Other OT-Related Information Occupational Therapy or Special Education

[Lacey1993]

Hello all So just some background.. I've been aspiring to be an OT for three years now and just graduated with my bachelor's degree in psychology. However, after doing numerous required OT observation hours I realized that especially in school setting the actual special education teacher makes a difference in the child... not the OT. Also, from what I've seen the salary for a school OT and a special education teacher are actually quite similar. My question is, especially if you are an OT, what do you enjoy most about your job? Do you feel as if you do not have as much of an impact on the child/patient as you'd like? Also how are the loans afterwards? Is it all worth it!?

Thanks!!

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[ncOT9]

Hi! Good question! I'm a former teacher who is now a second year OT student. I switched to OT because, not only will I be able to work with kiddos with special needs, but I will be able to do so in a variety of settings and in some cases, on a schedule that I will be able to make. There is very little flexibility with teaching. (And in my state, teachers make much less than school-based OTs) I have two children so flexibility became very important to me after I had my first, and I discovered how hard it was to be a teacher and have a small child at the same time. Teaching might be great once children are old enough for school, but those 5 or more years until they are old enough are rough. Childcare is expensive, and there is almost no such thing as part time teaching (unless you're some kind of specialist in math or reading). Here's another thing to consider with special education vs. OT: special ed teachers have students for one school year, but OTs can have children for their entire education. Who do you think is having more of an impact in those cases? I shadowed an OT who had had many students for her whole 15 year career. Have you shadowed in any private pediatric clinics? OTs in that setting have more freedom (you don't have to focus on occupation relevant to school) and they have more contact with parents. Another setting to check out is early intervention. In EI OT's work with babies-3 year olds and practice in their homes to help them meet developmental milestones. If you think flexibility will ever be important to you - go with OT! Also research other pediatric options besides schools, and trust me...it's nice to have options. As far as loans go...I'm married so I'm not borrowing money for living expenses, and I go to a "cheap" public school with in-state tuition. The return on investment will definitely pay off for me, especially when compared to what I would have made if I had stayed in teaching. Sorry this is so long! To sum up: shadow in more pediatric places and go to the cheapest school you can get in to!

 

[Lacey1993]

Hi! Good question! I'm a former teacher who is now a second year OT student. I switched to OT because, not only will I be able to work with kiddos with special needs, but I will be able to do so in a variety of settings and in some cases, on a schedule that I will be able to make. There is very little flexibility with teaching. (And in my state, teachers make much less than school-based OTs) I have two children so flexibility became very important to me after I had my first, and I discovered how hard it was to be a teacher and have a small child at the same time. Teaching might be great once children are old enough for school, but those 5 or more years until they are old enough are rough. Childcare is expensive, and there is almost no such thing as part time teaching (unless you're some kind of specialist in math or reading). Here's another thing to consider with special education vs. OT: special ed teachers have students for one school year, but OTs can have children for their entire education. Who do you think is having more of an impact in those cases? I shadowed an OT who had had many students for her whole 15 year career. Have you shadowed in any private pediatric clinics? OTs in that setting have more freedom (you don't have to focus on occupation relevant to school) and they have more contact with parents. Another setting to check out is early intervention. In EI OT's work with babies-3 year olds and practice in their homes to help them meet developmental milestones. If you think flexibility will ever be important to you - go with OT! Also research other pediatric options besides schools, and trust me...it's nice to have options. As far as loans go...I'm married so I'm not borrowing money for living expenses, and I go to a "cheap" public school with in-state tuition. The return on investment will definitely pay off for me, especially when compared to what I would have made if I had stayed in teaching. Sorry this is so long! To sum up: shadow in more pediatric places and go to the cheapest school you can get in to!

Thank you so much! This was a very thoughtful post and it is great to hear the perspective of someone who was once a teacher! It is definitely something I need to think more about and your post has definitely given me a different perspective. I know flexibility will be so important for when I have kids later on. I just notice that a lot of OT jobs are working with the older population and honestly my passion is to work with children with special needs. I will most likely go with OT simply because I have worked so hard towards this career! However, making a difference is my main concern and from what I have seen the teachers who work with the child 7-8 hours a day can have more of an impact than an OT who sees a child once a week.

 

[Bokonomy]

I was once a special ed major, and I switched because I didn't like the way special education was moving. This might not sound politically correct, but I think the focus on "least restrictive environment" as a concept should be replaced with "highest potential environment." In my state, they're doing away with self-contained classrooms unless the student has severe disabilities. There was a kindergartner I knew who had been suspended from school 5 times. He was a bright boy, but a classroom of 20 was too much stimulation for him at the time. Now, the hope is that he'd get to the point where he didn't need to be in that environment, of course. The other thing is I would NOT want to be a co-teacher. I've been told many are treated like para pros. Resource would be okay, though.

I do agree that it's tough to do a lot with 30 minutes. Typically, things aren't even started until 10 minutes in. And it is nice to work on different subjects. So it depends on what you value.