Educational Therapy (ET) is a practice that has been around since 1979, when the California
Association of Educational Therapists group was incorporated and held its first membership
conference. Within the next four years, bylaws, newsletters, and study groups were written and established which led to the beginning of training programs. Since then, the field has continued to grow and expand, yet many people are still unaware of how ET is different from special education classroom instruction or one-on-one tutoring.
Often, special education teachers and ETs are considered to be synonymous. While both
special education teachers and ETs make observations about students in an effort to assess
them either formally or informally, plan intervention and carry it out, and record data throughout sessions to inform future intervention, an ET’s skills are different from a special education teacher in several ways:
● ETs are more likely to give standardized assessments than special education teachers
● They work with students one at a time rather than in a group, which allows them to
provide truly tailored and customized learning plans
● They don’t just teach curriculum, but rather intervene and target specific academic and
learning abilities as a whole
● They can be members of the IEP team when invited by the parents
● They are more often hired by parents rather than the school system
● Their relationship with the student can last longer than a given school year
● They meet with students outside the school campus
● They have latitude to make independent decisions regarding treatment and intervention
Perhaps the most important difference between an ET and special education teacher is that the ET has the ability to work independently of the school system, listening to the parent’s concerns, watching the student’s abilities, and making decisions with the parent and the client that directly benefit the student. An ET is a valuable addition to the student’s educational team.
