Jean Blosser

Preparing education professionals for meeting the needs of students with traumatic brain injury

If professionals are to help children and adolescents with traumatic brain injuries CTBD resume effective lives within the school and community, it is important to understand the implications of TBI on school performance. This article suggests methods for developing professional training and development programs for education professionals who will be involved in the school reentry process and the maintenance of school programming

The Head-Injured Student Returns to School: Recognizing and Treating Deficits.

This examination of the impact of the head-injured students cognitive-communicative deficits upon school performance and interpersonal relationships focuses on: the educators perspective regarding the head-injured student, specific cognitive-communicative deficits, typical classroom behaviors of the student, teaching strategies, useful resources, and effective teacher behaviors. (JDD) Language: en

Fostering effective family involvement through mentoring

ABSTRACT:Mentoring has been used successfully by leaders in business and education organizations to facilitate professional training and development of employees who show promise. Many of the principles and practices used in these mentoring programs can be applied to families of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This article defines mentoring, explores several commonly used mentoring practices, and shows how these practices can be used to develop specific skills of family members. Suggestions are offered for encouraging and implementing a mentoring orientation in treatment programs for individuals with TBI. Through mentoring processes, professionals can increase the inclusion and involvement of families in planning and treatment.

Strategies for Helping Head-Injured Children Successfully Return to School

Each year approximately 75,000 individuals sustain a closed head injury (CHI). The head injuries may be the result of motor vehicle accidents, falls, sports injuries, or abuse. It is estimated that...

Principles and Challenges for Forming Successful Literacy Partnerships.

With the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act 2004, our nation has an explicit mandate to put reading first. Recognizing the fundamental connection between language and literacy, teachers and speech–language pathologists have become more collaborative in the provision of literacy instruction. This article provides a set of guiding principles for forming successful literacy partnerships and offers suggestions for responding to challenges, such as a school philosophy that does not support collaboration, separate goals and expectations, limited time for interaction and planning, inadequate communication systems, and lack of professional preparation. Appropriate responses to these challenges by coequal literacy partners will result in dynamic collaborative practices, which are characterized by mutual problem solving and shared responsibility, common goals and priorities, respect for different perspectives, realistic expectations, and celebration and sharing of successes related to student outcomes and the literacy partnership.

Comparison of the Token Test of Language Development and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised.

Correlations were calculated between the Token Test of Language Development (Token) and scores of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC-R) based on responses from 38 Caucasian children (23 boys and 15 girls) of a semi-rural Northeastern Ohio school district. The relatively low Pearson correlations (.25 to .47) between the standard scores in the Token test and WISC-R IQs are discussed in relation to ability and achievement.