Pinnacle Educational Services is a Non-Public Agency (NPA) specializing in providing seasoned and qualified Occupational and Speech and Language Therapists. Our therapists are available on a full or part-time as part of our contract staffing solutions for Charter Schools and Districts. Therapists are also available on an individual basis for In-Home services or at Pinnacle’s Educational Center.

At Pinnacle, our therapists are passionate and committed, seeing each student as an individual not a diagnosis. They also understand that there are social and emotional issues which often go hand in hand with such learning challenges and are equally as important. As a result, they help students navigate through the critical but sometimes invisible impact of feeling different from one’s peers … which is not only normal, but completely understandable.

I) OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Pinnacle’s Occupational Therapists (OT’s) treat children with difficulties in sensory processing/ integration, fine and gross motor skills, and visual perceptual development. The OT assists the child in developing adaptive responses to his/her environment, and in turn, improves ability to perform tasks independently at both school and at play.

A)  Occupational Therapy covers (but not limited to) the following areas: Along with tactile auditory Sensory integration

• Postural control- ex: a student that doesn’t like to sit against the wall, or has a hard time getting up

 

• Ocular motor control : Student may only see what is on the left side of the page or see only half of what is there, and can’t catch something, it may look as if they are not looking at you lot

 

• Motor planning- can look like clumsiness. These students may have a hard time with integrating left and right hand, hard time jumping rope.  May also be awkward runners; not fluid in movement

 

• Sensory processing- over-reactive or under-reactive students may throw themselves on the floor, student may have difficulty if they have to touch something, over-reactive to sound and may have an issue with the PA system such as covering their ears (as if in pain).

 

• Bilateral motor coordination- child may have difficulty holding paper with one hand and cutting with another

 

• Fine motor control/strength- can’t pick up little things, shapes that are drawn are all big , and student may have a hard time with stringing beads

 

• Motor difficulties that include :
  • difficulty manipulating objects, i.e. scissors and pencils
  • clumsiness, insecurity about changing positions, or an inability to maintain  positions, over or under-abundance  of movement

     

Ultimately, through earlier intervention, OT can also be an essential preventative treatment, precluding initial or further impairment or loss. 

C) How can an Occupational Therapist help at School?

• Provide adaptive strategies to facilitate the student’s full participation, such as by helping to determine methods for alternate assessment

 

• Reduce barriers, modify environments- examples: recommend that they sit in a specialized chair, use a pressure vest, a fidget. If you have a student who is hypersensitive to sound, position them at the opposite end of room from air conditioner or PA system.

 

• Self-help skills – buttoning jackets, putting shoes on, or adaptive living skills

 

• Functional mobility – walking & running

 

• Positioning – sitting appropriately in class

 

• Fine motor training – writing, cutting, stringing beads, etc

 

• Gross motor training running, climbing, hopping, etc

 

• Psychosocial adaptation including self-modulation- a product of other issues due to sensory motor difficulties. A child’s self modulation behavior will also increase, as sensory difficulties decrease

 

II) SPEECH and LANGUAGE THERAPY

Pinnacle’s Speech Language Therapists assess, diagnose, and treat, speech and language deficits in children.

In an educational environment Speech Language Therapist work with students who have articulation errors, fluency disorders (stuttering), voice disorders, language deficits, and Social Skills.

A) Speech and Language Therapy covers (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Articulation
  • Sound errors must be not be developmental in nature and negatively impact the ability to communicate.

 

• Language
  • Receptive and/or expressive language delays not due to second language acquisition:
    • Syntax and Morphology – Sentence & Word Structure
    • Semantics – Vocabulary and Word Meaning
    • Pragmatics  – Non-Verbal & Verbal  

 

• Social Skills
  •  Ability to communicate in various social situations, and social interactions with peers and adults.

 

• Fluency
  • Flow, rate, or rhythm adversely affects communication.

 

• Voice
  • A persistent deficit in resonance, pitch, intensity/range, and nasality.

 

• Dysphasia: Impaired execution in one of the stages of swallowing

B) Strategies for addressing Speech & Language deficits:

Articulation

• Use visual cues for the placement of sound in air
• Repeat what is said using correct sound articulation
• Isolating sound to improve accuracy

Voice

• Use visual signal or a word cue to remind the student to use appropriate volume or pitch
• Teach strategies to improve vocal health such as drinking water when speaking for extended periods.
• Provide “alternative attention getting” device

 

Fluency

• Teach family members to listen actively
• Minimize communication stress
• Don’t try to finish the student’s sentences

 

Syntax and Morphology

• Model correct syntax structure
• Use reading and writing instruction to support syntax development
• Use visual cues or prompts

 

Semantics

• Connect meaning to vocabulary through the use of visual clues.
• Teach words with multiple meaning and figurative language

 

Pragmatics / Social Language

• Help students expect the unexpected (e.g. changes in daily routines)
• Teach non-verbal signals
• Discuss and practice appropriate behavior in settings that may be new to the student
• Explain idioms, jokes and sarcasm

 

C) Resources

www.asha.org (National speech and hearing association)

www.cec.sped.org (Council for exceptional children)

www.sandbox-learning.com (Social stories)

www.speechtx.com (All areas of speech and language)

www.quia.com (Online games and activities)

www.socialthinking.com (pragmatics and social language)