AOTA partners with the Council of Chief State School Officers to talk inclusive classrooms

A major component of the American Occupational Therapy Association’s (AOTA’s) ongoing effort to promote the unique role of occupational therapy (OT) in the schools is developing partnerships with other education organizations. Recently, AOTA had the opportunity to partner with the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), participating in their Inclusive Leadership Webisode Series. CCSSO is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions.

AOTA’s VP of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, Access, and Belonging, Dr. Varleisha Gibbs, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, and Breanna Lynch, MOT, OTR/L, an occupational therapist on the Mason City, Ohio, school district Prevention and Wellness Team, presented on the role of OT in creating a more inclusive classroom for all students. The focus of the webisode was how schools can use OT to increase access to mental health support to all students, and ways to pay for it.

Building relationships is critical in any effort to expand access to occupational therapy services for all students. The barriers preventing school-based occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants from providing certain services to students, such as self-regulation or sensory interventions, come far more from a lack of understanding than from the law. Ensuring policy makers, especially those in each school, know the full scope and value of occupational therapy will result in schools providing increased access to students in a more effective, efficient manner.

You can view a recording of the webisode on CCSSO’s website.