Related Services

Related services are those developmental, corrective and other supportive services as are required to assist a student with a disability and include speech-language pathology, audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling services (including rehabilitation counseling services), orientation and mobility services, medical services as defined by regulation, parent counseling and training, school health services, school social work, assistive technology services, appropriate access to recreation, including therapeutic recreation, other appropriate developmental or corrective support services, and other appropriate support services and include the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in students. The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device.

Related services currently provided in district may include but are not limited to the following: counseling services, assistive technology services, speech and language therapy, reading, physical therapy, occupational therapy, vision services, hearing services, and parent counseling and training. The Committee on Special Education recommends any related service that is appropriate to a student’s individual needs.

Speech / Language Therapy

The goal of speech and language therapy is the early identification of communication disorders and the remediation of articulation and phonological deficits, stuttering, voice disorders, and receptive and expressive language problems, which adversely affect a student’s educational performance. Services are provided either individually or in small groups at a frequency rate and location established by the Committee on Special Education.

School Counseling

The school psychologist or social worker is responsible for the provision of IEP mandated counseling for individual students and parent training, as prescribed by the Committee on Special Education. These services are provided to those students whose psychosocial needs interfere with their ability to benefit from education. The focus of school-based counseling must be on the school-related difficulties of the student with a disability and is designed to assist the student in overcoming the social or emotional difficulties that interfere with the educational process.

Occupational / Physical Therapy

Occupational therapy as a related service focuses on the functional evaluation of the student and the planning and use of a program of purposeful activities to develop or maintain adaptive skills, designed to achieve maximal physical and mental functioning of the student in his or her daily life tasks. The occupational therapist assesses skill levels and, upon receipt of an appropriate prescription, provides remediation in the areas of deficit such as postural control, motor planning, visual perceptual skills, hand skill development and sensory processing. The therapist may also provide alternative materials and environmental modifications to facilitate independence and generalization of those skills. Occupational therapy may be provided individually, in a small group or as a consult to the classroom teacher, based on the recommendations of the Committee on Special Education.

Physical therapy as a related service is, upon prescription, directed towards developing and maintaining the student’s physical potential for independence in all educationally related activities. A major focus of physical therapy is to develop the student’s ability to safely negotiate the school environment.