Consultation Models and Professional Practices

Consultation Models and Professional Practices

Roles

School-based Consultants

Coordination/Facilitation/Teaching

Key Concepts of the Mental Health Model

Information Delivery

Models of School Consultation

Conflict Resolution Process

5 characteristics that apply to school consultation:

• People are employed to engage in role-specific behavior, usually spelled out in job description.
• Job descriptions for special education teachers, school counselors and school psychologists often refer to consultation as an expected role.
• Some states: expectation is spelled out in laws and regulations.

...the role of resource teachers in part as the "provision of consultation, resource information, and material regarding individuals with exceptional needs to their parents and to regular staff members" (CA Ed Code 30 EC 56362)

• Coordination: Consultant develops collaborative ways of facilitating planning for targeted students.
• Consultant is a "habit-change coordinator"
• Teaching: Provide demonstration lessons in general or special education classrooms in an effort to educate on /refine techniques.
• Facilitation: requires the ability to get people with different perspectives to work together.
• Facilitative problem solving role focuses on helping the consultee develop his own ideas and skills.
• Consultant wants to be facilitative, not take over the problem for the consultee.
• Four General Principles to Aid in the facilitation process:

• Continually evolving
• Grounded on problem-solving/behavioral consultation
• There are 4 models that illustrate the heavy influence of problem-solving:

Primary Role: Provide assistance to other school personnel and parents regarding issues involving students' learning and behavioral/adjustment problems.

• Objectives:
• Roles of Consultant
• Skills needed to be effective
• Activities engaged in
• Introduction to

Student Study Team (SST)

Consultant gives consultee information, ideas, facts, opinions, and food for thought about students' learning and behavioral adjustment problems.

• May give operational explanation of a learning disability
• Review alternative teaching strategies
• Assist teacher in developing a contingency contract

The Caplans intend their model to be used primarily for mental health problems

The relationship between the consultant and the consultee is coordinate and nonhierarchical

• Name the conflict or its source
• Have parties to the conflict explain their positions.
• Stick to facts, not opinions or personalities.
• Brainstorm possible solutions.
• Seek mutual agreement.
• Be hard on ideas, but soft on people.

Littlejohn and Domenici (2000) and Barsky (2007)

• School-based consultant roles:

Promote Integration of Knowledge

• Develop system to coordinate logistics: facts, opinions, desires, goals and realities of consultees.
• Form mutually agreed on interventions and set of steps to be followed.
• Answer questions of: who will do what, where, when and how.
• Questions must be addressed before the intervention implementation can progress.

Clarification of Issues

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC)

Collaborative Consultation (CC)

Ecobehavioral Consultation (EC)

Instructional Consultation (IC)

Promotion to Positive Climate

• Keep consultees and others

involved in a positive, problem-oriented frame of mind.

• They may become discouraged

or negative.

• Use reframing to put a positive spin on events.

IC has dual focus on

CONTENT and PROCESS

The consultation does not get involved in the personal problems of the consultee.

• There may be multiple problems/issues
• Each constituent may see them from their point of view
• Consultant should:
• Stay objective through the process of problem identification and problem analysis.
• Realize their may be multiple problems with potentially multiple solutions.

CC is considered the model of choice since 1990.

The key components of this model are shared decision making and an emphasis on mutuality in all stages of the process.

• BASED on the recognition of the central role of family centered contingencies in the lives of children.
• DEFINED as "a systemic, indirect form of service delivery, in which parents and teachers are joined together to address academic, social, or behavioral needs of an individual for whom both parties bear some responsibility."
• CBC is an effective way of involving families.
• According to studies, CBC has lead to huge behavior changes in students with disabilities.
• Additionally, 100% of parents and 94% of teachers indicated that their student(s) met their intervention goal.

Content Includes:

Process Includes:

A long-term goal of all consultation is to improve the on-the-job functioning of the consultee

1. Information Delivery

2. Coordination/facilitation/

teaching

3. Indirect Service Provisions

• EC views development as a series of mutual accommodations or transactions between the child and her environment.
• EC conceptualizes a student's difficulty in terms of a mismatch between the developing capabilities of the child and the demands of the system in which the problem occurs.
• The sources of support for addressing the problem may be found in other contexts that contain the child (e.g., algebra class, home).
• IC stresses focusing on the conditions that can be modified
• Contrary to CBC's focus on observable behaviors, IC considers the child's cognition, motivation, prior learning, and attributions in identifying ways to help.

Consultation is usually conducted as a short series of interview

Allowing Group Members to Save Face

• Put comments that are potentially destructive to the consultative process on the table and allow member to explain themselves.

• Use conflict resolution techniques to come to an agreement of how to proceed.

• Problem-solving steps
• Developing a consultee centered working relationship
• An emphasis on collaboration

• Assessment methods that guide instruction
• Evidence based academic and behavioral interventions
• Fidelity assessments
• Decision-making rules

Components of CC

Pg. 38

IC 101

Goals of CBC

Phases of CBC

Consultees

(a) Interpersonal, communicative, interactive,and problem solving skills. There are 11 attitudes necessary to be an effective consultant, including:

1. Behave with integrity

2. Take risks

3. Respond proactively

(b) The knowledge base. There are 12 essential components, including:

1. Knowledge of the elements of effective instruction

2. Ability to observe and interpret instructional environments

3. Curriculum adaptation

4. Instructional adaptation

5. Knowledge of effective classroom management and discipline

(a) Promote academic, behavioral, and socioemotional outcomes for children through joint problem-solving

(b) Encourage parent engagement

(c) Strengthen the relationship among systems on behalf of the child's learning and development

(a) Needs identification/needs analysis (building on strengths)

(b) Plan development and implementation

(c) Plan evaluation (checking and reconnecting)

INTENT is to improve students' performance by improving the capacity of their teachers.

EMPHASIS on effective instruction assumes that many students, particularly those who are designated as learning disabled, are actually curricular or instructional casualties rather than disabled.

FOCUS on improving student outcomes in order to reduce inappropriate referral or eligibility for special education.

EFFECTIVE in reducing inappropriate referrals to special education.

Parents

AND

Teachers

Together, parents and teachers identify the problem, find the most suitable intervention, and are responsible for its success.

Synergism is huge.

Based on the goals of CBC

• CBC has been identified as the most suitable model for transition planning for students with disabilities.
• A focus on consultation during IEP's can come in handy when the participants disagree on the appropriate goals and/or interventions

These phases closely parallel the four stages of problem-solving/behavioral consultation.

STEPS:

Pg. 40

Pg. 37

#1 Contracting

#3 Intervention Design

#2 Problem Identification and Analysis

pg. 37

#5 Closure

Pg. 38

#4 Intervention Implantation and Evaluation

Discussion of the collaborative consultation relationship, problem-solving process, and teacher's expectations in order to ensure that the teacher is committed to this type of problem solving.

Plans for maintaining the student's improved progress are discussed, and the case is summarized in writing and formally concluded.

A detailed, evidence-based intervention plan is developed, including who will conduct which parts of the plan and how and when the effectiveness of the intervention will be monitored.

Prioritize a target behavior, develop an operational definition of the behavioral concern, collect baseline data on the behavior, and set short-term, interim, and long-term goals.

Ongoing progress-monitoring data are collected and graphed, and changes to the intervention are made if indicated by lack of growth over baseline.

Pg. 39

Pg. 37 & 38

Pg. 38 & 39

Pg. 40

Pg. 37

Types of Mental Health Consultation

Consultants Major Activities

Indirect Service Provision

Student Study Teams (SST)

The 4 “Lacks” of consultees

Skills/Knowledge

Consultation Configurations and Settings

Major Activities (Continued)

Facts

Philosophy, Purpose & Goals

Consultee-centered case

• A general education procedure designed to assist general education teachers (and parents) in working out ways to more effectively meet their teaching and behavior management responsibilities to students (Friend & Cook, 2003; Fuchs et al., 1989; Huebner & Hahn, 1990; Safran & Safran, 1996).
• No federal requirements or guidelines.
• Diversity in process, goals and outcomes.
• Three potential areas of difference based on teams varied perspectives about seeing seeing a problem as:
• Student deficits (intrachild weaknesses) or student assets (strengths).
• Teacher skills (how to use) or deficits (mistakes being made).
• Student needs (help each student one at a time) or system needs (change system approaches)

Most Common Consultation Configurations

According to Bradley (1994), the school consultant needs to be skillful in a number of areas including:

• ability to examine the personal characteristics of consultees (preferences and expectations).
• understand how the values and attitudes of consultees interact to affect the collaborative process.

• The consultant deals directly with the consultee in order to assist the consultee in formulating a plan for dealing with the client
• Consultant has little or no direct interaction with the student

Philosophy:

To work together to solve learning and behavior/adjustment problems of students, and try to solve these problems within the context of general education.

Purpose:

• To review the teacher's or parent's concerns about a student.
• To study the classroom or wider school issues associated with the student's difficulties.
• To recommend specific interventions designed to ameliorate difficulties.

Expected Goals (Borreti & Brent (1996)):

• Help students at risk for school failure and their teachers by providing alternatives in terms of teaching and behavior management strategies.
• Prevent learning problems and unnecessary placement in special education.
• Delineate and clarify suggestions for teachers.
• Approach school problems by using teamwork and brainstorming.
• Develop interventions that are appropriate for the general eduv=cation setting.
• From an administrative standpoint, provide a method for tracking cases and coordinating services.

Ex. The resource teacher meets with the general education teacher, assists her in making a plan for helping a student, and monitors the plan as it unfolds. In this situation the consultant may never meet directly with student; a meeting is optional, depending on the situation.

Client-centered case

Members & Roles

Outcomes

Deals directly with the student in order to provide some service, (such as assessment for treatment) or to develop ideas that a consultee can use when working with the student

Consultant works indirectly in the service of students by working directly with teachers and parents, who in turn are the direct service providers to the students.

Primary Service Providers: general education or special day-class teacher, parents or an outside agency.

Direct Service vs. Indirect Service of Consultation

Primary interaction with student will be through observation.

Problem Solving

• Engages the consultees in the process of problem definition, analysis and solution seeking.

• Interprets and breaks down barriers, encourages participation in the problem solving process, facilitates development of plans, and monitors implementation.

Methodology

Consultant

#1 Beginning Teacher Support Consultation

Ex. A teacher refers a student to the resource specialist or school psychologist because of learning problems. This specialist takes the student from the general classroom, does some assessment work, and writes a report for the teacher telling him what he should do to help the student

Transition Planning Team (TPT)

Outcomes

• Great effects in academic learning time, generally when the team fully engages in the instructional-consultation-team model.
• No success in increasing student's learning time, generally when the team fails to fully implement the problem-solving process.
• Determine whether to revise and retry intervention package.
• Referral to special education, but only after a serious effort has been made to deal with the issues at the general education level, including robust, targeted and monitored interventions.
• need to consider whether the interventions were sufficiently robust and intense to suggest general education alone cannot meet the student's needs.
• Documentation should include:
• The frequency and duration of intervention
• How well intervention adhered to plan based on the student's individualized needs.
• Evidence based practices (intervention integrity)
• Analysis of student's response in terms of progress monitoring data.
• SST is viewed as a procedural necessity to qualify a student for special education.
• In some schools: if teacher has referred a student then they immediately go to the assessment phase, which prompts a formal referral and subsequent federal guideline controls.
• New direction may detract teachers from continuing to assist the student in general education.

Members

• Referring teacher
• Student
• Administrators
• General and Special Education Teachers
• Only invite special education teacher after purpose of team is established as for the purpose of developing interventions, not begin eligibility process.
• General education teachers: invite those with the most and least success with student.
• Support Service Providers
• Only those needed due to their area of expertise.
• Should facilitate if well versed in problem solving consultation.
• Parents
• May be an informal group leader.
• May be the person who most strongly influences whatever decisions are made.

Roles

• Facilitator or Leader: keeps the meeting focused on the relevant facts and the available data by following the problem-solving consultation process.
• Formal leader: often and administrator or designee.
• Informal leader: may be appointed or emerge based on a variety of factors.
• Recorder
• Referring teacher(s)
• Timekeeper

• Coordinating Services.
• May assist the case carrier (for students identified as exceptional) in processing the steps needed to provide services for these students or to direct the implementation of interventions for other at-risk students.
• Someone must see that all parties are fulfilling their roles.

• Keeping accurate records.
• Consultant should keep written record of meetings with the consultee, and should provide them with a copy.
• Provides evidence of what has been discussed and planned and keeps participants aware of progress toward their goals.
• Special education due process hearings, meditations, and court cases are sometimes won or lost due to documentation.

• Coordinating or presenting in-service staff-development activities.

• Conducting interviews or facilitating discussions.
• Knowledge of group-oriented interview procedures, SST, and IEP meetings required.

• Observing interactions.
• Informal or naturalistic, resulting in general impression and possibly a narrative description of ecological influences on the students' learning.
• Formal, such as counting the nuber of times a student produces an accurate academic response every 10 minutes.
• Observation data can be used to create a baseline.

• Reviewing records.
• To determine what others have said and done about the student.
• Try to do before meeting with the consultee.
• May assist in identification of behaviors to target for intervention.

Communication and Communication Dynamics

• Spend much time talking and listening

• Others need someone to talk to when they are unable to solve puzzles created by students.

Program-centered administrative

Referrals and reason for referral:

• Students who have failed to produce the desired results from universal interventions, including high quality and differentiated instruction, within an RTI service delivery model.
• To support teachers who are having serious difficulties with a student considered to have achievement or social-personal-behavioral issues.

Process:

• Ideally the SST will follow the problem solving consultation steps.
• Usually meets on a weekly basis for varying amounts of time per student (depends on complexity of problem), and for varying numbers of times.
• Reconvenes to determine if intervention was implemented as planned and its effects.
• Provides each team participant, persons mentioned on forms, and the parent, a copy of each form containing information gathered and decisions made.

Possible reason for bogging down of process:

• Disagreement about the nature of the problem.
• Solutions/supports to the problem.
• Role of the regular educator in the intervention process.

Knowledge

• Background
• Cultural factors
• Do not read cum
• Do not read psychological or medical reports

Skill

• Has knowledge but does not know how to apply it

Confidence

• Afraid to try things they know how to do or could easily learn

Objectivity

The one-on-one model is the most common form of school consultation.

• Practical because it involves the least number of individuals

Team based meetings are impractical and frustrating because of conflicting demands and time limits.

One-on-one combined with eventual team consultation is the most successful.

• More ideas
• More resources
• Greater impact

PURPOSE: to improve new teacher's effectiveness and curb high rates of attrition

THE CLIENT: the class or classes taught by the new teacher

3 Major Components:

• Collegial reflection with a veteran teacher
• Professional development in the form of inservices offered by the district
• Formative assessment of the new teacher's teaching practices

IDEA has required IEP teams to engage in transition planning for students with disabilities over the age of 15 and to progress in the results-oriented process.

• Progress along these lines has been slow.

Challenges:

• A narrowing of the curriculum, where students are placed on either a "diploma" or a "non-diploma" track, rather than provided with a full range of curricular opportunities.
• Limited access to post-secondary education and to employment and independent living opportunities.
• Insufficient student and family participation in developing and implementing the plans.
• Lack of collaboration and system links at all levels.

The consultant evaluates a policy or program and develops a plan for improving it

Possibly No Interaction

Collaboration Interaction

Resource/Consulting Teacher (R/CT) Program Model

Consultee-centered administrative

Pgs. 41 & 42

Ex. A reading expert, possibly from outside the district, is brought in to evaluate a district’s reading program and to develop a set of guidelines for improving it

Triadic

Model of

School

Consultation

The consultant works with a group of consultees to help them develop better ways of managing their program

Strategies for Group Problem-Solving

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Student Study Team (SST)

R/CT provides:

• Direct services: through individual and small group instruction (similar to what goes on in the special education classrooms)
• Indirect services: through the consultation process to teachers who have special educations students included in their classrooms

CON: Not enough time

PRO: Opportunities for communication between

special education teachers and regular education teachers.

Ex. The consultant meets with elementary school principals to review their school wide behavior management methods

• Brainstorming: free development and expression of ideas.
• Lateral Thinking: thinking of the problem from a different angle.
• Concept Mapping: an alternative to outlining.
• Idea Checklists: premade lists of intervention ideas or sources of assistance.

Plan Development and Implementation and Progress Evaluation

• Consultant is expected to assist with the actual development of an intervention plan, follow through with implementation monitoring, and assist with ongoing evaluation.

• According to Dougherty (2000), consultants need the following skills:
• Convincing people to accept them in the consultative role.
• Clarifying and defining the problem.
• Evaluating factors contributing to the problem.
• Interpreting data.
• Analyzing the forces that are related to nonproductive behaviors of students and teachers.
• Developing plans with consultees through a collaborative process.
• Monitoring the implementation of these plans.
• Evaluating the success of these plans.

Consultant: often the Special Education

teacher

A student's special and general education teachers are required to meet with the student's parent and related support staff at least once per year to discuss the student's progress and set goals for the upcoming year.

Every 3 years the student's eligibility must be reexamined.

PURPOSE: to provide a forum for the discussion of referrals for assistance in dealing with student learning and behavior/social adjustment issues

Students are referred to the SST after universal or selective interventions have failed.

The team then makes recommendations for interventions and provide consultative help for teachers and parents.

Student

Required Interaction

Consultee

Interpersonal Effectiveness

• Following an initial consultation a consultant should ask himself if the consultee will want to meet with them again.
• The answer will be determined by the degree to which the consultant manifested the previously discussed skills.

Pgs. 42 & 43

Pg. 43

Pg. 42

Pg. 41

Rationale For A Model

Behavioral Paradigm

Questions that define the parameters of a consultants beliefs.

Two Theoretical Traditions

A Model is a way of conceptualizing or approaching a problem.

School-Based Consultant

Consulting with Parents and Families

Behavioral model is built on learning theories.

The Importance of Structure Within the SST Process

"Consultation with parents is increasingly recognized as a valuable, indeed essential, responsibility of the school-based consultant" (Kampwirth & Powers, 2012, p. 58).

The question for the school-based consultant is rarely as simple as "Should we contact the parents about this problem?"

• Behavioral Paradigm

Structured SST

It's about

Problem Solving!

Perception of SST

Consultants more often than not follow a model.

They pick a model and follow it closely because they believe it is the most appropriate way of thinking about and solving the referral problem.

• What models of consultation do I prefer?
• How do I define consultation to myself and others?
• How do I determine what approach would be most efficient and effective in any given situation?
• How will I reconcile my beliefs with those of the consultee if we differ?
• How does my theoretical position influence how I define a problem and what types of solutions I recommend?
• What is my view on the capacity for a given consultee or a system to change?

The Consultant Further Needs to Consider this Information...

• Set schedule for when the team will be meeting and who will be in attendance;
• A minimum of a week's notice given to expected attendees;
• The name of the student participant being discussed;
• At least a week is needed to inform parents so that arrangements can be made to ensure their attendance;
• The referring teacher and others who have information concerning the student to contribute, need time to prepare themselves and gather relevant data;
• Members have suitable decorum (arrive on time and stay for the entire length of meeting);
• Have an agenda displaying the appropriate time limits;
• Average between 25 to 35 minutes or 50 to 70 minutes in lengths-50 to 70 minutes if the SST is being translated into a divergent language to accommodate the parents.

How Often?

Consultation:Special Education and At-Risk Students

When?

Is an Agenda

Necessary?

Well, that depends on the circumstances!

By Whom?

The Benefits of Parent Consultation Collaboration

Consultation between the consultant and parent should occur when the purpose of the conversation is to benefit the student.

YES!!

The Consultant Must:

What warrants a phone call?

Meyers et al. (1996) distinguish that albeit the advantageousness of an SST system, Educators who participate in the SST system, are not convinced that the systemic process is a functional expenditure of their time and effort.

Jenny is

doing GREAT!

There are not formal rules as to who is the best individual to be in contact with the parents about their children.

• Recognize the parents' need for privacy;
• Be cautious that the frequency of communication does not intrude on the families' personal time;
• Determine the appropriate and sufficient amount of parental contact necessary;
• Be sensitive to linguistic differences and proficiency levels
• Acknowledge and validate the parents' willingness to engage in these contacts;
• and, be flexible

• Absenteeism
• Behavioral concerns
• Declining academic performance
• Improved academic performance
• Improved behavior and attendance

Potential Deficiencies of this Teaming Effort

For students, improved grades, attitudes, and school attendance

Traditionally, the classroom teacher

has been the primary contact person,

and this remains generally true.

Topics

• The school based consultant or teacher who contacts the parent needs to have a predetermined specific agenda to govern his/her consultative interactions.
• What exactly do I want to convey? What is the problem or issue? How can I frame it in an objective manner so as to ensure a cooperative relationship and not generate parent defensiveness?
• Just who is the parent? Do I know her? What is the familial structure? Who lives at home?
• How can I frame my concern as an invitation for the parent to work with me?

Behaviorists

• Skinner
• Bandura
• Meichenbaum

Communication Process:Parents

Why is having a structured SST critical?

• "Poorly organized meetings tend to be inefficient and unproductive; busy teachers and others resent having to attend them" (Kampwirth & Powers, 2012, p. 57).

However, Counselors, as consultants, are

equally as responsible for contacting

parents regarding student concerns.

"The process of interaction is continuous, preferably starting with a teacher who has regular contact with the parents of the targeted student" (Kampwirth & Powers, 2012, p. 59).

• Mental Health

• Each family constructs its own reality. They may not see the problem as you do or even be in complete agreement among themselves.
• Many families do not have the amount or type of education you have; be careful not to talk over their heads or down to them.
• Some families are not forthcoming about themselves or their customs, values, or beliefs.
• Be alert of their willingness to share much about themselves or their child while you try to remain objective about the facts and the need to take action.
• Some families accept problems as a part of their life and many not share your desire to do something about them.
• While recognizing this value difference, try to indicate why their assistance would be of assistance in the remediation process (as cited in Kampwirth & Powers, 2012).

• Parents can initiate contact by contacting school personnel whenever they see fit;
• Most do not abuse the privilege and some may have a diminished level of confidence, English language proficiency, and literacy level, which impedes their willingness to establish initial contact.

School-Home Collaboration

• Parents generally appreciate being asked to collaborate in the problem solving process. They may respond positively with a myriad of strong ideas if asked for their advice about the problem being addressed.
• Others believe that you, as the educator, know best what to do.
• The sensitive consultant needs to be cognizant of the fact that not all parents are able or willing to collaborate; some would rather have the remediation process provided for them.
• Establish goals and explain what is needed, who will do it, when it needs to be done, where it will be done, and how one will know if it has been successful.
• Assume, until evidence elucidates otherwise, that all families want to be an integral part of the problem-solving process.
• Be flexible in terms of when and where you meet (as cited in Kampwirth & Powers, 2012).

• Insufficient teacher involvement/participation in the process.
• Lack of respect for the teachers by some team members.
• Meetings not held with sufficient frequency or consistency.
• Inconsistent attendance by some team members.
• Insufficient follow-up.
• Process too slow and possibly delaying the provision of needed services (such as special education).
• No solutions to problems.
• Reluctance to refer to special education.
• Problem with group process.
• Consultation not provided sufficiently.
• Consultation ideas difficulty to implement.

More parental cooperation with school personnel in solving children's learning and behavior/adjustment problems.

• Students identified as disabled and/or at risk of academic failure need to be served from a base broader than the one that occurs during the six hours of the school day.
• School-Home collaboration for students with disabilities is required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• For at-risk students, educators utilize myriad approaches and philosophies in an attempt to embrace the familial unit as an integral component in addressing challenges associated with the needs of these students.

For teachers, improved attitudes

and better parent and principal ratings.

Family

"This list will negate that positive potential and cause dissension and discouragement among the team members."

Students

For parents, more interaction with children in a more productive way.

School

And Remember...

Consultation, whether with teachers or parents, is not about WINNING arguments or GAINING some tactical advantage as in a debate. It is not about BLAMING or a search for intrafamily deficits.

Plan Evaluation

Three Steps

• Evaluating goal attainment
• Evaluating Plan effectiveness
• Planning Post-implementation

4 Stages In The Behavioral Consultation Model

Basic Paradigm to Analyze Behaviors

Current Thinking About The Behavioral Model

Basic Concepts In Behavioral Consultation

Problem Identification- Consultant receives and discusses a referral with the consultee and attempts to clarify its nature

• Not very popular among teachers because data has to be kept.
• Teacher may have to change their own behavior.
• Reinforcement is often misinterpreted as bribery.
• Lack of training in this model.

Plan Implementation-

Consultee proceeds with appropriate interventions.

Antecedents- are events that precede and are believed to be functionally connected to the behavior that follows the antecedents occurrence.

• Problem Identification
• Problem Analysis
• Plan Implementation
• Plan Evaluation

Problem Analysis-

Consultant delves further into the nature of the problem, usually by observing it directly

Essentially a behaviorist believes that behaviors are a function of the contingencies that control them (i.e., their antecedents and consequences) and the functional relationships between behaviors and their environmental and cognitive (i.e., self-talk) contexts.

Meeting Closure

• Voluntary face-to face interviews
• Identify and analyze client problems
• Design and evaluate intervention plans

• Antecedents
• Behaviors
• Consequences

MORE SUGGESTED

STEPS FOR

MEETINGS

BYE!

HASTA LUEGO!

Ricardo Tamayo

Maria Guardarrama

Ines Amaya

Jenny Mota

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External- difficulty of an assignment.

Internal- hunger,emotional state

What is

Conjoint Consultation?

Proximal- close in time of the actual behavior

Distal- more distant (historical ) events in a clients life

Familial Involvement to Encourage

Get

Involved!

SUPPORT YOUR

KIDS!!

The established goals should be stated in language that describes specific behaviors.

• "Carlos will increase the amount of time he is seated at his desk and actively working on his assignments."
• "Carlos will improve his behavior and reduce his hyperactivity."

• Conjoint consultation is a promising approach to partnering with parents, by collaborating with the parents and the teachers simultaneously.
• In this process:
• Resources can be pooled to develop a more powerful intervention leading to greater consistency between home and school than when consultation happens with each party separately.

The first step is to reach a consensus about the nature of a problem and desired outcome. The problem should be stated in behavioral terms, avoiding jargon and disease-oriented terminology.

• "We are concerned about Carlos' high level of activity and his difficulty in approaching assignments in a calm task-oriented way."
• "Observation of Carlos suggests ADHD, probably stemming from some form of cerebral deficit or other constitutional dysfunction."

Each goal should be accompanied by one or more interventions that may be implemented by a variety of team members, including parents, and the student.

• Effective Parenting: Meeting students' basic needs for food, safety, and physical and emotional well-being.
• Consistent Communication Between Families and School:
• Phone calls are returned
• Report cards are evaluated
• Conferences are attended
• Volunteer Service: Many parents are eager to help out at school; they only need to be asked. Parents can provide indirect and direct support at school, if their help is solicited in a positive manner.

• Support Via Home Learning: Examples of ways families can support the school's effort-
• Continued Homework assistance
• Trips to the library
• Involvement in Cultural enriching activities
• Decision-Making Efforts by Family Members and School Personnel:
• Involvement in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
• Site-based management teams
• Collaboration Efforts:
• Professional, legal, and voluntary involvement with communal agencies-that may be of assistance to the educational needs of the students.

Analyze the problem to the depth necessary to develop a set of goals and interventions. Encourage parent input, being sure to add their commentary to whatever written documentation is being developed.

Suggested Steps

Assuming that the parent or student will have an active role in the implementation process of the selected interventions, the consultant must be sure that they are able to do their part in carrying them out.

• Remember that parents may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with what is being asked of them.
• Offer support, "What resources or support would you like to have as you try this idea?"

Develop only as many goals as are necessary and possible to attain.

• Briefly summarize the purpose, goals and interventions developed, and the team members responsibilities.
• Say THANK YOU! Thank the parent for their participation.
• Plan for the next follow-up procedure.

• Secure a comfortable and attractive location that is free of distractions.
• The person conducting the meeting should be alerted to the arrival of the parents by the front office personnel. Once informed, they should greet the parents, lead them to the meeting room, offer them seats, and conduct introductions of all team members.
• The utilization of "small talk" to establish rapport and help the parents to relax, is appropriate.
• The team leader, should announce the purpose and goals of the meeting, asking the parents to give their input regarding these issues.

Family & School Collaboration

Racquel Martinez, Jenny Mota, Ines Amaya, Maria Guadarrama, and Ricardo Tamayo