Integrated Therapy & Related Services Angela Dwyer Rebecca Hall Jennilyn Hanson Desiree Villec

What are related services? Transportation and such developmental corrective and other supportive services as may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education (from IDEA) Services provided by a professional that improve the overall quality of life Must be educationally relevant and necessary to be funded/implemented by the school Examples: - OT- Speech - PT- Orientation and Mobility - Psychological- Social Work

One-on-one pull-out Small group pull-out One-on-one in the classroom Group activity Individualized within routines Pure consultation 6 Different Models

How have these services traditionally been offered? Traditionally special education students have been pulled out of their classrooms to receive their related services. This is known as a pull-out model

What’s this integrated therapy business all about? Services offered in the child’s natural setting such as a home or classroom instead of a separate room or clinic Role Release

Hit me with an example: Miss Hall and the speech and language pathologist co-teach a social studies lesson on historical character reports. They demonstrate steps for preparing and presenting the material. Afterwards, in small groups the speech and language pathologist specifically guides and monitors two of her students as they plan for their oral character reports.

How is this model implemented? 1. Establish and maintain a collaborative team 2. Define the components of the educational program 3. Understand the interactions among program, placement, and services 4. Use a value system to guide decision making: only as special as necessary 5. Determine functions of service providers and their interrelatedness

Wait! There’s more… 6. Apply essential criteria when making service recommendations: educational relevance and necessity 7. Determine who has authority for decision making: consensus 8. Match the mode and frequency of service provision to the functions served 9. Determine the least restrictive location and strategies for service provision 10.Engage in ongoing implementation and evaluation of support services

Positives (similar to inclusion benefits) Maximizes amount and effectiveness of intervention Student feels sense of belonging in class Student doesn’t miss class time Free up therapist to follow up on suggestions and needs Student receives services in natural environment Collaboration between professionals increases cohesiveness

Negatives Scheduling conflicts Need more teacher preparation Is role release possible? How many adults can we have in the room? Consistent application difficult Embarrassing to the student (possibly)

When is pull out necessary? Some would say… NEVER! But… some therapists say  When there is a specific skill to work on  When trying a new modification approach that will be integrated into the classroom  When IEP objectives are not being met in the classroom  When social stigma threatens acceptance (age appropriateness)

Scenario Bob is a second grader with multiple disabilities who is currently receiving occupational therapy through a pull out model. One of his IEP objectives is to be able to eat independently. They have been working on grasping a spoon during OT sessions. How can this be integrated into the classroom?

Examples! Cooking related to content Lunch Science experiment (measurements) Recess (sand box) Snack time