Assisting children and families who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices: Best practices for school psychologists

In developing individual education plans for children who need assistive technology devices, school psychologists will increasingly be called upon to assist in the decision making process regarding electronic augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices. A thorough assessment is required to select a device that is most appropriate for the child and their family. Assessment factors which must be considered within five domains (child, AAC device, service system, family, culture) are reviewed. A self-checklist is provided to help school psychologists develop and conduct thorough “best practice” assessments for the target population. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Predictive validity of the Slosson Intelligence Test with the WISC-R and the WRAT-R level 1

Slosson Intelligence Tests (SITS) administered by school guidance counselors correlated significantly with school psychologist administered WISC-Rs (r=.75). The Slosson IQ correlated significantly higher with the WISC-R Verbal IQ than with the Performance IQ score. The mean Slosson IQ was a statistically significant 4.4 points higher than the mean WISC-R Full Scale IQ (p<.01).     

A Comfortable Start for Everyone: The First Week of School in Three Multi-Age (K-2) Classrooms

This article describes the start of the school year in three multi-age classrooms where 8 new kindergarten children join 16 returning first and second graders. The authors (professor/observers and teachers) describe what happens during the first week of school in this setting where the students remain with their teachers for 3 years. They explain what the start of the year is like for the returning students (first and second graders), the new students (kindergartners), the parents, and the teachers.     

Factors associated with physical activity referral uptake and participation

The aim of this study was to examine participant and scheme characteristics in relation to access, uptake, and participation in a physical activity referral scheme (PARS) using a prospective population-based longitudinal design. Participants (n = 3762) were recruited over a 3-year period. Logistic regression analyses identified the factors associated with the outcomes of referral uptake, participation, and completion (> or = 80% attendance). Participant's age, sex, referral reason, referring health professional, and type of leisure provider were the independent variables. Based on binary logistic regression analysis (n = 2631), only primary referral reason was associated with the PARS coordinator making contact with the participants. In addition to the influence of referral reason, females were also more likely (odds ratio 1.250, 95% confidence interval 1.003-1.559, P = 0.047) to agree to be assigned to a leisure provider. Referral reason and referring health professional were associated with taking up a referral opportunity. Older participants (1.016, 1.010-1.023, P < 0.001) and males were more likely to complete the referral. In conclusion, the PARS format may be less appropriate for those more constrained by time (women, young adults) and those with certain referral reasons (overweight/obesity, mental health conditions). More appropriate targeting at the point of referral could improve participation rates by revealing or addressing barriers that might later result in dropout.     

Difficult dialogs: Majority group members’ willingness to talk about inequality with different minority groups

The present study explored attitudes of a majority group, Turks, toward dialog with two minority groups, Kurds and Armenians, in Turkey. We examined whether Turks would be equally likely to avoid discussing inequality (power talk) in imaginary dialogs with Kurds and Armenians, two groups that while equally devalued differ in their likelihood of being considered ingroup members. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that because Turks share a common religious identity with Kurds but not with Armenians, they would be more willing to engage in power talk with Kurds than with Armenians. In addition, we explored the role of intergroup contact, majority group identification (Turkish and Muslim), social dominance orientation (SDO), and the legitimizing ideologies of belief in cultural diversity and perceptions of ethnic discrimination as predictors of willingness for power talk with each group. Ethnic Turks were more willing to talk about commonalities with both minority groups, and less willing to talk about power inequalities with either group, even less so with Armenians than with Kurds. As expected, this difference was moderated by religious identification, such that Turks with stronger Muslim identification were more willing to have power talk with Kurds but not with Armenians. These findings point to the importance of common ingroup identity in majority members’ responses to different minority groups.