Monthly Archives: January 2012

Functional Behavioral Assessments Can Lead to More Effective Behavior Intervention Plans

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Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs) are used to create solid Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) that help children with special needs change their inappropriate behavior(s) using research based positive interventions. FBAs, when done correctly and thoroughly, take a lot of time and effort but yield very useful information that can create lasting positive changes in your child’s behavior(s). The overall goal of an FBA is to better hypothesize about why a child may be exhibiting certain behaviors. In order to change behavior we have to understand why it is occurring. All behavior happens for a reason, even if it “appears to come out of nowhere”.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) does not mandate that school districts conduct FBAs except in disciplinary situations where a child with and IEP has broken the rules of conduct to the degree that he or she has been suspended for more than 10 days in a school year. This could mean a significant offense that warrants a long suspension of 10 or more days or multiple smaller offenses where the total number of days of suspension in a school year reaches 10 days. If a child with an IEP reaches 10 days of removal from school and an FBA has already been conducted, then the law states that the BIP must be reviewed and revised to increase the likelihood of more appropriate behavior(s).
Some school districts are forward thinking and conduct FBAs on any child with an IEP who is exhibiting a pattern of negative behavior. However, because this is a time intensive process it does not often happen proactively. If you are hearing about (usually because you’re getting calls, e-mails or regular notes in a communication log) a pattern of negative and inappropriate behavior you may ask the school district if they will conduct a Functional Behavioral Assessment on your child to create a BIP to address the behavior(s).

A thorough FBA includes many steps. These steps do not have to occur in a specific order and may be happening at the same time. One important step is a record review of all the documentation the teacher has been taking. Hopefully, the classroom teacher has a system of record keeping the ABC’s (Antecedents, Behaviors & Consequences) of behavioral incidents in place. This has become more and more common, especially among special education professionals but also among general educators. An analysis of the most common antecedents, behaviors and consequences can be quite revealing about what may or may not be facilitating the continuation of inappropriate behaviors. In addition to reviewing classroom records, it is customary to review attendance records, discipline records, assessment records and academic records.

Another step of the FBA is observations of the child. It is very helpful for an objective observer or group of observers to watch the child and his or her interactions. Sometimes it can be difficult for the people who work with your child on a daily basis to be objective so it is best for the observations to be conducted by someone outside of the child’s daily routine. It is important for the child to be observed in different settings within the school, at different times of the school day and with different educators to get a better handle on why behaviors may be occurring.

Another very important step in the process is the completion of rating scales and/or interviews with the parents, the teacher(s) and the child if they have a cognitive understanding of cause and effect. I have seen this step missed in many circumstances and I believe it is often one of the more useful tools for developing a successful BIP. Parents may be able to shed light on circumstances that the school is totally unaware of, teachers may be able to pinpoint certain times of the day, certain people, certain locations or certain requests that tend to precede the behavior. Many professional do not think to talk to the child about their behavior. It is amazing how insightful some children can be about what is going on and why. Many of the students I worked with and interviewed during the FBA interviews had very helpful and creative ideas about what might help them change their behavior(s). Some, of course, did not have good insight, or were too guarded or angry to talk but I still believe it is worthwhile to try, especially with any child over the cognitive age of 12.

After all this data is collected and analyzed the team can usually make some pretty accurate hypotheses about what is leading up to, creating, sustaining and interrupting the inappropriate behaviors. I will talk about BIPs in a future post because this one is getting too long.
Does your child have a pattern of inappropriate behavior? Do you think an FBA might help clear up some questions about the behavior? Has your school done a thorough FBA on your child? I would love to hear about your good and bad experiences with FBAs.

Welcome

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I hope you find useful information here and that you share this website with other parents with children with special needs. Below this post you will find all of the articles I have written. 

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Individualized Education Program

An IEP is an Individualized Education Program. This is a complex legal document for residents of The United States of America that has two primary purposes:

1. To determine if a child is or is not eligible for special education services under Federal guidelines laid out in the 2004 reauthorization of the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).

AND

2. If a child is eligible for special education services, this document specifies goals and objectives, service delivery methods and providers, time lines and supplemental services and materials used to help your child succeed in school.

I have created a Free Parent IEP Preparation Checklist just for you!  Claim yours now!

How Can You Connect With Other Parents of Children With Special Needs?

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Parents of children with disabilities often feel very isolated and lonely.  This is especially true for parents of children who have been recently diagnosed.  Finding ways to connect with other parents of children with special needs can be very enlightening, comforting and empowering.  There are many ways to connect with other parents of children with disabilities.  It is really a matter of personal preference whether you prefer to go to free or low cost trainings to learn new information and network, attend parent support groups and/or disability specific support groups or connect online through social media.

The internet offers a surplus of information these days.  Of course, wading through everything can be overwhelming and a bit frustrating.  Try to be specific in what you are searching for if you do a general search through Google, Yahoo or Bing.  Adding your location (either a city or state) will help narrow down services, trainings and groups in your area.  In addition, adding your child’s diagnosis or disability rather than a general search for parents of children with special needs will also narrow down your search field.  This is a good way to find and connect with other parents who are most likely feeling similarly to how you feel.  If you are not someone who enjoys using the internet, ask your child’s pediatrician, private therapist or school personnel such as the guidance counselor, school social worker or case manager for referrals and suggestions.

There are many social media sites out there.  The two I have found to be most helpful in connecting with other people who are seeking similar information are Facebook and Twitter.  On Facebook, you can enter a topic such as “parents of children with special needs” or “autism” in the search bar and you will be directed to numerous places where that topic is discussed on Facebook.  If you click on the groups icon to the left of the list, it will just give you groups associated with your topic.  Some groups are “open” and anyone can join and other groups are closed and require the permission of the administrator to join.  Feel free to join or request to join any group that sounds like it may of interest to you.  If you click on the link and open up the group page, you will see if people are currently writing and sharing on the wall.  You can find many groups to join and connect with people who have many of the same questions you do.  You can participate by posting comments or questions or you can just read what others are writing.

On Facebook, you can also go to the applications tab and type in “Networked Blogs”.  If you allow this application to view your account you will then be able to search for people who are blogging about topics that you are interested in. If you find a blog that you would like regular updates from you can follow the blog and you will receive updates whenever a new post has been posted.

Twitter is also a great way to connect with other parents of children with disabilities.  Similarly, on twitter, if you type a key word or phrase into the search bar and then click on people on the left hand side of the screen you will find many people who are writing about subjects related to your area of interest.  You can click the follow button next to them and then you will be able to see anything they write.  Many people who are blogging about children with special needs will post a link to their blogs on twitter.  If you click on the link of a blog that you find interesting or helpful, you can sign up to receive regular updates from the blog.  Twitter can also be a good way to learn from and connect with experts in the fields of special education and parenting.

If you have not already tried to connect with other parents of children with special needs, I strongly encourage you to do so.  It will help you feel less alone and less vulnerable and will likely create strong bonds with people who understand what you may be going through.

How have you connected with other parents of children with special needs?  What have you found most helpful about connecting with other parents?

What Should You Know About Your Child’s IEP Goals and Objectives?

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One of the most important parts of your child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the goals and objectives section.  This section usually appears in the middle of the IEP.  This is the meat of the IEP that states what your child is going to learn over the length of the IEP.  Goals are the broader educational expectations and objectives are the specific skills being taught to reach the goal.

IEP Goals are tied directly to state core content standards.  Every state was required to adopt core standards in all major content areas for children in Kindergarten through 12th grade.  These standards apply to all children in public schools- children who are “typical”, children who are English Language Learners (ELL), children with all types of disabilities and children who are gifted.  Each standard spells out what skills set and knowledge a child should have by the end of a grade level or time period.   There are common core standards in English-language arts and Mathematics that were developed through the Common Core State Standards Initiative.  Currently, most states in the country (45 out of 50 plus the District of Columbia) have adopted these standards.  Other content area standards vary from state to state.

Most of the time you will see the core content standard written into the actual goal on the IEP because schools districts want to align IEPs with their content standards, as this is a good educational practice.  There should be a goal and objective(s) for every educational need that is identified through the most recent assessment process and the review of the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance.   Even though parents usually leave this section up to the school district to design, your input in regards to enhancing your child’s education must be considered.

Objectives need to be clearly stated and be measurable.  A math objective such as, “This student will improve in their math skills” is not clear or measurable.  An appropriate math objective would be, “This student will learn to add single digit numbers with 80% mastery” or “This student will learn their multiplication facts from 0-12 with at least 75% mastery” or “This student will correctly make change for a financial transaction under $1.00 on 8 out 10 trials”.  A behavioral objective such as, “This child will improve their classroom behavior” is subjective and vague.  A more appropriate behavioral objective would be, “This child will decrease their disruptive verbal outbursts by at least 50%” or “This child will arrive on time to class at least 80% of the time” or “This child will use a cue card to ask for a break when he/she is getting frustrated at least 7 out of 10 times.”

Objectives should also state how the educator will measure the students progress on the objective.  This may include items such as work samples, exams, teacher observation, pre and posttests, antidotal notes, discipline records, attendance records and many more.  There should also be a baseline given for each objective.  A baseline shows what level, if any, the child is currently achieving on that particular objective.  This assists in measuring how much the child has achieved.  Some objectives may not be met at the projected level that is written into the IEP but if a child moved from 50% to 70% that show that there has been progress.  Without a baseline, there is not a clear way to measure progress.

At the IEP meeting, goals and objectives from the previous IEP should be reviewed so you know what has and has not been achieved.  The new goals and objectives should also be reviewed during the meeting.  It has been my experience that a discussion about goals and objectives is often rushed through due to time constraints for the meeting.  If you are not given time during the IEP meeting to thoroughly review the IEP goals and objectives and you would like to do that, you may ask to take the draft document home with you to review before signing the new IEP.

I would love to hear about whether you have ever been involved in developing your child’s IEP goals and objectives and what that experience was like for you.

When Are Behavior Intervention Plans Used for Children With Special Needs?

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Behavior in the classroom, whether good or bad, affects everyone’s learning. Of course, generally the negative, disruptive, distracting and aggressive behaviors tend to get the most attention from educators, parents and other students. Children with special needs often exhibit an array of behaviors as a byproduct of or result of their disability. Many parents, although not all, also see similar inappropriate behaviors in their homes. Collaboration between schools and parents about behavioral strategies can positively influence the child’s behavior in both settings.
In the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, it states that if a child’s behavior impedes his/her learning or the learning of others positive behavioral supports and strategies should be considered and implemented. Some school districts have a policy to create Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP) for all children in certain disability categories, such as children with emotional disabilities, children with behavioral disabilities and children with ADHD (who are usually categorized as Other Health Impaired). Other school districts create BIP on a case-by-case basis.
If an IEP team determines that inappropriate behaviors are part of the child’s disability, a BIP and/or behavioral goals and objectives should be proactively incorporated into the IEP to address those behaviors. A BIP usually includes training, support and suggestions of research based interventions for addressing behaviors for teachers, paraprofessionals and related service providers, modifications to the child’s placement during behavioral incidents, accommodations to assist the child to be less likely to exhibit inappropriate behaviors and skills to be taught to the child to increase appropriate behaviors.
All behavior happens for a reason. Determining these reasons is essential for creating an effective BIP. As a means to learn more information about a child’s behavior, a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) may be conducted. An FBA is a process used to learn more about why, when, with whom, where and how a child may be exhibiting certain inappropriate behaviors. Understanding the child’s motivation for acting inappropriately, helps determine the best ways to help the child eliminated or reduce inappropriate behaviors. An FBA usually includes several observations of the child, a record review of both classroom and school records, a teacher interview or checklist, a parent interview or checklist and possibly an interview with the child, depending on their age and disability.
If a child with an IEP has multiple suspensions or a long suspension (totaling 10 days per school year) for breaking the school’s code of conduct, a Manifestation Determination meeting must be held and a FBA must be conducted and a BIP must be created if there is not already one in place. If there is a BIP in place already, a review of the BIP must be conducted and amended as needed for increased behavioral success.
Has a BIP helped your child be more successful at school? Were you involved in creating the BIP for your child? Was your input about how to address your child’s difficult behavior incorporated into your child’s BIP? Where you able to use any of the strategies from the BIP to improve behavior at home?

Observing Your Child With Special Needs

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Observing your child with special needs in the classroom can be very helpful and insightful for both you as the parent as well as the school staff.  It allows you to see your child in a different setting interacting with different adults and children than you are used to seeing them with in your home and personal life.  It also allows you to see strategies the school is using to work with your child so you can evaluate whether they are strategies you could incorporate into your home routine.

It is often helpful for building a working relationship between the teacher and parent, which, in my opinion, will help your child succeed much more rapidly in school and may even positively affect their behavior at home.  For example, if the school is implementing a strategy that is helping your child behave more appropriately and you start implementing that same strategy at home you may see much faster growth.  It works the other way around too.  If the teacher hears from a parent that a certain strategy is effective at home, they may be able to implement it in the classroom and see more success.

It is worthwhile to take a few minutes before your observation to write down what you hope to gain or learn during the observation.  This may help you focus on those particular issues during the observation.  You may find it helpful to bring a notebook and something to write with so that you can write down things you have questions about, things you want clarified and things you liked or did not like.  If you have already set up a time to discuss the observation this will give you concrete things to talk about with your child’s teacher.  If you are not able to talk in person, you could ask to set up a phone or e-mail conversation.

You can usually set up an observation with your child’s case manager or special education teacher.  It is best to look at your schedule and then ask the school when a good time would be to observe within your availability.  If you want to see your child in a certain classroom or with a certain educator, you will need to be more flexible.  Generally, it is best to try not to set up an observation in the first month of school or in the first week after a break from school.

For all of the student’s confidentiality, it is important for you to keep what you saw and heard with regard to other children in the classroom confidential.    You are there to learn more about how your child learns and behaves and how you can support that learning at home.  I always told parents that were welcome to share anything I did or said or anything their own child did or said but to be careful about respecting the confidentiality of the other children in room by not using their name or distinguishing characteristics  about the other children.  You may learn something from what you observe in an interaction between the teacher and another student and that is great but just be careful not to divulge personal information to other people.

I have always encouraged and urged the parents of my students to come in and observe their child at school.  I usually try to set it up so that I can have a few minutes at the end to discuss what we were doing, answer questions the parent has and encourage them to try certain strategies at home.

What has your experience been with observing your child at school?  Have you done it?  If not, why not? If so, was it helpful and/or insightful?

IEP Meetings-Why Are There So Many People There?

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A parent of a special needs child recently asked me, “Why there are so many people from the school district at IEP meetings for my son?“

Many parents find it intimidating to walk into a room full of school personnel, especially when there are people present who you have never met or heard of before.  The first step in the meeting is usually introductions using name and relationship to the child so you will at least know who is sitting around the table with you.

The meetings that tend to have the most school personnel in attendance are the initial IEP meeting to qualify your child to receive special education services and the reevaluation meetings that occur at least every three years after your child has begun receiving special education services.  In addition, children in middle and high school tend to have more school personnel at meetings because they usually have many more teachers than children in elementary schools.

Some of the school personnel who may be in attendance at the IEP meeting are; an administrator, a school counselor, a special education teacher, a general education teacher and related services providers such as the Speech/Language Pathologist, School Social Worker, School Psychologist, School Nurse, Augmentative Communications Specialist, Occupational Therapist or Physical Therapist.

For the initial IEP meeting many professionals will be assessing your child to determine what their educational strengths and needs are and if they qualify for special education services within a disability category laid out in The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  IDEA clearly defines the different disability categories a student may qualify in.  Everyone who assesses your child must submit a report with the assessment results, recommendations and educational needs to the case manager prior to the IEP meeting.  Many of these personnel will be in attendance at the meetings if their schedule allows.

Reevaluations usually occur every three years in order to reassess whether your child still remains eligible for special education.  A parent or another member of the team may request for a reevaluation prior to the three years if there is a need.  The IEP team will determine prior to the meeting, which areas need to be reassessed, and whether they will be formally reassessed or informally reassessed.

At yearly IEP reviews, you may see the same service providers you see at Initial and reevaluation meetings or quite often, there are fewer members present.  Although it is usually helpful to have all service providers at these meetings it is unlikely as the provider would be unable to provide direct services to students while they attend the meetings.  If you would like a certain service provider to be present, you may make this request to the case manager and he/she will make an effort to get the provider there.  All services providers must review your child’s progress and update their present levels of functioning in their specialty area and write goals and objectives for your child in their content area(s) for the next 12 months.  Each meeting must minimally have a case manager, a special education teacher and a general education teacher.

Your child’s disability and level of impairment also may affect how many school personnel attend the meeting.  Children with mild learning disabilities may have far fewer service providers than a child with autism, or a child who is emotionally disturbed or a child who has a cognitive impairment.

When I was a case manager and the facilitator of meetings I usually liked to have as many service providers present as possible because I thought this gave the team the clearest picture of the child’s strengths and needs.  What do you think?  Would you prefer to have less people or more people?

Accommodations and Modifications-What are they?

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Accommodations and Modifications are an important part of a child’s IEP.  They are usually found toward the back of the IEP document and are often not even discussed at meetings.  They are adaptations to teaching methods, materials, the environment and your child’s response that help to “level the playing field” for your child with a disability.

Many people wonder what the difference is between accommodations and modifications.  In basic terms, a modification actually changes material to make it simpler.  One example follows; if a fifth grade class is reading and studying about Native Americans and a student with an IEP can only comprehend material at a first grade level this child should be given a book about Native Americans written at that level.  If the class is suppose to write a 5-page paper about the book they read about Native Americans, this child might only be required to dictate or write, if they are able, a paragraph about their book.  This would allow the child to be studying and learning about the same material as his fifth grade peers, but at a level that he could understand and actually gain educational benefit from.

In some circumstances, children with very significant disabilities who lack instruction in the core content areas because of their disability may be exempt from regular state tests and may be given a modified alternative state assessment.

In basic terms, an accommodation is a sensible adjustment to teaching practices to make things more equitable for the child with a disability.  Accommodations include many different areas of education. The most commonly used accommodations are used to adjust the setting the child receives instruction or testing, the response method the student is required to use and the presentation of material to the student.

Some examples of setting accommodations are; being seated toward the front of the classroom, the ability to take quizzes or exams in a smaller setting, the ability to take more frequent breaks or being seated away from distractions, such as the door, a window or a fan.

Some examples of response method accommodations are taking tests orally, using dictation software to type required content, completing every other math problem assigned or listening to audio books instead of reading them.

Some examples of presentation accommodations are, receiving completed study guides for tests, receiving copies of a peers or the teachers notes, the teacher pointing out the most important points in a lecture, receiving instruction in a certain subject area in a smaller setting, having directions for assignments highlighted or read to the student, using graph paper to help properly align math problems and being given material in smaller chucks.

If a child receives certain accommodations regularly throughout the school year, they should receive similar accommodations on required state testing.  The most common ones are being tested in a smaller setting, extending testing time lines, and being given more breaks during testing.  In this situation, children with disabilities are taking the same assessment as their same age peers but are allowed to use their regular accommodations to help them be more successful on the tests.

What accommodations or modifications are on your child’s IEP?  Did you have to ask for certain ones to be added or were they already on the IEP?  Do you know if your child is receiving the accommodations and modifications listed in their IEP? Are they being used when your child is administered the state assessments?

IEP Meetings and Feelings

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Over my career as a special educator, I have facilitated or participated in hundreds of IEP meetings.  Whether I was facilitating or just participating as someone who assessed the child or taught the child, my goal has always been to join with the parents (or guardians) to work together as a team for the common goal of helping their child progress educationally and ultimately in life in general.  Some parents have joined me in this venture quickly, others have taken some time to get to know what kind of person I am before deciding to join me, others have sat beside me but chosen not to join me and some have chosen not to even be on the team, for a variety of reasons.

IEP meetings have generated many different feelings in me as the educator and I am sure they have generated even more feelings in you as a parent of a child with a disability.  I have walked out of some meetings feeling happy that we were able to work as a team to design a plan to meet the child’s needs.  Sometimes I have left meetings feeling sad because the information the educators were sharing with the parents was obviously shocking, scary or hurtful to the parents.  On other occasions, I left feeling satisfied that we were making progress toward understanding how to better serve the child.  Sometimes I left the meeting feeling confused about how to proceed to help the child be successful.  Other times I left meetings feeling bewildered about why the parents appeared to be hostile and have no faith in us.  I have also left meetings feeling proud because the parents have commented on how much they felt I was helping their child.  Sometimes I have left meetings feeling concerned that the parents did not understand what I was trying to express to them.  A few times I left meetings feeling upset because the parents felt betrayed by what I said or suggested.  Many times, I have left meetings feeling excited about how much progress the child has made.

Some of the parents of the children I have worked with over the years have shared their feelings with me about how they felt upon leaving meetings we were in together.  They have had similar feelings to the ones I have experienced and many more, both on the positive side and on the negative side.  One of my goals with this blog is to help parents of children with disabilities feel more empowered, more informed and more able to advocate for what their child needs to become a successful student, a good friend, a caring person and ultimately a productive, happy and healthy individual.

I hope you will share some of your experiences at IEP meetings so I can better understand what it feels like to be on your side of the table.

Free Appropriate Public Education(FAPE)-What Does it Entail?

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According to the Individuals with Disabilities Act, every child with a disability in the United States is entitled to a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE).  This means that all children with disabilities are to be provided with appropriate special education services in public schools at no cost to the family. A child’s FAPE is determined by the IEP team through the assessment results that generate the child’s education needs.  The goals and objectives, services, placement and accommodations and modifications are created to assure the child is receiving FAPE.

The word in this acronym that often creates disagreement is the word “appropriate”.  Although their are many references in IDEA about what an IEP should include, the word is vague and open for many interpretations.  There is sometimes a difference of opinion between school districts and parents over what is an appropriate goal, objective, service, placement, accommodation or modification.  This is an area where assessments and education needs based on deficits validated by the assessments are used to negotiate what is appropriate for a particular child.  It is important to understand that what is appropriate for one child may be completely inappropriate for another child.  Another critical factor is that appropriate does not necessarily mean the best, the most popular or the most famous.  The intent of this law is not to maximize your child’s potential, it is to make sure they are making progress in reaching their goals.  Someone once told me that it means children are entitled to a good solid Ford education but they are not promised a premier Cadillac education.

Due to this vagueness it is very important for you to understand and research your child’s disability based on the assessments given so that you fully understand what your child’s educational needs are.  The IEP needs to be carefully developed by the team to meet or child’s needs to provide  him/her with an “appropriate” education.

If a parent chooses to move their child to a private school on their own, a public school district is not required to pay for the child’s private education unless the district was unable to provide FAPE.  This would usually be determined in a due process hearing.  There are times, when a special education team, which includes you as the parent will decided that the most appropriate placement for your child is at a private, out-of-district school.  In this case, the school district will pay for the private school because it was determined to be FAPE by the team.

Have you had discussions with your child’s school about FAPE?  Are you in agreement with your child’s school about how the IEP is providing FAPE to your child?