Relationships among relational communication processes and consultation outcomes for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Consultation has been shown to be an effective means to deliver school-based psychological services. The purpose of this study was to link patterns of consultant and teacher verbal interactions to consultation outcomes. Relational communication (Rogers & Escudero, 2004) was the research perspective taken, and the source of the consultation interviews was a large-scale assessment and intervention study of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Participants were five consultants, 42 teachers, and 42 elementary school students who were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The initial consultation interview for each case was coded using the Rogers and Farace (1975) coding system. Variables reflecting the nature of interpersonal influence within consultation - domineeringness and dominance - were calculated for consultants and teachers. Teacher dominance (successful influence) was associated with (a) teacher ratings of intervention effectiveness (r =.48), (b) teacher ratings of student progress-to-target behavior (r = .33), and (c) consultant observations of teachers' treatment integrity (t = -.32). Results suggest that greater attention be paid to how teachers contribute to the process and content of consultation.