1. Cross-Discipline Team Practices in Early Intervention and Schools: An Exploratory Study in Connecticut
Chelsea Pansé, M.A., Special Education and Hannah Brown, B.S., School Psychology
Rationale
Professionals are required under IDEA to meet in teams to develop Individual Education Plans (IEP) or Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSP) (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004). Previous research indicates that team practices are an effective strategy to promote inclusion for children with disabilities in early childhood through grade twelve (Guralnick & Bruder, 2016). The literature suggests that “teaming” is occurring in both disciplines sporadically. Therefore, despite the legal importance and applied significance of effective team practice, it is unclear how early interventionists (EI’s) and school psychologists (SP’s) are prepared to team, and how teaming occurs in everyday practice.
These studies were conducted as a component of LEND training. Interdisciplinary team practices is a LEND core competency. The purposes were to:
Explore the values, beliefs, preparation, and training needs of early interventionists and school psychologists regarding team collaboration;
Strengthen and expand upon existing IEP/IFSP team research, particularly as it relates to school psychology and early childhood intervention;
Consider the strengths or weaknesses of current IEP/IFSP team structures and functioning from providers’ perspectives; and
Draw conclusions about the need for additional training and professional development opportunities.
Results
SP Participant Demographics
Total
Percentage
Years Working as School Psych (n=84)
<1 year 4
4.8
1-5 years 23
27.4
6-10 years 16
19.0
11-20 years 24
28.6
20+ years 17
20.2
Highest Degree Held (n=84)
Master’s Level 13
15.5
Specialist/CAGS Level 60
71.4
Doctoral Level 11
13.1
Current Job Assignment Level – Check all that apply (n=84)
Preschool 20
23.0
Elementary (K-5 grade) 48
57.1
Middle School (6-8 grade) 33
39.3
High School (9-12 grade) 31
36.9
EI Participant Demographics
Total
Percentage
Type of Agency (n=33)
General Program 16
48.5
Autism Specific Program 13
39.4
Hearing Specialty Program 4
12.1
Discipline/Role (n=28)
Occupational Therapist 3
10.7
Physical Therapist
14.3
Speech Language Pathologist
Special Instructor 1
3.6
Board Certified Behavior Analyst 2
7.1
Early Intervention Assistant 6
21.4
Administrator
Hearing Impairment Specialist
Other
Years Working in EI (CT) (n=29)
<1 year
6.9
1-5 years 11
37.9
6-10 years
20.7
11-20 years 5
17.2
20+ years
3. What do EI’s and SP’s perceive as barriers to teaming practices?
Please specify how often each item is a barrier to effective team meetings.
Barriers
Almost Always
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
Assessment
n/a
13%
17%
42%
29%
Not enough time
14%
44%
33% 8%
25%
38%
21%
Scheduling conflicts
11%
68% 3%
71% 4%
Poor communication/miscommunication
45%
48% 0%
46%
Disorganized team and/or team meetings 1%
26%
57%
16%
Competence and skills of other team members to work in a team
24%
18%
Personality conflicts
50%
63%
Differing opinions and approaches during assessment, planning, interventions, and developing goals/objectives
32%
62% 6%
58%
Unequal input from team members
55%
No opportunities for formal or informal team meetings
39%
19%
1st row=SP (n=84)
2nd row=EI (n=24)
1. Do EI’s and SP’s receive or want additional training in the area of team collaboration?
Conclusion
1. Do EI’s and SP’s feel that effective team collaboration results in better child and family outcomes?
Across both surveys, most participants either agreed or strongly agreed to this survey item. In the SP survey, 4.8% said “disagree.”
2. What do EI’s and SP’s perceive as barriers to teaming practices?
Across both surveys, the most sizable barrier reported was “not enough time.” Scheduling conflicts” was also a common barrier. The two populations varied on what they found “never” to be a barrier.
3. Do EI’s and SP’s receive or want additional training in the area of team collaboration?
The most interesting result from the EI survey is that 36% of participants reported never having received preservice training or inservice training on teaming. Yet they feel that effective teaming results in better child outcomes. The majority of participants from the SP survey (84%) received some combination of preservice and inservice training on teaming. Across both surveys, participants expressed interest in receiving training on teaming. Across both surveys, participants reported that they would benefit from additional training on teaming.
Research Questions
Do EI’s and SP’s feel that effective team collaboration results in better child and family outcomes?
2. What do EI’s and SP’s perceive as barriers to teaming practices?
Do EI’s and SP’s receive or want additional training in the area of team collaboration?
Methods
Electronic surveys were completed using Qualtrics. The school psychology survey was kept open for two weeks, and the early intervention survey was kept open for three weeks. Participants were able to pause the survey and come back to it or skip any questions they did not wish to answer.   
SP’s and EI’s were recruited via .
To recruit school psychologists, researchers contacted all special education directors in Connecticut and asked them to forward a recruitment and survey link to all school psychologists working in the district.
To recruit early interventionists, researchers contacted the State Office of Early Childhood to obtain permission to distribute the survey to birth-to-three agency directors in Connecticut. The directors received the recruitment and survey link and forwarded it to all birth-to-three employees.
2. Do EI’s and SP’s feel that effective team collaboration results in better child and family outcomes?
References
Bruder, M. B., & Dunst, C. J. (2005). Personnel preparation in recommended early intervention practices: Degree of emphasis across disciplines. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 25(1),
Guralnick, M. J., & Bruder, M. B. (2016). Early Childhood Inclusion in the United States: Goals, Current Status, and Future Directions. Infants & Young Children, 29(3), doi: /IYC
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1414 (2004).