Description of the Services, Activities, and Interventions Within School-Based Physical Therapist Practices Across the United States
This study explored the school-based services that students received, the activities and interventions that physical therapists implemented, and determined if services differed based on the student's functional gross motor ability and age. The description of services is provided to encourage physical therapists to reflect on the services they provide and to foster future examinations of service effectiveness.
Authors: Lynn Jeffries, Sarah Westcott McCoy, Susan Effgen, Lisa Chiarello, and Alejandro Villasante
Tezanos
Publication Date: January 2019
Publisher: Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Journal
Enhancing Education and Mobility: The Role of Physical Therapy in School-Based Settings
By acknowledging the vital role physical health plays in a student's overall development, educators and health professionals are working together to create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment. This post discusses school-based physical therapy roles, benefits, challenges, and impacts on students’ lives.
Publication Date: March 2025
Publisher: Welldom Health
How School-Based Physical Therapy Promotes Equal Access in Education
This article provides information about physical therapists who work in schools as integral members of the educational staff and provide several benefits to children with and without disabilities in the school environment.
Author: Brett Sears
Publication Date: Updated August 2024
Publisher: Verywell Health
Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy: Processes and Procedures for Best Practices in Arizona’s Schools
This AZ-TAS document is designed to promote understanding of federal and state requirements for special education, state rules pertaining to licensure of therapists, and best practices put forth by the therapy professional associations.
Publication Date: Revised December 2018
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
Related Services: Common Supports for Students with Disabilities
A physical therapist (PT) helps students with disabilities improve their functional skills in a variety of school settings, including the classroom, gym, and playground. This module covers PT roles and responsibilities with videos of a school-based practitioner working with a student maintaining his balance in the school environment and navigating the school environment independently.
Publisher: IRIS Center, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
School-based Physical Therapy Services and Student Functional Performance at School
Based on the results of this study, therapists should consider emphasizing assisting students to generate active movements within any type of activity through the provision of appropriate practice and cues from a motor learning perspective. Practice of mobility skills within the school environment and creating an intervention plan that motivates the student to participate may also improve school-based outcomes.
Authors: Sarah Westcott Mccoy, Susan Effgen, Lisa Chiarello, Lynn Jeffries, and Alejandro Villasante
Tezanos
Publication Date: 2018
Publisher: Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
School-Based Physical Therapy Services: Predicting the Gap between Ideal and Actual Embedded Services
This study was conducted to determine the variables predicting the gap between ideal and actual practice in embedding school-based physical therapy services.
Authors: Valerie Clevenger, Lynn Jeffries, Susan Effgen, Sixia Chen, and Sandra Arnold
Publication Date: April 2020
Publisher: Pediatric Physical Therapy