Itinerant Support Services

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Adapted Physical Education (APE)

Adapted Physical Education is for individuals with exceptional needs who require developmental or corrective instruction and who are precluded from participation in the activities of the general physical education program, modified physical education program, or in a specially designed physical education program in a special class. Consultative services may be provided to pupils, parents, teachers or other school personnel for the purpose of identifying supplementary aids for services or modifications necessary for successful participation in the regular physical education program or specially designed physical education programs.

A referral to Adapted Physical Education is made after adaptations, accommodations and modifications have been attempted and documented and the outcomes have been determined to be limited or unsuccessful. In some cases, the severity of the disability is such that a referral to Adapted Physical Education is made by the team, or an individual, as adaptations, accommodations and modifications, which have been considered, are determined to be inappropriate. In other words, a direct referral for Adapted Physical Education assessment is most appropriate.

​Occupational Therapy or Physical Therapy​

​Occupational Therapy or Physical Therapy, as a designated instructional service, shall be available when the instruction and services are necessary for the student to benefit educationally from his or her instructional program. Services are based on educational need, not strictly whether the child would benefit, in some way, from occupational therapy. Occupational Therapy or Physical Therapy is not intended to maximize skill level, but rather to develop as much as possible, the foundations necessary for the child to benefit from his/her individualized educational plan.

Services include:

• ​​​​Assessment and program planning;​
• ​Direct treatment service which includes individual or small group treatment to remediate or prevent problems identified through the assessment process;
• Training and supervision of professionals assisting with the implementation of intervention procedures and treatment programs;
• Resource services for parents, caregivers and educational personnel.​

​Speech and Language

​The Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) is a professional who serves students with mild, moderate to severe communication delays and disorders in the schools. The State of California issues credentials to individuals who have received training and earned degrees in the identification and treatment of a variety of language, speech, and hearing disorders.

Through pupil and public education, early identification of problems, and intervention with children, involving parents, educators, and health professionals, the SLP strives to meet individual student needs. One of the goals of the SLP is to inform the community of children’s communication needs and the availability and range of special services offered as part of the total educational process. Services offered by the SLP in the schools for students between the ages of three years and eighteen years or twenty-two for the severely handicapped population, include:

• ​Identifying students with communication problems by screening, survey or referral​ 
• Assessing and diagnosing student’s communicative behaviors and needs 
• Collaborating with classroom teachers to modify the educational program 
• Consulting with parents to coordinate program planning and implementation 
• Goal-based remediation given in individual group, or classroom sessions

​Language, Speech and Hearing Disorders in School-Aged Students Speech Disorders

• Articulation: difficulties with the way sounds are formed and sequenced; characterized by substituting one sound for another (wabbit for rabbit), omitting a sound (hand for hand), and distorting a sound.
  
• Phonological Disorders: multiple errors of articulation that form patterns of different processes.
  
• Apraxia and Dysarthria: motor speech disorders
  
• Stuttering: interruptions or prolongations of a sound, syllable, word, or phrase.
  
• Voice: inappropriate pitch, loudness or quality.
  
• Dysphagia: disorders of swallowing.
  

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• Receptive or Expressive Language Delay: marked slowness in the onset and development of language skills necessary for expressing ideas including lexical syntactic, semantic, pragmatic abilities; may contribute to a learning disability and significantly impact academic progress.
  
• Aphasia: loss of speech and language resulting from brain damage.
• Traumatic Brain Injury: residual language and communication difficulties from open or closed head injury.
  

• Conductive: losses are usually the result of ear Infections or a buildup of fluid in the middle ear; speech and other sounds may be heard faintly, often muffled or distorted.
  
• Sensorineural: occur in the inner ear or auditory nerve and cause one to hear speech sounds faintly and sometimes in a distorted way; words may sound slurred or lacking in clarity.
• Mixed: are a combination of conductive and sensorineural losses.
• Auditory Processing: ability to attach meaning to sounds.
  

• Language or speech is markedly different from that of others of the same age, sex, or ethnic group
  
• Language or speech is difficult to understand
• Communication with others is frequently avoided
• Gestures take the place of verbal expression
• A person is overly concerned about his or her speech
• Adverse attention is drawn to an individual’s speech or language attempts
• Language and/or speech significantly interfere with the ability to function successfully in school

Orthopedically Impaired students with physical and/or health impairments (PHI) have unique needs related to curriculum access.

Services include direct services to the student, collaboration, consultation, and training with parents, teachers, DIS providers, paraprofessionals, and support agencies.

The PHI Specialist will review the student’s physical/medical considerations, fine and gross motor skills, seating and positioning and assistive technology needs as they related to educational productivity.

Based upon the student’s identified needs, the PHI Specialist will recommend service options, supportive equipment, and assistive technology to provide access to the general and special education curriculums.

School Psychologists are called upon to serve students in a wide variety of programs including Special Education and Alternative Education. Psychologists assigned to Alternative Education provide services to students who reside in county facilities including Placer County Juvenile Hall and the Placer County Receiving Home as well as students who attend community school or court school classes. The expectation for School Psychologists is to provide assessment and intervention for students in the Placer County Office of Education programs. This includes mandated three-year reviews, behavior support intervention and consultation with teachers, parents and students. The School Psychologist must be knowledgeable and competent in the use of a wide variety of assessment instruments.​

School Nursing Services

School Nurses strengthen and facilitate the educational process by improving and protecting the health status of children and by identification and assistance in the removal or modification of health-related barriers to learning in individual children. The major focus of school health services is the prevention of illness and disability and the early detection and correction of health problems. The school nurses are specially prepared and uniquely qualified in preventative health, health assessment, and referral procedures.​

Orientation and Mobility

Students with blindness or low vision can benefit from orientation and mobility. Orientation and mobility services can help prepare for responsible community travel with safety as the core foundation. After being assessed, O&M services can be customized to meet the student’s needs as well as their interests and goals.

A wide variety of concepts are taught within orientation and mobility. Some of these skills are:

These skills are paired with a student’s common sense approach to problem-solving, a good attitude, and appropriate public behavior in order for students to become more independent travelers.​

Visually Impaired services for students who are blind or have visual impairments include assessments, instruction, consultation and support. The goal is to support and meet the unique educational needs related to the student’s visual impairment in their educational setting.

The following services are provided:

• ​​​Collaboration with parents, classroom teachers, other paraprofessionals and agencies

• ​​Instruction in expanded core curriculum including: compensatory or functional academic skills, including communication modes, orientation and mobility, social interaction skills, sensory/motor skills, daily living skills and career education
  

• Braille instruction and training on specialized equipment such as Braillewriters, Braille note-takers, magnification devices, adaptive computer software and audio output devices
  
  
• Services are provided to eligible students in the least restrictive environment using a variety of teaching models.