School Psychologists Association of S.E. Manitoba
Present:
Ron Teffaine,
Dale Laird, Bill Stevens, Mary Markesteyn, Suzanne Robert, Suzanne Golden,
Nelson Fry, Sandra McMullen
Meeting Minutes
Carla Betker - presented the ANGER MANAGEMENT model she uses at Knowles Centre. Some of the topics covered in her approach include the following: (a) Normalizing anger - how this emotion helps us and why it's important to express it appropriately, (b) Teaching self-imposed 10 minute time outs to prevent blow ups; this may take two months to teach, (c) Calming the mind - supportive self-talk (e.g., "I'm not going to let this get me."), (d) Teaching problem-solving (e.g., Identify the problem; Brainstorm possible solutions; Evaluate the possible solutions, pick one, and try it; Evaluate how it went; Choose another option if necessary), (e) Start with contrived role-play scenarios since these are less threatening when children are trying to apply the new skills, (f) Finally, she teaches the use of assertive I-messages with the children to deal with situations that provoke anger.
Carla Betker - Also presented the ACTIVE PARENTING program. She said that it includes topics such as improving your child's self-esteem, how to teach goal setting, how to meet your needs, and parenting styles (e.g., authoritarian vs. passive vs. assertive). The program includes materials for six sessions. It also includes a video. It costs $514.00 to purchase the kit. There is also a version for parenting teens.
Carla Betker - Took our group on a tour of Knowles Centre, especially the school they have. The principal was kind enough to show us around. He was proud to feature a special workshop that had a very talented wood carver. The school was progressive and the staff were all quite friendly.
Bob Spencler - Presented his BEHAVIOUR INTERVENTION PLANNING model for EBD kids. He mentioned four types of behaviour plan models: (a) Behavioural Contracting, (b) The Disorder Plan, (c) The Behaviour Intervention plan, and (d) The Circle of Care (24 hour) plan. He gave us an outline of the plan, which can be found from this website under "Resource Links." The outline is as follows:
| 1. Purpose | - Your team must decide what the plan should accomplish. |
| 2. Background | - This is an important component for school psychologists, because it involves conducting an assessment to understand the function of the maladaptive behaviours. It involves observation, interviews, family history, etc. It is important to look for triggers. |
| 3. Critical Programming Needs | These are not the student's needs. |
| 4. System Needs | - Social Learning; Personal/Emotional; System |
| 5. Interventions | - Proactive vs. Reactive |
| 6. Supports | - for each environment (e.g., home and school) |
| 7. Outcomes |
Colleen Doerksen - Mentioned that some interesting information about neuropsychology can be found at http://brains.org Only abstracts are available however.
Suzanne Robert - Presented a form that that others could use.
Suzanne Golden - Presented a behavioural rating scale that looks at positive traits or strengths. It is called the BERS. It includes 52 items across 5 scales: e.g., Family Involvement, Affective Strengths, Interpersonal Strengths, Intrapersonal Strengths, etc.
Bill Stevens - Presented a semi-structured interview form that he uses. It includes a number of questions that ask for a rating from the referred student, using a scale from 1 to 10. Bill Stevens said that next time he will present the TOVA, which is used to assess ADHD.
Ron Teffaine - Passed out a survey to the members to get some ideas for future meeting topics. He also showed a new product called the "READING PEN - II." This device is designed to help dyslexic students compensate for their disability. It scans single words or lines of text and reads them back to the student. It also provides the definitions of over 200,000 words. Check it out at http://www.wizcomtech.com Ron also initiated a discussion about projective tests, based on a recent article he read in Scientific American magazine. Most agreed that these tests could be helpful when used as part of a battery of assessment tools, but not on their own. Ron also briefly mentioned how he diagnoses Auditory Dyslexia using the WISC-III, WIAT, and Phonological Awareness Test. Although Reading Clinicians may dismiss the notion of "Dyslexia," Ron said that he follows the DSM-IV guidelines.
The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for next October, 2001.