Summary: Small moments can make a big difference in how children feel and function in school. Research confirms that positive interactions and experiences (e.g., enjoying lunch, having fun during recess) help children feel positive and connected to school. Every Moment Counts is a mental health promotion initiative developed to help all children/youth become mentally healthy in order to succeed in school, at home, and in the community. The goal of this 3-year funded project is to help occupational therapists become change leaders in promoting children’s mental health throughout the day. Participants will learn about a multi-tiered, public health approach to mental health and how to implement innovative occupation-based programs emphasizing mental health promotion in children with and without disabilities and mental health challenges.
Level: Introductory
Intended Audience: Parents, caregivers, clinicians, teachers, mental health and medical professionals
Prerequisite: None
Presenter: Susan Bazyk, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA is a Professor in the Occupational Therapy Program at Cleveland State University where she has taught for the past 30 years. She is also director of the Graduate Certificate Program in School-Based Practice. Throughout her career, she has specialized in occupational therapy practice with children and youth in home, school and community-based settings. Dr. Bazyk is the editor of a recently published book entitled Mental health promotion, prevention, and intervention with children and youth: A guiding framework for occupational therapy (2011) and the 2013 AOTA Practice Guideline on the same topic. In 2012, she was awarded a large 3 year grant from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), Office of Exceptional Children (OEC) entitled “Every Moment Counts: Promoting Children’s Mental Health Throughout the Day.” This 3-year project focuses on building capacity of occupational therapists and interdisciplinary school teams in addressing the mental health needs of all students throughout the day including lunch, recess and extracurricular after-school activities.
Learning Objectives:
- Demonstrate an understanding of how to apply a multi-tiered, public health approach to mental health in OT practice with children and youth
- Use Internet resources to describe and implement OT model programs integrated throughout the school day (classroom, cafeteria, recess), emphasizing participation and enjoyment
Continuing Education: STAR Institute for SPD is an AOTA Approved Provider of Continuing Education. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
Upon full completion of the course video, participants must complete and pass a quiz with at least 80% accuracy to receive a certificate of completion.