We offer telehealth and virtual school consultations.
Please contact us to schedule your general school training, IEP/504 Planning and training for specific children.  

1. S-CAT® School Consultation: This service (conducted via web-conferencing or by phone) is designed to aid in the support and coaching of school professionals working with a patient of the SMart Center. During this opportunity for an open dialogue between school personnel and our clinical team to promote understanding of our patient’s/your student’s social communication challenges, we will teach you the recommended strategies for increased social communication based on his/her individual treatment plan, and how adjustments can be made given the needs of the specific school. We can also discuss accommodations and interventions such as 504s and IEPs plans during these consultations. S-CAT® School Consultations are 30- to 60-minutes in length and include a professional review of our school assessment form and a clinical summary report.

2. Non-patient School Consultation: This service is designed to support school personnel working with a specific student:

• a child, teen, or young adult
• with social communication challenges due to Selective Mutism, social anxiety, social communication (pragmatic) disorder, or extreme shyness
• who is not currently a patient of the SMart Center.

This is an opportunity for an open dialogue between the student’s school staff and one of our SM expert clinicians to

1. promote understanding of the student’s social communication challenges and
2. illustrate typically suggested strategies according to Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum’s S-CAT® treatment principles for increased social communication.
3. We can also discuss accommodations and interventions such as 504s and IEPs plans during these consultations.

This is a question-and-answer style session and cannot replace an evaluation and treatment, as there is no patient evaluation nor patient relationship with the clinician. The initial session includes pre-appointment assessment review of school/parent feedback forms and one hour session by phone or web conferencing. Ongoing sessions are typically one hour in length.

3. On-Site School Observation & Training: This service involves a trained SMart Center clinical observation of a student with social communication challenges in their classroom setting. After observation, the clinician will then meet with school personnel to discuss findings and suggest school-based accommodations and interventions. This service is not meant to replace an initial in-person evaluation of the individual.  No medical or psychological diagnosis is made or confirmed nor are recommendations supplied for outside of the school environment. This service includes one-hour observation of the student in their classroom setting, one-hour discussing findings, recommendations, and Q&A with school team, pre-appointment clinical review of SMart Center assessment forms from school and parents, and a clinical report post-session. Available for schools in parts of PA, NJ, NY, MD, DE.

Online training available for other locations (see below)!

4. Professional Development Courses: These training courses are designed for school professionals looking for a general education seminar to better understand and assist children, teens, or young adults with Selective Mutism, social anxiety, and extreme shyness. Professional Development Courses are not student-specific. Attendees will learn what behaviors are indicative of Selective Mutism, how Dr. Shipon-Blum’s evidenced based S-CAT® treatment approach can help, and what interventions and accommodations can be used to promote communication within the school setting. This course is adapted to meet the needs of your school; for in-person or web-conferencing formats in various lengths of time (one hour, half day, whole day).