Collaborative consultation: a method for improving educational services for mainstreamed students who are hearing impaired

As a result of well-known recent federal mandates for appropriate special education to all disabled students, the majority of children who are hearing impaired currently are educated in public school settings, along with hearing students. Consequently, teachers of students who are hearing impaired have expanded their role to include the provision of ongoing support to regular classroom teachers, speech-language pathologists, paraprofessionals and administrators. One model for delivery of these services is that of collaborative consultation. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of collaborative consultation, and to delineate some principles that merit consideration by regular and special educators who are involved in the education of students who are hearing impaired.