In this Episode of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast, Jayson Davies welcomes Dr. Jaime Hunter and Dr. Kaisa Syväoja from The College of St. Scholastica to discuss how OT practitioners can utilize grants to advocate for mental health services in schools. Learn how grants can expand your OT practice beyond traditional tier three services, whether you're looking to fund a sensory room, provide professional development, or implement a school-wide mental health initiative.

This conversation demystifies the grant-writing process, offers practical tips for finding and applying for grants at the federal, state, and local levels, and highlights the power of collaboration to sustain impact beyond the grant period—making this a must-listen for OTs ready to expand their role and amplify OT’s value in schools.

Listen now to learn the following objectives:

• Learners will identify how to apply for grants (both small and large) to expand mental health services and other OT initiatives within school settings.
• Learners will understand how to effectively advocate for occupational therapy's role in supporting mental health at all tiers (especially tiers 1 and 2) within school-based practice.
• Learners will develop strategies for creating sustainable partnerships and programs that can continue beyond initial grant funding by demonstrating OT's value to school administrators and staff.

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!

Get ready to blast off into a powerful new way of understanding sensory processing in schools. In this episode, Danielle Pluth and Ruth Isaac—Canadian occupational therapists and creators of the Good Sense OT Rocket Ship—share the innovative visual framework that’s transforming how OTs assess, communicate, and support student participation.

The Rocket Ship helps therapists differentiate sensory-based behaviors from other performance factors, guiding you from foundational sensory regulation all the way up through sensory-motor, reflexes, perceptual motor skills, interoception, and cognitive functions at the top of the “rocket.” This structure gives OTPs a clear map for identifying root causes of behavior and choosing targeted, meaningful school-based strategies that go far beyond “wiggle cushions and chewelry.”

Whether you’re brand-new to sensory integration or have years of experience, this conversation will deepen your clinical reasoning, strengthen your confidence, and help you clearly communicate sensory needs to teachers, parents, and IEP teams. If you’ve been searching for a practical, visually powerful way to explain sensory processing to your teams and build stronger intervention plans, the Good Sense Rocket Ship may be exactly what you’ve been missing.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the Good Sense Rocketship Framework and its application in addressing sensory-related behaviors in school-based OT practice.
2. Learn strategies to identify and assess sensory processing challenges and their impact on students' functional performance.
3. Explore effective interventions to support regulation, sensory-motor development, and collaboration with educators and parents.

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!

Dive into groundbreaking research on the transition from caseload to workload models in school-based OT with Stanbridge University MOT students Jalen, Michelle, Jared, and Ari. Their nationwide survey revealed striking results: practitioners using a workload model reported significantly lower burnout scores compared to those using a caseload model and majority strongly agreeing that the workload approach reduces stress levels.

The students' research identified key barriers to making this transition—primarily lack of administrative support and scheduling conflicts—while highlighting successful facilitators including peer support and improved collaboration with teachers. Their findings emphasize the importance of data collection for advocacy, suggesting that tracking time spent on indirect services provides compelling evidence when approaching administrators about workload changes.

This episode offers practical insights for school-based OTs feeling overwhelmed, with recommendations to start small by tracking weekly time usage and increasing teacher collaboration. Listen now to discover how transitioning to a workload model can transform your practice, reducing burnout while improving service quality and student outcomes.

Listen now to learn the following objectives:

• Listeners will compare the impact of caseload versus workload models on therapist burnout, stress levels, and job satisfaction.
  
  
• Listeners will identify key barriers and facilitators to transitioning from a caseload to workload approach.
  
  
• Listeners will identify practical strategies for initiating a workload approach.

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!