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Validation of DAP : SPED as a screening tool for emotional disturbance in Singapore
Author
Teo, Carina Kim Huey
Supervisor
Kee, Norman Kiak Nam
Tzuo, Pei-Wen
Abstract
Children and adolescents with emotional disturbance (ED) or emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD) of the covert type are often unnoticed as they generally do not attract attention to themselves unlike the overt type. Early identification and treatment of ED is critical for positive mental well-being. It also averts the risk of the child experiencing undesirable outcomes, such as early drop-out from school, substance abuse, juvenile incarcerations and even suicidal behaviours when they become adolescents. The Ministry of Education has been promoting mental wellness in the schools through social emotional learning and schools also work closely with external agencies such as Health Promotion Board and Singapore Children’s Society to run developmental programmes to complement schools’ effort in strengthening social emotional competencies in the students. The Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, set up Response, Early intervention, Assessment for Community mental Health (REACH) team in 2007 to support schools in addressing mental illness of students. REACH depends on school counsellors who work closely with teachers to refer cases. However, teachers generally do not notice students who do not attract attention and as a result students with EBD but do not display the behaviours outwardly may not be surfaced in a timely manner. There is therefore a need to evaluate a screening tool for covert cases of EBD and to provide timely interventions. The purpose of this exploratory case study is for the researcher to evaluate the usability of “Draw-A-Person: Screening Procedures for ED” (Naglieri, McNeish, & Bardos , 1991) for consideration of use by the school management team. The researcher documented the learning journey of using the tool and found the tool to be suitable in terms of ease of use in administration and scoring. Validation of the tool to be able to identify children with EBD from a sample of 58 children aged from seven to twelve, attending a before and after-school centre, revealed that five out of the six were correctly identified. Limitations and recommendations to the study were discussed.
Date Issued
2014
Call Number
LC3987.S55 Teo
Date Submitted
2014