Everybody Has the Right to Be Here: Perspectives of Inclusive-Related Service Practitioners

• In Event: Roundtable Session 52
  In Roundtable Session: Life in Schools: New Research on Educational Change, Accountability, and Opportunity

Abstract

Researchers have noted that the conceptions of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA, 2004) “least restrictive environment” (LRE) is contextual and a local decision (Kozleski, Artiles, Fletcher, & Engelbrecht, 2007). In this paper, we explore related service delivery (specifically speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy) that is conducted within general education settings, through the combined use of consultative, inclusive, and classroom-based therapy models to learn about the experiences of providing inclusive services, and the barriers encountered within that service delivery model. In sum, through interdisciplinary collaboration, school-based professionals initiated school improvement and classroom-level change in order to provide related services in the LRE.

Authors

• Chelsea Tracy-Bronson, Stockton University

• Julie N. Causton-Theoharis, Syracuse University