“Embedded OT?”

Occupational therapists have acronyms for everything, it’s true! An OTEEC OT (Occupational Therapy Embedded in Early Childhood) is one who does not follow a traditional one-to-one service model, but instead provides support to early childcare centers as a whole, focusing on group and classroom-wide interventions that address community and population health and wellness.

I will be forever grateful that my CSU professor and developer of the OTEEC model, Dr. Lisa Fyffe, reached out just as I was dreaming up New Moon, to see if I would be interested in pioneering this new model in a new space - a primarily Spanish speaking childcare center in north Fort Collins. Culturally, I am a fourth generation Mexican-American woman, so the chance to serve my own Latine community has been a professional dream come true.

I like to say “I see the forest AND the trees” to explain this model, because while the OTEEC model focuses on healthy classroom practices and school-wide interventions, we also build relationships with teachers and parents to identify when certain kids might be struggling in order to provide them with more individualized supports. Being “embedded” in the center gives universal access to an OT for families who might not be introduced to these services until much later in their child’s life - and early intervention is always key to improving long-term outcomes.

We just celebrated our 1-year anniversary at La Familia, and are excited to have funding for another year of service! In the photo above, I am showing off some of the equipment Dr. Fyffe and I secured via an equipment grant for an “OT Lending Library”, providing the center with more options for open-ended gross motor play. There is always a need when working with kids for more - more diapers, more laundry detergent, more markers…you can learn more and support the center here!

In this position, also I mentor up to 4 OT and COTA clinical students each year, providing them with a unique opportunity to flex their OT brains and think about what community based pediatric occupational health could really mean - making classrooms and learning more accessible to all children helps them all thrive!

If you are a student or fieldwork coordinator interested in setting up a clinical rotation, please use my contact form to reach out. We review applications on an ongoing-basis.