School System PT: Question about Eligibility for Therapy

Liz Posts:

DEAR ERI COMMUNITY: I am a physical therapist (4 years) and on my 2nd in the schools. I am finding that more and more of my referrals are for kids that are falling behind their peers, not for coordination and understanding of tasks rather obesity. My question is ethically… should weight be a deciding factor for eligibility/ dismissal if they demonstrate all areas of coordination, average strength/ROM etc, but when trying to hop or do sit ups/push ups they can go thru the motions, but are unable to clear the floor resulting in low testing scores. Also, what might be the best politically correct way to state weight is a contributing factor to students limitations?

Thank you!
Liz,  PT

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