Specialists
D49 SPECIAL EDUCATION
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D49 Special Education Department recognizes each student as an individual. Our staff is committed to respect, enable, and empower each of our students. In D49 we strive to foster a caring, creative, and inclusive learning environment emphasizing positive spirit and resilience.
It is our goal to provide educators and administrators with current information and resources in the areas of instruction, accommodations, and assessment for students with a disability. Please contact your school special education team to discuss individual programming for your child.
IVES Team of Specialists
Claire Beherens
Psychologist
School Psychologists work with multidisciplinary teams to complete special education evaluations. They also provide social skills support and interventions to students for success academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally through individual programming. The School Psychologists also consult with teachers, families, and other school-employed mental health professionals (i.e., school counselors, and school social workers) to improve support strategies, work with school administrators to improve school-wide practices and policies, and collaborate with community providers to coordinate needed services. (https://www.nasponline.org/about-school-psychology/who-are-school-psychologists)
Michael Duke
Physical Therapist
Physical Therapist: School-based PTs work collaboratively with a student’s IEP team and participate in screening, evaluation, program planning, and intervention. They design and implement physical therapy interventions to assist students in accessing school environments and achieving their IEP goals. https://www.apta.org/advocacy/issues/idea-and-essa
Hillary Hunt
Speech Language Pathologist
Speech Language Pathologists work with multidisciplinary teams to complete special education evaluations. They also provide appropriate educational speech-language services in Pre-K, elementary, middle, junior high, and high schools. SLPs work with students exhibiting a range of communication disorders that are impacting access to their education. These services may include language, articulation (speech sound disorders), fluency, and voice/resonance. https://www.asha.org/policy/pi2010-00317/
Occupational Therapist
Occupational Therapist: School-based OT is designed to enhance the student's ability to access the learning environment and might include working on fine motor skills so the child can complete written assignments, helping the child organize himself or herself in the environment (including work space in and around the desk), working with the teacher to modify the classroom and/or adapt learning materials to facilitate successful participation. https://www.aota.org/about-occupational-therapy/patients-clients/childrenandyouth/schools/schools.aspx