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The School Liaison Program

The Consultative Process

I am interested in school consultative services for my son or daughter. What do I need to do, and what can I expect?

The consultative process involves several steps:

  1. A referral is made by a parent or a treating professional.
  2. The family will then receive an intake packet to complete and return to the School Liaison Program.
  3. The intake material will be reviewed by an SLP clinician and the family will be contacted.
  4. An extensive information gathering process may occur including obtaining additional documentation (school records, assessments) and information (via phone consultation, meeting, and/or observation) to help the SLP clinician in understanding the child's school-related needs.
  5. Based on the identified needs, the SLP clinician and parent will develop a consultation plan of how to best address the concerns in the school setting.
  6. The consultation plan will be implemented.
  7. The SLP clinician and parent will evaluate the effectiveness of the consultation plan and determine whether any additional intervention is necessary.
  8. Once the current goal for consultation is achieved, the family will be encouraged to contact the SLP should a future need for consultative services arise.

What might parents and schools expect from the School Liaison Program?

  • Initial assessment of child's school situation
  • Development of a consultation plan with family to address individual needs
  • Telephone consultation to schools and families as needed
  • Review of school documentation including IEPs, 504 plans, evaluations, progress reports, etc.
  • Meeting with school team (if needed)
  • Observation of child in school (if needed)
  • Collaboration with multidisciplinary teams at Dana-Farber and Children's Hospital
  • Education about needs of survivors via educational forums and written information, such as workshops, parent nights, and college nights
  • Support and education for school teams around teaching a survivor of childhood cancer
  • Recommendations for additional outside services

What are some common referral concerns to the SLP?

  • Child has new learning problems
  • Child has had a recent neuropsychological assessment and the school would benefit from help in understanding and implementing the recommendations
  • Parent is unsure whether child could benefit from academic support services
  • Child's oncologist is concerned about learning difficulties