Response to Intervention and Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Joining Hands to Support Children's Healthy Development

Abstract

School psychologists often are involved with the provision of services to students with chronic physical health conditions and mental health problems. However, collaborative efforts between school psychologists and the medical professionals who treat these youth often are lacking despite the benefits that may result from interdisciplinary collaboration. To address this disconnect, the authors discuss various ways school psychologists and medical professionals can collaborate to enhance the provision of services to youth with health and mental health problems in a response-to-intervention framework. Specifically, the authors discuss ways in which school psychologists can improve interdisciplinary collaboration across multiple tiers of service provision. In addition, the authors provide a case example to illustrate the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration among school psychologists, allied health professionals, and physicians.