Supporting High-Needs Students in School OT

Course overview

School-based occupational therapists are increasingly asked to support students with complex physical, behavioral, and developmental needs in settings that are not always designed to meet them. Limited placement options, staffing shortages, and growing inclusion demands often leave teams overwhelmed and unsure where to begin. This 2-hour, view-on-demand, recorded webinar provides a practical, participation-focused framework to help occupational therapists support high-needs students within real-world school constraints. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all strategies, the course emphasizes clinical reasoning, prioritization, and collaboration as key interventions. Participants explore four common high-needs support profiles and learn how to guide teams toward realistic, ethical, and meaningful supports that improve student participation while reducing staff burnout. This course is ideal for school-based occupational therapists seeking tools to navigate complex cases, collaborate effectively with educational teams, and maintain professional clarity when systems are stretched. At the end of this course, you will be able to (1) identify three participation barriers and contextual factors influencing student functioning in complex school-based cases, (2) differentiate between common high-needs support profiles and list three strategies for each profile, (3) apply two clinical reasoning strategies to prioritize realistic participation supports within the constraints of school environments, and (4) develop three collaborative approaches to guide educational teams in addressing high-needs situations while maintaining ethical occupational therapy practice boundaries. This distance-learning, interactive format is offered at 0.2 CEUs, Intermediate Level, OT Service Delivery, and targeted to intermediate- to advanced-level school-based occupational therapy practitioners and other pediatric professionals. The course instructor, Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, is an experienced occupational therapist specializing in the treatment of children since 2001. She is a full-time therapist at a City School District in upstate New York, owner of www.OTKimWiggins.com, and has been a nationally known speaker since 2011. Kim is certified in Mobile Devices for Children with Disabilities, Puzzle Art Therapy, Handwriting Without Tears, Zaner Bloser, The Listening Program, and as an Irlen Screener. She is known for her immediately practical information and wealth of knowledge and resources. For more information on our live courses, visit our website: https://www.sensationalbrain.com/ceu/live-webinars. To stay abreast of our latest live and view-on-demand course offerings, sales, and FREEBIES, consider subscribing to our newsletter by scrolling to the bottom of our home page. Send questions to celeste@sensationalbrain.com.