15th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 13-15, 2016 • San Diego, CA

3/15/2016 | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Topical Session 5 | Pacific Salon 4/5 | 4 - Early Intervention

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: How Does It Work?

Infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing are highly diverse, not only regarding their hearing abilities, but also their cognitive, physical and social-emotional development. They may be strong healthy babies or medically fragile. Their families may be well-educated or have limited schooling. They may have access to multiple resources or have limited supports and resources to draw upon. Many families communicate using a language other than English; they may be deaf or hearing, or may be affiliated with cultural communities that are unfamiliar to the early interventionists with whom they work. These families, like all other families, have a range of aspirations for their children. The complex needs of children and their families often calls for a team of professionals whose expertise includes health care, audiology, communication and language, deaf culture and communities, physical, cognitive and/or emotional disabilities and delays. While most providers have training in one academic area, working with deaf and hard-of-hearing infants and their families often requires knowledge in multiple fields of study. Best practice guidelines emphasize the importance of providing services that meet the needs of the child and family; however, the services needed may be beyond the scope of practice of the provider and necessitate collaboration with professionals from different disciplines. This panel presentation will bring together a parent and professionals who have worked collaboratively on interdisciplinary teams. Panelists will discuss their perspectives on 1) the importance of interdisciplinary teaming; 2) the roles of team members; 3) the knowledge, skills and dispositions that facilitate effective team functioning; and 4) barriers to effective teamwork. Panelists will encourage participants attending this session to reflect upon their experiences with interdisciplinary teaming, their challenges and successes, and share suggestions for effective interdisciplinary collaboration.

Identify a minimum of three factors that impact effective interdisciplinary collaboration.
Describe at least three areas of professional knowledge, skills or dispositions that contribute to effective team functioning.
Identify at least two strategies that participants can immediately apply that will improve their own collaboration with professionals from other disciplines leading to better outcomes for children and their families.

Presentation:
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Handouts:
Handout is not Available

CART:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference

Presenters/Authors

Arlene Stredler-Brown (Co-Presenter), University of Colorado, arlene.brown@colorado.edu;
Arlene Stredler-Brown, PhD, CCC-SLP provides consultation and technical assistance to programs working with infants, toddlers, and young children who are deaf or hard of hearing in the United States and internationally. She has graduate degrees in Speech/Language Pathology, Education of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, and a doctoral degree in Special Education. Current research focuses on telepractice; she is the co-investigator for a Phase II Clinical Trial funded by the National Institutes of Health to study services delivered to young children who are deaf via telepractice. Since retiring from her position as Director of the Colorado Home Intervention Program (CHIP), Dr. Stredler-Brown continues to work with initiatives promoting evidence-based early intervention practices, the measurement of effective intervention and education options, and the use of individualized assessments and treatments. She publishes regularly on these topics. Dr. Stredler-Brown works as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia.