Online ISSN: 2325-7466
2006
Triannual
National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET)
United States

Articles

Use of Projective Techniques in Emotional Disturbance Evaluations

  • Ryan A. Allen, Ph.D. (Author) John Carroll University image/svg+xml
  • Timothy Hanchon, Ph.D. (Author) The Citadel image/svg+xml
  • Bradley Bornancin, Ed.S. (Author) John Carroll University
DOI
https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.391
Abstract
Determining eligibility for the special education category Emotional Disturbance (ED) is a challenging task. The difficulty in identifying students with ED is due, in part, to problematic federal criteria (Olympia et al., 2004; Skiba, Grizzle, & Minke, 1994). Unchanges since 1975, these criteria have created an environment in which inconsistent assessment practices and diagnostic decisions are inevitable. The current study examines school psychologists’ ED assessment practices, and in particular, the use of projective assessment techniques in eligibility determinations. The results suggest that school psychologists regularly use these controversial diagnostic techniques despite questions regarding their psychometric soundness (i.e., reliability and validity) and utility. Among the projective measures reported, those with the most limited empirical support (e.g., H-T-P, KFDS) were most widely used.
Keywords
Counseling Techniques, Counselor Attitudes, Diagnostic Tests, Emotional Disturbances, Freehand Drawing, Projective Measures
References

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How to Cite
Allen, R. A., Hanchon, T., & Bornancin, B. (2019). Use of Projective Techniques in Emotional Disturbance Evaluations. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, 14(2), 6-14. https://doi.org/10.64546/jaasep.391

Spring/Summer 2019

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  • Article Type Articles
  • Submitted April 23, 2019
  • Published June 15, 2019
  • Issue Spring/Summer 2019
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