UTMB was recently awarded a four-year, $800,000 training grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education to prepare licensed physical and occupational therapists to work with infants to school-aged children who have disabilities.

The Specialized Training of Occupational and Physical Therapists in Early Intervention and Related Services program (STAIRS), is designed to develop online courses to enhance the professional expertise of licensed occupational and physical therapists working in pediatric settings.

Those who participate and complete all courses in the program will be provided a transitional professional doctorate degree (DPT for physical therapists; the OTD degree program is pending approvals). Training stipends of $6,500 are available to support therapists that commit to completing the program. UTMB is particularly seeking to train therapists who are culturally and linguistically different and those with disabilities.

Please direct questions to Christine P. Baker, PT, EdD, Associate Professor, STAIRS Project Director, UTMB, at cbaker@utmb.edu, or visit our web site at http://shp.utmb.edu/STAIRS/.