Related Services and Therapies in Schools
Students with special physical needs can be motivated and stimulated in their physical, mental and emotional development by engaging in developmentally appropriate activities along with their peers. What is appropriate for a student may be determined by other measures than chronological age.The school routines, teachers, and their assistants and support staff are knowledgeable in adapting media to enhance a child’s development to his/her next level.
When a child requires support services to be able to benefit from being at school, professionals can become involved in the educational process. Support staff or support services may include speech, occupational, physical, vision, hearing and assistive technology.
Resources are available through both the school and medical community but have different roles.
Medical vs. Educational model:
Medical Model: / Educational Model:1. The client is a patient who is ill. / 1. The client is a student who can learn curriculum.
2. Disability is any physical/mental condition from disease or injury. / 2. Disability must be 1 of 13 impairments affecting learning and development.
3. The goal is to heal or cure to restore to function / 3. Goal is to enhance learning and development.
4. Primary providers are physicians and nurses. / 4. Primary providers are educators and related service providers (OT, PT, vision specialists, deaf ed, music therapy and many more).
5. The responsibility for decisions rests with the doctor. / 5. Responsibility for decisions rests with the ARD committee (educators, family and related service providers).
6. The focus of assessment is the status of symptoms. / 6. Assessment focuses on academic readiness, achievements and obstacles to learning.
7. The intervention is a treatment plan to cure or heal. / 7. Intervention plan is curriculum to achieve grade level skills and IEP goals.
8. Access varies by location and ability to pay. / 8. Access is guaranteed by law at age 3 for special education regardless of personal financial ability.
9. Payment for services by insurance and out-of-pocket. / 9. Payment for services comes from local property taxes, state and federal tax. Medicaid pays a small portion of some related services costs.
10. Frequency is episodic as needed for healing ranging from continuous (ex:ICU) to 1 time treatment. / 10. Frequency of intervention is throughout the school day by teachers and aids, with direct and consultative related services(PT, OT, etc.) as needed to support the students’ acquisition of grade level skills and IEPs. Related services may be recommended anywhere from a once a semester consult to promote carryover from semester to semester, to once a week to regularly progress a student’s program in the classroom.
11. Outcome is return to maximum skills and independence. / 11. Outcome is achievement of IEPs and/or grade level skills.
Equipment: When a child requires specialized equipment to function and succeed at school, the school may purchase what is determined to be required by professional observation and input. Parental input is valuable but the final decision of the school as to what equipment to purchase is determined by school staff as the school day is different in certain respects from things that are effective in the home and community. Some equipment can actually hamper a child’s ability to participate with his/her peers in a school setting. It is important to understand that the school is not required to purchase new equipment for each student or the exact equipment that the child may use at home but is required to purchase equipment that will benefit him/her in the school environment so that the child can access educational opportunities.
Parents may prefer that the child’s own personal equipment be used at school. Parents and staff need to discuss how this will be managed. Will equipment be transported daily by parents or school bus, left at school during the week and taken home for weekends and/or holidays and so on. Staff who will manage the equipment need to plan a time to be instructed in safe and proper use and care.
School equipment may be borrowed by families for home use by requesting it and signing an “Equipment Loan Form” which is an agreement that the equipment will be returned in proper working condition when it is returned to school. Staff will sometimes need to meet with the person who will be using the equipment with the child for instruction in safe and proper use and care.
In Summary:
It is sometimes assumed that school PT and OT intervention is equivalent to helping students achieve their maximum physical potential. The school OT and PT is the amount they need in order to benefit from the educational opportunities available to them. In truth, whether or not a student has a disability, no school can guarantee that a student will achieve their maximum potential. Maximum potential is something students and their parents may reach for through many resources. Private speech therapy, PT, OT and other specialties and community programs can greatly benefit a child’s overall development.
School is not designed or able to efficiently provide maximum potential apart from families and community resources any more than a hospital can do that for sick people. Home, school, the child and the medical community all combine to bring success in this area.