Building a Community of Practice

Most school-based occupational therapy practitioners travel between multiple schools, and at times, even more than one county. The same is true for teachers of the visually impaired (TVI), orientation and mobility specialists (O&M), and other related service providers such as speech language pathologists and physical therapists. When many IEP team members are itinerant it makes it very difficult to collaborate effectively. However, creating a small community of practice for service providers of students with visual impairment is essential to leverage high quality practice[1],  and also to improve the confidence and comfort level of OTPs working with students with visual impairment[2],[3].

In July 2016 the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) approved a set of high-leverage practices (HLPs) for special education teachers. One area that these practices focus around is collaboration. Although OTPs are not teachers, these practice guidelines can still be applied. With the goal of promoting the best possible student outcomes, HLPs related to collaboration focus on communication between school professionals and also between school professionals and families. First, sharing ideas, concerns, and problem solving together to complete assessment, educational ECC related activities, and consistency between instruction is essential. Second, communication and collaboration with families also provides value by encouraging family support and home carry-overt[1]. Although collaboration is an important practice for any student, for those with VI who may have multiple itinerant team members, making the effort to create a community of practice among those individuals will meet this need and leverage high quality service provision.

Collaboration makes service delivery easier! Two different studies that surveyed school-based occupational therapy practitioners about their comfort levels in assessing and treating students with VI illustrated that practitioners who had contact with other VI service providers felt more comfortable with both VI assessment and intervention strategies [2][3]. Two heads are better than one, right? Not all school-based OTPs have students with VI on their caseloads; however, TVIs and O&M instructors specialize in this area. It makes sense to collaborate with someone who has significant experience!

Making the effort to meet with other itinerant team members has great value. Setting up a regular meeting or time to check in via zoom or even email is a helpful way to ensure collaboration.
References

[1] Council for Exceptional Children (2017) High Leverage Practices for Students with Disabilities. Retrieved on August 13, 2022 from https://highleveragepractices.org/

[2] Winner, S., Yuen, H. K., Vogtle, L. K., & Warren, M. (2014). Factors associated with comfort level of occupational therapy practitioners in providing low vision services. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(1), 96-101. 10.5014/ajot.2014.009142

[3] Workman, M., Vogtle, L. K., & Yuen, H. K. (2016). Factors associated with comfort level of school-based occupational therapists in providing low-vision services. Occupational Therapy in Health Care, 30(2), 152-165. 10.3109/07380577.2015.1101793