Kind Over Matter

Last weekend, I traversed to Albany, NY with other area psychologists for the NY Association of School Psychologists' (NYASP) executive board meeting. As I've mentioned before, I'm chapter co-representative for my area of New York, and I travel to Albany three times a year to brainstorm and converse about big issues in the field with other key state playmakers. It's a whirlwind two days of information overload that typically ends in a big dinner with lots of wine (my kind of party).

One of the board members participated in the 26 Acts of Kindness for Newtown, CT in her district and brought some resources to share. For those who are unaware, #26Acts was a challenge of sorts from NBC News' Ann Curry in the wake of the shooting, asking for people to spread kindness and goodwill towards others as a way of answering the question, "What can we do?" Here is an article from NBC, with photos and tweets of dozens and dozens of people who participated, and how they spread kindness.

Our board member shared a printable from Kind Over Matter with tear-off positive thoughts and affirmations. I thought this was a great, simple idea to share at work as a way to "pass it on." I tacked my copy of the poster onto our main office bulletin board last Monday morning, and by the afternoon, two positive thoughts had already been torn off. Pass it on, folks.

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The Implications of Concussions

Yesterday, we had a Committee on Special Education meeting on an interesting, and tough, case. Although, if I'm blogging about it, it'd have to be interesting, right? When do I ever blog about the cut-and-dry cases?

R was referred for the first time this year despite many years of below grade level performance. He's currently in one of our top Integrated Co-Teaching classrooms, so he's being watched and taken care of by two fantastic, intervention driven teachers. Ms. J came to me with concerns about him a few months ago and wanted to make a referral to help him have academic support services next year for seventh grade.

Some background on R... he looks like a 20 year old man, even though he's 13. He's the perfect sports specimen, built for football but with the height for basketball, and he excels at both (like, 10 trophies at home and the kid's in 6th grade). Just this weekend, he was in Florida for a basketball tournament. He could easily get scholarships to college with his skills. He's Rico Sauve, all the girls swoon over him and he loves the attention; but, he's got a sensitive side too as he's a fantastic artist and very protective over those he cares about. Great sense of humor, great story-teller, lots of "swag." I would want to be friends with this kid.

Last year, he had a very poor teacher and it was a wasted year for him, and as you may imagine, his behavior was a problem. He was often cutting up in class and butted heads with the teacher constantly. As an adult, you would guess he often instigated some of the issues, but if my teacher called me "big lipped," I would feel the need to defend myself, too. (Yes, she really called him that. I could barely be mad at him when I had to deal with the issue.) More typical behaviors are a lack of motivation, distractibility, taking a long time to complete assignments, and becoming easily frustrated over academic tasks and shutting down.

I happily took R for testing, but was blown away by the results. R had a Full Scale IQ standard score of 57 and academic achievement standard scores around 65-70, which place him in the Intellectually Disabled range. WHAT? I'll take "Results I Would Never Bet on in Vegas" for 1,000, Alex. How did this social, artistic, could-go-pro-football-some-day kiddo obtain a lower IQ score than the student we just placed in a life skills program? The scores didn't make sense--sure, R has a lot of difficulty academically, but an ID classification?

At the end of last week, our social worker went out to R's house to meet his mom for a social history, and things began to fall into place. R met all his developmental milestones on time or even early, and was sinking baskets at age 2. Then, at age 7, he was hit by a car riding his bike, lost consciousness, and was taken to the ER, where he was diagnosed with a concussion. He repeated second grade that year. By 9, he had at least three more concussions playing football. Around age 10, his mother started noticing changes in his behavior (problems concentrating, more listless, memory difficulties, impulsivity) and his academics dropped. Suddenly unexpected results make sense--R probably has a traumatic brain injury from multiple concussions over a two year span.

The worst parts about this whole scenario are two fold: 1) R has been struggling for years, and no one ever evaluated him before, and 2) R's future could be totally changed as a result of these concussions and special education classification. A child that could've gone to college on a sports scholarship may now require intensive supports to obtain higher education, if he makes it there at all.

Concussions are serious business, and a new "buzz" in the education world. What looks like a bump on the head when it happens can have serious, lasting, devastating impact on a child's future, especially if injuries are cumulative. Check out the CDC's "Head's Up" program, which has great information for parents, coaches, etc about concussions and traumatic brain injuries and their long-term impacts. Also, here are some resources from NASP's Communique:

Sports-Related Concussions, by Don Brady and Flo Brady
Getting School Psychologists Into the Game, by Susan C. Davies

One further exciting development in concussion research is a cool new app from PAR, Inc. called Concussion Recognition & Response: Coach and Parent Version. The app helps individuals screen the likelihood of a concussion at the moment an injury occurs. This app was recently featured in the Communique. At the October 2012 NY Association of School Psychologists Conference in Niagara Falls, NY, there will be a strain on concussions and head injuries, where PAR will come to present on the app and its use, as well as experts from University at Buffalo. I highly encourage all nearby to attend (and not just because I'm on the conference planning committee!).


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Trouble with a Capital "T" and that Stands for Removing Psychs from the CSE

If you're from New York and are a member of the New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP), your email has been all abuzz lately regarding mandate relief. Earlier this year, the NYS Educational Dept (NYSED) was asked to make "mandate relief and flexibility" recommendations to the Governor's Office to see where they could find money in the budget. Preliminary recommendations included a proposal to remove the mandate for school psychologists to be part of the Committee on Special Education (CSE) and other recommendations related to psychological assessments.

NYASP has been working throughout the year with legislators in NYS to not allow such proposals to be accepted by the Board of Regents. Local and statewide legislators advocated heavily for NYASP and school psychologists across the state, citing the vast mental health knowledge and expertise of school psychologists in making determinations regarding the welfare of students. Over the summer, there was a public comment period, where psychologists, parents, legislators, school staff, and other supporters could comment on the proposals. The support for school psychologists was huge, coming from organizations such as NYSUT, the UFT, NYS PTA, and the NYS Psychological Association and everywhere in between.

At the Board of Regents meeting this month, they voted to remove the school psychologist as a mandated member of the CSE with the exception of initial eligibility determination meetings. They also voted to remove the additional parent member and physician/school nurse. Finally, they voted to repeal the psychologist's ability to determine the need for additional data during reevaluations. This is a huge, degrading blow to the profession. School psychologists, parents, teachers, administrators, and related services personnel are outraged. Thankfully, no changes will be made immediately. Any change like this requires a change in the law, which could take a long time due to the need for action of the NYS Legislature. NYASP is planning an all-out  assault (of the email, rally, phone call, and visits with legislators variety) to try and deter these decisions from become law.

I'd love to hear what my gentle readers think about the decision to remove school psychologists from the CSE and limit their say in evaluations. Like most others, I am outraged, nervous, and offended by the decision made by a few people not in the profession over budgetary concerns, which will affect thousands of psychologists and tens of thousands of children. Is this an issue that has come up in other states? Are psychologists mandated members of the CSE where you work? Are there limitations on your job responsibilities and how you conduct your evaluations?

School psychologists who would like to contact our legislators regarding mandate relief are encouraged to check out The New York State Assembly website and The New York State Senate website. Heck, even if you're not a New Yorker, we could use your support!

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Invite Your Principal to Lunch

With School Psychology Awareness Week (SPAW) starting on Monday, November 14th, I'm curious to see what other professionals out there are doing! Last year, I told mini-stories that went along with each of the areas children are encouraged to "SHINE." This year, I'm doing a little something in the building... more to come. :)

What are you doing in your building to commemorate this momentous week (ha)? If you don't have an idea yet, I would like to pass along one from the New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP), of which I'm a board member. NYASP is encouraging psychologists around the state to "Invite Your Principal to Lunch." Here's a memo regarding the event:

Make the Connection

In concert with National School Psychology Awareness Week, school psychologists in New York will be inviting their educational leaders to lunch. NYASP President, Peter Faustino, says, "What better way to share our mutual vision than for student achievement than to share a meal together?" During the week of November 14th, school psychologists are encouraged to do the following:

1. Schedule a time to meet with your building principal.
2. Order in, bring something to share, or simply eat together in your office.
3. During lunch, take the opportunity to highlight the variety of domains of your practice (outlined in the NASP Practice Model) and consider how particular domains may be applicable to the building's success.
4. Thank your principal for his/her leadership.
5. Report to NYASP [or your own state's organization] and tell them how it went.

Please share your stories of what you did for SPAW, and how it went! Look for an upcoming post regarding my activities.
 
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Professionally Proactive

This weekend, I attended the New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP) executive board meeting in Albany. Wow, what an experience! We covered so many topics and I haven't totally processed everything yet. There were about 40 attendees from all over the state, representing NYASP's public relations, legislative involvement, budgeting and accounting, the newsletter, the awards committee, continuing professional development, conference committees, and of course, local chapter representatives, which is were I fell.

I have to admit, I was wary of attending the board meeting. I wasn't sure what to expect, but only heard great things when I asked colleagues in the area that I traveled with. While my co-representative is a newer member, the other three ladies are seasoned practitioners in the field and with NYASP, so they took us under their wings, which we needed and appreciated! Once the board meeting got going, it was quite enjoyable to discuss issues in the field with like-minded professionals. Mostly, I just sat back and took it in, or chatted with my co-rep. The other board members know their stuff and care so much about the field of school psychology, our interests and expertise, and of course, the kids. It was so great to be with people who "get it" and are working to make sure that other stakeholders do too.

My co-rep and I left with tons of ideas and things to plan for our chapter in the coming year. The first step towards reaching that goal of being more involved in the profession is complete!

 

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Goal Setting

Well, with Labor Day tomorrow, the summer truly is coming to an end. Boyfriend and I are having a family get -together tomorrow with our parents, my grandpa, my future step-brother, and Boyfriend's niece (referenced in this blog entry).

 

Tuesday is the first day back at my building, staff only. I'll be leading much of the opening day activities for the staff, as my colleague and CSE chairperson recently had surgery and will be out until at least October. I'll be discussing new Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) initiatives for the year, the upcoming Response to Intervention (RTI) regulations, new Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) expectations, and other tidbits. Hopefully I won't be a snooze! Wednesday the kiddos return. I have to be honest, I really haven't been excited to return to school since I spent almost the whole summer working, but I am really looking forward to seeing my munchkins! My running friend S, Squirmy McAntsypants, and other blog stars will be returning, but others have moved on. D, the kiddo who Hulked out and threw a chair across my office, was placed in an agency program due to extreme unsafe behaviors, and A was placed at a different school in a class for students with Autism.

As I start the new year, I want to go back to my roots. Every year during my graduate program, we had to update a portfolio of our experiences, case studies, reports, and other important work samples. It mostly was the bane of everyone's "busy work" existence, but once we graduated, it ended up being a comprehensive testament to our Master's degrees (see me being glass half full). One document that was constantly tweaked was our "role reflection," where we had to outline three goals we had for ourselves for the coming year. Here's some new goals for the 2011-2012 school year:

1. Be more visible. As a school psychologist, I spend an insane amount of time testing, writing reports, and developing IEPs. Sometimes I don't notice I've wasted half a day at my desk until it's 1:00pm. This year, I want to be in classrooms more, whether it's assisting with a lesson, observing, doing whole class interventions, or catching kids "being good." I want to have a positive image for myself not only with the kids, but with the staff. Since I've been in the building for a year, I want to end the adjustment period and make solid, positive relationships with my staff.
2. Keep better data. Our district was evaluated by the state this year with regards to our BIPs, and only one school passed (not mine, but thankfully the school of one of my Master's cohort friends). I'm going to be a stickler this year both for myself and my staff about BIPs, hence our opening day discussion. I'm a total data nerd, so I'm going to work on getting better, more consistent progress-monitoring data for the behavior plans in our building. It requires a lot of time and energy, and often gets pushed by the way-side when other more critical things come up, unfortunately. Data will be useful not only to monitor student growth, but also for reporting out to parents and administration, and at the CSE table.
3. Be more involved in the profession. Sure, I'm a member of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), the New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP), and my regional school psych organization, but that doesn't necessarily mean I do much more than pay dues. I recently became the co-chair representative of my NYASP chapter and am on the planning committee for the 2012 NYASP Conference, which will be held in my area. Next weekend, I'll be attending the NYASP Executive Board meeting in Albany, NY (which I'm sure to blog about), and later this month, will be enjoying a regional luncheon conference. I would love to attend the 2012 NASP Conference in February in Philadelphia, PA, which will be dependent on funds. Professional organizations can be hugely important and beneficial for your career, so I'm looking forward to cultivating those relationships.

What are your goals for the upcoming school year? T-Minus 3 days folks...

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