11 U – V
Universal screening
This refers to a process for assessing all individuals to locate a subset at risk (who might then receive more detailed evaluation or the start of interventions, such as preventative services). Universal screening has long been popular in public health and, by extension, in schools. For example, the 20th century saw universal student screening for vision problems. In contemporary school practice, students may be screened for early reading problems, linguistic delays, or social-emotional difficulties, each of which may warrant more focused evaluation as an aspect of Multi-tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS). Obviously, school psychologists sometimes help devise screening systems and themselves see students who fail a screening and require more in-depth evaluation, such as for learning problems. School psychologists may be invaluable team members because of their psychometric and measurement backgrounds. For example, school psychologists often understand the trade-off between briefer screening tests (with reduced reliability) and longer tests with greater reliability, but which require more effort and incur greater cost. Similarly, they may help establish reasonable cut scores, which in general are more lenient than those for diagnostic tests. Also see Multi-tiered Systems of Supports.
Valium® (see anti-anxiety medications)
Viibyrd® (see anti-depressant medications)
Vision training
Vision training, which is sometimes proposed by vision professionals, is a controversial intervention designed to improve the efficiency of the visual system, thus enhancing real-world performance (e.g., in reading). However, the following (medical) organizations have issued a joint statement that concerns vision training and dyslexia: American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Ophthalmology, Council on Children with Disabilities, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, American Association of Certified Orthoptists. The statement says in part, “Scientific evidence does not support the efficacy of eye exercises, behavioral vision therapy, or special tinted filters or lenses for improving the long-term educational performance in these complex pediatric neurocognitive conditions.”
Details are available at the following link. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/2/837
