Let Me Get Back to You...

Today I had a parent come to school crying and wanting to talk to us, the child study team, about her son. He is a high functioning autistic boy in Kindergarten. She picks up her son at school everyday and discusses her son’s progress with his teacher. His teacher does not agree with his placement. He is currently mainstreamed with pull-out resource room and a full-time personal aid. The teacher reports to mom her difficulty with keeping the child engaged, seated, and from doing whatever he wants. The teacher comes into the meeting and she’s persuading us to reconsider his placement. Mom continues to cry and repeatedly voices her apologies to the teacher for her son’s inability to listen.

As the school psychologist, the faces around the room (including the principal who’s joined the meeting) are looking in my direction for answers. I know nothing about this child, so I immediately start trying to gather information. I ask mom if she also has the same problems that his teacher voices and ask her how she works with her son at home during homework assignments, transitioning from play to bedtime, etc. Mom allows him to throw a tantrum and then spends a great deal of time cajoling him from the floor with prizes and promises to prepare for bed or whatever is on the agenda. The teacher looks to me and says things like, “I can’t just let him throw a fit on the carpet, he’ll distract other kids, it’s not fair to the other students to keep rewarding him, for allowing him to do whatever he wants, etc.”

I ask for more time to at least observe the child, for the team to evaluate his placement, and determine if there are any interventions that can be put in place. The principal defends the teacher by saying, “You all are here only 1 day a week, we are on break next week, so we won’t see you guys again until 2 weeks…in the meantime, the teacher has to deal with these issues and the student loses out on education.”

I have observed autistic kids in classroom settings, but I have never directly worked with an autistic child. I have read the basics on autism, but I do not have a repertoire of skills to use immediately as this teacher and principal wanted. How do we handle situations where we really don’t know how to deal with a particular student or an issue? I tried the, “let me get back to you” and luckily we were able to convince the parent, teacher, and principal that we needed more time and it was in the child’s best interest.

As new psychologists, do you feel that we have been prepared to handle situations like the one presented here from our educational program? Do believe that your externship will give you the tools you need to handle situations where you have absolutely no hands on experience with a particular disorder and decisions are needed immediately?

This blog was created by Rosa DeAngeles

School Psych-Technologist

Listen to Mike Cole's gcast on Technology for School Psychologists...

Where do you stand?

Is it fair that the squeaky wheel gets the grease?

According to Mental Health America, "recent studies show that, at any given time, as many as one in every 33 children may have clinical depression. The rate of depression among adolescents may be as high as one in eight." (Department of Health and Human Services). As a school psychology candidate, I've had the chance to observe crisis intervention, individual and group counseling and socio-emotional assessments of many students. From what I've seen, there has been more focus in the school setting on assessment and intervention of externalizing behaviors, such as conduct disorder. Perhaps, however, other school psychologists and candidates have seen otherwise at their schools or practicum sites.

If you read up on depression in children and adolescents, you'll find that many of the symptoms or warning signs of depression exhibited by students are difficult to observe on a day to day basis because many of them are internalized. It is especially difficult to identify in adolescents because it is normal for them to experience constant ups and downs associated with external stressors and biological changes. An adolescent may present as depressed one day and elated another. Although this is typical teen behavior, it makes identifying depression much more difficult for school psychologists, teachers and parents.

On a personal note, in my hometown there have been a number of adolescent suicides in the past year. One of the incidences involved a local student who was a friend of my youngest brother and another happened to be my best friend's younger brother. Most suicide attempts are closely associated with depression. Since the issue hits close to home for me, I take it very seriously and think it's a matter worth addressing in the field. I'd like to hear feedback from current or future school psychologists on the following: Have you seen externalized behaviors addressed more frequently in your schools than internalizing behaviors? If so, is it fair that externalized behavior gets more attention from teachers and school psychologists? Are there better ways to identify depressed students and address their needs? How do you plan to balance the focus between both types of behavior?

This blog was created by Vincent Balestrieri.

In a certain Public School District, the school psychologist pay chart is listed immediately after the teacher pay chart, in the teacher’s union contract booklet. Are school psychologists teachers? Don’t the extent of school psychologists’ educational preparation and the vastness of the professional responsibility, in contrast to that of a classroom teacher, warrant a specialized union with a specialized contract? Do school systems not value school psychologists?

If the school psychology pay chart is listed in the teacher contract booklet, then school psychologists are governed by that contract, as if they are teachers. But who bargains for the rights of the school psychologist’s specific needs? What happens when the rights of the school psychologist are infringed upon, or a legal matter arises? Working with students in a law-suit-crazed society is a frightening scenario! Who has the expertise to represent the school psychologist?

The main benefit of labor unions: members contribute to the decisions that govern their daily practice. The downside: controversy. Unions have been blamed for protecting poor workers, and accused of limiting innovation and entrepreneurship.

Should school psychologists have their own unions – national and local – as teachers do? Or should they remain as they are - considered teachers?

This blog was created by Judy Lamanna

Less Reactive, More Proactive: Violence Prevention and Crisis Management

The recent estimate of school associated violent deaths is 14 homicides and 3 suicides. An estimated 1.5 million non-fatal crimes have occurred at school, 628,200 violent crimes (simple assault to serious injury) have been committed. According to the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), 86% of our public schools report that at least one violent crime occurred at their facility during the 2005-2006 school year.

The crimes include physical assault on a student or staff member with or without a weapon, threats of injury with or without a weapon to self or to others, possession of weapons, sexual harassment, verbal abuse and bullying, and terroristic threats.

Most public schools employ a Zero Tolerance Policy to remove student offenders. If a student with an educational disability is the perpetrator of the offence, IEP teams are called upon at this point to possibly intervene with an FBA and BIP. In addition to post-violence intervention, what actions can/should the school psychologist take in the prevention of violent behavior school wide?

Likewise for crisis management – the procedures followed immediately after an incidence or threat of violence. School psychologists play an important role as a school-based mental health professional and a link to family and the community during and after a crisis situation. What measures can the school psychologist take to reduce the number of crisis situations? Can school psychologists help school systems become more proactive in regard to crisis and violence, thereby maintaining a safe haven of academic achievement and social growth? What are the ethical and legal implications of dealing with crises and violent crimes within the schools?

This blog was created by Judy Lamanna

Facing the Virtual Reality of Bullying

Cyberbullying may involve the use of instant messaging (IM), small text messages (SMS), email, chat rooms or bash boards, websites, and voting booths. Because of the anonymity, children are more likely to say things that they would never say face-to-face. There is no escape from this type of bullying because it occurs twenty four hours a day. A victim feels more vulnerable and alone because the emotional damage lasts a lot longer than a black eye.

The story of thirteen year old Alex from Virginia cannot be forgotten. Like other teenagers, Alex spent a lot of time on the computer. Unfortunately, during this time, a group of girls teased and tormented him about his size and physical ability through an instant messaging service. In June 2004, Alex shot himself with his grandfather's gun. This suicide was linked to cyberbullying after searching his computer because all files had been deleted except a note stating, "The only way to get the respect you deserve is to die." How many other students have to die before schools nationwide acknowledge and prevent this form of bullying?

School districts often find themselves caught between their legal and moral obligation to provide a safe environment that promotes learning and their students' constitutional right to freedom of speech and privacy. The popularity of social networking is rapidly increasing. Myspace.com currently has more than one hundred million members and similar sites are continuously popping up. This makes one point very clear: this issue is not going away. What can we do as school psychologists to prevent cyberbullying in schools and homes without infringing on the student's constitutional rights?

This Blog was created by Katie Blades.

RTI: What about US?

Twenty percent of pre-school aged children exhibit moderate to clinically significant emotional and behavioral difficulties, which will ultimately place them at greater risk for disruption of the learning process. While policy changes of the 21st century are moving toward a Response to Intervention (RTI) in order to better serve these students, what is happening to the children that are placed in districts where the typical assessment procedures remain? Shouldn’t school psychologists work with children during the critical period of development and learning?

Are these students simply stuck inside the box along with the practitioners who guide them? It is likely that by the time RTI is adopted across the nation, many students will have graduated without the necessary tools that prepare them for a career or higher learning. With this frightening reality in mind, how will School Psychologists, school administrators and the like justify their decision to remain inside the box?

(This Blog was created by Christen M. Sylvester)