Related services are any services that are necessary to help a student with a disability benefit from their special education program. To “benefit from special education” has generally been interpreted to mean making meaningful progress toward meeting IEP goals and objectives.
Under federal regulations, related services include but are not limited to:
Transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes:
- speech-language pathology
- audiology services
- interpreting services
- psychological services
- physical therapy
- occupational therapy
- recreation, including therapeutic recreation
- early identification and assessment of disabilities in children
- counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling
- orientation and mobility services
- medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes
- school health services and school nurse services
- social work services in schools
- parent counseling and training [1]
In California, the list of related services (usually referred to as “designated instruction and services”) is similar to the federal listing.[2] See Chapter 5, Information on Related Services.