Montgomery County Public Schools

Physical Disabilities Program

The office of Physical Disabilities, which is located in the Division of Prekindergarten, Special Programs and Related Services within the Department of Special Education Services, has three major functions. The primary function of this office is to provide occupational and physical therapy to children and students with disabilities from birth to age 21 as part of an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP) in order to access the MCPS curriculum. Physical Disabilities also provides special education and related services for students with physical and health related disabilities at Forest Knolls Elementary and Judith Resnik Elementary. Thirdly, consultation and training in assistive technology and universal design for learning (UDL) are provided by the High Incidence Accessible Technology (HIAT) team located within Physical Disabilities.

What We Do

1. Assess the need for occupational and physical therapy services.
2. Provide family training and early intervention services to children from birth to three as part of an IFSP.
3. Provide consultation and direct occupational and physical services to eligible students from age 3 - 21 as part of an IEP.
4. Provide technical support, consultation and training to school IEP team members and parents on strategies, accommodations, materials and equipment to reinforce motor development.
5. Identify and provide special education and related services for eligible students with physical and health related disabilities at Forest Knolls and Judith Resnik Elementary.
6. Through HIAT, provide technical support and training to school teams on assistive technology and UDL.
7. Maintain the HIAT website for staff and parents on technology and UDL resources.
8. Provide consultation on 504 plans.

Resources

• March 2011: A Route for All Learners: This report summarizes the recommendations of Maryland’s Statewide Task Force to incorporate UDL principles into local educational systems.
• Maryland Learning Links
• American Occupational Therapy Association
• American Physical Therapy Association
• HIAT Website