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specialized support services

Special Education →  Services

Physical Disabilities SERVICES

Mr. William McGrath, Supervisor

Office Location:
8001 Lynnbrook Drive
Bethesda, Maryland 20814

Phone: 240-740-5500
Fax: 301-657-4971
View Staff Directory

Physical Disabilities Services

The Physical Disabilities Services, which is located in the division of Prekindergarten, Special Programs and Related Services within the Office of Special Education Services, has four major functions:

  1. Provide occupational and physical therapy to children and students with disabilities from age 3 to 21 as part of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) in order to access the MCPS curriculum.
  2. Provide consultation and training in assistive technology (AT) and universal design for learning (UDL) through the High Incidence Accessible Technology (HIAT) team.
  3. Provide supports for students (birth to age twenty-one) who are nonspeaking or severely limited in speech and/or unable to produce written output due to severe physical disabilities through the Interdisciplinary Augmentative Communication and Technology (InterACT) team.
  4. Support the implementation of two inclusive preschool programs for students with physical and health related disabilities at Forest Knolls ES and Judith Resnik ES.

VISION:  Create inclusive and accessible learning environments that empower each student to succeed in their education, career, and valued adult life roles.

MISSION:  We are a large, diverse and connected community of education and healthcare professionals.  We deliver assistive technology consultation, occupational therapy and physical therapy to promote student success.  We apply lenses of equity, universal design for learning, and evidenced-based practice to capitalize on each student’s and family’s unique strengths. We collaborate with school teams to consider the whole child and develop innovative solutions to remove physical and learning barriers for educational access.

CORE CULTURE:  All Means All. We Are Connected. We Are Connectors.

What We Do

  1. Assess the need for occupational and physical therapy services.
  2. Provide consultation and direct occupational and physical services to eligible students from age 3-21 as part of an IEP.
  3. Provide technical support, consultation, and training to school IEP team members and parents on strategies, accommodations, materials, and equipment to reinforce motor development.
  4. Identify and provide special education and related services for eligible preschool students with physical and health related disabilities at Forest Knolls ES and Judith Resnik ES.
  5. Through HIAT, provide technical support and training to school teams on assistive technology and UDL.
  6. Through InterACT, provide professional development, school team consultation, and student service to support the integration of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems/strategies and assistive technology (AT) tools for alternate access to curriculum.
  7. Maintain the HIAT and InterACT websites for staff and parents on AT, UDL, and AAC resources.
  8. Provide consultation on 504 plans.

Resources