Why Are There Never Enough Therapists?
All across the nation, schools are experiencing a shortage in special education therapists, including speech therapists, occupational therapists, and school psychologists. Reasons therapists do not stay at schools is multifaceted. Therapists have reported poor working conditions. This could be due to a staggering amount of paperwork, a sense of isolation from the rest of the school, credentialing barriers and delays, as well as a number of other reasons. Perhaps they prefer not to deal with all the travel time involved with some of the more rural school districts as it takes away from actual therapy time.
So what can be done about this issue? One of the solutions schools have started to turn to is the use of teletherapy. Through the use of teletherapy, therapists can now see students from several school districts in multiple states without all the wasted travel time. This also allows them to have more time for required paperwork involved the students’ IEPs. Teletherapy also provides schools with access to more specialized therapists to meet their students’ individual need.
Lighthouse Therapy wants to help. We are dedicated to making sure schools meet their therapy needs. Whether that is through providing speech therapists, occupational therapists, or school psychologists.
Critical Shortages in Special Education Teachers. Sound Familiar?
