Fun and Function is proud to present our initial research supporting the ActiveMind Partnership.

The ActiveMind Partnership is a sensory based RTI framework that offers a broad intervention system intended to support students and teachers across educational settings, including special as well as general education.

The novelty of the ActiveMind Partnership is that it advances the idea that individual student needs can be served meaningfully through a generalized approach. When properly implemented, the ActiveMind Partnership can demonstrate successes that may not be attained even after years of professional individualized interventions.

The program has been implemented in institutions where no OT services are available. The program has also been used as a platform by OT professionals to greatly expand their reach to students not receiving services under an IEP. So while individualized interventions will always be an invaluable part of special education services, a broader pre-IEP intervention system will meaningfully benefit students and further the work of the special education professionals supporting them.

We believe the ActiveMind Partnership approach is important because it helps schools increase the effectiveness of special education services by providing a basic level of resources and an opportunity for classroom teachers to help all students learn.

It also provides a cost effective means of making a difference in special education, which has become one of the fastest growing line items in school district budgets.

Our research is not intended to prove the effectiveness of sensory tools or a particular sensory intervention. It is intended to demonstrate how broad sensory based interventions can be implemented and have a meaningful impact. By demonstrating this potential, we hope to inspire educators and professionals in the education field to embrace such an ambitious approach and benefit their students.

The body of research that supports this hypothesis will grow as each additional study will demonstrate an application in another educational setting.

We hope to demonstrate with research how the program has a direct, meaningful impact on behaviors and academics. Furthermore, we will also consider the many ancillary benefits achieved through the underlying philosophy of the approach engendered by the ActiveMind Partnership.

We encourage you to read critically and consider how your students might benefit from some of these concepts. We would be thrilled to partner with your school and work together to bring your ideas and vision to fruition.