Best Practices for Implementing BrainSTEPS CO Brain Injury School Consulting Program
Structure and Organization of BrainSTEPS CO Teams
This program is free to all Colorado school districts and BOCES that are located within the state of Colorado. BrainSTEP CO Teams may vary slightly according to the local district/BOCES organization. However, successful BrainSTEPS CO Brain Injury Consulting Teams are expected to be guided by the same principals with similar characteristics, structure, and organization.
BrainSTEPS teams are multidisciplinary and should include any of these disciplines as members on their team:
- Administrator
- School Nurse
- School Psychologist/Social Worker
- Occupational Therapist
- Speech Language Pathologist
- Vision/Hearing Itinerants
- Additional staff identified as beneficial
All BrainSTEPS CO teams have at least one team leader and hold monthly meetings for team members.
- All teams should hold monthly meetings to include all of their team members.
- There should be an agenda for these monthly meetings where teams discuss all active student cases.
- Team Leaders will attend virtual meetings with CDE’s coordinators.
- Meeting notes from these meetings are emailed to all team leaders and uploaded into ORBS following the meeting.
An annual brainSTEPS CO team plan is developed by each District / BOCES team individually.
- The monthly team meeting schedule should be developed each spring for the upcoming school year by the team lead(s).
- An annual Team Plan is developed at the start of each school year, and re-evaluated and completed in the spring, prior to the end of the school year.
BrainSTEPS Referrals
A BrainSTEPS Referral is completed by the person who identifies a student with a Brain Injury (BI):
- Mild TBI (concussion) 4-6 weeks after concussion with persistent symptoms.
- Moderate to Severe brain injury immediately, even if the student is still in the hospital or rehabilitation.
- Congenital BI that may require additional educational support.
- The Team Leader sends an email to the team members or contacts a specific team member directly to serve as point person when a new student referral is received.
- Team Leaders, or a designated team member, call the guardian to acknowledge receipt of the referral and verify that the referral information in the database is correct.
- Your team obtains and uploads the signed BrainSTEPS CO parent permission to consult with the school.
- Teams obtain medical, rehabilitation, and educational reports to assist in making educational recommendations.
- A team member speaks with and observes every referred student to gather information prior to making recommendations.
- A team member speaks with the student’s teachers about learning or behavior concerns they may have about the student before making any school-based recommendations.
- Teams provide written recommendations for all referrals utilizing BrainSTEPS CO observation form.
BrainSTEPS Consultation Activities
- Teams provide school-based and/or virtual consultation service to all students referred, following permission from the parent.
- Consultation and training varies depending on individual student injuries and educational needs.
- All team members serve as a point person for multiple cases each year.
- All team members regularly contribute to the consultation and training services for referrals.
BrainSTEPS Brain Injury Training
Teams will provide educational presentations regarding brain injury to school staff in order to best support students.
Provides education and resources to:
- Educators
- Families
- Community providers
Development of Expertise of BrainSTEPS Team Members
All BrainSTEPS CO team members must participate in the following:
- New Team Member Training
- ORBS training
- Annual update training
- Subscribed to the TBI listserv
- Team leader training (team leaders only)
BrainSTEPS Communication
- The team contacts parents within one month of the start of BrainSTEPS consultation to provide the parents with an update of BrainSTEPS activities.
- The team maintains regular communication with the parents to keep them informed of the BrainSTEPS team consultation activities while the student is active.
- The BrainSTEPS team contacts the parents and school staff for students identified as requiring additional consultation by the Project Director.
- In cases where an IEP meeting or a 504 plan meeting is held, one team member attends or provides input beforehand.
- For all student referrals age 14 and older, the BrainSTEPS team asks parents and/or school staff whether a referral was made to OVR.
BrainSTEPS Communication
Virtual Learning
Questions? Contact:
BrainSTEPS Coordinators
Jody Dickerson, BSN, RN
[email protected]
Toni Grishman, BSN, RN
[email protected]
