Special Education Counselors

Special education counseling, a related service provided by licensed/certified mental health professionals, is designed to assist special education students with an emotional, social or behavioral disability that negatively impacts school performance. The counseling services enable students to benefit from specially designed instruction inherent to special education. Provision of counseling as a related service is an ARD committee decision. The committee utilizes evaluation data, recommendations from the LSSP, and information about student progress following behavioral interventions to determine the need for this service.

Special education counselors serve as part of an interdisciplinary team and provide time limited individual and/or group counseling. Sessions address intense well-defined emotional concerns, coping problems in response to identifiable stressors, crisis management and social deficits. Additionally, counselors provide consultation, training and collaboration with school personnel, families, and community professionals. Special education counselors work closely with the social worker in providing information about wrap around community services available to students and their families.