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An Advocacy Agenda
- Be good at what you do. Those working with students
with EBD must self-evaluate to determine their level of preparation and emotional
well-being for this work and to assess their ongoing performance. Self-evaluation
questions might include:
- Have I had specific training in characteristics of this
population and methods for working with these individuals?
- Do I have sufficient emotional fulfillment through other
facets of my life so that I will not be emotionally dependent upon students?
- Do I have the mindset that these students can benefit from
and be successful in a carefully planned educational program?
- Am I willing to invest the time and energy to continue study
in this field in order to stay abreast of current issues and developments?
- Am I willing to commit the time and energy required to plan
and implement a high-quality, individualized program for each of my students?
- Keep the "special" in
special education. Effective strategies for teaching students with disabilities have
been developed through many years of painstaking research. Hundreds of empirical studies
have proven these techniques to be valid methods for meaningful assessment, remediating
behavioral excesses and deficits, teaching new skills, and programming for generalization.
This technology includes strategies such as curriculum-based assessment (Tucker, 1985), an
instructional approach to curriculum (Evans & Meyer, 1985; Kameenui & Darch, 1995)
based on functional assessment of presenting problems (Horner, 1994), direct instruction
(White, 1988), social skills instruction (Van Hasselt, Hersen, Whitehill, & Bellack,
1979), learning strategies instruction (Deschler, Ellis, & Lenz, 1996),
self-management training (Young, West, Smith, & Morgan, 1991), and token reinforcement
(Walker, 1995). It also includes programs that incorporate combinations of strategies,
such as CLASS (Contingencies for Learning Academic and Social Skills) (Hops et al., 1978),
Aggression Replacement Training (Goldstein & Glick, 1987), and PASS (Program for
Academic Survival Skills) (Greenwood, Hops, & Walker, 1977).
We must prevent special education students from receiving
only what is provided to students without disabilities (e.g., large student-teacher
ratios, few remedial and strategy adaptations, a nonfunctional curriculum, and no
individualized programs). We need to assure progress in terms of student achievement and
positive outcomes. We must share our special techniques with general educators to increase
their awareness of the unique needs of students with EBD and to build a community of
compassion within the school.
- Be informed. Teachers need to
improve their efforts to stay abreast of issues and developments that directly and
indirectly affect students with EBD and their families. Teachers sometimes become so mired
in the day-to-day events of their individual classroom that they lose sight of the
"bigger picture," such as described in this article. Although there is little
support for school personnel to participate in professional development activities (e.g.,
attending conferences and workshops, obtaining advanced degrees), we suggest that you be
creative and assertive in seeking out those opportunities.
Further, we suggest that you be active consumers of
information that keeps you well informed of the "big picture." Before forming
and espousing strong opinions on controversial subjects (e.g., welfare reform, inclusion,
novel interventions), take time to study the topic carefully using multiple sources of
information. Learn the position your professional organizations have taken on the issue,
read professional journals, access databases through the library or via your computer,
peruse informational alerts posted on the World Wide Web pages of advocacy groups, examine
reports of research conducted by nonprofit organizations and foundations and often
available through the Internet, and talk to personal contacts who stay abreast of such
topics. Gather information about all sides of an issue with an open mind, then form
opinions based on the most compelling, reliable, and scientific information.
- Be critical consumers. Teachers
and administrators must become more prudent, skeptical consumers and protect our
students’ right to the most effective treatment. Many effective interventions have
been well-documented in terms of their success with students with EBD (e.g.,
curriculum-based assessment, functional assessment, direct instruction, social skills
interventions). When applied correctly, systematically, and in conjunction with other
needed services, these interventions produce desired outcomes more consistently than other
methods. However, these well-proven strategies are not quick fixes, nor are they usually
attractively packaged and marketed.
Therefore, we ask that before implementing a new
instructional strategy or behavior management package, teachers ask if the technique has
been widely tested on students with EBD, and analyze the results. Use the tactics
suggested above for gathering information. Be wary of strong claims of immediate
improvements. When in doubt, ask someone who is knowledgeable about research. Never
implement an unproven strategy if it replaces a proven intervention. As Kauffman (1996)
suggested, we should adhere to the physician’s code that warns, "Above all, do
no harm."
- Advocate, don’t abdicate.
We must continue to improve our advocacy efforts at all levels, from local campuses to
Congress. Such advocacy takes many forms. For example: include:
- Speak out against efforts to reduce the range of
instructional arrangements available in a particular school or district.
- Ensure that placement decisions for students with EBD are
made on the basis of individual needs rather than policy.
- Stay informed of the latest legislative efforts that affect
our constituency.
- Write and/or call state or federal lawmakers to object to
legislation and/or budget cuts that have negative implications for our students and their
families and to support legislation and funding that would improve services.
Advocacy demands unceasing vigilance and much energy, but
without it, our students may lose the resources and supports they so desperately need.
- Participate in your professional
organizations. The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Council for Children
with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) exist to serve students with disabilities and those who
work with them. They support your work by assisting with advocacy efforts, by
participating in policy development, by informing their members of pertinent information,
by formulating professional standards, by providing professional development opportunities
and products, by supporting research, and by responding to member concerns. Improve the
quality of these activities by participating in elections and business meetings, by
running for office, and by holding elected and appointed members accountable for movement
toward the organization’s goals. It would be a shame to waste these excellent
resources because of member apathy and indifference.
It is time to grasp the big picture and decide your place
in the field. Do something to help provide more students with better services while they
are in school, to increase coordination and co-funding of services, to provide better
trained special educators and more effective school programs, to share special education
expertise with general educators, and to educate people about how to care for our
children. We can and should attempt to shape the future for children and youth with EBD.
"There is no single answer or quick fix to the problems now facing these children.
But as we stand at the schoolhouse door, we can see many windows of
opportunity…" (Knitzer et al., 1990, p. ix).
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