Green Hills AEA has physical and occupational therapy services available to students and children ages birth to 21. While the main headquarters for the AEA is in the Halverson Center for Education in Council Bluffs, physical therapists cover all the regional office areas of Atlantic, Avoca, Creston, Council Bluffs, Glenwood, Missouri Valley, Osceola and Red Oak. Occupational therapists cover areas including Council Bluffs, Glenwood, Red Oak, Creston, Clarinda, Avoca and Shenandoah.
Green Hills AEA currently spans 8,599 square miles and serves 17 counties, 48 school districts and five non-public accredited schools. Square miles covered by the Green Hills AEA make it larger than states like Massachusetts (7,838), New Jersey (7,419) and Connecticut (4,845).
Within Iowa's birth to 21 educational system, physical therapy is a support service and is built on the principle of preserving, developing and promoting independent physical function.
“Physical therapists use their unique expertise to help infants and toddlers access, participate and engage in age appropriate activities in their natural environments and to help students benefit from special education in order to access, participate, engage and make progress in the general education curriculum in the least restrictive environment,” said Green Hills AEA Physical Therapist Andy Ruff. “Physical therapists enable families/caregivers and school staff to further support the child’s progress.”
Green Hills AEA employs five full-time physical therapists. Each one performs interventions, strategies and adaptations focused on promoting functional mobility, positioning and safe and efficient access to, and participation and engagement in, daily activities and routines, whether it be at home or in the educational environment.
“Physical therapy services are free to those children/families qualifying for Early ACCESS services and for those students qualifying for IEP physical therapy services,” said Ruff.
Occupational therapy services are offered throughout the Green Hills AEA and serve between 400 and 500 students for free from birth to 21 years of age.
Occupational therapists use meaningful activities, or occupations, to help children and youth participate in what they need and/or want to do in order to promote physical and mental health and well-being. Occupational therapy addresses physical, cognitive, social/emotional, sensory and other aspects of performance.
“In schools, occupational therapy practitioners focus on academics, play and leisure, social participation, self-care skills (ADLs, or Activities of Daily Living) and transition/work skills. In homes, OTs focus on enhancing/developing fine motor skills and adaptive behaviors within the context of a family’s daily routines,” said Green Hills AEA Occupational Therapist Michele Harrison. “Occupational therapy’s expertise includes activity and environmental analysis and modification with a goal of reducing the barriers to participation.”
Green Hills AEA employs 10 occupational therapists whose services take place in the schools or home settings during the natural routines of the school or family’s day.
“Research demonstrates that students are most likely to reach success when they practice skills in the environment in which they occur. Occupational therapy service supports academics, behavior and functional performance,” said Harrison.
The occupational therapy practitioner collaborates with parents and school staff to create solutions, taking into account the child, the activity and the setting.