Kent Ballroom
School-based Rehabilitation Services are increasingly being provided via needs-based, tiered models, with universal services provided to support all children and targeted and/or individualized services offered to children who require additional support. This tiered or ‘layered’ approach ensures children with higher needs receive increasingly individualized services.
To support the transition to this model, researchers developed evidence-based, multi-media, online resources to enable speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists to learn about tiered school-based services. Research funded by the Ontario government enabled the development of two online resources: a six module, self-paced course (the FIRST Course), and a ready-to-use implementation toolkit (FIRST KIT). A third resource contains answers to therapists’ most asked questions about this model of service (FIRST FAQs).
In this session, materials and examples from each FIRST resource will be shared to facilitate learning about tiered approaches and strategies for successful implementation.
3 Key Takeaways
1. Tiered service models allow children to receive layers of support. The intensity of services provided for any child is based on the support that they receive across all tiers.
2. Tiered models require therapists to assume different roles and use different skills than in direct service models. Resources, training, and support are needed to support therapists to transition to this model of practice and to promote practice change.
3. A free professional development program about school-based tiered models is available for occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and physiotherapists at http://first.machealth.ca/.
Dr. Wenonah Campbell, Associate Professor, School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, Scientist, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research
Sandra Sahagian Whalen, Clinical Research Implementation Specialist, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research
Leah Dix, Project Manager, CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research