There are many members of the special education team: students, parents, teachers, teacher’s assistants, administrators and related service providers. Occupational and physical therapists usually make up a small,  but important, group of the special education team. It can be difficult to establish open lines of communication with therapists for various reasons.  Some team members, especially therapists, can have a varied caseload with students from different classrooms, grades and even schools which can translate into working with many school staff members. This can make it very difficult to communicate effectively with all team members for each student. Each team member brings a different perspective on the student. Therapists don’t have the benefit of seeing most students daily like teachers and parents do, therefore, communication with the therapist is crucial to determine a student’s on-going progress. It can be a struggle for parents from year to year. Parents may encounter new teachers, staff and therapists from school year to school year which can be frustrating. School staff, parents and school based therapists can help to forge stronger relationships by following five simple steps. 

STEP 1: INTRODUCE YOURSELF:

The most important step to improving communication is by introducing yourself to as many of the members of the student’s special education team as possible. This includes their primary instructors, teaching assistants, physical educators, computer teacher, etc.  By forming relationships with the school staff, you will be more likely to hear about any concerns that a teacher or therapist may have. Therefore, you may be able to address those concerns before they impact your child’s educational abilities further. If your children receives a “push” in therapy (therapy in the classroom), the therapist will most likely be more comfortable with the staff members. If your child is “pulled” out of the classroom for therapy sessions, ask the therapist to frequently observe your child in the classroom as well to ensure that the therapist is working towards functional and educational goals. Many times the parents are the true team leaders. You can provide all of the past medical and educational history and the best overview of the child. Request that therapists send a letter home or make a phone call to provide you with contact information if you should have any questions. Make your current concerns known regarding your child's therapy services. Make sure that you provide the therapists with current phone numbers and email addresses for easy communication. 

STEP 2: EDUCATE AND BE EDUCATED:

More and more students with special needs are being included in regular education settings, resulting in many teachers not being fully aware of the role of school based occupational and physical therapists and other staff members. Educate team members about what your expectations are in the educational setting as early as possible. You could ask therapists to give an in service to the staff members answering the basic questions of school based therapy. This can include the following questions: what is occupational or physical therapy and what type of activities will you be working on? Therapists can also define for teachers and parents frequently used therapy terminology. Parents and school staff offer so much knowledge and insight on a student. Tap into that knowledge and learn from other team members. Therapists see just a snapshot of a student’s daily life and they need to see the whole picture. This can be accomplished through observation, listening and providing information about a students overall daily life.
  
STEP 3: ESTABLISH HOW TO COMMUNICATE:

You will need to determine how you will communicate with all the team members. Establish this as early in the school year as possible and with a positive attitude. Perhaps a monthly meeting with a teacher or phone call home would be an effective way to address current goals or concerns. Maybe sending weekly or monthly progress reports to the teachers and parents may be a suitable option for some students. E-mail can be a simple way for many parties to communicate at one time by carbon copying your email to all members of the team. Don’t always offer criticism or problems. If a staff member does particularly well on a task let the teachers and the therapists hear about it. 

STEP 4: PROVIDE CARRY OVER ACTIVITIES AND IDEAS:

Therapy is only provided for a limited amount of time for each student. In order for therapy goals to be met, most therapeutic activities and ideas must be carried out throughout the student’s entire day. Parents and teachers are the primary instructors in the student’s life. Most therapists will provide teachers and parents with additional activities for the classroom or home. If you do not receive any additional activities, ask the therapist for some simple carry over activities to ensure that the student is maximizing his/her potential. If a student is following a certain behavior plan you will most likely know what that entails. You may want to check that all team members are aware of the behavior plan as well. Often times, if a student has many related services they may not all be aware of specifics of a behavior plan. 

STEP 5: FOLLOW THROUGH

All members of the team should always respond promptly to any issues or concerns that arise. Make sure to answer any notes or questions that you receive in a timely manner. This allows the special education team members to know that you have read and validate their comments. Fulfill all the requests made of you. That way, you can expect the same in return from the special education team. If you make a suggestion during a team meeting, be sure to follow through on the suggestion and be available to offer feedback on how it went at the next meeting. 

By following these five steps, everyone’s voice will be heard on the special education team which is of great value to a student's overall success.

Author Bio:  Margaret Rice PT is owner of Your Therapy Source, Inc. Your Therapy Source Inc is an online resource for pediatric therapy and special needs resources for home, school and professional use.  She has authored several books for children with special needs. For a list of titles go to: www.YourTherapySource.com <http://www.yourtherapysource.com/> .

Email: contactus@yourtherapysource.com