Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a cohesive and intensive preventive prereading intervention on the phonological awareness, word reading, and rapid naming skills of children at risk of emotional disturbance and reading problems.Thirty-six children were assigned randomly to an experimental or comparison condition. Children in the experimental condition received Stepping Stones to Literacy. Stepping Stones includes 25 lessons designed to teach children pivotal prereading skills (e.g., phonological awareness, letter identification). Children in the experimental condition showed statistically significant improvements in their phonological awareness, word reading, and rapid naming skills relative to children in the comparison condition. Effect size estimates indicate that the improvements were moderate to large across all of the phonological awareness, word reading, and rapid naming measures. Treatment nonresponder analyses indicated that a relatively small number of children in the experimental group failed to show satisfactory gains in their phonological awareness (n = 3),word reading (n = 1), and rapid naming (n = 3) skills.

Examined 6-month post-recruitment clinical and placement outcomes for 31 youths with serious emotional disturbance (SED) at imminent risk of out-of-home placement in the Hawaii Continuum of Care (COC). Youths were randomly assigned to multisystemic therapy (MST) adapted for SED populations or to Hawaii's existing COC services.Assessments were conducted at intake and 6 months after referral. In comparison with counterparts in the comparison condition, youths in the MST condition reported significant reductions in externalizing symptoms, internalizing symptoms,and minor criminal activity; their caregivers reported near significant increases in social support; and archival records showed that MST youths experienced significantly fewer days in out-of-home placement. The findings generally replicate the favorable short-term outcomes observed previously for MST with youths experiencing SED.

The purposes of this article are to (a) describe the design features of two longitudinal studies,the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS) and the National Longitudinal Transition Study—2 (NLTS2) and (b) outline their potential implications for policy, practice, research, advocacy, and system development for children and youth with emotional disturbances (ED). We begin by reviewing the role of longitudinal research and its importance in building the knowledge base regarding these children and youth. A review of illustrative longitudinal studies conducted on children and youth with ED points to the potential of a longitudinal design for providing much needed information but also reveals the limitations and inconsistencies in both the samples and methods of existing studies that hamper development of policy and practice. SEELS and NLTS2 are offered as exemplars of the type of studies needed to supply critical information to the field. We describe key features of these studies and how they will extend the research knowledge base.We conclude by outlining the implications of the two studies for key issues in improving outcomes for children and youth with ED.

The comorbidity of health and mental health problems among Medicaid-enrolled children and youth in Florida with a designated health or mental health disability was examined and compared to that of Medicaid-enrolled children with no disability. Slightly higher rates of health problems (42%) were found among children with mental health disabilities compared to the rate of mental health problems (35%) found among children with health disabilities.Within both groups, similar rates (~ 26%) of current comorbid health and mental health problems were found. Regarding health services, less than 1% to 11% of the children experiencing significant health problems were receiving no services, depending on disability group. Rates of unmet mental health needs were higher, ranging from 4% among children with no identified disability to 22% among children with an identified health disability.These data support the need for a comprehensive health policy emphasizing the assessment of all Medicaid-enrolled children with disabilities for comorbid health or mental health problems.

In this analogue investigation, 215 practicing Pennsylvania school psychologists reviewed hypothetical referral forms and related data (vignettes). Vignettes represented children who met eligibility criteria for special education as well as children who did not. Participants were most likely to recommend,as eligible due to emotional disturbance,children who met eligibility criteria and carried a psychiatric diagnosis; they were least likely to recommend children who neither met criteria nor carried a diagnosis. Participants were just as likely to consider children eligible by virtue of emotional disturbance when they carried a diagnosis but did not meet eligibility criteria, as when they met criteria but had no diagnosis.These results suggest that school psychologists may allow the presence of a psychiatric diagnosis in referral information to inappropriately influence their recommendations regarding eligibility under the special education category of emotional disturbance.