Collaborative Assessment

collaborative culture

SLPs work with other professionals to foster a ___ ____

knowledge; skills

when discussing team roles, professionals must ethically and legally ensure they have the necessary ____ and ____ to provide services

collaborative assessment

an assessment approach that emphasizes teamwork and shared decision-making among professionals, caregivers, and sometimes clients themselves

• can improve the accuracy of diagnoses and ensure that interdisciplinary assessment results translate into meaningful, contextually appropriate interventions

• values multiple perspectives, reduces bias, and leads to more accurate diagnoses and meaningful intervention planning

why does collaboration improve the diagnostic process

• differential diagnosis (ID vs DLD vs SLD)

• understanding of individual as a whole

• understanding patterns of strengths and weaknesses

• understanding of emotional state/coping mechanisms/family systems

• treatment planning

no it is ongoing

does collaboration end after assessment?

when is collaboration done during the diagnostic process?

throughout the assessment process:

• during intake

• evaluation

• observation

• during intervention

successful collaboration strategies

• know the players

• avoid turf/territorial wars

• learn about assessment batteries/procedures used by others

• seek collaborative conversations

• encourage team problem solving and active listening

• recognize that other have different perspectives

• respect different opinions/theories

cross-battery assessment

SLPs work alongside psychologists or special educators to jointly interpret standardized tools to understand broader learning profiles

• use strategically-selected subtests of norm-referenced tests instead of a small number of norm-referenced tests in their entirety

• based on cattel-horn-carroll (CHC) theory of cognitive abilities

• Gs

• understanding of cognitive domains helps guide individualized and collaborative intervention planning

• especially useful in school settings to identify strengths and weaknesses that affect learning, communication, and academic success globally

• more in-depth process

• consistent with best practice

cross battery assessment steps

• child is assessed in all areas related to suspected disability 

• evaluation is sufficiently comprehensive

• for LD, must include classroom observation by someone other than teacher and must have had RTI

multi-disciplinary team evaluations

each professional conducts independent assessments and shared findings during team meetings

• ex: RTI

• SLPs play a key role in evaluating communication skills and colaborating with other team members to inform eligibility, diagnosis, and educational planning

SLP roles in multidisciplinary team evaluations

• SLP conducts typical evaluation within scope of practice

• collaborates with other professionals to share those findings

• contributes to developing individualized education programs (IEPs) with communication goals

• ensures communication needs are addressed across all areas of the student’s educational experience

• support integrated service delivery

functional behavior assessment (FBA)

collaboration with behavior specialists and teachers to examine communication as a function of behavior

• process used to identify reasons behind challenging behaviors by examining the purpose or function 

• for SLPs the FBA helps determine if communication deficits contribute to these behaviors 

• guides development of more appropriate communication strategies or supports

SLP roles in FBA

• identifies function of a student’s challenging behavior (e.g. escape, attention, sensory, etc.)

• helps determine if behavior is a result of unmet communication needs

• SLP collaborates with behavior specialists and educators in creating behavior support plans

• assists with development of functional communication alternatives (AAC, verbal requests)

• supports data-driven interpretation planning targeting both communication and behavior

• promotes positive behavior by teaching appropriate communication responses

curriculum-based assessment (CBA)

SLPs and teachers assess a student’s communication skills based on academic tasks or content demands

• evaluating a student’s communication and language abilities using materials and tasks that are part of their actual academic curriculum

• allows the SLP to assess how speech and language skills impact educational performance and align intervention goals with academic expectations

• helps identify functional, educationally relevant speech-language goals

• supports collaboration with teachers

• strengthens the link between language intervention and academic success