Related Services

OT – The main focus of occupational therapy is to help children become more independent in their daily activities and ultimately functional adults.  The occupational therapists work in conjunction with teachers and other school personnel to assist children as they work to realize their functional potential.  Occupational therapy offers sensory processing intervention, fine motor skill development, visual perception skills, handwriting development and ADL training.  Occupational therapists provide therapy in a play environment that enables children to maximize his or her potential. 

PT – The goal of physical therapy is to provide the “just right physical challenge”.  Children need to feel comfortable and secure in their own bodies before they can enjoy physical activities.  Using a sensory integrative approach, physical therapists work on activities which organize the student’s body in space.    These activities include exercises which provide weight-bearing to the joints like crawling through tunnels.  Movement activities on suspension equipment like swings, trampolines and scooter boards develop dynamic balance in a variety of positions.  Good dynamic balance responses help children feel safe and secure in a variety of environments.  Strengthening and stretching exercises are given in preparation for individual sport activities.  These exercises are also needed for good postural control to maintain good sitting alignment for classroom activities.

Speech - Language abilities are at the core of all learning, communication and social skills.  Within the PEACCE philosophy the speech therapist works on increasing receptive and expressive language skills. Speech therapists work as an integrated part of the teaching team for each student.  Therapy is done either in the classroom or in a therapy room, according to the needs of the student.  Therapy focuses on improving the student’s ability to independently communicate in their school and home settings.  Speech therapists specifically target strengthening language and writing skills, accurate speech sound production and those skills necessary for communicating effectively in all environments.

Counseling – Social Workers focus on development of social skills using a variety of methods including social stories and behavior modification.  Counseling methods are adapted to be systematic and organized in order to meet the student’s needs and appropriate developmental level.  Counseling sessions are highly structured and provide a variety of activities to facilitate learning social skills. 

Vision Services - A Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) works with students who are either blind or low vision.  Totally blind students receive instruction in Braille reading and writing, tactile discrimination, listening and organizational skills.  Students who have some vision are taught to use their remaining vision as effectively as possible.  The TVI adapts materials for classroom use, provides information and training to support staff and administrator’s, and share ideas and information with parents.