SIU School of Medicine Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics/Psychology & Springfield Public Schools
SIU School of Medicine is guided by a clear mandate to assist the people of central and southern Illinois in meeting their present and future health needs through education, research and service. The School encompasses a complete sequence of programs beginning with undergraduate medical education and progresses through residency training, fellowships and continuing education for practicing physicians. Affiliation agreements between the School and Memorial Medical Center and St. John's Hospital provide the valuable physical base for the clinical programs in Springfield. The internship primarily is located in the St. John's Pavilion and the St. John's Children's Hospital.
The psychology intern completes evaluations of and/or provides treatment to children who are referred by faculty and residents, as well as other referring physicians or agencies. Interns are involved in the Developmental Continuity Clinic where they provide diagnostic services for at-risk infants in the 6-month to 3-year age range, as well as the Pediatric Psychology Service. The latter is an outpatient setting where interns perform assessments and provide intervention services to infants, children, and adolescents (and their families). Learning difficulties, ADHD, behavioral problems, adjustment issues and other problems are addressed. Teaching medical students and residents occurs in all settings. The intern has the opportunity to gain experience in assessment and intervention within a multi-disciplinary approach (neurology, genetics, etc.).. The patient population is diverse racially and fiscally. The intern works collaboratively with medical interns on their Developmental and Behavioral Rotation and is supervised by a board certified, licensed psychologist. The intern can also provide consultation to various resident clinics, as demand and time permit. Interns are assigned readings in response to clients' presenting concerns and are encouraged to be self-directed learners. The experience is organized to increase autonomy over the year, beginning with supervisor modeling during interviews and testing, the intern performing these tasks under observation, and the intern subsequently seeing patients independently. The intern is responsible for write-ups (dictations) and communication to referring physicians, schools, and other agencies and all dictations are reviewed and signed by the licensed, clinical supervisor.
The psychology intern works approximately 50% time with School District 186 and 50% time in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics/Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at SIU School of Medicine. SIU provides an office within St. John’s Pavilion, computer, access to e-mails/internet/EMR/ and dictation services. Interns maintain their own malpractice insurance coverage.
The school psychology staff of Springfield Public Schools has worked cooperatively with several universities over the years to provide a quality internship experiences. Our district has also served as a popular internship site for students completing internships in school social work. Given the district’s regular involvement with field training programs, interns typically have the opportunity to work with interns completing experiences in other disciplines, therefore, accessing a unique peer support opportunity that may not be typical of other sites. Springfield Public Schools takes pride in offering a variety of programs and internship experiences involved in meeting the needs of a diverse, urban student body, a large private/parochial student population in the community for which special education diagnostics and services are provided by the district. The district is committed to progressive, research-based practices designed to improve achievement for all students. Interns become involved in diagnostic, consultation, prevention, direct service and crisis intervention roles while working in coordination with their school psychology supervisor. Throughout the year, activities are designed to promote increasing independence of the intern as deemed appropriate by both the supervisor and the intern. Experiences are also designed to offer a rotation of activities with other school psychologists in the district, therefore offering the opportunity to observe a variety of service models and professional styles. The intern can expect the following responsibilities/activities to be evident in his/her experience with Springfield Public Schools:
*consult with teachers and other school personnel in relation to behavior management, learning problems, and interventions
*provide individual psycho-educational examinations and/or curriculum based assessments, interpret those findings, generate recommendations which will lead to meaningful experiences for the child
*participate as a team member in multidisciplinary educational staffings for determination of educational objectives and need for special education placement and/or supportive services
*provide direct service as appropriate to the needs of the students individually or as a group
*participate in parent education and the development of parent understanding of their child’s needs and academic/behavioral objectives
*become familiar with Response to Intervention/Flexible Service Delivery models
*become familiar with PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports)
*demonstrate professional growth and development through internship experiences, observation, and individual study
*demonstrate understanding and application of ethical and legal aspects of the practice of school psychology
*demonstrate effective organizational and record keeping skills,
*demonstrate effective oral and written communication techniques
A typical work day in the Springfield Public Schools is from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. with time varying slightly depending on building assignments. Throughout the district, schools are in session from as early as 8:00 a.m. to as late as 3:30 p.m. Administrative staff of special education services is housed at a centralized location within the district. School psychology staff also operates from this central location and follows a daily schedule of time devoted to individual buildings. The twelve school psychologists are typically assigned to 2 – 3 buildings each and operate on a weekly schedule that reflects full-days assigned to individual buildings. The typical school psychologist also has one day per week assigned for time in the central office. School social workers operate from a full-time site-based model for some practitioners and a traveling schedule for others on staff. The school psychology intern has assigned office space in the central office, computer access, and testing materials.
SUPERVISORS
Dr. Glen P. Aylward, Ph.D., ABPP is a Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, IL. He is also Chief, Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics/Psychology. Dr. Aylward is boarded in Clinical Psychology and also Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology; a Fellow of the Academy of Clinical Psychology (FAClinP); a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (5 divisions) and is listed in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. Dr. Aylward has authored more than 100 papers, chapters, abstracts and reviews, and is the author of the Bayley Infant Neurodevelopmental Screener, and the books, Practitioner’s Guide to Developmental and Psychological Testing, Infant and Early Childhood Neuropsychology, and Practitioner’s Guide to Behavioral Problems in Children. He also is one of the editors of The Bayley-III; Clinical Use and Interpretation. Dr. Aylward is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, is on the editorial board of 4 additional journals, and is an ad hoc reviewer for 18. Dr. Aylward has served on numerous committees and executive boards in the American Psychological Association, the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, and the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. He was President of the Society of Pediatric Psychology (Div. 54, APA) and President of the Society of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. His research and clinical interests include neurodevelopmental assessment, developmental screening, prediction of outcome in high- risk infants, and the diagnosis and differentiation of attention deficit disorders, executive dysfunction and learning/memory disabilities.