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OT/PT

RELATED SERVICES

Related services are a support that all students with disabilities have a FAPE with education services designed to meet specific individual educational needs.  To qualify for related services, the student must show an educational related difficulty which impairs his/her ability to function in the school environment.  Occupational therapy and physical therapy are considered related services.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Occupational therapy (OT) is a related service under Part B of the Individuals Disabilities Act (IDEA) and is provided to support the IEP for students who have a disability that interferes with their ability to access their educational program. School based occupational therapists work as part of the IEP team to promote function and participation in the school setting.   “School occupational therapists (and occupational therapy assistants, under the supervision of the occupational therapist) support academic and non-academic outcomes, including social skills, math, reading and writing (i.e., literacy), behavior management, recess, participation in sports, self-help skills, prevocational/ vocational participation, transportation, and more. Because of their expertise in activity and environmental analysis, practitioners are particularly skilled in facilitating student access to curricular and extracurricular activities. They focus on the students’ strengths, and can design and implement programming to improve inclusion and accessibility, such as Universal Design for Learning.”

American Occupational Therapy Association

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SERVICES

  • Services provided by a qualified occupational therapist or assistant

  • Includes:

    • Improving, developing or restoring functions impaired or lost through illness, injury or deprivation

    • Improving ability to perform tasks for independent functioning if functions are impaired or lost

    • preventing, through early intervention, initial or further impairment or loss of function

    • Occupational therapy services in schools may include:

      • self-help skills or adaptive living (eating, dressing)

      • functional mobility (moving through the school)

      • positioning (sitting appropriately in class)

      • sensory-motor processing (using the senses and muscles)

      • fine motor (writing and cutting) and gross motor performance (walking and athletic skills)

      • life skills training/vocational skills

      • psychosocial adaptation