Partnership between speech therapists and the Ministry of Education in IMEs: the current situation

The schooling of children at the IME is decided by a multidisciplinary team. Depending on their needs and skills, they may be educated within the IME, in a UEE or in inclusive education. In this context, the partnership between speech therapists and teachers is essential to support learning. However, few studies have looked at how speech therapists feel about this collaboration. This study therefore explores how this partnership is experienced. Six speech therapists working in IMEs took part in semi-structured interviews. The results show the existence of a strong partnership with teachers working in IME or UEE, but the absence of links with those working in inclusive education. In particular, speech therapists are involved in co-leading groups, raising awareness of disorders and proposing pedagogical adaptations. However, several obstacles have been identified: lack of time, teacher training and human and material resources. Despite these difficulties, everyone recognizes the importance of a structured collaboration, supported in particular by the involvement of the school management.