Therapy / Related Services

APTS Therapy | Related Services Department

The Related Services | Therapy Department (RSD) provides physical health, occupational health, speech and language, counseling and psychological services to individuals contracted at Alternative Paths Training School. Our therapists are fully licensed and accredited masters or doctoral level clinicians. We do not offer therapy services “under supervision of”, with therapeutic assistants, or partially licensed personnel. Our therapists work in conjunction with many other departments to include board certified behavior analysts, nursing, educational specialists, curriculum and assessment specialists, and more. Our therapists also work in partnership with many entities outside of APTS and APTS Families including community services board (CSB), department of family services (DFS), department of social services (DSS), department of aging and rehabilitation (DARS), and private providers.

We strive to provide multi-modality therapeutic services which promote individual growth and holistic health. We understand that each student/client we work with is a unique individual influenced by his or her biochemistry, physiology, worldview, culture/s, given, assigned or chosen family, values and beliefs, and personal identity/ies. We strive to honor and respect the uniqueness of each person we service. Therapy intervention first begins with clearly understanding and identifying the student/clients’ goals through data-based assessment and establishing an intervention plan based on those individualized goals. Intervention plans are assessed periodically on a frequency of either weekly, monthly, or quarterly. 

Therapy Modalities Described: 

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT: APTS’s fully licensed school counselors (not guidance counselors) provide individualized and highly dynamic social-emotional counseling to remove school mental health barriers which impede our students’ availability for learning. Our licensed counselors have education and training in best practice evidenced based counseling theory to include Cognitive Behavior Theory, Dialectic Behavior Theory, Trauma Informed Counseling, Our counselors believe that it’s critical social-emotional learning happen regularly and not only under times of duress or crisis. Our counselors also provide risk assessment and risk management intervention which is treated therapeutically, not through punishment procedures. Our counselors hold licensure with the Virginia Department of Education or Virginia Board of Counseling and are members of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), or American Counseling Association (ACA).

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY: APTS’s fully licensed speech and language pathologists are trained to provide diagnostic and treatment services for students with speech, language, communication, and hearing, and swallowing disorders and to assist students in accessing their curriculum. Treatment clusters could include but are not limited to expressive, receptive, and pragmatic language; articulation, phonology, motor/neurological, structural, sensory/perceptual, or augmentative communication methodology. Our speech and language pathologists hold licensure with The Virginia Department of Health Professions- Board of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology and are members of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: APTS’s fully licensed occupational therapists are trained to provide diagnostic and treatment for students with occupational therapy needs to assist students in accessing their curriculum. Treatment clusters could include but are not limited to Orthopedic injuries, neurological impairments, sensory modulation disorder, sensory discrimination disorder, postural-ocular disorder, dyspraxia, autism spectrum disorders, executive functioning disorders. Our occupational therapists hold licensure with The Virginia Department of Health Professions Board of Medicine and are members of The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

PHYSICAL THERAPY: APTS’s fully licensed physical therapist supports by promoting functional mobility across school settings. Typical areas of support are not limited to increasing endurance, body mechanics, fitness, safety, balance, and strength. These health care professionals assist in improving the lives of our students; through their services, their services help to decrease or eliminate further impairments to the body or its functions. With their help, students gain benefit in their musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and pulmonary systems Our physical therapists hold licensure with the Virginia Board of Physical Therapy and are members of The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

Assistive Technology Services: APTS’ students receive Assistive Technology (AT) supports through each local education agency (LEA). Through intensive collaboration, district AT specialists support our students by examining and identifying needs whether they are in the areas of communication, reading, writing, math, computer access or, other areas such as seating, positioning, hearing, mobility, etc. The AT specialist’s role is to ascertain proper supports and tools needed by the student to access programming during their school day.

Common Therapy Needs for Intervention

Although APTS Therapists prefer a wellness treatment model of intervention, we understand that the disease-model of diagnosing illnesses is still prevalent. Common neurodivergences and disorders APTS Therapists are qualified to provide intervention for include but are not limited to: