Pediatric Pioneers Episode 5: Rehabilitation and Educational Technology: Where Do I Start?

Pediatric Pioneers welcomes Melissa (Missy) Schaeffer, a board-certified pediatric occupational therapist with 20 years of experience in pediatrics across diverse clinical, educational, and academic settings. An expert in assistive technology integration, Missy shares her journey into the world of rehab and educational technology and the critical role it plays in enhancing occupational performance. Together with host Nicole Quint, we explore practical approaches for selecting, trialing, and implementing technology to support children at school and at home. Listen in for tangible examples, key federal and state resources, and more on how technology can effectively break down barriers to improve engagement and inclusion for pediatric clients. Interpret the evidence around using assistive technology (AT) to support children with physical, cognitive, or emotional disabilities in age-appropriate occupations Apply evidence-based, practical strategies to actionably address the various steps of using AT with clientele (observe, assess, explore, trial, procure, train, implement, reevaluate) Solve patient case scenarios involving use of AT to meet the unique challenges of each individual client Timestamps: (00:00:00) Welcome (00:01:05) Introduction and journey into assistive technology (AT) (00:04:54) Understanding low-tech vs. high-tech solutions (00:08:01) The importance of the Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) model (00:13:29) Navigating resources for AT (00:20:41) Funding for and accessibility of AT (00:25:21) Educational technology and its impact on pediatric therapy (00:27:18) Innovative AT in education (00:32:10) Research insights on AT (00:36:44) Advocacy for AT in schools (00:40:08) Integrating technology into therapy sessions (00:44:45) Success stories: transformative impact of technology (00:51:47) Final thoughts on advocacy Resources Mentioned in Episode DIYAbility Pediatric Pioneers is brought to you by Medbridge. If you’d like to earn continuing education credit for listening to this episode and access bonus takeaway handouts, log in to your Medbridge account and navigate to the course where you’ll find accreditation details. If applicable, complete the post-course assessment and survey to be eligible for credit. The takeaway handout on Medbridge gives you the key points mentioned in this episode, along with additional resources you can implement into your practice right away. If you’d like to subscribe to Medbridge, visit https://www.medbridge.com/pricing/