Collaborative services: children experiencing neglect and the side effects of prenatal alcohol exposure.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to provide critical knowledge regarding children who are served by the child welfare system and how these children's specialized needs affect speech-language services. Specifically, the structure of social services system models is presented, with an emphasis on the cultural and systemic interactions between service providers and families. In addition, the role of special education for children who have experienced abuse, neglect, and prenatal drug or alcohol exposure is presented, with an emphasis on social service and special education legal issues.

METHOD: This article provides a critical analysis of the research literature to date regarding effective tools for providing collaborative intervention to children who are experiencing fetal alcohol syndrome disorder or abuse and/or neglect.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: This article provides suggestions about the collaborative roles that speech-language pathologists should integrate into treatment milieu when delivering therapy to children with histories of abuse, neglect, and prenatal drug or alcohol exposure.