The relevance and problem of the research. In the recent decades, both in international and  national context, collaboration-based support concepts and models for persons with special educational needs have been undergoing change. Attention is more and more focused on inclusive education of children with various needs, child and family empowerment, systemic support, the complexity, flexibility, and accessibility of services is emphasized (Carpenter, 2007; Vanclay, 2003; Soriano, 2005; Nolte, 2005; Ališauskienė, 2010). 

In Lithuania, there is a lack of research that would reveal collaboration-based support provision models for a child with special educational needs and his/her family. While providing support to a child with special educational needs, it is important that specialists representing different professions provide complex services emphasizing active relations among various specialists and pedagogues, who strive to jointly solve problems that emerge in practice. Therefore, it is relevant to investigate the peculiarities of collaboration between student support specialists and pedagogues, and the peculiarities of special pedagogical support provided to students with special educational needs as well as challenges arising in practice.

The experience of the European countries shows (Davis, Gavidia-Payne, 2009) that family-centred practice is considered as an ideal and target model of early child and family support. In the authors’ opinion, collaboration helps to unite persons with special educational needs, their family members, specialists in various fields (speech therapists, special educators, psychologists, neurologists, pediatricians, occupational therapists, etc.), and possible resources of the participants of the communicative system in order to distribute responsibility and commitments that condition the efficiency of the support for children. It is evident that in this context communication in a particular team of specialists and pedagogues is a complicated process, because the specialists of various professions differently understand the problems of the education of a child with SEN and the problems of overcoming the disorder, as well as the chosen methods of support. In the context of  collaboration-based support provision to a child and his/her family, the collaboration among specialists creates the preconditions for partnership-based interrelations, complex service provision, and interprofessional development (Baker, Donnelly, 2001; Olenic et al., 2010; Reeves et al., 2010). 

The aim is to reveal collaboration-based support provision models for a child with special educational needs and his/her family in Lithuania.

The object is collaboration-based support provision models for a child with special educational needs and his/her family.

Collaboration models – theoretical substantiation. The combination of the specialists representing different professions in a team creates the opportunities to provide services effectively, i.e., in a complex, integral, and synergistic way, therefore, collaboration-based support is important, which is defined by active relations among the specialists of one discipline working together and striving to solve all the problems that arise in practice. 

Referring to the concept map of support provision by Olenick, Ryan Allen and Raymond Smego (2010), work in a team reflects the development of knowledge, scientific research and functional meanings of teaching/learning. In the authors’ opinion, two main models of support provision are predominant:

1) multiprofessional support model is related to several professions, when the participants of support provision act next to each other, separately, not interacting among themselves.  It is pointed out that every specialist is a professional in his/her field and acts without leaving the boundaries of his/her profession, the lack of specialists’ interaction among themselves is felt.

2) Support provision in interprofessional teams of specialists, when specialists representing different professions strive for common aims, together organize the learning process, search for common solutions and share responsibility. This model of support provision unites the specialists of the professions of various fields and the participants of support receiving into a single whole. 

The methodology of the research. The research was conducted referring to qualitative research approach. The research method used was a semi-structured interview. The participants of the research were primary teachers, special educators, speech therapists providing support to school-age children with language and speech disorders (N=40). The data obtained during the interview were analysed distributing them into categories. The method of content analysis was applied for qualitative data processing.The method of content analysis (qualitative-interpretational) is employed when qualitatively processing data, the context information, structure and/ or theories are complied with, which help to explain the phenomenon of the background of the study. The method of content analysis enabled carrying out systematisation of basic categories of experiences in provision and reception of support to/ by a child and one’s family. The questions of the prepared semi-structured interview were based on the analysis of scientific literature and the phenomenon under investigation. Having prepared the questions of a semi-structured interview for speech therapists, special educators, and teachers, in order to ensure the validity of the questionnaire of the interview, in the preparation for the research an exploratory study was conducted.

The obtained results of the research helped to reveal student support specialists’ and pedagogues’ attitude towards collaboration-based support provision to a child with special educational needs and his/her family in Lithuania. The research revealed the importance and opportunities of the implementation of interprofessional coordinated support based on interprofessional collaboration, referring to the experience of speech therapists and special educators providing support to a school-age child with language and speech disorders and his/her family. Family-centred support is based on the attitude that all family members should be involved into the process of assessment and support. One of important factors of involvement is counseling that positively influences the interaction of family members, helps to better understand the current situation and the indicators of the expected behaviour. In order to help a person with disorders, it is important to stimulate family powers meant for cognitive acceptance of a problem or disorder, the development of self-confidence, and the increase of the feeling of control and sense. According to student support specialists and primary teachers, while providing support it is important to encourage specialists’ and pedagogues’ effective communication and collaboration with a student and his/her family, to teach them suitable strategies of solving the problem, to give individual recommendations taking the unique needs of the child and the family into account. The research has revealed that in practice the beginnings of interprofessional support provision model are observed. The specialists’ experiences have shown that multiprofessional support provision model is predominant. The collaboration between the specialists of various professions, pedagogues, and parents helps to construct a conceptual support model uniting scientific and practical knowledge. The persons, whose aim is to define a joint action plan that will help to solve problems in the most effective way, are involved into the process of interprofessional support.

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