Cole / Kokai Consultation and Mental Health Interventions in School Settings

A Scientist–Practitioner’s Guide
2021
ISBN: 978-1-61334-583-2
Verlag: Hogrefe Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 394 Seiten

Optimize the delivery of school psychology services with this book:

Presents a unique consultation and intervention model
Interlinks primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and intervention applications
Addresses specific student and school-level needs
Online resources and handouts

More about the book
This volume written by leading psychology practitioners and academics has been designed to meet the ever-growing challenges faced by educational systems to address the mental health, learning, and socialization needs of students. Using a unique and comprehensive consultation and intervention model, the chapters provide evidence-based guidance that interlinks primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and intervention applications that allow for systematic consultation, planning, and cost-effective services. The clear and easy to apply model is used to look at specific student needs that are commonly encountered in schools (e.g., depression, ADHD, giftedness) and at issues that require school-level interventions (e.g., diversity, promoting resilience). Practitioners will appreciate the numerous downloadable practical resources and tools for hands-on applications that are available online to purchasers of the book.

This book is an invaluable resource for school psychologists and mental health service providers, as well as for academics involved in training pre-service practitioners.

Zielgruppe

Educational psychologists, teachers, researchers, and students.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cole, Ester

Kokai, Maria

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik Pädagogische Psychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Entwicklungspsychologie Pädagogische Psychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Teildisziplinen der Pädagogik Sonderpädagogik, Heilpädagogik
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Entwicklungspsychologie Kinder- und Jugendpsychologie

Leseproben

|21|2  Autism Spectrum Disorder
Carolyn Lennox and Jessica Brian Introduction
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often present with pervasive and complex behavioral, mental health, and learning needs. These challenges require direct and consultative services from school psychologists and other support professionals (e.g., speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, social workers, and board-certified behavior analysts). School services that are interdisciplinary and address multiple settings (school, home, and community) can create networks of support for these students (Fallon et al., 2016). With current ASD prevalence estimates of approximately 1–1.5% of the student population (Ofner et al., 2018), there is a high demand for consultation services. This demand has continued to grow, as many school boards/districts move to an inclusion model for children with ASD (Crossland & Dunlap, 2012; Montgomery & McCrimmon, 2017). Many classroom teachers may not have had a great deal of experience with or knowledge of evidence-based practice with students who have ASD (Anderson et al., 2018). Given the wide range of challenges that may be associated with educating children with ASD (i.e., varying academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs) it is critical that this gap in teacher training be addressed (Anderson et al., 2018). A useful conceptual framework for consultation in schools addresses each of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and intervention (Cole & Siegel, 1990, 2003; Cole & Wiener, 2017). A core feature of this model is to collectively assess, plan, and intervene based on the complex needs of all stakeholders at home, school, and in the larger educational system. The conceptual model will be used to discuss guided consultative services within the school board/district for students with ASD. The Nature of ASD ASD is best understood as a neurodevelopmental condition that emerges early in life and affects development and adaptive functioning across the lifespan (Lai et al., 2020). Current conceptualizations of ASD include recognition of both associated disabilities and differences (encompassing varying strengths and challenges). The core characteristics of ASD |22|include deficits and differences in social communication, repetitive or restricted interests, stereotyped patterns of behavior, and/or response to sensory input. A range of associated domains may also be affected, such as language, cognitive and learning processes, and mental health. Across children with ASD, there is considerable heterogeneity in terms of severity and constellation of symptomatology, pattern of cognitive strengths and deficits, adaptive and mental health functioning, and the presence of co-occurring conditions. ASD occurs across the entire range of socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic groups (Crossland & Dunlap, 2012), with a reported 4:1 ratio for boys to girls. It is important to note, however, that girls are likely underdiagnosed, especially early in development (Brian et al., 2019). Use of the term “spectrum” in the diagnostic label reflects the inclusion of individuals with more “subtle presentations that may have been missed prior to considerations of ‘high functioning’ forms of ASD” (Montgomery & McCrimmon, 2017, p. 188). It should be noted that the term “high functioning” is not consistently defined and may be misleading (e.g., an individual with superior IQ may or may not have strong adaptive functioning in their daily life). Children and youth with ASD experience higher rates of mental health conditions than children and youth in the general population, including anxiety (approximately 40% to almost 80%; Drmic et al., 2017; Kent & Simonoff, 2017; Kerns et al., 2020), depression (four times the rate in the general population, i.e., approximately 7.7% in children and 40.2% in adults; Pezzimenti et al., 2019), and ADHD (up to 70%; Gargaro et al., 2018), as well as higher rates of psychosis, with a pooled prevalence rate from several studies of 9.5% (De Giorgi et al., 2019), suicide (attempts: 1–35% and ideation: 11–66%; Hedley & Uljarevic, 2018), and substance abuse (19–30%; Butwicka et al., 2017). While we do not fully understand the underlying etiology of ASD, current evidence points to a strong genetic component, with interplay between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Genetic evidence demonstrates that rare and common variants contribute to both ASD traits and to the full condition, and multiple genes are implicated (Woodbury-Smith & Sheerer, 2018). A recurrence rate of 7–19% in siblings demonstrates the strong heritability of the disorder (Zwaigenbaum et al., 2019). Diagnostic Criteria for ASD According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), a diagnosis of ASD is based on the direct observation and reported history of atypical development and/or impairment, across multiple settings, in two core domains: (1) social communication/social interaction and (2) restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior (e.g., repetitive motor mannerisms, lining up toys, insistence on sameness, restricted, fixated, or unusual interests, and atypical sensory reactivity). The DSM-5 also stipulates that the symptoms must have been present early in life, but there is a recognition that symptoms may not become fully apparent until later in childhood when “social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 50). A diagnosis also requires that the symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in “social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 51). Finally, |23|DSM-5 criteria require that the individual’s functional challenges are not better explained by other factors such as intellectual impairment, or global developmental delays, although these might coexist with ASD. This final criterion has led to some confusion about whether a formal assessment of intellectual ability is required for a diagnosis. However, best-practice guidance allows for using clinical judgment in consideration of an individual’s estimated general ability in order to determine if their “social communication [is] below that expected for general developmental level” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 51). Although a diagnosis of ASD presupposes core difficulties with reciprocal communication, social interaction, and restricted patterns of interests/behaviors, there is marked variability between individuals and across development. As such, while there may be common core challenges to be addressed in the school setting, the way in which these are manifest will differ substantially across students, and individual needs will need to be considered. Core Intervention Challenges in the Classroom While many students with ASD thrive in the classroom with appropriate support, some children will present with challenges. A student’s underlying difficulties with social interaction and reciprocal communication, and a tendency toward restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior can lead to significant obstacles in a school setting, both in the classroom and beyond. These challenges are often manifested as, or compounded by, challenging behaviors such as aggression toward self or others, or extreme tantrums. However, other students with more subtle needs also require support in the school setting. Core social-communication challenges can result in misunderstandings about classroom expectations, literal interpretation of information, and significant challenges with peer interaction in group work. Restricted/repetitive patterns of behavior often manifest in students with ASD being more self-directed, rigid with rules and routines (i.e., insistence on sameness), and having greater difficulty with subtle changes in routines and classroom expectations than their typically developing peers....