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Article Excerpt
In 2004, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) issued position statements concerning counselors' involvement with children with disabilities and suggested that they serve as members of multidisciplinary evaluation teams and act as consultants to parents, teachers, and other school personnel. Furthermore, the most recent education and school counseling reform movements (No Child Left Behind [U.S. Department of Education, 2002], the ASCA National Standards for Students [ASCA, 2003, and the ASCA National Model [ASCA, 2003]) have also emphasized the counselor's role in meeting the needs of all children, including children with disabilities. According to Frye (2005), counselors currently do not seem to possess sufficient training to work with children with disabilities, despite the focus of these recent reform movements on counselors' increased involvement with these children. As a result, counselors are experiencing pressure to modify their roles in school with limited training and with little guidance regarding best practices approaches.
Counselors frequently work with children with emotional disturbances (EDs). Children who have an ED currently constitute one of the fastest growing disability populations served in school systems across the country. In the 2000-2001 school year, 473,663 children and youth with an ED were provided special education and related services in the public schools (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). However, the U.S. Surgeon General estimates that, nationwide, 5% of school-age children have mental health impairments resulting in extreme functional limitations, and 11% have mental health impairments that cause significant functional limitations (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA, 2004) defines ED as 1 of 11 areas of educational disabilities that can entitle children to receive special education services. Although the earlier Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was first passed by Congress approximately 15 years ago, states continue to lack systematic and standardized procedures for screening and evaluating children with emotional or behavioral problems. IDEIA is the most recent revision of IDEA.
Currently, counselors frequently serve as an essential member of school-based multidisciplinary evaluation teams. They conduct important components of the overall assessment to determine a child's eligibility for special education services, and they are often relied upon long after such evaluations are complete to implement group or individual counseling with children who have been identified as having ED. As a result, counselors are in need of a best practices approach to working with students in need of emotional support services. A best practices approach is defined in this article as strategies, methods, and approaches that are consistent with those identified in the professional literature and have been shown through research and evaluation to be effective.
Although it has been estimated that 70% to 80% of children who receive mental health services receive them through their school (Burns et al., 1995), there are many children who receive mental health services in community settings or through both community-based and school-based services. Because of the complex nature of ED, it has been recommended that education professionals and mental health professionals from outside agencies collaborate to allow the development and implementation of more comprehensive services, such as wraparound services (Wagner, 1995). Wraparound services involve the child, family, and school and offer mental health services within the context of the community. Wraparound services use a team approach that is based on the belief that positive relationships among the child, the family, and the school coupled with community support will foster positive behavior outcomes. The use of wraparound services is widespread, with programs available in 47 of the 55 U.S. states and territories (Burns, Schoenwald, Burchard, Faw, & Santos, 2000).
School-based counselors alone cannot meet the mental health needs of children with ED; collaboration with community-based counselors is essential to provide adequate wraparound services that meet the needs of the child (Wagner, 1995). Therefore, children who have been identified as having ED may benefit from collaboration between school and community counselors at all points during service delivery, especially during the development of interventions and testing (Ringeisen, Henderson, & Hoagwood, 2003). Both community-based counselors and school-based counselors are often involved in assessing and providing services to children, therefore, it is important for these counselors to have an understanding of the assessment techniques and interventions used in both school and community settings.
In this article, we first address the plight of children with EDs and highlight concerns specific to this population of children. Legal issues surrounding the identification of these children and providing services for them are then discussed. A best practices approach to assessment is outlined, and individual assessment methods and instruments are presented. Finally, the counselor's role in the assessment process is discussed.
* The Plight of Children With ED
Effectively serving the needs of children with ED and their families is a national concern. Children with ED have the least favorable outcomes of any group of individuals with disabilities, and they often display characteristics that threaten the likelihood that they will experience success in or out of school. Children with ED are often unable to maintain appropriate social relationships with others; have academic difficulties in multiple content areas; and display chronic behavior problems including noncompliance, aggression, and disrespect toward authority figures (Coleman & Webber, 2002).
According to the 25th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2003), children with ED earn lower grades than any other group of children with disabilities. They also fail more courses and minimum competency examinations and are retained at the same grade level more frequently than children who have other types of disabilities. The average grade point average of children identified with ED is 1.7, compared with 2.3 for all students receiving special education services, and 2.6 for students in regular education. Children identified with ED also miss an average of 18 to 20 days of school per year, which is significantly higher than any other group of children. Eighteen percent of children identified with ED are educated outside of their home school, and of those children who do attend their home school, less than 17% are educated in regular classrooms.
In addition to experiencing problems with academic performance and attendance, children identified with ED are less likely to graduate and are at a greater risk for delinquency as well as other problems. Sixty-five percent of youth with ED withdraw from school during Grades 9 through 12, as compared with 41% of all children with disabilities and 24% of all high school students. Only 28% of youth with ED earn a high school diploma, compared with 47% of all youth receiving special education services and more than 80% of all high school students. Twenty-eight percent of youth with ED are arrested at least once before they leave school, and 58% are arrested within 5 years of leaving school. Seventy-three percent of those students with ED who withdraw from school are arrested within 5 years of leaving school. Moreover, there is a general overrepresentation of African Americans and children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in emotional support programs as compared with their representations in the general population. Also, girls remain underrepresented in such programs. Finally, families of children with ED are more likely to be blamed for the children's disabilities, and teachers and aides who work with children identified with ED are more likely to seek reassignment or leave their position.
* Legal Issues and Definition
IDEA Definition
Currently, the federal definition of ED is as follows:
(i) The term means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child's educational performance: (A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors. (B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers. (C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances. (D) A general pervasive mood...
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