Special Ed Lady

School Psychologists have many roles to play in the schools. On any given day, we are counselors, advisors, consultants, program developers, observers, yard duty stand-ins, problem-solvers regarding discipline issues, early interventionists, reading/math/writing specialists, researchers, special education experts, paralegals (seems like), behaviorists, developmental experts, and assessors for special education services. The latter is the role that […]

Mean Girls

So after the last post you all went out right away and got Mean Girls and have watched it, right? Well in case you didn’t, here’s the trailer. Once you’ve seen the trailer you’ve pretty much seen the movie and spared yourself 2 hours of your life you can never get back: In Hollywood, the […]

Lost in Translation

Generational differences have been on my mind lately because in my job, I deal with it all the time. The classic scenario is a parent or teacher of the Baby Boom or Gen X parent or teacher being frustrated with the Generation-Y kid’s behavior. The kid always text messages in class, or they spend all […]

Psychologist vs. Puppy

We got a puppy. You know what’s a lot of work? Puppies. My fiancé and I have been following this puppy around, armed with my behaviorist training, treat bag, and training clicker. When we see something we like, we mark it with a click, and reward it. Here is my life right now: Sit. click […]

Teacher Vs. Student

Aha. After many painful hours of searching YouTube for awful teacher-student interactions, I found a clip to illustrate how I might do an observation and consult with the teacher. This is a clip from a mockumentary (fake documentary) in England of a teacher-student interaction gone awry. It isn’t that far off from some teacher-student interactions […]

Observations

One of the jobs of a school psychologist is to go into the classroom and observe students who are having difficulties. It is one of my favorite parts of my job. Working with a student one-on-one is a whole different world than seeing the kid in action in class. I have apparently had an affinity […]

Danger! Fun Ahead!

My friend emailed me this article from the SF Chronicle yesterday about the “Wussification of America’s Children.” It basically says that we worry too much about our children. It contends that the overprotection of children can even hurt their development. This is a phenomenon that I have seen in popular media, but not necessarily in […]

The Uglist Girl in School

When I was a junior in high school, I would pick up my friend along the way to school so we could ride together. She was not a morning person (still isn’t, btw). One morning, I got there a little early so instead of my usual honk, I came in for a minute. She looked […]

Caught in the Middle: Part III

Social Factors The following is a confabulated* transcript based on a conversation with one of my 6th grade middle school students. He was referred to me for special education testing because he was suspected of having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. He reported hating his English teacher and was constantly being kicked out of class for […]

Caught in the Middle: Part II

Psychological Factors Let’s get back to our middle school friends. One of the psychological factors that helps to explain middle school students is Identity Development. Have any of you seen that scene in Zoolander in which Ben Stiller looks into a puddle, sees his reflection, and says “Who am I?” only to be splashed in […]