Serving Students with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Preliminary Findings

1. Serving Students with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Preliminary Findings Study Aims • Identify the prevalence of notified, evaluated, and served TBI cases in schools and compare to hospital statistics. • Describe current school district practice in the identification, assessment, intervention, and progress monitoring of students with TBI. • Identify and describe commonly used classroom-based interventions for students with TBI. • Describe the school psychologist’s role in the TBI school reintegration process. • Formulate recommendations for a practical service delivery model for students with TBI. Method • Practicing School Psychologists in Florida Undergraduate students (N=80) recruited from state professional association. • Participants completed 38-item online survey including demographics, likert-scale and open-ended questions re: prevalence, current practices in identification, assessment, intervention, and progress monitoring of students with TBI as well as school psychologist’s role in that process. • Mixed methods design Results(Preliminary) Major themes school psychologists report regarding their experiences when working with students with TBI • Knowledge/Training: • Need more training • Not enough experience (low referral rate) • Need more awareness of the problem across teachers, administration, etc • Communication • Families not reporting or communicating fully to school personnel • Need to improve interdisciplinary & inter-agency communication and collaboration • Need more structured communication process 43.8% respondents reported they had no experience with any students with TBI Discussion(Preliminary) • Identified cases of TBI in schools contradict statewide reporting statistics of TBI based on hospital or ER admissions (Brain Injury Association of Florida, n.d.) • School psychologists, in general, feel ill-prepared to work with TBI students and families to promote successful reintegration back into classrooms. Introduction • TBI is a leading cause of death and disability for children & adolescents (CDC, 2000) and patients under age 18 account for majority of all TBI victims (Gopinath & Narayan, 1992). • Patients with TBI often display general, predictable patterns of impairment in academic, behavioral, and social areas (e.g., Arroyos-Jurado, Paulsen, Ehly, & Max, 2006; Jantz & Coulter, 2007; Yeates & Taylor, 2006; Berbaum, 2008; Hooper, 2006) six to eight years post-injury (Arroyous-Jurado et al., 2006). • Students identified with TBI are eligible for variety of support services and accommodations in classrooms via special education service delivery. • Milder head injuries (e.g., concussion) infrequently reported to the schools, but 75% to 80% of all TBIs are considered mild injuries (Kraus, Rock, & Hemyari, 1990). Patients experience many of the same post-trauma symptoms that impact successful school achievement: decreased attention spans, increased irritability, fatigue, headaches – thus suggesting that interventions for these students might be similarly warranted (Havey, 2002; Lezak, 1995; Ylvisaker et al., 2007). Typical Progression of Care Angela I. Canto, PhD, Educational Psychology & Learning Systems, acanto@fsu.edu