Committed Pediatric OTR Creates Unwavering Bond with Clients and Colleagues

MARGARET “PEG” BLEDSOE, OTD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Decades of Impact on Students, Teachers, and Caregivers

Dr. Margaret “Peg” Bledsoe, an OTR from California, has been dedicated to the occupational therapy (OT) field for over 40 years. She has worked as a private practitioner and an employee at 22 school districts throughout the Bay Area, providing OT services to thousands of students. She approaches therapy through a client-centered perspective. Her philosophy is that treatment begins when the occupational therapist establishes a bond with their client, and that bond leads to effective care. Dr. Bledsoe also believes in equitable access to services. In her private practice, she provides pro-bono therapy services to families who have an immediate need for OT.

Dr. Bledsoe understands that working with students in the school setting means working with parents, teachers, and other caregivers as well. Because of this understanding, Dr. Bledsoe explains the intervention plan to the parents and teachers so all parties involved can understand the content the student is learning and the methods to address behavioral incidents. Dr. Bledsoe also provides information, ideas for activities, data sheets, and in-services to teachers and parents so they are better able to support students in the classroom and at home. Dr. Bledsoe’s expertise is greatly valued as teachers and administrators frequently request her insight to support students’ needs.

Passion for an Emerging Area

An area that Dr. Bledsoe is passionate about is using OT for birth trauma. She brings a unique understanding of ways birth trauma can affect human development and works with clients to enhance their developmental needs. Through her intervention process, clients experience improvements in mobility and activities of daily living with increased emotional involvement.

Dr. Bledsoe shares her treatment techniques, improvement outcomes, clinical successes, and methodologies on birth trauma with her clients, fieldwork students, OT practitioners, and other health professionals. As the past president and a current board member of the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH), she has brought OT into the realm of birth trauma and continues to work on developing this emerging area of practice.

Mentoring the Next Generation

Dr. Bledsoe is also committed to sharing her depth of knowledge and skills with others. For 25 years, she has supported, supervised, and trained OT staff. She has helped OT practitioners gain an understanding of ways to provide the best possible therapy services by teaching them traditional and alternative treatment techniques. To further support their learning, Dr. Bledsoe offers handouts, Q&A sessions, case studies, and personal communication to demonstrate the effectiveness of treatments. She is skilled at identifying the learning style of an individual, which in turn, informs her teaching approach. Practitioners often report that the treatment practices they learned from Dr. Bledsoe have improved their clients’ daily occupations. Dr. Bledsoe continues to be an impactful practitioner.