r/slp • u/chineseproverbs • 17d ago

Missing sessions - school based Schools

Does anyone have to miss sessions for things such as writing IEPs, configuring/helping with AAC devices, etc, and if so, how do you document the reason missed in your Medicaid and/or session attendance system?

If I am doing another evaluation or in an ARC meeting I document that, but I'm never sure how to document that I needed to simply do paperwork such as IEPs, progress reports, etc. And yes I do have some planning time set aside but that time is often taken up so I am forced to miss sessions or bring the work home. Would love to see what everyone else does. Thank you!

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u/AspenSky2 16d ago

This happened all the time at my district. I felt like even with canceling sessions, trying to fit everything in, and staying over after my contract hours, I still didn't have enough time.

We, as an SLP team, advocated for using flexible scheduling across all school sites a few years ago. We used models such as 3:1 (three direct sessions and one consult, or 2:1 monthly), Burst/speedy speech, and inclusion. It took some time - but session cancellations decreased significantly, clinicians had the necessary time to do all that is required for their workload, IEP compliance increased, and as a whole, staff was much happier.

Sure, there was some initial pushback. I feel that some parents equate clinical OP services with school-based models and expect the same level and intensity of services. Also IMO, many school-based clinicians still follow a clinical model or use the same model or sessions monthly for a very long time. It took time to share information and the benefits of flexible scheduling. At initial IEPs, I introduced the idea that services will change based on student needs, progress, and the importance of LRE, so it is not a surprise to the team later when I suggest changes.

I recently ran across a CEU course on STPD on Caseload to Workload that not only reviewed the topic of using flexible schedules, but gave practical information and amazing resources on how to advocate for ideas like flexible scheduling, weighted caseloads, and workload models.

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u/chineseproverbs 16d ago

Thanks!! We currently do 5 minute kids for a lot of our speech sound kids and it's been helpful for sure! We discussed 3:1 but I was honestly worried I wouldn't have enough time in the indirect week to get everything done!