Students with disabilities: school counselor involvement and preparation

Professional School Counseling, June, 2002 by Amy S. Milsom

Professional school counselors can also advocate disability education in their own school districts. Scheduling a meeting with school administrators or the staff development committee and providing them with a formal statement indicating a need for more education in the area of special education as well as a rationale for providing the education is a simple way to start the process. It would also be important to discuss the potential benefits for all educational and support staff. In addition, offering suggestions about or contact information for potential presenters might make the administrators or committee more likely to pursue the idea. Local and state school counseling organizations can help to identify qualified presenters.

Professional school counselors can also advocate at the school district level by developing a support network. It is important that both administrators and school counselors recognize that many school counselors may not feel completely prepared to provide services to students with disabilities. Support from administrators is important for establishing formal mentoring relationships to help ease the transition for school counselors. In addition, special educators and school counselors can establish collaborative and/or consulting relationships to provide comprehensive services for students with disabilities. Finally, in collaboration with special educators, school counselors can create a resource list of individuals, organizations, print materials, and Web sites to be consulted for issues regarding special education or disabilities.

Conclusion

Overall, the results of this study indicate that school counselors provide many services to students with disabilities and that additional measures could be taken to help school counselors feel more prepared to work with those students. Because information and practical experiences were both found to be helpful, graduate programs could take the lead in evaluating their current programs and adding or revising relevant courses and/or practical experiences. In addition, practicing school counselors could provide feedback to graduate programs and advocate for ongoing professional development opportunities through their school districts and professional organizations. Ultimately, however, school districts, professional organizations, counselor educators, and individual school counselors need to share in the responsibility for contributing to the initial and ongoing preparation of all school counselors in relation to working with students who have disabilities.

References

American School Counselor Association. (1999). The professional school counselor and the special needs student. Retrieved November 13, 2001, from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.cfm?L1=1000&L2=32

American School Counselor Association. (2000). The professional school counselor and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Retrieved November 13, 2001, from http://www. schoolcounselor.org/content.cfm?L1=1000&L2=4

Barret, R. L., & Schmidt, J. J. (1986). School counselor certification and supervision: Overlooked professional issues. Counselor Education and Supervision, 26, 50-55.