School Psychology Interview Questions – Flashcards

New York's special education laws. These laws fully take into account the Federal Law and also offer more State specific rules and regulations.

1. Informal Data Collection 2. Direct Observation 3. Analysis Constructed FBA is the process of gathering and analyzing information about a student's behavior and accompanying circumstances in order to determine the purpose or intent of the actions. During the FBA the problem behavior will be clearly defined, including the severity and frequency. Much of the FBA is a formal brainstorming session, where participants attempt to determine the precursors to the misbehavior. Enables hypotheses about the relations among specific types of environmental events and behaviors

Plan used to reinforce or teach positive behavior skills. The BIP is the actual plan created to help improve behavior. It is also a formal way to document interventions that are attempted. The plan must be specific and clearly stated, including the persons responsible for implementing interventions, rewards, or measurement of the intervention.

Crisis and natural disaster planning and debriefing, retention, how to safeguard LGBTQ students, social justice/race and privilege

Identification should occur within a multi-tiered framework and be based on a COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION. -Relying primarily upon an ability-achievement discrepancy as the means of identifying children with specific learning disabilities is at odds with scientific research and with best practice -Identification of and intervention for children with learning disabilities is most effectively implemented within the context of a multi-tiered service delivery system that provides quality instruction and timely additional strategies and supports within general education for children with learning problems. -When a learning disability is suspected and instruction and intervention within general education fail to meet a child's educational needs, a comprehensive assessment by qualified professionals is an essential step in the identification of a specific learning disability.

When parents disagree with the evaluation, it is important that everyone involved have the opportunity to discuss the parents' objections and consider the merits of their disagreement. Parents may identify factors that alter the interpretation of the results. Sometimes the most appropriate course of action is to allow parents to document their objections or conduct an additional evaluation to resolve concerns. Special education regulations provide for documenting dissenting opinions and considering second opinions.

Can be applied to students of all ages Does not require a student to 'fail' for a significant period of time before being identified Forces schools to be 'proactive' in providing mainstream interventions Requires little if any educational disruption for testing

Does not clearly differentiate between LD students and other pervasive 'underachievers' Will likely identify virtually all 'slow learners' as LD Does not have any formal means of cognitive 'processing' evaluation built into the process Can be inappropriately influenced by parents, teachers, or others who simply want a student to be identified

Objective, easy to apply and understand Uses statistical properties to establish a predictable LD population size Allows examiners to evaluate learning style and information processing skills during testing

Not practical or accurate for young students Requires a student to reach a certain level of 'failure' before being identified Does not adequately consider error of testing - will identify some non-LD students while failing to identify some LD students Time-consuming assessment process for both student and examiner

Areas of strength and weakness, peer interaction, atypicality, distractiblity, attention, how they keep up with other students academically, affect/mood, appearance/cleanliness

CBT, Gestalt, and Mindfulness

a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs. The RTI process begins with high-quality instruction and universal screening of all children in the general education classroom.

A blueprint or plan for how a child will have access to learning at school. Provides services and changes to the learning environment to meet the needs of the child as adequately as other students. two requirements: IA child has any disability, which can include many learning or attention issues. The disability must interfere with the child's ability to learn in a general education classroom. Section 504 has a broader definition of a disability than IDEA. That's why a child who doesn't qualify for an IEP might still be able to get a 504 plan.

A blueprint or plan for a child's special education experience at school. Provides individualized special education and related services to meet the unique needs of the child. To get an IEP, there are two requirements: A child has one or more of the 13 specific disabilities listed in IDEA. Learning and attention issues may qualify. The disability must affect the child's educational performance and/or ability to learn and benefit from the general education curriculum.

Positive behavior support is a behavior management system used to understand what maintains an individual's challenging behavior. People's inappropriate behaviors are difficult to change because they are functional; they serve a purpose for them. These behaviors are supported by reinforcement in the environment. pbis is the only approach to addressing behavior that is specifically mentioned in the law. This emphasis on using functional assessment and positive approaches to encourage good behavior remains in the current version of the law as amended in 2004.

Defusing/De-escalation, CICO, self-monitoring, positive reinforcement

How To: Build Sight-Word Vocabulary: Flashcards, Direct Instruction, Folding-In, Word List Preview and Repeated Reading Math Facts: Cover-copy-compare, intermixing easy and challenging problems, self-monitoring

Build in rewarding opportunities for social interaction Provide audiences for student work Reduce the 'effort' needed to complete an academic assignment Connect academic requirements to real-world situations Offer students meaningful choice wherever possible. Make learning fun

to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living

No Child Left Behind - reauthorized a number of federal programs aiming to improve the performance of U.S. primary & secondary schools Main Components: Teacher Quality Student Testing Scientifically Based Research Public School Choice

Special education and related services that are (a) provided in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) (b) designed to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability (c) meet state standards (d) are provided at public expense

To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities should be educated with children who are not disabled Placement in special classes or removal from the regular education setting occurs only when the disability is so severe that satisfactory education cannot be achieved in regular classes with the use of supplementary supports Special education setting must be as close as possible to the students local school.

Comprised of the parents of the child, a regular education teacher of the child, a special education teacher of the child, a representative of the school district (CSE Chair), the child (when appropriate), the school psychologist (New York law) and a parent member.

Tier 1 supports of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) consists of rules, routines, and physical arrangements that are developed and taught by school staff to prevent initial occurrences of behavior the school would like to target for change. For example, a school team may determine that disrespect for self, others, and property is a set of behaviors they would like to target for change. They may choose the positive reframing of that behavior and make that one of their behavioral expectations.

Reducing the intensity, frequency, and/or complexity of existing problem behaviors that are resistant to and/or unlikely to be addressed by primary and secondary prevention efforts by providing most individualized responses to situations where problem behavior is likely.

Leadership team with active administrator participation Efficient routine, schedule, and structure for conducting efficient team meetings Commitment statement for establishing a positive school-wide social culture Procedures for on-going data-based monitoring, evaluation, and dissemination Procedures for selection, training and coaching of new personnel Procedures for evaluation of personnel related to PBIS implementation Set of school-wide positive expectations and behaviors are defined and taught Procedures for establishing classroom expectations and routines that are consistent with school-wide expectations Continuum of procedures for encouraging expected behavior Continuum of procedures for discouraging problem behavior Procedures for encouraging school-family partnerships

All Tier 1 systems above Intervention team with coordinator Behavioral expertise Increased precision in data collection related to implementation fidelity and progress monitoring Formal process for screening and identifying students in need of more than Tier 1 support. Access to training and technical assistance on Tier 2 practices and supports All Tier 1 practices above Increased instruction and practice with self-regulation and social skills Increased adult supervision Increased opportunity for positive reinforcement Increased antecedent manipulations (e.g., precorrection) Increased precision to minimize rewards for problem behavior Increased access to academic supports

Specific learning disability (SLD) Other health impairment Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Emotional disturbance Speech or language impairment Visual impairment, including blindness Deafness Hearing impairment Deaf-blindness Orthopedic impairment Intellectual disability Traumatic brain injury Multiple disabilities

90-109

110-119

80-89

An index score above 115

An index score below 85

IQ Score 70 or below

85-115

70-84

115-130

Below Standard Achievement scores + Insufficient Progress to Adequate Instruction (under RtI model) + NO Exclusionary factors as primary reason (sensory impairments, ELL, emotional disturbance, SES, cultural factors). Is there a need for special ed/services?

Phonemic awareness, fluency, comprehension, phonic decoding, alphabetic principle

Measures verbal memory and reasoning. VERBAL SUBTESTS: vocabulary, comprehension, and similarities.

Measures: spatial abilities (visual information processing), working memory... NONVERBAL. SUBTESTS: Block Design, Matrix Reasoning

Measures: verbal attention and concentration SUBTESTS: Letter-number sequencing, digit span

Measures speed and accuracy of visual identification, decision-making, and decision implementation. SUBTESTS: Coding, Symbol Search