The Lasso of Learning: Chronicles of a School-Based OT

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

My name is Sheron, and I am a school-based occupational therapist who wants to share some of my experiences as an educator and healthcare provider. So a little about me…I have been an occupational therapist for 20 years, primarily in pediatrics, though I dabble a bit with per diem contracts for adults. I absolutely love working with kids, and I started my career in a pediatric outpatient setting. I have also worked in early intervention, provided home care services for both peds and adults, worked with our most fragile babies in the NICU, and worked in pediatric inpatient and acute care units. Healthcare laid the foundation for my pediatric knowledge, and I enjoyed my time working in those settings. But life changed for me, and I wanted to be more available to my own children. So when a school-based position that just so happened to be in the same district where my kids attended was presented to me, I jumped at the opportunity. I was uncertain, but through prayer, I knew that I was making the right decision when I switched to education. And while I do miss some aspects of healthcare, education has provided me with a different type of challenge in pediatrics. I have somehow not only become the school OT but am now also considered an educator, an entirely new role that I didn’t realize I was taking on.

Curriculum design, instruction, learning standards, coteaching??? I definitely did not sign up for all of that! Or did I? I just wanted to be an OT in the schools and be on the same schedule as my own kids. I wanted to do all the things that I did in healthcare, but in a school, just a regular OT, right? Well, that most certainly has not been the case. I have found myself learning so much about education, and I have an admiration and respect for teachers because I am seeing firsthand what they do on a daily basis. I get the pleasure of working alongside some of the most amazing educators, and I am learning a lot along the way. I am learning how to use my OT knowledge to help students be more successful in their academic setting. That’s the ultimate goal, right? So as I navigate this process, and take on new experiences so that I can provide the best services to my students, I want to chronicle these journeys, in hopes that someone can learn something new, or at least find humor in my debacles;-) So sit back, and enjoy the ride of my life as not just an OT, but an OT educator for tiny humans.