Related Services
Support services — like speech therapy, OT, PT, and counseling — that help a student benefit from special education.
Related services are the supportive services a student needs in order to benefit from special education. IDEA lists examples including speech-language pathology, audiology, interpreting services, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreation, early identification, counseling, orientation and mobility, medical services for diagnostic purposes, school health services, social work, and parent counseling and training.
Related services are provided by specialists — a speech-language pathologist (SLP), an occupational therapist (OT), a physical therapist (PT), a school psychologist — who bill service minutes against the IEP just like the special education teacher does. Coordinating schedules across providers is one of the hardest logistical problems in case management.
Each related service must be tied to a documented need in the PLAAFP and the student's disability. A service is not added because it would be nice to have; it is added because without it the student cannot access FAPE.
Related terms
- SDISpecially Designed Instruction: the adapted content, methodology, or delivery of instruction a student with an IEP needs to make progress.
- IEPA legally binding written plan for a student with a disability that spells out the specialized instruction and services the school will provide.
- PLAAFPThe section of an IEP that describes what a student currently knows and can do — the baseline from which annual goals are written.
Managing Related Services day-to-day?
IEP Casemate is case management software built for special education teachers. Track goals, schedule SDI, and stay on top of compliance timelines in one place.
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