Choice Board 7

The purpose of the multidisciplinary team is to work as a single unit in determining possible causes that contribute to a students behavioral factors, educational status, prognosis, and recommendations for their suspected disability.

Members of the MDT

• School psychologist
• School nurse
• Classroom teacher
• School social worker
• Special education teacher
• Educational diagnostician
• Physical therapist

Members of the MDT cont...

• Behavioral consultant
• Speech/language clinician
• Audiologist
• Occupational therapist
• Guidance counselor
• Parents

Written requests for a referral for evaluation and possible special education services can be from the child's parent/advocate/legal guardian, classroom teacher, any professional staff member of the school district, a judicial officer, a student on their own behalf if they are 18 years old and above, and the chief school officer of the state.

A referral includes

• Why a possible disability exists
• Descriptions of attempts to re-mediate the child's behaviors
• Performance prior to the referral

Assessment Options for the MDT

• Academic achievement evaluation
• Intellectual and psychological evaluation
• Perceptual evaluation
• Oral language evaluation
• Occupational therapy evaluation
• Physical therapy evaluation

Four main areas covered in the parent intake

• Identifying data and family information
• Developmental histor
• Academic history
• Social history

As future special education teachers, we will be part of the multidisciplinary team. Knowing who else is involved, how referrals work, what they include, what our assessment options are, and the involvement of each team member is critical information to be a successful teacher and member of the multidisciplinary team.