Tools for School Staff Working with Students with Emotional
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TOOLS FOR SCHOOL STAFF WORKING WITH STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE A Project Presented to the faculty of the Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, School Psychology, and Deaf Studies California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Specialist in Education in School Psychology by Caitlin Robles Alexandria Spence Weathers SPRING 2012 TOOLS FOR SCHOOL STAFF WORKING WITH STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE A Project By Caitlin C. Robles Alexandria Spence Weathers Approved by: __________________________, Committee Chair Stephen E. Brock, Ph.D. __________________________ Date ii Caitlin C. Robles Student: Alexandria Spence Weathers I certify that these students have met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project. ___________________________, Department Chair _________________ Bruce A. Ostertag, Ed.D. Date Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, School Psychology, and Deaf Studies iii Abstract of TOOLS FOR SCHOOL STAFF WORKING WITH STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE By Caitlin C. Robles Alexandria Spence Weathers The authors collaborated and shared equal responsibility in all aspects of the development of this project, which reviews current research on emotional disturbance and individual and classroom interventions. Strategies and interventions are included to address common social and emotional concerns experienced by students with emotional disturbance, which include: social skills, effective communication, anxiety, depression, anger management, aggression, and noncompliance. Additionally, classroom and school- wide strategies and interventions are included which not only benefit students with emotional disturbance, but decrease problem behaviors among all student populations. The prepared project is a resource binder which includes worksheets and handouts to address various social and emotional concerns experienced by students with emotional disturbance. The resource binder is designed to be used by school psychologists, special education teachers, and other professionals working closely with this population of students. __________________________________, Committee Chair Stephen E. Brock, Ph.D. ____________________________ Date iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1 Background of the Problem ..........................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................2 Purpose of the Project ...................................................................................................3 Definition of Terms ......................................................................................................3 Limitations ....................................................................................................................5 Statement of Collaboration ...........................................................................................6 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................................7 ED Eligibility Criteria ................................................................................................10 Emotional Disturbance vs. Socially Maladjusted .......................................................12 Most Common Social/Emotional Concerns for Students with ED ............................18 Common Concerns: Social Skills ...............................................................................18 Common Concerns: Effective Communication..........................................................20 Common Concerns: Anxiety ......................................................................................22 Common Concerns: Depression .................................................................................23 Common Concerns: Anger Management ...................................................................25 Common Concerns: Aggression .................................................................................27 v Common Concerns: Noncompliance ..........................................................................28 Systematic Interventions and Tools for Working with Students with ED .................29 Classroom Strategies ..................................................................................................30 School Wide Strategy: Positive Behavioral Supports (PBS) .....................................31 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................32 3. METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................33 Development of the Resource Binder .........................................................................35 4. RESULTS .....................................................................................................................37 Resource Binder Objectives .......................................................................................38 Recommendations ......................................................................................................39 Conclusions ................................................................................................................39 Appendix Resource Binder: Tools for School Staff Working with Students with Emotional Disturbance ......................................................................................40 References ........................................................................................................................166 vi LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1. Differentiating Social Maladjustment and Emotional Disturbance ..............................17 2. Resource Binder ............................................................................................................36 vii 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Emotional disturbance (ED) is a special education eligibility category that includes students with challenged social, emotional, and behavioral functioning; and creates a ripple down effect that further affects their learning, home, and school environments. Students eligible for special education in the ED category typically exhibit both poor social functioning and high levels of problem behavior (Kauffman & Landrum, 2009). School Psychologists as well as both general and special education teachers have the opportunity to work with these students in the classroom and throughout the school day. With this population of students participating more and more in general education classes, IDEA mandates that every teacher make specific accommodations for their students with emotional disturbance (Wagner et al., 2006). The provision of resources in this document (suggested to help address the common social and emotional concerns experienced by students with an ED) was the goal of this project. The resource binder developed from it will allow school professionals to have access to a variety of tools and strategies helpful when working with students who are dealing with social and emotional issues. Background of the Problem Students with ED have typically had problem behaviors and deficits in social skills, which place them at risk for problems in relationships, school failure, substance abuse, problems with the law, difficulty adjusting to life in their community, and even mental health problems (Wiley, Siperstein, Forness, & Brigham, 2009). Merrell and 2 Walker (2004) asserted that students with emotional disturbance and behavioral disorders have been underserved within special education programs as well as have been underidentified. In schools, where it is essential to provide students with the services they need to be successful, not having required services creates a problem. Studies show that a minimum of 3% to as much as 6% of students could qualify and benefit from additional services, both mental health services and educational (Merrell & Walker, 2004). It becomes apparent that while students who are identified are receiving some services, there is more to be done. With research suggesting that students with ED are underserved and with such high risk potential for negative developmental outcomes it was clear that there was a need for education and resources to work with students with ED (Merrell & Walker, 2004; Wiley et al., 2009). Statement of the Problem The fact that Merrell and Walker (2004) found in some cases, there are no special education services for students with ED outside of what is given in the special education classroom results in a major challenge. Specifically among students with ED, many times the only special education services include a self-contained classroom with other ED peers (Merrell & Walker, 2004). As IDEA states, services and accommodations for students in special education is mandatory and should not be at a minimum (U.S. Department of Education, 2006). Merrell and Walker (2004) explained that as professionals, “we should be more concerned with improving our systems of service delivery to enhance the benefit and outcomes