Support for a Student With Mild Intellectual Disabilities Facing Adolescent Developmental Tasks: Cooperation of Teachers and a School Psychologist at a Special Needs School

Abstract

The present study reports an intervention with a female student with mild intellectual disabilities who faced adolescent developmental tasks and had mental health problems. Special needs teachers and a school psychologist gave her support during a 3-year period from junior high to high school. The student initially complained of anxiety about harming others. The process of support, however, revealed that she had conflicts about adolescent developmental tasks such as peer relationships and self-identity. Therefore, her teachers and the school psychologist worked together to provide consultation and support; they encouraged self-expression, managed her relationships with her peers, and suggested methods for changing her mood. After that intervention, she said that she no longer had anxiety about harming others, and she also expressed herself more candidly and improved her relationships with her classmates. Based on the positive changes reported by the participant in this study, interprofessional collaboration should be employed when offering comprehensive support to students with mild intellectual disabilities experiencing psychological difficulties.