School Psychology Overview

School Psychologists

• Deliver a wide array of psychoeducational services
• Conduct assessments, interventions, and consultations
• Provide support to students and educational institutions

Behavior Analysis in School Psychology

• Actively informs practices in consultation and assessment
• Implements direct and indirect interventions
• Provides supervision of services and program evaluations
• Uses data-driven methodologies to systematically tackle school-related issues encountered by children
• Strategies are rooted in behavioral principles
• Ensures effectiveness and grounding in empirical evidence

Consultation as a Key Service

• Allows school psychologists to work collaboratively with educators
• Aims to address diverse student learning needs
• Tackles challenges related to classroom management
• Lightner Witmer laid groundwork for consultation in the 1880s
• Caplan (1970) developed frameworks for structured mental health service delivery
• Bergan (1970s) developed a systematic approach rooted in behavioral theory and principles
• Kratochwill and Bergan (1990) refined it, promoting a comprehensive approach informing current practice

Assessment Approaches

• Traditional psychometric assessments categorize students based on standardized tests of aptitudes and achievements
• Behavioral assessment prioritizes understanding variables influencing significant behaviors to promote behavioral improvements and enhance educational outcomes through targeted strategies.

Intervention Strategies

• Interventions systematically adjust the educational environment to modify student behavior aligning with established goals and expectations
• Direct strategies: School psychologist engages face-to-face with the student
• Indirect strategies: Teachers, aides, or parents implement interventions based on psychologist guidance
• Plans are tailored to address individual needs, and data-driven methods like functional assessment and curriculum-based assessments are used.

Supervision and Research

• Administrative supervision adheres to district policies, educational regulations, and procedural standards
• Professional supervision focuses on analyzing and refining individual actions and practices of school psychologists

Program Planning & Evaluation

• School psychologists assume leadership roles in designing, developing, implementing, and monitoring educational programs tailored to meet diverse student needs.
• Initiatives include inclusive educational models for preschool children with disabilities, curriculum-based measurement systems for assessment of progress, training for school-based teams in functional assessment techniques, and behavioral support plans for students requiring additional assistance

Translating Research into Practice

• Applied behavior analysis provides actionable empirical insights guiding educators and psychologists in aligning interventions with individual student needs
• Rigorous processes for monitoring and evaluating the fidelity of interventions are essential to maintain intervention integrity.

Organizational Behavior Management (OBM)

• A specialized area of applied behavior analysis in human service settings
• Focuses on improving staff performance
• Uses research-based behavioral principles to enhance quality of care and delivery
• Provides strategies for supervisors and managers to improve work performance, address staff performance issues, client outcomes, and staff morale

OBM Procedures & Tactics

• Antecedent management strategies: steps preceding tasks to increase likelihood of desired performance
• On-the-job instructions: clear verbal, written, and meeting-based directions
• Increasing job structure: providing detailed guidelines concerning the task (what, when, where, how, with whom)
• Performance modeling: demonstrating desired behavior for staff

Consequence Management Strategies

• Use consequences, rewards, and feedback to reinforce desired behaviors
• Emphasize positive reinforcement to motivate and improve worker performance
• Aim to increase staff satisfaction and create a positive work environment

Self-management Procedures

• Empowers staff to take ownership of performance
• Includes goal setting, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement

Multifaceted Programs

• Combine antecedent, consequence, and self-management procedures to address complex workplace challenges

Quality Assurance Models

• Total Quality Management (TQM): continuous improvement, customer focus, employee involvement
• Six Sigma: data-driven methodology for reducing defects and improving quality
• Lean Management: maximizing customer value while minimizing waste, emphasizing efficiency
• ISO Standards: quality management systems helping to ensure consistent quality
• Kaizen: continuous improvement through small, incremental changes
• Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence: framework for assessing organization performance and promoting continuous improvement
• Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle: iterative process for continuous improvement (planning, implementation, checking results, and acting based on results)

OBM in Relation to Other Management Approaches

• Provides a well-articulated and research-supported approach to staff performance management in human services (more sustainable and effective than others)
• Other common management approaches may lack a consistent framework or scientific basis resulting in inconsistent results

PDC-HS Assessment

• PDC-HS is an essential tool used to significantly improve employee performance by identifying the root causes of performance concerns
• Allows for more targeted and effective solutions
• Trained supervisors employ PDC-HS for every staff performance concern, particularly those less experienced to accurately assess issues

Behavioral Pediatrics

• Focuses on behavioral relationships in healthcare
• Interventions include supportive counseling, behavioral counseling, or referral
• Many interventions are built on the concept that behaviors are altered by their consequences.
• Interventions like discipline techniques employing social learning are frequently used in primary care.

Sleep Problems

• Extinction: ignoring the child's behavior
• Graduated Extinction: ignoring behavior for increasing intervals (starting with 5 minutes and increasing).
• Both methods are challenging for parents as it can cause conflict and discord.

Encopresis

• Characterized by repeated involuntary fecal soiling
• Often linked to constipation
• Contributing factors may include slow gastrointestinal transit time, diet, insufficient leverage for stool passage, painful stool passage
• Additional factors such as sexual abuse, an increased threshold of awareness of rectal distension, a weak internal sphincter, chronic fecal retention, or colon enlargement should be considered
• Diagnostic evaluation should include consideration of rare anatomical and neurologic issues to rule out Hirschsprung's Disease (cong. ganglionitis) potentially needing medical attention.

Evaluation

• Prior to behavioral intervention, children should be referred for medical evaluation.
• Diagnosis should be verified through collaboration between the pediatrician and behavior analyst
• Coordination of care, data sharing, and treatment goals alignment is recommended whenever possible.

This quiz covers the essential aspects of school psychology, including the roles of school psychologists, behavior analysis practices, and the importance of consultation. You'll explore how these elements contribute to supporting students and educational institutions through various psychoeducational services.