School Support Services also provide additional support to schools through the intensive support program following the multidisciplinary consultation.
This service is currently available to support verified students (e.g. SLI, ASD, ID, SED etc.) who meet eligibility requirements. Eligibility is determined through information collected during the multidisciplinary consultation and assessed on an individual basis. Access to the intensive support program will also depend on the team’s availability and demand. Priority will be given to new schools that have not previously accessed the intensive support program.
The program focuses on capacity building in school staff to enable continued support for students with Language Disorder, during and following the completion of intensive support. Intensive Support is not one-to-one therapy, but rather a model that focuses on staff professional development to better support students with Language Disorder in classrooms. The supporting staff member must be currently working in the classroom with the identified student (e.g. teacher aide; classroom teacher; learning support teacher) in order to enable practise of strategies throughout the intensive support process.
The intensive support program consists of five, 45-minute sessions delivered either face-to-face or via e-services. The goals for the sessions will be drawn from the multidisciplinary consultation in collaboration with school staff. The initial session focuses on refining the process to best meet the needs of the staff member in training and the student. Classroom teachers are encouraged to attend the first session, together with the staff member in training, to promote open dialogue and collaboration. The format of intensive support is as follows:
| Session | Attendees | Focus |
| 1 |
| Refine focus of priority areas for intensive support
|
| 2-4 |
|
|
| 5 |
|
|
E-services are primarily provided to regional and rural schools, where the team is unable to easily deliver face-to-face services. Schools are required to provide a computer or laptop with adequate internet connection to handle the software provided by School Support Services.
Following the completion of the intensive support program, the team will provide an Intensive Support Summary, outlining the student’s achievements and progress during the program, as well as future strategies, resources and recommendations for school staff.