BCIU #22 Short-Term Intensive Treatment Program at Tawanka Learning Center
Description of Program and Services
The Short-Term Intensive Treatment (STIT) Program at Tawanka Learning Center (TLC) is an
available resource for school-age students diagnosed with developmental disabilities and/or
intellectual disabilities who exhibit severe challenging behaviors such as aggression and self-injurious
behaviors. The goal of the program is to produce improvements in behavioral functioning that will
allow students to return to less restrictive special education programs/placements located within the
public schools. Entrance and exit criteria for the program have been designed to ensure appropriate
placement in, and transition from, the program for referred students.
Specialized programming is available as an on-site resource for school-age students in need of a
highly individualized program that can offer intensive behavioral support and functional
assessment/analysis of behavior. Team training is conducted on-site and in-vivo in the student’s new
environment following transition from the program. The outline below details the resources available
to school-age students.
I.
Description of Classroom/Program
The Short-Term Intensive Treatment (STIT) Program is an available service or resource that is an
extension of the BCIU #22 Applied Behavior Analysis Autistic Support program.
The intended
duration of student’s stay in short-term intensive supports is a minimum of two consecutive weeks,
dependent upon the results of assessment and intervention development (see Exit Criteria). The
program is offered for school-age students with the intended outcome of the program to return
students to a less restrictive setting.
a. Staffing/Resources
The STIT Program is staffed with one certified classroom teacher, who has experience and training in
applied behavior analysis. One district-identified Personal Care Assistant (PCA), available for direct
teaching under the supervision of the teacher and for implementation of prescribed behavior plans,
accompanies each student referred for services.
Behavior analyst (s) conduct functional
assessment/analysis, treatment development, and staff/caregiver training as determined on a caseby-case basis by the IEP team. Behavior analyst consultation is also made available during and posttransition to less restrictive setting. Related services are included and educational goals developed
with IEP team input at intake.
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II. Entrance Criteria
The first step in determining eligibility is for a referral to be made for consideration of program at
Tawanka Learning Center.
Parents, local education agency representatives, and other care
providers should schedule a visit to TLC to observe the program. If no openings are available at the
time of referral, the student will be placed on a waiting list and be accepted once space becomes
available. The order of the waiting list will be ongoing and determined through a combination of
program resources, acuity of the referral, and length of time waiting.
A district-identified PCA
accompanies the student to the program.
III. Functional Assessment/Analysis of Problem Behavior
a. Initial Assessment Phase
The first phase of the STIT Program at TLC, lasting a minimum of 2-4 days, is the Initial
Assessment Phase. During this phase, the student's behavior is observed under a variety of
everyday situations (play, low attention, alone, task demand, access restricted to an item/activity,
etc.) with familiar instructional staff present. During this phase, we attempt to follow the student's
typical daily routine as closely as possible so that we can observe the problem behavior as it
naturally occurs.
b. Differential Diagnosis Phase
The second phase of the STIT Program at TLC is the Differential Diagnosis Phase. In this
phase, we differentially diagnose what is maintaining the problem behavior by testing the
hypotheses that the initial assessment suggested as maintaining the problem behavior. This
allows us to determine what variables are maintaining the problem behavior(s). The Differential
Diagnosis Phase usually takes a minimum of 2-4 weeks to complete.
1. Process/Procedures for Functional Analysis
Functional analysis (Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, & Richman, 1984/1992) is defined as
a pretreatment assessment tool for determining the relationship between behavior and
environmental events. These events include access to adult attention and escape from
task demands. A behavior’s sensitivity to presumed reinforcement (attention, escape) is
tested systematically by providing reinforcement contingent on the occurrence of the
target behavior. Data are collected and graphed by environmental condition using a
multi-element design. The following conditions are typically used: 1) non-demand
interaction (play/control condition); 2) low attention; 3) task demand; and 4) alone (no
interaction). Sessions are typically 5-10 minutes in duration and are conducted by trained
and/or certified masters or doctoral-level behavior analysts who have clinical experience
using functional analysis methodology and its application to the assessment of
challenging behaviors.
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c.
Treatment Development Phase
At the beginning of the Treatment Development Phase, TLC staff members visit the proposed
transition (public school) placement. The Treatment Development Phase generally lasts a
minimum of 2-4 weeks. In this phase, we develop empirically validated behavioral treatments,
which are derived directly from the results of the Differential Diagnosis Phase.
Effective
treatments are then implemented across the student’s day in the program. If the data suggest the
interventions continue to be effective, we then proceed into the final phase, Educational Staff
Training.
d. Educational Staff Training Phase
The Education Staff Training Phase consists of several days (a minimum of 3-5) of training the
current, as well as the referring or familiar staff, in the implementation of the interventions.
Training begins at TLC and is generalized to the identified placement based on the student’s
success. A student is transitioned to an identified public school placement once all relevant staff
members have been adequately trained and the student continues to exhibit the treatment gains
obtained at TLC. Once transition is complete, each student receives on-site consultation based
on the needs of the case to ensure that the treatment gains achieved during an admission are
maintained post-transition. Consultation continues based on the student’s need.
IV. Guidelines for Transitioning Students from the Tawanka STIT Program to a Public School Placement
These guidelines are used in conjunction with the Exit Criteria specified below.
1. Phase 1 (Team-identified PCA Training at Tawanka Learning Center) – During Phase 1,
training is on-going for the PCA at TLC and takes place throughout the duration of the
student’s stay.
2. Phase
2
(District
Behavior
Analyst
and/or
Classroom
Teacher
For
Observation/Consultation at Tawanka Learning Center) - Phase 2 of transition also takes
place at TLC and involves the district behavior analyst and classroom teacher visiting the
site to observe the staff at TLC working with the student as well as to consult with TLC
staff.
3. Phase 3 (Consultation by Tawanka Staff On-Site at Public School) - Phase 3 of transition
is conducted by TLC staff on-site in the public school placement. During this phase, TLC
staff (teacher and behavior analyst) will initially implement the student’s program to
facilitate generalization of program effects to the new setting. District staff that have
already been trained in Phase 1 are faded-in to work with the student at this time.
4. Phase 4 (Maintenance of Program) - Phase 4 is the final phase of the transition and
consists of consultation between a
TLC
representative and district staff.
These
meetings will review student progress and provide a forum for troubleshooting any
problems, concerns, generalization issues, etc. via face-to-face meetings, phone contact,
email, etc.
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TLC staff can be available in the future for consultation as needed. This consultation can
consist of phone or email contact and/or on-site visits. A student may be re-referred for
additional assessment/treatment development at TLC as warranted by the IEP team.
V. Exit Criteria
Students receiving services in the STIT Program for behavioral needs will be deemed ready for
transition to a public school placement once they have satisfied the following criteria: progress toward
designated IEP goals in combination with continued low rate/intensity of behavioral challenges while
participating in the treatment program; the IEP team meets and determines that the student should be
moved to a less restrictive appropriate educational placement.
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