Angela2.wmv 

Transcript: Angela answers the questions, “How is being an occupational therapist in the school setting different to other occupational therapy roles?” and “What is your top tip for working with teachers?” 

Being an occupational therapist with Education Queensland is a unique role. It is exciting to be part of the day to day life of students and see them progress at school following our input. We collaborate with a wide range of team members including the student themselves, their parents, teachers, teacher aides, speech-language pathologists and physiotherapists. It’s quite unique that such a big team focuses on supporting the same goal – and that’s the student’s educational goals.
So my top tip for working with teachers and other members of the education team would be to collaborate and communicate. Through collaboration, you will be able to develop meaningful and relevant strategies that teams are more likely to commit to. Through effective communication you can ensure the teams implementing your recommendations feel listened to and supported. Try to give them suggestions that fit in with the way their classrooms work, and only ask them to work on the most important things first.