100th Episode Celebration: Why the OT Schoolhouse?

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Welcome to the show notes for Episode 100 of the OT Schoolhouse Podcast.

For our 100th episode, we are celebrating in a very special way. I don't want to give away too much, so I'll just tell you this. You may already be pretty familiar with our special guest today.

Listen in to see who our mystery guest is and learn more about the OT Schoolhouse.

Additional Links to Show References:

• The A-Z School-Based OT Course

  • The course for all OT practitioners looking to better understand school-based OT.

• Making the Shift: Caseload to Workload

  • An online workshop helping you and your colleagues move from a caseload model to a workload model in your school-based OT practice.

Episode Transcript

Expand to view the full episode transcript.

Amazing Narrator   

Hello and welcome to the OT school house podcast, your source for school based occupational therapy tips, interviews and professional development. Now to get the conversation started, here is your host. Jayson Davies class is officially in session. 

Sarah Putt   

Welcome to the OT school house podcast, today is a very special day for the OT school house podcast, a big day, a huge day, and one that is cause for a big celebration. But first you might be thinking, Wait a second, I am not Jayson, where is our beloved ot school house podcast host? So because this day is such a big milestone, Jayson actually asked me to come on and host this episode, since we're bringing on a very special guest in order to celebrate. My name is Sarah putt. I am the host of the OT School house podcast, as well as co host of two other ot podcasts, the real OTs of early intervention and the OT round table. I've known Jayson now for a few years, and we've connected because of our shared love of occupational therapy and, of course, podcasting back in the beginning of both of our shows, he came on mine, I've been on his, and we've even done a shared episode together where we talked about ot associations. Needless to say, we always have so much fun together when we record. So when he asked me to be a part of today's episode, I could not say no. I mean, it's not every day that a podcast reaches its 100th episode. Yep, you heard that, right. This is the 100th episode of the OT school house podcast. A major congrats to Jayson for all of his hard work in getting to this point. I know, as a podcast host, it is not easy to put together a show, and quite frankly, it's a lot of work. So getting to this milestone is absolutely huge, and I could not be more proud of Jayson and everything that he's accomplished. Now I know I mentioned that there's a special guest coming on the show this episode, and I'll bring him on in just a second. And honestly, I think it's a guest that you're really gonna like. I mean, who am I kidding? I already know it's somebody that you like. In this episode, we're gonna peel back the curtains on his ot journey and dive into his story, some of which you may or may not have heard about before. So without further ado, let's celebrate this 100th episode, this huge milestone episode, and welcome our very own Jayson Davies to the OT school house podcast. Hey, Jayson, welcome to the OT school house podcast, how are you today? 

Jayson Davies   

Wow, that sounds so weird. I'm doing fantastic. Thank you for welcoming me to the OT school podcast, wow. First time for everything. 

Sarah Putt   

I know I had to, like, refrain from saying the OT for life podcast, it's not my show today, but I am so excited, so excited. Today is a big day. Today is a huge day for you. 100 episodes of the OT school house podcast. And as a podcaster myself, I know just how big of a milestone this is. I know how much work every episode, everything that you have to do for a podcast. Like I get it, I know exactly what it takes to get to this point. And I want to know, how does it feel to be celebrating 100 episodes today. 

Jayson Davies   

You know, it feels fantastic. And I think I mentioned it a few episodes ago. You know, I always dreamed of this day coming a little bit sooner, but I'm so glad that it is right here, right now. I mean, so many things have happened in life with ot school house and just in my personal life to get to this point. I mean, you might hear a baby crying in the background for the first time in the 100th episode, and it's just amazing. You know, the OT school house has been going on for about four, almost five years now. And I wouldn't change a thing I love, everywhere that it has taken me, everywhere that it's going. And, yeah, just excited that we made it to 100 and that means that there has been 99 now, 100 fantastic episodes to help people. And yeah, just super excited about that. It's amazing.  

Sarah Putt   

Yeah. And we're going to dive into a lot of kind of how you started, and where you've been, and where you are now, and and really a lot about kind of your journey, and also the OT school house podcast journey, and just ot school house in general, because I know it's not just a podcast. There's a lot of other resources and just really great information that you offer. But I also I just have to ask, because I'm guessing this is the first time that you've been a guest on your own show. 

Jayson Davies   

Yes, yes, yes, it is. And you know, before I answer that, Sarah, first of all, I want to say thank you so much for agreeing to do this. I mean, when I first had this kind of idea, a little bit, and actually you were kind of the one that threw it out there, a little bit. About having someone interview me on my own show, I just could not appreciate a you for being here to do this for me, but also appreciate you as a podcaster colleague, and we've been doing this for so long together, and it's just been so much fun bouncing ideas off of each other and growing together as a podcasting community. It's just been amazing. So thank you for being here. I really appreciate that. And as for being interviewed on the show, you know, never thought this would happen. You know, if you would have asked me day one, four years ago, hey, someone's going to interview you on your show, I'd be like, Why? What's the point of that? But, you know, I see it, and I think it's going to be a fun episode, so I'm excited to dive into it a little bit more. 

Sarah Putt   

I think a lot of times, as a podcast host, we are so good about kind of showcasing the guests that we bring on or the topics that we're going to talk about. And quite often, at least, I feel like, for me, a lot of times I feel like I don't talk about my story as much. And that is, well, we're not talking about my story. We're going to talk about your story. Your story today. But I think that sometimes it can be overlooked when you're the host, because you just get so excited about, oh, this fantastic guest I'm gonna bring on. We're gonna talk about this topic. And you kind of are like, yeah, no one, no one wants to hear my story. Well, that's not true. We want to know the real story behind Jayson Davies and what makes you tick? Why even ot school have started, how you got to that point? And we are going to dive into all of that today, and I am sounds good. So excited to hear more. I know some of it, but I'm excited to hear more, and I'm sure there's little bits and pieces that I'm not even aware of yet. 

Jayson Davies   

Maybe we'll both learn something today. It'll be fun. 

Sarah Putt   

 It's gonna be a lot of fun. So I mean, again, big congrats, 100 episodes and yeah, let's dive in. And I want to start with this question. I feel like whenever I'm maybe like on Facebook, or I'm out in the community, or somebody asked me a question about school based. OT, you are the first person that pops into my mind. I'm like, Hey, I've practiced in the schools before, but it's been probably more than eight years ago. It's a long time. And I'm like, Jayson, he's he's the expert. He knows everything. And I have to ask you, did you always know that you are going to end up in the schools, because in my mind, I feel like, Yeah, that's right where you were supposed to be.  

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, no, I did not actually think I'd end up in the schools. I did want to work with kids like that was one of the things that I knew going into ot school. I wanted to work with this population. However, as most of us, you know, go through school, we learn new things, and actually going through school, through ot school, in particular, I started to lean more toward acute rehab, because I really enjoyed the quick pace of an acute rehab setting. I mean, you are on that floor, on your feet for like eight hours straight, going from room to room to room, pulling a patient out, and it's just really quick pace. And I really did enjoy that. But ultimately, after graduating, gosh, almost 10 years ago now, it's crazy. 

Sarah Putt   

Another big milestone. I mean. 

Jayson Davies   

Right, but yeah, after graduating, you know, I actually kind of just fell in to a school based occupational therapy interview for a contracted position. And really, literally, I just like fell into it. Someone who I knew, who graduated with me also was already working for a contract company, and so she sent me up for a interview. I didn't know it at the time, but it was probably because she knew that she would get a referral fee if I signed up with the company. That's just how they work, right? We all know that now, once you've been in the field for 10 years, but you know, your first day out, you don't realize that people are actually getting paid because they bring you in to the company that they already work for. Anyways, whole nother situation, but I fell into that interview, which, to be honest, wasn't even really an interview. I talked to a person at that contracting company, and they basically gave me the answers for what the district would ask me when I interviewed with them. So again, I really fell into the school based ot position. I knew I wanted to work with kids. I thought I was going to be more in an outpatient type of SI clinic. But you know what? I'm glad that I fell into schools. You know, sometimes I feel like as a school based OT, we have to know a little bit of everything. We can't pick and choose who our clientele is. You know, one day, we're assessing a student who may have sensory difficulties. The next day, we are assessing someone who might have more behavioral difficulties, and we're trying to support them in the classroom. And then another day, it's a kid who just has handwriting difficulties. Down syndrome. You know, all the different varieties we see the entire spectrum of kids. Some have a diagnosis, some don't. And I just love that about school based ot that we get to see the whole gamut, and then we also, not only get to support the students, but also the teachers involved. And so I really appreciate that I found it, and I'm so happy. That, that I'm here, that I'm a school based occupational therapist. 

Sarah Putt   

So I think this is a really good point to kind of highlight here, because I think a lot of times, and honestly, it's so funny, because if you would have asked me when I was a student, even, like, pre ot student, and then ot student, and probably even new grad, like, where I was going to be, and, oh gosh, now I'm going on 13 years. Ooh, I probably would have said that I was going to be in the schools. So it's so funny that, like, here you are, like, Nah, I'm probably not going to be in the schools. I'll probably end up in a clinic or something. And I'm like, I'm going to be schools. And I'm like, totally. 

Jayson Davies   

You know, real quick I remember, like, I think at one point during ot school, they had us do like a five year, 10 year plan. And I think my five year plan was to get SIP certified, which I did actually do that within the five years, because I got very lucky and had a district help me pay to go through that program. But I think my 10 year program was to start have my own si clinic. And so I don't have my own si clinic, but we have ot school house and so exactly where we should be? 

Sarah Putt   

Oh, completely. I 100% agree with that. And I think it's just interesting to just point out that, like you don't really need to know when you're a student, or even a new grad, or even a couple years into practice, like you might not be exactly where you are until you're meant to be there. And I think a lot of times, like, students kind of get, like, stuck in this like, Oh, I really need to, like, where, what am I going to do when I graduate? What am I going to start at? And it's like, sometimes it just falls into your lap and here you are. I mean, you love it. You've been doing it your entire career, and you're not going anywhere. No, not at all. Yeah, yeah. So I know you're kind of talking a little bit about the schools and and why you like them, but really like, what is it about being an occupational therapy practitioner in schools that is so special to you? 

Jayson Davies   

You know, ever since day one, I just felt that we had an enormous ability to be in the student's natural context. And not every occupational therapist gets that ability. You know, I really see it as a vital part of occupational therapy in general, of practice, you know, helping a student or helping a client in their natural setting. And when you think about an OT working in a hospital, they don't get that. You think about an OT working in an SI clinic, they don't even get that. These kids are coming specifically to that place, the SI clinic, where people are going to a hospital to get the care, versus for us, we are going to the student's natural context. And yeah, sometimes we do pull a student out, and we do see them in the quote, unquote ot room, which sometimes is a hallway, sometimes it's the playground, sometimes wherever you can get it, the lunch room, right? It's wherever we can get it. But there is such a push now to have those services happen in the natural environment. And you know, as a school based ot knew, nine years ago whatever it was. I didn't understand that. I knew the idea of it, but I did a lot of pull out services. But over time, I saw the value of actually getting into the classroom. And that is what I appreciate most about school based OT, is that we have the opportunity that not everyone else has, to see the student in their natural context. And yeah, I just really appreciate that being able to help the student and the teachers where they are, not where we want to pull them out to so yeah, that's, I think that's the thing I enjoy most about school based ot. 

Sarah Putt   

As an OT in early intervention. I get it. I get it. I mean, that is one of the unique and super special parts of that practice setting as well. I mean, you really are servicing the kids where they are. You're working with a variety of staff. And yeah, it's there really is something truly special about meeting people, meeting kids, meeting the teachers, whoever it is that you're kind of collaborating with, meeting them where they're at and not just like, oh, come to me. It's like, no, no, I'm coming into your house and I'm going to support you the best way that I possibly can. 

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, and you know, we're seeing such a big push for that. Now, research is coming out every year saying more about contextual and now we're seeing people like Laura Park, Figueroa, you know, doing more of the natural setting, natural based, ot out in the wild, and it's all about play. And how cool is that, you know, that we, I mean, as a profession, we understand the importance of seeing a student or a client, whatever it might be, in the natural setting. So I just love it. 

Sarah Putt   

So I have to ask, we're gonna get real here for a second. And I know we talked about this, gosh, when you were on my show, and that was, Ooh, that was probably, like, three years ago. So I'm curious if your answers have changed, or perspective has shifted a little bit. But I want to get into the kind of the nitty gritty about what it's like to be a school based occupational therapy practitioner. What are some of. The biggest challenges that either you have faced, or you've heard other people face, or you're hearing people are facing right now and then also, what are some of the most rewarding parts? 

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, so, you know, that's part of what I really love about the OT School House, is that I have met people from all over the world that I would never have had the opportunity to meet if I were practicing, you know, I meet people practicing in the schools, and I meet teachers. I meet adaptive physical education teachers who become my best friends. But through the OT school house, I get to talk to people specifically ot practitioners from around the world. And for me, some of my biggest challenges that I really had to overcome were realizing how to work with some of the older clients, the high school students. And we have this conundrum in school based OT. It's like, as kids get older, we should move them to consult, but also at the same time as kids get older, they need more support, and so how do we combine those? Where do we provide that support for our older students, who maybe they have more ability level, but they also have more responsibilities and a lot more to do within High School. And so that was tricky for me, and I hear that echoed throughout basically everyone who has worked in high school as an occupational therapist, that is one of the most common questions I get is, what do I do with the older students. So I think that is an area that as a profession, we still have a lot more to do. I think that as transition plans get more solidified, OTs are becoming part of that transition team. We have so much to offer for students who are about to turn 18, and either they're graduating from high school or they're getting a certificate of completion, and they're moving into the real world, whether it be trying to get a driver's license or trying to get that first job. I think OTs have a huge, huge potential for supporting that particular clientele. So that was something that was always a struggle for me, and I still do not claim to be a specialist in high school. In fact, that is one of the areas where I always try to bring people in who are doing more, and luckily, people are doing more in the high school. So I'm excited to bring on more podcast guests and and speakers at the conference that we're hosting later in August about high school. So that's, yeah, that's always a struggle. The other part was like, I think you kind of asked, you know, the flip side of that, what has something that's come kind of naturally. It's kind of how I'll take the question. A lot of people hate meetings. I actually enjoy the IEPs. I don't know about you. Do you enjoy like. 

Sarah Putt   

I love you. I thrived going out to IEP most of them, I should say most. Some of the, like, six hour ones. I was like, Yeah, I could, I could remove those. But yeah, I loved going to the IEP meetings.  

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, and on the same way, I love it, because I feel like that is where we get to advocate for the kid. We get to advocate for ourselves. We get to advocate for special education in general, and why it shouldn't be something to look down on, and why it's, you know, some people, I'm not going to point at anyone, because it comes from anywhere. Some people don't understand the role of special education, that it is to support the students, and they see it as a bad thing. They see it as my kids in special education, or that kids in special education, and there's something wrong. But that's totally not the case, you know. So, yeah, I enjoy IEPs. I think that it's a great way to share the knowledge that we have and to advocate for our profession, for the students that we serve. 

Sarah Putt   

And I don't know about you, but I feel like a lot of times, at least in the IEP meetings that I've been a part of a lot of times and work with lots of other practitioners, therapists, other staff, teachers, you name it, right, I've been in IEP meetings with probably 17 people, and I have encountered it time and time again, where there's maybe arguing or just some like, discontent between the different professionals, and then ot steps in, and we kind of like, explain everything, and all of a sudden people are like, Oh, I get it. And like the whole tone of the meeting changes. And I'm like, Yeah, that's ot right. That is why we're here. That is why we have a presence in the schools, because people need us to kind of connect those dots and really make it as supportive and empowering that we can for the kids and for the families and the caregivers. 

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, I agree. And you know, as an occupational therapist, as an occupational therapy practitioner, I think that we do actually strive in realizing that we don't know everything, and knowing that the speech therapist has value, the teacher has value, the parent has value. Every single person on that team has value, despite what you want to think about them, even B CBAS, they bring value, and we can either A, we can ignore them and go down our own road, or B, we can listen to them and we can all work together. I think it's amazing when I understand other professionals goals, because then when I'm working with a student, I'm naturally embedding their. Goals into my sessions. And likewise, they're doing the same thing with me. Maybe the speech therapist incorporates some fine motor stuff, because they know what my goal is. And I think that's amazing. And that can only happen when the IEP team is really on the same page. We gotta be the loop. 

Sarah Putt   

I heard that somewhere, like, years ago, and I'm like, Yeah, OT is the glue. We bring everybody together. And, yeah, go. OT, okay, so I know what we talked about, how you got into the schools, but we are going to back up a little bit here, and this is before. OT, how did you find out about occupational therapy? How did you know that it was the profession for you? Like, let's, let's back up to little Jayson. I'm not sure how little you were when you found it, but let's go back a little bit. 

Jayson Davies   

Yeah. So I'm very fortunate in the sense that I learned about ot because my sister is actually an occupational therapist, and so that's how I learned about it. I think she actually learned about it at the Girl Scout retreat, so that's how she found out about it. I didn't even realize what she was doing throughout college, so I had no idea why she was at school, really. But once she graduated, she actually got a job in Southern California, in Pasadena, at Center for developing kids. Shout out to CDK. And so at that point, when she's working at CDK, I think I'm basically graduating from high school going into junior college. At that time, I was very insecure. I was so insecure that I didn't even apply to a university, even though I had like, a 3.9 GPA, like, I was afraid of getting let down and not getting into a school. And so instead of going to apply for a four year university. I started at a JC, no problem there, but I didn't know what I wanted to do. Two things that were on the table. I knew what ot was, so I decided, okay, that's part of what maybe I could do. And then I also was thinking film. I had gone through animation all four years in high school, and I really wanted to work for Pixar at the time. That was like my dream was to be an animator for Pixar. So I went to junior college, started taking some psych courses, you know, pre reqs for OT and I also took some film courses. And just over time, I started to sway more toward the OT side. I was doing volunteer hours at CDK. I probably racked up, like, I don't know, maybe 300 hours, like, not even realizing it. And then even when I was in OT school, I continued to go over there to support them. Even though I wasn't doing a field work, I was still volunteering and shadowing and doing stuff there. So yeah, I kind of followed my sister down that road a little bit into OT and found a very secure place, a very welcoming place, a place where I felt like I belong. You know, it allowed me to work with kids, which was kind of something I always wanted to do, and so it allowed me to get into that realm. And yeah, that's how I found OT, that's how I got into it. And yeah, we already talked about what happened after that. So, yeah. 

Sarah Putt   

So I kind of want to talk about the interim piece, because you said that ot school house is roughly four to five years old, and you've been practicing nine to 10 so you started, you found OT, you were volunteering and working with kids, and then you graduate, you get this job in school based what happens in those kind of the next, like four to five ish years that led you to starting ot school house? 

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, absolutely. So we talked about, you know, that first job that I got, it was a contract job, and so I did work again, pretty local, about 20 minutes or so from from where I lived at the time, and that was my first toe dip into school based OT. I was a contracted therapist. However, I worked in a district where all the OTs were contracted by like, the same company, basically. So we really felt like we were really part of the district. However, what we didn't get was some of the support from the district. We didn't have a lot of RTI going on. We weren't really. We were a part of the district, but away from the district. You know, we met as a team, but we were kind of in the middle between the contract company and between the school district. Very grateful for the people that mentored me there. A little bit. We got some mentorship, not a ton, because you just didn't have the time. But again, that's where I learned what an IEP was. I really tried to learn, not only from the occupational therapist there, but also the school psychologist, from the teachers, from the speech therapist, learning so much about IEPs and special education, but after a year, I decided, You know what, I want to be in a district position. I don't want to be a contracted therapist, and I want to be in a place where I can start to to get benefits, and I want to be in a place where I can start to have a pension slash retirement. And, you know, I was getting a little bit older, I understood the value of health insurance and all that good stuff. And so I did take a district position out in the high desert, which you're familiar with. Southern California is like half, not halfway, but it's on the way to Vegas. And so I was working. Out there, driving an hour to work every day, and I was the only occupational therapist. I had one occupational therapy assistant that I also worked with, and she was a little bit more familiar with the district. She had contracted for the district, but yeah, it was just her and I, and they had always used contract therapist, and now they're hiring us in house. And so we got to develop the program there. We got to shape what their occupational therapy program looked like. And at the time, there were two things that I was really keying in on sensory. That was the district that sent me to go get SIP certified, which is very nice to them, but the more I learned about sensory and school based OT, the more I also leaned more toward RTI and getting into the classrooms and that natural context setting that we talked about earlier. And so I actually strayed a little bit away from the sensory side, because I didn't want to be pulling the kids out. However, I did use that sensory component to help train the teachers in understanding. And for some of our classrooms, they did have access to a sensory room, per se, very toned down, you know, definitely wasn't an SI clinic, by any means, but developing kind of little sensory plans that the teachers could carry out a little bit, definitely not sensory integration. Because sensory integration, as you know, is a very strict it's a protocol, and you have to follow those protocols to be providing Si, but I was able to help train the teachers in sensory strategies and help them implement that. So that was at that district. I was there for five years, and it was a place for Jason to grow up. It really was. It was a place for Jason to spread his wings, I guess you could say, and I was the OT practitioner, and I had to explain to my boss what ot was. I had to explain to everyone there what occupational therapy was, what it could do, and how it could benefit from OT, all the students, how they could benefit. And I got to try new things. That was one of the cool things as a small district. So I was given the leeway to try a little bit. And so I really opened the door to RTI for that district. 

Sarah Putt   

I want to point this out, because this is one of my favorite things of being a podcast host, is that you start to hear things that might have happened in their past journey, and then other things pop up, and they all kind of start to tie together. And what you said just now it's like you kind of growing up, growing into yourself, growing into this ot practitioner. It made me reflect on what you were saying. When you were scared to even apply to college. You were scared because you were going to get rejected, or you were scared to put yourself out there. And you went to school. You went to OT school. You started this position where you were the only occupational therapist, and I think you said there was a code out there. And here you are, like, I have to represent myself. I have to represent my kids. I have to represent the certified occupational therapy assistant. I have to represent the profession. I have to represent everything here. And it's like, it really is, like, you kind of went from this scared student to kind of finding your wings and finding your voice and really finding your niche within school based occupational therapy.  

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, it's funny because as you're saying that, like, I'm saying things out loud right now that I don't think I've ever said, and it's crazy. You know, we really do grow, but it's not until you actually say it out loud that you start to realize I knew what I did, but not that I'm saying it out loud. Wow, what was I doing, and how did I do that? So, yeah, that's crazy. You're right. 

Sarah Putt   

Yeah, it's just kind of like, making these connections and drawing these parallels of our journeys. Of like, maybe I haven't thought about that before. I didn't. I think we just kind of forget where we were because we are so comfortable where we are now. And I'm really curious to kind of hear about originally, what was your idea for ot school house, and what did you think it was going to be when you were first starting out?  

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, you know, that's crazy. So I was at that job that I was talking about where I was the only ot with a coda. And actually, during my time there, our caseload was growing, and we showed to our administrator that we could not do it on our own. And so we did a workload study, a time study, and we, like, laid out. I created, like, a three page document that showed why we needed another occupational therapist. And so when I did that, we hired another ot Abby, Abby piranha, and it was, yes, that's right, Sarah, you know Abby, she was on the podcast too when we recorded with you. Yeah. So Abby piranha was an occupational therapist that we had hired, and her and I, we worked together at that school district for two and a half years, maybe, and closer to the time where we eventually left the district, both of us were in a place where, you know, we were the only two OTs in a district we had an OT a and we're in an area where there's not a lot of occupational therapists. And so. We would have a quote, unquote team meeting, but it would just be us three. It's like, we had a team meeting almost every day, but then once a month we had an official team meeting. So we're like, How can we not meeting with other people, other occupational therapists? And so we decided, how can we make this happen? And that was kind of the birth of OT school house. We wanted to connect with other OTs, and we didn't see that out there. Both of us loved podcasts. We loved listening to podcasts from everything from like murder mystery podcast to finance podcast to how to start a podcast, podcast. And so, you know, we had this idea, and it's actually started off as a blog first, and then we quickly turn it into a podcast, because we just saw that podcasts were growing. And personally, me, I'm not a typer. I can talk all day long, but I hate typing, and so blogging for me was like tedious, but jumping on a microphone was easy. And so we started the podcast, and unfortunately, Abby, she ended up moving across the country and decided that it was no longer part of her world at that point to be part of the OT school house podcast. She now has a family and lives back east, and she's doing wonderful. We are on fantastic terms, but at the same time, you know, we just knew that it was at that point, best to split away. So now the OT school house is just myself, but she was absolutely a big part in starting it. And like I said, we just wanted to build a community where OTs that particularly worked in school based practice, could come together, learn together, teach each other, and just have a community, because everything was going virtual, and we saw a place, you know, there wasn't a podcast about school based ot there wasn't an online community for school based OTs at that time, and so we wanted to build that, and that still holds true today. I still want to build a community out a community for school based occupational therapy providers, and that's exactly what we're doing now. That's exactly what we're going to be doing in the future. So I'm excited for it. 

Sarah Putt   

Yeah, that connection piece and the community piece it, I get it like, that's why I started the podcast too, because I think it's very easy to kind of get stuck in our own little ot world, especially if you're very isolated, and maybe you're the only practitioner one of a handful. And there's so much amazing work that's being done out there, and if you just stay in your own little world, you're never going to kind of find out about that. And I want to just say you have built a community. So I know your goal is to build one. You're going to continue to build, because you've already built this amazing school based ot community. And it's amazing to because I listened to you from the, probably the very, very beginning, when you first started your podcast. And it's so amazing to see how much you've changed, how much you've grown the topics that you've covered. And I also want to say like the, almost like the in depth of the topics that you've covered. I feel like in the beginning it was very, you know, just kind of those, those big topics that come up in school, and now you're coming up with different topics that I'm like, wow. Like, how did you even come up with like that? That's so that's so niche, and so needed, that we need, that needs to be kind of talked about in the school based world. And so it's been really cool to watch this progression and how ot school house has grown, how the podcast has grown, and everything that you've really kind of built around ot school house. 

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, thank you so much. I mean, it's been a journey, and you know, right along with you too. I mean, it's been crazy watching you grow. I mean, starting off with your own podcast, your own ot for life and everyone you know, very niche, but at the same time, very large for all occupational therapists that that might want to watch occupational therapy practitioners listen to and then watching you kind of niche it down a little bit, even you know you've done the OT round table, which is still very broad. But then you also have your ei podcast, which now that you're doing with Danielle and Amira, and can't not mention Amira, I hope everything is going well with Amira. But, yeah, just seeing everything that you're doing with the EI field, and just your journey in podcasting, it's been amazing to grow with you within the podcasting community. 

Sarah Putt   

Yeah, it truly is kind of, I mean, occupational therapy is a small world to begin with, and then enter ot podcasters, and it's like, we're, we're even smaller, and connecting with you a couple years back at the Occupational Therapy Association Conference in California, and, yeah, just being a part of your journey and now being here today, I'm like, this is on it for me first. But what do you think, kind of reflecting back on, I mean, this entire journey from starting ot to starting in the schools to starting ot school house, what do you think are some of like, the biggest things that you've. Learned along the way, and this can be very specific to the podcast, or this can be school based. OT I'm going to leave it kind of broad for you to answer. 

Jayson Davies   

I feel like I should kind of hit like one for each thing here. You know, for school based occupational therapy, I think the biggest thing that I've learned is that we can't do this on our own, and sometimes as occupational therapists, as occupational therapy practitioners, we sometimes have this feeling where it's us against the world, where no one understands what we do, and we have to constantly share what we do. And I'm not saying that is false. It is absolutely correct. We do have to share what we do, but we also need to, and I've learned we can't do this alone, and we need help from the school psychs. We need help from our administrators. We need help from our teachers, and we need to push ourselves out there. We can't expect them to come to us. We need to show them what we can do, not just explain what we do, and the more that we push ourselves out there, the more that we show them exactly how ot can support that one student in their class, or their entire class, the more that we do that, the more they're involved, the more they're going to ask us to come back and do more. And I think that is the one thing that I've learned the most in the schools is that if you share what you do in a way that they actually see what we do. If you do that with one teacher, they will share it with another teacher. You won't have to share with another teacher. That teacher will share with their colleagues what Jason did for them, and then that teacher is going to ask me to come into their classroom, and from there, it just continues to grow and grow and grow. And so the power of showing one teacher what you can do can just have tremendous benefits for the field of occupational therapy, not just for you, but for the entire field of occupational therapy. So I think that's kind of like the one big thing from school based ot that I've learned outside, you know, with ot school house as a business in general, I've learned that I can do hard things that I never know how to do my goodness. And same with you. I'm sure you know it's you don't learn how to develop a podcast in OT school. I mean, you don't learn how to develop a website. I sometimes get emails, and I'm sure you get them too, where people like email you as though you are a team of people, and I'm like, it's just me here, hi. It's Jason. You know, it's we are learning how to do this, and we're learning how to write, how to do a podcast, produce a podcast. We're learning how to create a website, how to make YouTube videos, how to make a course, how to make a conference for school based occupational therapists, how to build a community. And I never thought that I would have ever done that in my life. And so I think that's the big thing that I've learned from the business side of things. So yeah, I think those are kind of two big takeaways that are very different but equally important when it comes to the OT school house being what it is today. 

Sarah Putt   

And I'd also include that they probably have intertwined a lot, and as you kind of grew as a business owner, and as you grew using your voice on the podcast and and really, kind of finding your true passion, and really like your true purpose of what you want to be doing, that has then translated into the work that you do clinically and working with teachers and working with staff and working with clients. And I think it's just it's so cool to kind of see, because, I mean, I've gone through it myself too, how both of those skill sets, I guess you could say, even though they seem separate, can really just kind of come together and like, I mean, it just kind of opens up all these other opportunities and potentials. And really, you just kind of find yourself and find your footing and kind of move into that space that maybe you didn't know you were supposed to be. But once you're there, you're like, Yeah, this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. 

Jayson Davies   

Right? And, yeah, I have a folder in my email where, like, all the appreciation that I get, I just, if I get an appreciation email, I just drop it into that appreciation folder. Um, sometimes I print out a few and I put them up on my wall, you know, it's just because, growing up, we already talked a little bit about self conscious issues back in the day. And one of those things was like, my voice, like, you know, self conscious about your voice, right? YouTubers are self conscious about what they look like on YouTube for podcasts, or naturally, like, I don't want to listen to my voice. And I was always self conscious about that. And growing up, people would always like, ask me to repeat what I said because of my voice. And so that made me more self conscious. And now I get emails saying, like, your voice is so calming and soothing and it's perfect on a podcast, it's like that just it baffles me, because that's never what I would have expected anyone to ever comment on about myself. And if I wouldn't have started the podcast, I would have never known that people actually appreciate hearing. Not only my content, but also the sound of my voice, which is nothing I can control. Well, to some extent, right? You can take lessons or not, but I haven't, but, but to hear what, you know, people enjoy listening to you, and it's just something that you never expect to get, but it helps when you get it. And always appreciative. 

Sarah Putt   

I love the appreciation folder, and I feel like I need to, like, do that. I like, say I'm gonna do it all the time, and I just haven't done it. But maybe this is gonna be from something that came from that, or maybe it's something else. But would you share, like, what has been either the most memorable or maybe a couple of memorable moments that you've had since starting the OT school house. 

Jayson Davies   

Oh, you know it always I mean, it's crazy, because it's not something that you wouldn't think would happen. But every time I hear from an occupational therapist, a provider that is not within the United States, like it just floors me, like the first time I received a message from someone outside of the United States. I believe it was, I can see her name, but I can't think of it from Shanghai, China. I was like, Why does someone in Shanghai even know I exist? And it was just amazing. So that always floors me. We have actually quite a bit of listeners, both in the UK and in Australia. And, you know, as a podcaster, we kind of see some numbers about where people are listening. I'm just like, again, why? Why do these people even know who I am? So that always floors me. But every time that someone tags me in an Instagram like story and just says, you know, thanks to the OT school house for this gray space paper. Thank you to the OT school house for sharing these handouts that people that they're using to spread the awareness of OT school house. Those are really the moments that I remember most. You know, it's just people are thanking me for something that I created for them, and it really touches the heart. You know, it's like, you put these things out there, not knowing if anyone will ever use them, and when they actually do use them, you're just like, Thank you for using this. You know, I give out so much for free, and I do that because I want people to use stuff. I don't want you to have to recreate the wheel. And so, yeah, it's just amazing when people do that. It's always amazing when we have, you know, 300 people show up to a conference, or 300 people show up to a live webinar, and we just have community those types of things I can't ask for. I can't even fathom saying, hey, you know, I have something really cool to share with you. I hope you'll show up, and then when 300 people show up, it just means so much that you're actually helping them. I like to tell people I try to give away 1000s of dollars worth of free information before I ask you to purchase one thing for the OT school house, whether it be a conference or a course, I want to make sure that you're finding value through the podcast, through the website, through free webinars, because if we're not, then we're not doing our job, or I'm not doing my job. So yeah, those are some of the things that just really make me in awe every time that that people say thank you that people share what we have put out there, and when people show up and just be a part of the community. 

Sarah Putt   

Is it so interesting to reflect back to when it was just you and the COTA in the district, and that was it, and there was nobody else around. And then when you moved to the next position, and it was you and Abby and one other practitioner, and those were your meetings, right? Like, two to three people, and now all of a sudden, you're talking potentially 1000s of people that are listening to you showing up to your events. Like, that's gotta be the best feeling in the world. 

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, absolutely. And my wife sometimes jokes around how, like, I can't go to an OT event without people knowing who I am. And it's kind of true, and like, I don't let it go to my head. But it's just amazing to know that, yes, ot practitioners around the world, like, know who I am. And okay, we're going to talk a little bit about, you know, there are very few males in the position of OT and being one of the few males that are prominent within the podcast space and whatnot, I do get recognized if I go to an A ot a event, or ot of California ot event or something like that. And it's awesome, but that is just a byproduct of all that I have done, that I have put out there for everyone, and it's just a byproduct. Basically, it's a way of saying thank you when they notice me out in the world. It's a way of them anyone saying, you know, thank you for doing what you've done. And I feel that, you know, I feel whenever someone comes up and says hello, sometimes a simple hello, you can feel is really more of a thank you so much for what you've done. And even if people don't say it, I feel it from every single person in the OT, ot school house community, and just the OT community in general. 

Sarah Putt   

So I kind of have a two parter question for you here. And being that you know you love being an OT in the schools, and you have so much passion for really. Changing the face of what occupational therapy looks like in in schools, in school districts. Here's the two parter here, where do you want to see ot in the schools be in the future. And then the second question is, where do you want to see ot school house fit into that. 

Jayson Davies   

Great question. I love it, and I know exactly what my answer is, at least for the first part. No two plus, maybe not evolving. Yeah, seriously. OT in school based occupational therapy. I want OTs to be ever present, more so than we are today. I want us to be helping more people through the power of collaboration. Now, sometimes when I say that, people think that I mean like we won't be having one on one sessions, and that's not the case. There will always be a case for one to one ot with an individual or even a small group with ot supporting a few students in maybe the OT room. But I want more teachers, more administrators, to understand our value. Beyond that, I want us to be as well known as the nurse on campus or any teacher. I want us to be a part of the community, a true part of the school community. I'm not just someone that walks into a room and people say you're going to the OT room and not know why someone's going to the OT room. Or you walk into a room to pick up a student and all the other students, they want to go with you because they know you're in the fun place, but they don't know what you do. I really want us to be embedded into the classroom right now, most OTs are working through the IDEA law, right, which is all about special education, but I want us to move beyond that. And there is legislation for that. It's the ESSA Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 and it's got to be reauthorized soon. And what that pushes for OT and other service providers is to be more involved in general education curriculum, and that's really where I want to see OTs. I want to see OTs in every classroom, not just the special education classrooms. So, yeah, that's my answer for that, for the OT school house. This is a tough one, you know, I, you know, I always say, you know, I need to have a five year plan, but I never create a five year plan. 

Sarah Putt   

Both. I'm like, oh, five years ago. Wait a second. 

Jayson Davies   

Yeah. You know, I I definitely want to continue the OT school house podcast. I want to bring on more guests. I want to provide that value for every school based OT, whether they're in the city next door to me, the same city, or anywhere around the world, alongside of that, though, I do want to, like you said, I have developed a community, but I wanted to develop that community even further. I want us to bring us together for more events where we are sharing specific knowledge to school days. OT, I love a OTA, I love OT. I love the World Federation of OT. I'm sad that I probably will not make it to Paris later this year. Me neither. I was gonna ask you, I wasn't sure if you'd make it there or not, but yeah, you've got a lot going on too, but sometimes those large events, they're encompassing of all of OTs and school based ot kind of gets lost in it. And so I want to continue to build a community specific to school based occupational therapy practitioners that is 100% for the school based OT and that's where I'm at. That's what I want to continue to do, and whether that looks like more in person events, so be it, if that continues to be all virtual, that's okay too. I just want to continue to have a place for school based OTs to come and feel like they are talking with their own and learning also how to outreach beyond school based OT and as you know, I really share about about advocacy. We've already talked a little bit today about sharing with teachers administrators what your value is as a school based ot practitioner. 

Sarah Putt   

Yeah, I think it's really just kind of continuing to spread the knowledge, spread the research, spread the work, spread the word. You know, everything working in the schools is definitely a unique and niche practice area. And being able to be in that community and build that community and be a part of that community worldwide is huge, and learning about how people are doing it in, maybe it is the city next to you, or maybe it is a completely different country and and learning from each other, and just that kind of knowledge translation and that knowledge sharing is, again, it's one of the biggest parts for me being an occupational Therapy practitioner, as well as being a podcaster, and really just like sharing everything that we're learning and connecting with each other. And I love that that is your mission, and continuing to be your mission with the OT school house podcast, I want to go a little personal just for a second, because I know for. Five ish weeks ago, something big, and you talked about it right in the beginning of the episode. Something big changed in your life, and you had your son. You're born, and being that I am now, I had a daughter last year. She just turned one year old. I know how much we are so passionate about the field of occupational therapy and the settings that we work in, and how our personal lives are so intertwined with our professional lives, yeah, and I am really curious to hear, how has having your son, and I know it's only been a short few weeks, probably feels a little longer, a little sleep deprived here, but how has your son influenced your role as an occupational therapist? 

Jayson Davies   

Funny, you should ask. Actually, I was texting one of my former colleagues and a friend, Amanda. She was actually on an episode, gosh, a few years ago now. She was asking me. She's like, Hey, how's being a dad? Like, you know, it's going well, you know, just learning every day how to take care of a baby. And she's like, Oh yeah, you only worked in the schools. You never did early intervention. You don't know what it means to be a to work with young you know, the baby. And I was like, yeah, that's that's right on. I don't, because I never worked in that EI. And so this is all new to me. I'm the first child of my parents to have a kid. My wife is the first child of her family to have a kid, and so we haven't been around a lot of newborns, and yeah, so we are learning everything by the moment. It's been crazy. Lots of diaper changes, lots of trying to, you know, people tell you to get into a routine, and then people tell you, is it impossible to get into a routine with a newborn? So it's like, wait, what do you want me? There's just so much information coming from everywhere. I have barely started to get back to like responding to emails and getting into things. You know, I'm in a fortunate position, I should say, and I am not actually working as a practitioner at this point, and so I don't have to rush back to a school based job. I am now full time with the OT school house, and, you know, it's scary, but at the same time, I know by being full time at the OT school house, I can support more occupational therapy practitioners. And so I'm excited for that. I'm also excited because I do get to work from home now, and I get to be here for my child. His name's Kyler, Kiyoshi Davies, and I get to be there for Kyler. And so I'm excited about that, but the one thing that I remember, and I don't even know who told me this, is that, you know, babies aren't necessarily as fragile as everyone thinks. So I am keeping that in my mind, but at the same time, I know he's still a baby, and you know, of course, he relies on us for everything. So it is just a blessing to have him. I'm so excited to be in his life, and I'm so excited to have him in my life, and I look forward to all the precious moments with him. And you know, he's already, he's already aging out of the newborn clothing, which, you know, it's, it's amazing. You know, they grow fast, so just trying to enjoy every moment. 

Sarah Putt   

You know, it's been a journey. Your experience from starting out in OT, starting out in the schools, starting ot school house, and now having a son and becoming a parent like it's all a journey, and it's. 

Jayson Davies   

I don't know if you can hear him right now, I just started crying. No. 

Sarah Putt   

Like on cue. I'm watching my daughter throwing her toys over her crib right now. 

Jayson Davies   

Just for everyone, just for everyone listening right now. We had to, like time this around baby naps and walk time. So, yep, that's, that's life for us now. 

Sarah Putt   

Yeah, life as ot parents and OT podcasters here, true life right behind the scenes, behind the curtains here. But yeah, it's, I think having a kid, it's only going to add to who you are right now and everything that you do. And I think as your son gets older, you will start to realize how how you can better talk to parents, or how you can change how you talk to parents, caregivers, and IEPs, all that type of stuff, because I know I learned a lot, and I was like, wow, I expected a lot from my clients parents, and now I'm like, okay, and it just, it's a continuous journey of just kind of learning across all boards. Here, is there, like, side note, is there anything else that you feel like you wanted to talk about you wanted me to ask, like anything else we didn't touch on before we close up. 

Jayson Davies   

Now you can hear, yeah, I always tell people this is a dog friendly podcast, but now it's a kid friendly podcast too. So yeah, you know, I think we touched on everything, you know, I'm just excited that we have got to this point. You know, I never expected to to be where I am today with the OT school house podcast, and I couldn't have done it without all the support. I just remember, like, the first time a number popped up on our podcast, or like, someone listened to the podcast, and, you know, now. So it is being listened to by 1000s of therapists, and I'm just so excited to be able to support those therapists in any way possible. It is just a huge blessing. And yeah, you know, that's really it. I'm just super appreciative for everyone out there that's listening and allowing me to be a part of their drive or their workout or whatever they're doing while they listen. Right? It's just amazing that anyone would want to listen to a podcast about school based occupational therapy, and just cannot say thank you enough to everyone that listens and to everyone that's a part of the OT school house community, and yeah, that's, I think that's the big thing that I just want to, just want to share with everyone. I really appreciate you. 

Sarah Putt   

I said it in the beginning, and I'm going to say it again. Congratulations. 100 episodes. This is a like, just an enormous milestone to hit as a podcaster. And I know the work isn't done. I know that there's so much more that you want to do and so many more brilliant ideas that you have yet to share with the OT and school based community. And first off, I am so honored to have been a part of this and to be asked to interview you for this huge milestone. So thank you for that. And honestly, I cannot wait to see where Jayson goes in the future, where the OT school house community goes in the future. The podcast like, yeah, there are, there are big things coming. And I am. I'm so excited. So big congratulations. 

Jayson Davies   

Thank you so much, Sarah. And thank you again, so much for taking the time out of your day to come on and do this. I really appreciate it. As we've talked about, we didn't even talk about how we met. And if you want to hear how we met, go listen to the OT for life. Do you know what episode that was? It was way back in the beginning. I know we talked about it. 

Sarah Putt   

Like 43 or something. We can, we can link to it. 

Jayson Davies   

Yeah, you'll hear about how we how we met each other at a ot occupational therapy of California Association, just we decided to have lunch one day, and us and a few others, and it's crazy to see where we've gone from there, and so build your community out. And yeah, Sarah, you know, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for taking the time to interview me. I know you've got a baby that's ready for your attention, but I appreciate you taking the time, right? Always. I appreciate you taking the time to be here. I couldn't think of a more perfect podcast, occupational therapy provider to be here. Excited for that. 

Sarah Putt   

I know I said it a bunch in the episode, but I'm saying it again. Congrats Jayson for reaching 100 episodes of the OT school house podcast. This is such a huge accomplishment, and I am so so so so proud of you. I honestly cannot thank you enough for allowing me the opportunity to come on and host this monumental episode with you. It is such an honor to be here on this special episode to celebrate such a big accomplishment. I had an absolute blast going behind the scenes of the OT school house podcast how it came to be, as well as learning more about you and how your journey led you to where you are. Now, if you're still listening to this, I know that you are Jayson people, so do me a favor. Go wish him a big congrats. You can do that by sharing this episode on social media, telling a friend about it, or just send him a message to share your excitement and your congratulations, hearing from you I know will make his day. Thank you so much for listening to this episode, and again, congrats Jayson and the OT school house community. Cheers to 100 episodes, and here's to 100 more. 

Amazing Narrator   

Thank you for listening to the OT school house podcast for more ways to help you and your students succeed right now, head on over to otschoolhouse.com. Until next time class is dismissed.

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