Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, & Adapted Physical Education Department 

Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy are related services provided to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education.  Adapted Physical Education is provided on the continuum of physical education to students who require activities modified to become active participants in leisure or sports.  All related services are determined by the Individual Education Plan (IEP) team.  

Occupational Therapy focuses on the body’s foundational skills required to connect motor, visual-perception, and sensory processing planning into “doing” through a continuum of occupational activities.  Portsmouth Public School’s Occupational Therapists use their unique expertise to help children to plan, prepare, and perform important learning and school-related activities to fulfill their role as students.  The activities most related to school-based occupational therapy are fine motor tasks such as cutting, handwriting, dressing, cafeteria routines, and organization required to adapt throughout the school day.  

 School-based physical therapy focuses on a child’s ability to move as independently as possible within the school environment.  Physical therapist evaluates the child’s ability to move throughout the school and to participate in classroom and peer-related academic activities.  Physical therapy interventions are designed to enable students to travel throughout the school environment; participate in classroom activities; maintain and change positions in the classroom; navigate hallways; as well as to manage stairs, restrooms, bus-steps and the cafeteria  

Adapted Physical Education (APE) teacher provides a carefully designed physical education instructional program for a student with a disability, based on an assessment focusing on skills necessary for leisure, recreation, and sport experiences to enhance physical fitness and wellness.