Name: Jaclyn Ostroski
AIM:
JustJac18
Year: Senior
Major: psychology with minors in school psychology, child,family, and community, and clinical/counseling (child/adolescence track!)
Interests: working and playing with kids, spending time with my boyfriend and my dog, psychology related things, music, hanging out with my friends and family, reading
Work: I am currently employed at Bob Evans as a server and when I have time will continue substituting at Early Head Start on Delaware Ave.
I have just started an internship in the Buffalo Public School system with a school psychologist.
Future Plans: I plan on obtaining a specialist degree in school psychology, hopefully in the Buffalo area
PSY 498D: Practicum: School Psychology
I am doing my practicum in the Buffalo Public School System with Amy Van Buren, a district-wide school psychologist. I will be with her on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10ish-3.
5/3: I was at my practicum for 4 hours today. It will be my last official day as I have finals next week. I plan on continuing to work with Amy after graduation to continue getting the experience. We went and observed at a Day Care on Broadway. This little boy will be in kindergarten next year and the teacher is concerned about his cognitive delays. He scored in a lower range on the K-BIT 2 however he just seems immature (he's still 4 years old). We went back to 26 and did paperwork and discussed cases until I left.
5/1: I was at my practicum for 4.5 hours. We reviewed a case that Amy had just gone to see. After this, we worked on our podcast. I recorded a section regarding depression including the types of depression and signs and a description of suicide.
4/27: I went to my practicum for 1 hour for a CSE meeting. A 5 year old was placed into a therapeutic school aged program at Gateway Longview to aid his acting out behaviors and he was also labelled emotionally disturbed.
4/26: I was at my practicum for 4.5 hours. I first went to Builds Academy to see "C" and he was having issues with his reading teacher when I arrived. I got him settled down and began working on his reading work right away. He then was able to turn himself around and do well with the reading teacher for the rest of the class. After this, I went to observe a 4 year old that is being labelled emotionally disturbed as a kindergartner and he had been pulled out of the regular classroom because a substitute could not handle him. At the time of the visit he was under control, however the teacher informed me of what he had done throughout the day. Then I went to 26 and read CSE reports and read through IEP goals regarding this little boy's behaviors.
4/24: I was at my practicum for 5 hours. I spent time scoring a behavior rating scale. We then went to lunch with Mark Mecca, another school psychologist and discussed a podcast on depression. I am going to research the what depression is (relating to teens) and give the DSM definition along with the different types of depression. I also am going to give a short background on suicide. After lunch, I spent some time doing some research. We then met to discuss the possibility of placing a preschooler into an agency kindergarten program (vs. 6-1-1 special education in Buffalo public schools). This was very informational to learn the differences between the programs.
4/23: I was at my practicum for 1 hour today working on my behavior modification plan with "C." I spent time keeping him on track during math and just positively reinforcing his good behaviors.
4/19: I was at my practicum for 2 hours today. I went to see "C" and spent about an hour and a half with him working on reading assignments. He had gotten into trouble with the reading teacher that day (which he told me was because of another girl but I'm unsure if it's true or not) so I was trying to talk to him about it in a nonthreatening manner. Then, I went to a Head Start program near Builds Academy. I observed a 4 year old with behavior issues. All of the little preschoolers had fun asking me why I was there and what I was doing. She actually was not that interested.
4/18: I was at my practicum for 1.5 hours. I attended two CSE meetings where both preschoolers were classified as speech and language impaired. It was interesting because the mom, dad, and two young kids attended the meeting and the boy was very hyperactive and the mom, teachers, etc. all want him to be tested for ADHD. I enjoy being able to sit in on these meetings and learn from many different experienced people within school systems.
4/17: I was at my practicum for 5 hours today. I spent time refamiliarizing myself with the cases for the CSE meeting tomorrow. Then, I pre-conferenced with the coordinator for the meeting tomorrow while Amy went to see two of the kids that she was unable to see before break for tomorrow. I then met Amy at Bethel Head Start on Michigan Ave. I observed Amy test a 4 year old and then we observed in the classroom. He was a very cute, active boy that specifically has speech problems but seems cognitively aware and socially adjusted.
4/5: I was at my practicum for 3 hours today. Again, we started out at Children's Early Childhood Program to again observe the 4 year old discussed in my last post and to give him a short cognitive exam. Because of his language deficits, he had a hard time with matrix reasoning but was eager to name every picture shown him, he just could not process specific questions very well. Next I went to Builds Academy and "C" was finally back! He told me that his grandmother had been stabbed so he was out of school because he had to go to the hospital every day. I stayed with him in his reading class and sat and read with him and kept him on task. The reading teacher said that he thrives with the one-on-one and it really helps with his disruptions. This little boy will hopefully be back in school when spring break is over and I plan to work with him 2 times a week for however much time he earns. My plan is set-up in 15 min. increments and every 15 min that he is on task and behaving he gets a star. So far he had earned 10 stars that day. I told him that today I was just going to work with him and he would start "cashing in" his stars after break.
4/3: I was at my practicum for 5 hours today. I started out at Children's Early Childhood Program to observe a 4 year old who is labelled a preschooler with a disability and needs to be transitioned into elementary school. He will apparently qualify for speech, however the teacher would like to see him receive more support as he has problems with many children in a class (he was originally in a Head Start program). This boy was very enthused about his routine however we did see him throw a few temper tantrums when he was convinced that a toy was his. This class was fabulous; I especially enjoyed the structure and unity of the teacher and aids. This classroom involved many songs and routines. After this observation, we went back to 26 and looked through cases from the next meeting date (set for April 27th). These are also preschool evaluations. One little boy is being evaluated for his emotional problems and because of his family situation. This boy is currently in foster care and was severly neglected and physically and sexually abused at a young age. He has severe acting out behaviors that need counseling services.
3/30: Today we had CSE meetings all day. I was able to attend 3 of the 5 meetings and was there for 2.5 hours. The first two meetings were at Waterfront concerning two kindergarten children who were qualified for speech services. The last meeting was very long and complex as the parent was there (which was great to see!), a speech therapist, the teacher, and a visually impaired teacher. Everything went very smoothly and I again was able to witness the collaboration of a team.
3/29: I was at my practicum for 3.5 hours. I went to Builds Academy to again see "C" and again he was absent. The teacher is planning to call the mother and see if he is alright and when he will be returning to school. I then went to observe a little girl at Montessori for our meetings tomorrow. She was going on a field trip so I was only able to talk to the teacher again. This school incorporates 3 year olds to 6 year olds and is not very structured. They only have reading for 1 hour a day so it was very interesting to even see. After I went to 26 and discussed some of the cases and looked over the reports for tomorrow morning.
3/27: I was at my practicum for 4.75 hours. I went straight to School 26 and we discussed one of the little girls that Amy evaluated on Friday or Monday. We had planned a business lunch with Mark Mecca to discuss collaboration with him on a podcast project but he forgot about our appointment. We then spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing new cases and files for the next meeting. All of these children are preschoolers with disabilities who are being evaluated for placement within special education in kindergarten.
3/22: I was at my practicum for 4.75 hours. I went to Builds Academy to work with the little boy "C" however he had been suspended almost immediately after I left on Tuesday so I will return on Monday and try talking to him again. I then met Amy at Waterfront Elementary school where I completed the educational testing for the little girl who I had tested on Tuesday (we had two sub-tests left) and then Amy did her psychological evaluation. This little girl has severe problems with spelling and writing however she is borderline having a learning disability or not. We also learned a lot about this little girls background including that she "lives in the hood." We then returned to 26 to score both her achievement and psych evaluations.
3/20: I was at my practicum for 5 hours. I started at Builds Academy where I am doing a behavioral plan with a 2nd grader that we labeled Emotionally Disturbed about a month ago. He has not yet been removed to a 15:1 classroom. I'll call him "C" in this blog. I devised a plan where he can earn stars every 15 minutes of class and every star he earns is one minute he spends with me either doing classwork individually or some fun activity like drawing/painting, etc. I am planning on going to see this child every Monday and Thursday and I explained to him how important it is he earns the stars otherwise I will not stay for long. He seemed very excited for this opportunity as he thrives one on one. After I explained the plan to him I met Amy at School #95 and observed her administer a cognitive test to a 6 year old. I then observed a 3rd grader who struggles with reading and administered part of the Woodcock-Johnson.
3/16: I was at my practicum for 6 hours today. We met at #26 to discuss where we would go and what we were planning for the day. We went to Waterfront, School #95, and both observed two of the three students we were assigned from that school. I observed a 5 year old boy who is being referred for speech and language services. He was painfully shy so talking to him before and during testing was difficult. I administered my first test, the Woodcock-Johnson with him. This little boy is struggling in his kindergarten classroom and is not up to par with the other students as he has difficulty sounding out and identifying letters (according to the teacher). His possible difficulties could stem from the fact that he did not attend preschool and thus was not exposed to a lot before this year. The other little girl was very talkative and cute. She is 5 years old and is being changed from a preschooler with a disability to speech impaired. We then went back to 26 and I scored the two achievement tests. I went over to Montessori Elementary school to observe another 5 year old however I was unable to because she was going to her speech class. I was able to talk to the teachers about her concerns and took note of them in order to ensure she receives the proper services (she is nearsighted and needs visual services).
3/15: I was at my practicum for 6.75 hours again today. We started by discussing some of the cases that would be discussed in our CSE meetings today. We then went and met on 5 different cases and I got to listen in on group collaboration and to again see how these meetings are conducted. I will probably speak at the next set of meetings. Between the meetings I worked on little office projects such as shredding old test protocols, etc. It was a laid back day in a sense but I learned a lot from witnessing the way CSE meetings are conducted.
3/14: I was at my practicum for 6.75 hours today. I started the day by inputing a behavior rating checklist from a teacher into the computer and scoring it for one of the kids for our meeting tomorrow. Then I began reading files for our next caseload of 5. I wrote down important information and this took a significant amount of time. Most of these kids were new evaluations so we will have to do both an educational and psychological assessment of all of them. One child, however has been labeled speech impaired however she had transferred out of the district so this is a meeting to get her services back in place. I then went and observed a 7th grade student that was being re-evaluated. His meeting is tomorrow and Amy wanted me to witness what his classroom is like, as he is in a 6:1. I observed during gym class and it was extremely interesting because he thrives in athletics and is a very sociable, likeable kid. Tomorrow I am going to attend all of the CSE meetings for our completed caseload.
3/12: I was at my practicum for 6.25 hours today. We started at school #26 and had a pre-conference for the CSE meetings on Thursday. These meetings are very interesting to sit in on as professionals bounce ideas off of one another and just discuss and further clarify the cases. Then I opened up old testing protocols to shred them the next time I get a chance. During this time I also got to listen to different school psychologists discuss the Buffalo public school systems, administration, etc. Then I went and observed a 2nd grade child who is classified "other health impairments" and receives a Consultant teacher for 2.5 hours a day. She shows obvious symptoms of ADHD as she is extremely fidgety and easily distracted. However, this child does well in class regardless of her attention issues. I did not like this child's main teacher as she used too much punishment with all of the children.
3/9: Today I was with Amy for 3 hours. I went to school #56 on Delevan and observed a 5th grader. This 5th grader has had issues not listening to his teachers, getting into issues/fights with other students, and not doing his work. When I observed, the class was only working on catch-up work because 1/2 of the class was in chorus. He was staring off into space and just sitting there not doing work. Then, he got called down to the office for something he had done earlier in the day. When he returned, the class was taking a test and this boy proceeded to cheat on it by looking at his notes when his teacher was not looking. After I observed him, I met Amy at School #26. We were planning to observe a 7th grade in a 8:1 classroom however he had been suspended for fighting on the schoolbus. I am planning on spending most of my spring break with Amy.
3/1: I was with Amy for 4.5 hours. We met at School 26 and ended up testing a 14 year old who is suspended from school for trying to strangle a teacher. The educational tester who was supposed to test him is out for a month. This kid has a low achievement level and IQ and has been labeled LD in the past and now has the label ED. He has had many problems at home in the past including domestic violence between his mom and former step-dad, an absent dad, and being homeless for periods. It was very sad to see how withdrawn he was. In the afternoon, Amy and I went to observe two kids in the same school. I sat in on a 15:1 classroom, however there were only 8 students there. The teacher there was great! I observed a re-evaluation case of a 13 year old who has been borderline LD and MR. It was very sad to see how far behind all of these students are in reading and writing than other kids of that age. On Tuesday I am going to go observe at a school on Delevan.
2/27: Today I met Amy at School #26. I was there for 4.5 hours. We were assigned new cases so today was a day to do paperwork. I worked on sorting through three files and wrote down important information regarding old IEP's, old IQ and achievement tests, and other issues that have come up regarding the people. These cases were interesting as all three that I reviewed involved 7th grade boys. One boy was labeled emotionally disturbed a few years ago, another has been labeled LD and MR on and off throughout the years, and another has clearly been LD with reading and writing skills since 2nd grade. These cases are interesting because we only have to do a psych eval. and just interview the students and teachers and observe the teens in class. We are going to go into the schools again on Thursday.
2/23: Today I went into School #26 for 1.5 hours. We had CSE meetings scheduled and I was able to sit in on two of them before I went to class. I also scored a behavior rating scale from one of the teachers. The meetings I attended gave speech services to two 5 year old children with a referral for Occupational Therapy for one of them.
2/22: Today I was at my internship for 5 hours. I didn't work with Amy as she took a half day today. I instead started at Build Academy and observed the behavior problem child one more time and talked to a few of his teachers regarding his issues. This child is always alright when he realizes that someone is watching him (he even kissed his teacher on the cheek!) and puts on a show so all of his teachers wanted me to know that this is not a normal occurrence at all. Then I went back to school #26 and worked with Mark Mecca. I typed up a list of different testing kits in a storage room that no one knew about and distributed them amongst the psychologists. He also showed and talked with me about a Behavior plan for certain students.
2/20: I was with Amy for 6 hours today. We met at a Charter school and I was unable to observe the boy we were testing because he was being punished and separated from the rest of the classroom (reading instead of having a movie day). This boy is a 2nd grader who repeated first grade but was still age appropriate for the grade. He was very quiet, withdrawn, and sad looking. This boy took a very long time answering questions on the achievement test. This boy has a Hispanic name and it is possible that his school difficulties stem from being bilingual. We then went back to spend some time with the boy at Builds Academy that we are going to label emotionally disturbed and to finish his testing. Today, he was in a good mood however he had apparently had a problem 15 minutes before we came to test him (an outburst, huddling in an area saying "don't kick me" with no one around him). During the testing, we noticed that he had a series of 5 small circular scars and it looks like they could have been from a cigarette burn. It was reported by his teacher that one day in Jan. he had reported being burned with a cigarette by his father but nothing came of it (he told the nurse a different story and they didn't find burn marks). Today, he passed the scars off as a result of falling down and scraping himself. The afternoon we spent reviewing the cases and pre-conferencing for the CSE meetings on Friday.
2/15: Today my class was cancelled so I started at 8:30 with Amy and we finished at 2pm (5.5 hours). We met at Build Academy and I observed a 2nd grade boy and we pulled him from the class so Amy could test him. She did part of the Woodcock-Johnson, however, he became despondent and complained of a headache so we were not able to do two sections of the test. The teacher had reported that this boy has emotional issues and is very volatile. When I observed the class, there were only 10/21 students and so the teacher said this was an unusual day and this boy would perform/stay on task better without a lot of people. From what he said during testing and complaints, it does appear he may have some sort of emotional issue that needs to be attended to. After seeing this boy, we went back to School #26 to do some paperwork, etc. Then we went back to Futures Academy to begin testing the 5 year old that I observed on Tuesday, however was only able to get through part of the short-cognitive and the Bracken test because the students had to begin getting there coats on, etc. at 2.
2/13: I was with Amy for 5 hours again today. We went to Futures Academy where I observed a 5 year old boy with issues retaining information. He had preschool Occupational Therapy services and it appears (from observations and reading his file) that these same services would benefit this child. We are planning on testing this child later. Amy did a shortened cognitive test for the kindergarten girl as she scored well on the achievement and did not have any area of concern. This little girl will have her speech services and does not display any other major concerns. We returned to the "office school" and worked on making a summary for the CSE meeting. Then, we proceeded to School #54 in order to finish the testing on the 4th grader. Amy gave this girl the full cognitive test which seemed to rule out a learning disability. Amy is referring her for a speech and language evaluation.
2/8: I was with Amy for 5 hours today. We met at Futures Academy and I proceeded to do my first observation. The child was 5 years old and has already qualified for speech services so all of the other testing is protocol and ensuring the child does not have any other problems. I enjoyed the kindergarten class I was in; the teacher was in control of the class while positively influencing their growth. The child did very well on the Woodcock-Johnson, illustrating that she has learned a lot during her time in school. She also was willing to talk to both Amy and I about her life. Then, we went to School #54 and I observed a 4th grader. This child had been referred by her mother, as she is falling behind in school in most subjects. This child also had an excellent teacher; the teacher put together of folder of her work and expressed concern for her ascension into middle school. This child did not do very well on the achievement testing and we are going to do the cognitive tests on Tuesday (to determine if she has an LD). I enjoyed being able to see the different processes involved in getting a child services.
2/6 Today I was at School #26, the place that the school psychologists are located for paperwork, etc. for about four hours. Since school was cancelled and we had observations and testing scheduled, there was not a whole lot to do. The paperwork at the moment is almost entirely caught up; Amy was just working on a report. She did however show me the way she types up reports and showed me one of her observations to help me on Thursday when I am in the classrooms. She also had me look over different assessment tools (the Woodcock-Johnson, Wechsler, etc.) as they are very confusing to follow the directions with. Amy said that she will probably eventually have me give the achievement, or Woodcock-Johnson test as it is easier to administer. We also discussed different aspects of graduate school today. On Thursday, we are planning on resuming the original plan for today and go and observe and test two kindergarteners from Futures Academy.
2/1: Today I was with Amy for 4.5 hours. Today was a paperwork day. Amy is in charge of many different cases and must do a lot of paperwork, testing, and classroom observations for children that she is assigned to. These children are from many different schools throughout Buffalo so often we have to look up the correct school (as today a girl had recently switched schools and we had to correct it in the paperwork). The school has recently required new forms which summarize the IEP's from the past 3 years in order to have all of the information in one packet. Every three years, children are re-evaluated to ensure that they need special services. These reevaluations consist of summarized psychological and achievement testing that were conducted three years before. We also have new cases to evaluate as to whether or not the children should be entered into the special education program and today we summarized the teachers notes regarding behavior, etc. The next time we meet, we plan on observing behaviors of two kindergarteners and possibly test them (with the Wechsler and Woodcock-Johnson).
1/30: Today I worked with Amy for 3 hours. It was extremely interesting to get acquainted with the public school system which is entirely different from my own personal experience with school. Amy is a psychologist without a home so to speak as she is not based in a school; she goes wherever she is needed. She is given a list of students to evaluate and do CSE meetings about and has to travel from school to school on a daily basis. We spent the first hour going over the complicated school system and discussed how CSE teams work. There are many idfferent divisions/CSE teams which consist of three school psychologists, an educational tester, and social workers. All these people work together to refer and aid children within the special education system. However, these school psychologists are not usually in the schools and are not providing many prevention/intervention for issues beyond special education placement and testing. Amy explained to me that with the new Superintendent, things will be changing soon. She hopes that school psychologists are placed in the schools and learn to focus less on just testing and putting children into special education and more on helping prevent problems at a young age. I was able to sit in on a CSE team meeting which was recorded by the LEA Coordinator. It was an interesting meeting because the child's mother actually attended the meeting (Amy said they usually don't) along with the child's teacher and a speech pathologist. It was recommended that the child today was to be declassified which was nice since he was very young and had greatly improved his speech by being given early services (due in part to his mother's determination and drive for her son's success). The rest of the day was spent attending a psychology department where people were running as director of this group. It was interesting to see the different ways that people want to renovate (or catch up with) the ideals of school psychology.
PSY 498C: Practicum: Clinical/Counseling
I'm doing my practicum at Jamestown Pedriatrics working with Lori
McGowan, a nurse with a specialty in counseling, who works with ADHD children.
5/15: Today I worked with Lori for approximately 6.5 hours. Lori sees children (and young adults as she sees some college students) who are generally diagnosed with ADHD/ADD (although sometimes for depression or a comorbidity of depression/adhd) and are treated with medication. Lori meets with these children to assess their feelings and how they are reacting to the medicine. She also works with the parents as they often have problems adjusting to the ADHD and their children on medication. This entire day was incredibly interesting as many of the cases today dealt with problematic children who had been having recent problems with medication or adjustment. Lori is very good at dealing with any questions that the parents have and tries to entice the children to speak to her, not just have the parents speak. She deals with the children on a very positive and conducive manner; however some of the children are still unresponsive. One of the interesting cases of the day involved a child (twelve y/o) who has been diagnosed with ADD, yet interestingly enough only mildly. He also has depressional issues that stem from problems with his home life. His mother is very involved in the case and extremely concerned with her son and especially his schoolwork. Lori sat down with her separately to discuss a behavior plan to decrease the child's behavior problems as she feels many of them stems more from pushing his mother's buttons and attempting to control what she does instead of actual attention deficit and depression. Lori set-up a reinforcement/punishment schedule for the child (the mother and mother's partner will administer) in order to hopefully decrease his acting-out and tearful/emotional behavior. While there were many interesting cases, another that intrigued me was a little boy who was recently diagnosed with ADHD, a mood disorder, and anxiety (appears to be GAD) who was having tics as a side effect of his medication. The 9 y/o was extremely upset because of the tics and feeling different in school and he seems to be rather distant from his mother. Lori is prescribing medication to decrease tics and increase his sleeping (as he is afraid to go to bed at night; mainly out of concern that something will happen to his mother). I feel, so far that this practicum is extremely helpful in seeing all of the terms that I have learned in abnormal/child psychopathology applied to the real world. I love the way Lori reacts to the kid's cases and the way she behaviorally works with them.
5/17: My second day at Jamestown Pedriatric's was interesting because I learned how often the parents of the children with ADHD probably also have it themselves and are inconsistent with keeping appointments. I was there for about 6 hours today. Lori explained to me different children who (or their parents) often miss their appointments and then call saying they ran out of medication. They cannot obtain their meds however, until the child sees Lori (or a physician) so often these children go from medicine to no medicine throughout different periods. Two brothers that were scheduled today (we found out transferred out of the practice) Lori had to call CPS about because of medical (along with other forms) neglect. Lori explained to me that the boys admitted to her that there often was not food in the house etc. however CPS did not find any substantial proof that they were neglected; she told me that she knew it was a thin case but still felt that she needed to report it. One child that we did see was extremely small for his age; however not maltreated. He appeared to just have a problem gaining weight and eating only small portions; Lori recommended that he eat as much fattening food as possible (not to worry as much about the fruits and vegetables). She explained to me that I will witness her many times saying that to children as she is more worried about kids being underweight (he was at 5% for his weight class) then what nutrients. The nutrients can come later when the kid puts on weight. Lori is great at dealing with these children and they seem relatively comfortable with her. There was a new patient today that had come in with tics (had been seen by a physician) and the tics had already mostly subsided with a certain medication. Lori's professional opinion is that it is psychological as he may be seeking the attention of his parents who are attentative to him, yet extremely busy (his father has gone back to school and his mother works full-time). I am looking forward to going back on Monday as there are many interesting cases and I'm extremely excited that I will witness some of the follow-up appointments that she has scheduled with some children in June/July.
5/22: I was there for 7.5 hours. Today was a very eventful day at Jamestown Pediatrics as we saw two children that were diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger's. The two children were similar only in the aspect that they both had trouble with social groups; however there were major differences. One little boy stated that he did not have any friends and did not want them and he also avoided eye contact. The other boy had friends in school but did not want to hang out with them on the weekends/after school, etc. He preferred being by himself and just watching television. He did not have a problem with eye contact. The first child with more severe problems in school is also seeing a child psychiatrist and I believe the other little boy had just been diagnosed with Asperger's so the extra help is just beginning. There also was an interesting case where a little boy, in 6th grade, has been raised by grandparents (his grandpa died four years ago) because his mother could not take care of him. Now she is back in his life with his little sister and he must adjust to having two homes. The grandmother is more concerned with his health/psychological problems then his mother and has a hard time sometimes because she does not have legal rights. He was not able to be seen by a social worker since she is not his legal guardian (the mother could not make the appointment). It will be interesting to see this child again while I am there for the summer. Another interesting dynamic that I noticed was the ratio of boys to girls as only a few girls a day are seen by Lori; there are mostly boys (however this could just be due to the fact that symptoms may not be as obvious or as frequently diagnosed in girls).
5/24: Today I was there for five hours. It is amazing how many children with ADHD have issues with weight, where many of them are extremely underweight. One little boy today was 70 lbs and he was thirteen years old. His mother said he eats more than he ever has (he is on periactine) but has not gained but rather lost a pound. However, it may be pointed partially to genetics as the mother said both her husband and her father were extremely skinny as children, then grew a little fuller and were extremely tall. It will be interesting to see this boy again over the summer. Another interesting appointment that we had consisted of two adopted children (there is another that they discussed but was not in there today). This adopted mother was great and was very involved in all three of their lives. The youngest adopted child, probably about eight, has struggled with Reactive Attachment Disorder and the mother is extremely involved in learning more about it and getting involved in prevention/intervention programs. The two girls in for the appointment both were diagnosed with ADHD and their grades this year seemed to have been greatly improved. The other girl, who was not there today, has issues with depression, especially the agitated components of it. Our first appointment of the day actually consisted of a little girl, now seven years old, who was deaf when Lori first saw her. She had cochlear implants and a hearing aid and now she is doing extremely well. Her speech seems to be almost completely regulated and she has learned a lot in two years. Her ADHD seems to also be regulated and she seemed to be a bright child with much potential.
5/31: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 5.5 hours. The first patient we saw was a 6th grader who was only recently diagnosed with ADHD due to the fact that she only had attention problems. They either went unnoticed for years or teachers felt she had other problems, not due to attention deficit; as many teachers are more concerned with hyperactivity. This girl has done much better on the medication and is able to concentrate much better in school. The next two patients were extremely interesting, they were brothers who took turns seeing Lori. The older one was 12 and was still having troubles in school; however that was due to his own reluctance to turn in homework that he is capable of doing. The younger brother, however, was diagnosed with ADHD and Adjustment Disorder, as he had at the age of 6 moved from Rhode Island (he is currently 8) and had recently switched elementary schools (this year) and has not made any friends. The teacher felt that he may have PDD but the tests came out negative for that as he wants to build friendships; he just does not know how to. This little boy is also seeing a counselor and has many issues with self-esteem and feels he is teased by others in school. This little boy, Lori explained to me, is impossible without his medication as he is completely out of control. This boy's main issue seems to be the fact that he has a hard time in peer groups and must learn social skills. Another child that came in was in the middle of a bad break-up between parents (they were not married) where the mother claims she was emotionally and physically abused. There was much time spent counseling the mother (while the boy waited by the fish tank) and she explained all the harassment she has endured recently. Apparently the father has been putting the child between them and trying to make him feel bad for him. This is a very delicate case and Lori just mainly deals with the ADHD. Another case consisted of a boy who said that the medicine he was on made him dizzy. he did however admit that he did not want to take medication so Lori switched the meds, yet warned the mother he may be saying this because he knows it is a way to get out of taking medication. It was a very busy and productive day today and these were some of the biggest cases seen.
6/5: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 7 hours, however it was an interesting day because we had quite a few cancellations/no shows (partially due to an error with reminder phone calls). A few of the cases that we did see, however, were very interesting. One ten year old boy has always lived with his grandma and his little brother. He has been tested for ADHD and has had problems with finding the right medication to help him. There is obviously a generational gap between the grandmother and grandson and especially due to the fact that he is very unmotivated to do anything at school or at home. Lori has suggested that he be tested for a LD in order to rule out a possible contributor to his unmotivation (everything moves to fast, etc). The grandmother obviously has been trying behavioral techniques in order to motivate him to do what she wants him to do such as laundry. Another interesting case was a ninth grade boy who is in his second year of ninth grade and has recently been diagnosed with ADHD inattentive and impulsive type. This boy was missed being diagnosed earlier due to the fact that most of his problems were due to attention problems and the fact that he was already diagnosed with a LD. He works with special teachers and has modifications through an IEP. His younger brother sees Lori for ADHD also and this mother is very dedicated, however limited in resources but she always makes sure she has the best for her kids, which includes generally walking an hour to their appointments. Lori explained to me that more than likely the medication will not work well at all for him due to his age, the fact that he has a learning disability, and the fact that he has probably learned bad habits; more than likely she will have to deal with behavioral aspects in later appointments. Another interesting case from today involved a ten year-old who seems to have a problem more with her relationship with her mother (family dynamics in general) then her ADHD. Lori explained to me that she mostly focused on the relationship between the mother and the child rather than her behavior problem itself because of the fact that their temperaments clash so dramatically. The medication generally keeps this child very regulated but she is unable to completely control her outbursts, etc. due to the fact that she clashes so much with her mother.
6/7: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 3.5 hours. A few of the cases were just easy, in and out medicine checks as the children were not having any immediate problems. The main issue addressed was whether the child would take the medicine for the summer (as many parents like taking their children off meds unless they are in a situation where they will need it, such as camp, etc.). Two interesting cases, however, both came from children who's parents had mental disabilities such as bipolar disorder. One child, a 7 year old, is basically cared for by his grandmother as his mom had a nervous breakdown and the hospital thought she may also have schizophrenia. This child is receiving counseling (along with his brother) to deal with everything and the grandmother was very concerned about maintaining and helping his own mental state. Another child, who is five years old, had come to Lori in November for the first time and had her evaluation which showed she had ADHD combined type. Unfortunately, her mother cancelled/no showed for appointments so this is the first time that she was seen about starting medication. The mother explained that she has a hard time maintaining a job, due to her bipolar disorder, and has been advised by her doctor to wait two months before she starts working again (as she recently suffered a miscarriage). This child also has speech problems but is receiving help in school and Lori noticed improvements from the last time she saw her. Unfortunately she does not receive speech services throughout the summer. This mother seems very committed, despite her limited abilities, to provide for the child and it will be interesting to see her again in July (and see how the medication has helped and if she is regularly on it).
6/12: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 9 hours; it was very busy. Out of the many patients we saw today, there was only one girl who was doing seemingly well on medication but who did not eat enough. Lori explained to her how important eatingi s, especially since she is almost at the age of puberty. Her mother is planning on taking her off the medication for the summer due to her weight loss. Lori does a great job explaining to boys and girls how important eating is to gaining weight and to growing and maturing in general. Another little boy was 7 y/o and the mother explained how talking with Lori and the boy going on medication as made her feel more in control over her son. She set up a chore system where this little boy pays off his gameboy...if he does not do the chore 50 cents is taken off and if he does not do it a second time he completely loses the gameboy. This is a great system so that he learns to listen and obey his mother. Another case that was really interesting was an 8 year old boy who has had extreme behavior problems probably due to the fact that his mother has been absent from his life minus 3 visits since he was 9 months old. His mom I guess (according to his step-mom) makes many promises to visit, etc. and never follows through. He has had problems with throwing chairs and being mean to his step-mother who has raised him since he was young. Lori thought it was very incredible that the step-mother realized why he would act out, as many of the parents of these children do not seem as if they could be that intuitive. The next patient we saw was a new referral who was 14 years old and had not actually been tested for ADHD. Lori did a simple diagnostic test and did not feel she could make a clear diagnosis so she referred him to Jone's Hill for testing. It was really neat to see a patient that I had seen the first day there, a month ago. He had developed tics from the ADHD medicince and was on a different medication to decrease ticking and help him sleep better. His tics had decreased dramatically, but were not completely gone. Lori recommended that he take a higher dose of that medication until school is over and then stop medication for the summer. This little boy has also lost weight so Lori explained to him why he needs to eat (however he was not as underweight as some of the other children I have seen in there). Another interesting case was an 8th grader with problems between his divorced parents and his brothers. This boy does not get along with his brothers and has moved in with his mother (and is now a seemingly only child). He seems to be very much ruling and controlling over others. His mother has decided that he's going to go completely off the meds. Lori explained to me that this is the 3rd time he has gone off; he is not completely ready and will come back once he fails classes again (however he still is not doing that well in school). The most interesting case thus far was a later appointment in which a sixteen year old boy walked in and said that he had quit school due to the school's prompting (apparently they wanted him to go to the Cassadaga Job Corp to receive his GED and specialty training). Instead, he is now working construction full-time for his father. Lori felt that he should continue taking the medication as he is running and using dangerous equipment. Lori was very shocked by this news but felt that this was the most passionate that he had been about anything.
6/14: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 5 hours. We had a lot of simple cases where there was basically only a medicine check without much change or behavioral discussion. Yet again there was only 1 girl the whole time i was there and most of the children were very tiny. Two of the appointments today were with brothers; one being 8 and the other 11. The 8 year old was going to have a slight medicine increase as his behavior had started getting worse in school. However, mom was very intelligent and realized that behavior problems are not solved by meds alone and was not concerned as much with his at home behaviors, more so just helping his grades and attention in school. Lori felt that the older child could be ok going off the medication so they are testing it over the summer and within the first few weeks of school. This mother was very organized and right on top of everything, which is not a typical pattern with many of these patterns. Another interesting pattern of the day was that there were 2 dads that brought their children in for appointments, when generally the mothers bring them in. This was an interesting change. Another boy definately demonstrated not being on enough medicine as he was jumping off of the walls in the room. Lori is having him take a higher dose of the Concierta and then see how it helps. The mom explained some of his recent behaviors could be attention-seeking as she is pregnant (due in September). The last appointment that I saw was very interesting because it was a 5 year old child that was completely out of control. Lori explained that while meds. can help, it cannot do everything as the mother does not know how to exert control over him (he probably runs the house).
6/19: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 7.5 hours. It was an extremely interesting day as I was wondering how many people would actually come in (since it is the end of the school year). This would only emphasize how many people do not understand the psychological aspects of ADHD, they are only concerned with the medication part. The first two appointments of the day were extremely interesting as they were two brothers; one who is extremely interested in baseball, etc. who is just sixteen and one who is fourteen with many handicaps and in special education. The older brother had just moved back from living in Hamburg for a year (with his father) and felt that he needed to continue his medication for over the summer so he could concentrate better on baseball and avoid impulsivity. The younger brother was upset because the special education program keeps him in the middle school until he will be turning 16 (or is 16) for a school year. He was looking forward to being in the high school because he feels that people now are mean to him and he thinks high school will change that. The next appointment was a seventeen year old that Lori has seen for years (along with her older brother) for ADHD. She, however, was in the office for a counseling session as she had told a friend that she was thinking about killing herself. She seemed extremely nervous about being sent to Jone's Hill (a psychiatric hospital where they have an inpatient/outpatient setting) and explained that she is having problems with both boys and her parents not giving her enough freedom. She had also, during this time span, threatened to run away from home and Lori explained how detrimental that is to earning her freedom as it makes her seem very childish. Lori got the impression that she seemed to be talking about suicide more for attention as she didn't mind talking about it with me in the room and did not seem overly upset y et still handled her very delicately. I feel that the way she actively kept her engaged in the seriousness of threatening suicide, etc. and the possibility of having to be psychologically evaluated/kept safe from others was excellent and feel that this whole situation was a great learning experience. Another little boy came in for a new visit yet Lori did not feel that he had ADHD and while Lori counseled the mother for awhile, she referred him to a different place where he could a psychologists help as he had many recent adjustment problems and he had not been showing distinct problems in school until now. While there were many other appointments today, these were the cases where I really saw Lori's skills shine.
6/21: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 5 hours. Yet again, we were unsure what today would bring since it is the end of the school year for the area. The first appointment of the day was very interesting as the boy was twenty-one and still treated on medication for ADHD. He is attending college and doing quite well and feels even when he works (on a farm) over a summer he needs to maintain his medicine for the summer since his job requires the use of heavy machinery. The next appointment illustrated how a family member can interfere in the lives of their children (the grandparent etc.). The grandmother had recently brought the ten year old boy in for a sick appointment and she had told the doctors that he had many problems with the medicine when his only issue is with a stomachache (when he did not eat enough) and Lori told him the simple way to fix this. The next three appointments were all brothers; this was extremely interesting to see the interaction between the mom and the boys. The boys all obviously had behavior problems however you could tell that there is no (good) communication between the mom and children and that the mother is just completely exasperated and does not know how to either control (properly) or relate to her kids. She has however made the decision to enroll all of them in individual counseling and for them all to go into family counseling in order to strengthen their bonds. The rest of the appointments that I saw were pretty simple medical checks; nothing major was going on.
6/29: Today I was with Lori for 4.5 hours. The first boy who came in was having aggressive outbursts as possibly a side effect of the medicine (or just a part of going through puberty). Lori decided to switch the medication to see if the outbursts end (mostly happen with his brothers) for the summer and must come back in August to ensure the medication ghe is on will help during school. Another boy who is sixteen was very fidgety in the office. He potentially may have failed biology or Global studies and this would mean that he will not be able to attend BOCES trade school next year. He is currently taking Wellbutren for anger/irritability but it has stopped working. Lori decided to change his medication to Lexapro due to the fact that it usually does not have many side effects. The next patient we saw was the girl from a week ago who had threatened suicide. She had returned to speak with Lori in order to ensure that she is on the right track. Since her last visit she seems to be more on track; her parents are letting her go hang out with her friends and she has her car back. She said she has not had any suicide thoughts at all and is currently happy with her life. A case that was extremely heartbreaking was a 7 year old girl who was in with a foster mother. She has two biological siblings, although o nly the five year old brother is currently living with them (there were visible signs of sexual abuse in the other two children and the two were caught acting out what had happened to them with each other). She seems to be doing well adjusting to living with a foster family but needs help paying attention in school. Lori started her on medication (she had recently been on meds. with the biological mother but the foster mother had weened her off and decided to control the situation herself) and referred her for both ADHD testing and an aptitude test in order to fully utilize all special education opportunities that she can. The foster mother was very doting (she also has biological children) and is very willing to get the children all of the aid that they need. The rest of the cases were pretty typical and nothing out of the ordinary except to yet again point out that one of the patients came in and is raised by his grandmother (however the biological mother recently moved back in with a new baby).
7/9: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 6.5 hours. Today was an interesting day because it yet again showcased how many of the parents of children with ADHD are not reliable (although of course not all of them). On Friday, the ladies in the office forgot to call and remind people of their appointments and only a limited amount of people actually showed up. It was a long day of waiting around! The first child we saw was a 9 year old girl (who was so tiny I thought she was 6!) who Lori informed me had multiple birth defects that probably affect her size. She was very fidgety in the office, mainly because she did not take her medicine in the morning. She is loved by all the people in the office and always receives a ton of candy from different women (like it was Halloween). We also had a new patient who was a 4 year old who was so out of control he clearly would qualify for a diagnosis of ADHD, however, Lori cannot herself assess and diagnose unless a child is 6. She referred the aunt to Jone's Hill for an evaluation. The child is being raised by his great-aunt and uncle and has contact with his grandmother. The boy's mother was 15 when she had him and was not ready to raise a child, yet he goes to see his mother on the weekends (she has another child and one on the way). This little boy will be in kindergarten in the fall and could use medication in order to better regulate his out of control behavior; he is always injuring himself due to his hyperactivity. Another little boy who came in the office was 8 and is doing well with both his medication and ADHD. Lori explained to the mother that the fact that he has temper tantrums is due to behavioral patterns that must be broken (he always wants to get his way). She explained that when he does not let up on something she should take away his favorite thing for even just 24 hours, as it will aid him in realizing that he cannot always get everything that he wants. For the first time (at least that I have recalled) there were two girls seen in the same day. The other little girl seemed to be raised by both mom and grandma, however it was interesting that the grandma generally answered all the questions and the mother seemed to just go along with what she said.
7/17: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 8 hours. Our first child of the day was a new patient whose younger brother has already been seen by Lori for ADHD. Lori believes that he has more ADD and she explains to him how important it is for him to continue eating on his medication (a doctor had already prescribed medicine for him). She also explained to the mother that a lot of his behaviors are habitual and they must be broken (and new ones started) in order for him to have a better attention span. The next boy was a 6 year old that was extremely tiny and Lori decided to add Periactine to increase his appetite. His hyperactivity has decreased dramatically however he still has emotional issues. He has bad sleeping habits and Lori feels the periactine will help with that (and if not then mom should give him a small dose of Benadryl at night). The next child was a 7 year old who is going to be tested for a non-verbal LD, PDD, and Asperger's due to his lack of social skills with other children (and few learning problems in school). His mother was obviously very on top of everything and wants to rule out any issues. The next boy obviously had an attitude problem; he had barely passed 8th grade (the teachers pushed him through) and the mother feels as if he is not getting all the help he needs. He said he has a hard time with tests yet he admits that he does not study, obviously indicating that a little more effort could go a long way. Lori told me that she felt that he may also have a non-verbal LD and is just unable to ask/want the help he actually needs. She advised the mother to get more out of the special education system. Another twelve year old boy who came in today also has sleep problems and is seen in Buffalo for sleep apnea. Lori explained to the mother that she needs to allow him to suffer natural consequences and then someday he will learn better habits, such as doing homework, etc. These were some of the most interesting cases of the day.
7/19: Today I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 5.5 hours. The first patient had drastically improved from the beginning of the school year when Lori began seeing him., especially in school work (he had a really good report card). He has gone off his medicine for the summer and loves that his appetite has increased. He noticed a definite change in school with attention. His mom also had gotten him into better sleeping habits by allowing him to set his own (instead of constantly nagging him about it). This little boy's mother spent some time talking to Lori (with him out of the room) regarding the fact that he has a tendency to blame others for what he does however he has gotten better about adjusting to different things and not blaming everyone. The next patient we were supposed to see (however her grandmother brought her without authorization so Lori was not allowed to see her), apparently has no respect for her mother. The mother feels as if her daughter is completely out of control (and Lori explained that she probably is). Apparently they had seen Lori years ago and she had worked on her parenting skills, however obviously to no avail. The next girl was also a teenager, I assumed around 13-14. She is going to summer school this year by choice; she passed all her courses but was borderline for two so she felt that she should take them over again. This year she received the most improved student award, which was obviously very important to her. We saw two brothers next, one being 10 and the other 5 (almost 6). The older child was very tiny yet has gained weight recently and is eating better. The younger child was doing well on the medication yet taking it a bit later in the morning so it does not wear off too early (while at the babysitters). Another really interesting case involved a father bringing in his son (he lives with him over the summer in Ohio) and there was obviously a slight dispute between the divided family (both mom and dad are remarried). I spent some time talking to the boy while his father spoke with Lori about managing many of his fears and concerns and felt that despite the fact that he has a divided life he is loved and well taken care of. Today was an interesting day because we saw (or were supposed to see) 3 female patients whereas we generally average only 1.
7/24: I spent 7 hours at Jamestown Pediatrics today. The more time I spend there the more I realize the type of parent that I want to be concerning discipline/etc. I feel that listening to Lori giving parents tips on how to better parent (including many behavioral techniques) is such a terrific learning experience. She does it in such a way that they do not realize that she is even doing it. She is fantastic on giving tips on how to help a child develop better habits and how they can listen to what their parents say better. Often these kids are doing bad in school not due to their focus and attention (however they may blame it on this without meaning to). Instead, some kids will not put the effort into school because they do not think that they can and may blame it on the ADHD as was the case with one thirteen year old. Another little girl has seen Lori for years and is now almost a teenager. She had many problems with behavior but now is doing much better. There were many standard appointments today (mainly just medicine checks and checks on weight as many of these children are tiny). However, one of the interesting appointments of the day for me came when a twenty-two year old guy came in. He currently does not have insurance so it is better for him to continue seeing Lori rather than switch to a psychologist who may not know him and his situation. He needs to maintain the medicine in order to do well and focus at his job as a bartender.
7/26: Today I was there for 8 hours, it was a more eventful and interesting day however. The first appointment started out with a girl who is new to the office who was showing signs of attention deficit due to depression (as her report from Jones Hill revealed). Lori started him on Zoloft in order to stop her irritability and mood swings and because of this her focus and attention should be better. All of her testing revealed that she is very intelligent, she just has a hard time understanding lessons that are told orally and are not right in front of her. Lori felt that after 6 months of medication she will feel better and not have to stay on meds forever, however her mother is diagnosed with depression and her father with bipolar so she is obviously predisposed to depression. The next little boy is taking medication in order to help his eating habits (as he is very very tiny). The next child had not taken his medication today and he was completely out of control running around the room. His mother had no control over him or his younger brother. Another interesting case came when a Spanish speaking five year old came in; his mother could speak English, however he is starting kindergarten next year knowing barely any English. HE seemed to understand much better than he can speak it. It will be interesting to see how he does next year as there are programs for children like him around here, however they probably are not very good programs (due to the area). Today was also one of those days where I began seeing a lot of the patients that I had already seen (back in May). This was very exciting to me as I felt familiar with their cases. One fourteen year old that came in today has had an issue with weight in the last year that Lori and his mother addressed (where he gained weight so he could not play midget football-there was a maximum weight) and due to that embarassment he says he does not want to play even though it would be good for him both healthwise and since his mom insisted he has great talent and always loves it when he plays. Lori also addressed his sleeping problems and is trying to teach him better sleeping habits. Many of the other cases were very standard weight checks, etc. I feel that I am growing by experiencing all of these cases because I see the extremes in ADHD and in parenting.
7/27: I was at Jamestown Pediatrics for 6 hours today. The first child we saw today Lori has on and off had feelings that he could have PDD or depression as he is very finicky in social situations (everything has to be his way) and does not get along well with most children. He is nine years old and will be tested for both issues. Lori felt that if he were to test positive for PDD he could be given extra help with social skills and learn how to play well with other children. He had a hard time grasping an emotion his mom felt (being sad) instead of the emotion he usually expresses, or being angry. He had recently been struggling with gaining weight and in the past year has gained 30 lbs (now in the 86th percentile while his height is only at the 25th). This was an excellent case to see to illustrate how much of a fine-line it is between ADHD, PDD's, and depression as some children may show signs of each disorder. Another child was a new patient, however her foster mother has been in there for many other children/foster children and I had even seen her at some point during my time here. This child is a nine year old girl who's biological sister and brother also live with her now. For this case, I actually took the child out of the room in order for Lori to speak with the foster mother privately. She and I colored while I asked her simple questions such as her favorite color, what she likes to do etc. She told me how she gets to see her mom and grandma every Friday at the YMCA and this seemed very important to her. Her grandmother appeared to be extremely important to her and she spoke of all that she had done. There was a new patient today that was a clear-cut case of ADD with a 14 year old intelligent boy. He has gotten by for years because of his strive to achieve and his parents dedication to his work. He said he has problems paying attention, daydreams in class, is very disorganized, and has a hard time remembering what he is doing half-way through a test, etc. While Lori felt this was a clear-cut case, she told the boy and his mother that he has developed years and years of bad habits that need to be changed which medicine cannot cure. The medicine can help him make better decisions about doing work and paying attention but he himself must not habitually tune out, etc. A few of the other cases today were just basic medical checks.
7/31: Today was my last few hours at Jamestown Pediatrics and I was there for 7 hours. Today was one of those days where not many patients actually showed up, in which Lori reinforced to me that this often happens in the mental health field as you may not be working with the most reliable people (and/or people may not take it serious). The first patient of the day was a 6 year old new patient who has a hard time listening and paying attention in class. He has been diagnosed with a seizure disorder and takes Depakote for it. He has a hard time sleeping and Benadryl currently isnt working (Lori said to increase it a bit). Lori felt that he needed to be psychologically tested for ADHD and a LD as he seems to have a hard time understanding things in class. She felt that it was not a strong enough case of ADHD in order for her to diagnose it herself. We saw another new patient today, a ten year-old who was extremely tall (the doctors expect him to be 7' tall!). He is going into fifth grade and has an extremely tough time in math. He has always tried hard and puts the effort in so he has gotten by with C's and D's in school thus far. He has always been in remedial reading and is reading just at grade level right now. He says he has a hard time retaining the knowledge he learns and that he feels stupid. Lori explains to him that he is not stupid, he just may learn differently then the other kids and the school has not figured this out yet. Lori refers him for LD testing and explains that the school can put in place an alternative way to learn and this could change the way he retains everything and how he does in school. I love the way Lori makes kids feel bright and explains to them they just may learn differently. Another child came in that is underweight and Lori explained to the mother that if he has not gained weight by August he needs to go on Periactine to peak his appetite. He has done well in school and needs the medicine in order to help his focus and attention. The rest of the cases were clear-cut medicine checks. Reflecting on this internship I feel that I have learned great skills that will immensely help my work as a school psychologist. I feel that I have learned ways that ADHD/ADD kids may need different ways of learning (and children with LD's) and that I must be willing to be versatile and work hard to help all children learn in every capacity that they can. I feel that watching Lori has been a great learning experience and I was sad to end my time.
PSY 370: School Psychology
Annotated Bibliography Topic:
Functional Behavioral Assessment
Search terms: Functional Behavioral Assessment and Functional Analysis
4/23-So far, I have looked through and analyzed 3 articles. At this point, I have not yet figured out what I will put in my final paper, instead summarized all the material in order to fully understand the study and condense it. I believe my task for tonight is to begin typing a document with my own clear ideas on the background of the article and what the study is trying to accomplish. So far this is interesting because I am able to fully analyze a psychological study and learn (and recognize) many statistical/experimental terms; which should be helpful considering I am taking experimental psychology in the fall.
4/24-I have begun typing my analysis of the articles and have found that I relatively understand the statistics present in the articles, I especially understand the points that each article is attempting to make. I have found so far that researching this topic has been especially helpful in realizing how much interventions should really be matched to their problematic behaviors because it allows a child to really make an adequate change. This could be due to biases (such as not having enough people involved in the study) however I still feel that it's very important to know which behavior is actually problematic and a possible hypothesis as to why. This allows whoever is assessing this behavior to make a proper intervention based on this knowledge.
4/25-I have run into two articles which did not deal directly with Functional Behavioral Assessment, however did mention it in the article and I felt that they were applicable and related enough to still use for this bibliography. I felt that they were important in examining other methods for analyzing behaviors in the classroom to allow for a slight comparison in the way treatment is handled, along with how they are similar. One of the articles was a precursor to Functional Behavioral Assessment which this article explained was on the tertiary level, hence this secondary level idea of Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders was often not enough to decrease behaviors and more work and assessment was needed.
4/26-Today I worked on four more articles, all of which were not overly difficult to understand. I have felt throughout this process, while it takes a lot of time (at least 6 hours each time I've worked on it) it is useful to be able to read through different psychological studies and realize how important research is to gaining any important changes in the school systems. Functional Behavioral Assessment is a great idea, but needs much work, especially for children who are in the beginning stages of having a problem, as it usually just addresses the secondary or tertiary levels. It would be great to find a way to incorporate FBA's into the primary level, although at this point no method is known. I feel that this is something that I will continue researching as I continue my education; especially if I choose to study school psychology.
4/27-Today I finished summarizing my articles and realized how this project has helped me learn better how to summarize. While I feel that I tend to overinclude details, I felt myself really trying to weed out information and put what I feel is the most substantial information in order to learn the most about the technique and about the particular study. I realize how much research is needed in order to substantiate anything and would love to be able to conduct studies in school districts in which I later become associated with (if it is possible).
I feel that this project allowed me to learn a lot about the whole process of trying to find an intervention that greatly benefits children and especially increased my knowledge of the intricate process that school psychologists (and other faculty) go through in order to implement the proper plan for each child. I do however feel that this area still needs much more research; however all that has been conducted has been positive and results indicate that it should greatly benefit each individual.
School Psychologist interview
Completed February 21 with Mr. Pat Ellis
from Southwestern High School-Mr. Ellis was extremely enthusiastic to illustrate different aspects of school psychology for me and was a great aid in my future decisions about what I would like to do for an occupation in life.
Questions for school psychologist:
Dr. Bayer's Questions:
-Which providers of services in the community do you use for outside referrals?
Mr. Ellis said that the providers in the Jamestown area are fewer than for Buffalo but there still are different services available in the area. Family Services of Jamestown is one that he said was highly influential. There also is Chautauqua County Mental Health Clinic which is a counseling agency, Catholic Charities, WCA Hospital-outpatient counseling clinic, the Psychological department of WCA, and private practicioners. Mr. Ellis emphasized that many of the people that provide the outside services have M.S.W's and degrees in Clinical psychology, and a limited amount of psychiatrists (on staff in WCA). Mr. Ellis seemed to provide many places in Jamestown that could provide the services needed for someone that needed extra help beyond the school's limitations. He also pointed out that more than likely if a person actually attends a counseling session that is referred, the number of times they are expected to return is only once, people are more comfortable in the school settings. This illustrates how effective the schools need to be in providing accurate services.
-What special intervention services do you offer in your building(s) that you think are particularly effective?
Partners for Children is a program run in Southwestern through the Family Services of Jamestown and United Way. In this program, a M.S.W. comes into the school 4 days a week and provides counseling to the students. He also said that Southwestern has a Student Support Team (or Child Study Teams for the younger children in the district) where the counseling, psychology, and administrative staff meet every Thursday and discuss student problems. The alternative learning teacher also attends these meetings. Mr. Ellis emphasized that this program was started 27 years ago. Another intervention service meant to help students who have a high-risk of dropping out of school is the alternative learning program as stated above. In this program, one teacher is for about eleven kids (5 in the morning, 6 in the afternoon) where a teacher provides one-on-one emotional counseling and aids with school work. The new Regents requirements are so strict that the new ALP teacher cannot teach in one area unless they are specialized, so the students in this program spend an hour talking and receiving counseling from the teacher, and then for two hours the teacher shadows their classrooms. This program is usually run for the first two years of the students high school career and if it does not help, they may go to BOCES for alternative laerning. Mr. Ellis also said that Southwestern's special education department is very strong, they even have consultant teachers go right in the classrooms with the students that need the help. Then the consultant teacher helps the child for an hour with no distractions and either helps re-teach something that didn't make sense or helps them complete their homework. Mr. Ellis said that there is also an Olphelia (bullying program) in the school district where mentor high school students are trained to act as mentors in the elementary and middle schools. It is intended for grades three-eight and he was proud of the fact that Southwestern was one of the five schools originally chosen to pilot the plan. One program that Mr. Ellis wished that the school district had (the budget will not yet pass) is the Family Support Center, which has been established in different Buffalo schools. This program provides counseling for families along with their children. He feels that in the future this would be a great program to aid not only the students but their families as a whole. I felt that I learned how many resources are available in school districts and hope that if I do become a school psychologist, I will feel such a strong sense of pride to the program. I also feel that intervention programs help make a school district successful in providing help and care to their students.
-What outside agency educational programs does the district use? Any impressions on their strengths and weaknesses?
Mr. Ellis again emphasized the Family Services of Jamestown with the Partners with Children Program, anger management programs (have been established in the past and they are trying to establish again), programs that have recently been started dealing with bullying, and WCA hospital wellness group is also involved, he mentioned a smoking cessation program. While he did not emphasize specific strengths and weakness, it is reflected to me the fact that some of these programs come and go would indicate that they may need a stronger base and planning in order to help Southwestern more.
I feel that the Family Services of Jamestown does provide a lot of help to the Southwestern school district, more outside help than I had ever realized, and that Southwestern works very hard to provide the best mental health services as they can find and provide.
My Questions:
-What kind of education do you have and what would you recommend? (specialized or ph.d/psy.d)
Mr. Ellis received his B.A. in psychology from Canisius College, his master's in school psychology from Alfred University, and his C.A.S. in education/administration from Fredonia. At the time, this certification would allow him to become a principal or school administrator if he had chosen and followed that path. He emphasized that he did not feel a Ph.D./Psy.D. was necessary to work in the school districts, although a Ph.D. would be necessary if you wanted to teach. He also said that he never felt bad about not getting his Ph.D.
I feel that this information, along with what Dr. Bayer has said in class, has allowed me to fully realize that a Ph.D. is definately not a necessary degree if I do in fact want to work in the school systems and that a master's degree is more than sufficient.
-What do you do each day (for a normal typical day)?
Mr. Ellis emphasized that there is no typical day, however he usually arrives at school around 7:30 and leaves between 4:30 and 5(he emphasized that he is very slow and it takes him a long time to do things). He at first either checks his email (which can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 25-30 minutes) or welcomes students that may stop into his office to say hi (school starts at 7:45 at Southwestern), or set-up an appointment to meet and talk with him. He says a lot of his time is spent counseling students, consulting with teachers about issues with students, and consulting with the administration about student issues. For the last few months he has spent two days/week in CSE (Committee on Special Education) meetings that each school district in the country has annually for every child in the school district who needs special services, or who are suspected of having a potentially handicapping condition, such as a learning disorder. He said these meetings run about 45 minutes per student and he has about 60-70 students that have these services in the high school. He also said that for the remainder of the school year he has about 30 reevaluations to conduct on certain students (the child/student must be reassessed every three years). The reevaluations can take anywhere between 6-10 hours, depending on what exactly needs to be conducted for the student and according to what Mr. Ellis feels is necessary. When actual evaluations take place, the student must undergo about 5-7.5 hours of testing, with about two hours of analysis, and a few hours to write the report about the student. Mr. Ellis said that he must also deal with requests from colleges and agencies to fill out forms on students who need help/services in the colleges/state agencies. He also must report the information for testing accommodations for tests such as the SAT, etc. He emphasized that it is a lot of paperwork.
I was impressed and slightly surprised that Mr. Ellis emphasized how much actual counseling that he provides for the students in the high school. He also had an attitude that testing is not always the right way to go with students and that many other actions must be taken instead to prevent and intervene with students, rather than just test them. I felt that this was a great attitude and made the field of school psychology all the more promising to me and as realistic as Dr. Bayer has made it seem.
-What are your work hours like? Do you bring work home with you?
As stated earlier, Mr. Ellis usually arrives at work around 7:30 and is there until about 4:30/5. He stated that he does not bring work home every night, but does sometimes, it depends on what is going on around him.
-What do you do in the summer when school is out?
It is required that he, and the school counselors, must stay a week after school is out and return a week before school starts. Sometimes he works between these times, especially for new kids moving into a district that may need extra help. He says he may work about fifteen days per summer, with the days not required (in the mid times) being rather flexible hours.
I feel that this is a great opportunity for someone to have a family and somewhat of an outside life with having more time off than the average, year round job.
-What was your starting salary and is it promising in growth throughout the years?
When Mr. Ellis began his position 27 years ago, his starting salary was $15, 500. Nowadays, he says the starting teachers salary (masters+30) is $37,278 and is on scale system, with the top of the scale being $68,000. For extra course work taken, the psychologist is given $160 for a 3 credit course. He said you can also earn more money being a department chair, being a coach, being involved in certain projects. However, there are full benefits offered.
I feel that while this is not a lucrative investment, I feel that there is promise in the salary and if someone is passionate enough about what they want to do than money does not matter.
-How many students are you responsible for, what age group, and do you feel that you know the students around you?
Mr. Ellis was very excited about the fact that the Southwestern school district altogether has 1,669 students and there are three school psychologists (one in elementary, middle, and high school). He works in the high school and in a general sense about 550 people. He sees about 20-30 students on a regular basis and assesses about 30 more. He himself works with about 125 students but on different levels. He also seems to know many of the students in the school, he goes to the games and other events.
I feel that it is great that Mr. Ellis is so involved with the students in the school and if I could I would try to get involved in different activities so people would feel comfortable talking to me as he does.
-What type of assessment tools do you use on a daily basis?
While Mr. Ellis does not use assessment all the time, when he does he emphasized the use of the WECHSLER scales, both the WISC IV and the WAIS III. He said for achievement testing, the WECHSLER individual achievement test and the Woodcock Johnson III are used the most while they may also use the Kaufman tests of educational achievement. The BEERY VMI is used to test visual-motor integration and the BASC-II is used for behavioral/attentional problems with a Connors Rating Scales.
I yet again found it very important that Mr. Ellis does not highly recommend using testing as the only way to be involved in the school district, although obviously it has to be used sometimes for evaluations and reevaulation programs so that people who are receiving special services can continue them.
-What types of problems do you usually encounter?
Anger, relationship issues, family problems, drug/alcohol problems, abuse issues (physical and sexual), learning difficulties, social/interpersonal problems (between students, and student-teacher), eating disorders, depression, suicide, sexual identity, bullying, behavioral problems (acting out/fighting/etc.).
I think that it is interesting that all of the topics that I have learned about through abnormal psychology and other psychology classes are all addressed in this one setting where you never know what problem may come up. I find it very interesting to be able to apply my knowledge in a school setting and hopefully help people to the best of my ability.
-What courses would you recomend taking in college besides the required classes that either helped you or would have been helpful?
Mr. Ellis yet again emphasized the importance of a counseling/clinical course, a personality class, and behavior modification classes through the psychology department. Mr. Ellis also emphasized the importance of classes that discuss feelings/emotions/sensitivity and also leadership coursework, emphasizing interpersonal skills. He feels that curriculum-based measurement is going to be a very big issue in the future because people are realizing that standardized testing is not a good indicator of how a student achieves from year to year, instead evaluations will be based on response to intervention (research-based assessment) where the psychologists and teachers etc. would decide what they need to do if a child is not learning and then could prevent the onset of a disorder, etc.
I feel that this just illustrates Dr. Bayer's points on how important the concept of prevention of specific disorders is and will be in the future.
-Do you normally work with other school psychologists in the district and do you feel it is a team effort?
He said that the other school psychologists and Mr. Ellis consult frequently informally and review cases with each other, about 2-3x's a week. They try to meet formaly about once a month. When Mr. Ellis started, he was the only school psychologist in the district and he appreciates the team effort between the three.
I feel that teamwork, if the opportunity is there, is a great way to learn more about your occupation and make sure that you are doing the right thing for a specific student or issue.
-Are you satisfied with your job overall?
Mr. Ellis is very satisfied with his job, as stated, he has been there for 27 years. He says that it is an exciting job with a lot of rewards and challenges and he feels that he is doing something that is extremely important and makes a difference. His motto is if someone is only in psychology to help people, they may need to have more information about what psychology actually is and what they can do with it. He feels that he has a positive impact on students, staff, and parents.
I feel that this also is a very promising idea concerning school psychology, that someone who has been involved for 27 years could feel as passionate today as he probably did years ago. It illustrates that if you have the right motivation, your job can be rewarding and help others.
-How much collaboration is involved with the parents, teachers, etc.?
Mr. Ellis illustrated to me that this collaboration is constant, it would be impossible to operate without the families. He feels that it is vital to all work together, the days of just testing are gone and he says good riddance. Mr. Ellis feels that it is impossible to help others with isolation.
I also feel that the idea of collaboration is very important and in order to make a difference in the life of a child you must have the cooperation of the families and teachers.
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