Brian Fitzgerald

Background

About Brian Fitzgerald

An experienced Occupational Therapist specialising in the development of School Based Occupational Therapy (SBOT) services in Ireland. I began my career in the National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) building capacity in post primary schools to support students with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. This was the first education based occupational therapy service in Ireland and offered rich opportunities to uncover new knowledge and develop practice in this emerging area. I completed a PhD in 2019 focusing on developing occupational therapy practice in Irish post primary schools in areas of social disadvantage. As Occupational Therapy Clinical Lead for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), I worked with the Health Service Executive to project manage the Demonstration Project on In-School and Early Years Therapy Support between 2018 and 2020. I am currently in the role of Occupational Therapy Manager as part of the NCSE 'School Inclusion Model'(SIM) working with an experienced team of Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists to further develop SBOT practices and educationally relevant outcomes in partnership with school staff.