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School Psychology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in School Psychology

Introduction To The Special Issue: Preparing The Next Generation Of School Psychologists: Emerging Challenges And Opportunities, Ryan Allen, Timothy Hanchon Feb 2013

Introduction To The Special Issue: Preparing The Next Generation Of School Psychologists: Emerging Challenges And Opportunities, Ryan Allen, Timothy Hanchon

Ryan A. Allen

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss several topics appearing elsewhere in the issue, including information on how school psychologists adjust to demographic changes, psychology practitioners and the delivery of services to autistic students, and school mental health services.


What Can We Learn From School-Based Emotional Disturbance Assessment Practices? Implications For Practice And Preparation In School Psychology, Ryan Allen, Timothy Hanchon Feb 2013

What Can We Learn From School-Based Emotional Disturbance Assessment Practices? Implications For Practice And Preparation In School Psychology, Ryan Allen, Timothy Hanchon

Ryan A. Allen

The federal definition of emotional disturbance (ED) provides limited guidance to educational professionals charged with making Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act eligibility determinations. Despite calls to revise the definition, the ED category remains largely unchanged nearly four decades after being codified into federal law. To navigate the vague, ambiguous, and outdated eligibility criteria, school psychologists must adhere to comprehensive assessment strategies whenever an ED placement is considered. In this study, we examined the ED assessment practices of 214 school psychologists. The results indicated that respondents all too frequently relied on only select sources of data (e.g., behavior rating …


Identifying Students With Emotional Disturbance: School Psychologists' Practices And Perceptions, Ryan Allen, Timothy Hamilton Jan 2013

Identifying Students With Emotional Disturbance: School Psychologists' Practices And Perceptions, Ryan Allen, Timothy Hamilton

Ryan A. Allen

From its inception as a disability category in the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, serving students under the special education category Emotional Disturbance (ED) has been a challenging task for school psychologists. In particular, the vague and ambiguous federal definition has created an environment in which inconsistent assessment practices and decision making are almost inevitable. In this study, we examined school psychologists' ( N = 214) assessment practices when determining initial eligibility for ED, as well as their perceptions regarding the language contained within the federal ED definition. Findings indicated that although school psychologists recognize the need for a …


School Psychologists Need More Training In Providing Services To Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders (Asd), Lee Wilkinson Dec 2012

School Psychologists Need More Training In Providing Services To Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders (Asd), Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

As more and more children are being identified with ASD and placed in general education classrooms, school psychologists will play an ever increasingly important role in identification and intervention, as well as offer support, information, consultation, and recommendations to teachers, school personnel, administration, and families. Therefore, it is essential that they be knowledgeable about evidence-based assessment and intervention strategies for this population of students. Despite the limitations inherent in survey research, the data from these studies suggest that school psychologists are not adequately prepared to provide evidence-based assessment and intervention services to children with ASD. The survey research illustrates a …