Faculty Contact Information:
| e-mail: jgrabert@faculty.ed.umuc.edu | |
Consultation:
| Office Hours: Before and after class on Saturdays and Sundays | |
Required Texts and Readings:
McWhirter, J., et al (2004). At Risk Youth. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Wicks-Nelson, R. and Israel, A. (2003). Behavior Disorders of Childhood. Columbus, OH: Prentice-Hall. | | |
Supplementary Readings:
| All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students’ research and writing skills. | |
Recommended Journals:
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Course Description:
| This course is designed as an integrated study of the interaction of human behavior, learning, and the environment. Emphasis is placed on the symptoms, causes, and mediation of deviant behavior among children, adolescents, and young persons. Trends and practices in community mental health are studied. Instruction in the writing of a case study report is also given. | |
Course Goals:
As a required course in the M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling, this course seeks primarily to:
1. improve the professional counseling skills of the participants,
2. provide graduate students with foundational knowledge of the various
mental health problems of children and youth, and
3. familiarize graduate students with remedial measures that affect changes in the child, adolescent, or young adult. | |
Course Objectives:
Students will:
1. identify and recognize, particularly within school-based settings, children and adolescents with mental health problems,
2. understand the causes of mental health problems in children and adolescents,
3. understand how theory provides a framework for remediation of presented problems,
4. study remedial measures that affect changes in the child or adolescent with poor mental health with special emphasis on the school, home, and community settings,
5. review trends in community, home, and school-based interventions for children and adolescents with emotional and/or behavioral problems,
6. obtain an in-depth awareness of mental health concepts as applied to school-age children,
7. develop a basic knowledge of how to access mental health resources, programs, organizations and referral services. | |
Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A 92%
B 80 – 91%
C 70 – 79%
F Below 70%
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs or in your local Education Center. | |
Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the master's level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to:
Participate in classroom discussions 10%
Oral Presentation 30%
Complete three written examination(s) 60% | |
Description of Course Requirements:
Participation in classroom discussions and exercises (worth 10% of final grade). Students will be graded on the quality and not the quantity of their participation in class discussions.
Oral presentation (worth 30% of final grade). Students will be assigned a topic from At Risk Youth (McWirter et. al., 2004) and will be required to present the topic to the class.
Three non-cumulative exams (each is worth 20% of the final grade for a cumulative total of 60% of the final grade). The exams will cover the material in the primary text. The exams are designed to assess students understanding of and ability to apply the material. | |
Course Schedule:
The following is an outline to the content of the course and suggested reading in Behavior Disorders of Childhood (2003) by Rita Wicks-Nelson & Allen Israel and At Risk Youth (2004) by McWhirter et. al. It is subject to slight modification.
Saturday, 3 April 2004
Introductions
Review of syllabus
Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements
Orientation to subject
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Disordered Behavior: The Developmental Psychopathology Perspective
Sunday, 4 April 2004
Chapter 3 Influences and Risks in the Developmental Process
Chapter 5 Classification, Assessment and Treatment
Saturday, 24 April 2004
Morning Exam #1
Chapter 6 Anxiety Disorders
Chapter 7 Mood Disorders
Sunday, 25 April 2004
Chapter 8 Conduct Disorders
Chapter 9 Attention-Deficit hyperactivity Disorder
Saturday, 8 May 2004
Morning Exam #2
Chapter 10 Learning and Language Disorders
Chapter 11 Mental Retardation
At Risk Youth: Chapter 1
Sunday, 9 May 2004
Chapter 12 Autism and Schizophrenia
Chapter 13 Disorders of Basic Physical Functions
At Risk Youth: Chapter 2
Saturday, 22 May 2004
Chapter 14 Pschological Factors Affecting Medical Condition
At Risk Youth: Chapter 3 & 4
Sunday, 23 May 2004
At Risk Youth: Chapter 5
Afternoon Exam #3
Course evaluation | |
Academic Policies:
Please refer to the UMUC – Europe Graduate Catalog, available online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs/ or from your local Education Center, for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities | |
Faculty Bio:
| After completing my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Louisiana State University, I initially worked in a private practice and later with Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS) and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services (CAPS) in Germany. I also have been practicuum supervisor for University of Maryland counseling graduate students. My work experience has been in assessing and treating children, as well as adolescents, who have had a spectrum of problems to include learning, behavioral and emotional disorders. I have interest in the combination of Parent Management Training (PM) and Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy (CBPT), and a special interest in Asperger’s Disorder. | |