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Providing Occupational and Physical Therapy Services to Students in Schools and Government Agencies

Therapy services include consultation, evaluation, and development of Individualized Educational Plans (IEP), treatment, participation as an interdisciplinary team member during developmental assessments, participation in team meetings, in-services, and other services outlined by the Director of Special Education.

The therapists employed by Pediatric Therapies, Inc. have treated children with a variety of disabilities. Therapists will evaluate new referrals and present their findings to the eligibility or IEP team. Level of service will be determined by the team and then treatment will be provided as outlined in the IEP. The therapists will make all attempts to attend eligibility and IEP meetings on all of their students. If the therapists are not in the county on the day of a meeting, they will make sure all reports are in two days prior to the meeting and will discuss pertinent information with a team member prior to the meeting. Pediatric Therapies, Inc. puts a strong emphasis on IDEA guidelines and providing the appropriate educational therapy for a student so that they can optimally function within their classroom and are served in their least restrictive environment.

After consulting with the team and deciding where the student could most benefit from therapy, occupational or physical therapy may be provided within the classroom or on a pull-out basis utilizing some other space within the school that is appropriate for that student (i.e. playground, gym, cafeteria, art). The place where therapy will be provided can also change session to session based on the needs of the student or teacher. If the IEP team determines that home therapy is the least restrictive environment, the therapists and the Director of Special Education will determine the best way to provide the therapy. The therapist will provide IEP updates in accordance with the State and Federal requirements and guidelines.

Our therapists often work with other team members in weekly groups or special activities. Our therapists have worked together with teachers, aides, physical education teachers and other non-academic teachers, speech therapists, vision teachers, principals, and support staff. Therapists stress input from the teachers and aides, and consult with them to determine their needs with this student and how the student is doing within the classroom and the school.

All of the therapists employed by Pediatric Therapies, Inc. use an eclectic approach to direct therapy. This includes a combination of approaches such as sensory integration, neurodevelopmental treatment, and spatiotemporal adaptation. Therapy sessions are age-appropriate, fun, and use equipment and toys that are used by all students and not just for “therapy.” The emphasis for all treatment is to increase the function of the student within the educational environment. The student is also served indirectly by consulting with the personnel involved with them, educating staff about medical needs, and any other pertinent information. The therapists are more than willing to provide in-services to the staff.

School-Based Occupational and Physical Therapy Service Provision:

Who Receives Occupational and Physical Therapy in Schools?

School based therapies are intended to support a student’s benefit from special education programming (specially designed instruction). Services are delivered in order to improve, develop, or restore functions impaired or lost through illness, injury, or deprivation; delivered in order to improve ability to perform tasks for independent function (including accommodating a disability); delivered in order to prevent further impairment of loss of function. Occupational therapy is a related service under Part B of the Invididuals with Disabilities Educations Act (IDEA), and is provided to help a student with a disability benefit from special education. Once a student is eligible for special education, that student then has access to all related services, including occupational and physical therapy. The educational team and the therapist must determine if therapy is necessary to support a student’s participation in curricular and extracurricular activities (IDEA; Giangreco, 1995).

In addition to IDEA, some students receive therapy services in order to access public education programs, services, and activities under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Under Section 504, a disabled student may be eligible to receive OT when a physical or mental impairment substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, talking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working and learning.

Occupational therapy services in schools are provided by qualified, licensed occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants. Physical therapy services in schools are provided by qualified, licensed physical therapists or physical therapy assistants.

Services Occupational and Physical Therapists Provide in Schools:

Participate in the referral process
Conduct evaluations
Help determine eligibility
Help create student goal plans
Provide intervention
Chart and communicate progress
Re-evaluate
Help determine need to terminate services

Often, a request for a therapy evaluation is made by the special education team. A referral is appropriate when a child is not able to participate in the educational curriculum at the expected level of ability, when modifications and accommodations have not been effective, and when the areas of concern are within the domain of OT or PT practice.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy practitioners are trained to assess and treat occupational performance problems in the context where their occupations are being done. Occupational therapy interventions are designed to help children with disabilities fully participate in school and social situations, including math, reading, writing, behavior management, self-help skills, prevocational/vocational skills, sports, and recess.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy practitioners are trained to evaluate the child’s ability to move throughout the school environment and to participate in classroom activities. Physical therapy interventions are designed to enable the student to travel throughout the school environment; participate in classroom activities; maintain and change positions in the classroom; as well as manage stairs, restrooms, and the cafeteria. Test scores and standard deviations can be taken into consideration when making the decision to provide OT or PT as a support service, but they cannot be the sole determining factor. The therapist gathers relevant functional, developmental and academic information about the child to determine his or her needs through observation in various contexts, standard and non-standard measures, outcome tools and classroom assessments.

The OT and PT evaluation:

should describe the student’s:

participation (engagement in life situations)
activities (tasks)
body functions (physiology)
structures (anatomy)
personal and environmental factors

School activities include:

school mobility
accessing bus
fieldtrips
cafeteria
art
music
after school activities
clubs
managing materials
emergency procedures
self care.

Body functions include:

posture
balance
strength
muscle tone
range of motion
heart/respiration rate
bowel and bladder control

20 MINUTES FREE

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additional services

PRIVATE CLASSES

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VIDEO LESSONS

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WORKOUTS

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TOTAL RELAXATION

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I have worked with Pediatric Therapies for over a decade, as both a teacher and now a director. The Pediatric Therapies staff is committed to providing high-quality, school-based services to our students and to building strong, lasting partnerships with our school staff and families. The staff is always friendly, collaborative, and positive and has been a valuable addition to our school family over the years.

Amy Scott, Director of Special Education

As a teacher, elementary school administrator, and special education administrator, I have had the wonderful experience of working with the therapists of Pediatric Therapies, Inc. for more than 15 years. In addition to keeping a prompt schedule and maintaining clear communication, the professionals from Pediatric Therapies, Inc. actively pursue a collaborative relationship with the special education teachers, administrators, and parents, understanding that putting the child’s interests first requires teamwork. The therapists work alongside special educators to help students meet their educational goals, and often enable them to progress beyond initial expectations. They have provided consistency in staffing and the therapists become part of our “team.” The therapists are skilled at teaching others and enjoy sharing their knowledge of Speech Therapy, OT and PT with the teachers and staff. The changes they have made within the classrooms over the past 15 years are evident throughout our school system. In addition to being skilled at educating others, the professionals are efficient and attentive to the specific needs of our students. Pediatric Therapies, Inc. offers top-notch quality of individuals that are dependable and are available as needed to ensure that their services are reliable and working to our standards. The therapists are committed and caring and follow up with weekly emails, phone calls and/or visits to assure that our needs are met. I am happy to recommend Pediatric Therapies, Inc. to anyone seeking quality professionals possessing a wide variety of experience and training. I appreciate our continued partnership to serve students.

Bernice Ford, Director of Special Education

I am recommending Mrs. Claire Rose at Pediatric Therapies, Inc. to your district due to her staff’s dependability and skillful performance. It is my professional opinion that Pediatric Therapies, Inc. has all the skills and traits required to provide excellent occupational therapists. The Pediatric Therapies staff’s studious dispositions are essential in a field with constantly changing technology, practices and professional standards. Pediatric Therapies, Inc. excels with challenging caseloads and build positive relationships with students, families and school staff. Mrs. Rose demonstrates her ability to work well with her team and the schools in supervised practices, trainings and supports. Her temperament and professionalism put her staff and the school staff at ease and helps facilitate the therapy services. I have no doubt that her staff will be an asset to your district as well as to your students with occupational therapy needs.

Mary Hodges, Director of Student Services Programs

Halifax County Public Schools has been contracting with Pediatric Therapies for five years for Occupational, Physical and Speech Therapy. From the out set, it has been evident that their team is dedicated to delivering excellence and serving the needs of our students with disabilities. Their therapists are efficient, reliable, responsive, knowledgeable, flexible, and go beyond to meet the students’ needs. I would highly recommend contracting with Pediatric Therapies, Inc. for school-based therapy service provision.

Martha Brizendine, Director of Special Education

Charlotte County Public Schools has worked with Pediatric Therapies, Inc., for the last 12 years. They have provided contracted School Psychology, Speech Therapy, OT, and PT services for the division and have worked especially hard to provide high-quality, in person staff for our students. They are extremely responsive to our needs and have worked to address changes in schedules due to COVID and staff changes through the yearsto ensure that our students continue to receive quality services from staff that are on site. The service providers we have gotten from Pediatric Therapies have been professional and diligent in their work. They do a great job of completing all required tasks in a self-regulated manner and maintain clear and consistent communication with division staff to ensure requirements and needs are met.

Dr. Shep Critzer, Director of Student Services