Delaware IEP Related Services: OT, Speech Therapy, and Behavioral Support

Related services are the support services written into an IEP that a student needs in order to benefit from their special education. Occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, counseling, and behavioral support are the most common. They are not extras — under IDEA, if a related service is required for the student to access their education, the district must provide it at no cost to the family.

The most common district argument for denying a related service in Delaware is that it lacks "educational necessity" — that while a student may have a clinical need for OT or speech therapy, that need does not rise to the level of affecting educational performance. This argument is frequently wrong, frequently made, and is worth knowing how to push back on.

How Related Services Get on an IEP

Related services enter the IEP through evaluation. If the comprehensive evaluation identifies a need for OT, the occupational therapist's report should include a recommendation with a proposed frequency (e.g., 45 minutes per week in a pull-out or push-in model). The IEP team reviews the evaluation data and decides whether the service is required for the student to benefit from special education.

The key words are "required to benefit." The standard is not whether OT would be helpful or beneficial in a clinical sense. It is whether, without OT, the student cannot access and benefit from their educational program. For a student whose fine motor difficulties mean they cannot complete written work, write legibly, use scissors, or access classroom materials — OT is educationally necessary. For a student whose fine motor skills are low but whose writing is functional enough for academic tasks, the case is harder to make.

Parents who disagree with the district's evaluation of OT, speech, or behavioral support needs have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation at public expense under 14 DE Admin. Code 926. If the independent evaluator recommends a service the district denied, that recommendation becomes part of the IEP record.

Occupational Therapy in Delaware IEPs

OT addresses fine motor skills, sensory processing, visual-motor integration, and activities of daily living. In the school context, OT is most commonly warranted when a student's deficits in these areas interfere with their ability to:

• Complete written work within the time required in class
• Use standard classroom tools (pencils, scissors, manipulatives)
• Participate in art, science labs, or other hands-on activities
• Navigate the school building or cafeteria safely (for students with sensory or motor challenges)
• Manage transitions, sensory stimulation, and the physical demands of the school day

Delaware's IEP evaluation team must include someone capable of interpreting evaluation results in the relevant area. For OT, that typically means a certified occupational therapist conducted or reviewed the evaluation. If the district's evaluation did not include an OT component but you believe fine motor or sensory processing issues are affecting your child's performance, request an addendum evaluation specifically addressing those areas.

Delaware families can access free assistive technology resources through the Delaware Assistive Technology Initiative (DATI), operated by the University of Delaware's Center for Disabilities Studies. DATI maintains Assistive Technology Resource Centers in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex counties, where families can trial adaptive tools — pencil grips, tablet styluses, adapted scissors, keyboarding equipment — before the district commits to purchasing them. An AT trial through DATI can provide evidence for an IEP OT recommendation.

Speech-Language Therapy in Delaware IEPs

Speech-language therapy addresses articulation, language processing, expressive and receptive language, pragmatic (social) language, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). It is one of the most commonly included related services in Delaware IEPs — 8.5% of Delaware's special education students are identified under the Speech or Language Impairment category, representing approximately 1,755 students.

The educational necessity standard applies here too. A student with an articulation disorder affecting intelligibility — meaning teachers and peers cannot understand the student's speech — clearly has an educational barrier. A student with pragmatic language difficulties that affect their ability to participate in group work, follow multi-step classroom instructions, or communicate with peers and teachers during instruction also has an educational barrier.

Districts sometimes distinguish between articulation therapy (clearly educational, since intelligibility affects communication in the classroom) and language therapy (where the argument about educational impact is slightly more nuanced). For students with autism, pragmatic language and social communication deficits are almost universally educationally impactful — these are not just clinical concerns.

Under Section 925, if oral expression or listening comprehension is at issue during an initial eligibility determination, a licensed speech-language pathologist must be present on the IEP team. If your child's evaluation addressed speech-language concerns and an SLP was not part of the eligibility determination meeting, that is a potential procedural deficiency.

Behavioral Support: FBA, BIP, and Counseling

For students whose behavior impedes their learning or the learning of others, the IEP must address that behavior. The standard tools are the Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and the Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP).

An FBA identifies the function of the behavior — what the student gets from the behavior or what they are avoiding. A BIP, developed from the FBA, specifies the proactive strategies the school will use to prevent the behavior, the replacement behaviors the school will teach, and the consequences for behavior that is consistent and educationally appropriate. A BIP is not a punishment plan — it is a behavioral support plan.

Counseling services on an IEP are distinct from clinical therapy. School-based counseling addresses the social, emotional, and behavioral skills the student needs to access their education. For students with anxiety, depression, or trauma histories that affect school performance, counseling as a related service is educationally necessary.

Delaware's MTSS framework emphasizes Positive Behavioral Support (PBS) as the preventive tier for behavioral challenges. When behavior reaches a level that requires IEP-level support, the FBA/BIP process should be initiated without waiting for a crisis. If the school is responding to behavioral incidents reactively — through suspension, office referrals, or parental contact — without implementing a BIP, that is a gap in the IEP that warrants a team meeting.

When the District Denies a Related Service

The district must issue a Prior Written Notice (PWN) whenever it refuses to include a related service. The PWN must explain the data the team relied on, the options considered, and why each was rejected.

A verbal "your child doesn't need OT" at an IEP meeting is not a Prior Written Notice. Request the PWN in writing. Then review it. If the district's stated reason is that "the student's educational performance is not sufficiently impaired," ask specifically: what data supports that conclusion? What assessment of fine motor / language / behavioral functioning was conducted? If the evaluation did not include an assessment of the specific area in question, that is the basis for requesting an IEE.

If you have an outside clinical evaluation — from a private OT, SLP, or psychologist — that recommends a service the district denied, present it at the IEP meeting and request that the team address it in writing. If the team ignores it without explanation, that is also a basis for a state complaint or due process.

The Delaware IEP & 504 Blueprint includes a related services request guide, a checklist for evaluating whether the district's evaluation addressed all areas of concern, and a template for requesting a Prior Written Notice when a related service is denied verbally.

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