What are the responsibilities and job description for the Occupational Therapist position at Chicago Public Schools?
Occupational Therapist at Chicago Public Schools
An occupational therapist in the Chicago Public Schools provides specialized services to students with disabilities, facilitating their participation in educational activities. They assess and develop tailored strategies to enhance students' functional abilities and independence, ensuring effective collaboration with school teams and families.
Description:
The Chicago Public Schools have set ambitious goals to ensure that every child—in every school and every neighborhood—has access to a world-class learning experience from birth, resulting in graduation from high school college- and career-ready under the IDEA.
Key Responsibilities:
- Improving manipulative skills for self-care and paper/pencil tasks through reach, grasp, and dexterity.
- Enhancing school transitions and participation in educational activities by providing environmental accommodations.
- Enhancing comfort, participation, and attending by maintaining functional postures.
- Increasing functional use of hands and visual regard by providing stable positions.
- Ensuring independence in feeding for safety and nourishment.
- Facilitating safety in the school environment by decreasing the possibility of injury to students' selves or others as they move or perform skills/tasks.
- Improving success for small muscle school tasks by increasing coordination of eye-hand movements.
- Facilitating access to and mobility within school by assessing and changing the environment.
- Increasing functional use of extremities through the use of adapted equipment.
- Enhancing ability to learn through sensorimotor activities that address motor planning, attending, and behavior issues.
- Promoting competency and safety of educational staff in body mechanics, handling techniques, motor skills, and classroom adaptations.
- Facilitating students' independence through access to assistive technology.
Qualifications:
- Must pass the National Board Certification for Occupational Therapy.
- Must hold a current and active Illinois license to practice as issued by the IL Department of Professional Regulations.
- Must have a Bachelor, Master, or Doctoral degree in occupational therapy from an accredited occupational therapy program as approved by the AOTA.
Skills and Abilities:
- Evaluates students through skilled professional observation, therapeutic handling, record review, and parent, student, and teacher interviews.
- Interprets assessment findings and appropriately communicates information to parents and school teams through written and oral means.
- Collaborates with the school team to develop Individualized Education Programs and Section 504 Plans to address the students' unique needs using evidence-based practices.
- Develops and implements individualized OT intervention strategies.
- Documents all OT services provided within a timely manner as outlined by the Office of Diverse Learner Supports and Services.
