Hey Reader,

By now, you may already be back in the full swing of “OTing”

Or you might be back on campus (mentally or physically) planning for the day students return.

Either way, this is the point in the year when your school year begins to take shape.

Schedules are being built (and rebuilt). Referrals are already landing in your inbox, and teachers are stopping you in the hallway to ask why you haven’t seen a child you’ve never even heard of.

Oh, and don’t forget that IEP you have this afternoon… before the school year has even started.

It is a lot.

And when things get this busy this fast, it becomes easy for the year to start driving your practice for you.

The collaboration you wanted to build with teachers gets pushed to “once the schedule settles.” The MTSS ideas you were excited about stay in your notes. And the consults you had planned to do more with simply get fit in wherever there is an absent student.

Before long, the year starts to look a lot like last year, even though you had every intention of doing something differently.

That is why I want to remind you to take 30 minutes this week to ask yourself these 4 questions:

Then block out whatever time you can on your calendar to work on it, even if it is just 15 minutes a month.

Unfortunately, most of us are so caught up in the students’ goals that we forget to create goals of our own.

And if we don’t create a goal for our practice, it becomes really difficult to improve intentionally.

That does not mean you need to overhaul everything you know about school-based OT.

It means you need to name one thing and give it some attention before the school year gets any louder.

Maybe that one thing is implementing an MTSS program with the kindergarten teachers. Maybe it's being a part of the AT team to support more students.

Or, maybe finally figuring out exactly how to develop and link IEP goals to real school participation.

And if you need a little help with identifying that one thing and giving it the support it deserves, the Back to School Conference is happening this weekend, and our speakers + 600 SBOT attendees are ready to support you - now and for the next 3 months!

This year’s conference theme is Evolving Practices. Grounded in Evidence.

It’s all about sharing practical ideas we can actually use, while keeping in mind how important the research and language behind those supports are.

This year’s conference includes sessions on MTSS, secondary transition, AI and assistive technology, sensory and motor assessment, neurodiversity-affirming evaluations, and Ayres Sensory Integration in schools.

So if one of those topics connects to the goal you want to work toward this year, I hope you will join us.

​Take a look at the Back to School Conference here.​

If the topics at the Back to School Conference are not right for you and your goals this year, that’s perfectly okay.

But please, remember to ask yourself the 4 questions above and make a plan.

Then come back to this email, reply, and let me know how I can support you in achieving your goal. After all, that is what me and OT Schoolhouse platform are here to do - support you.

Who knows, I might even check in with you a few months from now and see how it's going.

One weekend of learning.
Support for the whole year.

The Back to School Conference includes six online sessions, 12 AOTA-approved contact hours, practical handouts, and replay access.

If you want more than the weekend, the Conference + Collab option gives you extended replays, monthly mentorship and Q+A, 40+ additional courses, templates, tools, and access to the Goal & Treatment Bank all year long.

The conference gives you the ideas. The Collab helps you apply them all year.​

​Compare the Conference Pass & Conference + Collab options​

RESEARCH 🧪

This week’s resource is a 2020 article on self-reflection and evidence-based practice in occupational therapy.

The researchers found that OT practitioners who engaged in deeper reflection were more likely to use steps of the evidence-based practice process and take action to improve or correct their practice.

That feels like the right reminder for this time of year: if we want our practice to improve, we have to create space to reflect on what is working, what is not, and what we are going to do differently.

Read the article: Self-Reflection as a Support to Evidence-Based Practice​

LAST WORD 👋

As the school year gets busy, it is easy to let the schedule, referrals, meetings, and hallway questions decide what your practice becomes.

But aside from 3 months ago, this is also the best time to be intentional.

Choose one area you want to improve this year. Give is some attention on your calendar. Find the support or resources you need. And keep coming back to it, even when the year gets busy.

That is exactly how I convinced administrators that we need to hire another OT. That's also how I learned to better support my older students. And because I committed to pushing into my classrooms one year, I got better at it and less scared of it.

I know the beginning of the year can feel like a sprint before you have even tied your shoes, but the way you show up now matters.

If the Back to School Conference can help you start with more clarity, evidence, and practical support, I would love to have you join us.

​Join us for the Back to School Conference​

And if you are already registered, I can't wait to see you this weekend!

See you soon!

👋 Jayson

You'll learn why sensory regulation and mental health can't be separated, how to advocate for OT involvement at tier one and tier two, and what it takes to shift from waiting for an IEP to proactively meeting student needs. This conversation will challenge you to reclaim participation as the core of your practice and see new pathways for OT leadership in schools. Listen now ↗

Jayson Davies, MA, OTR/L
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​Say hi 👋 on Instagram, LinkedIn,
and inside the School-Based OT Collaborative​