart ones.
True, they have their own setof paperwork, for sure, but they
don't do the evaluations andthings.
(02:21):
That's all it is is adifference in degree, but as far
as treating, they do the sameexact thing we do, and actually
both of them have been.
They're treating longer than me, so they have even more
knowledge, probably, than me onsome things.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And when she says me, this is Taylor Pinson and, like
Jared said, we've had theprivilege of working with her
more this year, I think, thanany of the others Before.
We kind of saw you bop in andout and now we get to see her
the majority of the week.
And she also works with Xanderat the high school and helping
(02:59):
him with learning his PIN numberand using his card, at helping
him learn how to use his card sowhen we go places he can either
swipe or tap and know his PINnumber.
So she is everywhere in thecounty, I think, and so that's
(03:23):
Taylor, and so that's Taylor.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
So occupational therapy sounds kind of scary.
I think it's one of thosethings where so here's a great
example.
So last week we had Miss Eliontalking about speech and even
that it's real easy to assumethings that just aren't true.
(03:47):
You know, you think you hearspeech and you think, ok, well,
that just has to do with talking.
So we're going to teach themhow to talk good and.
But occupational therapy soundslike sounds scary because it
sounds painful.
Whenever you think of therapy atleast me.
When I think of therapy, Ithink of getting you know,
twisted and popped and like allof those other things to try to
(04:08):
make your body work the way thatit's supposed to.
But what I have learned in ourtime with Miss Taylor and others
like her is that that's not thecase, that occupational therapy
is something completelydifferent.
So what I think I'm going to doright now is we'll turn it over
to you, the expert, ms Taylor,and help us understand what
occupational therapy is.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
So I will say you know, sometimes we are causing
pain.
We don't think we try to.
Probably more in the adultworld, I will say that one of
the beautiful things aboutoccupational therapy and why I
chose it as a profession, arethere is so much that we do Not
one occupational therapist isdoing the same exact thing as
(04:51):
another.
I have friends that work in theschool system in South Carolina
and they're like y'all do what?
Or you know.
Vice versa, we have a scope ofpractice, of course, but friends
that work in the adult therapyworld are doing totally
different things.
One of my jobs is at thehospital system here in Camden
as well, and I'm working withadults after surgery or if
(05:14):
they've been sick, and I'mhelping get all the hospital bed
and getting back to go into thebathroom on their own and
showering, and those are thingsthat we do with children.
But in the school systemspecifically, we are helping
them develop the skills thatthey need to fully participate
in their educational journey.
So, whether that's fine motorskills for handwriting,
(05:37):
supporting the sensoryregulation so they can focus and
attend to their classwork,working on independence and
self-care tasks, using classroomtools, pencils, scissors, glue
sticks For older kids, it'sthose vocational skills, like
you mentioned what we're doingwith Xander.
So, and then beyond that,collaborating with the teachers
(06:00):
and the staff and then thefamilies to adapt things so that
these students, regardless oftheir ability, have access to
learning that's meaningful forthem, Because I do think
everybody can participate withthe right support.
So occupational therapy isessentially just one of those
(06:20):
supports among many that theschools offer for students.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
I like the word meaningful.
That's really good, becausewhat it does is it requires you
to actually take the time tolearn the student that you're
working with and all the thingsthat you set up to that
definitely support it, andthat's why you can talk to your
friends that do the same thingand hear that they may be
occupational therapists, buttheir methods in this particular
situation are different thanones that you use.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Because you're taking the time to learn that student
and help provide them what theyneed to have to have as
successful as life as possibleis much different than just
showing up and saying well, thisis what I do and I'm going to
(07:14):
run you through the ropes ofthis, that and the other and not
take the time to find out whatit is that you really need to
excel in your life Right, andthat's really is the basis for
occupational therapy in generalprofessional doctorate and the.
You dive way more into like theresearch and the background and
the profession than you do withjust my master's level program
and we talk about making surenot only what we do as
(07:36):
therapists is evidence-basedright, because we don't want to
be doing something that has noresearch behind it, but also is
meaningful to the client orstudent or whoever you're
working with.
So we use that word meaningfula lot and making sure for OT
it's holistic, it's not justlooking at one thing but looking
(07:57):
at the whole person.
For example, if we have astudent which we've talked about
before, who maybe is writingessays is not going to be their
end goal in life, then we at acertain point we're not going to
be working on writing fiveparagraphs for school because
that would not be meaningful tothem.
(08:19):
And then that's when in highschool and middle school, we
transitioned to more of thosevocational tasks.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Right and because if they're not going to be doing
these tasks and that, like yousaid, it's not meaningful, it's
not, and then we're just goingto meet frustrations and they
won't understand why we'rehaving them do that bit about
tailing those interventions fortheir needs.
(08:49):
How does that go?
How does that work?
Going across like the differentgrade levels, like from
preschool to high school?
Speaker 2 (08:59):
So I think the one thing about occupational therapy
and our background is we dohave a lot of background
knowledge on those developmentalstages and progression.
You know a lot of ourcoursework with our programs
focuses on that.
So knowing students wherethey're at developmentally, as
opposed to just, oh, they're infirst grade.
(09:20):
They should be working on thisBecause, as you all know, we
have a lot of first graders thatmay be on paper or technically
working on preschool things onpaper or technically working on
preschool things, but we'remeeting them where they're at.
So for preschoolers I may focuson like the foundational skills.
So fine, motor development,play is so important.
(09:42):
You have to have this playskills.
And then they carry over to theother skills sensory processing
and even in preschool you'restill doing those like beginning
self-care routines.
So, like at school, that'sgoing to the other skills
sensory processing.
And even in preschool you'restill doing those.
Like beginning self-careroutines.
So, like at school, that'sgoing to the bathroom feeding
yourself at lunch.
Opening packages so I think weopen pack, work on opening
packages all the way up untilhigh school and then in
(10:06):
elementary school we shift moretowards like the stuff for
classroom success.
So handwriting, attention, tool, use, you know, glue scissors
though I have some teachers thatsay please don't use scissors,
they're scary.
Or parents that are like thanksa lot, my kid came home and cut
their hair, they learned a newskill.
(10:28):
Or, you know, I have theparents that send me pictures of
their kid where they coloredall over their wall and they're
like but they wrote their nameand I'm like well, there you go
um.
So in elementary school I thinkmore of those classroom, that
classroom activities, and thenin middle and high school we're
moving towards executivefunctioning organization.
(10:53):
I work on a lot withconsultatively helping the kids
just get back organized for thattime that I see them that month
.
So cleaning out their book bag,helping them work on like a
folder system for keeping thingson their own.
Work on like a folder systemfor keeping things on their own
(11:15):
because they are moreindependent in those older
grades and they're expected tokeep their things organized on
their own.
Well, in elementary school yourteacher is going to put it in
the folder for you and take itout for you um, and then working
on the vocational tasks, jobreadiness for those kids,
especially for the kids who arestaying up until in Georgia you
can stay until your 22ndbirthday so making sure that
(11:38):
they work on skills that they'regoing to do once they age out
of school.
And then the independent livingskills.
So, like you said for Xander,we were working on the debit
card thing.
Y'all did have to go and movethis year so we had to re-warn
his new address after he got hisold address down.
Pat, um, but working on.
(12:02):
I have a student that their jobat the high school is working
with the janitors, so we workedon skills that he could use when
, as that was his like, one ofhis blocks in his school day was
that or um.
I have a story that I was goingto mention later and one of her
blocks in her school day isworking in the library and
(12:23):
keeping the library clean, soworking on those kind of skills
and you talked a little bit oryou mentioned, when you were
talking about how you do theinterventions and some of the
things that you help thesestudents with.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
And one of the things you discussed was the sensory
processing challenges which, andI have to be honest, until we
had a shared student with aco-lab teacher this year and
they suggested maybe we seeabout OT, maybe they can help
you know, maybe Ms Taylor canhelp you know, with some of that
(12:58):
emotional regulation.
I didn't know that that waspart of your job, but can you
talk to us about.
So what are some strategiesthat you use as an occupational
therapist to help these studentsthat have these sensory
processing challenges, help themregulate their emotions and
(13:19):
improve their behaviors in theschool setting?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, so I will say the emotional regulation thing
goes back to us as occupationaltherapists being.
You know, know, we have toadvocate for our services.
So, um, occupational therapy wetalked about the definition
occupations are anything thatyou do in your daily life.
So obviously you're you.
Both of your jobs are youroccupation.
(13:44):
That you go to and you get paidfor is being a teacher, um, but
your occupations are alsoparents.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
And therapists and a secretary and what else.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, all those things.
But so occupations for childrenis going to school, so anything
that falls under that umbrellaof them being able to
participate in school becausethat is one of their jobs every
day, right, is going to school.
So with that, you have to havethe emotional regulation skills
to participate.
(14:23):
So you have to understandeverybody's like unique.
We call it a sensory profile orthey're the things that they
need more of, less of.
As far there's so many areas ofsensory and then you kind of go
(14:43):
from there.
So sensory is such a bigbuzzword these days I think it
became like a hot topic and theneveryone's like, oh, let me get
this sensory.
I feel like it started with thefidget spinners and I'm like,
just because a kid has autismdoesn't necessarily mean they
need a fidget spinner, right,because that's not in their
(15:06):
sensory profile.
For example, I keep usingXander xander because you know
it's compliant with purpose,right?
Um, but xander's so chill,right, at least he is.
Now I know that that wasn'talways the case right so he
doesn't necessarily need theheavy pressure or crash pad
(15:30):
before he participates in OTthat day or even in just in
school, because he that's, hissensory profile is already there
.
So but you can use for thesechildren who are dysregulated in
the sense of needing moremovement.
We do use movement breaks.
So I have the trampolines, wehave the swing in our sensory
(15:54):
room.
You guys have different thingsFor a kid whose sensory profile
might include that they're verythey're auditory, very sensitive
to auditory input so they'reusing the noise canceling
headphones.
Some of their accommodations ontheir IEP might include testing
in a quiet room, things likethat.
(16:17):
You're not going to play reallyloud music for those kids
because that's going to upsetthem or get them dysregulated.
Visual supports for themovement breaks being able to
make that choice and choose tohave a movement break is always
good.
I think it's good also forteachers and therapists and it's
(16:40):
something I strive to work on.
More is making helping thechildren become more independent
and understanding where they'reat sensory wise.
So as best as we can, teachingthem the tools to tell us what
they need.
As far as it's called, so thenonce you get your sensory
(17:03):
profile, it's called a sensorydiet.
So it's the things that theyneed to help them stay regulated
.
In particular to them hasnothing to do with like a diet
of food you actually eat, but itmight right For a kid who likes
to chew on the end of theirpencils which isn't the best
choice then you might give themTwizzlers or something else
(17:24):
chewy.
That's like a more appropriatething to eat or chew on than a
wooden pencil or picking attheir skin or something like
that.
I recently actually had a parathat we work with at the school.
She works with a generaleducation student but she had
asked me for some strategies.
He was picking at his skin alot and hurt I mean hurting
(17:48):
himself, but it was as she couldtell he was.
It was during times of likenervous things, like during
testing and stuff like that.
So she asked me for strategiesand I saw a good idea of like
the little Velcro dots and youput them on the table I know you
guys have like the little bumpystickers on your tables but and
you pull off the Velcro dotsand maybe putting him five or
six on his desk so he can pullthose off instead of pulling out
(18:11):
his skin.
So sometimes it's something justas simple as that.
And then that way he's incharge of that right.
He has to put them back, he canask for them, but then it's
helping him with, you know, hisone particular sensory thing.
But that wasn't necessarily.
I just try to tell people, justbecause it says sensory doesn't
(18:32):
mean it's necessarily going towork for everyone.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Well, you know, somebody was sitting in their
office one day and and realizesome business person realized oh
, wow, yeah, that word iseverywhere.
So what can we stick it to?
To upcharge people for stuff.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Congratulations, you won.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
And then listen.
It's a great tool to, like youknow, start with when you're
searching for parents and stuff.
But I just tell them sometimesjust to ask if that's even
something they need, because Ihave found where you give kids a
fidget and then they're moredistracted by the fidget you
know.
So then it's not helping forwhat you need.
(19:12):
So you have to find somethingagain that's meaningful to the
student and also for the teacherso they don't drive you crazy,
cause I know some of thesuggestions we make.
Sometimes I get the looks fromteachers that are like you're
kidding me, right.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I always follow with.
I need you to explain that tome because I know you know more
about this than I do, so help meright, I always follow with.
I need you to explain that tome because I know you know more
about this than I do, so help meunderstand.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
So, talking about the paraprofessional that came to
you and you know that youcollaborated with to help this
student, is there other, anyother instances that you can
think of anything that standsout when you've collaborated
with teachers to help a studentsucceed in the classroom?
And you don't just work withthe students in our classrooms,
(20:03):
You're also working withstudents that are primarily in
the general education classroomas well primarily in the general
education classroom as well.
And so teachers might say wellhey, I can't have a trampoline
in my room, so what are somestrategies?
Speaker 2 (20:24):
that you have collaborated with classroom
teachers.
So I do think that I think aschool occupational therapist
end goal should be if thestudent were going to age or we
say age out or not receiveservices anymore is to be able
to integrate these skills andtools and interventions that we
(20:46):
suggest into their daily schoolroutine.
Right, because then even thoughthey might be getting less
services, but then they're usingthe services more throughout
their day, which I think shouldbe our end goal.
So I think a lot you knoweverybody has to work on it more
but collaborating with thesegeneral ed teachers and, like
(21:06):
you said, now you can have thetrampoline in.
But maybe we made movementbreak cards where we've taught
the student to be independentenough that a pair or somebody
can walk with them to thesensory room and he can use that
and then he can come back.
So she can't have it in herroom, but the student has become
independent enough that heknows when to ask for it and
then he can go use it and thenhe can come back and continue
(21:28):
his school day as normal.
Continue his school day asnormal.
A particular story that I hadrecently that I really liked was
the high school student I wassaying, she had a job in the
library, so for that block ofher day her teachers quote,
quote were the librarians.
(21:49):
And then she did have aparaprofessional with her and
she is in a power wheelchair, soshe was having a hard time
wiping.
One of her job duties for thatclass was wiping the library
tables.
On a power wheelchair, when thechairs are all pushed in it's
very hard to access the middleof the table.
And so we, the librarians andthe para and I, collaborated
(22:14):
together and we decided we trieda Swiffer that has a long
handle and we put the white, theClorox wipes or Lysol wipes
that she was using, showed herhow to put those on the Swiffer,
and then she used that.
So then she wasn't.
It was easier for her becauseshe wasn't having to move her
chair.
She wasn't having to, parawasn't having to move the chairs
(22:35):
out from the table so she canmove her power wheelchair up to
the table.
So she became more independent,right, because she no longer
needed Para's assistance.
And then it was easier for herand I am all about working
smarter, not harder for her, andI am all about working smarter,
(22:59):
not harder.
Um, and then she you know westill work, accomplishing her
goal of what the librarianswanted from her, which was
that's what they wanted her todo for her academic thing there.
As far as collaborating, I knowfor you guys we collaborate all
the time.
I see, like you said, we seeeach other all the time Since I
convinced our principal to putmy lovely room right there.
But you know, working on thingsthat like, if I'm using a
(23:21):
special kind of paper oradaptive writing tool, like
we're getting a grip orsomething, making sure that I'm
suggesting something that iseasy access, right, that I'm
suggesting something that iseasy access right I have as an
OT.
I have all the fancy stuff and Iaccess to it through the school
or through my own self becauseI've bought it over the years.
(23:43):
But it doesn't do any good tosuggest something that the kid's
not going to have access tothroughout their whole school
day.
Right Right, I can use thefancy things in my session and
that's great, but it doesn't dothe kid any good if it's
something that they can't useall the time.
So I do try to, whencollaborating, making sure that
we make it practical too,because I think that the age of
(24:06):
social media, we see all theselike awesome, elaborate things
but, as we all know, funds arelimited.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Well, half the time they don't like those expensive
things.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Right, yes, yes, and not only funds limited for us,
right, cause I know you guyspersonally and I know the team
that you work with and they allgo above and beyond and buy what
the students need if they, ifwe think they need it, sometimes
out of our own pockets, whichmakes the team great.
But, um, also for the parents,right?
(24:38):
I?
I also do outpatient therapyand I have learned over the
years that a lot of people don'thave again the funds and the
things.
And would it be amazing to havea whole sensory room in these
in their houses?
Yeah, but that's not feasible,right?
So I've, instead of crash pads,I've made suggestions for
(25:01):
pulling the couch cushions offyour couch and you do that for
your.
You know your your crash oneach one and then you put the
puzzle pieces in and that's whatyou do before bath time or
something to regulate, so you'renot having to buy the $500
crash pad.
But most people have a couch orsomething like that, right?
So making suggestions thatparents, teachers, other people
(25:25):
in the school can do across theboard, instead of just things
that look and sound fabulousthings that look and sound
fabulous.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Because anytime you add, you know, for students with
disabilities or for specialneeds or adaptive tools, anytime
you add that it seems to addthe dollar signs.
You know we get these catalogsand say, well, this is in this.
You know this catalog forchildren with special needs and
it's $200, but this on Amazon isvery similar and it's half the
(26:00):
price.
And so you know.
I think that that's a goodthing for educators and parents
alike that they need to be toresearch it.
Don't just go because it saysit's for children with autism or
children with special needs orpeople with sensory processing
disorders.
They really need to look andsee if they can find things that
(26:22):
are similar but not necessarilylabeled as such, to help them
save a few dollars save, save afew dollars, right, and that's
where your other to add to yourroles, your occupation.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
You know, I think we we've become engineers sometimes
, right, we've like I've riggedup some things.
Um, before where you know, Ihad a student that it was really
meaningful to him, anotherstudent in a wheelchair.
I feel like that's where wereally do the like cool tool
stuff.
Sometimes it's like older highschool kids and it was
(26:59):
meaningful to him to be able toopen the door by himself.
Um, and so in the school day,because he didn't want to have
to.
He wanted to zoom through thehalls, so he didn't want to have
to wait for his pair to catchup.
Um, and so I adapted one ofthose like reachers that we tend
to usually only use with olderpeople.
I put a little hook on the endinstead, and so then he could
(27:21):
hook it, the handle, and openthe door by himself.
So, but if I would have foundthat on the internet, it
probably would have cost lots ofmoney.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Oh sure, so I would like to just highlight something
really quick, because you'vemade this point in every one of
your stories, and I think it'svery important for all of us as
listeners to keep in mind whatit is that you're doing.
That you're doing when youstarted talking about the
(27:52):
student that cleans the tablesin the library, she couldn't get
it done the way that she wasdoing it.
What you did not do is just say, oh well, she can't do it,
let's find another job.
You helped find a way to helpher be successful.
The student opening the doorwell, we're just going to have
(28:15):
to make sure that they put thebuttons in that when you push it
, it opens the door for you.
Because we know this and it'shard to have conversations with
parents Parents love their kids,but the world is not going to
change for them.
So it is our job as the IEPteam looking specifically in
schools, to do everything we canto position our children for
(28:40):
success, not make the world Nowwould it be great if the world
could just accept everydisability from the standpoint
of saying we can changeeverything to make it easier for
everybody.
Well, sure, but again, it's nothappening.
And so what you're doing andwhat your co-workers do is let's
(29:02):
find ways to make the studentsuccessful instead of teaching
them to expect the world tochange around them.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Well, not only successful, successful, but to
do it successfully andindependently.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Independently.
Yes.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Independently, because one student in the
library could be successful ifthe para moved the chairs.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Well, that's true.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
They could still be successful, but fostering that
independence is huge.
Like you said, the otherstudent didn't want to have to
wait for anybody, he wanted todo it himself.
Our kids want to do thingsthemselves.
Now are they going to let us dothings for them?
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Yes, and if we keep doing it for them, they're going
to keep letting us do it forthem.
However, you know, as they grow, they do want that independence
and that was one of the thingsI picked up when, Taylor, you
were sharing a lot of yourthings.
Is that fostering thatindependence?
And to be successful?
Speaker 2 (30:03):
And we use the term in occupational therapy when
creating our goals.
Sometimes IEP goals are wordeda little bit differently, but I
use it a lot, especially with myoutpatient goal making in the
inpatient acute care.
We call it modifiedindependence.
So they're still doing itindependently but it's modified
(30:23):
to them because, for example,going patient will take a shower
by herself without falling.
That's independently.
You know, that's the goal,that's independence.
Right, I could still take ashower by myself without falling
, but in order to do that I haveto have a shower chair that I
(30:47):
can go in and sit in so thenthat's made it modified
independent.
So we use that in our goal thatway, if anyone ever says, well,
technically they didn't do itindependently, so I like that
the modified independence, um,which is what a lot of our
students are doing.
Right, we've the iep team.
(31:09):
That's what the iep right,you're creating goals because
the end is modified independence.
I mean, we're modifying theireducational plan so that they
can be successful and, with theteachers and the therapists and
everything, we're making surethat they can have what they
(31:30):
need to be successful andsuccessful and independent.
I think you know, go hand inhand as far as the school system
goes.
And then we're also making surethat, like you said, the world
isn't going to change for them.
But you know, I do like alittle bit of forced inclusion
sometimes, right, you know whoyou're talking to.
(31:54):
If we give, if we set thestudent up with the tools that
they need, then when they gointo the general education
setting, then we're not having,you know, some of the teachers
who don't have a specialeducation things.
I'm not saying that they're notgreat teachers, but they don't
(32:16):
have you know resources, that weall do.
But if you send the student withthe tools, then there's that
forced inclusion.
It's like, well, you can takethem now because we have them
set up for what they need.
Um, so it helps that teacherand it helps the student and it
helps us because it helps uswith our goal of because you
know we would like inclusioneverywhere.
(32:38):
Right, I know that doesn'talways exist and then, but if
you give them the tools, thenyou can right.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
So All right, so check this out.
Ms Taylor, we're going to wrapup this time together.
Okay this out.
Miss taylor, we're gonna wrapup this time together, okay, so
let's say that this is the lasttime that you get to speak to
somebody concerning ot.
Okay, this is, this is your oneshot.
(33:07):
This is what you want them toto live with for the rest of
their life.
Never forget because, like,maybe you're gonna win the
lottery and go live on an islandsomewhere and nobody ever hears
from you again, because that'swhat we do when we win the
lottery.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
She is leaving us.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
I'm not getting into all that.
What is that one message thatyou would want our parents,
teachers, students to hear?
Speaker 2 (33:38):
our parents, teachers , students to hear.
I think that occupationaltherapists in the school's job
is to empower students to be asindependent and as engaged as
possible in their day-to-dayschool life, and we do that by
balancing these direct servicesand then the consultative
services and looking at theirIEP goals and determining where
(34:00):
our services would benefit thestudent the most.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Well, thank you so much.
It's been fun having you hangout with us.
That was a great answer.
I'd have been like um, so benice to each other.
Yours was way better.
Yeah, all right.
Well, taylor, again thank youfor hanging out with us and chit
chatting for a little bit.
Uh, we're going to go ahead andwrap this up and we'll see you
(34:28):
tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Tomorrow.
All right, I'll be there, allright tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Tomorrow.
All right, I'll be there, allright, thank you.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Have a good night.
so at the time of this recording, it is monday
evening, april 21st.
I'm very excited about thisweek for three reasons, for
reasons thrice.
Number one one Thursday is theNFL draft.
Number two we are one weekcloser to the end of school, we
(00:33):
have five weeks left.
And number three is our guestthis evening.
Now, this is somebody who we'vehad the privilege of working
with, I think, for the majorityof our time at our current
school, so it's probably beenwhat about four years-ish.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Four years, is that right?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I think so, and so she's one of those that.
So every once in a while, lauraand I will meet young ladies,
and it's like, man, I wish wehad another son, because I want
that kid in our family.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
And tonight's guest is one of those.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
She's so much fun but at the same time, has so much
to share a whole lot ofknowledge on the topic of
occupational therapy.
So now what I'm going to do isI'm going to hand it over to my
better half and let herintroduce you, even though I
sort of already did.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Well, it's like this is becoming a trend and they're
going to think, oh, she justsays everybody's their friend,
but I mean, it's true.
So we forge these relationshipswith these service providers
and parents and coworkers.
And so, once again, this is,you know, started as a coworker.
Now consider a friend.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
It is the occupational therapist and one
of the two three in the countyand one of the two three in the
county, two evaluatingoccupational therapists, which
is me, and then another personwho's actually a friend of mine,
a true friend plus colleague,and her name is Courtney Joseph.
(02:01):
And then we have oh, weactually have Wendy Yoder.
She is an OT as well, and thenwe have two occupational therapy
assistants.
So they basically do everythingwe do, minus, I say, the
paperwork.
They were the smart ones.
True, they have their own setof paperwork, for sure, but they
don't do the evaluations andthings.
(02:21):
That's all it is is adifference in degree, but as far
as treating, they do the sameexact thing we do, and actually
both of them have been.
They're treating longer than me, so they have even more
knowledge, probably, than me onsome things.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And when she says me, this is Taylor Pinson and, like
Jared said, we've had theprivilege of working with her
more this year, I think, thanany of the others Before.
We kind of saw you bop in andout and now we get to see her
the majority of the week.
And she also works with Xanderat the high school and helping
(02:59):
him with learning his PIN numberand using his card, at helping
him learn how to use his card sowhen we go places he can either
swipe or tap and know his PINnumber.
So she is everywhere in thecounty, I think, and so that's
(03:23):
Taylor, and so that's Taylor.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
So occupational therapy sounds kind of scary.
I think it's one of thosethings where so here's a great
example.
So last week we had Miss Eliontalking about speech and even
that it's real easy to assumethings that just aren't true.
(03:47):
You know, you think you hearspeech and you think, ok, well,
that just has to do with talking.
So we're going to teach themhow to talk good and.
But occupational therapy soundslike sounds scary because it
sounds painful.
Whenever you think of therapy atleast me.
When I think of therapy, Ithink of getting you know,
twisted and popped and like allof those other things to try to
(04:08):
make your body work the way thatit's supposed to.
But what I have learned in ourtime with Miss Taylor and others
like her is that that's not thecase, that occupational therapy
is something completelydifferent.
So what I think I'm going to doright now is we'll turn it over
to you, the expert, ms Taylor,and help us understand what
occupational therapy is.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
So I will say you know, sometimes we are causing
pain.
We don't think we try to.
Probably more in the adultworld, I will say that one of
the beautiful things aboutoccupational therapy and why I
chose it as a profession, arethere is so much that we do Not
one occupational therapist isdoing the same exact thing as
(04:51):
another.
I have friends that work in theschool system in South Carolina
and they're like y'all do what?
Or you know.
Vice versa, we have a scope ofpractice, of course, but friends
that work in the adult therapyworld are doing totally
different things.
One of my jobs is at thehospital system here in Camden
as well, and I'm working withadults after surgery or if
(05:14):
they've been sick, and I'mhelping get all the hospital bed
and getting back to go into thebathroom on their own and
showering, and those are thingsthat we do with children.
But in the school systemspecifically, we are helping
them develop the skills thatthey need to fully participate
in their educational journey.
So, whether that's fine motorskills for handwriting,
(05:37):
supporting the sensoryregulation so they can focus and
attend to their classwork,working on independence and
self-care tasks, using classroomtools, pencils, scissors, glue
sticks For older kids, it'sthose vocational skills, like
you mentioned what we're doingwith Xander.
So, and then beyond that,collaborating with the teachers
(06:00):
and the staff and then thefamilies to adapt things so that
these students, regardless oftheir ability, have access to
learning that's meaningful forthem, Because I do think
everybody can participate withthe right support.
So occupational therapy isessentially just one of those
(06:20):
supports among many that theschools offer for students.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
I like the word meaningful.
That's really good, becausewhat it does is it requires you
to actually take the time tolearn the student that you're
working with and all the thingsthat you set up to that
definitely support it, andthat's why you can talk to your
friends that do the same thingand hear that they may be
occupational therapists, buttheir methods in this particular
situation are different thanones that you use.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Because you're taking the time to learn that student
and help provide them what theyneed to have to have as
successful as life as possibleis much different than just
showing up and saying well, thisis what I do and I'm going to
(07:14):
run you through the ropes ofthis, that and the other and not
take the time to find out whatit is that you really need to
excel in your life Right, andthat's really is the basis for
occupational therapy in generalprofessional doctorate and the.
You dive way more into like theresearch and the background and
the profession than you do withjust my master's level program
and we talk about making surenot only what we do as
(07:36):
therapists is evidence-basedright, because we don't want to
be doing something that has noresearch behind it, but also is
meaningful to the client orstudent or whoever you're
working with.
So we use that word meaningfula lot and making sure for OT
it's holistic, it's not justlooking at one thing but looking
(07:57):
at the whole person.
For example, if we have astudent which we've talked about
before, who maybe is writingessays is not going to be their
end goal in life, then we at acertain point we're not going to
be working on writing fiveparagraphs for school because
that would not be meaningful tothem.
(08:19):
And then that's when in highschool and middle school, we
transitioned to more of thosevocational tasks.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Right and because if they're not going to be doing
these tasks and that, like yousaid, it's not meaningful, it's
not, and then we're just goingto meet frustrations and they
won't understand why we'rehaving them do that bit about
tailing those interventions fortheir needs.
(08:49):
How does that go?
How does that work?
Going across like the differentgrade levels, like from
preschool to high school?
Speaker 2 (08:59):
So I think the one thing about occupational therapy
and our background is we dohave a lot of background
knowledge on those developmentalstages and progression.
You know a lot of ourcoursework with our programs
focuses on that.
So knowing students wherethey're at developmentally, as
opposed to just, oh, they're infirst grade.
(09:20):
They should be working on thisBecause, as you all know, we
have a lot of first graders thatmay be on paper or technically
working on preschool things onpaper or technically working on
preschool things, but we'remeeting them where they're at.
So for preschoolers I may focuson like the foundational skills.
So fine, motor development,play is so important.
(09:42):
You have to have this playskills.
And then they carry over to theother skills sensory processing
and even in preschool you'restill doing those like beginning
self-care routines.
So, like at school, that'sgoing to the other skills
sensory processing.
And even in preschool you'restill doing those.
Like beginning self-careroutines.
So, like at school, that'sgoing to the bathroom feeding
yourself at lunch.
Opening packages so I think weopen pack, work on opening
packages all the way up untilhigh school and then in
(10:06):
elementary school we shift moretowards like the stuff for
classroom success.
So handwriting, attention, tool, use, you know, glue scissors
though I have some teachers thatsay please don't use scissors,
they're scary.
Or parents that are like thanksa lot, my kid came home and cut
their hair, they learned a newskill.
(10:28):
Or, you know, I have theparents that send me pictures of
their kid where they coloredall over their wall and they're
like but they wrote their nameand I'm like well, there you go
um.
So in elementary school I thinkmore of those classroom, that
classroom activities, and thenin middle and high school we're
moving towards executivefunctioning organization.
(10:53):
I work on a lot withconsultatively helping the kids
just get back organized for thattime that I see them that month
.
So cleaning out their book bag,helping them work on like a
folder system for keeping thingson their own.
Work on like a folder systemfor keeping things on their own
(11:15):
because they are moreindependent in those older
grades and they're expected tokeep their things organized on
their own.
Well, in elementary school yourteacher is going to put it in
the folder for you and take itout for you um, and then working
on the vocational tasks, jobreadiness for those kids,
especially for the kids who arestaying up until in Georgia you
can stay until your 22ndbirthday so making sure that
(11:38):
they work on skills that they'regoing to do once they age out
of school.
And then the independent livingskills.
So, like you said for Xander,we were working on the debit
card thing.
Y'all did have to go and movethis year so we had to re-warn
his new address after he got hisold address down.
Pat, um, but working on.
(12:02):
I have a student that their jobat the high school is working
with the janitors, so we workedon skills that he could use when
, as that was his like, one ofhis blocks in his school day was
that or um.
I have a story that I was goingto mention later and one of her
blocks in her school day isworking in the library and
(12:23):
keeping the library clean, soworking on those kind of skills
and you talked a little bit oryou mentioned, when you were
talking about how you do theinterventions and some of the
things that you help thesestudents with.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
And one of the things you discussed was the sensory
processing challenges which, andI have to be honest, until we
had a shared student with aco-lab teacher this year and
they suggested maybe we seeabout OT, maybe they can help
you know, maybe Ms Taylor canhelp you know, with some of that
(12:58):
emotional regulation.
I didn't know that that waspart of your job, but can you
talk to us about.
So what are some strategiesthat you use as an occupational
therapist to help these studentsthat have these sensory
processing challenges, help themregulate their emotions and
(13:19):
improve their behaviors in theschool setting?
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Yeah, so I will say the emotional regulation thing
goes back to us as occupationaltherapists being.
You know, know, we have toadvocate for our services.
So, um, occupational therapy wetalked about the definition
occupations are anything thatyou do in your daily life.
So obviously you're you.
Both of your jobs are youroccupation.
(13:44):
That you go to and you get paidfor is being a teacher, um, but
your occupations are alsoparents.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
And therapists and a secretary and what else.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, all those things.
But so occupations for childrenis going to school, so anything
that falls under that umbrellaof them being able to
participate in school becausethat is one of their jobs every
day, right, is going to school.
So with that, you have to havethe emotional regulation skills
to participate.
(14:23):
So you have to understandeverybody's like unique.
We call it a sensory profile orthey're the things that they
need more of, less of.
As far there's so many areas ofsensory and then you kind of go
(14:43):
from there.
So sensory is such a bigbuzzword these days I think it
became like a hot topic and theneveryone's like, oh, let me get
this sensory.
I feel like it started with thefidget spinners and I'm like,
just because a kid has autismdoesn't necessarily mean they
need a fidget spinner, right,because that's not in their
(15:06):
sensory profile.
For example, I keep usingXander xander because you know
it's compliant with purpose,right?
Um, but xander's so chill,right, at least he is.
Now I know that that wasn'talways the case right so he
doesn't necessarily need theheavy pressure or crash pad
(15:30):
before he participates in OTthat day or even in just in
school, because he that's, hissensory profile is already there
.
So but you can use for thesechildren who are dysregulated in
the sense of needing moremovement.
We do use movement breaks.
So I have the trampolines, wehave the swing in our sensory
(15:54):
room.
You guys have different thingsFor a kid whose sensory profile
might include that they're verythey're auditory, very sensitive
to auditory input so they'reusing the noise canceling
headphones.
Some of their accommodations ontheir IEP might include testing
in a quiet room, things likethat.
(16:17):
You're not going to play reallyloud music for those kids
because that's going to upsetthem or get them dysregulated.
Visual supports for themovement breaks being able to
make that choice and choose tohave a movement break is always
good.
I think it's good also forteachers and therapists and it's
(16:40):
something I strive to work on.
More is making helping thechildren become more independent
and understanding where they'reat sensory wise.
So as best as we can, teachingthem the tools to tell us what
they need.
As far as it's called, so thenonce you get your sensory
(17:03):
profile, it's called a sensorydiet.
So it's the things that theyneed to help them stay regulated
.
In particular to them hasnothing to do with like a diet
of food you actually eat, but itmight right For a kid who likes
to chew on the end of theirpencils which isn't the best
choice then you might give themTwizzlers or something else
(17:24):
chewy.
That's like a more appropriatething to eat or chew on than a
wooden pencil or picking attheir skin or something like
that.
I recently actually had a parathat we work with at the school.
She works with a generaleducation student but she had
asked me for some strategies.
He was picking at his skin alot and hurt I mean hurting
(17:48):
himself, but it was as she couldtell he was.
It was during times of likenervous things, like during
testing and stuff like that.
So she asked me for strategiesand I saw a good idea of like
the little Velcro dots and youput them on the table I know you
guys have like the little bumpystickers on your tables but and
you pull off the Velcro dotsand maybe putting him five or
six on his desk so he can pullthose off instead of pulling out
(18:11):
his skin.
So sometimes it's something justas simple as that.
And then that way he's incharge of that right.
He has to put them back, he canask for them, but then it's
helping him with, you know, hisone particular sensory thing.
But that wasn't necessarily.
I just try to tell people, justbecause it says sensory doesn't
(18:32):
mean it's necessarily going towork for everyone.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Well, you know, somebody was sitting in their
office one day and and realizesome business person realized oh
, wow, yeah, that word iseverywhere.
So what can we stick it to?
To upcharge people for stuff.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Congratulations, you won.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
And then listen.
It's a great tool to, like youknow, start with when you're
searching for parents and stuff.
But I just tell them sometimesjust to ask if that's even
something they need, because Ihave found where you give kids a
fidget and then they're moredistracted by the fidget you
know.
So then it's not helping forwhat you need.
(19:12):
So you have to find somethingagain that's meaningful to the
student and also for the teacherso they don't drive you crazy,
cause I know some of thesuggestions we make.
Sometimes I get the looks fromteachers that are like you're
kidding me, right.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I always follow with.
I need you to explain that tome because I know you know more
about this than I do, so help meright, I always follow with.
I need you to explain that tome because I know you know more
about this than I do, so help meunderstand.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
So, talking about the paraprofessional that came to
you and you know that youcollaborated with to help this
student, is there other, anyother instances that you can
think of anything that standsout when you've collaborated
with teachers to help a studentsucceed in the classroom?
And you don't just work withthe students in our classrooms,
(20:03):
You're also working withstudents that are primarily in
the general education classroomas well primarily in the general
education classroom as well.
And so teachers might say wellhey, I can't have a trampoline
in my room, so what are somestrategies?
Speaker 2 (20:24):
that you have collaborated with classroom
teachers.
So I do think that I think aschool occupational therapist
end goal should be if thestudent were going to age or we
say age out or not receiveservices anymore is to be able
to integrate these skills andtools and interventions that we
(20:46):
suggest into their daily schoolroutine.
Right, because then even thoughthey might be getting less
services, but then they're usingthe services more throughout
their day, which I think shouldbe our end goal.
So I think a lot you knoweverybody has to work on it more
but collaborating with thesegeneral ed teachers and, like
(21:06):
you said, now you can have thetrampoline in.
But maybe we made movementbreak cards where we've taught
the student to be independentenough that a pair or somebody
can walk with them to thesensory room and he can use that
and then he can come back.
So she can't have it in herroom, but the student has become
independent enough that heknows when to ask for it and
then he can go use it and thenhe can come back and continue
(21:28):
his school day as normal.
Continue his school day asnormal.
A particular story that I hadrecently that I really liked was
the high school student I wassaying, she had a job in the
library, so for that block ofher day her teachers quote,
quote were the librarians.
(21:49):
And then she did have aparaprofessional with her and
she is in a power wheelchair, soshe was having a hard time
wiping.
One of her job duties for thatclass was wiping the library
tables.
On a power wheelchair, when thechairs are all pushed in it's
very hard to access the middleof the table.
And so we, the librarians andthe para and I, collaborated
(22:14):
together and we decided we trieda Swiffer that has a long
handle and we put the white, theClorox wipes or Lysol wipes
that she was using, showed herhow to put those on the Swiffer,
and then she used that.
So then she wasn't.
It was easier for her becauseshe wasn't having to move her
chair.
She wasn't having to, parawasn't having to move the chairs
(22:35):
out from the table so she canmove her power wheelchair up to
the table.
So she became more independent,right, because she no longer
needed Para's assistance.
And then it was easier for herand I am all about working
smarter, not harder for her, andI am all about working smarter,
(22:59):
not harder.
Um, and then she you know westill work, accomplishing her
goal of what the librarianswanted from her, which was
that's what they wanted her todo for her academic thing there.
As far as collaborating, I knowfor you guys we collaborate all
the time.
I see, like you said, we seeeach other all the time Since I
convinced our principal to putmy lovely room right there.
But you know, working on thingsthat like, if I'm using a
(23:21):
special kind of paper oradaptive writing tool, like
we're getting a grip orsomething, making sure that I'm
suggesting something that iseasy access, right, that I'm
suggesting something that iseasy access right I have as an
OT.
I have all the fancy stuff and Iaccess to it through the school
or through my own self becauseI've bought it over the years.
(23:43):
But it doesn't do any good tosuggest something that the kid's
not going to have access tothroughout their whole school
day.
Right Right, I can use thefancy things in my session and
that's great, but it doesn't dothe kid any good if it's
something that they can't useall the time.
So I do try to, whencollaborating, making sure that
we make it practical too,because I think that the age of
(24:06):
social media, we see all theselike awesome, elaborate things
but, as we all know, funds arelimited.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Well, half the time they don't like those expensive
things.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Right, yes, yes, and not only funds limited for us,
right, cause I know you guyspersonally and I know the team
that you work with and they allgo above and beyond and buy what
the students need if they, ifwe think they need it, sometimes
out of our own pockets, whichmakes the team great.
But, um, also for the parents,right?
(24:38):
I?
I also do outpatient therapyand I have learned over the
years that a lot of people don'thave again the funds and the
things.
And would it be amazing to havea whole sensory room in these
in their houses?
Yeah, but that's not feasible,right?
So I've, instead of crash pads,I've made suggestions for
(25:01):
pulling the couch cushions offyour couch and you do that for
your.
You know your your crash oneach one and then you put the
puzzle pieces in and that's whatyou do before bath time or
something to regulate, so you'renot having to buy the $500
crash pad.
But most people have a couch orsomething like that, right?
So making suggestions thatparents, teachers, other people
(25:25):
in the school can do across theboard, instead of just things
that look and sound fabulousthings that look and sound
fabulous.
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Because anytime you add, you know, for students with
disabilities or for specialneeds or adaptive tools, anytime
you add that it seems to addthe dollar signs.
You know we get these catalogsand say, well, this is in this.
You know this catalog forchildren with special needs and
it's $200, but this on Amazon isvery similar and it's half the
(26:00):
price.
And so you know.
I think that that's a goodthing for educators and parents
alike that they need to be toresearch it.
Don't just go because it saysit's for children with autism or
children with special needs orpeople with sensory processing
disorders.
They really need to look andsee if they can find things that
(26:22):
are similar but not necessarilylabeled as such, to help them
save a few dollars save, save afew dollars, right, and that's
where your other to add to yourroles, your occupation.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
You know, I think we we've become engineers sometimes
, right, we've like I've riggedup some things.
Um, before where you know, Ihad a student that it was really
meaningful to him, anotherstudent in a wheelchair.
I feel like that's where wereally do the like cool tool
stuff.
Sometimes it's like older highschool kids and it was
(26:59):
meaningful to him to be able toopen the door by himself.
Um, and so in the school day,because he didn't want to have
to.
He wanted to zoom through thehalls, so he didn't want to have
to wait for his pair to catchup.
Um, and so I adapted one ofthose like reachers that we tend
to usually only use with olderpeople.
I put a little hook on the endinstead, and so then he could
(27:21):
hook it, the handle, and openthe door by himself.
So, but if I would have foundthat on the internet, it
probably would have cost lots ofmoney.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Oh sure, so I would like to just highlight something
really quick, because you'vemade this point in every one of
your stories, and I think it'svery important for all of us as
listeners to keep in mind whatit is that you're doing.
That you're doing when youstarted talking about the
(27:52):
student that cleans the tablesin the library, she couldn't get
it done the way that she wasdoing it.
What you did not do is just say, oh well, she can't do it,
let's find another job.
You helped find a way to helpher be successful.
The student opening the doorwell, we're just going to have
(28:15):
to make sure that they put thebuttons in that when you push it
, it opens the door for you.
Because we know this and it'shard to have conversations with
parents Parents love their kids,but the world is not going to
change for them.
So it is our job as the IEPteam looking specifically in
schools, to do everything we canto position our children for
(28:40):
success, not make the world Nowwould it be great if the world
could just accept everydisability from the standpoint
of saying we can changeeverything to make it easier for
everybody.
Well, sure, but again, it's nothappening.
And so what you're doing andwhat your co-workers do is let's
(29:02):
find ways to make the studentsuccessful instead of teaching
them to expect the world tochange around them.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
Well, not only successful, successful, but to
do it successfully andindependently.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
Independently.
Yes.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Independently, because one student in the
library could be successful ifthe para moved the chairs.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Well, that's true.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
They could still be successful, but fostering that
independence is huge.
Like you said, the otherstudent didn't want to have to
wait for anybody, he wanted todo it himself.
Our kids want to do thingsthemselves.
Now are they going to let us dothings for them?
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Yes, and if we keep doing it for them, they're going
to keep letting us do it forthem.
However, you know, as they grow, they do want that independence
and that was one of the thingsI picked up when, Taylor, you
were sharing a lot of yourthings.
Is that fostering thatindependence?
And to be successful?
Speaker 2 (30:03):
And we use the term in occupational therapy when
creating our goals.
Sometimes IEP goals are wordeda little bit differently, but I
use it a lot, especially with myoutpatient goal making in the
inpatient acute care.
We call it modifiedindependence.
So they're still doing itindependently but it's modified
(30:23):
to them because, for example,going patient will take a shower
by herself without falling.
That's independently.
You know, that's the goal,that's independence.
Right, I could still take ashower by myself without falling
, but in order to do that I haveto have a shower chair that I
(30:47):
can go in and sit in so thenthat's made it modified
independent.
So we use that in our goal thatway, if anyone ever says, well,
technically they didn't do itindependently, so I like that
the modified independence, um,which is what a lot of our
students are doing.
Right, we've the iep team.
(31:09):
That's what the iep right,you're creating goals because
the end is modified independence.
I mean, we're modifying theireducational plan so that they
can be successful and, with theteachers and the therapists and
everything, we're making surethat they can have what they
(31:30):
need to be successful andsuccessful and independent.
I think you know, go hand inhand as far as the school system
goes.
And then we're also making surethat, like you said, the world
isn't going to change for them.
But you know, I do like alittle bit of forced inclusion
sometimes, right, you know whoyou're talking to.
(31:54):
If we give, if we set thestudent up with the tools that
they need, then when they gointo the general education
setting, then we're not having,you know, some of the teachers
who don't have a specialeducation things.
I'm not saying that they're notgreat teachers, but they don't
(32:16):
have you know resources, that weall do.
But if you send the student withthe tools, then there's that
forced inclusion.
It's like, well, you can takethem now because we have them
set up for what they need.
Um, so it helps that teacherand it helps the student and it
helps us because it helps uswith our goal of because you
know we would like inclusioneverywhere.
(32:38):
Right, I know that doesn'talways exist and then, but if
you give them the tools, thenyou can right.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
So All right, so check this out.
Ms Taylor, we're going to wrapup this time together.
Okay this out.
Miss taylor, we're gonna wrapup this time together, okay, so
let's say that this is the lasttime that you get to speak to
somebody concerning ot.
Okay, this is, this is your oneshot.
(33:07):
This is what you want them toto live with for the rest of
their life.
Never forget because, like,maybe you're gonna win the
lottery and go live on an islandsomewhere and nobody ever hears
from you again, because that'swhat we do when we win the
lottery.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
She is leaving us.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
I'm not getting into all that.
What is that one message thatyou would want our parents,
teachers, students to hear?
Speaker 2 (33:38):
our parents, teachers , students to hear.
I think that occupationaltherapists in the school's job
is to empower students to be asindependent and as engaged as
possible in their day-to-dayschool life, and we do that by
balancing these direct servicesand then the consultative
services and looking at theirIEP goals and determining where
(34:00):
our services would benefit thestudent the most.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
Well, thank you so much.
It's been fun having you hangout with us.
That was a great answer.
I'd have been like um, so benice to each other.
Yours was way better.
Yeah, all right.
Well, taylor, again thank youfor hanging out with us and chit
chatting for a little bit.
Uh, we're going to go ahead andwrap this up and we'll see you
(34:28):
tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (34:29):
Tomorrow.
All right, I'll be there, allright tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Tomorrow.
All right, I'll be there, allright, thank you.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Have a good night.
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