Students with moderate to severe disabilities benefit most when interdisciplinary teams collaborate to deliver individualized instruction, supports and services. This research study seeks to capture a description of education specialists' collaborative experiences working with interdisciplinary teams composed of speech language pathologists,…

Children with complex communication needs (CCN) face many challenges in their daily life. They can struggle academically and socially if their communicative needs are not supported consistently by those who provide care for them. They frequently use Augmentative or Alternative Communication (AAC) systems or devices to communicate. The purposes of…

Collaborative consultation has been widely adopted in school-based occupational therapy practice; however, limited research has examined how collaboration between educators and occupational therapists contributes to students' outcomes. The purpose of this study was to describe the nature of collaborative working in two cases of school-based…

Team collaboration is necessary to fully support school-age students who use assistive technology (AT). Teams should include the student, his or her family, and school professionals. Unfortunately, team collaboration is often not realized due to constraints that range from scheduling conflicts and language barriers to lack of defined roles and…

This article begins with a vignette about Carla, a 4-year-old girl with a diagnosis of developmental delays. It then describes a model to facilitate inclusion of young children in early childhood settings. The authors developed this model as they worked with practicing early childhood professionals. The model places emphasis on the following…

Many students with intellectual disabilities want to graduate with their peers and move on to the next phase of their lives. By the time students have reached age 18, most have exhausted the coursework the school system has to offer, and they have yet to master the skills necessary for employment and independent living. Community-based transition…

With so many complex, challenging, and emotionally charged decisions involved, participating in an IEP meeting can seem like navigating through a minefield. But now there is a practical guide to managing these meetings with a high level of awareness, safety, and confidence. Developed for administrators, teachers, resource professionals, and…

The facilitator's manual offers information for conducting a workshop to teach regular educators, special educators, and parents of handicapped children the principles of team dynamics as they relate to decisions regarding the individualized education program (IEP). Participants are provided with three presentations designed to: offer an…