Module 5: Roles and Responsibilities—Inclusion and the Educational Team
Types of Teams
These courses are about supporting the learning of students who are complex due to the intricate interaction of their multiple disabilities and disorders. Teams supporting these students are made up of a variety of disciplines with diverse expertise. School teams are better able to support students with complex needs when they work collaboratively. When we collaborate, we set the stage for inclusive, holistic student supports that best meet the needs of the individual student. Let’s look at how effective collaboration and a transdisciplinary approach can create the best educational outcomes for students with multiple disabilities and complex needs.
Overlapping Roles
When travelling the province on student visits, Inclusion Outreach sees a variety of ways teams work together. The way teams are formed and practiced can greatly influence the school experience for students with complex needs. The three most common types of teams we encounter are multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary teams. The following diagram is a visual representation of how these teams are both unique in how they function and have varying degrees of overlap.
Multidisciplinary
Interdisciplinary
Transdisciplinary
Understanding Team Types
In order to determine which team type is best suited for collaborative practice when working with students with complex needs, we need to explore the details of how these teams work. If there is a lack of a clear definition of the terms multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary, then they might be mistakenly used synonymously (Choi & Pak, 2006). In this section we will introduce you to the features that define each team approach and clarify what makes them different. The following table is a comparison of the three team types across six features. These features are definition, collaborative style, goal setting, team roles, role boundaries, and role release.
| Features | Multidisciplinary | Interdisciplinary | Transdisciplinary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Definition | Working with several disciplines | Working between several disciplines | Working across and beyond several disciplines |
| Collaborative Style | Members from different disciplines working independently on different aspects of a project. This work can be done separately, but at the same time or one after another | Members from different disciplines working together on the same project, working jointly | Members from different disciplines working together using a shared conceptual framework |
| Goal Setting | Individual goals in different professions | Shared goals | Shared goals and skills |
| Team Roles | Participants have separate but interrelated roles | Participants have common roles | Participants have role release |
| Role Boundaries | Participants maintain own disciplinary roles. Does not challenge discipline boundaries | Participants surrender some aspects of their own disciplinary role but still maintain a discipline-specific base. Blurring of disciplinary roles | Participants develop a shared conceptual framework, drawing together discipline-specific bases. Transcends disciplinary boundaries |
| Role Release | None | None | Role release |
Adapted from Choi, B. & Pak, A. (2006)
Case Examples
The following are examples of how Inclusion Outreach interacts with and benefits from the various collaborative team approaches.
Case Example: Multidisciplinary
Prior to a student visit, the Inclusion Outreach team receives comprehensive medical records from Children’s Hospital, Sunny Hill Health Centre, and other medical facilities. In these settings, the child has been supported by an entirely different team of professionals. Orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, ophthalmologists, just to name a few, have been consulted and have provided care. Hospital settings are structured according to a multidisciplinary model. The child is seen by each individual discipline, and each discipline makes recommendations and produces a report. The report is discipline-specific and there is no overlap with other disciplines involved with the same child.
These reports provide members of the Inclusion Outreach team with valuable information used to plan the upcoming visit. For example, if an ophthalmology report shows a diagnosis of cortical visual impairment, strategies will be needed to address how this particular student uses their vision and if not already involved, a teacher of students with visual impairments will need to be brought onto the team.
Case Example: Interdisciplinary
Other teams are also involved in providing holistic care to students with complex needs. A seating clinic is one example common to students we support. At the clinic a child will be seen by professionals to address their seating, positioning, and wheelchair needs. Orthotists are often involved in creating customized orthotics to improve function and support the joints.
Clinics follow an interdisciplinary model. Individual disciplines perform assessments and make recommendations. Those recommendations are then synthesized into an intervention plan for the student, and the student is followed by the team for modifications to equipment as the child grows. Again, this information is essential when planning for a student visit.
Case Example: Transdisciplinary
The Inclusion Outreach team is made up of teachers, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists. Each member of the team has training and experience in their respective disciplines. Teachers on our team bring their expertise in assessing a student’s learning, making accommodations and creating curriculum-based learning objectives. SLPs bring their knowledge and skills to address the student’s ability to communicate. Therapists use their knowledge and skills to support the student’s ability to move and improve function.
Each member of the Inclusion Outreach team shares training and expertise with the school team through a transdisciplinary model. This approach demonstrates role release. These courses are designed to be an expansion of role release so that the local teams can put into practice strategies prior to a school visit and in between visits.