Cross-Disciplinary Competencies: A Foundation for Building Leaders within Inter-Professional Education
Purpose: The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC) facilitates the adoption of a common set of early childhood personnel competencies for professional disciplines providing early childhood intervention. In collaboration with American Speech and Hearing Association, American Occupational Therapy Association, American Physical Therapy Association, the Division of Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and Zero to Three the ECPC has created a common set of early childhood personnel competencies. The session, Cross-Disciplinary Competencies: A Foundation for Building Leaders within Inter-Professional Education, will describe the process used to identify the set of inter-professional competencies and discuss the implementation and use of those competencies in academia as well as in practice. Support for adopting inter-professional competencies will be discussed as a critical element needed to overcome challenges faced by practitioners serving families within a contemporary, team-based service provision model. Participants in this session will identify the common and discipline specific early childhood intervention competencies for providers who serve young children with disabilities and their families, identify challenges incorporating the competencies into physical therapist education programs, apply the inter-professional competencies to physical therapy professional education, and discuss opportunities for inter-professional education.Methods and/or Description of Project: Part C, the Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities program of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, was implemented in 1986. The law requires states to design and implement 16 key components, including a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development or CSPD. Unique to the Part C program, each State-based CSPD program is designed to insure that infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families are served by professionals with the skills and knowledge to implement evidence-based early childhood services as defined by the Part C program. The CSPD is also used to recruit and retain highly qualified providers and provide on-going professional development to enhance skills and knowledge of service providers. Since 1986, the Part C program has emphasized a team-based service provision model. Providing services to young children with disabilities supports an inter or transdisciplinary approach to teaming. Currently, state Part C programs are implementing a transdisciplinary, primary service provider model of service provision. A transdisciplinary team model requires providers to coordinate and collaborate service outcomes, strategies, methods, and approaches. Unfortunately, service providers, like physical therapists, are not trained to serve young children and their families in effective team based service provision models. These teaming models also require professionals serving young children with disabilities and their families to be competent in common and unique knowledge and skills. States, through the Comprehensive Systems of Personnel Development, provide training and support to service providers in contemporary practices. However, the variety of service providers with a wide range of knowledge and skills in early childhood intervention creates variation in practice that often does not support evidence-based practice. The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC), funded by the Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, serves as a national, multi-functional resource to address the challenges faced in the Early Childhood (EC) workforce. These challenges include but are not limited to: --Discrepancies with state adherence to national competencies and standards --Shortages of personnel --A lack of training at both the pre-service and in-service levels --Inequities of preparation and compensation among those providing services The purpose of the Early Childhood Personnel TA Center is to support States in developing, implementing, and evaluating integrated and comprehensive EC systems of personnel development (CSPD) so that all infants, toddlers, and preschool children with disabilities and their families receive effective early childhood intervention. The ECPC provides Knowledge Generation, Technical Assistance (TA) & Dissemination, and Leadership & Coordination for states in addressing these concerns and challenges of the EC workforce. Specifically, the ECPC uses evidence-based practices to assist Early Childhood (EC) systems to provide evidence-based services to children ages birth to five years old who qualify for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).Results/Outcomes: Specific to this presentation, the ECPC in collaboration with seven national early childhood professional organizations (AOTA, APTA, ASHA, CEC, DEC, NAEYC, and Zero to Three) has created a set of common competency areas based on a review and comparison of personnel standards or competency areas, specific to each discipline. The organizations agreed upon four common core areas of competence: 1. Collaboration and Coordination 2. Family Centered Practice 3. Interventions as Informed by Evidence 4. Professionalism and Ethics Additionally, the ECPC work has generated close to 100 regional & national presentations, produced 6 literature syntheses and data reports, published 6 peer-reviewed publications, has assisted 12 states to implement a comprehensive and integrated CSPD and provides leadership training to 25 states.Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme: Our Leadership Landscape: Perspectives from the Ground Level to 30,000 Feet: Physical therapists are a core discipline providing services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families under Part C of IDEA. To provide evidence-based early childhood intervention, physical therapists need to be trained in inter-professional practice. Critical to team based service profession is the recognition of cross-disciplinary competencies as well as the unique discipline contribution to teaming. Leaders with the cross-disciplinary knowledge are needed to ensure that physical therapists continue to be a core team member with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to collaborate effectively across disciplinesReferences: Catalino, T., Chiarello, L., Long, T. & Weaver, P. (2015). Promoting Professional Development for Physical Therapists in Early Intervention. Infants & Young Children. 28(2):133-149. Dunst, C.J., Bruder, M.B. and Hamby, D.W. (2015). Meta synthesis of in-service professional development research: Features associated with positive educator and student outcomes. Educational Research and Reviews, 10(12), 1731-1744. Dunst, C. J., & Bruder, M. B. (2014). Preservice professional preparation and teachers' self-efficacy appraisals of natural environment and inclusion practices. Teacher Education and Special Education, 37(2), 1210132. doi: 10.1177/088840641350587 Muhlenhaupt, M., Pizur-Barnekow, K., Schefkind, S. Chandler, B., Harvison, N. (2015). Occupational Therapy Contributions in Early Intervention: Implications for Personnel Preparation and Interprofessional Practice. Infants & Young Children. 28(2):123-132. Prelock, P. & Deppe, J. (2015). Speech–Language Pathology: Preparing Early Interventionists Infants & Young Children. 28(2):150-164. Stayton, V. (2015). Preparation of Early Childhood Special Educators for Inclusive and Interdisciplinary Settings. Infants & Young Children. 28(2):113-122.Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course the participants will: 1. Identify the activities of the Early Childhood Personnel Center to promote inter-professional personnel standards for early childhood intervention providers. 2. Identify the common and discipline specific early childhood intervention competencies for providers who serve young children with disabilities and their families. 3. Identify activities and processes that promote cross-disciplinary approaches within physical therapist education 4. Identify curriculum challenges that could effect incorporating cross disciplinary activities 5. Describe opportunities for inter-professional education to enhance child and family outcomesInstructional Methods: Lecture Discussion Activity Questions and AnswerTentative Outline/Schedule: Introductions Essential Elements of Early Childhood Intervention --Family Centered Care --Natural Environment Learning Practices --Team Based Practices -- Individualised Service Provision -- Evidence-Based practices The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC) Building Comprehensive Systems of Early Childhood Personnel Development Cross-Disciplinary Personnel Competencies Alignment Using Cross Disciplinary and Disciplinary Personnel Standards in Physical Therapist Preparation Programs