The therapy is free — if it's on the IEP

When people hear "IEP," they picture reading goals and classroom help. But an IEP can also include related services — the support therapies a child needs to actually benefit from their special education. Under U.S. special-education law (IDEA), these can include speech-language therapy, occupational and physical therapy, counseling, school health/nursing services, and even transportation. When they're written into the IEP, the school district provides them at no cost to families, as part of your child's right to a free appropriate public education.

Here's the key that surprises many parents: a related service belongs on the IEP not because a therapy is generally good for a child, but because it's needed for that child to access and benefit from their education. Occupational therapy might be there so a child can grip a pencil or manage a busy classroom; speech therapy so they can follow instructions and participate. The link to learning is what qualifies it — and what the team documents.

Because these services live inside the IEP, they come with the same protections as everything else: written frequency, duration, and location ("30 minutes of speech, twice weekly, in a small group"), and progress monitoring. If it's not written down, it's not guaranteed — so a vague promise of "some OT support" is worth asking the team to make specific.