The California School Psychologist Provides Valuable Information to Promote School Success Among Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

This volume of The California School Psychologist provides valuable information to promote the success of students with emotional or behavioral disorders, as well as other informative articles. These articles provide valuable information for school psychologists and other professionals working in the schools, and also contribute to the literature and scholarship that aim to promote the educational success of all students. Previous articles published in The California School Psychologist, including the recent volumes addressing a) school engagement, b) strength-based assessment, c) response-to-intervention (RtI), and d) autism are available on-line at www.education.ucsb.edu/school-psychology. The first article (Re stori, Gresham, Chang, Lee, & Laija-Rodriquez, 2007) reports the results of a study using functional assessment-based interventions to support fifth-grade students at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. Students whose behavior was found to be functionally related to either task-avoidance or attention-seeking were randomly assigned to a treatment strategy that was primarily either antecedent or consequent-based. This study reports the results of an ABAB single-case design to examine the effects of treatment strategies. This study also conducted a comparison of treatment strategies that were primarily antecedent or consequent-based. The authors highlight that antecedent-based treatment strategies (i.e., self-monitoring and task-modification) were more effective than consequent-based treatment strategies (i.e., differential reinforcement) for increasing academic engagement and reducing disruptive behavior. They also discuss the implications for using functional assessment strategies. The second article (Muyskens, Marston, & Reschly, 2007) shares the results of a study that examines the validity of a screening instrument to identify students at risk for behavior problems. Within a Responseto-intervention framework, the authors discuss using a screening measure (a 12-item behavior screener completed by the teacher for each student in the Fall) designed to identify students at risk for behavior difficulties and targeting these students for early intervention. This study included 22,056 kindergarten through 8th grade students from the Minneapolis Public Schools. Results revealed that teacher-completed Fall scores on this measure were significantly correlated with suspensions, achievement scores, and attendance data over the course of the school year. The authors emphasize that providing teachers with a tool which in less than a minute can help them identify students likely to present significant behavioral or academic concerns over the course of the school year warrants further consideration. The third article (Fisher, Doyon, Saldaria, & Redding-Allen, 2007) discusses a comprehensive assessment of emotional disturbance, advocating cross validation procedures, and using the RIOT approach (Review, Interview, Observe, Test). The authors advocate that using all four RIOT processes together allows for comprehensive assessment for emotional disturbance. The authors also encourage school psychologists to consider a student's strengths, cultural factors, and the interaction between the student and the environment when interpreting the results of assessments. Using the multi-faceted information yielded through a comprehensive assessment, school psychologists may provide recommendations to help remediate areas of weakness and promote social and cognitive competence. The fourth article (Lambros, Culver, Angulo, & Hosmer, 2007) describes a collaborative intervention model for promoting mental health and positive social adjustment for youth with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD). The mental health intervention team (MHIT) includes a collaborative partnership between the Mental Health Resource Center (MHRC) and the Emotional Disturbance Program (ED) and also includes research and evaluation consultation from the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center (CASRC). …