3/13/2015
SUPPORTING THE
NEEDS OF COMPLEX
LEARNERS
Christine R. Peterson, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Stout
Contact Information
petersonchris@uwstout.edu
Wisconsin School Psychology Association
March 27, 2015
Goals for Today
• View programming for students with
complex needs through the lense of quality
indicators
• Highlighting multiple domains for consideration
in quality programming
What Do We Mean by Complex Learners?
• A relatively broad term, meant to
encompass a variety of learners and
needs:
• Students with moderate to severe cognitive disabilities
• Students with Autism and developmental disabilities
• Students with DD and associated challenging behaviors
• Discuss strategies for differentiation
• using core curriculum as the base
• Discuss strategies for general support
• Principles can be applied and modified to
accommodate:
• The continuum of age ranges, pre-K-16
• “Self-contained” or Included settings
1
3/13/2015
What Does Quality
Programming Look Like?
Quality Programming Considers..
• District Resources
• Starts at the Systems level
• District, building resources and support leading to
quality classroom and individual instruction
• Encompasses a comprehensive approach
to student learning, across a broad
spectrum of domains
• Academic, communication, social/behavioral, adaptive,
transition, etc.
• Personnel
• Program Characteristics
• Curriculum
• Instructional Methods
• Individual Instruction and Assessment
• IEP Goals and Progress Monitoring
• Planning for Challenging Behaviors
• Program Evaluation
Quality Indicators: District Resources
District Resources
• Staff are available on a ratio that allows
• Individualized services and supports, as
students to accomplish IEP goals, and
adequately meet student’s daily care
needs.
• Teaching staff and related service providers
receive essential professional development
and training.
• Staff coverage is available for professional
development opportunities.
determined by the IEP team, are provided to
ensure adequate progress toward IEP goals and
objectives
• i.e., assistive technology for communication needs, extended year
programming; skilled nursing services
• Teacher and teaching team have access to on-
going support and technical assistance to meet
the unique needs of the program and/or individual
students
• i.e., assistive technology consultation, behavior support specialist
2
3/13/2015
Quality Indicators: Personnel
• Training Considerations:
Personnel
• Teacher and related service providers have
frequent access to review IEPs for purposes of
planning and progress monitoring
• Characteristics and profiles of learners with moderate to severe
disabilities
• Use of assistive technology for communication and/or mobility
• Instructional methods and strategies for adapting curriculum to
meet individual needs
• Understanding, planning for, and responding to challenging
behaviors
• Continuing professional development to ensure
• Teacher and related service providers collect
appropriate data to regularly monitor progress
toward IEP goals
• Technical assistance is available to meet unique
quality instruction and support
needs of students
• Assistive tech consultant, behavior specialist, etc
Quality Indicators:
Program Characteristics
• The length of the school day and school year
Program Characteristics
•
Identifiable and consistent daily structure and routine,
designed to promote understanding and enhance student
learning.
•
A defined curriculum is identified and used to guide
learning goals for students
should be at least equal to that established for
students in general education.
• Extended year programming is evaluated and
considered for students, based on individual
student needs.
• Program planning for generalization is evident.
Community based instruction occurs where
appropriate, and students have opportunities for
inclusive learning and activities.
•
planned, developmentally appropriate educational activities are
implemented toward the achievement of IEP goals.
• The program includes a systematic plan for evaluating
student IEP progress and outcomes.
3
3/13/2015
Quality Indicators:
Instructional Methods
Quality Indicators: Instructional Methods
• Instructional methods:
• Instructional methods:
• Are empirically validated and evidence-
based.
• direct instruction, differentiation, etc.
• Are focused on the functional application
of skills
• Reflect high expectations for learners
• Promote student engagement
Planning for Success:
Physical/Classroom Environment
• Promote high levels of successful responding
(i.e., task analysis)
• Emphasize positive reinforcement strategies for
learning
• Incorporate programming for generalization of
skills across settings
• Instructional methods are designed to develop
student abilities to learn in a group setting,
increasing peer and environmental tolerances
Instructional Methods
Physical/Classroom Environment
• Consider how student travels in the classroom
• Heavily traveled areas should be free of obstacles and
wide enough to accommodate the traffic flow
• Arrange classroom furniture and equipment to permit
visual monitoring of students from either a sitting or
standing position
• Label materials and designated areas of the room (can
match symbols from schedule to signs)
SNACK
or
(carpet square)
4
3/13/2015
Physical/Classroom Environment
Instructional Methods
Expectations and Rules
• Students with DD/ASD routinely experience
difficulty understanding expectations and
consequences:
• Rules need to be clear, explicitly stated, modeled, and
illustrated whenever feasible
• Desired behaviors should also be described, modeled,
and illustrated
• Maintain consistent expectations
• Consistently apply consequences
• Expectations must be clarified and incorporated into daily
routines
• Identify cues or prompts to alert the student when the
behavior is unacceptable
Expectations and Rules
Class Rules
Fieldtrip Rules
5
3/13/2015
Instructional Methods
Visual Cue for Calming
Routines and Schedules
• Students with ASD in particular, may have a strong
preference for routine and consistency
• They may tend to focus on only certain
environmental stimuli and may fail to assimilate
environmental changes as easily as other students
• Establish and follow predictable routines and prepare
students in advance for anticipated changes
• Introduce strategies to help deal with change
• Don’t underestimate the power of a schedule to assist the
student in understanding their day
Develop a Daily Schedule
Plan for Flexibility
• Developing routine is OK, even for students who
tend to “over-conform” or become locked into
sameness
• Develop a plan for introducing changes to daily
schedule or routine
• Identify different activities in a day by name (“morning
meeting”) versus time (“9:20”)
• Determine the best way to represent these activities:
written words, line drawings, photographs, objects
• Select a format
(schedule board, daily planner, etc.)
• Determine the location of the schedule
NOTES
On the blackboard:
No Outside Recess;
Inside games today
• Decide on extent of student participation in setting
or
the schedule each day
- Adult presents a completed schedule vs.
- The student and adult prepare the schedule together at the beginning of the
day
6
3/13/2015
Individual Schedule
Jack’s Tuesday Morning
Home Room
break
Music
break
Algebra
break
Speech w/ Ms. Darcy
break
Lunch
Activity Schedule
Task Organizer: Washing hands
Note: Use of photos and pictures
7
3/13/2015
Instructional Methods Direct Instruction (Structured Teaching or “The Behavioral Method)
Instruct ‐ teach the steps to the skill
Model ‐ demonstrate how to use the skill
Rehearse ‐ role‐play situations using the skill
Feedback ‐ provide feedback on student performance of skill
Practice ‐ plan for how the student will practice the skill outside of the instructional setting
“Snakes of Civil War”
Instructional Methods
Universal Design
• A conceptual philosophy
• Develop curriculum that is accessible to as many individuals as from
the outset
• Ultimately more efficient for learners and for you
• Allows you to incorporate individualized assignments for students
Example: WWII Unit – Project Matrix (each student works with teacher to
choose one of the following activities to demonstrate learning):
Write a Report on one of the
Allied Nations and their
participation in WWII
Take a multiple-choice test
covering the unit chapters and
content discussed in class
Act out a “tv interview” with a
prominent WWII figure
Write a biography of a
prominent figure of WWII
Develop a map that depicts
relevant WWII events
Collaborate w/ Teacher to
develop an individual project
Graphic Organizer: Academic Lesson
To grow, plants
need:
Water
Sunshine
Oxygen
“Connecting to the Core Curriculum”
“Connecting to the Core Curriculum”
8
3/13/2015
Graphic Organizer: Social Lesson
Instructional Methods
Differentiated Instruction
• A systematic approach to planning curriculum
and instruction for diverse learners
• A teaching philosophy that honors each
student’s learning needs, maximizes their
learning capacity
• TWO Primary Classroom Factors to Consider:
• The essential meaning of the curriculum (content)
• The range of abilities of the learners in your classroom
• Consistent with the concept of universal design
Differentiated Instruction - Examples
Differentiated Instruction - Examples
• Setting: Morning Meeting
• Activities: Weather Bear and Calendar
• Differentiated Lesson:
•
•
The goal for majority of students is to identify the weather today
and clothe Weather Bear appropriately, Beth’s goal is to identify
“Yellow” when shown a yellow rain coat and a blue hat.
The goal for majority of students during calendar is to identify the
day of the week, the month and year, and count by fives to the
current date. Sesha’s goal is to correctly identify the number 5
when shown a 5 and a 9.
• You’ve used a common activity to teach or emphasize
different learning goals, and stayed connected to the
core curriculum…. Good job!
“Connecting to the Core Curriculum”
• Incorporate predicting
patterns
• Using the same materials
• During an included whole
group instructional activity
• Peer students can model
correct answering or problemsolving aloud
• The whole group may also
be working on other
targeted skills (counting by
7’s)
“Connecting to the Core Curriculum”
9
3/13/2015
Every Child Needs a Way to Communicate
10
3/13/2015
Quality Indicators: Curriculum
• The curriculum addresses the comprehensive learning
needs of all students:
• Pre-academic and/or academic skills
• Adaptive, daily life-skill development and self-management
• Social relationships (including classroom and non-disabled peers)
• Communication and language
• Play and leisure activities
• Strategies for teaching adaptive skills to replace maladaptive
behaviors
• Pre-vocational skills/Transition
• Student engagement
Curriculum
Quality Indicators:
IEP Goals and Progress Monitoring
• Curriculum is individualized and adapted to the needs of
• Target objectives should be comprehensive, and should
each student
• Through the curriculum (and appropriate adaptations),
students are exposed to organized learning themes,
throughout the course of the school year. Individual
instruction and goals are implemented via the curriculum.
include consideration for the following (as appropriate per
individual):
• Functional communication
• Replacement of non-functional behaviors with functional behaviors
• Engagement
• Social skill development
• Play and leisure skills
• Functional life skills and adaptive behaviors
• Self-advocacy skills
• Systematic assessment and review of IEP goals occurs
on a frequent basis
11
3/13/2015
IEP Goals and Progress Monitoring
IEP Goals and Progress Monitoring
• Students individual instructional programming is altered
• Instructional Programming change options include (but
when:
are not limited to):
• Adequate progress is not observed for target objectives
• Presentation of material
• Target objectives have been met
• Schedule of prompting
• Changes occur in the student’s life (home, school, community)
• Schedule of reinforcement
• Modifications to curriculum material
• Student progress is reported quarterly via IEP progress
monitoring, and shared with caregivers.
• Modifications to target objectives
• Increase/decrease in student:teacher ratio
• Increase/decrease in 1:1 instructional time
• Annual IEP review includes student summary and review
by the collaborative educational team, including
caregivers
Quality Indicators:
Individual Instruction and Assessment
• Instructional activities are differentiated to meet
individual student needs (i.e., ages, abilities, and
learning styles).
• Students are engaged in a variety of instructional formats
• One-to-one instruction
• Small and/or whole group instruction
• Peer-mediated instruction
• Instructional activities promote the development and
use of communication skills (via language to
augmentative/alternative communication
mechanisms)
Individual Instruction and Assessment
• Instructional activities are designed to:
• Enhance student engagement
• Emphasize a high rate of successful responding to promote skill mastery
• Build in complexity, from basic to more advanced skill development
• Individualized to achieve IEP goals
• Promote the functional application of skills
• Student assessment practices emphasize multi-method, multi-
modal approaches, designed to achieve a comprehensive and
accurate profile of learners. Assessment protocols may include:
• Review of school and medical records
• Teacher/parent interviews
• Student observations
• Informal, activity-based assessment of basic skills
• Formal norm- and criterion- referenced assessments
• Family input
12
3/13/2015
Individual Instruction and Assessment
Quality Indicators: Transition Planning
• Assessment practices are designed to measure
Transition defined:
comprehensive domains of learning (academic and life
skills)
• Assessment of communication skills occurs for both verbal
and nonverbal students, with a focus on:
• Communicative intent; Receptive language; Expressive language;
Augmentative/alternative communication technology needs
• Assessment are framed from a strength-based
perspective.
• Assessment outcomes are clearly linked to instructional
practices and interventions. Outcomes emphasis
recommendations to guide the IEP.
Transition Planning:
When does transition planning begin?
• IDEA reauthorization of 2004
• Formal transition planning to begin by age 16
• IDEA acknowledgement of “the sooner the better”
• Activities may begin before age 16 but not after
• General Consensus
• While specific transition plans may start at 16
• “who, what, when, and where” details
• Skill-based intervention and instruction to support transition should
begin well before age 16
• Social, adaptive, self-advocacy skills
• Coordinated set of activities, to include student,
parents, school and community agency
representatives
• college support service personnel
• vocational rehab coordinators
• Designed to promote successful post-secondary
outcomes
• Emphasis on
• Post-secondary educational and/or vocational goals
• Independent living options
Transition Planning: Who Participates?
• Parents
• The greater collaboration between home and school, the more
successful the plan is likely to be
• School
• Main facilitator in assessing needs, identifying goals, and
providing/accessing instructional supports
• Student
• Emphasis on person-centered planning; strength-based
• Avenue to self-advocacy training and experience
• Community agency reps
• College, Voc. Rehab., residential living agencies
• Research indicates higher levels of success, but only 3-13% of
community reps participate in the IEP transition planning process
13
3/13/2015
Conceptual Model for Transition Planning
Community
Integration
Behavioral/Emotional
Social Relationships
Vocational
Adjustment
Neurocognitive
Deficits
(Core)
College
Adjustment
Transition Planning:
Assessment of Strengths/Needs
• Informal or Regional Checklists and Measures
• Transition Quality Indicators
• State DoE developed measures
• Local Measures
• Formal Instruments
• Transition Planning Inventory - Updated Version (TPI-UV)
• Accurate results that reflect the comprehensive strengths
Intimate
Relationships
Managing
Finances
Health and
Safety
Assessment: Employment
Transition Planning:
Assessment of Strengths/Needs
Vocational/Career goals are critical for all individuals…
Independent Functioning
•4-yr college
•Voc. Training
•18-21 program
•Drives self
•Public transit
•Indiv. shuttling
X
X
X
X
X
•Comp. Employment
•Job Coaching
•Sheltered workshop
•Self-advocate
•Defined goals
•Parent is sole
advocate
•Index. Living
•Supported Living
•Group Home
Need for Maximum Supports
and needs of the student most important; not so much
“what specific measure was used”
Can name 2 or 3
career interests
Has good job
interviewing skills
Works at good rate,
few errors
Collects information
on career interest
Takes direction,
accepts criticism
Has a work resume
Knows training needed
career interest
Contacted and applied
for job, VR program
Gets along with other
employees
Can fill out a job
application
Understands pay check
statement
Terminates a job
appropriately
Knows how to search
for a job
Attends work regularly
and on time
Knows to do if
laid off
Works well with
minimal supervision
Seeks extra help needed
Uses tools and
equipment safely
Works well without
supervision
Has communication
strategies for job
Can advocate for self
at work
14
3/13/2015
Assessment: Independent Living
Employment Profile
Life skills addressed in both home and school settings
Independent Functioning
X
•Comp. Employment
•Job Coaching
•Sheltered workshop
Need for Maximum Supports
Avoids substance
abuse
Cleans and maintains
living space
Organize and keep
Health records
Keeps calendar/
address book
Manages checking
account
Maintains personal
grooming/hygiene
Uses basic first aid
knowledge
Uses credit cards
wisely
Recognizes
unhealthy symptoms
Counts money/gives
correct change
Keeps a budget
Shops for household
items; compares prices
Manages time
effectively; sets alarm;
follows a routine
Understands
emergency services;
how/when to call 911
Start early; incorporate into everyday life events
Independent Functioning
Need for Maximum Supports
Maintains personal
fitness
Assessment: Self-Advocacy
Independent Living Profile
X
Organize and maintain Wash, dry, iron clothes Plan and cook
possessions
balanced meals
•Index. Living
•Supported Living
•Group Home
Cultivates problem
solving habits
Resolves issues of
identity and values
Has a realistic view
of self
Achieves emotional
independence from
parents and other
adults
Identifies and
accesses public
programs, when
needed
Request
accommodations
appropriately
Developing stress
management skills
Knows what is
wanted in life and has
a plan for attainment
Sets and achieves
transition goals
Is aware of situations
that require selfadvocacy skills
Participates in, plans
and even leads their
own IEP meeting
Is able to monitor
IEP goals and work
with a team
15
3/13/2015
Transition Planning:
Assessment of Strengths/Needs
Self-Advocacy
Independent Functioning
Independent Functioning
•4-yr college
•Voc. Training
•18-21 program
X
•Self-advocate
•Defined goals
•Parent is sole
advocate
•Drives self
•Public transit
•Indiv. shuttling
X
X
X
X
X
•Comp. Employment
•Job Coaching
•Sheltered workshop
•Self-advocate
•Defined goals
•Parent is sole
advocate
•Index. Living
•Supported Living
•Group Home
Need for Maximum Supports
Transition Planning:
Sexual Health and Safety
Finish this sentence:
• Sexuality education with individuals
with intellectual and/or social deficits
can be challenging because……
Need for Maximum Supports
Because of…..
• The complex social nuances of ‘romance’ and
sexual behavior
• Differentiation between public vs. private or reality
vs. fantasy
• Ensuring maintenance and generalization of
learned skills into “real life” settings
• Balancing individual safety, needs, desires with
personal respect for the rights desires of others
• Our own comfort levels with talking about
it…
16
3/13/2015
Common Stereotypes of People
with DD regarding sex:
• Individuals with DD are forever childlike in nature; sexual
interest won’t develop
• They are unable to understand their sexual desires
• They are asexual or uninterested in sex
• Their sexual behaviors are uncontrollable; they are
hypersexual
• Sex education will only 'give them ideas'
The Good News is…
• People with DD that receive sexual education are more
likely to engage in more appropriate sexual behaviors
than peers who do not. (Van Bourgondian et al, 1997)
• In other words…
We can Teach…
and that can make all the
Difference!
(Lennox, 2008)
• PS – and maybe I am just not prepared to
“go there”…!
Strategies for Direct Instruction
It’s as much about teaching pro-social
behaviors as it is about teaching “the
birds and the bees”..
• Social Stories
• Enhance social understanding
• Video Modeling
• Visual model of “what appropriate social skills look like”
• Social Scripts and Narratives
• Role Play
• Structured practice
• Circle of Friends
Public and Private
Public places are where other people see and talk with me. I
see and talk to people at school, at the store, and at places
like McDonalds.
Private places are where I can be alone. When I am in my
bedroom or my bathroom at home, this is a private place.
When I want or need to do things like take my clothes off or
touch myself in my private areas, I need to be in a private place,
like my bedroom at home or my bathroom at home.
In public, like at school or the store, I need to keep my
clothes on. This is not the place to touch my own or others’
private areas.
I will wait to take my clothes off or to touch myself until I am
alone and in a private place.
17
3/13/2015
Circle of Friends
say “hi”
hugs
“small
talk”
talk on phone
touching
movies
Intimate
Family
Relationships
marriage
sex
Kiss on cheeks
Family
and
Friends
ask the
time
“hanging out”
Acquaintances
Best of Bus-Riders are Appreciated
Graphic Organizers
Things
Friends Do
Treat each
Other w/
respect
Go places
together
Talk to
Each other
Share;
compromise
In an effort to show
appreciation for
those people in the
community who
have shown
exemplary bus riding
skills, the mayor
today called for a
city wide “Thanks to
Our Transportation
Partners” Day. Bus
drivers all over the
region were asked
what qualities make
for a great bus rider,
and the vast majority
responded that they
valued customers
who show up on
time for the
scheduled bus stop,
and have their
money ready, with
correct change. They
indicated that this
went a long way in
keeping them on
time for their daily
stops, which is very
important for getting
people where they
need to be on time.
Drivers also
indicated that riders
who enter the bus
quietly and who use
good hygiene are
greatly appreciated.
“It’s not fun to ride
on a crowded bus
with someone who
doesn’t shower or
use deodorant”, said
Tom Higgins, a 20year veteran of the
Transportation Unit.
“Cleanliness may not
seem necessary to
ride a bus, but it is
an important part of
being a member of a
community”, he
wnet on to say. The
final characteristic
that bus drivers
agreed make an
exceptional rider was
using a quiet voice.
All stated that when
a rider talks loudly to
himself or to others,
it can make other
riders upset and
nervous, and it can
really give the
drivers a headache!
The city thanks all
considerate bus
riders.
18
3/13/2015
Quality Indicators:
Planning for Challenging Behaviors
Quality Indicators:
Planning for Challenging Behaviors
• A proactive system of reinforcement is in place, providing
• Interventions are developed that:
• Are directly based on assessed functions (i.e., “function-based
interventions”)
• Emphasis is placed on direct instruction of functional skills and
alternative behaviors
• Plans for reduction of dangerous behaviors (aggression, self-injury)
are carefully developed and very closely monitored
• Intervention is monitored for effect and modified
a foundation for effectively managing through challenging
student behaviors.
• A Functional Behavior Assessment process is employed
to evaluate and intervention plan for challenging
behaviors that:
• Employs multiple methods, such as direct observation, rating
scales, interviews
• Evaluative focus of the FBA is on identification of the function of
behaviors, from an Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence perspective
(attention, avoidance, tangible, sensory, etc.)
• The team considers additional influences on behavior such as
medical factors, curricular factors, circumstances outside of school
(lack of sleep, eating, changes at home, etc), current
reinforcement/punishment practices, staffing (ratios, training, etc.)
Below the Iceberg: Behavior IS Communication
• Screaming
• Destroys things
• Hitting
FORM
Specific
Behaviors
FUNCTION
Underlying
Deficits
• Poor understanding of situation
• Strong need for sameness
• Emotional inconsistency
• Frustration
• Attention
• Misguided social initiation
• Escape from a less preferred
activity
• Unable to communicate more
efficiently
•
Learned Behavior……
appropriately.
• The team includes and/or has access to a professional
with expertise in assessment and intervention planning for
challenging behaviors and students with significant
developmental disabilities.
A Note on Behavior
• Interventions MUST:
• Serve the Function
• Increase appropriate behaviors
• Decrease maladaptive or inappropriate behaviors
• If the Function is Attention, what will a verbal
reprimand likely do?
• If the Function is Escape, what will sending the
student to the office or suspending him/her
likely do?
Consider how the intervention will shape the
student toward desired outcome…
19
3/13/2015
Competing Pathways Model
During group-work,
Carly:
BEHAVIORS
Waits
until
play
time
Desired Alternative
CONSEQUENCES
Gets work
done AND
enjoys toy
Desired Consequence
ANTECEDENTS
Sees
Elmo
toy on
shelf
Screams
and
whines
for toy
Access to
preferred
toy
Problem Behavior
Maintaining Function
Every 5 “Elmo”
tokens = time
with the toy
Simonsen & Winter, 2002
The “Rage Cycle”
Some children display have a pattern of
behavior at home and/or school, that
Brenda Smith-Myles calls “The Rage Cycle”
• The Rumbling Stage
• The Rage Stage
• The Recovery Stage
Each stage can be variable in length, lasting
from mere minutes, to hours at a time
Acceptable Alternative
Rumbling
Easy to miss; behavior exhibited in this stage
may appear minor or non-existent. These may be, in
fact, indicators that the child is “rumbling”
behaviorally, and can serve as a precursor to a
meltdown
• Biting nails or lips
• Fidgeting
• Complaints of not feeling well
• Social withdrawal
• Stops talking/talks more incessantly
Rumbling
What should you do during a “Rumbling Stage”?
• Re-direct to refocus child, perhaps with a slightly more
preferred activity or conversation.
• Proximity Control: if you anticipate the trigger may be
environmental (she’s getting frustrated with baby siblings
crying), remove her from that environment in a natural, nonpunitive way.
• “Walk don’t Talk”: establish a routine whereby the child may
“take a breather”; non-punitive, but a way to redirect energy
and attempt to calm self.
• Rely on Routine: “go to the schedule”
20
3/13/2015
The Rage
For students that do “rage”, or have intensive
meltdowns, often by this point the behavior must
“run it’s course”. The student will not likely respond
well to attempts to de-escalate at this point.
Emphasis is on keeping child and others safe.
A student in a rage may:
• Scream
• Throw things
• Kick, hit objects or others
• May lose the ability to functionally communicate.
Recovery
Many children have a period of time “recovering”
from the meltdown, before restoring true “back to
normal” status. They may be a little confused,
sullen, or even tired. Efforts to allow the child to
have this recovery time, should be made:
• Wait before going into “consequences”
• Continue to limit verbals. Calming, supportive words and
tone at this point.
• Dealing with natural consequencs, debriefing from the
meltdown, etc. should be considered “on hold” until the
child has regained “pre-rumbling” status
The Rage
What Should You Do during a “Rage Stage”?
• Ensure the safety of situation.
• May have a neutral room that the child can be directed
to, with limited “stuff” - perhaps a room with a box of
preferred items or things that may eventually assist in
calming the child (i.e., preferred soft toys, preferred
magazines, “squishy” items, etc.)
• Minimize verbals to the child. Use short directives, do
not attempt to “reason the child out of it” at this point.
• Emphasis is on restoring calm. Deal with behavioral
implications once rage is over.
Quality Indicators: Program Evaluation
• The program employs methods that assess program-wide
effectiveness in the areas of:
• Individual student progress on annual IEP goals and objectives
• Student generalization of skills
• Performance on state-wide and alternative assessments
• Student progress toward long-term goals
• The program evaluates short-term (i.e., weekly)
intermediate (i.e., quarterly), and long-term (i.e., annual)
student progress.
• The program monitors program changes, ensuring active
programming for all students.
21
3/13/2015
Program Evaluation
• Information obtained from individual and/or
program evaluation is used directly to inform
program improvement.
• Parent/care-giver participation is facilitated, and
parents/care-givers receive regular feedback and
communication regarding their child’s progress.
• Program evaluation includes a measure of
consumer (family) satisfaction.
In Summary
• Trained, Supported Staff
• High Expectations
• Identifiable Curriculum/Benchmarks as
foundation
• Comprehensive learning goals
• Progress Monitoring to inform decisionmaking
• Transition planning
• Voilà!
"Let it Go"
Celebrate Success
And
Learn from the Rest!
Q&A
22