How Can Special Educators Best Support Response-To-Intervention Practices Within the General Educational Setting?

A Speech Language Pathologist’s Perspective

By: Eve Mills M.A. CCC-SLP

What Does the Research Say?

Koustsoftas, Harmon and Gray, from Arizona State University, Tempe, evaluated the effectiveness of a Tier 2 intervention designed to increase the phonemic awareness skills of at risk preschoolers in their 2009 study:

The Effect of Tier 2 Intervention for Phonemic Awareness in a Response-To-

Intervention Model in Low-Income Preschool Classrooms

Method 34 preschoolers participated in small groups,

2 times a week for 6 weeks, for beginning sound awareness.

Lessons were provided by trained teachers and SLPs from scripted materials.

Multiple baseline across participants treatment design

Results Intervention was successful in improving

beginning sounds awareness skills in 71% of the children.

Beginning sound awareness skills of children studies were tested in the fall of kindergarten. Results indicated smaller percentages of children from Tier 2 preschool intervention groups were classified as being at risk than in the school district as a whole.

Conclusion Over a relatively short period of time, at risk

preschoolers’ phonemic awareness skills were increased through small-group Tier 2 intervention provided by qualified professionals.

Research supports Tier 2 interventions can positively impact the future reading skills of children who are at risk for later reading difficulties.

Limitations Special education eligibility was unknown for

students participating in the study- students may have been receiving interventions in addition to Tier 2 groups.

Standardized measures were not used.

Small sample size

Speech Language Pathologists’ Involvement in Responsive-To-

Intervention Activities: A Complement to Curriculum-Relevant

PracticeBy: Maureen Staskowski PhD CCC-SLP and

Elizabeth Rivera MA, CCC-SLP

Best Practice Article Review

SLPs’ Roles are ChangingShift from traditional medically-based

model

•Diagnosis-standardized testing and etiology based•Treat-pull-out sessions regularly scheduled and 1:1•Cure-clinic within the school design with goals separate from the curriculum

Curriculum-Relevant Model Treatment driven by the idea that language

and speech abilities have a significant impact on school success-both academic and social

•Dynamic assessments not solely limited to standardized testing

•Goals based upon functional and academic needs within curricular context

•Services delivered in classroom, or therapy rooms and with groups of peers.

RTI Model

Presents new opportunities for SLPs to extend curriculum-relevant practices to students with and without communication disorders.

Three-Tiered Model of RTI Tier I

includes all students taking part in the general education curriculum.

Tier II Students identified as being at risk for reading

failure Supplemental interventions

Tier III Students who have not responded to Tier I or Tier II

interventions and need a special education referral

SLPs’ Involvement in RTI Interventions

Tier I      Work at the school building to district level to plan

professional development and group instruction for all, focused on language and literacy, whether or not the classroom includes students “on the caseload”.

•Word decoding•Phonemic awareness•Social skills for peer interactions•Reading comprehension•Note and test-taking strategies

Tier II Work with school support team members to

monitor progress of students identified as at-risk.

Help teachers design and implement specialized instruction for those who are not responding to general classroom instruction, including small group instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, word-decoding, and reading comprehension.

SLPs’ Involvement in RTI Interventions

SLPs’ Involvement in RTI Interventions

Tier III Before any special education services are

recommended, it should be determined that the student has difficulty in either Tier I or Tier II and in some cases, even in intensive Tier III instruction.

Response-To-Intervention: SLPsas Linchpins in

Secondary SchoolsBy: Barbard Ehren EdD CCC-SLP

Best Practice Article Review

RTI at the Secondary LevelMost conversations about RTI only

center upon approaches with younger children.

SLPs are uniquely qualified to assist with literacy practices at the secondary level based upon training in literacy.

Ehren, (2009) lists

Seven Steps to Success for the implementation of RTI Initiatives at the

Secondary Level

STEP 1START SMALL

•Begin with and continue educating other staff about why SLPs are involved.

•Observe general education classrooms, especially Language Arts.

•Work with small groups of general education students first and ease into co-teaching.

•Review cumulative files to identify students who are “at-risk”.

STEP 2SELF EDUCATE

Become proficient in all aspects of literacy as well as grade-level academic standards.

Know specific content vocabulary and how it is being taught.

Become involved in school-wide professional development regarding literacy.

STEP 3VOLUNTEER YOUR SKILLS &

SERVICES

Ask questions and learn how you can integrate your skills and services into the curriculum.

Look at how homework, tests, quizzes, and contents are being presented, and how they can be adjusted for struggling students.

Ask to sit in on grade level meetings, department meetings etc.

STEP 4DEVELOP A GAME PLAN

Do this for the purposes of time frames, staying on task, and communicating better with staff.

Gain administrative support for the changes you are proposing before presenting them to staff.

STEP 5HAVE REGULAR CONTACT WITH

TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS

Develop a core group of staff members to help determine in a timely manner intervention needs and student progress.

STEP 6CREATE A FLEXABLE DAILY

SCHEDULE

One option is to change your schedule every nine weeks so that you can be available for classrooms on a rotating basis.

Be open to changing your schedule based upon student need.

Create new definition of “workload” Refrain from conceptualizing RTI as “adding-on”

to existing caseload. Eliminate “head counting” as caseload approach

STEP 7CULTIVATE BUILDING AND DISTRICT

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

Commitment to SLPs’ role by administrators is key to the success of this model.

How does all the information fit together?

No one magic formula for becoming involved in RTI initiatives as each school presents unique challenges.

Research clearly defines, targeting students identified as “at-risk” for future literacy failure and providing appropriate, sound, and consistent interventions shows promising evidence for literacy acquisition at all skill and grade levels (Koutsoftas, Harmon, & Gray, 2009;Staskowski & Rivera, 2005; Ehren, 2009).

What am I doing?

Administrative support gained Educating parents on service

delivery models SLP staff buy-in RTI summer study group Member of Student Support

Team-Elementary Level Using Grade Level Expectations

to from IEP goals and objectives Taking small groups of

kindergarteners weekly-initial sound fluency

Enrolled to take Writers Workshop trainings next year

Gaining administrative support at the building levels

Servicing students in classroom the majority of the time as appropriate

General and special education staff buy-in for role changes of SLPs

Professional development for staff on support SLPs can provide.

Member of Student Support Team-Secondary

Increase dynamic assessment practices into MET evaluations.

Increase small group Tier II numbers with students not on caseload.

Assist in general education classroom with Writers Workshop weekly.

What will I do?

References

Ehren, Barbara J. (2009, May 5). Response-to-intervention: SLPs as linchpins in secondary schools. The ASHA Leader American Speech-Language Hearing Association, 14, 10-13.

 Koutsoftas, Anthony D., Harmon, Mary Towle., & Gray, Shelley. (2009). The effect

of tier 2 intervention for phonemic awareness in a response-to-intervention model in low-income preschool classrooms. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 40, 116-130. National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Incorporated & Council

of Administrators of Special Education. (2006). NASDSE and CASE White Paper on RTI [White Paper]. Retrieved from http://www.nasdse. org/Projects/ResponToInterventionRtIProject/tabid/411/Default.aspx Staskowski, M. & Rivera, E.A. (2005). Speech-language pathologists’ involvement

in responsiveness to intervention activities: a complement to curriculum-relevant practice. Topics in Language Disorders, 25, 132-147.