will be getting post-acute rehab care - Set a tentative date for return to school
- Follow-up with hospital case manager - Establish an ABI school re-entry team and designate a case manager
- Develop a tentative plan for school re entry
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Arrival at School - Assign personnel to conduct initial
evaluation and give feedback to teachers and parents
- Further modify classroom environment to meet student’s needs
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After First Weeks at School - Reassess the student’s needs and modify
educational plan
- Maintain contact with parents and teachers
They also acknowledged the importance of identifying the ECC immediately in the school re- entry process. This timeline only includes tasks for the ECC to complete up to hospital discharge in the school re-entry process. Identifying tasks for the ECC after hospital discharge is very important as the child is no longer in the hospital and under complete allied health professional care. To accomplish successful school re-entry, the ECC must be actively involved and ensure a number of tasks are successfully completed after hospital discharge. The failure to complete even one task can cause a delay in school re-entry. For this reason, the ECC must clearly understand his/her involvement after hospital discharge and the tasks that must be completed.
Clark (1996) discussed a task timeline that provided tasks for the ECC to complete throughout the entire school re-entry process and is shown below in Table 5.
Table 5.
Tasks and Timeline for the Transition from Rehabilitation to School by Clark (1996)
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Time Tasks
Upon Hospital Admission - Send all school records to hospital staff - Indicate school’s knowledge of ABI and training needs
- Send school materials for use in therapy - Share information regarding district special services
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Throughout Admission - Maintain contact with rehabilitation staff
through visits and/or teleconferences - Visit the student and attend therapies if Possible
- Begin considering student’s needs for return to school
- Share information with any personnel that may be working with the student in school
- Request specific written material for educating students with ABI to provide to school staff
- Schedule training for staff regarding ABI
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At Hospital Discharge - Set date for discharge planning meeting
and identify personnel who should attend - Prepare a list of questions remaining for parent(s) and/or rehabilitation staff
- Develop list of possible schedules,
instructors, and services to discuss during discharge meeting (including homebound services)
- Identify other agencies that may be necessary to provide services
- Identify hospital contact person to answer any further medical related questions and/or notify of child's progress
This timeline refers to the ECC as the school representative and outlines what tasks he/she must complete immediately following injury to after hospital discharge for the child. From this point, the ECC becomes a part of the school based team but, is still responsible for completing the tasks for arrival at school and after the first weeks there on this task timeline.
By combining both task timelines and the general functions of the ECC, an ECC is provided with a timeline that assists in identifying his/her function and the tasks that need to be completed at all major points in the school re-entry process. This new ECC task time line is shown below in Table 6.
Table 6.
Tasks and Timeline for the Educational Case Coordinator Throughout the School Re-entry Process for Children with ABI
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Time Tasks
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Hospital Admission - Inquire about the child's status through
his/her parent(s) and obtain consent for release of hospital contact
- Indicate school's knowledge of ABI and training needs
- Send school materials (books, tapes, etc.) for use in therapy
- Inform child's teachers of his/her condition
- Obtain/review current educational records Send student records to the hospital
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Throughout Admission - Maintain contact with rehabilitation staff
through visits and/or teleconferences - Visit the student and attend therapies if possible
- Obtain copies of hospital evaluations (psychological, PT/OT, speech) - Begin considering student's needs for return to school (physical, educational, emotional, etc.) and share options available based on knowledge of district resources and schedules
- Share information with any personnel that may be working with the student in school - Request specific written material for educating students with ABI to disseminate to staff
- Schedule training for staff regarding ABI through in-services at the child's school - Facilitate peer contact by sending audiotapes or videotapes of brief messages or good wishes
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At Hospital Discharge - Set date for discharge planning meeting
and identify personnel who should attend - Prepare a list of questions remaining for parent(s) and/or rehabilitation staff
- Develop list of possible schedules,
instructors, and services to discuss during discharge meeting (including homebound services)
- Identify other agencies that may be necessary to provide services
- Identify hospital contact person to answer any further medical related questions and/or notify of child's progress
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In the Community - If required, determine who will provide
the child with post-acute rehab care - Follow-up with hospital case manager and those providing post-acute rehab care to get update on child's condition/special needs
- Establish a school transition team Set a tentative date for return to school - Develop a plan for school re-entry
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School Re-entry - Assign personnel to conduct initial
evaluation and give feedback to teachers and parent(s)
- Modify classroom environment to meet student's needs
- Reassess the student's needs and modify educational plan accordingly
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