Transdisciplinary Approach Practicum for Speech-Language Pathology and Special Education Graduate Students

Abstract

Speech-language pathology and special education graduate student teams participated in an intensive summer practicum for social communication skills with children with autism spectrum disorders, utilizing a transdisciplinary approach that aligned to the frameworks utilized for implementation science. Questionnaires measuring transdisciplinary approach knowledge and comfort level were administered pre/post-practicum. Results of the questionnaires, written daily team reflections, course evaluations, and a focus group interview indicated an increase in all measures, including an increased knowledge of TA, increased understanding and comfort level with the other discipline, and a higher level of confidence and openness in working collaboratively utilizing a transdisciplinary approach.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Questionnaire: Transdisciplinary Approach Knowledge

True/False

• 1. In the transdisciplinary model, environment referenced assessment identifies the context and functional targets of instruction.

• 2. Transdisciplinary team members reach a consensus to select multiple sets of priority goals for each student, one per discipline.

• 3. In the transdiciplinary approach, therapy in the classroom is always “integrated” therapy.

• 4. In the transdiciplinary approach, therapists maintain direct, hands-on interaction with learners, offering learners more “therapeutic” input than direct models over time.

• 5. In arena assessment, professionals assess a child in a staged setting utilizing only informal methods.

• 6. Presumed benefits of the transdisciplinary approach include service efficiency, cost-effectiveness or services, and more coherent intervention plans and holistic service delivery.

• 7. In arena assessment, parents may or may not be present, depending on their wishes.

• 8. Three essential elements of the transdisciplinary approach are arena assessment, role release, and occasional, intensive interaction among team members.

• 9. Role release is the most crucial and challenging component in transdisciplinary team development.

• 10. In the transdisciplinary approach, more children can be served because fewer providers routinely see a given child.

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Appendix 4

Working together effectively	Engaging in reciprocal learning	Maximizing expertise	Releasing roles to share implementation of strategy
I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we genuinely value each other’s knowledge and ideas—not only in our specific areas of study, but also when it comes to brainstorming new strategies, interventions, activities, etc. that we implement daily within our class	I believe that not only are we are working effectively together to create engaging and meaningful lessons for our students, but my partner and I are continuously learning from each other throughout the process	As the first week of the practicum comes to an end, I am finding that the overall effectiveness of our lessons is truly maximized by our different areas of expertise	We have already begun releasing our specific roles, and allowing each other to bring unique ideas to the table
I believe that the partnership between the two disciplines working in the classroom has provided some interesting insight. I feel that our personalities and styles complement each other very well, and our ideas, creativity, and ability to plan lessons reflect similarly	My partner has both directly and indirectly taught me many strategies and interventions that I now effectively utilize on a daily basis with our kids. I have not had much experience working with nonverbal students before, and I’m starting to feel comfortable when it comes to promoting purposeful and meaningful speech and communication in our classroom	I believe that the partnership between the two disciplines working in the classroom has provided some interesting insight. I feel that our personalities and styles complement each other very well, and our ideas, creativity, and ability to plan lessons reflect similarly	I’m beginning to think of our roles as more unified than I initially expected, while also understanding that we each have our own specific skill sets
We utilized a pacing board and began collecting data about his speech intelligibility and the number/intrusiveness of prompts required to get him to slow down and focus on his speech through use of the pacing board. This is an example of just one of the many areas that I can say I am extremely grateful to work on with my SLP partner as part of the study on the effectiveness of the transdiciplinary approach	My SED partner and I are continuing to learn from each other and continue to collaborate professionally and creatively	I respect all that my partner has to offer to these students and am confident that she feels the same about my skill set	We utilized a pacing board and began collecting data about his speech intelligibility and the number/intrusiveness of prompts required to get him to slow down and focus on his speech through use of the pacing board. This is an example of just one of the many areas that I can say I am extremely grateful to work on with my SLP partner as part of the study on the effectiveness of the transdiciplinary approach
My SED partner and I are continuing to learn from each other and continue to collaborate professionally and creatively	My SLP partner and I continually learn from each other and transition from our normal roles in the classroom. I, for one, have learned various strategies to encourage and appropriately reinforce specific vocalizations and uses of language (especially with K and B) by working with my partner on a daily basis		My SLP partner and I continually learn from each other and transition from our normal roles in the classroom—I, for one, have learned various strategies to encourage and appropriately reinforce specific vocalizations and uses of language (especially with K and B) by working with my partner on a daily basis
My partner and I continue to communicate effectively on a daily basis to reflect on previous lessons, plan new lessons, and create/modify goals, both within and outside of the classroom to ensure that our class is running as smoothly as possible in order to provide the best learning experiences for our students	I’ve found that it is almost an instinct for me to now encourage any purposeful vocalizations from B, K and O after observing and working with my SLP partner for the past few weeks		I believe that it would be difficult for an outsider to initially point out the SLP and the SED teacher in our classroom, as we take on other roles and switch roles when appropriate and/or required
			We discussed the idea of role release while reflecting on today’s lesson this afternoon—normally, my SLP partner works with B with encouraging meaningful vocalizations and social interactions (bubbles, beads, “It’s my/your turn!”) each day, but we decided that I will take over that portion of the lesson tomorrow while she works with the other students on their individual goals. We are both extremely excited to fully switch our roles in the classroom, and we are excited to see if our students will generalize their newly-learned skills when working with the other teacher
			I’ve seen such an increase in functional language use and speech intelligibility from B and O since the beginning of our time spent together, and my partner and I both constantly reinforce their purposeful language by saying things such as “I hear you talking, B!” and when O slows down his speech, “I understand now, O!” I am beginning to feel extremely comfortable (and almost natural) leaving my typical role as a SED teacher and taking on the role of a SLP in the classroom
			I’ve found that it is almost an instinct for me to now encourage any purposeful vocalizations from B, K and O after observing and working with my SLP partner for the past few weeks
			I am beginning to feel extremely comfortable (and almost natural) leaving my typical role as a SED teacher and taking on the role of a SLP in the classroom