Occupational and physical therapists provide services that 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 and preventing through early intervention further impairment or loss of function.

Occupational therapists focus on fine motor skills, self help and adaptive skills.  Physical therapists  focus on gross motor skills and mobility.  Occupational therapy may be needed for example to acquire appropriate eating utensils for a child or teach classroom personnel how to use the equipment or to teach classroom staff how to adjust a lap board for a student who uses the lap board for writing activities.  Physical therapy may be needed  for example to teach transfers from a wheelchair to a chair or restroom facilities.   

Occupational therapy and physical therapy are  supportive services that may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from their education.  The Individualized Educations Program (IEP) team is responsible for deciding if the student needs OT/PT services to  benefit from their educational program.   These services are to provide a child with equal opportunity that would not exist without therapy service and not merely maximization of a child's potential.   Occupational therapists and physical therapists are trained to provide many types of developmental and rehabilitative services.

 Legal mandates require the school-based therapist to deliver only those services that are necessary to assist students to benefit from their educational programs. The focus of school based therapy depends on which IEP goals therapy will be supporting.  The need for therapy is based the choice of educational goals and whether the expertise of OT or PT is needed to help the student achieve those goals.  Some goals may be academic  while other goals will focus on student function or the students participation and success in the school environment.    Therapists cannot independently determine who does or does not need services.  The decision for OT/PT services is determined by the IEP team and it is a team decision.

Do OT and PT write separate therapy goals on the IEP?

If seeking an initial evaluation for a child with a suspected disability, a member of the school staff must complete the Child Study Team process.  The staff should assess the school OT or PT to provide preliminary recommendations regarding the child's areas of difficulty and complete to Child Study Team intervention plan.  If the Child Study Team intervention plan is unsuccessful or if the suspected disability is obvious, the decision to pursue initial evaluation can occur.  The on-site staff members should complete a Review of Existing Data form and seek parent consent for the evaluation on the Parent Consent for Evaluation form.   The school psychologist/psychometrist will assist in the completion of the two required forms and will then identify the components of a comprehensive evaluation by checking the appropriate boxes of the back of the Parent Consent for the Evaluation form.  Areas of concern that will warrant an occupational or physical therapy evaluation are motor, perceptual processing, and adaptive behavior.  Upon completion, this paperwork should be sent to the Department of Special Services at the Education Service Center c/o OT and or PT.  In addition, in order to expedite the process, a school official should contact your school occupational therapist and notify them of both OT and PT  needs.  If the school official does not know who the site therapist is please contact the lead therapist for the OT/PT department at the ESC Department of Special Services at 746-6314.   

If the child is already on an IEP, once a concern is identified by the teacher, the teacher will need to discuss those concerns with the schools psychologist/psychometrist to see if an OT/PT evaluation is warranted.  If the school psychologist/psychometrist is in agreement, an IEP review will need to be scheduled to obtain a recent parental consent for additional evaluation.  At the time of the review, the school psychologist/psychometrist will identify the areas of concern requiring additional testing by checking the appropriate boxes on the back of the IEP Review Form.  Again the areas of concern that will warrant an occupational  or physical therapy evaluation are motor, perceptual/processing, and adaptive behavior.  In  addition to the IEP review, the teacher should  attach a statement identifying the specific activities within the classroom environment with which the student is having difficulty.  This paperwork should be sent to the Department of Special Services c/o OT and or PT.  The evaluation will occur within 45 calendar days.   

References:

Oklahoma State Department of Education Special Education Services. (2005)  Technical Assistance Document:  Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy In Oklahoma Schools.