Parent Forum Sheldon ISD Fall 2008

1. Parent ForumSheldon ISDFall 2008

2. What isPASS- Positive Approach to Student Success Process for managing the behavior of students identified as Emotionally Disturbed Is designed for Emotionally Disturbed students who have behaviors that need daily monitoring is an individualized approach based on teaching behavioral expectations while keeping students in mainstream classes utilizes daily behavioral evaluation software and weekly behavioral analysis to guide intervention PASS

3. What PASS is NOT is NOT another In School Suspension is NOT a punishment is NOT designed to cure all behavior problmes is NOT an escape from class is NOT a self-contained behavior unit is NOT a placement made by a principal is NOT given to a student for a set number of days PASS

4. PASS How does PASS work? It’s a process. Caperton-Brown & Poole, 2007

5. PASS:Phase 3 Monitoring Tokens Behavior is Acceptable Warning: Behavior is unacceptable. Student has been given warning and compliance is expected in 1-2 minutes. Behavior is continues to be unacceptable after reasonable period of time to comply. Caperton-Brown & Poole, 2007

6. PASS PASS in a nutshell… Non-levels, Inclusion approach Focus on constructing new behaviors Functional analysis of behavior supported by daily data collection and analysis Reward-based system Caperton-Brown & Poole, 2007

7. Social Skills Counseling Groups for Students with Autism • Autistic Disorder: • One key feature of autism is that it is characterized by qualitative impairment in social interaction • Some associated features with social impairment are: • Difficulty developing peer relationships in ways that would be expected for the child’s developmental level • Difficulty making eye contact • Difficulty recognizing feelings of oneself and others • Difficulty starting and ending conversations with peers • Difficulty making and keeping friends

8. Designed for students with Autism that have, based on special education assessment: Demonstrated a need for social skills intervention above and beyond what they are getting in their school environment Co-Facilitated by Lisa Ramke, Related Services Counselor, and Michelle Wolf, Licensed Specialist in School Psychology Being provided through related services counseling Targeting secondary level students due to increasing social pressures that occur in middle school and high school Social Skills Counseling Groups for Students with Autism

9. Available to all students, both special education and non-special education Designed for students who: have emotional and/or behavioral challenges are not responding to general classroom management and behavioral management techniques need specialized and individualized interventions Requests for psychological consultation are made through the Student Assistance Review Team (SART) for students who are NOT in special education Requests for psychological consultation are made through the ARD committee for students who ARE in special education Psychological Consultation

10. Psychological Consultations are conducted by Licensed Specialists in School Psychology (LSSPs) Consultation involves participation from the teacher(s), parent, and the student Parent permission is required before consultation can begin Consultation can include observations, behavioral questionnaires , and possibly direct conversations with the student Progress on interventions is monitored through the SART team (for students NOT in special education) or the ARD committee (for students in special education) Psychological Consultation

11. Effective Assessment Of Young Children Jessica Consuegra, LSSP

12. What is ECI • ECI is a statewide program for families with children, birth to three, with disabilities and developmental delays. ECI supports families to help their children reach their potential through developmental services.

13. Children Enrolled in ECI • Children who are enrolled in Early Childhood Intervention Program will work with their case manager in preparing their child for transition, which will take place on the child’s third birthday to: • Preschool Programs for Children with Disabilities (PPCD); or • Other services that may be available, if appropriate.

14. Determining Services • In order to determine if a child is eligible for services, an assessment must take place. • Because children enrolled in ECI are under the age of 3, an Arena Assessment is conducted to look at all areas of the child’s development.

15. What is an Arena Assessment? • Simultaneous evaluation of the child by multiple professionals from different disciplines (play-based) • Multi-disciplinary • Multi-Domain • Multi-Source • Family-Centered • Non-discriminatory • Formative and Summative

16. Key People Involved in the Assessment of Young Children • Psychologist • Social-Worker • Nutritionist • Nurse • Parent/Caregiver • OT/PT • Siblings • Physician • SLP • Extended Family • Educator • Audiologist • Optometrist

17. Key Domains in the Assessment of Young Children • Cognitive/Pre-academic • Social-Emotional • Language • Adaptive • Physical • Health • Home • Family • Community • Sensory

18. Approaches in the Assessment of Young Children • Observation (play-based) • Interview • Formal Procedures • Arena Assessments take place at Carroll Elementary

19. The Goal • The goal of any good assessment should be to design effective intervention for the young child and their family.

20. Referrals and PPCD • Who decides if your child is eligible? • If your child is in an ECI program, your service provider will let the school district know that your preschooler may be eligible for public school services.  • If your three- to five-year-old did not participate in ECI, but you suspect him or her of needing special education services, you – or any person involved in the care or education of your child – may make a referral.  • In either case, the school district must have your “written consent” (signature) before it can begin the evaluation process to ensure your child has a disability and needs special education.  Be sure to sign and return paperwork in a timely manner to keep the process moving forward.  Your child will be evaluated to determine if he or she is a “child with a disability” as defined by the IDEA.  • An Admissions, Review and Dismissal (ARD) meeting will be held to determine if your child qualifies for special education services.  • If the ARD committee finds your child eligible, he or she will be assigned a “disability code”, and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) will be developed. • Services may include: Speech Therapy, Occupational and/or Physical Therapy, PPCD

21. PPCD- Preschool Programs for Children with Disabilities. • Eligibility: Children are eligible if they are determined by a multi-disciplinary team to meet state criteria as a child with a disability.  The disabilities are:  orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, auditory impairment, visual impairment, deaf-blind, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, learning disability, speech impairment, autism, multiple disabilities, and traumatic brain injury.  There is no fee for services. • SERVICE DELIVERY:        Classes are offered Monday through Friday for half-day (AM or PM-3 hours) and full-day sessions, depending on individual needs.  If children have an educational need for related services, they are delivered during the assigned session as part of the child’s daily program. • SERVICES:  Services for children in PPCD include daily structured activities to develop language (expressive and receptive), cognitive, social/emotional, motor (fine and gross motor), and self-help skills.  Additional services may include transportation, assistive technology, counseling, or occupational, physical, or speech therapy, if recommended by the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) Committee. Some children who only need speech services may be recommended for speech services without the entire PPCD program.  For example, a child might come to the school two times a week for thirty minutes each session.  These services are provided at the child’s home campus. • PROGRAM STAFF:  Staffing is provided to accomplish small class groupings of approximately 10-12 children per session with a teacher, instructional aide, and a speech and language pathologist at each campus.  Itinerant teachers and therapists assist in servicing children, as needed. • CURRICULUM:  The PPCD Curriculum contains five major areas—Cognition (thinking and perception skills), Communication (language development), Self-help, Fine/Gross Motor, and Social/Emotional (development of self-awareness and responsibility).  The curriculum is designed to meet the wide variety of needs in young children.

22. Autism Arena Assessment • During an ECI Arena Assessment, if the assessment team observes the child displaying Autistic behaviors, an AU Arena Assessment is recommended. • If a child (at any age) is displaying AU characteristics any person involved in the care or education of the child may make a referral.  • During the referral process, an AU Arena Assessment may be requested. (This is dependant on the developmental level of the child.)

23. What is AU Arena Assessment • Very similar to the ECI Arena Assessment • The AU Arena Assessment Team assess all areas and focus on: • Expressive and Receptive Language • Affective Expression • Social Reciprocity • Characteristic Motor Behaviors • Characteristic Verbal Behaviors • Adaptive Behavior • Sensory Development

24. Interventions for AU • May include • AU Social Skills Groups • Behavior Intervention Plans • Structured Unit Classroom

25. Structured Unit Classroom • Located at Sheldon Elementary, available for any student who needs a structured environment • The classroom is based upon an understanding of the unique features and characteristics associated with the nature of autism. • Structured teaching is a system for organizing their environments, developing appropriate activities, and helping people with autism understand what is expected of them. • The teacher utilizes visual cues which help children with autism focus on the relevant information which can, at times, be difficult for the person with autism to distinguish from the non-relevant information. • Structured teaching addresses challenging behaviors in a proactive manner by creating appropriate and meaningful environments that reduce the stress, anxiety and frustration which may be experienced by children with autism. Challenging behaviors may occur, due to (the following characteristics of autism: • Language comprehension difficulties • Expressive language difficulties • Social relations difficulties • Sensory processing difficulties • Resistance to change • Preference for familiar routines and consistency • Organizational difficulties • difficulty attending to relevant stimuli • distractibility • Structured teaching greatly increases a child's independent functioning (i.e., without adult prompting or cueing) which will assist him/her throughout life.

26. Changes in LD Assessment

27. Response to Intervention(RtI) Articulation and Language Labs

28. RtI – Articulation Lab • Tier 3 of RtI • Occurs weekly • Parental notification/consent is required • SLP or SLP Assistant will implement

29. RtI – Articulation Lab (cont) • Minimum of 360 minutes clocked • Pre-test and Post-test • “Open door” policy within specified times • Documentation sent to Campus Team

30. RtI – Articulation Lab (cont) • High-frequency sounds will be targeted: /r/, /s/, /sh/, /ch/, and /l/. • The lab will consist of intensive drill and phonemic awareness activities using photo cards and songs. There will be five stations: Listening, Games, Drill, Move-n-Grove, and Motor. Students will rotate through the stations, practicing their target sound while engaging in a variety of activities.

31. RtI – Language Lab • Tier 3 of RtI • Open to students enrolled in grades K-3rd • Occurs weekly • Addresses phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and oral narrative structure • Parental notification/consent is required

32. RtI – Language Lab (cont) • SLP or SLP Assistant will implement • 360 minutes clocked • Students must arrive at the beginning of the lab and remain to the end • Documentation sent to Campus Team

33. RtI – Language Lab (cont) • The Language Lab will function as a storybook/thematic lab. • 15 minutes – reading by the SLP/SLP Assistant • 15 minutes – phonemic awareness and vocabulary focus • 15 minutes – crafts/activity • 15 minutes – closing activity (snacks, songs, etc.)

34. WHO? The Who, What, Where, When and Why of Assistive Technology?

35. What ? • Low Technology • High Technology • Positioning • Hearing

36. Where? • Anyone in the District that needs it. • One must understand though the classrooms all have assistive technology in them.

37. When ? • To enhance a students learning enviroment. • When an ARD committee or Parent sees a need for it.

38. Why ? • To make all students successful no matter what their difference is. • Make a student feel confident within themselves.

39. Questions and Answers about Assistive Technology • Please fill out our survey and let us know your input and/ or concerns.

40. Inclusion Programs Contact: Kelly Sebastian, Special Education Director Phyliss Butler, Program Specialist

41. Parent Questionnaire Discussion