To OT or Not to OT...That is the question

Hello, Teaming Bloggers!

First - great blog, and wonderful idea.

Second - I am not a Pediatric OT - but I am considering the field and trying to get some information about it. I'm 38, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I've spent my life working as a theater and circus arts performer and educator. In the last year I've been preparing to return to school to get a Master's in Psychology... but lately two students of mine are making me wonder if I should be going into Pediatric OT instead.

I've been teaching kids circus for years, and currently have two ASD circus-arts students ("Billy" is 10 years old with very-high-functioning Asperger's, and "Jon" is 8.5 years old with severe non-verbal Autism). I have so loved working with these boys, and their families and therapists have been so impressed by the increases in balance and coordination skills they've achieved in their lessons with me -- I am starting to think that perhaps this is a path I should be looking at.

I've been looking online at information about the job market in this field, but it's so much more useful to actually hear from people who are doing it. My questions are: What is the job market like in my area? What sort of salary, hours and benefits can I reasonably expect? How long does certification take? One reason (though not the only reason) I am looking to "expand" my career is that I want to have greater financial stability... it is looking to me like the path to this is both quicker and more open (in terms of jobs) for an OT than for a Licensed Family and Marriage Therapist (the licensure I would be pursuing after getting a Master's in Psychology).

I know it is not your responsibility to provide career counseling to perfect strangers! I'm just looking for a place to start getting information. If any of you have two cents to offer about your experience in this field, or websites, programs or books I should consider, I'd be very very grateful.

Incidentally - While I might be open to moving to either the Portland Oregon or Los Angeles areas, I'd like to stay on the West Coast for my schooling and work - and, I am open to working with all kinds of children, with all kinds of challenges (ie, hospital jobs are also interesting to me) - ASD just seems to be my starting place. :)

THANK YOU for your help, and thank you also for your inspiring work and commitment to such an important field.

Best!

Laura Ricci

laura@birdpants.org
laura@circuscenter.org

Getting Ready for the New School Year.

We do have a few members for the team blog. Would love to hear what you are doing to prepare for the new school year? Has anyone started yet? Here in New York most summer programs are over and there is a break until after Labor Day. Then it will be head first into caseloads, IEP review and scheduling. Does anyone go in before the students arrive to get organized? Love to hear any comments or other posts.

Occupational Therapy Blog Carnival Edition #3

We posted this on our main blog but I thought it was important to include it here as well. This is my hope for this team blog - An area where pediatric therapists can share articles, information or resources.

Your Therapy Source Inc is the host this month for the OT Blog Carnival Edition #3. This is a summary of the blog posts that were submitted for the Blog Carnival. There was no specific topic for this edition therefore there is a variety of topics discussed. I have started with the pediatric posts since our blog focuses on pediatric therapy.

1. Barbara Smith OTR, submitted a post from her blog, HorseOT, which shares hippotherapy ideas and resources. Her post is a book review of The Horse Boy . She submitted this topic because she thought that this book poses many questions of importance to occupational therapists, as well as all therapists involved with hippotherapy.

2. Alison M. Bodor, OTR/L, submitted Wii for Pediatrics posted at OT-Advantage.com. This is an overview on how pediatric clients can benefit from the Wii.

3. Margaret Rice, PT, submitted from Your Therapy Source Inc, a sensory integration quiz to test your knowledge of sensory processing.

4. Karen Dobyns, an OT student submitted from Occupational Therapy Students Belong blog a post on her impression of ADHD.

5. Rintu submitted from Me and Occupational Therapy blog an article on the role of substance abuse in OT.

6. Ventan Mailoo also submitted a post on substance abuse from meta-OT blog entitled Drunkenness is Stupid.

That is it for submissions. Although, I wanted to include one more item. A funny comic strip on occupational therapy - Agnes.

Want to be included in the next OT Blog Carnival? Submit your article now at Blog Carnival.

Welcome!

Welcome to a Team Blog for pediatric occupational and physical therapists. This is a blog where many therapists can post ideas, topics and discussions. Your Therapy Source Inc, will be the host of this team blog.

You might ask what is a team blog? Well, it is simply a blog with more than one blogger. All you have to do is request to be a blogger. Once we receive your email address, we can add you to the list. You will then be able to post on the blog along with others. This is a great opportunity to have pediatric therapy blog postings all in one spot. Share an article with us. Start a discussion. Tell us about great pediatric therapy links. Share a continuing education class. Post anything that pediatric occupational and physical therapists would be interested in.

So want to join? All you have to do is submit your email address to us at teamblog@yourtherapysource.com and tell us whether you are a pediatric OT/COTA or PT/PTA. We are limiting this blog to only pediatric therapists. If you have a blog elsewhere, try posting your pediatric blog topics here as well with a link to your blog. Look forward to hearing from you.