In This Issue

· President’s Message, p. 1

· Idea 2004: A Report from the Maine Special Education Eligibility Task Force, p. 2

· Spring Conference – Peg Dawson, p. 3

· NASP Update: This and Than, p. 4 & 5

· Calling for Nominations, p.5

· CDS Cuts Announced, p. 6

· Transdisciplinary Workshops, p. 7

· MASP Executive Committee Meeting, p. 8

President’s Message

Dear Members,

Thank you so much for supporting your state professional association. These past four years have seen many changes, not the least of which is an increase in membership. Because we have more members, we have been able to accomplish a number of goals. Following a survey of psychological service providers in the state, the executive board identified goals and developed objectives to bring these goals to fruition. We have held four successful annual spring conferences since the survey that have brought together nationally known speakers and a cross section of professionals in the field of child learning. The conference this year continues to provide quality professional development with Peg Dawson, former president of the International Association of School Psychology, and a practitioner from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

We now have a presence on the web at www.maspweb.com. This site provides information to the public, teachers, administrators and members. We have a members only portion with job postings and other information specific to the association available and links to other sites concerned with the welfare and development of children.

Thanks to the hard work of Rachel Brown-Chidsey the association has received nonprofit status. The advantages of this status includes ability to solicit funds, tax-exemption, and

documents our efforts on behalf of children and the profession of school psychology.

Professional development opportunities have grown beyond just the spring conference. Two regional groups have continued to meet regularly to discuss cases, best practices and issues of concern. Participants document topics and receive continuing education units as MASP members. MASP also belongs to the Northeast compact which formed about two years ago. This agreement offers in-state member rates for members of state associations to attend conferences in other states. I have made use of this benefit to attend state conferences in Rhode Island and New York, both excellent meetings.

As we move ahead, we continue to face a number of challenges, including continuing to support members professionally, remaining connected with the larger community of school psychology, developing inter-professional networks in order to better serve children in the state, and keeping current with legislation and best practices. Opportunities to influence legislation are also on the horizon--opportunities which will demand both money and personal contact with legislators.

I would encourage those who would like to become more active with the association to do so. We need committee members, individuals willing to run for office, volunteers at the spring conference, regional conveners and liaisons to various professional associations with whom we are establishing cooperative relationships.

An organization reflects the strengths and talents of the membership. If you know a colleague who is not a member, encourage them to join. As the membership grows, the benefits of membership increase because we have more talents and resources upon which to draw. Thank you for being part of this organization and helping it grow.

Sincerely,
Kristine Gustavson

IDEA 2004:

A Report from the Maine Special Education Eligibility Task Force

By: Rachel Brown-Chidsey, Ph.D.

In January 2004 Maine Commissioner of Education Sue Gendron appointed a special task force to examine the criteria that Maine schools use to determine whether students are eligible for special education services. Like all 50 U.S. states, Maine schools must base their special education policies on Federal law. The current version of Maine’s special education regulations, known as Chapter 101, is based on the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In anticipation of the re-authorization of that law, the task force members examined Maine’s current regulations and reviewed the proposed changes to IDEA. IDEA 2004 was enacted on December 3, 2004 and will go into effect on July 1, 2005.

The new IDEA includes important changes that the task force anticipated. On December 1, 2004, the task force presented a draft of some of their suggestions at a day-long workshop sponsored by the Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities (MADSEC). The key recommendations reported out so far are:

1. Maintain current eligibility language for most of the disabilities; the one disability for which new criteria will be drafted is learning disability (LD). For many of the disabilities, a DSM diagnosis will be required. The task force draft language specifically includes all three professional school psychology credentials (CSPSP, LPE, LP) as eligible and qualified for making DSM diagnoses. That means that those of you working with a CSPSP and/or LPE credential can make such diagnoses as long as you have training and expertise in the specific disorder.
2. Implement a required, state-wide response to intervention (RTI) system whereby all students who experience difficulty in school receive general education supports before consideration for special education.
3. Provide more specific criteria for dismissal from special education.
4. Define “adverse effect” in clear terms so it can be used more uniformly in all schools.
5. Provide extensive training and support to all educators for the implementation of the suggested changes.

At this time, the task force has not completed its work on updated criteria for LD identification and eligibility. The federal law includes the use of RTI procedures as part of the LD eligibility process and Maine’s law is likely to include RTI as part of how students with learning disabilities are identified. More detail on Maine’s new language will be disseminated in spring 2005.

Many educators across the country are eager to learn more about RTI. Mark Steege and I are currently writing a book about RTI methods that is designed to be a concise handbook for school personnel to use as they learn about and implement these new requirements. Briefly, RTI is a three-tier process for providing students with scientifically-based general education instruction before they are referred to special education. It does not apply to all students; those with severe and profound disabilities would be evaluated in other ways.

Tier 1 of RTI is the general education classroom. The major difference between current practice and RTI procedures is that regular assessments (at least 3 times per year) of all students are conducted from Kindergarten onwards to identify students at-risk for school problems. Those students who are identified as at-risk are provided with a tier 2 RTI intervention. Such interventions include small-group instruction directed to the area(s) of need. Some tier 2 interventions can be implemented with current personnel and supports -- such as Title I programming -- as long as they can document evidence of scientifically-based practices. As with tier 1, tier 2 interventions are monitored with regular student assessments. Unlike tier 1, tier 2 assessments are more frequent and occur at least once per week.

Tier 3 is the point in time when a student is referred for special education services. As with prior versions of IDEA, when a student is referred, certain legal protections and due process are provided. Students referred at tier 3 still need to undergo a comprehensive evaluation. The biggest change is that the data collected at tiers 1 and 2 can and should be included in the evaluation.

Evidence from districts around the U.S. where RTI has already been implemented has shown that it is very effective at improving students’ skills while reducing the overall number of students in special education. Some school psychology personnel are concerned that RTI and IDEA 2004 may lead to a reduction in the need for their services. There is no evidence to support this claim. Indeed, many districts which have implemented RTI already have increased or re-allocated their school psychology professionals to critical RTI implementation staff positions. For example, school psychology professionals have directed RTI implementation, designed and supervised interventions, and provided intensive assessments for those students who need tier 3 level support.

While there is still a great deal of work ahead for the task force and all who work in special education, the revisions included in IDEA 2004 hold promise for important improvements to how we support all students. The December 2004 issue of Communiqué included more information about RTI. In addition there is a website summarizing a national symposium on RTI (it can be found at: www.nrcld.org/html/symposium2003/index.html). Y

MASP-Spring Conference
Friday, April 29, 2005
DoubleTree Hotel
Portland, Maine

Presented by
Peg Dawson, Ed. D.

Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents:
Issues in Diagnosis and Treatment

DESCRIPTION
Executive skills refer to the cognitive processes required to plan and organize activities, including task initiation and follow through, planning/organization, working memory, performance monitoring, inhibition of impulses, and self-regulation. These skills are at the heart of what is seen as independent problem solving, goal directed persistence, and motivation. Students with executive skill deficits have problems in all these domains, and they present tremendous challenges to both parents and teachers who often find themselves frustrated by children whose problems in school seem to have little to do with how
smart they are or how easily they learn.

The first half of the workshop will outline a process for assessing executive skills, with a particular focus on early signs of executive dysfunction, making reasonable referral decisions, and problems of differential diagnosis (e.g., speech/language issues, difficult temperament, anxiety, depression, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD). The second half of the workshop will describe three broad intervention strategies to help address the learning and behavior problems associated with executive skill deficits.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES - As a result of this mini-skills workshop, participants will:
1. Know what executive skills are and how to assess them.
2. Understand how executive skills present themselves in a variety of childhood learning and behavior disorders.
3. Be able to identify how executive skills impact school performance and daily living.
4. Have access to a repertoire of strategies to improve executive skills in students.
5. Be able to design their own intervention strategies tailored to the needs of individual students.

GENERAL OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION
I. Overview of Executive Skills/Definition of Terms
II. Assessment of Executive Skills
III. Differential Diagnosis/Case Studies
IV. Interventions

ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Peg Dawson, Ed.D, received her doctorate in school/child clinical psychology from the University of Virginia. She worked as a school psychologist for 14 years in Maine and New Hampshire, and, for the past 13 years has worked at the Center for Learning and Attention Disorders in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she specializes in the assessment of children and adults with learning and attention disorders. Along with her colleague, Dr. Richard Guare, she has authored a manual on coaching students with attention disorders and a second volume on executive skills in children and adolescents is in publication at the present time. She is a past president of the National Association of School Psychologists and is currently Immediate Past President of the International School Psychology Association.

FUTURES CONFERENCE FORUM
There will be a one-hour forum after the workshop. The forum will address the Futures Conference and how to implement the outcomes of the conference to the state and local level. Peg Dawson, Ed.D., and Rachel Brown-Chidsey, Ph.D., school psychology professor at the University of Southern Maine, will lead the forum.

Category I Psychology licensure hours will be applied for the conference and C.E.U.’s will be provided for the forum.

If you have any questions or need a brochure, please e-mail me at: prasprof@adelphia.net. The brochure will be mailed out the end of January or the beginning of February. -Pam Rasmussen, MASP continuing education coordinator Y

NASP UPDATE: This and That…

By Rachel Belanger - Maine Delegate

I thought I would devote this column to a potpourri of NASP related information that might be of interest to members. So here goes…

As we all know, President Bush signed the IDEA Reauthorization bill this past fall. The key provisions in this bill include new language on the identification of learning disabilities. States will not be required to use a discrepancy-based formula for making eligibility decisions. They will have the option of using a response to intervention model instead. NASP is hosting an e-community discussion on this topic February 7-11. More information about this should be available soon on NASP's website (www.nasponline.org). The new IDEA also addresses student discipline. Schools will be able to consider "unique circumstances" in determining changes of placement. There are some changes to manifest determination requirements as well as the timelines allowable for removal of students from schools who are determined to pose risks to others. There are changes in re-evaluation requirements and an emphasis on pre-referral intervention as a means to prevent over-identification, reduce referrals to special education, and encourage more problem-solving in dealing with student problems. States will be required to track minority students and to provide early intervention services to groups that are over-represented in special education programs. There are changes to PET meeting and IEP requirements, including measures designed to reduce paperwork. Some language about the need for special education students to make adequate yearly progress (a la NCLB) is included. States are given greater authority to determine the professional qualifications required for special education personnel. There is some language related to how schools deal with children and medication issues. NASP has reported that the overall consensus of education organization and advocates regarding IDEA is positive. While it is difficult to know what the federal and state special education regulations will look like, it seems likely that there will be an emphasis on early intervention through a systematic pre-referral system, closer ties between special education and regular education interventions, and more curriculum-based assessment. For more information about the new IDEA, check out NASP's summary at http://www.nasponline.org/advocacy/IDEAfinalsummary.pdf.

For those of you looking for continuing education credits, check out NASP's online education area (http://www.naspwebservices.org/Scriptcontent/Resources/CEUFiles/index.cfm). Members can read professional materials online and then take a post-test to get an hour's CEU credit. The web page will even keep a record of which of the modules you have completed. It's an easy way to pick up a few credits. The following modules are currently available:

· How to Use NASP Listservs

· Reducing Academic Failure and Promoting Alternatives to Retention

· Early Intervention

· Instructional Consultation

· Working With School Interpreters to Deliver School Psychological Services

· School Discipline

· Applied Research

· Assessment of Adaptive Behavior

NASP will hold it's annual convention entitled "Achieving Better Outcomes for Children" March 29 to April 2 in Atlanta, Georgia. Go to http://www.nasponline.org/conventions/ for more information and for a link to register online. There will be more than 600 workshops, presentations, papers, posters, and special events. Some legends of school psychology, like Alan S. Kaufman, Ph.D., will be presenting. I will be assisting in the presentation of a workshop with Jennifer Kitson and Ruth Fodness entitled "School Psychology in Rural America: Unique Challenges, Possibilities and Solutions.” This workshop may be of particular interest to Maine practitioners. It will provide an opportunity for rural-based school psychologists to identify strengths and challenges in rural areas, consider resources relevant to rural education and mental health, explore opportunities for networking and develop strategies for addressing needs. Existing resources at the national level and NASP resources will be shared as well. This workshop session will be held on Wednesday March 20 from 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. As you can see, The NASP convention will provide a great opportunity to secure truly relevant continuing education credits, network with school psychologists from all over the country, and have fun in a warmer climate -- something we so desperately need by the end of March! If you are planning to attend the convention and either need a roommate or want to link up with your fellow Mainers in Atlanta, let me know. For those of you who have let your NASP membership lapse, you should know that you can sign up for an 18-month renewal right now. This will allow you to attend the convention at member prices.

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Lastly, remember to check out the NASP member e-communities. (Go to http://www.naspwebservices.org for a link.) There are many to choose from, including one for Maine members and another for rural school psychology practitioners. The e-communities could become a source of collegial advice and support as well as a place to share information about what's happening in school psychology in Maine.

As always, if you have any questions about NASP or your membership, please don't hesitate to contact me. Email me at dovefox@midmaine.com. Try to keep warm and dry! Y

CDS CUTS ANNOUNCED

By: Michael Towey, CCC-SLP President Maine Speech Language Hearing Association

Governor Baldacci and Education Commissioner Genrdon are recommending substantial reduction in funding for CDS services over the next two years.

The cuts begin this year, with the largest cuts next year. In the second year of the budget, CDS is cut $6.5 million (FY 2007). This is approximately 43% of the total budget.

CDS will cease to exist as it is known. This is a sweeping change in policy and service delivery for Maine children, families and providers and is being done with no plan of how this will be accomplished.

In a letter from DOE, the costs will be absorbed through 1. review of the CDS system, 2. reduction in administrative expenses as a result of rationalization and consolidation and 3. the implementation of alternative service delivery models such as itinerant teaching or other interdisciplinary models. The letter goes on to say that the essential Programs and Services model may serve to encourage school districts to implement programs for pre-schoolers.

As of this date, there is no plan in place about how any of the ‘recommendations’ would be implemented.

DOE and Commissioner Gendron have recently been supporting and initiating planning about how to effect better, more efficient changes for CDS. This budget announcement was unannounced in the midst of planning that is in the early stages.

MSLHA Comment: To make this level of cut before a carefully considered plan exists represents the worse kind of business planning. More importantly, with this level of cuts, no serious person could even think that Maine children can be better served by 43% reduction is budget with the slack picked up by regionalization, itinerant teachers and as a yet to be defined 'alternative service delivery model.'

Contact parents and legislators. Start to inform them of what is happening. DOE must be required to provide detailed information about this plan before budgets are finalized, not after.

Everyone, MSLHA members, providers, CDS, parents and legislators must assure that with any change comes an assurance of measurable quality built in from day one. These changes are of course about money. True enough. Thrift is admirably and desirable. No denying that. However, making decisions based on lowest cost and desperate budget measures guarantees low quality will be built in and the final product, while cheap, will be of low quality. And low quality in our business means
children whose opportunity for a successful educational life is sub optimized. Maine cannot afford cheap, low quality education.

There must be a clear, well stated plan in place, that identifies and assures that Maine pre-school children will be properly identified, that they will have relevant service provided to them by highly qualified, competent providers using evidence based practices and that an objective quality plan is in place to assure maximum quality and efficiency of services. Y

MASP

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Gorham, ME 04038