Table 3. Core Roles and Responsibilities of School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists

Core Roles Responsibilities
Intervention Assistance Team / Child Study Team
PREVENTION

  • In-Service Training

  • Consultation
IDENTIFICATION

  • Prereferral Interventions

  • Screening: Hearing, Speech, and Language

  • Referral and Consent for Evaluation
Interdisciplinary Team
ASSESSMENT

(Data Collection)

  • Assessment Plan

  • Assessment Methods

    • Student History

    • Nonstandardized Assessment

    • Standardized Assessment
EVALUATION

(Interpretation)

  • Strengths/Needs/Emerging Abilities

  • Disorder/Delay/Difference

  • Severity Rating

  • Educational Relevance: Academic, Social-Emotional, and Vocational Factors

  • Evaluation Results and Team Recommendations

  • Specific Evaluation Considerations

    • Age

    • Attention

    • Central Auditory Processing

    • Cognitive Factors

    • Cultural and/or Linguistic Diversity/Limited English Proficiency

    • Hearing Loss and Deafness

    • Neurologic, Orthopedic, and Other Health Factors

    • Social-Emotional Factors
IEP Team
ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION

  • Federal Mandates, State Regulations/Guidelines, and Local Policies/Procedures

  • Presence of Disorder

  • Educational Relevance

  • Other Factors
IEP/IFSP DEVELOPMENT

  • Federal Mandates, State Regulations/Guidelines, and Local Policies/Procedures

  • IEP Team, Factors, Components, Caseload Size
CASELOAD MANAGEMENT

  • Coordination of Program

  • Service-Delivery Options

  • Scheduling Students for Intervention

  • Caseload Size
Education Teams
INTERVENTION For Communication Disorders

  • General Intervention Methods

  • Scope of Intervention

    • Communication

    • Language

    • Speech: Articulation/Phonology, Fluency, Voice/Resonance

    • Swallowing
INTERVENTION For Communication Variations

  • Cultural and/or Linguistic Diversity

  • Limited English Proficiency

  • Students Requiring Technology Support
COUNSELING

  • Goal Setting and Purpose

  • Referral
IEP Team
RE-EVALUATION

  • Triennial

  • Annual

  • Ongoing
TRANSITION

  • Between Levels (Birth to 3, Preschool, Elementary, Secondary)

  • Secondary to Postsecondary Education or Employment

  • More-Restrictive to Less-Restrictive Settings
DISMISSAL

  • Federal Mandates, State Regulations/Guidelines, and Local Policies/Procedures

  • Presence of Disorder

  • Educational Relevance

  • Other Factors
Speech-Language Pathologist
SUPERVISION

  • Clinical Fellows

    • Support Personnel

    • University Practicum Students

    • Volunteers
DOCUMENTATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY

  • Federal Mandates, State Regulations/Guidelines, and Local Policies/Procedures

  • Progress Reports

  • Third-Party Documentation

  • Treatment Outcome Measures

  • Performance Appraisal

  • Risk Management

School Meeting Kit (ASHA, 1989). Document out of print. Permission granted to reproduce.