School Psychologist: Small Subjects, Big Rewards
When a student isn't doing well in school, Carl DiMartino steps in. As a school psychologist, he interviews students, parents, and teachers about what might be wrong with a child, and figures out how to fix it. Some solutions require creativity. One kindergartner had behavior problems like breaking pencils, speaking out of turn in class, and saying he couldn't do his work.
DiMartino worked with the teacher to devise a "signaling technique": The child was allowed to say "help," even though it was disruptive, as long as he raised his hand when he was about to act out. Gradually the word "help" was eliminated, and the child simply raised his hand–the appropriate way to signal he needed assistance.
"We allowed him to do the wrong command as long as he did the right prompt at the same time," says DiMartino, who is now president of the National Association of School Psychologists. It might sound like a simple tactic, but without intervention, DiMartino believes, the child's behavior would have gotten worse and he might even have ended up in special education.
Not every case leads to success. "There are times when the frustration gets great because you are dealing with so many variables that are beyond the psychologist's control," DiMartino says. He tries to raise the odds of success by getting involved with young children before they fail in school. "Whenever a child thanks you because now all of a sudden they are successful ... that's very rewarding," he says. "I wish it happened more often."
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