Orleans/Niagara BOCES is very fortunate to have trained specialists, such as occupational therapists and physical therapists, to work with our students. Thanks to these professionals at our learning centers, they can work individually with students and collaboratively with their teachers, staff and families to make sure their cognitive skills, physical abilities and emotional competencies are being met.
It is not uncommon for students to require additional support from professionals to make progress academically and being able to navigate their school environment successfully. In school settings, occupational therapists focus on helping students with developing their fine motor skills, sensory processing abilities and cognitive participation. This can include activities like writing, self-care, social skills, sensory processing and participating in the classroom. A physical therapist’s primary role is to promote access to the academic curriculum and participation in other school activities. This includes improving access to the school environment and addresses mobility issues like walking, running, climbing stairs, posture, body alignment, muscle strength and endurance.
Gail Marinaccio has been a pediatric physical therapist for 30 years, the past seven of which have been with O/N BOCES. She says how much she loves her career. “I love watching the progress our kiddos make. I don’t measure their accomplishments by miles, but by inches. It definitely is a slower pace, but they work so hard to attain those skills and the trick is to make sure they are enjoying what they are doing with me. I want them to exercise, but the trick is sneaking our therapy into it and having fun with it.” Gail works with 22 students in three different buildings: Newfane Learning Center, Niagara Wheatfield Learning Center and North Tonawanda Learning Center. “None of my sessions look the same. There are no cookie cutter approaches. But all of them have a structure and are tailored to their individualized needs. I view them as humans and not just a diagnosis. It is the art of therapy.” A trained yoga instructor she loves making videos with her husband to share with the students. “The students just love it and look forward to them,” she says. “I really don’t think there is a limit to what they can do.”
Mackenzie Mullins has been an occupational therapist for almost eight years at Orleans/Niagara BOCES. “I started my career working with geriatrics and then switched to pediatrics. This is definitely my calling working with kids. I love what I do and I love that every day is different. Watching them progress brings me so much joy. It is so rewarding to me to see where they are when they get older and know I had a part in their development.” Mackenzie works at the North Tonawanda Learning Center and Niagara Wheatfield Learning Center with 26 students. She has mentored several of the organization’s occupational therapists and assisted with professional development within her building and department when asked. “I enjoy doing a lot of push-in sessions for the classroom. It really benefits students to be working all together. It really engages them.”
In a push in session the therapist comes into the regular classroom to provide targeted support to a student or small group of students during a regular lesson. She also loves to dance and cook with the students. “It really benefits the students and helps with the eye-hand coordination. We also like to party plan or tie my lesson into whatever theme the teacher has in the classroom. We have a lot of fun.”
Gail and Mackenzie say they enjoy being part of field trips with their students’ classes and helping them to adapt to the experience. “We look at the environment and expectations and see what can be done to allow the student to participate.
We play an integral part in supporting them by providing them with what they need to have a successful outing,” explains Gail. “It gives us a chance to observe them in a different setting and see how they are doing,” adds Mackenzie. “It gives us ideas of what we can be working on with the students and helping us establish relationships built on trust with the teachers and staff.”
Both therapists also stress that they enjoy working with the families and assisting them in whatever way they are able to by providing information and guidance. “We send them a letter at the beginning of the year introducing ourselves and throughout the year give advice and support for medical concerns that come up such as the need for wheelchairs or orthotics,” says Gail. “We attend open houses and parent-teacher conferences so we can build on those relationships.”
Lorrina Kostuk-Madonia, Special Education Placement, Testing and Extended School Year Coordinator says she has to give a special shout out to Gail and retired occupational therapist Michele Jackson who spent their time recently making an inventory of all the adaptive equipment and supplies that are housed at the Special Programs Placement building. “We had rooms just filled with stuff and thanks to their diligence it is now a very comprehensive list of everything that is available to our OT’s and PT’s and we were able to dispose of items that outdated and obsolete. It has been great because our therapists didn’t even know that it was available to them and it really benefits the students.” She adds she is so grateful to have Gail and Mackenzie be part of her team. “They were willing to go to these different sites and work with the students and collaborate with the teachers. They are not only providers, but true leaders. I am so proud of how they have built relationships at each of our sites. There is such an art in what they do. Thanks to them and our other therapists we are able to address the functional needs and physical limitations of our students and help them to function independently in their daily lives.”