Another Year Under the Belt...

Third year down and probationary period over, huzzah! At the end of last school year, I did a Committee on Special Education year in review to recap the very busy, very fulfilling year I had for '11-'12. While '12-'13 didn't quite measure up in terms of the sheer amount of CSE meetings I held, let's take a peek at the numbers...

• The proportion of meetings held for male vs. female students held steady with disproportionality: 69 males vs. 30 females. The district remains heavily African American and male in the special education population.
• We had 20 new initial referrals for special education this year, down 10 from last year. These referrals were still predominantly for significant behavioral concerns, only 6 were solely for academic difficulties. 7 of the 20 did not qualify for services, with 4 being recommended for 504 Accommodation Plans.
• This year, we had 16 reevaluation meetings for more restrictive settings, such as to Integrated Co-Teaching, Special Classes, or agency/day school placements. We also held 11 reevaluation meetings where changes were made to programming or as part of a three-year reevaluation, in accordance with legal mandates.
• We had just 3 declassifications from special education services this year, and all were students who receiving only speech who had met their goals. 
• There were a whopping 36 amendment meetings this year, up 12 from last year. These meetings included minor changes to the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) included changing goals, fixing/cleaning up parts of the Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEP), and adjusting program modifications and testing accommodations. 
• Last year, the highest volume of meetings came during November and December. This year, it was May and June (much more traditional). During those two months, we held 26 meetings and most were initials or reevaluations that required a lot of testing and time--yeouch! This number was much higher than normal because...
• We were assigned 10 preschoolers out of our building to transition from Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) services to CSE services for kindergarten. These kids were all placed in Special Classes as special sites, so we did lots of traveling to go out to see them. More to come on that!

That puts me at 99 meetings for the '12-'13 school year, 16 less than last year. Almost makes me wish I had one more meeting to make it an even hundy... but that's the mildly OCD overachiever talking.

Happy summer, you Super Psychologists!

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A Committee on Special Education Year In Review... aka, I Am A Machine

Add glasses and this is surprisingly accurate.

As I bask in the glory of summer, I remember that this year was not all Zumba classes, bike rides, wedding planning, and watching TLC. As you may remember, this year was totally nutty-- my Committee on Special Education (CSE) chairperson was out for 9 months receiving chemo and I spent the year working with a district representative (which was fantastic); I single-handedly underwent a state ed. review; attempted to run Positive Behavior Intervention Supports like Check-in, Check-out; and of course, dealt with every day chaos and crisis. I'd be a big fat liar if I said I'm not enjoying the time off, that's fo sho.

Before school ended, I sat down and totaled up all of the stats for the Committee on Special Education meetings I've done during '11-'12. The results were all together staggering, nauseating, tiring, and awe-inspiring. Here are some fun facts...

• The meetings held for male vs. female students was 73 vs. 42. Our special education population at our building (and in the district) is disproportionately male and African American.
• We held 30 initial CSE meetings. Many of these meetings were kiddos that were being referred for services due to severe behavioral problems, and the students were recommended for more restrictive settings where their needs could be met, such as a Special Class. Five of these initial referrals did not qualify for services. 
• In a similar vein, we held 28 reevaluation meetings where a more restrictive setting was recommended. Many of these were for a Special Class, but others were a recommendation where a student moved from receiving only related services, like speech, to Integrated Co-Teaching services.
• We held 21 reevaluation meetings where changes were made to programming (adding or removing a related service, etc) or as part of a three-year reevaluation, in accordance with legal mandates.
• We declassified 8 students from special education services this year. One of them was due to chronic lack of attendance in school, thus not accessing special education services nor receiving appropriate instruction (he came to school four days all year).
• Although I had three full days of CSE meetings in March (on top of helping teachers with the Annual Review process for their caseloads), the biggest volume of CSE meetings came late fall, during the state ed. review. In November and December, I had a total of four meetings days, but they covered 30 kiddos. I'm getting hives just remembering... ugh.
• My building has a small population of preschoolers receiving special education services via the Committee on Preschool Education (CPSE). When they turn school age in kindergarten, we have to reevaluate their programs to see if they will transition into CSE services. We completed 4 CPSE to CSE reevaluations this year, two at the beginning of the year for '11-'12, and two at the end for '12-'13 (we got ahead of the game). 
• We amended 24 students' IEPs, making minor changes that don't overly affect their service levels. These included changing goals, fixing/cleaning up parts of the Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEP), altering time durations for programming, and adjusting program modifications and testing accommodations. 

So, for those playing at home, that brings my Committee on Special Education meetings for the 2011-2012 school year to a whopping 115.

I am psychologist. Hear me roar.

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The One with All the Great Advice From You!

With my giveaway for "The School Psychologist's Survival Guide" concluded, I want to thank everyone who posted fantastic, thoughtful, and meaningful advice that they would include in their own survival guide for the profession. I was so pleased and overwhelmed with the response! You're all rather marvelous, you know that?

Without further ado, I bring you: 
"Musings on Survival from School Psychologists"

Musings on Positive Relationships with Children

...When questioning whether or not you can make a difference in a child's life, remember that at the very least, you can always provide the child with a positive experience with a mental health professional. That way, they will be more likely to seek help again in the future. School psychologists can "plant that seed". - AmberNicole

Make sure your office has both tissues and food at all times. Sweet and simple. - Jill Snyder 

My advice would be to never underestimate the power of modeling respect to students. I model how to be respectful to my kids and it has led to many important conversations. - Amanda Myers 

We get caught up in focusing what is "wrong" with the child, or how to "fix" them that many times the team forgets that everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, has strengths. I find if you start with the strengths, you indicate to parents those positive aspects - then you can return to those strengths when you get to the recs to demonstrate how those skills can be used to compensate for whatever weaknesses were found. I have found in working with older kiddos that sometimes adults have never spoken to them about those strengths and have only focused on the difficulties. To see their faces light up when I tell them that they are smart and do great work - that is what keeps me coming back to work each day. :) - Tonya Gscheidle 

Sometimes, you may be the only person who cares about "that kid". Do not let them down. Show them that they can trust adults by believing in them no matter what. - Colleen Allen

You may be the only advocate a child has... - Susan Hatcher

I think the most important thing I have learned this year is to follow through on promises made. Either giving parents information or meeting with student, demonstrating to others that they can rely on you is important to building relationships. – Becky

Do not let administrators or others with control issues, mental health concerns or just plain bad energy zap your own. Too much time in schools is wasted focusing on "bad" staff members rather than on the children. Eventually, they will move on or improve. You have no control over how they act and behave, even if it's hurtful to others. All you can do is conduct yourself with respect and focus on the students. They are what matters. Humor helps, too! - Colleen Allen

Always remember confidentiality. You may have a group of girlfriends at a school you work at, but it doesn't mean it gives them special permission to hear about confidential issues. Vent to your pet! :) - Ashley Marie 

Bring and show love in all that you do! We all have strengths--find ways to help others showcase theirs. - Colleen Allen

Musings on Taking Care of YOU

...Don't forget to sanitize your WISC blocks so you dont get the funk that all the kids have :) - Heather Klingensmith Hill

A great piece of advice I received and want to share is to keep a "Favorites File," a file of thank you notes, pictures, and drawings that have made me happy at work. They are great therapy. - Beverly Whalen-Schmeller 

You can't help others until you've first helped yourself. Self-care is just as important as everything else. - Colleen Allen

My supervisor always told me that I needed to take care of myself so I could take care of others. So important to set boundaries and practice self-care. Going to spend spring break starting Monday relaxing and having some fun so I can come back refreshed and energetic! Seems like there is always more that I could do, but if I do too much I won't be any good for anyone. So it's not being selfish or failing to leave the work at school and go home at the end of the day! – Jen

Hang in there. Summer's coming! Just kidding, I love my job. But the time off is a nice perk. Lol - Kim Nichol Rich 

There will always be more work to be done, more kids to be tested, more reports to write, more staff to assist, etc., etc., etc. There are deadlines that must be met, but once you have met those, remember there will always be more to do tomorrow. Go home. :-) Take care of yourself. Take care of your family. Without doing those things, you don't stand a chance of helping your schools. - Amy Cannava 

Keep work at work, and when you are home be there completely. Sometimes it is healthy to walk away from the laptop! - Julie Dwyer 

What may seem like one incredibly stressful day, week, month or year will pass. You may not see the forest through the trees until you have a higher view. Remember to enjoy calmer days so you can stock up for rocky ones. - Colleen Allen

Remember that although frustration and anger may be directed toward you it is not personal. - Sharin Palladino Green 

Humor, humor, humor...using it at work to get through tough situations is key. So much of what we do can be mentally and emotionally taxing. Finding the humor in these situations or just being able to laugh when things get rough is what helps me survive. So, find some fellow psychs to yuk things up with, watch lots of Seinfeld, read the Onion, or plaster your office with Far Side cartoons - whatever works to keep you smiling. If you're smiling, others will too. - Kim Tungate 

My advice after 32 years as a school psychologist is "Tomorrow will be a better day!" - Marcia Krell Dimetrosky 

Remember that although you may want to be superman, you can't do everything in one day. Your "to do" list will always be there, so be mindful of the things about your job that make it worthwhile. - Denise Butterfield 

Musings on Being Type-A

My key to survival is two-fold. First, an organization system that would make the OCD population swoon keeps me on top of every eval, counseling case, and "to do" item in my crazy world. Second, I don't take it home on the weekends. And when I do, I end up negotiating with myself to get it done during the week anyway. Almost impossible, but if there's a will to find time during the week then there is a way. You will make your deadlines... – Erika

When scheduling evals, be flexible...always have more than one back-up plan ;) - Ronda Norman 

Bring you calendar to every meeting. It seems that there is always another meeting that needs to be scheduled or changed and this will save you having to go back to your office and begin the email tag game. - Sirenna Brown Palici 

...one thing that I have learned to be most important is organization and time management. If you are not organized and can't manage your time then you're in big trouble when it comes to this job! - Kari Na 

...you have to be organized, have excellent time management, practice good self-care, because you can't help others if you're not helping yourself, and you need to find balance between your work life and your non-work life! - Samantha Bailey 

Be organized. Sounds simple but can make or break you. Being organized with your time by setting daily and weekly goals for yourself will make a huge difference in your productivity and may lessen the amount you have to take home. -  Tiffany Miller Powell

...I've learned to be flexible and that there are many ways to address the same problem..I've also learned the usefulness of a planner and organization skills! - LaShante Smith

Musings on Meaningful Relationships with Parents and Families

I have learned how to break bad news/evaluation data to parents. After a couple of years, of talking with parents, I have learned that a majority of them are nervous of what I may have to say to them about evaluation data. They are afraid I am going to tell them their child is incapable of learning or not average. I try to give evaluation data with a mix of funny things their child may have done while working with them, and an outline of their strengths and weaknesses. - Kim K.

It sounds super corny, but the most important piece of advice I can think of is to remember when you are writing a report about a child, you are talking about somebody's BABY. - Eliane Hack 

I quickly learned that this field is about making relationships and making people feel comfortable. The more approachable and down to earth I appear to parents the better I can communicate during a meeting. It's very important to make the effort to meet with parents before hand and talks to them about their fears and worries. That initial meeting always seems to open doors when delivering not so positive news. It always makes me feel happy when I've met a parent before a meeting and they walk into a room full of school staff, they look around the table and look directly at the people they are already familiar with. There's a sense of comfort and relief I appreciate. I always try and put myself in their shoes and validate their concerns. – pmendez1

Well, there are many! I'd have to say that forming a relationship with parents is perhaps one of the most helpful things I can do. – Andrea

When talking with parents, always remember that for them, this is new. Even if they've had other children go through special education, or you're meeting for a triennial, it's still new for them even if I have done it 1000 times. It's important to take the time, build the relationship, and always put myself in the parent's place before ever opening my mouth. – Pam

I've found it very helpful to establish a good rapport with parents. It's important to make them feel comfortable, reassuring them that you will answer their questions and concerns. This will be very beneficial during the assessment process. Conflict can be avoided when parents feel their child is important to the psych. - Norma Diaz 

…parent communication is probably the biggest thing I've learned. The more you can relate to the parent, the more comfortable they will feel. Meeting with parents before meetings is so helpful, and seems to put them more at ease, especially with initial referrals. – bt

The best advice that I learned was to focus on services when sharing news with families. The news can be hard for families to hear for the first time, so you have to be understanding and gentle. But getting everyone on the same page when talking about how to service the student goes a very long way to help put the family (and yourself) at ease. – Rob

My advice would be to put yourself in the parent's shoes and pretend you have to hear this information about your child and present in a tactful and respectful way. - Ashleigh Edwards 

Musings on Personal vs. Professional Lives

The best advice I've ever received was: don't let this job take over your life. While it can be very rewarding, this line of work can quickly become overwhelming. There is so much to do & never enough time to get everything done. If you aren't careful, you can get burned out. This is a hard thing for me to remember sometimes but over the years I've gotten better. :-) – Jenskaroo

For me the most important thing has been to learn how to balance work and personal life. We are much more effective when we take care of ourselves and not let our stress level get too high. Our job is never ending so don't ever expect to be "done". Learn to ask for help when you need it. A decade later and I still need to ask for help :) - Estella Castro 

Musings on Advocating for our Profession

There are so many things that come to mind, but I think the most important is make sure others know what it is that we do!! We do so many things on a day-to-day basis, beyond testing and attending meetings, and it is important that students, families, and school staff know what are training is and what we are able to provide to a school. I know that marketing ourselves might not seem to be an important job responsibility, but in these budgetary times... it is our MOST IMPORTANT TASK :) – Angie

When I went through training so many years ago....many many years ago or at least sometimes it seems that way, a professor told us not to take ownership of problems that weren't ours to own. That has been really good advice for times like when you have told another school professional for the umteempth time not to order the power hungry child because that just starts the power fight and yet on it goes. It just helps to be very clear about what you as a school psychologist can control and what you can't and just always give a situation your best. - Nancy Gregg 

Musings on Active Listening

Sometimes, you may be the only person your staff can turn to for personal support. Most of us have not been trained in adult therapy. Listen anyway. You can seek guidance if needed on referring out later on. - Colleen Allen

I have learned to take seriously my responsibility as a listener. In many cases students, staff and parents are seeking my advice but also have a genuine concern which needs to be expressed and heard. Additionally, we are all a team, including parents and need to work together to help students reach their maximum potential. You cannot change a student, but you can change an environment. I'm also a newbie and navigating the system is a challenge but I know I don't have to do it alone. - Sara Star 

My supervisor always reminds me to ask as many questions as possible and to remember that the teachers are human too! When they complain about a child it's not because they are bad people, it's because they are looking for someone to help them. Teachers really do care about their students despite what society tells us! -Dorice Moise  

… The most important and helpful key to survival for me is that I have learned to be an active listener. Instead of always contributing to the conversation, I have found that if we just let parents/teachers talk out their problems and concerns without interruptions, they can usually work out issues on their own. Sometimes, all our parents and teachers really want is someone to talk to to, someone to understand them, and someone there to provide support when they need it. Just showing that you genuinely care about what others have to say and understanding their perspective can make a world of difference when it comes to building quality relationships. – Dana Sharp

Musings on Relationships with Game Changers

My advice for a survival guide would be to remember that relationships with classified staff (secretaries, custodial staff, transportation, etc.) are just as important as relationships with certified staff. In some cases it is even more important because these staff members often literally hold the keys to the doors you need opened. - Kyle Carlin (the giveaway winner!!)

Relationships are key to creating systemic change. You can have all the policies, paperwork, and procedures in place and people won't change unless you first show trust and value in them as members of an important team. - Colleen Allen

...One of the biggest things that I learnt in my first year is the value of being within a TEAM!! Ask question after question to those in the field around you as we never stop LEARNING! Remember we are psychs but we work heavily with social workers, speech pathologists, Occupational therapists, paediatricians etc as they each have their own perspective on how they deal with a case so it is imperative we utilize our teams and other professionals to bring other perspectives in order to assist the child as best as possible!! :) - Sarah Maree 

Approach each child and adult with an open mind and an open heart. We are good about doing this for most children, but not always for the adults with whom we work. Some principals are having bad days. Some parents just lost their job. Other parents are so overwhelmed with their child's behavioral needs that they take it out on you. Then they apologize. I always thank them, because at least they are engaged enough to care. - Colleen Allen

I would say make positive relationships with everyone from parents, teachers, principals, secretaries, even janitors (they usually have the important keys!!) and also don't make assumptions about anyone or anything because there is usually a lot more to the situation, story, or circumstances you had no idea about in the first place! Oh and take time out to laugh... because if you get too caught up in the other stuff you might forget to smile from time to time. - Laura Pahls 

Find allies. It can be tough doing a job where you are usually the only one in the building. Find people who have your same vision and passion for children. They will fill your cup when it is getting low. - Colleen Allen

Musings on Interventions, Meetings, Testing, and Data

Every once in a while, as annoyed as you may be at the time (namely March-June when spring becomes a disabling condition), it IS helpful to test a kid who is NOT eligible. We tend to work mostly with low achieving or struggling kids (and in some locales, gifted) but we don't want to lose sight of what normal is. Everyone has something they're not good at. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Everyone has room for improvement. But that doesn't mean everyone is disabled. - Amy Cannava 

Avoid jargon and psycho-babble! I get really excited when I see a parent or teacher "take notes" while I'm presenting testing results because it means the information I'm giving them is helpful. - Kelly Backues 

Celebrate small victories. Change for adults and students does not happen overnight. I have seen the power of believing in positive growth. Those 9th grade boys labeled as "the number one behavior problem" in the school learn to change, even a little, by 10th grade. The teacher with poor classroom management generally learns some new approaches with the support of colleagues. Find at least one positive change made each day by your "toughest" student (or teacher). - Colleen Allen

Most of the time decisions are made harmoniously or a compromise is reached. Sometimes the answer is "no" - and I have learned to not take another's unpleasant reaction personally. - Cathy Gayda Tomes 

The relationship of the various subtest scores will reveal relative strengths. Explain to the parents, teachers and student how the student can use that particular (or those particular) strengths to improve performance in the area of greatest difficulty. Be creative! When creativity runs dry...look back through your PRIM manual to spark an idea. - Laura Kelley Gleichauf 

The one piece of advice that has helped me the most is "Let it go." I tend to ruminate on tough meetings, advocates' remarks, and other stressful aspects of the job. Learning to let go of the tougher aspects of the job have helped me to enjoy my job even more. – Megan C.

You'll always do better if you stop and think before you react to the "fires" people seek your assistance with. A calm well thought out reaction helps more than anything! Also, emphasize the positive!! - Jennifer Braden Kirkpatrick 

Musings on Making a Difference

Change does not occur overnight. Coming into a school district and creating effective change for students is a daunting task. When you are starting to feel like you are getting stuck, take a moment to reflect where things started. You will be surprised to realize how much has been accomplished-it just is a slow and gradual process! - Leigh Ann Weaver 

Persist - don't give up on the child, the teacher, the parent, the school or yourself. You can take things further, it might take years to make headway, the progress may not be what you expect... and then will take 2 steps back, but keep going. Come back and do it again, do it another way; persist. - Twin Beans 

Our work never ends and that can be overwhelming. My practicum supervisor once told me that we can never change the world in a day, but what is important is to spend every day trying to inspire those around us. This has definitely helped me to survive :) - Angela Mann 

Musings on Always Learning

Ask other colleagues when you are in doubt or need reassurance. Gather as much information as you can and then use common sense!! - Leigh Singleton Parmer 

…the one piece of advice that I have received and now share is to give yourself (new school psychologist) time and room to learn and grow. I've spent the first nine months of my job watching and listening, all the while I was treading water. ...I am already making plans of what I am going to do next year and how I am going to manage it. We often feel that after the many years of learning, training and preparation, we should drop into our new jobs and be able to function smoothly. Or at least I did. I've since learned this is not the case - it takes time to develop your own groove. For maybe the ONLY time in my working career, I am impatient for summer to come and go, because I am eager to start the new school year with all the great things that I've learned being on my own this year. – Mo

Steal! There are many, many gifted educators and clinicians in our field - don't reinvent the wheel but personalize the things others have created (always give credit, of course) and pass it on! - Amy Fortney Parks 

I'm still pretty new to the profession, but even if I wasn't, I have learned there will always be much more to learn, experience, and do. At first this was just overwhelming and at times made me feel incompetent even if I wasn't in others' views. I now try to look at it as Alzheimer's innoculation, constant opportunity to grow, never being bored, and a sign that I'm on the right track. I've also learned that I have to be willing to give others and myself a break-no one can be perfect and that should not be our goal… - Stephanie Strouse 

Something I've been learning for myself is just as we don’t expect our kiddos to get it perfect on their first try or every time we can have that same wiggle room for ourselves. Can't expect every behavior plan, intervention, meeting, etc to go on without a hitch. This has been especially important for my grad school learning curve and will help me in years to come :) - Erika Laura 

You absolutely cannot have all the answers. It's ok to say, "I'm not sure, let me look into that.” ...Melissa Roudis Potter 

Be confident. Finding the right balance of confidence (not arrogance) is crucial, especially in your first year. In order to be seen as a source of reliable information you need to approach situations confidently with both staff and parents. Of course this confidence should not be entered into blindly. If you don't know the answer to something, find someone who does. Always being prepared fosters the best type of confidence. - Tiffany Miller Powell

...the more a new professional/student learns about the profession and our best practices, the easier some of the large, seemingly daunting tasks will become. Right before starting internship and really getting out there to work, it can really feel overwhelming. It's common to feel unprepared, even if the graduate program you attended is well staffed and highly sought after. It's important for newbies to remember that the longer you work in the field, and develop your craft, the more refined and polished your professional skills will become. -Marcella Wright  

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OMG, OMG, OMG... it's a giveaway!

 

A few months ago, Dr. Rebecca Branstetter of the stellar blog Notes from the School Psychologist approached me to read the manuscript for her new book, The School Psychologist's Survival Guide, and write a blurb for the promotional materials. She thought that as a recent entry to the field, I would bring the "newbie" psychologist views to the book.

Seriously? That's like Kobe Bryant asking some of my 7th grade kiddos if they would play a game of HORSE with him. After squealing to Fiance and doing various spastic dances around our townhouse, I graciously accepted. How flattering and humbling! I was overjoyed to be given the opportunity.

Today, I got a copy in the mail and when I opened it, I saw my name right there on the one of the first few pages, along with "praise" from other excellent professionals. No lie, Fiance and I literally shrieked and waved our hands like Stewie from Family Guy (seriously click this, it's a perfect representation).

Well, now's your chance to shriek and dance around because I am giving away a copy of The School Psychologist's Survival Guide to one lucky reader!

In order to be eligible to win this fantastic resource, comment either on my blog or on my Facebook page with the answer to the following question:

What is one piece of advice or knowledge you learned on the job that you would put into your own survival guide?

Entries will be accepted for one week until April 11, 2012 at 9:00pm EST. The winner will be chosen from all entries using a random number generator, and I will contact him/her to find out where to mail the book. I'm excited to share this resource with others!

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Multiply Disabled, Doubly Blessed

Earlier this month, we had a Committee on Special Education (CSE) meeting on a rather tough case. X, a kindergarten student, was referred by his foster mom/aunt and his doctor due to suspected developmental delays. I had to blog about X and his CSE referral, since cases like his don't come around very often. Here's a list of notable things in X's social history, shortened for brevity:

Facial features of children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

-heavily exposed to alcohol and marijuana in utero. Recently diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. (also exhibits facial features)

-traumatic brain injury at 6-months (suspected that biological mother dropped him, cracking his skull).

-no medical care after first well-visit after birth.

-significant history of malnutrition (often left to fend for himself to eat, which led to injuries as he attempted to cook for himself; currently, hoarding food and pica-like behaviors of eating inedible objects).

-not toilet trained (a requirement for attending kindergarten in my district--he was asked not to return to school until he was toilet trained, because he was having accidents throughout the day).

-much smaller than is typical for his age--looks about 3 years old when he's 5-years, 7-months.

-speech concerns (articulation, voice tone and quality, expressive and receptive language deficits).

-underdeveloped fine motor abilities (shoe tying, writing, cutting; also sensory concerns).

-removed from biological mom's care 6-months ago due to severe neglect; living with his aunt.

-no exposure to school or age-appropriate social interactions prior to entering kindergarten this year.

During testing with me, X exhibited no spontaneous conversation, and when he did speak, it was in a whisper (I must've driven him nuts asking him to repeat himself so much because I couldn't hear him!). His sentences were no more than three words and he would gesture or point rather than speak at times. Throughout our time together, he exhibited flat affect and appeared lethargic. He was slow to respond to many assessment tasks. He rarely smiled or responded appropriately when I tried to make him laugh (I probably am not funny).

Lots of assessments were done, to get a full picture of X's developmental levels. Speech/language and occupational therapy evaluations were indicative of significant delays, so he qualified to receive those related services. My cognitive testing was in the borderline intellectually disabled range, as was standardized academic testing (i.e. standard scores in the 70 range). Behavioral rating scales were also completed by X's teacher, which indicated high levels of atypical or "strange" behaviors and moderate hyperactivity and attention problems. Adaptive behavior was also delayed, with daily living skills (self-care skills) and socialization were the lowest areas.

Standard scores within the 70 range across all areas (cognitive, academic, adaptive behavior) would in most cases lead to a classification of Intellectually Disabled. However, I recommended a classification of Multiple Disabilities. What are the criteria for this disability, in New York State?

Multiple disabilities means concomitant impairments..., the combination of which cause such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in a special education program solely for one of the impairments. The term does not include deaf-blindness. [Part 200.1(zz 8)]

Due to his pervasive level of delays and needs, and concurrent head trauma and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Multiple Disabilities was a more appropriate classification for X. After the New Year, we are going to look into an agency self-contained classroom for him to be placed in. This setting will meet not only his educational needs, but also his daily living, self-care, and toileting.

So with all these hurdles to overcome, why is X "doubly blessed?" Because of his foster mother and aunt. She is working so hard to support him and provide him with the nurturing environment that he has lacked for the last five years. He is receiving routine medical care, nutritious food, an education, and most importantly, love and social interaction. She has advocated for him in ways that most people would find difficult, starting first by taking him in when she has other children of her own, and by initiating the special education referral that will get him the support he needs. I am confident that X will quickly catch up to where he needs to be with her care and appropriate educational services.

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Generosity

My mother always said, "It never hurts to ask. The worst they can say is, 'no.'" She was a smart cookie.

As I discussed previously, I'm in charge of the Students of the Month and Homeroom of the Month initiatives at my building. Over the summer, my principal discussed a few changes to the way the students and homerooms are chosen with me, which I don't really agree with. I'm of the opinion that we should reward kids frequently, consistently, and for relatively simple and minute things. Build up the sense of self-esteem and self-worth in knowing that they can "do it," then increase the expectations and level of performance for a reward, otherwise you'll have no student buy-in. My principal has very high expectations for our students, which in theory is a great thing, but it's hard to expect high poverty, low performing students to have 95% attendance, 100% uniform use, etc. But I digress.

My principal did make some great suggestions though. She wanted to reward our star homerooms with a pizza or ice cream party every month and award repeat winners with a special class field trip at the end of the year. Our student winners get some neat things already--their picture taken and put on a bulletin board, their name announced over the loud speaker and put in the school newsletter, and a certificate--but, I suggested more meaningful incentives, like gift cards or "good for" coupons to local restaurants. My principal also suggested a special field trip for multiple student winners, to really recognize their substantial achievements. Bigger and better rewards for being a kick butt student? Sign me up.

Off I went to fundraise. I totally spammed the postal service asking local fast food chains, grocery stores, dollar stores, etc for donations and funds. Mind you, I'm absolutely prepared to shell money out of my pocket to reward my kiddos, but I knew this was going to be too big of a cost. We typically have 20 students and 1-2 homerooms crowned every month. At first, I had no bites and only rejections, and I was bummed. Then, I started playing phone tag with our local McDonald's corporate office, who wanted to donate coupons. When they asked me what I was looking for, I said that we expect to give out 25 coupons to kids a month, and left it up to them to determine their contribution. Well, they offered me 25/month for the ENTIRE YEAR, all personalized for "McStudents of the Month." Later that week, I received 10 certificates for a free pint of ice cream at a local frozen custard store, 100 coupons to Wendy's, and today, 50 coupons to Burger King, all personalized for my school. Woah.

I was so totally blown away by the generosity of the local business community. True, I understand that they have a commitment to donations and giving to causes in the area, but I never expected such a great response. I'm so thrilled and excited to shower my school with incentives and rewards!

Moral of the story: if you want something, ask for it, because you just might get 250 McDonald's hamburgers and fries out of it.

 

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Movin' on Up (to the high school)

Today was the 8th Grade Moving Up Day Ceremony, which was like Graduation v.0.5. The students processed to Pomp & Circumstance, received prestigious awards at the building, district, and state level, and received framed diplomas as they crossed the stage. It was a nice way to wrap up our students' last year of elementary school (remember my district does PreK-8, 9-12 buildings). Next year, they'll be low men and women on the totem pole again as they all scatter to one of the district's 13 high schools (or in the case of one young man, a private school).

As I sat in our auditorium watching the proceedings, I was a little sad that I didn't know the 8th grade class better. Going through my two degrees, I always thought that I would end up working at the middle school or high school level. I spent my summers of graduate school working at an enrichment/leadership summer program for students from my district. But, after interning at an elementary level and seeing all the great academic and behavioral interventions that can be done with the little ones, that's what took my interest and heart the most.

My interaction with our 8th graders was pretty much only crisis and/or peer mediation, and I did very little of it. We had someone on our team that knew the middle school classes well, so she did a lot of intervention with them, as did our guidance counselor. I wish that I had known all the kids who walked up to get awards, especially the multiple winners and the student going to one of the most prestigious private schools in the city. That's a huge feat for anyone, let alone someone leaving our low performing building!

Congratulations to our Class of 2011... best wishes as you go out into the world!

Accomplishment: Autism

As the school year is drawing to a close, I'm going to be doing a lot of looking back and making observations on my first year as a school psychologist (assuming I have time, since the end of the year is B-A-N-A-N-A-S right now). One case I want to highlight is A, one of the boys in my social skills/anger management group.

Mrs. C, A's teacher, came to me with concerns that A exhibits characteristics of an autistic spectrum disorder. These are signs that I noticed in the times I visited the classroom prior to beginning group, and have also documented a little bit in blogging about our sessions. Mrs. C's primary concerns were A's severe lack of social skills, resistance to changes in his environment, and his unusual reactions to his environment (i.e. smells, sounds, touches). She noted that these are really interfering with his ability to make friends and function fully within the room. In a 6:1+1 classroom of severely learning disabled and emotionally disturbed kids, A doesn't quite fit.

The Committee on Special Education began the reevaluation process, so that we could take a look at A's classification and program to determine if he needed something more or different to better meet his needs. I ran into a little roadblock because A is not currently diagnosed as autistic from a medical doctor, something I was worried would impede me from possibly classifying him as a student with autism. However, after talking to my psychologist colleagues, I got a resounding "YES," I could classify A as a student with autism, despite the fact that he does not have a diagnosis. One of the psychs summed it up best, "There is a medical model diagnosis and an educational model diagnosis. We are making educational classifications, not medical diagnoses."

In order to evaluate whether A may be educationally disabled due to an autistic spectrum disorder, I gave Mrs. C oodles of ratings scales to fill out to gain more information about A's behavior, including the Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS), the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and the Vineland II Adaptive Behavior Scale. I also observed A within the classroom, which was easy because I see him for group every week. The rating scale results, Mrs. C's notes, and my observations all showed overwhelming evidence that A may have an autistic spectrum disorder.

I did a record review of A's previous evaluations and reports. What I found was both surprising and upsetting. The more I reviewed old documents, the more I realized that A has grown exponentially over the past five years. He started out nonverbal, violent, and what appeared to be very mentally delayed. Today, he scores with generally average intelligence and academic skills. However, I also found that for just as long, folks have noticed "oddities" that have been described as those similar to an autistic spectrum disorder. What frustrated me the most was A's most recent psychological evaluation. He was described very plainly as having autistic behaviors, but his classification was changed to Learning Disabled, despite him having fairly average skills across the board. Why had no one investigated the possibility of a classification of autism for A?

It seemed totally unfair to A that no one had stepped up to the plate. True, "autism" can spook the best psychologists, so it certainly spooks me (since I can in no way claim to be in the "best" category). It's like Mental Retardation or Emotional Disturbance: it sticks and it can be harsh. But, for all my reservations, it became extremely important to me to "do right" by A and get him services that would benefit him. Our district has a program at one of it's schools solely for high-functioning students with autism. It provides them with great social skills training, job training and transition help, and just real life skills in general. A's mom, Mrs. C, and I all thought this would be a great program for him.

At A's CSE meeting this week, I changed his classification from Learning Disabled to Autism. We're in the process now of getting paperwork together so A can attend the specialized program for students with autism next year (if all goes according to plan). Rock on.

In no way do I mean for this blog post to be self-serving or "tooting my own horn." For those that know me, I put others before myself constantly, maybe more than I should, and don't really want much in return. For me, it's for the kids, not any pats on the back I may get. So, I call this blog post "Accomplishment: Autism" because if I look back and find nothing else to be proud of after this year (unlikely), I can be happy knowing that A will be in the right setting for him next year with the right classification. That's what matters!

Moving Day - Update

Last month, I blogged about T, one of my buddies who was moving to 6:1+1 classroom from a general education room. At the time, T was very upset and distraught about not only leaving his friends and classroom, but going to "that class."

The first week was tough for T. He assumed that the new placement was only until he brought his grades up or turned his behavior around. No amount of explaining and rationalizing stopped him from setting arbitrary dates for his return to a general education classroom. T also dealt with a lot of teasing from the students in his old classroom. Not wanting to let go of his thought he was returning to his old class, he sat with his old classmates at breakfast and lunch, and would wander the halls to talk to them during their transitions. They bullied him for being "dumb" and all the rest.

After a little adjustment period, I'm happy to report that T is doing fantastically in his new placement! He has been coming down daily to show us good daily report cards. He has made good friends with another student in the class, is sitting with the group in breakfast and lunch, and is showing genuine interest and care for the rest of the boys in the class. T is also doing much better academically. T is completing class and homework, is complying with directives in the room, and has actually increased his reading fluency by 26 words per minute in the past two weeks. That's huge! The classroom won Homeroom of the Month for this March, and I have a feeling T might be getting the Student of the Month honor.

Gotta love it when an initially tough situation turns out great! I can't wait to see how the rest of the year goes for T and his classmates. I must say I'm biased, they're probably my favorite class in the building. Favoritism? Hush.

Mister Mayor

Today our school building welcomed the city's mayor into our midst. Before February break, we had many Black History Month contests going on for students, one of which was an essay contest. Students were encouraged to describe which African-American (famous or otherwise) they would honor if they were mayor for the day. The city's mayor chose three winners and came to our building today to announce and congratulate them. The winners each received a prize from the school and their whole classroom won either an ice cream or Subway lunch party. Each winner also received a gold pin from the mayor. After he read the essays and did some photo-ops with the winners, the mayor answered some questions from the students.

What a great experience it was for the winners and their classrooms! Our mayor is a well-spoken, articulate, intelligent African-American man. With so many of our students lacking positive male (and positive African American) role models in their lives, the opportunity to meet and chat with the mayor was fantastic. He seemed genuinely interested in the students and their experiences/questions. Being one of the lowest schools in the district academically, positive recognition from a figure of authority was a step in the right direction towards recognizing the good things going on in our building, as opposed to only the negative things. I hope that the students took something away from the experience, other than a tummy full of subs or ice cream!

 

You're a psychiatrist?

I had my observation/review this afternoon with my principal. It went very well!

My principal is doing a portfolio review for me, since there is no formalized assessment manual for psychologists. In my district, psychologists and other Committee on Special Education (CSE) staff have only been in the school buildings for a few years. Before that, they were centralized in one building and would go out to hold evaluations and meetings. Schools are still a little shaky on what our roles are on the school staff, and how to measure our "effectiveness" at our job. My principal asked me to write a job description that she could reference while putting my portfolio together.

I was so tempted to refer her to this blog post. Maybe not the most professional. I printed her a description of what school psychologists do from the National Association of School Psychologists website instead.

Educating administrators on what it is I do, one pamphlet at a time. =D

Month in Review (aka "Wow, I'm Lazy")

Wow, I suck at blogging! In my defense, this has been a wacky month. Very much looking forward to winter break for a few days to recoup! Here's a recap of some of the great business going down lately:

• I was quickly called to action by my principal and made a mad dash to collect cards for the Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. About 130 cards from my students were sent off to the American Red Cross to be distributed to soldiers. My favorite card (which I forgot to take a picture of, damn!) was made by a young lady in 8th grade who has notorious attitude problems. The letter she wrote in her card showed real thought, caring, and compassion for a soldier's work, and was beautifully decorated.   
• A church in a nearby suburb sponsored our school building and donated over 260 gifts--one to every student in Pre K to 3rd grade. Each child received a clothing item, toy, and book for Christmas from their generous parishioners. They also donated more than $700 to be put towards gift cards for our older students. Then, when a family in our school had a house fire last week, they quickly rallied their troops and gathered bags of gifts, handmade quilts, monetary donations, and household items to give to them. Talk about the Christmas spirit!
• Amazingly, I cranked out seven different kinds of Christmas cookies this year. Almost all of them are being given away as gifts (co-workers, principal, family and friends, I thank you and so do my thighs).
• My office is being merged with the office of another group of service providers in our building. My office houses myself, the social worker, and our Committee on Special Education (CSE) chairperson, and the other office contains a variety of community mental health and counseling providers. We're hoping that having all of us in the same office will facilitate communication regarding students and families, and generally get help out to those who need it faster. Plus, they're a fun bunch of folks!
• I tested a boy who is going to be declassified from special education next month. W, a student diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), was a major behavior problem when he was younger, but has since blossomed into an articulate and responsible young man. He has been receiving services to help assist him in focusing in the classroom but hasn't needed them, so at his reevaluation meeting next month, we're going to discuss exiting him from special education. My first declassification this year and a great success story!
• The holiday performances put on by our students were, in a word, precious. There is nothing like working in a school around the holidays.

Streaking Towards the Future

This week, I had the fortunate pleasure of escorting eleven 4th, 5th, and 6th graders to a local college for a field trip. Undergraduate education majors from this college have been visiting every week to tutor our students in reading and math skills. As a thank you to the students, the college students invited their elementary buddies to their college for a visit. The college is close enough to school that we were able to walk, and when we arrived, the kids were given a royal welcome. The college students' professor was there, the Dean of the School of Education, and the college mascot! Each person personally welcomed and thanked the students for being there (minus the mascot, who just fist pumped), and their excitement of having our students there was so clear. After the welcoming, our students went on a tour of campus and had lunch at the college dining hall. Let me tell you, there's nothing more thrilling for an 11-year-old boy than unlimited all you can eat pizza and cookies. After lunch, the students were given drawstring backpacks with the college's name on them, and two reserved seat tickets to a basketball game on campus.

In a large urban city, particularly in a school building that is predominantly minority, low socioeconomic status, and in a bad part of town, you have to wonder how many of those kids actually have college in their future. Granted, not everyone needs to go to college to have a successful career, but we push students in our building hard to plan for higher education. By 8th grade, when they're picking out which high schools to apply to, it may be too late to start thinking about college, so we're starting to discuss college beginning in 4th grade. (Maybe it's for the best, since one of the students who went didn't know there were any colleges in our city. There are about 10.) Sure, to most of the kids who went on the field trip, the great lunch was the highlight. But maybe, for a select few, it was a first look into their futures.

As long as that future doesn't include this, I'm game.

PBIS: Putting Smiling Faces in Your Hallways

Our school has a Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) system in place. The first step of PBIS is to set universal rules and expectations that all students are to follow, like wearing uniforms, specific voice levels in specific parts of the building, hands and feet to self, etc. These universal rules, if done right, are to keep the whole school environment safe and successful. Of course, if Tyreke is a repeat offender at kicking Marco in reading group, obviously the universal rules aren't working for him, and we need to try another behavior intervention with him. But, that's another ball of wax!

At the beginning of the school year, my principal emailed asking the staff for a volunteer to be in charge of the students and homerooms of the month program, which rewards students for following the universal rules of our PBIS program. Since I'm part of the building's PBIS Team, I thought it would be a great way to recognize the kids that are "doing the right thing," instead of dwelling on the ones who are having trouble keeping it together. Plus, how often do I get to see the "good kids"? Our administration team chooses the homerooms of the month, and teachers nominate a student from their class to be a student of the month. They also get the option to nominate a "most improved" student, which I think is fantastic and rewarding for kids who may have hit a rough patch, but were able to get it back together.

As for my responsibilities, I am in charge of collecting names from all the teachers for their students of the month, announcing the names of the homerooms and students on the morning annoucements at the end of the month, handing out certificates and taking pictures of the winning students, and doing two bulletin boards with those pictures. The payoff is seeing all those happy teachers and students passing by the bulletin boards, pointing at pictures of themselves, their friends, or students, and realizing that their hard work is paying off.

Or at least that's how my glass-half-full mind looks at it. :)

CSE Meetings: Not Just an Excuse for a Third Cup of Coffee

So my last entry was all about feeling hopeless and useless at my job, but this entry is not… hooray!

This week, we had our first day of Committee on Special Education (CSE) meetings of the school year. Two of the meetings were for initial referrals for special education that were sent in over the summer and two of them were three-year reevaluations. CSE meetings are a forum to get input from the school psychologist, social worker, educational evaluator, teacher, parent, and sometimes the student, about how a student is doing academically. If things are not working in the special education program a student is in, changes can be made to better suit the child’s needs. Ultimately, it is the CSE’s job to ensure that a student’s educational needs are being met so the student can be successful (no pressure).

The day before our CSE meetings, the social worker, the CSE chair/educational evaluator, and I sat down to discuss the cases we were meeting on. We got to bring all our evaluations and data to the table and get a whole picture of each student. It’s like fitting puzzle pieces together in anticipation of the final product. The social worker discussed developmental milestones and family life, the chair/educational evaluator talked about strengths and weaknesses in reading, written language, and math, and as the psychologist, I brought learning styles and cognitive skills to the table. It helped us all get on the “same page” about where the students were coming from and where they are going.

After our discussion, I felt great… totally comfortable and empowered with my career choice. I knew my stuff and did my best to explain it to those who are not psychologist-savvy so that they understand our students, too (and as Boyfriend can attest after many a rambling conversation about MR, ED, LD, VCI, PRI, and FSIQ, this is not always easy to do). I realized not only can I “talk the talk,” I can “walk the walk” as a school psychologist. I’m finally feeling like I can swim rather than sink in my district, which, you know, is a pretty good thing.

Of course, we spent Friday afternoon planning out and scheduling our next three days of CSE meetings, which made me realize the uber amounts of work I have to do before then. But, that can wait til Monday.