Delivering therapy services for students with high support needs: Perceptions of roles, priorities and best practice

Therapists providing services to students with high support needs in NSW were surveyed in the present study. The survey examined (1) therapists' perceptions of their roles, (2) criteria used to set priorities for therapy services, (3) decision making authority and (4) agreement with best practice related to the collaborative team approach and implementation of those practices. Roles receiving the highest level of agreement were consistent with a contemporary functional approach to the education of students with high support needs. There was wide variation in the perceived importance of criteria considered in prioritising therapy services. Similarly, there was no clear consensus on authority to make decisions regarding student programs. However, there was a higher level of agreement with the proposition that final authority should be vested with the team, as opposed to individual therapists. Practices associated with a collaborative team approach received both a higher level of agreement and reported implementation than practices not associated with the approach. Nevertheless, there were disparities between level of agreement and reported implementation of practices associated with a collaborative team approach. Several directions for further research have been proposed.