What does it really mean for therapy to support access to the curriculum?
In school-based practice, this question is central to effective intervention. Therapists are not just working on isolated skills, but the added challenge is to make sure that those skills that are being improved are helping students to participate within the classroom environment. When school-based therapy supports access to the curriculum, it becomes more meaningful, more collaborative, and more impactful for both students and educators.
This shift requires a different lens. Instead of asking whether a student can perform a skill in a controlled setting, we need to ask whether they can use that skill during real classroom tasks.
- Can they stay regulated during a lesson?
- Can they engage with instruction?
- Can they complete and participate in learning activities alongside their peers?
At the 2026 Inclusive Classroom Summit, occupational therapist Kim Wiggins explored this exact shift. With 25 years of experience in pediatric and school-based practice, she shared practical strategies for helping therapists move beyond a medical model and toward an educational model that prioritizes true access to the curriculum.
Four Components of Access to the Curriculum
Kim breaks down access to the curriculum into four key components. This framework helps therapists ensure that intervention is functional and relevant within the classroom.
- Presence
Students must be able to be physically and emotionally present in the learning environment. This includes maintaining posture, sustaining endurance, managing transitions, and regulating sensory and emotional needs. Classrooms can be overwhelming, so students need to tolerate and function within that space.
- Engagement
Students need to actively engage with instruction and classroom routines. Engagement includes attention, understanding, and communication. It is not enough to be in the room. Students must be connected to what is happening in order to learn.
Participation
Participation is where students actually do the task. This is often where challenges emerge. A student may demonstrate a skill in a one-on-one session but struggle to apply it in a busy classroom. This highlights the importance of working in the natural environment where the skill is required.
Progress
Progress is the fourth component and this is where perspectives can sometimes differ. Therapists often view any progress as positive progress. However, teachers and parents may feel that progress is not happening quickly enough or is not significant enough. This can create tension if expectations are not aligned.
The key shift is understanding that progress should be measured by functional impact. If supports are helping the student participate, engage, and learn within the classroom, that is meaningful progress.
For therapists, this often requires a change in how we measure success.
For occupational therapists, it is less about whether handwriting is neat and more about whether the student can complete written tasks during class, organize their work, and keep up with expectations. It also means looking at whether students have access to their sensory strategies and, more importantly, whether they and the staff know how and when to use them. A sensory toolbox is only effective if it supports regulation in real time and helps the student stay ready to learn.
For physical therapists, the question shifts from whether a student can perform a specific task like stairs in isolation to whether they have the endurance and strength to move throughout the school day, manage transitions, and navigate the building independently.
For speech-language pathologists, progress is not just about producing correct sounds. It is about whether the student can participate in discussions, be understood by peers, express their ideas, and communicate effectively in social and academic contexts.
Ultimately, the goal is not perfection of a skill. The goal is whether that skill supports access to the curriculum and allows the student to function successfully in the classroom.
School-Based Therapy vs Clinic-Based Therapy
Understanding the difference between school-based therapy and clinic-based or early intervention services is critical.
Clinic-based therapy often focuses on skill acquisition. Sessions are typically one-on-one, controlled by the therapist, and progress is measured by improvement in specific developmental skills.
In contrast, school-based therapy focuses on educational participation. Goals are tied directly to accessing and progressing within the curriculum.
This requires a shift in clinical reasoning. Therapists must determine whether a difficulty is impacting the student’s ability to function in the school environment.
Kim says it is important to remember, “in schools, our job isn’t just to build skills. It’s to make sure students can use those skills to participate in learning. If a skill doesn’t impact access to the curriculum, it may not be something we address directly through school-based services”
While a child may still have areas of need, school-based therapy at a Tier 3 level is only appropriate when those needs or lack of skills affect access to the curriculum.
The research strongly supports this approach, with evidence pointing toward participation as the key outcome of effective school-based practice. Studies and systematic reviews are showing school-based OTPs, PTs and SLPS are most effective when collaborating in teams.
How MTSS Supports Access to the Curriculum
A Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework plays a key role in improving access to the curriculum across schools. You can explore this further in our blog on MTSS for school-based therapists.
Using MTSS allows therapists and educators to support more students early, often preventing the need for individualized services later.
At Tier 1, strategies are implemented across the whole classroom, with a strong emphasis on consistency and fidelity.
If a large percentage of students are struggling with a skill such as handwriting, attention, or regulation, this does not mean most of the class needs therapy. Instead, it signals the need for a classroom-wide strategy led by the teacher, with support from the therapist.
Therapists can offer one or two practical strategies for the teacher to implement consistently. In many cases, difficulties come down to limited exposure, and with regular practice, students improve without needing additional support.
If, after four to six weeks of consistent implementation, some students are still not making progress, then Tier 2 support can be introduced. This approach helps strengthen access to the curriculum while reducing unnecessary referrals for individual services.
At Tier 2, smaller groups of students that need extra support receive more targeted intervention, with increased collaboration between therapists and teachers. Again the idea is that if these strategies are being done with fidelity and consistency in Tier 2, majority of those students should not need to move on to Tier 3
Tier 3 involves individualized support when needed. However, when Tier 1 and Tier 2 strategies are implemented consistently and with fidelity, many students do not require this level of support.
This approach not only improves school-based therapy outcomes but also strengthens overall access to the curriculum for all students.
Why Push-In Therapy Improves Classroom Participation
Kim strongly advocates for push-in therapy within the classroom.
Working in the natural environment allows therapists to see the full context of a student’s experience. This includes peer interactions, classroom setup, noise levels, and transitions throughout the day.
These are factors that cannot be replicated in a one-on-one setting.
Push-in therapy ensures that strategies are practical and directly support access to the curriculum, rather than remaining isolated skills that are difficult to generalize.
What This Means for School-Based Therapists
School-based therapy is most effective when it is directly tied to access to the curriculum.
By focusing on participation, collaboration, and real-world application, therapists can create more meaningful outcomes for students. Approaches such as MTSS and push-in therapy support this shift by ensuring that intervention happens where it matters most.
When school-based therapy supports access to the curriculum, it not only benefits individual students but strengthens the entire classroom environment.
This is just a glimpse: get the full interview plus 11 other expert-led talks on mastering MTSS in schools.
About Kim Wiggins
Kim has been an occupational therapist for 25 years, working primarily in pediatrics and school-based practice. She is a full-time therapist in a public school in upstate New York and a sought-after international presenter of practical, real-world strategies for supporting student participation and regulation. Kim is the co-author of the Just Right! Sensory Modulation Curriculum (K-5) and author of Just Right! Jr., and she shares additional resources and tools for therapists and educators through her website.
You can visit her website https://www.otkimwiggins.com/ for more information