Prereferral Intervention For Students With Emotional Or Behavioral Risks

Abstract

The use of prereferral intervention as a component of preassessment for students referred for special education services is becoming widely accepted. Prereferral intervention is defined as systematic activities designed to allow the student to remain in the general education setting while attempts are made to increase appropriate social and academic performance. Currently a need exists for standards regarding administrative structures, delineation of who should provide prereferral services, documentation of the implementation procedures, and guidelines for evaluating procedural effectiveness (see Nelson, Smith, Taylor, Dodd,&Reavis, 1991, for a review). The purpose of the present study is to provide a description of a prereferral intervention for students with behavioral disorders (BD) and risks, using a behavioral consultation model. A brief literature review describes the current state of prereferral intervention practices and a summary of program models and outcomes. A case study of the prereferral intervention process in a local, midwestern school district is then presented. Results over a 3-year span indicate that 43% to 64% of referred students remained in the regular classrooms following prereferral intervention, 14% to 22% of cases were identified as having other disabilities, and 23% to 39% were identified as having behavior disorders, with half of those students able to continue regular classroom placement with itinerant support.