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Using wraparound to meet the needs of students with emotional and behavioural difficulties and disorders

Date

2008

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

ORCID

Type

Degree Level

Masters

Abstract

There is considerable controversy in the research literature concerning meeting the needs of children and youth with Emotional and Behavioural Disorders (EBD). Collaborative models of service delivery have shown promising results in effectively meeting the needs of students with disabilities. The objective of this study was to examine the association between service providers’ adherence to the fundamental elements of a collaborative process called Wraparound and measures of students’ maladaptive behaviours, behavioural strengths, and functional impairment. The current research investigated 23 students who were experiencing impaired functioning in the school, family, and/or community as a result of behavioural difficulties. Twelve of the students were engaged in Wraparound services and 11 were receiving conventional services. Adherence to the elements of Wraparound was determined using the Wraparound Fidelity Index (WFI; Bruns et al., 2005), a structured interview with the student’s primary caregivers. Maladaptive behaviours, behavioural strengths, and functional impairment were assessed via the student’s teachers completing the Behaviour Assessment System for Children (BASC; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992), Behavioural and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS-2; Epstein, 2004), and the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS; Hodges, 2005), respectively. Results of this research indicated that, overall, the students who received Wraparound services showed higher fidelity to the elements of Wraparound and more favourable behavioural outcomes than did the students engaged in the conventional model of service delivery. The correlation analysis of the association between adherence to the elements of Wraparound and the student outcome measures showed mixed results. A strong association was observed with statistical significance for the element of Youth and Family Team on all three outcome measures. This indicates the importance of an effective team in producing positive outcomes for the students and their families.

Description

Keywords

team, conventional services, collaborative processes, collaboration, Wraparound, Emotional and Behavioural Disorders, functional impairment, education, strength based, Saskatchewan, maladaptive behaviours

Citation

Degree

Master of Education (M.Ed.)

Department

Educational Psychology and Special Education

Program

Educational Psychology and Special Education

Citation

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DOI

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