AMY POSTS

DEAR ERI COMMUNITY: I have a question that I have struggled with the answer for a while now. I understand how our services as school based therapist are supposed to be educationally relevant. We get referrals of children of all types for services. What do my fellow PTs do with the child whose gross motor skills are behind that of his peers? I always try to make things functional for access to the school environment. Do you ever write goals/objectives for children who can’t hop on one leg or balance on one leg, skip, jump consecutively etc? In the past I have, but we are having to revamp how our goals are written to support the present level of performance in the educational environment. The only standardized test I have available has been the Peabody and really I don’t see how that test is educationally relevant except for the stairs,walk, run part. So if you get low scores, the parent still feels you should see the child even if they can maneuver in the school. We have ordered the School Function Assessment recently but have not used it yet. Seems it does not even look at gross motor skills. Do you include higher level gross motor skills goals if it is a deficit for the child? And how do you write said goals on the IEP if you do so? I just want some pointers so I know if I am doing the right thing. I typically include goals for gait, stairs, and balance/coordination GMS, but it seems best practice is steering away from this. Advice please