Hopebridge Outpatient Fieldwork Experience
Get Fieldwork Experience in Pediatric Autism Therapy
With a range of externship opportunities for speech therapy and occupational therapy students, clinical rotations at Hopebridge offer students an unforgettable, supportive learning environment while working with children with autism and other developmental delays.
Why Speech and Occupational Therapy Students Choose Hopebridge
Choosing to work with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is life-changing for everyone involved. Sometimes the choice is made long before entering a university, and other times it seems to fall into your lap.
Whether you sought out our program or have been placed in one of our pediatric clinics through partnerships with universities around the country, Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers offers an unmatched program for those wishing to take their skills to the next level. Clinical rotations are set up for occupational therapy and speech students to excel their studies and future careers as they apply their education to real-life scenarios in a clinical setting with children on the spectrum.
Hopebridge offers a range of opportunities for fellowships, clinical rotations, observation hours, dissertations and thesis work. From part-time options and shorter rotations, to full-time externships up to 40 hours per week, we can give as much hands-on experience as you need to match your education requirements and professional goals.
Does the Hopebridge Fieldwork Experience sound like a match for you? Take your first step toward advancing your career in occupational therapy or speech therapy:
Contact Us about Fieldwork
Interdisciplinary, Collaborative Model
According to our students, one of the biggest perks of Hopebridge’s clinical fieldwork programs is the ability to learn about a range of disciplines, in addition to building skills within their own fields of choice. Hopebridge’s 360 Care model* combines autism treatment services, which not only benefits the patients we work with, but provides clinicians the opportunity to collaborate to meet goals in fresh, new ways.
Find out more about the services students can learn about during internships:
Insight Into the World of Autism
Many schools, hospitals and clinics offer pediatric outpatient experience, but Hopebridge’s focus on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) provides students a new perspective for many of our students. The program is centered around early intensive behavioral interventions (EIBI), giving our interns the chance to work closely with the behavior side of treatment. With full-time access to many children within our sensory-rich center environments, most of our speech and OT students quickly realize this is a patient population they want to serve for the long haul. Plus, while children with autism are the base of our community, our outpatient therapies still see children with a mix of diagnoses, enabling our students and employees to keep those skills present, too.
If you don’t feel like you have all the autism answers yet, you’re not alone. Autism is a spectrum and we are here to support your learning. In the meantime, find out more about ASD here:
A Community Full of Supervision, Support and Networking Opportunities
At Hopebridge, there’s always someone to cheer you on or overcome an obstacle, as providing best-in-class, hands-on support is a key piece of our student programs’ success. Rather than learning from solely one supervisor for the clinical experience, students have an entire community of knowledgeable mentors, including a clinical instructor, fieldwork coordinator, student peers and more.
In addition to in-center support, students have access to Hopebridge’s large service network, which allows students to develop meaningful relationships within their centers, plus create nationwide opportunities for themselves during school and after graduation. Once you graduate and continue with Hopebridge, that support doesn’t end. You will never be alone in this journey at Hopebridge, because Heroes always have each other’s backs.
Hear from the Field
“It’s so rare to get this condensed of an introduction to autism. In most other pediatric settings, you’ll have some exposure to kids with autism, but this was a huge crash course on so many elements of the spectrum I wouldn’t have found anywhere else.”
Leah — Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)
“During the first week, I shadowed my supervisor to see all her kids. After that, she told me it was up to me—did I want to take over the caseload, continue to shadow, or learn through a combination? She allowed me to spread my wings and fly, but was with me every step of the way with hands-on supervision and feedback.”
Mikaela — Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)
“With so many disciplines and so many centers within the Hopebridge space, we have a ton of resources at our fingertips. When students become part of our program, they are able to tap into that vast network.”
Boyd — Fieldwork Coordinator and COTA
Graduate with a Dream Job
Part of our mission is to cultivate our Hopebridge Heroes right here at home in our centers. Many of our students find their passion while serving in our centers and ultimately choose to grow with us, too. We love to see our students’ enthusiasm over working and studying with Hopebridge, and we’re equally eager for them to choose to stay with us long-term!
Continue to Learn and Grow
The learning doesn’t stop once you become a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), Registered Occupational Therapist (OTR) or Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). Enabling our Hopebridge Heroes to continue to grow into their “capes” is just as important to us as the development of our kiddos.
Beyond the tracks for students at Hopebridge, we have several programs in place to provide our team members with the tools, access and experience they need to deepen their knowledge and take their careers to the next level. From Grand Rounds to company-sponsored continuing education to leadership exploration, we make it a point to provide endless opportunities for our employees to broaden their skills.
Find out more about the internal development opportunities available to all our employees: