School Counselors’ Role in Special Education

1. School Counselors’ Role in Special Education Julie Vazquez Dixon Branden Hackney Megan Kingsley

2. IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act • Ensures individuals suffering from disabilities receive appropriate education in least restrictive environment • Requires public schools to develop Individualized Education Plans (IEP) that outline specific special education and related services to meet needs of individual students

3. IEP • Must be developed by team of knowledgeable persons and reviewed annually • If parent disagrees with IEP, they can request a due process hearing or appeal a state’s decision

4. 504 • States that no individual in US with a disability should be excluded from, denied benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal funding • Considers child as having a disability if that child functions as though disabled

5. Differences between IDEA and 504 • 504 is a civil rights statue; IDEA is federal programmatic statue • IDEA receives federal funds; 504 does not • All students who qualify for IDEA are automatically covered under 504 • Some students do not qualify for IDEA but do qualify for 504 • Students who qualify for 504 receive accommodations in regular classroom

6. Autism Deaf-blindness Developmental Delay Emotional Disturbance Hearing Impairments Learning Disabilities Mental Retardation Multiple Disabilities Orthopedic Impairments Other Health Impairments Speech or Language Impairments Traumatic Brain Injury IDEA Eligibility

7. 504 Eligibility • Child must have identified physical or mental condition that substantially limits major life activity: • Walking • Seeing • Hearing • Speaking • Breathing • Learning • Working • Caring for self

8. 504 Examples • Includes: • communicable diseases • temporary disabilities • allergies • asthma • illness due to the environment

9. School Counselor’s Role • Defined by ASCA: • Advocacy • Transition planning • Behavior modification • Counseling parents • Making referrals to specialists • Improving self-esteem • Working as part of the school multidisciplinary team • Teaching social skills • Serving as consultants to parents and school staff

10. Consultation Role • Multidisciplinary team approach • Mandated by IDEA when identifying students with special needs • Team members must include: • parents, classroom teacher(s), the special education teacher, a school psychologist (or an individual who can interpret evaluation results), an administrator with the authority to make decisions • may include: • speech and language clinician, a physical and/or occupational therapist, a school counselor, and other professionals.                    

11. Offering “Related Services” • Example: If social skills are inhibiting academic progress, then social skills should be identified on the Individualized Education Program (IEP) as the skill area affected by the disability. • IDEA does not require that a student obtain a psychiatric diagnosis to be eligible to receive related services. Counseling is referred to as a related service under IDEA

12. Duplication of Services • Students with disabilities who are involved in counseling activities are getting double services, once from special education and another time from the counselor. • Some school counselors make it a point not to actively counsel students with disabilities because they feel that they are already getting services from special education and that special education students are not on their caseload

13. Case Study- ADHD • A first year teacher comes to you in despair because of the behaviors of an extremely hyperactive student in her classroom. She has tried to be patient with the student but is at her whit’s end. She has not contacted parents yet and the student has not been tested for ADHD but you think it might be a good idea. • What do you do? What strategies do you suggest for the teacher?

14. Working with ADHD Students • Remember, you can NOT suggest that the child be tested for ADHD… you and your school could be sued and have to pay for the testing/treatment

15. Functions of ADHD related behaviors • Avoid/escape tasks • Gain adult or peer attention • Gain access to an object or activity • Sensory stimulation • DePaul, G & Eckert, T. (1997). Interventions for students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: One size does not fit all. School Psychology Review, 26, 369-382.

16. Strategies for ADHD Students • Establish clear rules • 1-2-3 Warnings • 2 minute notices • Behavior Picture • Catch good behavior • Time Limits • http://www.familyeducation.com/whatworks/item/group-index/0,2554,1-9126,00.html?detoured=1

17. Case Study- Autism • Michael is a high-functioning student with autism in the 7th grade. He is currently being mainstreamed and receives resource services through his Language Arts class (a resource teacher in addition to the regular ed. teacher). Recently, the regular ed. teacher Ms. Kingsley reported to you that Michael has been retreating into his own world more and more. This is not new behavior but it seems to be occurring more often and it is starting to affect his performance in class. The resource teacher Ms. Dixon reports that he is a very bright student, but has difficulty making friends because he is lacking in social skills. In fact, the science teacher Mr. Hackney reports that Michael eats lunch with him every day. • What do you do? What strategies do you suggest for all of the teachers involved with Michael?

18. Suggestions for Social Stories • Social Stories should… • Be in the first person, and if possible, use the client as the main character. • Be specific to the situation a child is facing. • Be succinct • Include what not to do (behavior that is occurring) and options for what they can do instead.

19. Social Stories • The use of social stories was developed by Carol Gray for use with children with autism spectrum disorders including Asperger’s Syndrome. These stories are used to teach children appropriate social behaviors (safety, self-care, manners, behavior in specific settings, sharing, etc.) by providing them with real life social situations and appropriate responses.

20. Case Study- Transitions • Branden is beginning his senior of high school. Since 4th grade he has been attributed accommodations do to an IEP. As he grew in the educational system, his accommodations also progressed to reflect new needs. Entering high school, a meeting was set up to once again assess his IEP. • Now in his senior year, Branden is preparing for college and is concerned about his disability. He and his parents have scheduled an appointment to speak with one of his teachers, Mrs. Vasquez, and his school counselor, Ms. Kingsley. What should they do?

21. Important Aspects • Facilitate the development of a plan of action • Help with understanding the disability • Empowering the student to seek help and to advocate for himself • Be accessible to advocate or facilitate understanding between all involved parties (family, student, the future place of higher education).