The Early Intervention Teaming Handbook: The Primary Service Provider Approach - Softcover

Robin McWilliam is the originator of the Routines-Based Model, implemented in 10 countries and many states in the U.S. He is a professor of special education at The University of Alabama, where he founded and directs the Evidence-based International Early Intervention Office (EIEIO). He is also the founder and leader of the RAM Group, an international community of practice fostering the Routines-Based Model. He has formerly been a professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a senior scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, and a professor of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. McWilliam's research centers on infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with and without disabilities, with a specific focus on child engagement, service delivery models, and collaboration with families. He has provided consultation, training, and technical assistance across the United States and in some countries overseas on providing early intervention in natural environments and on the Engagement Classroom Model. His Routines-Based Interview (RBI) is a widely used method of assessing families' needs and developing individualized family service plan (IFSP) outcomes and individualized education program (IEP) goals.

Excerpted from Chapter 2 of The Early Intervention Teaming Handbook, by M'Lisa L. Shelden, PT, Ph.D., & Dathan D. Rush, Ed.D., CCC-SLP. Copyright© 2013 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

The information in Chapter 1 describes the requirement of teams under Part C early intervention. The chapter also acknowledges the use of a PSP as an accepted teaming approach by the professional associations representing the disciplines most closely aligned with early intervention (ECSE, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology). Furthermore, the guidance documents provided by NECTAC stipulate the use of a PSP approach to teaming as one of the seven key principles for implementing early intervention in natural environments. To further support and substantiate using a PSP as specified in the key principles, we have identified three fundamental areas of research that define the characteristics and implementation conditions of PSP teaming practices: 1) a defined team, 2) a PSP as the team liaison to the family, and 3) team support for the PSP. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the research, define the characteristics, and identify the implementation conditions required for effective use of this teaming approach.

A Defined Team

Using teams to accomplish objectives that could not be accomplished otherwise is prevalent (West, Brodbeck, & Richter, 2004) in business and industry (Cohen & Bailey, 1997; Hoegl & Gemuenden, 2001), education (Flowers et al., 1999), early childhood (Briggs, 1997; Woodruff & McGonigel, 1988), and health care contexts (Borrill et al., 2001; West et al., 2002). Research indicates that teamwork in health care has also been reported to benefit both the health care workers (e.g., lower stress, higher retention rates, increased innovation by team members, increased job satisfaction) and recipients of services (e.g., lower mortality rates in hospitals, higher quality of care, improved cost-effectiveness) (Borrill et al., 2001; West et al., 2002).

Characteristics of Effective Teams

The literature on effective teams contains many studies that describe positive outcomes for teams that use the following task and structure factors. Consider how these task and structure factors apply to early childhood intervention teaming contexts. Team task(s) should allow members to use a variety of skills, result in meaningful work, and have significant consequences for other people (Bell, 2004; Borrill et al., 2001; Hackman, 1987). Effective early intervention teams allow their members to use disciplinary expertise as well as other specialized knowledge and skills based on experience and other individual characteristics. As an example, a team member may be identified as needed to support a child and family member because she has specialized knowledge about a diagnosis or condition. In addition to this specialized knowledge, the practitioner also happens to have personal experience of using public transportation. The family needing support also lives in the city and needs to gain access to public transportation to run errands. In this situation, the team member is allowed and encouraged to support the family using all that she knows, not only her discipline-specific expertise. Team members' ability to successfully support a broader range of families and family circumstances is enhanced when they use the professional and personal knowledge and experience of individual team members.
         The importance of a team's task is a critical component regarding inherent motivation of the team, the commitment the team members have to accomplishing the task, and the development of a collective team identity in terms of completion of a job well done. Motivation, commitment, satisfaction, and sense of responsibility are inherent to the task given to teams in the fields of health and education. For example early intervention teams are charged with and fully responsible for assisting family members and care providers in developing the confidence and competence individually needed (despite any and all challenges) to support the growth and development of the children in their care (IDEA 1997).
         The number of team members should be appropriate for the task (Bell, 2004; Larsson, 2000). The team should include enough members with the necessary specialized expertise to accomplish the assigned tasks (Bell, 2004). Although the meta-analysis of the teaming literature identifies no optimal number of team members (Bell, 2004), evidence is consistent with Hackman's (1987) early suggestions that teams with unnecessary members are not as productive as teams with the membership limited to those required to perform the task. Early intervention programs are required by federal law to have a multidisciplinary team of practitioners available to families of children with disabilities (IDEA 1997). The team must have sufficient team members with necessary knowledge and skills to meet the needs of eligible children and their families for a designated catchment area.
         Teams should have some degree of self-managing abilities because team self-management is related to enhanced team performance (Bell, 2004; Borrill et al., 2001; De Drue & West, 2001; Erez, LePine, & Elms, 2002). Assigning a team leader (or facilitator) is essential in early intervention programs. Using a team decision-making process whenever possible, however, is a critical factor in team innovation (i.e., pursuit, assimilation, and implementation of new ideas). A team leader who has skills in group facilitation will most likely result in a self-managing team having short decision times, self-implemented accountability strategies, and enhanced flexibility and efficiency. Teams with much self-management also result in less need for a multitude of supervisory or middle-management positions. For example, an early intervention team that self-manages decisions related to the date, time, and length of team meetings will, in most cases, have enhanced participation and efficiency.

Characteristics of Effective Team Members

Effective teams consist of individuals who are agreeable, are conscientious, have high general mental ability, are competent in their area of expertise, are high in openness to experience and mental stability, like teamwork, and have been with the organization long enough to be socialized or acculturated to the written and unwritten rules or norms (Bell, 2004). Being an agreeable team member is identified as an important characteristic of practitioners working together in early childhood. The term agreeable when used to describe effective team members is synonymous with being flexible, courteous, trusting, and respectful. The term respectful or the phrase "demonstrating mutual respect" is pervasive across many studies (Bell, 2004; DeGangi, Wietlisbach, Poisson, Stein, & Royeen, 1994; Dinnebeil, Hale, & Rule, 1996, 1999; Dunst & Trivette, 2009; Dunst, Trivette, & Johanson, 1994; Harrison, Lynch, Rosander, & Borton, 1990; Lowenthal, 1992; O'Connor, 1995; Park & Turnbull, 2003; Soodak & Erwin, 2000). Agreeableness should not be confused with serving as a "rubber stamp" for other team members' ideas and recommendations. Team members will disagree; however, effective teams are able to reach consensus and move forward in supporting the team's decision.
         Conscientious team members are described as reliable, responsible, punctual, and organized. Studies in early childhood intervention repeatedly recognize this characteristic as a critical trait for practitioners...