The ASD consultant provides assistance and guidance to the school team, to students with ASD and to their families. They assess and respond to the needs of the students by supporting the educational personnel in developing their capacity to meet a wide range of needs in the classroom. They facilitate and support the specialized self-contained classes as well as the integration of students with ASD in the regular classroom. They do so through direct intervention, coaching, professional development, and the sharing of resource materials
The speech-language pathologist’s primary role is to consult and collaborate with the school team in support of a student’s communication needs. The SLP focuses on the area of language, literacy, social communication, stuttering, and speech. Service delivery is primarily consultative in nature and encompasses prevention, assessment, and short-term focused intervention (for training purposes). After determining the student’s communication needs, the SLP develops programs, materials and strategies to promote optimal functioning in the relevant areas. This is to ensure that all concerned are meeting the student’s communication needs in a coordinated manner.
Itinerant Teacher (Montreal Oral School for the Deaf)
Itinerant teachers associated with the Montreal Oral School for the Deaf provide audiological evaluation and follow-up; consultation services for teachers regarding curriculum adaptation; IEP planning and exam modifications; management of hearing aids and other amplification systems; provision of in-service for in-school personnel; academic support to students.
The occupational therapist (OT) provides a school-based consultative service to students who are displaying difficulties at school due to fine motor, gross motor, perceptual, and/ or sensory processing challenges. OTs use in-class observations, screenings and/or evaluations to identify personal and environmental factors that may interfere with a student’s functioning and learning. In collaboration with teachers, parents, other professionals, and special needs education support staff, OTs make recommendations for school-based intervention plans as well as recommend adaptive aids to help improve a student’s occupational performance.