PHYSICAL THERAPY (PT)

Physical therapy services are related services provided to students with special needs under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Part B of IDEA mandates the education of children, 3-21 years old, who have a disability that interferes with their education performance and their ability to benefit from their educational program.

Sec. 300.34 Related services.

(a) General. Related services means transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. Related services also include school health services and school nurse services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training.

(9) Physical therapy means services provided by a qualified physical therapist.

Physical Therapy Personnel:

• • Address mobility issues around the school environment. These may include mobility with the classroom, class-to-class mobility, stairs, bus skills, transfers, assistive devices, wheelchairs and seating.

  • Provide interventions (add intervention strategies to be referenced)

  • Conduct evaluations as part of the Evaluation Team Report (ETR)

  • Contribute to the development of the IEP

  • Provide student specific services to facilitate the implementation of the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) . This may include providing intervention strategies, working directly with the student s to achieve IEP goals, consulting with the educational team and educating IEP team members and classroom staff in regards to specific accommodations and modifications that are needed for an individual student to achieve their academic potential. that is provided only if the child needs therapy to function in the education setting as determined by the PT with collaboration from the IEP team.

  • Physical Therapy is a related service that is provided only if the student needs therapy to function in the educational setting as determined by the physical therapist with collaboration from the IEP team.

Referral Process:

The district follows an Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) process and that is how PT is initially brought into the loop of programming. Decision Tree Evaluation

Once the IAT process has been completed, the PT will decide if the student is in need of a full evaluation. The permission to evaluate and planning form will be completed. The PT will gather data, formulate recommendations and complete the ETR Individual Assessment.

Service Delivery Models

Physical Therapists (PT) will work in collaboration with classroom teachers and other school caregivers/personnel

• • Classroom based support services: The PT and classroom staff will work collaboratively to incorporate developmentally appropriate sensory and motor skills as a natural component of the classroom routine. In general, PT services support the teacher to incorporate mobility, positioning, and transitional movement skills as part of the educational program.

  • Student specific services to facilitate the implementation of the individualized education program (IEP) in the classroom setting. This service is provided to facilitate the student’s functional participation in his or her individualized education plan (IEP).

• Environmental adaptations which may include the provision and monitoring of adaptive equipment

FORMS

Physical Therapy Referral Checklist

Decision Tree

RESOURCES

Physical Therapy Referral Checklist

Decision Tree