NASP Summer Conferences

Denver, CO: July 12–14, 2010

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Presenter biographies are available here.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 1:30–4:45 p.m.; repeated on
Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 8:30–11:45 a.m.

1. Cognitive–Behavioral Strategies for Children: Evidence-Based Interventions for the School Setting (3 credit hours)
Melissa A. Reeves, PhD, NCSP, LPC, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC

This workshop will provide participants with specific cognitive–behavioral intervention strategies to utilize with children and adolescents in a school setting. Topics to be covered include anxiety, school refusal, depression, ADHD, aggression, and traumatic stress. Specific examples of techniques and activities will be shared.

Objectives of this workshop include:

• An overview of the components underlying cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT).
• How to utilize and teach cognitive–behavioral strategies in a school setting.
• The integration and generalization of skills to the educational setting and academic instruction.

2. Ethical Decision Making and RTI (3 credit hours)
Kristin N. Johnson-Gros, PhD, NCSP, and J. Michael Havey, EdD, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston (link to bios)

This presentation will provide participants with an overview of the NASP standards and ethical principles as they relate to an RTI model. Within this framework, participants will be able to develop a knowledge base of how these standards and principles apply to everyday decision-making throughout a multitier system of service delivery. Participants then will have opportunities to practice these decision-making skills through case examples with vignettes. Participants will earn 3.0 CPDs to fulfill the ethics and professional practice requirements for NCSP renewal.

Specific learning objective of this workshop are that the participant will:

• Develop a knowledge base of how to apply the NASP standards to an RTI model.
• Develop a knowledge base of how to apply ethical decision making to an RTI model.
• Synthesize the NASP standards, ethical principles, and the knowledge base of a multitier RTI model in a cohesive framework for practice.

3. RTI Evidence-Based Interventions for Students With Memory Impairments (3 credit hours)
Milton J. Dehn, EdD, NCSP, Schoolhouse Educational Services, LLC, Stoddard, WI

Many students with learning problems and disabilities have impairments in short-term, working, or long-term memory. Evidence-based instruction and interventions designed to enhance memory functions can improve academic learning and performance. This workshop will begin with an overview of the neuropsychological foundations of memory and the relationships between memory systems and academic skills and knowledge. Classroom instructional practices that effectively improve memory at Tier 1 will be highlighted, as well as group and individual mnemonic interventions appropriate for Tier 2 interventions. The workshop will conclude with intensive individualized memory interventions intended for students who require Tier 3 services and special education.

Specific learning objectives are that participants will be able to:

• Identify different memory systems, types of memory dysfunctions, and populations at risk for memory impairments
• Describe the relationships between memory functions and types of academic learning.
• Describe several effective instructional practices that enhance students’ memory performance at Tier 1.
• Describe several evidence-based interventions designed to improve the memory functioning of students who require Tier 2 and Tier 3 services.

4. School Refusal Behavior: Assessment and Intervention Within a Three-Tier PBS Model (3 credit hours)
Mary B. Wimmer, PhD, Bristol and Woodlands Schools, WI

School refusal behavior refers to students who miss school due to emotional reasons such as anxiety or depression. The term also includes students referred to as “truant.” These students are disengaged from school and often have severe emotional difficulties. How can we help students feel safe and connected to their schools? How should we intervene when a student misses school because of anxiety or depression?

In this workshop, participants will learn cutting-edge ways to:

• Create school environments that help prevent school refusal behavior.
• Use assessment to select interventions for students who refuse to come to school.
• Implement evidence-based Tier II and III interventions that reduce school refusal behavior and increase attendance.

5. Selecting Academic Interventions for Individual Students (3 credit hours)
Rebecca S. Martinez, PhD, NCSP, Indiana University–Bloomington

Although many struggling students respond to intense empirically supported intervention applied by the standard protocol group approach, some students require individualized interventions derived from careful problem solving. Even if a particular intervention is empirically validated (i.e., backed by research) for a majority of students, it is of no use to an individual student if it is not proven to work for that student (i.e., locally validated). Local validation of an intervention’s effectiveness is tantamount to the medical standard of care that physicians offer each of their patients in diagnosing and treating illness. Fortunately, methods to determine intervention goodness-of-fit for individual students are deceptively simple.

By attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand the fundamental principles of effective intervention.
• Identify when and why academic strategies work.
• Select intervention components that match a student’s instructional needs.
• Prove whether the intervention is valid for the student.