Abstract
Both genetic counseling and special education share the goal of caring for their patients and students, but little research has been done to understand the relationship between the two professions. Efforts have been made to train genetic counseling students in disability awareness to increase their comfort when discussing the quality-of-life of a condition. However, the quality-of-life discussion should incorporate social aspects like educational expectations. Research has also shown that some conditions present with predictable behavior phenotypes that lend themselves to classroom interventions suitable for children with these conditions. Genetic counselors have a unique skillset to provide guidance to educators on items like behavior phenotypes, while at the same time learn from these educators about the special education system. Pediatric and prenatal genetic counselors were recruited from the NSGC listserv and invited to participate in an anonymous survey to assess their knowledge and comfort with special education, as well as their impressions on the relevance of special education to their GC practice. Out of 79 participants, the vast majority felt that special education was relevant in genetic counseling (87.4%), while 55.7% reported feeling comfortable with the topic of special education. When asked about scenarios in which discussing special education would be beneficial, three major themes emerged: (1) discussions on anticipatory guidance, (2) intellectual or learning disabilities, and (3) giving a diagnosis. Sixty-five percent of participants reported that they would not mention special education services to a patient with a physical disability that has no impact their intelligence. Additionally, 93.7% of participants agreed that genetic counselors could be good resources for special education professionals and vice versa. Given this significant majority, genetic counselors can provide important knowledge to help educators develop education plans for children with genetic conditions and certain educational needs. Additionally, special education teachers can help genetic counselors become more aware of who qualifies to receive special education services, which can help how they present this information to a patient in their clinic.