Our Latest Question from one of our members:There were two mom’s from the same school and the same grade. They said their boys always have speech together. Does that mean they should be getting twice the minutes? While their speech goals are similar they are not exactly the same. Is the school short changing them or can they do that? Will they need to have it specified in their IEP that speech minutes will be individual or in a group?
Answer:
School service support minutes are listed as direct or consult. They are not listed as group or individual. Therefore, most service providers, especially OT and SLP, will spend at least a portion of a student’s direct time in a group setting. If the skills from your child’s IEP require direct instruction and no interaction with other people, such as cutting or articulation skills, then at least part of the minutes should be 1:1 with the service provider. However if the skills are turn taking in a conversation or hand strength (which can be done in pairs) then it is appropriate to have a small group setting.
What is not appropriate is to have two service providers working at the same time to complete all minutes. Again, there may be times that it is find for example a social worker and a speech therapist to work together. For the most part service providers should have their time with a child separate from each other and if they need more time to collaborate it would be added into consult minutes within the IEP.
This is definitely not a clearly defined area in most IEP’s if you are concerned about the lack of attention your child is receiving from a service provider you need to make your concerns clear, in writing, to the school and cc’d in the file. This is a perfect situation of assuring details in the IEP are written clearly. You most definitely could define group vs. individual minutes within the IEP document in the future.
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