Student to Student Support Teams for Special Services Delivery

Student to student support teams can be used to provide special services in schools. These teams, which have potential as a viable intervention approach for the 1990s, provide unique but beneficial challen~es for special services practitioners and administrators. In this aitde, issues pertinent to implementation of student to student support teams are discussed.     

A Meta-analysis of Prereferral Intervention Teams: Student and Systemic Outcomes

Although prereferral intervention teams (PIT) are common in public schools, there is little and conflicting research to support them. The current article conducted an empirical meta-analysis of research on PITs by reviewing 72 articles. Nine of the articles matched the inclusion criteria for the study and 57 effect size (ES) coefficients were computed, which resulted in a mean ES of 1.10. The studies were further broken down by category of dependent variable (DV), and resulted in a mean ES of 1.15 for student outcomes and 0.90 for systemic outcomes. PITs that were implemented by university faculty resulted in a mean ES of 1.32, but field-based PITs resulted in a mean ES of only .54. Studies that used random assignment resulted in higher ES coefficients than those that used nonrandom assignment. Implications for research and cautious suggestions for practice are discussed.     

Overcoming Resistance to Prereferral Classroom Interventions

Although research supports the benefits of in-class remedial efforts for mildly handicapped youngsters, teachers often resist such practices. This article presents guideliens for educational consultants to use to overcome teacher resistance to prereferral intervention. Suggestions also are offered for engagin in constructive confrontation as well as for soliciting administrative intervention to help teachers adapt regular classroom instructional techniques for students at-risk.     

Introduction to Special Services in the Schools

No abstract available for this article.     

The Delivery of Manpower and Supportive Services to Rural Areas

This study identifies problems encountered by state employment service agencies and other organizations in the delivery of equitable manpower and supportive services to rural and migrant workers and recommends solutions to these problems.     

Addressing Coparenting in the Delivery of Psychological Services to Children

In this article we highlight recent changes in fathers’ roles and argue that research on parenting has focused disproportionately on the role of mothers. We then describe ways that fathers may be overlooked in psychological services providing parent training and summarize preliminary evidence that the inclusion of fathers may enhance long-term effectiveness of parenting interventions. Compared to intact couples, separated and divorced parents may require additional support in working together to address children’s problems. We outline a strategy inspired by mediation that is designed to promote coparenting in separated and divorced families and illustrate it with a case example.     

Ethical Obligations of Special Services Personnel

Although there is increased lip-service paid to the need for educators to behave ethically, special services personnel are aware of many situations in which their colleagues or supervisors show little awareness of ethical principles. In this article, we address this issue from a variety of perspectives. First, we discuss the relationship between professional ethics and the broader concept of "professionalism." and discuss some of the reasons why education has not reached the level of commitment to ethics training and enforcement that is found in more mature vrofessions. Second, we present a list of ethical principles that appear to have universal applicability across professions and illustrate some of he ways in which special services personnel sometimes violate these principles. Third. we discuss some of the reasons why ethical violations occur and what might be done to address this problem. Particular explanatory attention is paid to the interdisciplinary and hierarchical/bureaucratic nature of school settings, and the tendency of administrators to emphasize the primacy of perceived organizational needs. Among the suggestions made is the call for educational agencies at all levels to develop their own detailed ethical codes and casebooks and to establish interdisciplinary ethics committees that will provide training, consultation and complaint resolution.     

Special Services Providers and the Law

As the law seems to have become an integral part of the work routine of special services providers (SSPs), the task confronting practitioners is to develop a productive relationship with it. To facilitate the development of such a relationship, this article examines recent changes in the law that have resulted in currently practicing SSPs confronting, as opposed to their predecessors, many service delivery questions that have legal ramifications. Also, practices which may be viewed as encompassing a much needed broadbased approach to establishing a productive relationship with the law are covered.     

Involving Fathers in the Delivery of Psychological Services

Although fathers play a significant role in children’s lives, they are not routinely involved in psychological services for children’s problems. The purpose of this special section is to consider strategies that may be helpful in engaging fathers in psychological services to address their children’s problems. The articles examine barriers to father involvement and suggest decision-making strategies to weigh the costs and benefits of father involvement. Interventions are proposed to promote coparenting in separated and divorced families and the use of cognitive approaches to expand the masculine role. Programs for maltreating fathers are described, and initiatives to involve men in violence prevention are presented.     

Effects of a Multicomponent Intervention to Improve Reading Fluency in Adult Students

The purpose of the present study was to use a delayed multiple probe design to evaluate the effects of a multicomponent intervention on reading fluency in three adult Norwegian university students. Prior to the study, all the participants had below average reading speed and one had the diagnosis dyslexia. The present procedure consisted of reading support, fluency aim, repeated reading, performance feedback, and error correction. Training involved daily sessions where a passage was read four times in a session or until a predetermined fluency aim was reached. Each participant read 10 passages during the intervention. Maintenance, generalization, and reading comprehension were tested to evaluate characteristics of fluent performance. The main findings indicate that reading fluency of all the participants improved. Results are discussed with regard to (i) conducting a multicomponent intervention; (ii) maintenance of the achieved improvements; (iii) possible effects on reading comprehension; and (iv) social validity of the study. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Suicidal Adolescent and Special Services Providers

Issues related to adolescents at risk for suicide are discussed. An approach is offered to assist special services providers with early identification of adolescents who might be at risk for suicide. In this article, the approach is reflected as a set of 28 behavioral indicator guidelines. In addition, psychosocial characteristics of adolescents at risk for suicide are considered.     

Conflict Management Assistance and Special Services Providers

Interpersonal conflict over job-related issues can pose a significant threat to the quality of special education and regular education. Several topics relating to the involvement of special services providers (SSPs) involved in addressing conflict within schools and related settings are considered in this article. Issues about assistance provided by these professionals in conflict management receive major attention.     

Family Consultation in Schools in Special Services

Utilization of family consultation in schools in support of worthwhile delivery of special services is described. Various tives on family consultation are reviewed, while, practical guidelines are suggested. Relatedly, a model of family-school consultation is delineated.     

Treating Childhood Anxiety in Schools: Service Delivery in a Response to Intervention Paradigm

Millions of youth who attend schools in the United States suffer from clinically significant anxiety. Left untreated, these students often experience significant disruptions in their academic, social, and family functioning. Fortunately, promising treatments exist for childhood anxiety that are amenable for delivery in school settings. However, educational law and new service delivery paradigms such as response-to-intervention (RtI) affect the delivery of anxiety interventions. In light of extant laws and practices that govern education, this article discusses the provision of supportive services to address childhood anxiety. Specifically, this article reviews how RtI, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, and Section?504 of the Rehabilitation Act guide service delivery and subsequently impact school-based anxiety treatments. Suggestions are provided to address childhood anxiety within a framework that allows for graduated and fluid service delivery.     

Choice as an Intervention to Improve Behavior: A Review of the Literature

In recent years, choice making has been evaluated as an intervention for people with disabilities. This review examines applied research during the past two decades using choice as a distinct intervention or as part of an intervention package. Fourteen studies published between 1975 and 1996 were identified that implemented choice as an intervention to increase or decrease a target behavior. These studies applied choice-making in the following three broad areas: (a) vocational or domestic activities; (b) academic activities; and (c) leisure, recreational, or social activities. All of the studies indicated that choice-making procedures resulted in behavioral improvements with some, if not all of the participants.     

Health Promotion and Special Services in the Schools

No abstract available for this article.     

Advancements in Procedural Fidelity Assessment and Intervention: Introduction to the Special Issue

Interest in procedural fidelity has grown rapidly since 1981 as evidenced by the growing numbers of research publications across disciplines on this topic. As a result, the past 30 years of research has yielded a variety of procedures to guide research and practice, which we hope translates into better educational practices and services. Despite our progress, much remains unknown. As an introduction to the special issue on advancements in procedural fidelity, this article will briefly describe the conceptual and definitional issues surrounding this topic, summarize the relevance of procedural fidelity to education and research, and highlight the articles in this issue that address proposed research priorities.