Swan Hill Specialist School has a team of skilled allied health professionals who work in classrooms and with individual students and their families to provide therapeutic interventions that maximise students’ access to, participation in and success with learning activities.
The therapists include:
- Speech Pathologist;
- Occupational Therapist;
- Social Worker;
- Physiotherapist
- School Nurse
There are a number of ways in which this service is implemented across the school. Priority for service, is based on recommendations from the therapists in conjunction with relevant teachers, and in consultation with the school leadership.The therapists consult regularly with the family, teachers and the other therapists in the team as well as therapists in the wider community. Everyone collaborates to create classroom goals to ensure carry-over of skills throughout all activities.
Speech Pathology at Swan Hill Specialist School focuses on supporting the teachers and classroom staff to incorporate and use the student’s communication systems across the school setting. The school supports the use of various alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) including signing, object symbols, PODD and speech generating devices. The speech pathologist works closely with an education support staff member who further assists with the implementation of communication in the classroom.
Occupational therapy at Swan Hill Specialist School aims to meet the specific needs of students with disability that influences their occupational performance (i.e. what students need to do at school, at home and in the community). The purpose of the occupational therapy services is to promote students' well-being, participation and success in the daily occupations of school and home life, such as completing lessons, daily tasks, playing and working.
The main role of the physiotherapist at Swan Hill Specialist School is to assess the gross motor function of individual students and to provide physiotherapy programs to meet the student’s needs. The aims of the physiotherapy program are to improve student’s mobility, posture, sitting balance, coordination, muscle strength, joint range, and muscle flexibility, standing stability and walking skills.
The social worker at Swan Hill Specialist School is an important part of the child’s support system in school, often consulting with teachers and families to optimize the child’s school experiences and learning. They may also provide some small group interventions that focus on the handling of a family break up, grief/loss or teaching positive social skills.
Our school nurse creates a caring environment for our students and families to have their health needs met. The school nurse will be able to provide information regarding your child’s health and wellbeing. The school nurse is also able to offer advice and information about your child’s health, and referral to other services if needed. The program ensures advice, information and support for families and school communities to encourage the health and wellbeing of our students.
Allied Health Team
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