Teacher Talk by Kim Jones
Elsberry schools offer therapy services for their students in need of skilled intervention. Therapy services include Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy.
Occupational Therapy focuses on improving fine motor skills and visual perceptual skills. The goal of Occupational Therapy is to help students improve their handwriting skills, helping the child organize themselves in their environment, working with the teacher to modify the classroom and adapt learning materials to facilitate successful learning.
Physical Therapy focuses on improving gross motor skills, coordination and balance. They address functional educational goals such as: trunk control for sitting at a desk, stair skills, standing tolerance, mobility and increasing a student’s participation in the school environment.
Speech/Language Therapy focuses on a student’s ability to effectively communicate in the school environment. Speech Therapy addresses student’s needs for articulation (speech intelligibility), expressive language skills, both oral and written, receptive language skills for understanding classroom instructions, stuttering and voice problems.
Therapy services are provided to enhance a student’s ability to function effectively in the school environment to be as successful as possible.