School counsellors often receive referrals for students who are having difficulty fitting in due to issues involving communication. These issues can be related to conditions such as Asperger’s Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder or other disorders. Recently, I read an article that addressed the importance of collaborating with other professionals to address these types of deficits. The article pointed out that tackling problems related to communication can require ongoing support and that interaction with school counsellors is typically time limited, so having ongoing professional supports in place is vital for any lasting change. Two groups of professionals were singled out in the article as essential supports for students with communication difficulties. Speech Language Pathologists were mentioned for their expertise on the social use of language and Special Education teachers because they are likely in a position with the student to implement, practice, and reinforce communication skills and strategies.
The article outlined six common skill deficits as well as strategies school counsellors could follow when working with students on communication issues. In preparation for working on the communication issues it was noted that the school counsellor should identify the student’s social strengths and weaknesses and then prioritize which areas of deficits to target and subsequent strategies would be most beneficial to tackle during the counsellor’s time with the student. Additional strategies can be delegated to other professional members of the support team or assigned to parents or caregivers.
Leading researchers in the field of bullying appear to agree on the definition of bullying as deliberate, repeated aggression in which there is an imbalance of power between the child who bullies and the child who is victimized (Juvonen & Graham, 2001; Olweus, 1991; Pepler & Craig, 2000). But I’m wondering: is it correct, strictly speaking, to think of bullying as the result of a deliberate thought process? Or is it not more accurate to look deeper and think of bullying as having its roots in instinct?
Certainly, there are some compelling reasons for wanting to question the former view. Chief among them is the everyday experience teachers and administrators have when they interview students who have been caught bullying.
As part of my PhD school psychology program I was placed at a practicum site which conducts neuropsychological testing. During this experience I was given a student’s file to look over for the purpose of making recommendations to assist with classroom and academic difficulties. The file contained the student’s background family information, academic testing results, and neuropsychological test results. What was interesting about this experience was that I was given the file to examine in pieces. First I was given the academic testing results, which combined with various types of background information are the results most school psychologist have to work with when making recommendations. I was then given the neuropsychological testing results, followed by the student’s family and developmental history.
Based on the results of the academic testing alone it was clear that the student had a math learning disability. His overall IQ result was in the above average range and his math scores were 2 standard deviations below. At this point, my recommendations centered on additional math supports to address the specific areas of mathematical difficulty. When I was given the results of the neuropsychological tests a very different picture began to emerge that revealed a young man with many areas of the brain that were not functioning well. These results are not typically evident on the standard academic tests used by school psychologists. The final piece of the puzzle was an overview of the student’s developmental and family history. When the file information was put together in its entirety a very different diagnosis emerged. In the end, the student was given a diagnosis of a non- verbal learning disability.
What was important about this experience was the realization that as school psychologists we often rely on academic testing and background information to make our recommendations when we may not be getting the complete picture. This may result in the implementation of recommendations that are not in the best interest of the student. In the above noted case, the student had not yet begun to experience many of the secondary disabilities or adaptive functioning deficits that are likely to accompany this type of diagnosis, so the referral was to address the obvious math difficulty. Although school psychologists typically do not receive training in neuropsychological testing, it is clear that having a base knowledge in neuropsychological testing and assessment can help us to look beyond academic testing results to better understand the needs of our students.
Last week at an early childhood development conference in Squamish, B.C., I had the pleasure of listening to a deeply thoughtful and engaging keynote address given by Barry Macdonald. An experienced educator, school counsellor and clinical counsellor, Barry champions the proper understanding of boys, and challenges the ways schools interpret and deal with their behaviours. His thoughts made me reflect on my own observations with what works and does not work for boys in the classroom and in schools in general.
The Boy Code – Research shows that boys are socialized to adhere to a strict ‘boy code’ beginning as early as infancy.[1][2] This code celebrates toughness and bravery, and scorns displays of emotional vulnerability. Anger is one of the few emotions many boys feel safe showing. Female teachers in particular are prone to misreading this anger. Unfamiliar with the harsh reality of the boy code, they often take an outburst of anger at face value, interpreting it as a challenge to their authority, and failing to see the hurt and sadness that lies beneath. Once made aware of this, teachers often begin to understand their boys’ ‘misbehaviours’ in a much more tolerant, compassionate light.
I was recently involved in a research project that surveyed 89 undergraduate students at the University of Alberta enrolled in the Faculty of Education pre-service teacher training program. The goal was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and efficacy of pre-service teachers in addressing the needs of students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) in order to consider how to optimally prepare pre-service teachers for classroom work with the FASD population. Results indicated that as a group the respondents had a very basic knowledge of FASD and its challenges with little or no knowledge of specific classroom strategies or community supports. Student respondents identified a desire to learn more about the specific cognitive and behavioural effects of FASD as well as ways to become familiar with strategies, interventions, and resources to meet student needs prior to entering a classroom setting.
I never planned on being a Middle School Counsellor. Having taught in High School for the majority of my teaching career, I had never considered a middle school counseling position. But as I was ready to step into counselling, the high school positions were nonexistent so I left the known security of senior high and stepped into the waters of middle school.
That was eight years ago, and here I am stuck in a middle school.
Feeling stuck is an appropriate metaphor as it encompasses the feelings and experiences of many of the adolescents I encounter. Students are striving for independence and freedom. They desire choices yet are consistently frustrated by the rules and constraints that surround them, both at home and at school. Students are struggling to define themselves and to discover their own identity amongst the pressures of their peers.
Relationships with peers at school and online are a constant challenge. School itself is a struggle for some and not challenging enough for others.
School can seem like a never-ending journey where planning for the future seems unnecessary as it feels light years away. Students can become so focused and fixated on the details of an incident, that they seem incapable of stepping back to see the bigger picture or others’ perspectives. Today’s mishaps and misunderstandings are experienced as great catastrophes.
Although initially I too, felt stuck in the middle, I now see myself choosing to remain. Middle school has provided me with a myriad of opportunities for learning and practicing to be a better counsellor. Each year has brought a new set of students and a new set of challenges. Although the themes are consistent: self-esteem, social skills, friendship, bullying, social networking, anxiety, and home concerns, each year is unique. Through individual and group sessions or classroom and school wide guidance programming, I have opportunities to teach and connect with adolescents without the rigors of assessment and evaluation. It offers flexibility and challenges my creativity. I am hopeful my students too, become unstuck and discover the countless opportunities that middle school can provide.
Over my next few blogs I’ll elaborate on why I find being a middle school counsellor a rewarding profession. I will share my top tips for those stuck in middle school like me. I also invite you to share your successes and strategies.
I did my training in school counselling at OISE/UT in 2006. It provided me with a broad, rich background in a whole host of theoretical orientations and modalities. It also reaffirmed some of the deeply held beliefs I held about the importance of trust in healing relationships. But what it did not, and perhaps could not, provide me with was a full appreciation of the difficulties I might encounter in trying to apply those values and principles to the real-world setting of an elementary school. Below are a few examples of what I mean.
This is an article reposted from our Newsletter “Cognica” – Fall 2010 Edition
Introduction
I want to share with you one brilliant, yet perplexing interaction I recently had with a student. While working on trying to foster a relationship with one of my particularly unmotivated and disengaged students, we had shared many conversations together, and had come to the point where we could openly and honestly look at his behaviour and comment on the apathetic nature of much of it. I had tried in many ways to engage and motivate this student, both from an academic standpoint, and an emotional one. Towards the end of one of our conversations, he very eloquently stated the following paraphrased idea:
” I know that you are trying to help me Mr. D., but have you ever thought that maybe you are the one that needs the help. I look around and I see a lot of people stressed and upset. They’re always working or fighting or tired, and I don’t really want to be like that… at all. Even you seem pretty burnt out sometimes. The way I do things, there is no stress. I don’t worry and I enjoy myself a lot more than a lot of the people around me, especially my family. Maybe you guys got it all wrong. Maybe you need to be more like me. ”