Sitapa Downing

• Serves Preschool, Elementary, and Middle School populations
• Performs evaluations, specialized services, and support for school personnel
• Travels amongst three separate school buildings working with array of staff and students
• Completes progress notes, ETR reports, and IEPs in timely manner
• Participates IEP and ETR meetings

• Coordinated interventions with multidisciplinary preschool team
• Established compassionate and caring relationships with students, staff, and families
• Completed written records including treatment notes, ETR's, IEP's, Progress Reports, and therapy Plans of Care
• Used student special interests and individual student motivators for increased engagement in therapy
• Performed educational evaluations including use of standardized assessments of Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2nd edition, Child Sensory Profile-2, BEERY Visual Motor Integration Test, Bruinicks-Osteretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, and communicates results clearly to team members and families
• Determined needs for specialized equipment and trains educational staff in various therapy equipment use
• Provided consultation to family and staff for for developmentally appropriate skills, sensory needs, and necessary modifications or accommodations

Assigned to local schools in this district.

• Established compassionate and caring relationships with students, staff, and families
• Collaborated with special education team for providing interventions, progress monitoring, and creating student goals
• Created and led Social-Emotional groups using Zones of Regulation along with collaboration with intervention specialists
• Collaborated with special education team to create necessary student accommodations and modifications
• Conducted appropriate educational evaluations including use of standardized assessments of Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-2nd edition, Sensory Profile 2-School Companion, VMI 6th edition, DVPT-3, and MVPT-4
• Served in cross-categorical classrooms with high need for differentiation amongst students
• Trained educational staff in various therapy equipment use including switch use and communication devices
• Mentored new special education therapy team members
• Established first inclusion social skills summer program for high functioning autistic students.
• Created themed based sensory-motor activities for integrated preschool classrooms with other therapy disciplines
• Maintained occupational therapy budget and maintains inventory of occupational therapy equipment
• Followed state and federal educational policies and procedures and district preferences in relationship to support services

Occupational Therapist for the moderate-severely Autistic, multiple handicap, and cognitive challenge students originating through the TEACCH program at Public School 29. Provide staff in-servicing to assure continuity of goals (e.g., Parent Training, Classroom behavior management, Adaptive Equipment Scheduling, Sensory Diets.