Transitioning into teletherapy from the brick and mortar setting brings a shift in how IEP’s are conducted and how speech therapists are involved. How can IEP PROCEDURES & TELETHERAPY really be effective? Facilitating the IEP process in teletherapy requires creativity and diligence. It can be just as effective as in person IEP meetings if you have an open mindset. Obviously, there are a lot of things that do not change. All services continue to be mandated by federal and state special education statutes BUT how we collaborate as a team is a little different. Here are few insights on what has been different for me since I started this journey.
LESS TIME NEEDED FOR PAPERWORK
Did you know that SLPs who work as a teletherapist typically have minimal case management duties? THIS HAS BEEN AMAZING. It has yielded less time spent typing up evals/IEP’s, chasing down signatures, and prepping to lead an IEP meeting. This means more time spent on therapy planning!
Case managers assign me to the students that I am providing services for in the state IEP system. I enter my present levels of performance for speech/language as well as update the goals and objectives. THAT IS IT FRIENDS. If I am organized with my day to day data keeping, it makes the time sent on this task minimal.
If I am completing an evaluation, I write a report that is shared with the IEP team. I transfer this information into the IEP system.
While this has been the trend, I do anticipate that speech pathologists will start to take on more case management duties in the world of teletherapy.
INPUT FROM OTHER TEAM MEMBERS
You need to get creative in collecting information from team members. I have created a very basic and standard google form for collaborating and collecting data from the general education teachers. I have it available for FREE IN MY TPT STORE.
CLICK HERE TO SNAG IT: TEACHER INPUT FORM (GOOGLE FORMS)
I also have had very creative teachers send me a video from their teaching sessions. This allowed me to could grab some data of my students performance on their goals and objectives from the virtual classroom environment. It was valuable to sit back and observe the student interacting with another adult. I have also asked caretakers to share videos with me as well.
I really want to encourage you to email and connect with your student’s teachers via google hangouts or email throughout the school year. I also read over log notes and documentation frequently as a way to stay updated with my students performance. It is easy to disconnect from these important individuals in the virtual environment since they are not just down the hall. BE INTENTIONAL to collaborate and establish respectable relationships.
IEP MEETINGS ARE HELD OVER THE PHONE OR VIA YOUR VIDEO CONFERENCING PLATFORM
Business is as usual when it comes to making sure all team members are present during the IEP meeting. I will be honest that this piece of teletherapy has been the biggest adjustment for me as a professional. I like to see parents face to face while discussing how I can support their child and family. It builds relationship and is really valuable. My best piece of advice is that you should do your best to hold your IEP meetings via video conferencing. The parents can see the team members and it feels like an in person meeting. For tech reasons, I have had many IEP’s via a phone conference and it works very well. However, I feel a greater connection is made with face to face interactions.
You can screen share the IEP in your FERPA/HIPPA compliant platform so the IEP team can view the document. Case managers send the IEP to the parents and IEP team members prior to the meeting so they can have it available to them during the conference.
If you are leading the IEP, you will find it useful to ask another team member to assist with note taking. This person will also be responsible for calling any required participant that has not logged onto the meeting. With virtual services, you cannot walk down the hallway to grab the general education teacher who forgot about the IEP meeting. You will have to chase them down by phone, texting, or webmail. You can’t lead the meeting and make these calls. Invite participants via google calendar so they can get a reminder.
The ultimate goal is to provide a supportive environment for your families at their IEP meeting to continue to foster learning for our students. This can be done effectively via teletherapy. It just takes a little extra creativity and diligence.
