Specialty Tracks / Focused Training and Experience
The School Psychology Program at the University of Utah offers two sub-specialty training tracks (one in neuropsychology, and one in consultation/interventions). These tracks are intended to offer Ph.D. School Psychology students additional training in one of the two specialized areas. The tracks are not designed to supplant the required general course of study in School Psychology. Rather, in addition to completing the general requirements of the School Psychology doctoral program, students in the tracks will complete selective courses to fulfill their elective requirements, and will receive specialized practica and internship placements that will enable them to acquire sub-specialty skills. Being enrolled in a specialized track program should not substantially increase a student's overall hours in the Ph.D. program. Upon acceptance into a training track, the student's advisor helps the student design a course of study for the selected track. Students in a specialized track complete some specialized practica and are encouraged to complete internships where these skills are used and refined. A portion of the student's doctoral preliminary examination is based on information from the student's specialty track of choice, and it is anticipated that the student's dissertation topic will be related to the specialty track choice. General information about each of the tracks can be found below. For additional information about subspecialty training in School Psychology at the University of Utah, contact the training director of the program.
The Neuropsychology Specialty Track
The objective of the child neuropsychology track is to train Ph.D. level school psychologists in the diagnosis and treatment of children with learning and behavioral difficulties with an organic etiology. The School Psychology doctoral program and child neuropsychology track requirements meet APA Division 40 (Neuropsychology) and the International Neuropsychological Society's recommended training standards in clinical neuropsychology.
The Consultation/Interventions Track
The objective of the consultation/interventions track is to train doctoral school psychologists with an emphasis on consulting with teachers and parents, and designing and implementing home and school based interventions for children with behavioral and academic difficulties. Students are taught to work with special populations that can include infantile autism, mental retardation, childhood depression, behavioral disorders, attention deficit disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and preschool children with disabilities. The particular assessment and intervention skills include behavioral assessment, functional analysis, behavioral management skills, social skills interventions, parent training, management of noncompliance, generalization strategies, classroom academic interventions, and consultation strategies with parents and teachers.
The School Psychology Program at the University of Utah also offers focused training and experience in High-Incidence Disabilities and Leadership in Severe Disabilities.
Focused Training in High-Incidence Disabilities
The High-Incidence Disabilities Training Track is designed to prepare students in School Psychology at the University of Utah to be proficient in providing functional behavior assessments, positive behavioral supports, and educational interventions for students who have high-incidence disabilities of behavior disorders and emotional disturbance. Extremely disruptive high incidence behavior disorders contribute to more teachers leaving the field of teaching in the first two years than almost any other variable. Specific training in this area is needed to insure that school personnel are adequately prepared to address these students' needs. This track is intended to address this problem by providing training and experiences at a preservice level to prepare school psychologists to serve as consultants and direct service providers to special and regular education teachers, administrators, and other school staff across the state, in major poverty areas, with an emphasis on serving diverse cultures (both urban and rural). School psychologists are in an excellent position to act as consultants and direct service providers for students with high-incidence disabilities.
The High-Incidence Disabilities Track curriculum focuses on training to a high level of proficiency skills in conducting functional behavior assessments, designing behavior intervention plans that incorporate practical interventions, determining manifestation linkages between behaviors and disabilities, social skills training, training and working with parents, and becoming proficient collaborators. Students will receive intensive training in order to fill the needed roles as experts in providing high quality functional behavior assessments and positive behavioral supports/interventions to high-incidence behaviorally disordered/emotionally disturbed students.
Individuals interested in more information about the High-Incidence Disabilities Training activities should contact Dr. William R. Jenson.
Focused Training in Leadership in Severe Disabilities
The Severe Disabilities Leadership Track is designed to prepare doctoral students in School Psychology at the University of Utah for leadership roles to work with children and adolescents who have autism and other severe disabilities. For the past 20 years, the School Psychology program has been involved in the training of school psychologists to be intervention specialists with children and their families. This training sequence adds a focus on the practice and leadership skills necessary for those who work with children who have low incidence but severe disabilities. Resources for individuals with autism-related pervasive developmental disorders and other severe disabilities are often inadequate, and the understanding is poor. Additionally, few educational personnel are prepared to work with this population. Activities within the program are intended to remedy this situation by providing intensive pre-service training and experiences to school psychology doctoral students. While autism serves as the "disability model" for training purposes; activities are intended to prepare graduates for conditions that occur infrequently but for which the impact is severe (e.g., developmental language disorders, intellectual disabilities, and traumatic brain injuries).
The Severe Disabilities curriculum also emphasizes leadership training to insure that graduate students are adequately prepared to work as consultants and administrators in school districts and other agencies across the state and nation. The importance of research skills is highlighted so that graduates are prepared to evaluate interventions and programs that provide treatment for children and families. Courses and directed experiences are offered that address specific issues for assessment, direct interventions, parent training, and consultation. Students are involved in practicum experiences at specialty schools (i.e. Carmen Pingree School) and within school districts that provide considerable opportunity to work with children with low-incidence severe disabilities and their families. Exposure to professionals who have expertise in the various areas of disabilities is also emphasized.
Individuals interested in more information about Severe Disabilities training should contact Dr. Elaine Clark.
