Disclosures: Katherine M. Stefani, MS-IV, MPH: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Objective: To identify school-related needs and describe educational liaison programming provided to patients admitted to a large pediatric inpatient rehabilitation unit from 2013 to 2020 (academic years).

Design: Single-site, retrospective review of de-identified data collected by the hospital school programSetting : Pediatric inpatient rehabilitation unit within a large academic medical center and with an embedded hospital school programParticipants : Children and adolescents admitted to the inpatient rehabilitation unit.

Interventions: Not applicable

Main Outcome Measures: Prevalence of school accommodations at admission, curriculum modifications required by discharge (e.g., new IEP/504 plan); average number of days seen by hospital school program; number of tutoring sessions

Results: 482 subjects, 247 (51.2%) males and 235 (48.8%) females, received educational services during admission. The 3 most common diagnoses were acquired brain injury, traumatic brain injury, and debility. At admission, 8 (1.7%), 4 (0.8%), and 3 (0.6%) subjects attended homeschool, online school, or reported not being enrolled in school, respectively. A high percentage of patients had an existing IEP (151, 31.3%) or 504 Plan (7, 1.5%). At discharge, a new IEP or new 504 plan was required for 26 (5.4%) and 93 (19.3%) subjects, respectively. Approximately 40% of rehab patients did not need a 504 Plan or IEP at discharge. 78 (16.2%) subjects received at least one re-integration meeting between the subject’s school and the hospital school teacher, and 4 (0.8%) received intensive re-integration services. The hospital school program provided 14.5 (± 15.14) days of services and 9 (±12.3) tutoring sessions on average.Conclusions: Subjects admitted to inpatient rehabilitation do so with high rates of existing school accommodations (IEP or 504 plan). Nonetheless, school liaison services are required throughout admission to support, at times, escalating needs at the time of discharge. Future research may investigate the impact of high-intensity school liaison services on patients’ long-term learning trajectories.

Level of Evidence: Level III

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/school-liaison-programming-in-pediatric-rehabilitation/