The classroom (and other areas of the school) are where a student puts all of those important functional skills to use – fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, self-care, social, and more! When skills are taught and reinforced in the natural setting, there is a better chance for carryover and generalization. Interventions can be provided to the whole class or a small group, meaning that other students can reap the benefits too. Frequently, those students are struggling with the same or similar skills as the students on a therapist’s caseload. Often, teachers spend a great deal of time and energy providing extra attention to students who aren’t identified for special education services, but who need a lot of additional support and intervention. Other students who may need extra support can also benefit from the therapist’s presence in the classroom. 4 || Increased benefits to other students There is more time to transmit information and strategies between professionals and more time for therapists to model and demonstrate strategies that can support students in the classroom. When services are delivered within the natural contexts of the school day, therapists gain a better understanding of what’s going on in the classroom and other learning environments and teachers/other staff gain a better understanding of the services therapists provide. 3 || Increased collaboration and consultation The services are seamlessly woven into the naturally occurring events of the school day. Similarly, when kids aren’t being pulled out for services, the flow of the classroom routine isn’t disrupted. They don’t leave the group to receive services so unwanted attention isn’t drawn to them. With push-in services, students with learning difficulties and other special needs aren’t being singled out. When therapy services are provided in a traditional classroom setting with peers, it’s often difficult for kids to discern which students the therapist is there to support. It turns out that there are many benefits to providing therapy services within the natural contexts of the classroom and other areas of the school building. What are the benefits of the push-in model? When we say “push in”, we mean inclusive or integrative or contextual therapy services. So don’t get too caught up in the terminology. We want as many people to find this information as possible! We also use this terminology because this is the most common way therapists and other professionals are searching for information on this topic. We see “push-in” therapy services as a positive push to provide inclusive, integrative, and collaborative services to kids in the school setting. The way we view this term is a little bit different. Many therapists think that referring to this model of therapy as “push-in” can sound…well…pushy. Not everyone is too fond of the term “push-in therapy”. Other terminology you may encounter referring to this type of service delivery model include: inclusive, integrative, or contextual therapy. The term “push-in therapy” refers to physical, occupational, or speech therapy sessions (or other specialized educational services) that are delivered within the context of the classroom or during other naturally occurring events during the school day. In recent years, and with the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, there has been a focus on providing all students with the opportunity for a mainstream education. If you are a school-based speech, physical, or occupational therapist, a parent of a child who receives extra services at school, a teacher, or an intervention specialist, you have undoubtedly heard the buzz about something called “push-in services”.
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