Assessment & Evaluation

When a DPS School Social Worker evaluates a student to determine eligibility for special education services as a student with an emotional impairment, the student must have behavioral problems primarily in the affective domain, an inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors: e.g.,

  • Failure on classroom tests or quizzes
  • May have superior skills in some areas but no apparent application
  • Reduced productivity across all academic tasks

The Social Worker then assesses whether the student meets at least one of the following specific criteria:

  1. An inability to build or maintain interpersonal relationships within the school environment: e.g.,
    • Has no friends in home, school or community settings
    • Is extremely fearful of teachers and peers
    • Conflict and tension in almost all social relationships
  2. Inappropriate behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances: e.g.,
    • Catastrophic reactions to everyday occurrences
    • Extreme mood lability
    • Flat, blunted, distorted or excessive affect
  3. General Pervasive Mood of Unhappiness or Depression: e.g.,
    • Loss of interest in usual activities
    • Prominent and persistent feelings of depression, hopelessness, sadness or irritability
    • Feelings of poor self-worth
  4. Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems: e.g.,
    • Intense, disabling anxiety
    • Psychosomatic symptoms
    • School phobia

In the evaluation process School Social Workers must make differential diagnosis to rule out other disorders that may manifest as emotional impairment. Examples of these are: Social Maladjustment, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder to name a few. By using the Achenbach and other assessment tools, School Social Workers can determine if an emotional impairment is the primary disability or if the behaviors are secondary to another disorder.