School OTs: See the research on how teamwork and collaboration are vital to students' success. Learn how to be a confident and valuable member of your students' IEP and support teams!

If one caring adult has the power to improve a child&#39;s life, imagine what a whole team can do!

Countless visionaries have dropped insights on the value of teamwork, including truth bombs like:

&quot;Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.&quot; &ndash; Helen Keller

&quot;Teamwork is the secret that makes common people achieve uncommon results.&quot; &ndash; Ifeanyi Onuoha

And, of course, who could ever forget:

&quot;Teamwork makes the dream work!&quot; &ndash; John Maxwell

As an <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/education">occupational therapist in a school setting</a>, a significant part of your job will be collaborating with other adults. And you won&#39;t be part of just one team; you&#39;ll have many opportunities to work on various student support teams.

Whether you love or loathe teamwork, it&#39;s essential for driving student success. If you&#39;re a &quot;people-person&quot; like many occupational therapists and educators, teamwork and collaboration likely come naturally to you. On the other hand, if you prefer working with kids rather than adults and the word &quot;team&quot; makes you moan and groan, you&#39;re not alone.

We&#39;re here to help! 

Dig into the information below to discover why teamwork is essential for your students&#39; success, how you can work collaboratively within the school setting, and how you can gain confidence by positioning yourself as a valuable team member!

While the idea of collaboration may be intimidating at first, after you&#39;ve been to a few IEP team meetings and seen the results among your students, we&#39;re confident your confidence will grow and grow!

<h2>Tips for OTs: Collaborating with Teams in the School-Based Occupational Therapy Setting</h2>

To be a successful team member as a school-based occupational therapist, you must keep collaboration in mind, whether <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/successful-ot-ieps">attending meetings</a>, <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/school-based-ots-boost-your-presentation-skills-for-successful">presenting at those meetings</a>, <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/goal-writing">writing SMART IEP OT goals</a>, consulting with teachers, or <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/play-based-occupational-therapy?">implementing occupational therapy with kids</a>. Here are best practices to help ensure you&#39;re a valuable member of the team:

<ul>
	<li>Respect all team members&#39; roles, responsibilities, opinions, and emotions.</li>
	<li>Remember that all members are equally important for students&#39; success.</li>
	<li>Listen carefully for insights from parents, teachers, therapists, administrators, and the student (if present) that can aid your understanding of the student&#39;s difficulties and inform your approach to therapy.</li>
	<li>Strive to communicate clearly regarding goals, OT interventions, and progress.</li>
	<li>Eliminate jargon as much as possible, and be sure to explain complicated concepts or terms.</li>
	<li>Ensure the team has obtained the services of a translator if the family does not speak or understand English well.</li>
	<li>Get organized and come prepared for the meeting; print copies and provide team members with materials before or after the meeting.</li>
	<li>Be prepared to give updates on present levels of performance (PIPs) and specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART) IEP goals.</li>
	<li>Share your expertise and suggestions on OT-related activities that parents, teachers and other team members can use with students.</li>
	<li>Work together with the team to develop students&#39; goals and objectives, collaborate within classrooms, monitor interventions and review students&#39; progress (<a href="https://research.aota.org/ajot/article-abstract/55/1/83/4515/Team-Collaborative-Practices-Between-Teachers-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext">AOTA</a>).</li>
	<li>Ask team members for feedback and input on what is working or not working regarding OT.</li>
	<li>If you do not have answers to questions, say you will research the issue and follow up.</li>
	<li>Be empathetic, courteous, patient, positive, and professional.</li>
	<li>Have an up-to-date, working understanding of your responsibilities regarding the <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/a/300.34/c/6">Individuals with Disabilities Act</a> (IDEA) and the <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html">Individualized Education Program</a> (IEP).</li>
	<li>Know <a href="https://www.floridahealth.gov/provider-and-partner-resources/fccdhh/education/parents.html">students&#39; and parents&#39; rights</a> under the law.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Who Might School Occupational Therapists Work With on Student Teams?</h2>

Teams assembled to support students with occupational therapy and other needs can include various multidisciplinary partners. As a school-based occupational therapist, you may work with student support teams (SSTs) or IEP teams, including:

<ul>
	<li>Administrator</li>
	<li>Advocate</li>
	<li>Assistive technology specialist</li>
	<li>Attorney</li>
	<li>Caregiver</li>
	<li>General education teacher</li>
	<li>Other occupational therapist(s)</li>
	<li>Parent or legal guardian</li>
	<li>Physical therapist</li>
	<li>School counselor</li>
	<li>School nurse</li>
	<li>School psychologist</li>
	<li>Special education coordinator</li>
	<li>Special education teacher</li>
	<li>Speech-language pathologist</li>
	<li>Student&#39;s physician</li>
	<li>Student</li>
</ul>

<h2>Research Shows Collaboration is Vital for Occupational Therapists in School Settings</h2>

Being a team player as an occupational therapist isn&#39;t just a feel-good idea; it&#39;s backed by solid evidence. Here&#39;s what the research says about collaboration among occupational therapists and teachers:

<ul>
	<li>In a study, 73.68% of elementary teachers perceived &quot;collaboration with the occupational therapist as valuable for providing effective classroom strategies and having a positive impact on student success&quot; (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19411243.2022.2054488#:~:text=73.68%25%20(N%20%3D%2056),positive%20impact%20on%20student%20success.">Edick et al., Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, &amp; Early Intervention</a>).</li>
	<li>82.89% of participants in the study reported that &quot;more education about school-based occupational therapy would be beneficial&quot; (<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19411243.2022.2054488#:~:text=73.68%25%20(N%20%3D%2056),positive%20impact%20on%20student%20success.">Edick et al., Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, &amp; Early Intervention</a>).</li>
	<li>A training and coaching program &quot;improved interprofessional collaboration in a sample of 27 pairs of teachers and OTs&quot; and resulted in &quot;better communication, role perception, and conflict resolution&quot; (<a href="https://research.aota.org/ajot/article-abstract/74/4_Supplement_1/7411505136p1/9657/Interprofessional-Collaboration-Among-Teachers-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Hubbard et al., American Journal of Occupational Therapy</a>).</li>
	<li>The majority of teachers in a study exploring collaboration between teachers and OTs in public schools reported that &quot;occupational therapy contributed to student skill development, and as collaboration practices increased, the teachers&#39; perceptions of occupational therapy contribution to student skill development increased&quot; (<a href="https://research.aota.org/ajot/article-abstract/55/1/83/4515/Team-Collaborative-Practices-Between-Teachers-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Barnes et al., American Journal of Occupational Therapy</a>).</li>
	<li>In research comparing &quot;the provision of occupational therapy as direct service versus collaborative consultation, teachers who collaborated with therapists reported much larger occupational therapy contributions and had more positive attitudes&quot; (<a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ414547">Dunn, Occupational Therapy Journal of Research</a>).</li>
	<li>A survey of teachers showed that &quot;collaboration with OTs was valued by 85.1% of respondents&quot; (<a href="•%0982.89%25%20of%20participants%20in%20the%20study%20reported%20that%20">Bradley et al., American Journal of Occupational Therapy</a>).</li>
</ul>

We hope this information on the value of collaboration helps you move forward with confidence in your career as a school-based occupational therapist! Remember that being part of a team can supercharge your collective powers and help students thrive amidst challenges. The efforts you contribute to the team can create ripples that last a lifetime.

To find out where students and their teams need your specialized OT skills, view our <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/education">school-based occupational therapy jobs</a> now.

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