SCHOOL COUNSELING AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

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Assist. Prof. Dr. Gül KAHVECİ

European University of Lefke

Dr Fazıl Küçük Faculty of Education Special Education Teaching, Lefke-TRNC

gkahve[email protected].tr

ABSTRACT

The literature indicates changing criteria from a reactive to a proactive process to include people with disabilities in inclusion

counseling in primary schools. This article outlines theadditional factors that are contributing to the low professional

visibility of school counselors. The Proactive Model of School Counseling presented here encourages counselors to widen

their horizons, not only being responsive to the students seeking counseling on their own, but also reaching out to all students

including“special students”, for the implementation of concrete agendas. Their preplanning activities might include:

developing a school guidance committee, conducting assessment surveys to prioritize student needs, planning an annual

calendar for guidance activities, and making provisions for group guidance sessions. The Proactive Model emphasizes the

conceptual, operational, evaluative, public relations, and personal development of student counselors. These components are

sequenced, interrelated, and precede one another in significance during implementation. Each component is discussed and

suggestions for implementation given.

Keywords: inclusion, counseling, disability, Proactive Model

The counseling services provided to children with disabilities are significantly outside the average

range of general counseling. Many areas of the counseling profession in primary schools have fallen

short, with a lack of understanding and appreciation (e.g., attitudes, values, beliefs), a limited

repertoire of skills (e.g., techniques, strategies, interventions), and knowledge base. When school

counselors do not provide services or develop programs to accommodate the needs of children with

disabilities, they deny these students of their expertise and themselves of the enrichment that comes

with working with children with disabilities who are challenging, deserving, and responsive.

There are a number of additional factors that are contributing to the low professional visibility of

school counselors; lack of well-defined school counselor's roles, goals and job descriptions (Baker,

1992 ; Brown, 1989), too many administrative routine assignments and too high counselor-student

ratio that don't allow school counselors to use their special skills (Gysbers, 1990). However, all

students refers to those who are average, gifted and talented, low achieving and to those with

handicaps and disabilities; those in all ethnic, and cultural, groups; those who speak Turkish as a

second language; migrants; boys and girls; and any other “special students” in the school. This

principle indicates that all students, including children with disabilities, should have equal access to

counselors, the guidance curriculum, counseling resources, and all other direct and indirect services.

Children with disabilities will experience some of the following problems throughout their school age

years. They may be subjected to a multitude of obstacles and barriers (i.e., non-acceptance,

discrimination, stereotypically thinking). In some cases, these children experience more than their

normal share of frustration and difficulty in attempting to resolve the issues that are encountered with

daily living activities. It is not uncommon for children with disabilities to experience chronic

hopelessness as a result of anxiety and depression. Sometimes they have access and performance

problems in schools, which could or could not be related to the disability. Also, they show delayed

development of self-concept that can influence one's sense of self-worth, and viewing one's self as

dumb, damaged, weak, and vulnerable.

Counseling professionals historically have had limited contact with this population for a variety of

reasons. Some counselors lack confidence and training to serve these groups. Some are uncomfortable

around people with disabilities. Others have incorrect information about or prejudices toward those

with exceptional needs (Tucker, Shepard, & Hurst, 1986). In addition, because services to children

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with disabilities are most often delivered by special education personnel, counselors may believe that

their skills are not needed for these groups (Tarver Behring, Spagna, & Sullivan, 1998).

Although children with disabilities are an extremely heterogeneous group of diverse learners, each

with unique learning strengths and needs, many of the graduate counselor education programs have

not provided prospective school counselors with adequate training for the development and provision

of services or how to professionally interact with children who have disabilities, which includes

physical behavioral, emotional and mental disabilities. In addition, limited preparation is provided in

the area of cooperation and collaborative efforts in working with other specialists and professionals to

provide children with disabilities a more comprehensive developmental holistic approach to services.

Children with disabilities are often misunderstood and frequently less served by the counseling

profession, these children need services just as much as other children (McDowell, Coven, &Eash,

1979). In addition, all counselors have a professional and ethical responsibility to facilitate conditions

that promote the full potential for all individuals, including exceptional groups (Baker, 1992;

Holmgren, 1996). As knowledge and experience are obtained for this population, counselors can serve

children and their families more fully as intended by legal and professional guidelines. Most

counselors, however, do have many of the skills needed to work with these children and their families,

such as communication strategies, a background in human, and experience with an array of therapeutic

techniques (Cochrane & Marini, 1977). Moreover, a proactive approach to the role of counselor, a

focus on relationship-building, a desire to operationalize equal opportunities policies, an inclusive

approach to initial assessment, flexible and creative approaches to counseling, continuing professional

training and awareness raising can be important facts in all counseling processes.

From a counseling perspective, these students, regardless of their specific handicap, present similar

characteristics that preclude using traditional counseling methods. Inherently all of these students are

believed to experience developmental delays that may impair one or more of their learning channels

and may range from mild to severe. Individuals may exhibit inappropriate behavior relative to their

chronological age and often are socially isolated. A poor self-concept is another quality found in this

target population. Students may also lack adequate expressive language, are often disorganized in their

thought processes, and usually have considerable difficulty with time management skills.

Keeping these factors in mind, school counselors are encouraged to do more in-depth research and

preparation on specific disabilities, with strategies and interventions to assist the scope and direction

of interventions that are effective when developing programs and providing services to children with

disabilities. A number of empirical studies have verified the positive effects of group counseling

interventions. Students have shown significant increases in academic persistence and achievement

(Deffenbacher& Kemper, 1974; Morse, 1987), school attendance (Krivatsy-O'Hara, Reed, &

Davenport, 1978), classroom behaviors (Myrick & Dixon, 1985), self-esteem (Herr, 1982),

selfconcepts (Cangelosi, Gressard, & Mines, 1980), and their attitudes toward school and others (Herr,

1982). These increases held for special population groups, including low-achieving students

(Thompson, 1987; Wilson, 1986a), disruptive students (Bleck&Bleck, 1982; Downing, 1977; Omizo,

Hershberger, &Omizo, 1988), learning-disabled students (Amerikaner&Summerlin, 1982;

Omizo&Omizo, 1987a, 1988b), gifted students (Kerr &Ghrist-Priebe, 1988).

As school counselors prepare to provide counseling services, it is important not to generalize across

disabilities with handicapping conditions, putting children and adolescents with disabilities at risk.

These children and adolescents vary just as much as individuals in any other group. Interventions may

need to be more hands-on in the approach to the problem resolution as well as culturally sensitive and

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appropriate. External issues, which are problems outside the child, may need to be addressed because

of the direct or indirect implication on the disability. School counselors should be cognizant of the

limits and biases that may be presented by children with moderate to severe disabilities. In addition, it

is crucial that school counselors have knowledge of the laws and understand the rights of children with

disabilities.

All of these issues challenge counseling professionals to be creative. Counselors attend to instructional

practices, staff-student interactions, and other environmental factors that may impede development of

students because;school counseling interventions have a substantial impact on students’ educational

and personal development.The initial stage of counseling requires the manipulation of several

components in the counseling environment. Developing the setting is critical before learning can

occur.

 Counseling activities should be no longer than 20 to 30 minutes.

 Distractions in the environment should be kept to a minimum or eliminated.

 Tasks should be structured and followed consistently.

 Multisensory approaches including auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic, should be used by

counselors while presenting activities to the students.

All of these components are designed to keep student confusion and frustration to a minimum and still

allow the participants to function in a well-controlled environment using multisensory approaches to

promote understanding.

The ability to communicate concretely is vital for success with handicapped students.

 Verbal generalities should be avoided. Abstract relationships and terms should not be used by

the counselor.

 Questions beginning with the words how and why should be avoided.

 Short, concise, explicit sentences should be employed.

These guidelines will enable students to understand specific concepts and terminology used by the

counselor so that they will be able to concentrate on learning.

Frequent and consistent repetitions are needed during the counseling session.

 A review of previous meetings and their objectives should occur at the beginning of each

counseling session.

 Students or clients should be told what to expect at each session.

 A summary of the activity should be presented stressing the important areas for students or

clients to remember.

Repetitions allow students to absorb each session and understand the continuity of the presentations.

There is widespread consensus concerning the desired nature and scope of school counseling for

children with disabilitieswhich includes interventions to increase awareness, acceptance, and

appreciation of cultural diversities(e.g., ASCA, 1981, 1984; ASCA, 1988; ASCA/NACAC, 1986).

In addition, counselors attend to school policies and procedures, instructional practices, staff-student

interactions, and other environmental factors that may impede development of students because,

school counseling interventions have a substantial impact on students' educational and personal

development. Moreover, individual and small-group counseling, classroom guidance, and consultation

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activities seem to contribute directly to students' success in the classroom and beyond,

and school counselors should spend the majority of their time performing these interventions.

It is in the spirit of empowering the school counselors to gain their credibility, assert their significance,

and make their own unique place in the school system and the professional community;the following

Proactive Model of School Counseling is postulated.

Basically, the underlying professional zeitgeist of this model is to shift reactive approaches to

proactive approaches in school counseling. In addition being responsive to the daily demands of some

students who seek counseling on their own, the primary focus of this model is to help school

counselors reach out to all students in a systematic, well-planned manner for the implementation of

some concrete agenda.

To become proactive, it is high time that counselors use a balanced approach to counseling and heed

Baker's (1992) admonition: Counselors in the twenty-first century must be able to provide prevention

services that meet and enhance developmental needs and treatment services when interventions are

needed. Counselors will need to be flexible in reacting to differing consumer demands and be

proactive in providing services that enhance person development and coping skills. This approach

requires school counselors to shift from a primarily responsive service orientation to school counseling

partnerships that are proactive and developmental.

Proactive approach is an advocacy approach to promote and support student interests. When a school

is not responsive to the needs of students or there are some school practices that are detrimental to the

interests of students, a counselor might have to make a difficult choice either to meet the needs of the

students or the demands of the institution. Proactive counselors serve as strong advocates of students

when they have to face such matters as "confidentiality, injustice to students, inappropriate curricula,

incompetent teachers, and unresponsive administrators" (Aubrey, 1970, p. 6). In their advocacy role,

school counselors can collaborate with teachers to maximize potential of their students through

information about different learning styles, motivational strategies, and new pedagogical approaches.

Student problems require enormous amount of time, networking with others is not a matter of luxury

but a dire necessity. A counselor can build a large support group by developing a systematic, long-

term liaison with a number of diverse groups within and outside the school. Within a school, students

trained as peer counselors can effectively present topics such as self-esteem, peer-pressure, time-

management, etc. to lower grade students. Similarly teachers trained by counselors could provide

some group guidance activities in interpersonal skills, developing friendships, lifestyle decisions,

developing self-discipline, and leadership skills. School counselors function at the forefront level in a

manner that enhances teacher contributions in the proactive approach process. According to Hart and

Jacobi (1992) counselors should train all school staff, from support staff through senior faculty and

administrators, to contribute to the guidance function.

Since these services are basically instructional in nature, teachers can be extremely helpful in

implementing them as classroom guidance activities. Since parents have a strong and direct impact on

their children's personal development, their role in counseling and guidance can't be ignored. Parent

involvement is an important component of programs designed to improve the educational outcomes

for children with disabilities. When families are involved in collaborative relationships with school

personnel and that active parent involvement is related to positive student outcomes such as increased

student achievement and fewer discipline problems in the classroom and at home (Christenson, 1995;

Christenson, Rounds, & Franklin, 1992; Christenson & Sheridan, 2001)

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How can psychologists work with parents and teachers to foster the best possible outcome for students

with disabilities in inclusive classrooms? School-based consultation is considered one of the primary

vehicles for accomplishing this goal.Conjoint behavioral consultation(CBC) is a relatively new model

of consultation that intervenes at the home–school level and actively engages educators and families in

mutual decision-making (Sheridan, Eagle, Cowan, &Mickleson, 2001; Bulut, 2007). It is defined as a

structured, indirect form of service delivery in which parents, teachers and support personnel join

together in a collaborative effort to meet the academic, social or behavioral needs of children

(Sheridan, Kratochwill, & Bergan, 1996).

The consultation process consisted of problem identification (PI), problem analysis (PA), treatment

(plan) implementation (TI), treatment monitoring (TM) and treatment (plan) evaluation (TE), made

operational by four structured interviews. The stages of CBC were implemented via standardized

protocols detailing specific objectives and procedures of the model. The consultant developed the

treatment monitoring (TM) stage to enhance fidelity to the intervention plan (Wilkinson, 2005).CBC

counselors preplan their activities in advance to implement their guidance program for different levels;

they are not just responsive to day to day situations and problems.Broadly speaking, counseling and

guidance services are a shared responsibility of parents, school, and community.

Individuals who:

Level 1.Are not eligible and do not receive special services, (mild)

Level 2.Are identified as exceptional who are placed full-time in regular programs or classes, (mild)

Level 3.Are assigned to regular programs with supportive special services and resources, (mild)

Level 4.Are assigned part-time to a special program and part-time to a regular program, (mild)

Level 5.Are placed full-time in a special program or class (moderate)

The important distinction between consultation at Level 1 and the levels that follow is that many of the

problems and needs in Level I do not legally qualify as exceptional. In such cases, the special educator

may be precluded from providing direct services to the individual. However, existing legal guidelines

do allow for CBC between any professional who is providing direct service and the special educator.

This is an important and too often overlooked point. There is an understandable but unreasonable

tendency to assume that any helping profession that is not directly engaged in service delivery is

simply not involved at all. On the contrary, the professional who is responsible for the direct delivery

of the service (e.g., classroom teacher, counselor, social worker) to the individual should assume an

open invitation to consult with any other professional whose expertise has the potential for enhancing

the effectiveness of the intervention.

Finally, school counselor responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

• providing school counseling curriculum lessons, individual and/or group counseling to students with

special needs within the scope of the comprehensive school counseling program

• providing short-term, goal-focused counseling in instances where it is appropriate to include these

strategies as a part of the IEP

• encouraging family involvement in the educational process

• consulting and collaborating with staff and families to understand the special needs of a student and

understanding the adaptations and modifications needed to assist the student

• advocating for students with special needs in the school and in the community

• contributing to the school’s multidisciplinary team within the scope and practice of the

comprehensive school counseling program to identify students who may need to be assessed to

determine special education eligibility

• collaborating with other related student support professionals (e.g., school psychologists, physical

therapists, occupational therapists, special education staff, speech and language pathologists) in the

delivery of services

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• providing assistance with developing academic, transition and postsecondary plans for students with

IEP’s as appropriate (Tarver-Behring, Spagna and Sullivan, 1998).

Counselors can prepare themselves to serve exceptional groups in several ways. As a first step, they

must clarify their feelings and attitudes about working with children who have disabilities. Pity, low

expectations, repulsion to physical abnormalities, misinformation, and other biases can preclude

effective counseling (Baker, 1992). Correct information and direct experience can facilitate accurate

awareness and acceptance of these groups. In addition, counselors must obtain knowledge and training

for working with specific groups with exceptional needs (Tarver-Behring,Spagna, and Sullivan, 1998;

Tucker,Shepard,and Hurst, 1986). They can obtain this knowledge through, counseling workshops,

consultation, supervision, current therapeutic literature, and community resources.

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