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How School-Based Therapists Can Communicate Effectively
It is important for school-based therapists to use proper communication skills to keep parents and teachers invested in each student’s therapy work.
Therapy professionals who provide school-based services have to overcome communication barriers that can hinder the progress of therapy. Speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and other therapy providers work with students at various grade levels from different classrooms and possibly different schools. There are many different teachers and parents to keep in contact with, so it is important to develop those relationships throughout the school year.
Introduce Yourself
As a part of the special education team,
you need to get acquainted with the
other people involved in each student’s
education. Reach out to the teachers,
teaching assistants, lunchroom monitors,
physical education coaches, art and
music teachers, and anyone else who is
responsible for your students throughout
the school day. Once you’ve established
a relationship with them, they can
communicate their concerns for each
student as well as provide feedback for
how your therapy is playing out in other
settings. Consider asking to come into
the classroom for occasional observation.
It’s also important to establish a rapport
with each student’s parents. You can
make contact by phone, email or send a
letter home. Parents can communicate
their own concerns about their child’s
treatment plan and ask you questions.
Parents can also help fill in details of the
student’s history that would help you in
your therapy sessions. Let the parents
know that they can contact you at any
time with their concerns.
Educate Both Parents and Teachers
Early in the school year, you want to
ensure that both the parents and the
teachers of your students understand
what it is you’ll be working on with
them. You need to educate the adults
about your role and each student’s
treatment goals so there are no surprises.
While teachers have hopefully learned
the difference between occupational
and physical therapy, parents may not
understand depending on how involved
they are with their child’s therapy. It may
help to define the terminology you’ll be
using and try to put complex subjects
into terms that are easier to understand.
Establish How Communication Will Work
After you’ve made initial contact with the
parents and teachers, you need to work
out how you are going to stay in touch.
Will you be meeting with the teachers on
a monthly basis? Will you be calling the
parents each week? Establish the frequency
at which you’ll send progress reports to all
interested parties. Let them know that
you’ll be sharing both positive and negative
experiences about your sessions. Make sure
that both parents and teachers know the
best way to contact you as well as the best
time to reach you.
Provide Activities for Students to Do
at Home and in Class
Because therapy sessions are only for a
specified amount of time, it is helpful to
provide both parents and teachers with
activities that will complement the therapy
work you do with your students. These
activities should be easy to implement and
have simple instructions. This way, parents
and teachers can help students achieve
their therapy goals even when they are
not in sessions with you.
Follow Up
Whenever a parent or a teacher comes to
you with concerns, you need to be sure
that you address them promptly. Therapy
doesn’t operate in a vacuum and you need
to keep the other adults in the student’s
life invested in treatment. They need to
know that they are being heard and are
validated. When you respond to their
concerns, they will be more likely to respond
to any requests you may have for them.
