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Related services and evaluations are available for students who attend BOCES special education programs and also for those attending classes in their home school districts. Included in these services are evaluations, screenings, individual, group, consult/monitoring, indirect, intensive concentrated consultative services and trainings for students, staff and parents. Not all components are appropriate for all of the disciplines listed below. Please refer to the individual web page for specifics regarding each of the following services:
- Audiological Services
- Augmentative Communication
- Assistive Technology
- Bilingual Evaluations and Services
- Bowel and Bladder Training
- Consulting Teacher
- Counseling
- Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- English as a Second Language
- Neurological
- Nursing Services
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Psychiatric Services
- Psychological Services
- Sign Language Interpreter
- Speech/Language Services
- Vision Services
Assistive Technology
An assistive technology device is any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a student with a disability.
The Assistive Technology Department is comprised of a team of professionals in the fields of Occupational and Physical Therapy. Their evaluations/services are completed in a timely and efficient manner. Assistive technology service is any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. This includes evaluations, ordering, and training.
Evaluations
The purpose of the assistive technology evaluation is to determine whether a student with a disability who is experiencing difficulty accessing the curriculum would benefit from assistive technology. This is done by assessing the students' functional strengths and weaknesses within their academic setting, in collaboration with the student's educational team. During the evaluation, the student receives hands-on experiences using a variety of assistive technology devices and software. The result may be the selection of assistive technology that is most suitable for the student to better access the curriculum, or it may be the suggestion of more traditional educational modifications.
Areas that can be addressed through the evaluation include:
- Computer access
- Improved access to academic curriculum utilizing assistive technology software programs (reading, writing, math)
- Environmental control within the educational setting
Ordering
The CSE determines which software/equipment will be ordered for the student. Ordering can be completed by either the school district or by our Assistive Technology Department.
Training
An additional service that is provided by the Assistive Technology Department is training in the use of the recommended assistive technology devices and/or software. This training is provided to the students and their educational team simultaneously to assist with the integration of the technology into the curriculum.
Occupational and Physical Therapy
The OT/PT Department provides occupational and physical therapy related services to Eastern Suffolk BOCES component school districts. The department employs experienced pediatric school-based therapists who provide services consistent with the integrated service delivery model either in BOCES facilities or within school districts.
Services are delivered either individually, within a group or through a consultation/monitoring model. The emphasis is on conducting therapy sessions in the least restrictive environment. Therapists are integral parts of a student's educational team, providing input with regard to student educational programs, transitional plans, vocational needs, as well as life and community skills. Consultation and collaboration with educational personnel is a departmental priority. In addition a concentrated consultation model is also offered. This is an intensive in-service training which is designed for teachers and school staff working with a student whose sensory, perceptual or physical disabilities are affecting school performance. Through half-day or full day, on-site contact, the therapist recommends management and instructional strategies for the student's use during routine school activities. A school therapy evaluation is necessary prior to implementing this service. The unique success of this department is the result of continual communication among staff members, regular participation in study and specialty groups, as well as mentoring and on-going supervision to achieve quality control and cost-effectiveness.
Available departmental services and resources are:
- OT/PT Screenings and Evaluations
- OT/PT Concentrated Consultation Services
- Individual Services
- Group Services
- Consultation/Monitoring Services
- OT/PT Guidelines for Service Delivery
- Handwriting Presentations
- Ergonomic Presentations
- Collaboration with OTs/PTs from the Assistive Technology Department
Audiological Evaluations Screenings and Consultation Services
A full compliment of audiological evaluations, screenings and consultation services are available to support the education of students with hearing loss and/or auditory processing disorders in district or BOCES settings. In addition to full audiological evaluations, pure tone hearing and tympanometry screenings, follow-ups and parent and staff training, a BOCES audiologist offers a full spectrum of services to support the use of FM auditory trainers including need assessment evaluations, selections and ordering, equipment adjustments, earmolds, training workshops and review of district equipment.
Bilingual Evaluations and Services
A resource bank of bilingual psychometricians, a speech teacher, school psychologists and educational diagnosticians, as well as translators and interpreters are available Monday through Friday during school hours for the following services:
- Native language psychological evaluations
- Native language educational assessments
- Translation of letters and school documents
- Scoring of native language Regents Competency Tests (RCT's) and Regents examinations
- English as a Second Language Assessments
- Home Language Questionnaire
Consulting Teacher Services
Consulting teachers and specialists are available to provide indirect services and staff training in local school districts. Consulting teachers work with general or special education staff to support their use of effective, research-based methods to educate students with disabilities or to facilitate the transition of students returning to districts from a BOCES or out-of-district placement. Consultation can be provided in areas such as instructional strategies, behavioral management techniques, language development, organizational skills, compensatory skills, time on task, learning styles, Applied Behavior Analysis, curriculum-based measurements and process assessment.
Counseling Services
Counseling is ongoing intervention and techniques designed to help address observable behaviors that interfere with a student's school functioning. Counseling should be recommended where other interventions have not been successful (teacher consultation, parent consultation, psychologist and/or social worker intervention, etc.).
The counselor, along with the interdisciplinary team, develops objectives and a behavioral intervention plan based on a functional behavioral assessment, which focuses on observable outcomes within a specific period of time. Behavioral difficulties related to specific academic and/or social problems are excluded. Educational counseling, which should be behaviorally focused, is not intended to be a substitute for psychotherapy. It should also support the student's long-term adult outcome as stated in his/her transition plan.
These services are delivered on an individual or group basis according to the IEP and are provided to students attending BOCES programs.
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Services for the deaf and hard of hearing are designed to assist the local school districts in providing a quality educational experience for deaf and hard of hearing students both in the mainstream and in BOCES programs. These services emphasize listening skills, language development, social skills, use of relevant acoustic technology, study skills and the development of a background fund of knowledge. These services can be provided in an individual or group setting, and/or on an indirect or consultation basis, according to the students' IEP's.
Evaluations are conducted in the students' educational setting, at the school district's request, to determine the need for services for the deaf and hard of hearing.
English as a Second Language
Services for ESL students are provided individually and in group settings, based upon the request of the school district. These services focus on the development of the four language skills: listening/comprehension, speaking, reading and writing by using child-centered approaches specific to the particular characteristics of the student.
Neurologicals
Neurological evaluations are available by consulting neurologists at school district request.
Nursing Services
The ability to learn at school is directly related to the status of a student's health. The role of the school nurse is to assist students to achieve optimal wellness in order to enhance their readiness to learn through a coordinated system that ensures a continuum of care among students, school, home, and health care providers and community resources.
The Nursing Department at Eastern Suffolk BOCES is managed by a Supervising Nurse, and all facilities (programs) are staffed by professional Registered Nurses.
Responsibilities:
- Promote and protect the optimal health status of children.
- Provide health assessments.
- Develop and implement a health plan.
- Maintain, evaluate, and interpret cumulative health data to accommodate the individual need of students.
- Serve as a member of the educational team.
- Plan and implement school health management protocols for the child with
- special health needs, including the administration of medication.
- Develop procedures, and provide for crisis intervention for acute illness, injury and emotional disturbance.
- Promote and assist in the control of communicable diseases through preventive immunization programs, early detection, surveillance, and reporting and follow-up of contagious diseases.
- Recommend provisions for a school environment conducive to learning.
- Provide health education.
- Coordinate school and community health activities and serve as a liaison between the home, school and community.
- Act as a health resource person.
Psychiatric
Psychiatric evaluations of students with behavioral, developmental and/or mood disorders are provided by consulting psychiatrists. Psychoeducational evaluations, classroom observations, medication reviews and follow-up school consultations are available.
Psychiatric evaluations are conducted at Stony Brook Hospital for students attending their home school districts. Psychiatric evaluations for east end school districts can be provided on site or at the Westhampton Beach Learning Center. Evaluations for BOCES students will be conducted at the site they are currently attending.
Psychological Services
Psychological and educational testing services are provided to determine students' cognitive, academic and social-emotional functioning. Assessment batteries utilize standardized measures of intelligence, achievement, norm-referenced scales of behavior and adaptive skills, and projective techniques. Psychologists will also include formal observations and gather anecdotal data from teachers and parents in the assessment to complete the diagnostic profile of students and provide the educational data needed to make instructional decisions.
Neuropsychological evaluations will also be conducted by consulting psychologists through either Stony Brook Hospital or St. Charles Hospital.
Sign Language Interpreters
BOCES educational interpreters facilitate communication among deaf and hearing persons in an educational setting through the use of techniques developed for communicating between deaf, hard of hearing and hearing persons. Currently, sign language interpreters use American Sign Language, Signed English, Pigeon and Conceptually Accurate Sign to communicate. These services are offered both in BOCES facilities and district settings.
Speech
Eastern Suffolk BOCES meets the needs of students with communication disorders by providing comprehensive speech and/or language services. The scope of services includes evaluation, consultation and treatment of disorders that impact communication. Communication disorders include, but are not limited to, disorders of speech production, speech perception, auditory processing, fluency and the language continuum from basic comprehension and expression through literacy.
The speech staff at Eastern Suffolk BOCES is committed to providing services to match the needs of individuals with communication disorders which might include the use of augmentative or assistive technology or alternate communication systems such as sign language. The Eastern Suffolk BOCES speech department works in concert with the students, teachers, support staff and families to help students' progress through the curriculum to assure successful long term adult outcomes for individuals with communication disorders. Individual and/or group services are provided within the classroom setting or, if necessary, on a pull-out basis. The New York State Learning Standards require that every student be provided the opportunity to learn to speak, listen, read and write. The professional Eastern Suffolk BOCES speech staff supports that challenge.
Visually Impaired
Services for the visually impaired are designed to assist the local school districts in providing a quality educational experience for blind and visually impaired students both in the mainstream and BOCES programs. These services provide a support system for the students which facilitate a productive learning experience. Specifically, students are provided with visual and compensatory skills that enable them to function as independently as possible within their classroom setting in order to access the curriculum.
Evaluations are conducted in the students' educational setting at the request of the school district. These evaluations are conducted in the areas of functional vision to determine the need for services for the visually impaired, vision technology and orientation and mobility. Services for the visually impaired are provided on an individual or group basis according to the students' IEP's. Indirect services to the students' classroom teachers and consultations are also available. Orientation and mobility services are provided individually as per the students' IEP's.
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