Dynamics of Collaborative Consultation With Families

The term collaborative consultation has been used in the field of communication disorders to refer to the broadening of the professional's role to include indirect intervention, usually involving the joint efforts of speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and classroom teachers, to improve generalization of students' communication skills. The purpose of this article is to develop a broader perspective on collaborative consultation as an alternative framework to guide interactions among professionals and clients of all ages and their families in a variety of clinical contexts. The rationale for collaborative consultation and the objectives, dynamics, and applications of the approach for the delivery of speech-language pathology and audiology services are discussed.