Problem Solving for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)
Lisa Yount, M.S., CCC-SLP
and
Shannon Hall-Mills, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

PS/RtI as a Challenge for Change for SLPs

To meet this challenge, SLPs will need to be:

Open to change –
•	change in how students are identified for intervention
•	how interventions are selected, designed, and implemented
•	how student performance is measured and evaluated
•	how evaluations are conducted 
•	and how decisions are made

SLPs Embracing the Changes and become Leaders in this Paradigm Shift
•	SLPs understand collecting and comparing data
•	SLPs understand the importance of dynamic versus static assessments
•	SLPs have expertise in the language basis of literacy and learning
•	SLPs understand using outcomes data when making instructional decisions
•	SLPs can plan and conduct PD on the language basis of literacy and learning 
•	SLPs have experience with collaborative approaches to instruction/intervention
•	SLPs can identify systemic patterns of student need with respect to language skills 

If not Screen, Evaluate, Treat, then WHAT?

What is aligned with the curriculum, considers the whole student, targets specific skills, and differentially assesses and provides support?
•	The Problem Solving Framework 

Why not keep things ‘status quo’ for LI eligibility?
•	The ‘Status Quo’ = clinically based, isolated, eligibility dependent on scores 
	Little relation to instruction and student performance
•	Problem solving framework = team dialogue, analysis of data, identifying student’s based on universal screening, classroom-based and targeted assessments determine effective educational interventions, on-going monitoring of progress 
	Documented relationship to improved educational outcomes 

Implication of Changes for Assessment Practices
•	Shift from correlational science of standardized testing and placement, 
	to experimental science of interventions designed to maximize learning guided by 	problem solving and response to intervention.
•	Shift from deficit perspective focusing on identification of weaknesses, 
	to resilience perspective emphasizing strengths of individual and ways to modify the 	environment to increase probability of success.
•	Shift from search for pathology (underlying process deficits, disabilities, and disorders), 
	to one focused on enhancement of student competence and capacity of systems to 	improve student competence. 

What has changed for SLPs? (“The Specialists”) 

Semantics
•	Screening
•	Then:  What SLPs have done, in isolation, to determine whether or not an individual student is at risk. (No longer required.)
•	Now: What is done for every student in a classroom, school, district, etc. (“universal screening”).
•	Diagnostic Assessment
•	Then: Formal language evaluation, in isolation, for purposes of meeting eligibility requirements.
•	Now: What SLPs do as part of the problem solving team to further identify and narrow the specific areas of concern, and to inform instruction and intervention.
•	Evaluation
•	Then: Formal language evaluation, in isolation, for purposes of meeting eligibility requirements.
•	Now: What SLPs do as part of the problem solving team to further identify and narrow the specific areas of concern, and to inform instruction and intervention.
•	Intervention: 
•	Then: Therapy in the most restrictive environment; pull-out services
•	Now: Increased time, increased intensity of instruction, based on student’s specific needs, delivered in the general education environment.

Disadvantages of Using Pass/Fail Screenings
•	DOE has changed the rules that made them necessary in the past
•	They take the SLP’s time away from more productive activities
•	They take the student’s time away from instruction in the classroom
•	They don’t consider the many other factors that may be affecting the student’s performance
•	They are not aligned with the curriculum
•	They don’t target specific skills or diagnostically assess

First Contact with Students (Doesn’t have to be a pass/fail screening!)
Tier I
•	As member of School-Level PS/RtI Team, first contact is with student data. 
•	School-wide, grade-wide, class-wide, subgroup-wide, etc., universal screening data for “all”. (“taking the temperature”)
•	Trends emerge (“who’s warm?” is it just a few?  a lot? a little warm, really hot?)
•	Core instruction adjustments (“adjusting the thermostat”)

SLP’s Contact with Students
Tier II
•	Increased time, intensity, instruction, matched to student needs
•	When “some” groups are identified through additional data collection: 
•	Recommend supplemental instruction (programs or strategies) (“prescribing penicillin or Amoxicillin”)
•	Classroom observations/group/student observations (gathering information or for fidelity)
•	Progress monitoring data (gathering or interpreting)
•	Diagnostic assessments (“ordering more tests”) 

Tier III
•	Even more increased time, intensity, instruction, matched to more specific student needs
•	Contact with students on individual level is more meaningful than P/F 
•	When a “few” are identified:
•	Diagnostic assessments (narrow identified area of concern) (“ordering expensive scans and invasive tests”)
•	Recommend individualized instruction (programs or strategies) (“specialized IV antibiotics”)
•	Intervention implementation (“ICU”) 
•	Observations (gathering information or fidelity)
•	Progress monitoring (gathering or interpreting data)

Tier I

Tier I in Pasco County Schools
1.	Core/Universal Instruction 
•	In Pasco, nearly all elementary classrooms have a 90 minute reading block using the Treasures reading program (MMH).
2.	 Universal screening tool determine effectiveness (≈80% are responding).
•	In Pasco, all students are screened using FAIR; district wide data, school wide, grade wide, and classroom wide data are analyzed to see emerging trends; adjustments are made to instruction.
3.	 Continuous monitoring to ensure progress is being maintained.
•	In Pasco, all students are screened using FAIR (AP 1, AP 2, AP 3) 

Tier II

Let’s talk Interventions
Is there a list of approved academic and behavioral interventions?
•	No. Neither the US Department of Ed, or FDOE have issued or sanctioned such a list.
•	Why not?
•	Districts, schools, and individual teams are better served, if when selecting interventions, they have more flexibility and can focus on the definition and tenets of “scientific, research based”.
•	Interventions must be based on individual students’ needs.
•	Only teams that include members of instructionally relevant expertise engaged in problem-solving for the individual student(s), are equipped to make sensible and data-informed decisions about intervention design and adjustments. 

Who has reviewed evidence-based products?
•	Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR; www.fcrr.org)
•	What Works Clearinghouse (WWC; www.whatworks.ed.gov)
•	Oregon Reading Center (http://reading.uoregon.edu/)
•	Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts (www.texasreading.org/3tier/)
•	American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (http://www.asha.org/members/ebp/finding.htm)
•	Where to find the evidence (e.g., systematic reviews; multiple suggestions and links)
•	Compendium of EBP guidelines and systematic reviews (topics include Language Disorders and Learning Disabilities)

Intervention “Must Remembers”
•	Students are identified by data and by concerns observed in the classroom.  
•	Everything that is done by the SLP must be to inform instruction or intervention in the classroom.
•	All interventions are INTERVENTIONS.  
•	They are simply resources, time, and supports, specific to behavior or an area of academic need, intended to improve student outcomes.  
•	Interventions are not specific to an ESE program area.  Language (LI) interventions don’t exist anymore than ASD, OHI, or SLD interventions do.
•	All interventions will have some relationship with language.
•	There is no differentiation between “academic interventions” and “language interventions”.
•	Teams should search for interventions that are specific to student need rather than specific for language. 

Tier II in Pasco County Schools

1.	Targeted standard protocol interventions, and/or problem solving interventions 
•	In Pasco, school PS/RtI teams examine student data compared to benchmark, peers, and subgroup data. Triumphs, Kaleidoscope, Stevenson, MMH Fluency (standard intervention protocols) are used; problem solving interventions (e.g., targeted vocabulary, phonics instruction, etc.)
2.	In addition to FAIR data, diagnostic assessments determine who requires Tier II levels of support.
•	In Pasco, identified students participate in BDI and TDI (FAIR), Running Records, Lexile, MMH unit assessments, etc.
3.	 Progress monitoring is more frequent, all data is collected for measurement of student’s progress.  “Is it working?” “Is the intensity appropriate?”
•	In Pasco, progress is monitored using standard protocol assessments or using classroom based assessments that measure targeted skills.

Tier III

Tier III in Pasco County Schools

1.	Individualized, intensive interventions if Tier II levels of support are inadequate to close gap. 
•	In Pasco, school PS/RtI teams examine student data compared to benchmark, peer, and subgroup data.  All available student data is examined: FAIR data (BS, BDI, TDI, OPM), observation data, assessment data (FCAT, SAT-10, classroom assessments, portions/subtests of standardized assessments, e.g., DAR, CTOPP, subtests of CELF-4 and CASL, etc.), Tier II intervention data for student and peers receiving same intervention, attendance data, medical data, additional relevant information, etc. 
2.	 Progress monitoring 
•	In Pasco, progress is very frequently monitored at the instructional level, and all data is collected for measurement of the student’s progress (e.g., weekly curriculum assessments, fluency measures for each reading passage, etc.)

Eligibility Determinations

How the SLP is Involved 

It is important to note:
•	The graphic on this slide illustrates how problem-solving teams are actively engaged in the problem-solving process, including continued progress monitoring.
•	At this point in the problem-solving process, none of the following words have come up: 
•	“eligibility criteria”
•	“SLD”
•	“language impairment”
•	“disability” 
•	“ESE” 
•	“staffing” etc.
•	These terms may eventually become relevant for only a very small percentage of student who have received Tier III services.

What would you say if...

•	a teacher asks the SLP to screen a student’s language
•	The SLP can request that the student be brought up to the problem solving team first, so that the information gathered can better target the areas of concern.  The SLP can explain the usefulness of diagnostic assessments over the traditional screening pass/fail score.
•	A teacher insists that her new student is language impaired.
•	It must be communicated that eligibility is only discussed at the eligibility staffing meeting with the parent.  The SLP can recommend that the teacher bring the student up to the problem solving team to discuss her concerns.  The problem solving process, as well as the goal of student achievement, not eligibility, should be explained and supported. 
•	The problem solving team asks the SLP for language interventions.
•	The SLP can focus the team back to the data and on determining what would be appropriate targeted or intense interventions matched to the student’s need.  
•	The SLP is asked to administer a global language test for a student who was identified as “at risk” based on universal screening data.
•	The SLP can explain that a global assessment for determining eligibility may not be appropriate at this time.  The goal is to gather diagnostic information for the purposes of informing instruction or intervention.  Using subtests or portions of assessment tools may provide very useful information for teachers as part of the problem solving process.

LI Eligibility
What is Required to Determine Eligibility Now?

Districts are Required to Provide Instruction and Interventions, and to Evaluate All Available Data to Support Student’s Needs 

From SBE Rule 6A-6.030121, F.A.C.:
(5) All General Education Intervention Rule Requirements:
•	Parent involvement 
•	At least one classroom observation
•	Review of all existing data
•	Sensory screenings (hearing and vision)
•	Design and implement interventions based on student data
(6)(a) Request parental consent to conduct evaluation
(6)(b) The following minimum evaluation requirements must include evaluation of:
(6)(b)1. data showing appropriate instruction and interventions (may have have gathered prior to receiving consent to evaluate) 
(6)(b)2. data indicating the student’s response to the intervention(s) (gathered prior to receiving consent to evaluate)
(6)(b)3. information gathered from the parents, teachers, and student when appropriate regarding the concerns (gathered prior to receiving consent to evaluate) 
(6)(b)4. documented and dated observations (may use observation(s) completed prior to receiving consent to evaluate, or may conduct additional observations)
(6)(b)5. data from one or more standardized norm-referenced instruments measuring language skills (may use data gathered prior to receiving consent to evaluate, or may conduct additional assessments)

LI Eligibility
What is the New Criteria?

Criteria is Now Based on Student’s Response to Instruction/Intervention 

From SBE Rule 6A-6.030121, F.A.C.:
(7)(a) Student performs/functions below expectations for age or grade level in one or more of the following areas:
1.	Oral expression
2.	Listening comprehension
3.	Social interaction
4.	Written expression
5.	Phonological processing
6.	Reading comprehension,
(7)(b) Even with interventions, student is still unable to meet age or grade level standards,
(7)(c) Documented evidence must include:
(7)(c)1. Documented and dated observations
(7)(c)2. Based on specifications in assessment manual, results of standardized norm-referenced assessment(s) indicate significant deficit in:
1.	Oral expression
2.	Listening comprehension
3.	Social interaction
4.	Written expression
5.	Phonological processing
6.	Reading comprehension,
(7)(c)3. Information from parents, teachers, and student (when appropriate) support the standardized instruments and observations conducted
(7)(d) The group determines that findings are not a result of age, gender, culture, ethnicity, or limited English proficiency

LI Eligibility
Required Documentation

From SBE Rule 6A-6.030121, F.A.C.:
(8) Documentation must comprise a written summary that includes:
(8)(a) Basis for making determination
•	LI criteria was met, including assurance that decision was made in accordance with 6A-6.0331(6) Determination of Eligibility for Exceptional Student

(8)(b) Observation information
•	Behavior noted during observations, and relationship to academic functioning,

(8)(c) Medical information
•	Educationally relevant medical findings,

(8)(d) RtI findings 
•	Response to intervention findings confirming:
•	performance and/or functioning discrepancies (based on multiple sources of data when compared to multiple groups)
•	rate of progress
•	educational need

(8)(e) Rule Out Factors 
•	Determination of the effects of age, culture, gender, ethnicity, attendance, and LEP on student’s performance and/or functioning,

(8)(f)1. RtI Data
•	RtI data that includes:
•	Specific instructional interventions used, support provided to staff implementing interventions, fidelity of interventions, duration of interventions, and collected student-centered data

(8)(f)2. Parent Involvement 
•	Documentation that parents were notified regarding resources being provided, data being collected, and parental right to request an evaluation

What does it look like now?
Case Study Activities 
•	All components supporting ESE eligibility for LI must be evident:
•	What evidence exists of communication of plan and data to parent, as well as right to request an evaluation? 
•	What are results of sensory screenings?
•	What relevant medical info exists?
•	How was 6A-6.0331 implemented?
•	What does observation data reveal?
•	What do results of norm-referenced standardized instruments reveal?
•	Description of instructional interventions implemented?
•	How was staff implementing interventions supported?
•	How is fidelity and duration of interventions described?
•	What do the multiple data sources regarding student performance/functioning data reveal?
•	How is the rate of progress described?  How has it been made clearly observable?
•	What does multiple group comparison data reveal?
•	How have rule out factors been examined?

Slides 33 – 39   

Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.
Og Mandino

•	RtI encourages the adoption of new approaches that promise better student outcomes. Such innovations in education offer numerous opportunities to enhance speech-language services to the benefit of all students.
•	RtI is an opportunity to strategically make fundamental changes in your methods of service delivery to provide effective and complementary services, in order to improve children’s academic performance.