Contributions and Presentations By Vanguard Staff Highlight Their Commitment to Excellence

The Vanguard School’s clinical and educational teams are truly best-in-class. Our knowledgeable staff have continually proven to be the gold standard for special education and related clinical services.  As the first Approved Special Education School in Pennsylvania, our expertise is often sought-after because we have developed unique and effective programs that address the holistic needs of our students. This year, our professionals have made significant contributions that speak to Vanguard’s leadership and commitment to excellence.

Vanguard’s Physical Therapists Contribute to State's OT/PT Guidelines and Present Childhood Obesity and Autism Course

Johanna Spangenberg, PT DPT and Jennifer Kieffer, PT DPT, both Vanguard Physical Therapists, served as contributors to the latest revision of the Guidelines for the Practice of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy in Educational Settings, developed by the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association. The guidelines consolidated the Pennsylvania Physical Therapy Association’s Guidelines for the Practice of Physical Therapy in Educational Settings and the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association’s Occupational Therapy Practice in Pennsylvania’s Public Schools.

The 65-page document brought together the combined expertise of a professional taskforce comprised of nine committee members and 21 contributors from across the state. The process for revising and combining the two documents included virtual meetings among the committees, town hall meetings to capture the voice of invested stakeholders, as well as research to present the latest information available in OT/PT practice.  Topics addressed include an overview of relevant federal and state legislation, a list of definitions used within educational environments, qualifications and competencies for Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists, service delivery best practices, and more.

“It was an honor to be involved in writing, editing, and revising guidelines that may be used by fellow physical and occupational therapists who work with children in school settings throughout Pennsylvania,” said Dr. Spangenberg, speaking on behalf of herself and Dr. Kieffer.  “We worked with colleagues from across the state. This project allowed us to not only review the specific areas we contributed to, but also become deeply familiar with aspects of school-based practice that have added to our knowledge base.”

In addition to contributing to the OT/PT Guidelines document, Dr. Spangenberg has been at the forefront of researching the connections between childhood obesity and autism. She presented a course at the American Physical Therapy Association's Annual Conference titled, Autism and Obesity: PT’s Role in Addressing Childhood Weight Challenges in Schools, Clinics, and Communities. This course delved into the weight-related impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, the barriers to maintaining a healthy weight for children and adolescents with autism, and potential strategies for addressing these challenges across various settings. Read more about the risk factors and find tips for parents on minimizing weight challenges in an article authored by Drs. Spangenberg and Kieffer on the VFES website.

Vanguard’s Instructional Coaches Present at PaTTAN National Autism Conference

Some of our staff have been working with PaTTAN on our campus for several years as a part of PaTTAN’s Autism Initiative. Vanguard staff, Sarah Schunder and Jacquelyn Buchanan-Curry shared their experiences with this initiative at 2024 National Autism Conference at PaTTAN Central Conference Center, in Harrisburg, PA earlier this month. As a teacher, Schunder’s classroom was one of the first two classrooms under the initiative at Vanguard before she became an Instructional Coach. Buchanan-Curry also worked as a teacher in a PaTTAN-supported classroom for four years before transitioning to her role as an Instructional Coach. 

Buchanan-Curry and Schunder’s presentation, Promising Practices: Building Internal Capacity for the Long Haul, focused on how the initiative has positively contributed to the success of Vanguard’s students. They also discussed staff retention within these programs, the positive correlation of recommendation completion, increased student and teacher success, and their role in staff training. The workshop offered the following participant objectives: to identify three effective practices for the role of Internal Coach, how to structure team meetings and consultation binders though digital media, and how to apply a format to create internal coach consult notes.

The National Autism Conference was held August 5-8, 2024 and included a robust workshop schedule on 59 topics.  The purpose of the conference was to provide a comprehensive, evidence-based information to assist educators, other professionals, and families in developing effective educational programming for all students with autism spectrum disorders. “We are thankful to [have been selected to present] at the National Autism Conference to represent The Vanguard School and to teach other educators what has been successful at our school,” said Schunder. Buchanan-Curry added, “We [were] excited to show other internal coaches throughout the state of Pennsylvania some of the amazing work that The Vanguard School is doing through the PA Autism Initiative.”

Congratulations to Vanguard’s Physical Therapists, Dr. Johanna Spangenberg and Dr. Jennifer Kieffer and Instructional Coaches, Jacquelyn Buchanan-Curry and Sarah Schunder. We applaud their commitment to our students and initiative and willingness to share with our wider community of clinicians, educators and parents. These contributions reflect our staff’s dedication to advancing the fields of special education and physical therapy for children with special needs.