School OTs, make the most of your summer! Enroll in these free or low-cost continuing education courses designed especially for occupational therapists who work in schools.

<h2>Catch Up on Your OT Continuing Education Courses This Summer!</h2><p>For school-based occupational therapists, summer means more time to spend with family, explore the outdoors, or catch up on your favorite shows. It’s also the perfect opportunity to prepare for the next school year and invest in your professional development by enrolling in continuing education courses.</p><p>To help you make the most of your summer, school OTs from the Cross Country Education team have compiled this list of free or low-cost continuing education courses designed just for occupational therapists who work in schools. Since many school-based OTs may continue to provide services virtually during the next school year, teletherapy resources have also been included in this list.&nbsp;</p><h2>Continuing Education for Occupational Therapists</h2><p><a href="https://www.aota.org/Conference-Events/summer-series.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AOTA Children and Youth Webinars</a> – These webinars are a mix of live and recorded courses. They are $20 each, and some of the topics include trauma-informed OT, what is PANDAS and how can OT help, and a self-determination approach to school-based OT.</p><p><a href="https://www.aota.org/Conference-Events/Coronavirus-COVID19.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AOTA COVID-19-related Webinars</a> – These webinars are a mix of live and recorded courses, and they are all free. They cover a wide range of COVID-19-related topics including addressing student’s needs through telehealth, providing OT at home, and developing strategies to overcome chaos.</p><p><a href="https://www.aota.org/AboutAOTA/Membership/join-webinars-contact-hours.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AOTA Free Webinars</a> – These are 12 free webinars from AOTA. Of particular interest is the webinar titled Distinct Value of Occupational Therapy in Today’s Schools.</p><p><a href="https://www.occupationaltherapy.com/free-course/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Occupationaltherapy.com</a> – Occupationaltherapy.com offers the first CE course for free, and the membership after that is $99 per year for unlimited CE courses. This website offers a wide variety of courses related to pediatrics and school-based OT. The course that was a case study of a student with ADHD proved practical and informative.</p><p><a href="https://www.otcourses.com/course.php?id=1596" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OTcourses.com</a> – This website currently offers about 20 courses related to school-based occupational therapy. There is a 9-contact-hour course called School Based Therapy that would be helpful for a therapist new to this area of practice.</p><p><a href="https://www.learnplaythrive.com/coaching?fbclid=IwAR1iaMQoAkZiRSPNTSxDpgSTexCkiv8IwaKd5GG9E6oYUP01pBXItgS_a4U" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Parent Coaching in the Teletherapy Context</a> – This is a free 45-minute webinar about planning and executing virtual therapy sessions using parent coaching as a tool.</p><h2>School OT Resources</h2><p>We hope you find that the continuing education courses on this list help enrich your professional development this summer. While you’re here, browse through our other helpful resources for school OTs shared by our team. You’ll find OT-focused articles ranging from tips on <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/guidance-for-school-based-ots-on-how-to-optimize-relationship" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">supervising OTAs</a> to <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/blogs/occupational-therapy-is-fun" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">making OT fun</a>!</p><p><br></p>

Low-Cost and Free Continuing Education Courses for School-based OTs