National School Psychology Week (NSPW) kicks off on Monday. This week is dedicated to highlighting the critical work school psychologists do to help students thrive and improve educational outcomes. We are fortunate to have School Psychologist Kathy Roberts serving our district. She has been with the Kokomo-Area Special Education Cooperative (KASEC) for nearly 30 years and has been assigned to Tipton for the past 9. TCSC is among 7 area schools in Howard, Miami and Tipton counties that belong to KASEC and combine their resources to offer special education services to their students.
Kathy plays an important role in supporting the psychological well-being and academic success of students in educational settings, especially those who struggle with barriers to learning. She uses her experience and expertise to address the social, emotional, behavioral, and learning needs of students. She works collaboratively with students, teachers, parents, and other professionals to create a positive and inclusive school environment that fosters optimal learning and development.
Roberts took a few minutes out of her day to share some insights about her work during her three decades working as a school psychologist. Here’s what she had to say.
Over the course of my career as a school psychologist a shift has occurred regarding the needs of the students referred for special education evaluations. When I started my career 30 years ago, the primary concern was academics, and now the primary concern of students is behavioral. Within my role, I try to bring a greater awareness that multiple factors impact a student’s social-emotional and behavior functioning at school. Not all social-emotional/behavioral concerns are explained by a diagnosis such as autism or ADHD.
The onslaught of technology has impacted kids because they receive instant gratification, the screens are constantly changing, and sustained mental attention is not needed which impacts their brain power. However, in the classroom, the pace of the instruction and the requirement of sustained mental attention effort is quite different than playing video games or watching YouTube, which impacts their classroom functioning.
Another factor is lack of structure and routines. Children need consistent routines both at home and school. They need to know the expectations and what is going to happen. Children feel safe in an environment that is structured and consistent. Children also need to understand and recognize authority. Often many of our students don't recognize the teacher or principal as an authority that they need to obey.
Often many children cannot regulate their emotions and have heightened anxiety, because they don’t know what acceptable and unacceptable behavior is because they have not had any clearly defined boundaries including rules, routines, structure, and expectations. Many of the children also deal with trauma from family members being in jail, addicted parents, parents who have died or unable to care for them. Often many of these children who deal with many of these different factors have a very difficult time sitting still, being able to focus and regulate emotions. I try to make a difference when I meet with teachers and staff about the behavioral concerns of these students but also try to find the balance of supporting students and staff who are trying to educate them.
