Psychologist

Student achievement flourishes with help from GSE psychologist

Geoff is a relative newcomer to education psychology, but not to special education.

In January 2005, Geoff started working as a psychologist for the Ministry of Education, Special Education (GSE) in Whangarei. Before that, he was a speech-language therapist (here and overseas) for almost ten years - first in the health sector, then in the special education sector.

Geoff says psychology appeals to him because of its broad scope. For example, his master's degree focused on sexuality education for children and young people with special education needs. It looked at issues such as children's self esteem and strategies for protecting children and young people against sexual exploitation and abuse.

"It's an area not often dealt with, yet it's an area I'd like to look at more, perhaps with the aim of developing a programme," says Geoff who has a bachelor's degree in speech-language therapy, post-graduate diplomas in special education and education psychology, and a master's degree in psychology.

Geoff describes his day-to-day psychology work as interesting, challenging and varied too. He works with under-fives before they go to school, as well as school-aged children.

He's often called on by frustrated parents and teachers who care for and teach children with behaviour that interferes with relationships and learning. For example, one of Geoff's clients is eight-year-old Tanya (not her real name). He eventually assessed her behaviour as `severe'.

When they met, Tanya was physically and verbally aggressive towards her peers, didn't complete her school work, often disrupted lessons, and wasn't responding to her classroom teacher's existing set of strategies and specialist support.

"Tanya's classroom teacher was excellent, she wanted Tanya to learn and she wanted to respond positively to her - she took the initiative by trying different strategies. In the end they didn't work, and so after talking with her principal, she called GSE," says Geoff.

Firstly, Geoff talked about Tanya's behaviour with her parents and teacher to find out what strategies they used, what worked, what didn't, and to understand everyone's concerns.

After that meeting, Geoff drafted a letter outlining the process he planned to take, then began quietly observing and assessing Tanya's behaviour in different settings including the classroom and playground.

He looked at the way her classes were structured, her teacher's practice and (with her parent's agreement) the way they parented Tanya. Geoff also reviewed Tanya's academic and medical reports and spoke to her principal.

"For me it's important to work together, recognising that we all have some of the answers in these situations, that we all have an area of expertise and that we are all responsible for a child's education and wellbeing," says Geoff.

Eventually Geoff set up a meeting with Tanya's teacher and parents to discuss the information he collected, his ideas about why Tanya behaved the way she did and to review (and possibly change) the set of strategies and roles he'd compiled from ideas and suggestions from Tanya's parents, classroom teacher and principal.

The team's final list of strategies became Tanya's individual education plan. Her plan outlines the range of ways the team helps Tanya achieve at school, including the way they consistently respond to Tanya's behaviour, their use of clear communication, and the way they reward her good behaviour with praise and rewards such as whole-class games that strengthened her friendships.

"Today Tanya's doing very well," says Geoff. "School and home are happier places for everyone and Tanya's achievement is continuously improving. Now it's a matter of monitoring Tanya's progress and making changes where and when we need to."

Geoff says he'll withdraw from the situation when Tanya's parents and school feel they have the skills and confidence to manage Tanya's progress without him. Though he's quick to say: "If they ever get to a point where they need me or GSE, we're only a phone call away."

Working with psychologists - a point to note

Educational psychologists are employed by GSE and other fundholders of government money such as special schools and Accredited Service Providers (ASPs) of early intervention services.

It's important to note that Ministry of Education, Special Education (GSE) psychologists don't all work in exactly the same way. The case study above shows readers what may happen if you work with a GSE psychologist like Geoff and a student like Tanya. In many cases, psychologists are part of a team of GSE specialists who work together to support a child or young person with special education needs at school and in early childhood education.

In all cases, though, GSE psychologists adapt what they do to suit the needs of individual children and young people, the needs of families, whānau, educators and specialists, and to suit the context in which children and young people live and learn. They also adapt the way they work as new research evidence emerges and as their knowledge and experience grows.