Day 48: The Role of Pediatrics in Special Education

According to a journal article by the American Academy of Pediatrics, collaboration among parents, pediatricians, and educators can lead to better outcomes for a child with a disability. (https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/104/1/124.full.pdf).

Primary care pediatricians can play an important role in shaping appropriate special education programs for their patients. Even though school districts are responsible for identifying children with learning-related problems, pediatricians are often in a good position to provide screening for the existence of a developmental delay or risk of a disability. Through developmental surveillance beginning with the very first clinic visit, pediatricians can provide ongoing monitoring of the child’s special health care needs.

Pediatricians can participate in the evaluation process, from making or recommending a referral to the Early Intervention Program or School-Based Support Team, to reviewing the resulting Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP) with the parent afterwards. Pediatricians may opt to provide written or verbal feedback on the proposed health-related services. Ideally, the primary care physician’s coordination of care will include interaction with pediatric subspecialists, such as developmental-behavioral pediatricians, neurologists, psychiatrists, ophthalmologists, gastroenterologists, neuropsychologists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, feeding therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and mental health counselors, depending upon the child’s needs.

To discuss the promise of medical-legal partnerships in special education, contact me at Oroma@MSRLegal.ORG. Continue to follow @MSRLegalConsulting on Instagram as I post about the evolving landscape of special education in the wake of Covid-19.

Stay safe,

Oroma

P.S. Don’t forget to RSVP to MidtownSpeechNYC@gmail.com for my live, virtual conversation with Rebecca Iswara, M.S., CCC-SLP, TSSLD about independent educational evaluations and seeking new school placements. Our talk will take place on Wednesday, June 3rd via Zoom from 8:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

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