Physical and Occupational Therapy Services
Therapy Services to Support Educational Achievement
MARESA Occupational and Physical Therapists provide direct services to students with disabilities to help them achieve their educational goals. Our therapists evaluate, consult, monitor, and provide direct and/or indirect treatment across a wide range of areas.
Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapists evaluate, consult, monitor, and/or provide direct and/or indirect treatment in the following areas:
Educational Training
Building capacity in the educational setting to empower families, teachers, and other school staff to meet the educational needs of all students.
Sensory Processing Skills
Including sensory processing, perceptual/visual motor, oral motor, self-regulatory, and readiness abilities as foundations for sensory processing skills.
Accommodations in the Educational Setting
Assessment and implementation of strategies which accommodate the learning needs and the physical environment — classrooms, hallways, restrooms, lockers, playgrounds, and cafeterias.
Components of Movement
Development of head and trunk control for fine motor and bilateral skills, motor planning, and coordination of body parts for purposeful and skilled movement.
Assistive Technology
Working with the team to adapt, recommend, and/or provide training for low tech and high tech equipment for educational benefit.
Self-Care Skills
Including feeding, dressing, hygiene, toileting, oral-motor, and regulatory skills to participate in activities appropriate to educational goals.
Adaptation of Equipment
Assessment and modification of splints, adaptive equipment, wheelchairs, hand splints, upper extremity braces, transportation, and seating devices as appropriate.
Pre-Vocational/Vocational Skills
Manual dexterity, strength, endurance, physical capabilities, adaptive methods, and equipment appropriate to the learning environment.
Note: The practice of Occupational Therapy does not include identifying underlying medical problems or etiologies, establishing medical diagnoses, or prescribing medical treatment. Home is the least restrictive environmental setting for the 0–3 population. Certified Occupational Therapist Assistants provide treatment, monitor progress, and consult under the supervision of a fully qualified Occupational Therapist.
Physical Therapy
Physical Therapists evaluate, consult, monitor, and/or provide direct and/or indirect treatment to improve or maintain a student's level of functioning:
Educational Training
Building student capacity in the educational setting, including safe transfer and lifting techniques for staff health and safety.
Functional Mobility
Weight bearing and balance activities, gait training with braces and orthotics, assistive devices (crutches, walkers, canes), and wheelchair training.
Environmental Adaptations
Recommending and modifying equipment to adapt entrances, restrooms, classrooms, and transportation to minimize obstacles preventing student participation.
Posture
Assessing musculo-skeletal deformities and postural asymmetry. Providing exercise programs and positioning equipment adapted for physical disabilities.
Components of Movement
Development of head and trunk control, gross motor skills, and balance. Exercises to increase muscular strength, reduce abnormal muscle tone, and maximize joint motion.
Adaptive Equipment Needs
Recommending, assessing, constructing, and/or modifying positioning devices, wheelchairs, adaptive seating, mobility aids, braces, and orthotics.
Community Mobility
Assisting classroom teachers with student mobility in the community as appropriate to the learning environment.
Team Meetings
Consulting with teachers, other therapists, paraprofessionals, and families. Attending staffings and IEP team meetings.
Note: The practice of Physical Therapy does not include identifying underlying medical problems or etiologies, establishing medical diagnoses, or prescribing medical treatment. Home is the least restrictive environment setting for the 0–3 year old population. Physical Therapist Assistants provide treatment, monitor progress, and consult under the supervision of a fully qualified Physical Therapist.
Documentation
All therapists provide timely, accurate, and appropriate documentation following state, federal, and Marquette-Alger RESA guidelines.
Contact
Emily Barglind, MS OTRL
Occupational Therapist
Special Education Services
906-226-5117escannell@maresa.orgHave questions about OT or PT services?
Contact our Special Education team for support.