What is Adapted Physical Education (APE)?

Adapted Physical Education (APE) is the art and science of developing, implementing, and monitoring a specially designed physical education (PE) instructional program for students with disabilities based on a comprehensive assessment, to give students the skills necessary to progress in the General Physical Education curriculum, and for a lifetime of rich leisure, recreation, and sport experiences to enhance physical fitness and wellness.

The APE teacher is a direct service provider, not a related service provider, because physical education for children with disabilities is a federally mandated component of special education services. This means that physical education needs to be provided to the student with a disability as part of the special education services that child and family receive. This is contrasted with physical therapy and occupational therapy, which are related services. 

Adapted PE Intervention and Request for Evaluation Form (.pdf)

What is Audiology?

Audiology means services provided by or supervised by a qualified audiologist and includes:

(a)  Identification of students with hearing loss;

(b)  Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss, including referral for medical or other professional attention for the habilitation of hearing;

(c)  Provision of habilitative activities such as language habilitation, auditory training, speech reading (lip-reading), hearing evaluation, and speech conservation;

(d)  Creation and administration of programs for prevention of hearing loss;

(e)  Counseling and guidance of students, parent(s), and teachers regarding hearing loss; and

(f)  Determination of students’ needs for group and individual amplification, selecting and fitting an appropriate aid, and evaluating the effectiveness of amplification.

What is Physical Therapy (PT)?

Physical therapists examine and evaluate children having a variety of sensory and motor disabilities. Physical therapists plan and implement programs that will help these children attain their optimal educational potential and benefit from special education. Physical therapists should assume a role in the development of a child's Individual Educational Program (IEP), or Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP), and make recommendations for increasing a child's ability to participate in educational activities. In addition, physical therapists contribute unique administrative, consultative, management, and teaching skills that help modify the educational environment so that children may benefit from their educational placement.

-www.apta.org

 

 

PT Referral

PT test descriptions

Spanish PT test descriptions

WHAT IS A SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST?

School psychologists spend the majority of their time working with Special Education. They use formal assessments and other data to make decisions that will guide Special Education teams in providing appropriate goals and interventions for students with disabilities or suspected of having disabilities. School psychologists will also consult with regular education teachers and school staff to promote the learning of students.  

Training and specialty: 

• Graduate training resulting in professional licensure as a School Psychologist by the Utah State Office of Education 

• Training in: psychoeducational assessment, psychological disorders of childhood, educational practices, child development, the mental health of children, behavior change, learning and cognitive development, diversity, professional ethics and school law 
• Each School Psychologist will have their own are of specialty and expertise ranging from neuropsychological assessment to autism, reading interventions to youth suicide, data collection and analysis to social skills instruction. While none of us will claim to specialize in every imaginable area of our profession, our department is diverse. The psychologists of Davis District work together to support each other while we support our schools, our teachers and staff, and our students.  

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What is a Speech Language Pathologist?

A Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) is a highly trained professional with a Masters Degree in Communication Disorders who evaluates and treats children and adults who have difficulty with speech and/or language.   A SLP is trained to work with a variety of communication disorders including, but not limited to: articulation, phonology, apraxia, fluency, voice, receptive and expressive language deficits. 

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What is OT?

O.T. stands for "Occupational Therapy" 

In the schools, a child's "occupation", or by definition: a meaningful or purposeful life activity, involves being a student and the skills or activities that students engage in at school. Any activity that involves working with educational materials or in educational settings may be the method that OT professionals use to help a student. In the schools, OT professionals do therapy with activities and skills that are educationally based. 

    "School-based occupational therapy is designed to enhance the student's ability to fully access and be successful in the learning environment. This might include working on handwriting or fine motor skills so the child can complete written assignments, helping the child organize himself or herself in the environment (including work space in and around the desk), working with the teacher to modify the classroom and/or adapt learning materials to facilitate successful participation"

-(2000 American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc).

Different from the medical model of occupational therapy, every method that OT professionals use in the schools must be "Educationally Relevant". As a result, medical type services may not be worked on if they do not impact the student's educational performance

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What is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired?

Teachers of the Visually Impaired in Davis School District provide support and instruction to children with a verified visual impairment which impacts functioning in their educational environments.  Supports include implementing accommodations and instruction in Braille, Technology and Orientation and Mobility Skills.  We are committed to providing access and opportunities for students with visual impairments that are equal to their same grade peers.

Assessments are provided for students in the following areas:

Functional Vision Assessment (FVA):  The FVA provides information on how the student functions in their environments, while using their vision in a variety of settings.

Learning Media Assessment (LMA): The LMA provides input on how the student learns via visual, auditory or tactual modalities.

Orientation and Mobility (O&M):  The O&M assessment examines a child’s ability to travel safely and efficiently in their indoor and outdoor environments.