A Practical Guide to Implementing School-Based Interventions for Adolescents With ADHD by Brandon K. Schultz & Steven W. Evans

Author:Brandon K. Schultz & Steven W. Evans
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Reference & Language, Psychology, Health & Well Being, Child Development, Child & Adolescent, Nonfiction, Education & Teaching
ISBN: 9781493939664
Publisher: Springer
Published: 2015-06-10T21:00:00+00:00

as a result, turned in the wrong assignments. Sam’s science teacher reported that a

major project was submitted a week late, resulting in a substantial point deduction.

In fact, three of his core class teachers reported that his grades were negatively im-

pacted by missing assignment scores. In one of our early sessions, Sam’s counselor

learned that he rarely used his assignment notebook, even though he kept it at the

front of his binder. The counselor began by ensuring that Sam understood how the

tracking system could work and briefly demonstrated her own system for tracking

work assignments. She then provided specific instructions for the assignment track-

ing system we use in the CHP. She encouraged Sam to record all assignments before

leaving his classes, making sure to write enough information to understand the as-

The Executive Functions

103

signment. For example, simply writing “math problems” is insufficient; Sam was

encouraged to clarify his entries by writing the page number and problem numbers

as well. The counselor also encouraged Sam to have his teacher initial his tracking

system before leaving the class to ensure that what he wrote was accurate. On days

that there was no homework, the agreement was that Sam would write “None” in

the space for that class, but still obtain his teacher’s initials.

In subsequent sessions, the counselor checked Sam’s assignment notebook for

the teacher’s initials. On those days that Sam obtained all of the initials and wrote

sufficient information to understand the assignment, the counselor praised his per-

formance and, anticipating potential motivation issues, included a point system to

earn occasional “homework passes” from his teachers. If Sam did not obtain all the

initials or provide sufficient information, the counselor helped him track down the

actual assignments using an online “homework hotline” provided by his school. At

the outset, Sam only had an average of one assignment initialed in his planner, but

after a month of consistent monitoring, Sam was able to get all initials on most days.

Consequently, Sam’s teachers reported fewer missing assignments.

In this example, the counselor used a “homework hotline” to verify the data in

the assignment notebook, but in truth such tracking systems are often inaccurate or

out of date. As a result, counselors might have to consider several other methods for

checking these data. For example, school-based counselors might have access to an

assignment list kept by special education teachers in their classrooms. Many special

education teachers post a list of assignments given each day, and even if the student

is not receiving special education services, these postings often provide information

for all classes in the school. Alternatively, some teachers post their assignments

weekly on the school web page, and counselors can print them prior to meetings

with the student. In other situations, the counselor might encourage the student to

contact another student from his class and ask for the assignment information.

In instances where students consistently fail to obtain teacher initials or check

their tracking system against a reliable source, counselors might establish behav-

ioral contingencies. In the example above, the counselor started with a point system

toward “homework passes,” but other counselors might try praise for a while and

then add point systems only when necessary. If after two sessions without teacher’s

initials, for example, the counselor might consider this option.

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