Marsha L S Spencer

Interests

Research

Supervision of fieldwork students and interns in the field of school psychology.

Teaching

Psychoeducational AssessmentNeurological Bases of Behavior

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Journals/Publications

• Spencer, M. L., Wodrich, D. L., Schultz, W., Wagner, L., & Recht, M. (2009). Inattention, hyperactivity-impulsivity, academic skills and psychopathology in boys with and without haemophilia.. Haemophilia : the official journal of the World Federation of Hemophilia, 15(3), 701-6. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2516.2009.01993.x
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  The aim of this study was to determine if symptoms of inattention (IN) and hyperactivity-impulsivity (HI) differ for boys with and without haemophilia and to determine if IN and HI are the essential behavioural dimensions on which the two groups differ. Using a quasi-experimental design, parents' and teachers' ratings of IN and HI for boys with and without haemophilia (ages 6-14 years) were compared. IN and HI were also assessed with a psychometric task, as were reading and math, psychopathology, and educational status via various techniques. Boys with haemophilia (n = 19) were rated higher on dimensions of HI and IN by teachers (P = 0.01, P = 0.02, respectively) but only on HI by parents (P = 0.01). In addition, the haemophilia group committed more impulsivity errors on a psychometric task (P = 0.01). Trends, but not statistically significant differences, were found on reading and math scores, and the haemophilia group had more special education participation. Compared to national norms, borderline range scores on the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related dimensions of HI and psychometrically measured impulsivity characterized the boys with haemophilia. Although not addressing formal diagnoses, this study found that boys with haemophilia risk ADHD-spectrum problems, especially HI, and special education participation, but not frank academic deficits.
• Spencer, M. L., & Wodrich, D. L. (2007). The Other Health Impairment Category and Health-Based Classroom Accommodations. Journal of Applied School Psychology. doi:10.1300/j370v24n01_06
• Spencer, M. L., Daley, K. N., & Wodrich, D. L. (2006). Combining RTI and psychoeducational assessment: What we must assume to do otherwise. Psychology in the Schools. doi:10.1002/pits.20189
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  The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA; 2004) permitted lack of students' response to intervention (RTI) to be considered as a basis for documenting specific learning disabilities (SLD). The previous method of detecting SLD, which relied on IQ and achievement testing, consequently is no longer mandatory. Accordingly, proposals for the abandonment of IQ, and perhaps all standardized psychoeducational assessment, have arisen. In this article, it is proposed that the joint use of RTI and psychoeducational testing is indispensable when school-based evaluations concern SLD eligibility. The singular use of either RTI or psychoeducational testing requires adoption of several implicit and apparently untenable assumptions. Those assumptions are made explicit in this article, and each is examined. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 797–806, 2006.