Occupational therapy for special-needs students moves online

PresenceLearning http://presencelearning.com/ has expanded its services to include online occupational therapy services as well–something it believes can address a growing challenge for schools.

Nationwide, about one in five special-needs students is identified as needing occupational therapy services, the company says. But some 9 percent of OT positions at schools and health clinics across the country remain unfilled, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

"We don’t have enough [occupational therapists] overall," says PresenceLearning co-founder Clay Whitehead. And that’s especially true in rural areas, Whitehead adds, where OTs or the students they serve might have to travel hundreds of miles to complete face-to-face sessions.

PresenceLearning has seen great success in providing speech therapy to students online, and online OT seemed like a natural extension of that service.

By Dennis Pierce

Full Story: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/03/21/occupational-therapy-for-special-needs-students-moves-online/?ps=207479-0013000000j13I7-0033000000qi9AL