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If you have additional questions, please contact Jaumeiko Brown at 301-296-8750 or JBrown2@asha.org.
1. Will we need to obtain approval from our Institutional Review Board or notify parent before we can participate in NOMS?
It depends on your school system. This was not necessary during field-testing. ASHA is not asking staff to withhold or change treatment in any way. In fact, all of the data being collected are currently part of the student's school record. ASHA will not be able to identify any individual students since you assign the student identification numbers. ASHA is very concerned about maintaining confidentiality and will not release any data that identifies students or school systems.
2. Will there be a charge for participating in NOMS?
No. ASHA is offering the schools component of NOMS as a benefit to its members and, at a system level, is extending participation to their non-ASHA member colleagues in order to obtain meaningful outcomes information about school-based speech and language practice.
3. How can I participate in NOMS?
SLPs may participate in NOMS in one of two ways—as part of a school system, or as an individual.
a. To participate as a school system
The following are the eligibility criteria for a school system to participate in either the Pre-Kindergarten and/or Kindergarten through Grade 12 components:
b. To participate as an individual
- You must be a certified member of ASHA providing school-based services to students enrolled in K-12.
- All of your eligible students must be included in data collection.
4. Who is able to collect NOMS data?
Only Registered NOMS Users are able to collect data. To become a Registered NOMS User, clinicians must be state-certified and/or licensed to provide speech and languages services, and have passed the NOMS User Registration Test.
5. What is required for training?
You will receive a self-study training program consisting of a detailed training manual, including a User Registration Test. Additionally, if you are registering as a school system, each individual clinician will receive an edited version of the training manual called a User Guide that also contains the User Registration Test.
The training manual/user guide needs to be completed prior to taking the User Registration Test. The amount of time you needed depends on how you conduct the training but, on average, it takes approximately two hours to review the training manual and take the User Registration Test.
6. Do we need to use any specific tests or protocols besides the Functional Communication Measures (FCMs) to participate in NOMS?
No. One of the features of the FCMs is that they are a functional description of a student's communication and/or swallowing abilities and can be scored regardless of the assessment tools, method of intervention, or therapeutic techniques used.
7. Do we need to begin data collection by a certain period of time?
You may begin at any point in time, but in order to maximize the benefits of NOMS, data collection should be initiated at the beginning of the academic year.
8. How much time will be required for the data collection?
Data collection corresponds to the student's annual IEP reporting schedule and takes no more than five to ten minutes. We have continually tried to streamline data collection to make this process as simple and user-friendly as possible.
9. How will the data be collected?
There are two available methods of data collection, as outlined below.
- Scannable Forms: Clinician enters data on the scannable paper version of the NOMS data collection forms.
- Internet: Clinicians enter data directly into a NOMS data collection website.
You may select more than one data collection option for each component; however, data for any one student must be collected using only one method.
10. Should any student population be excluded from the data collection?
Pre-Kindergarten: The FCMs are not designed for students receiving an evaluation only, users of AAC, or students with voice or fluency disorders.
Kindergarten through Grade 12: The FCMs have been designed for students whose eligibility for special education and related services are within the following categories: speech or language impairment only, and specific learning disability according to the IDEA guidelines. At this time, the FCMs have not been adequately designed to meet the needs of the following student populations: students who are seen for evaluation only, users of AAC, and students with severe to profound disabilities or swallowing disorders.
11. Will NOMS be able to track students across multiple years of speech and language intervention?
This is ASHA's ultimate goal. In order to be able to link students receiving speech and language services across multiple years, students would need to maintain the same identification number. This is certainly not a requirement to participate in NOMS, but it will be helpful in the future as we begin to analyze data from one academic year to the next.
12. What length of commitment must I make in order to subscribe to NOMS?
We hope you will continue to collect data on an ongoing basis, as this will provide the most useful information about outcomes related to service delivery and changes in student populations. However, data will not be beneficial to you unless you make a commitment of at least one academic year.
13. How do we access our data reports?
Participants in NOMS will have access to an online database that will allow you to examine data, print reports comparing your results to aggregated national data, and perform other customized analyses.
14. How many participants must subscribe to NOMS before ASHA will issue a state wide report?
Participation by clinicians in at least five separate school systems is required.
15. What are the responsibilities of the Subscriber?
The Subscriber is either the liaison between ASHA and the school system, or the SLP that is participating as an individual clinician. The Subscriber must be an ASHA member. Typical responsibilities of the Subscriber are as follows:
- Ensure that all applicable students are included in NOMS data collection
- Ensure that data is collected at the appropriate points in time
- Regularly submit NOMS data and any corrections
The following are additional responsibilities for Subscribers whose school system is participating in NOMS:
- Inform ASHA of any changes in the school system which may affect NOMS data collection, including staffing changes
- Coordinate the training process
- Provide NOMS updates to Registered NOMS Users
Outcomes in Schools | Benefits of NOMS | Using NOMS Data | Collecting NOMS Data
How to Become Involved | FAQ | Register for NOMS
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