Autism Supplement
Susan Catlett, Ph.D
Gail Cheramie, Ph.D
Cissy Coleman M.Ed.
Vickie Mitchell, Ed.D.
Susan J. Sheridan, Ed.D
Region 4 Education Service Center
Important Historical
Information
• 1980’s - 1st autism supplement; Legislature
directed TEA to form a focus group and
provide guidance
– Impetus: To address parent concerns that
schools did not provide adequate programs
• 1990s – Continued the supplement with
minor revision of some items
• 2007 – New supplement with added
strategies and expansion of the other
areas; Same impetus as above
– Legislature again mandated TEA to form a
group to review the supplement in light of new
developments in the field of autism
Autism Supplement 2007:
Implications
It does not:
• Mandate a specific
intervention strategy
It does:
• Require discussion and
identification of
intervention strategies
• Make our jobs easier
• Raise the bar for
programming
considerations
• Mandate a specific
degree or credential
• Require qualified
personnel and training
Autism Supplement:
“Strategies”
• Each of the 11 items is referred to as a
strategy. A strategy is a careful plan or
method.
• Thus the autism supplement identifies the
methods/strategies we should be
considering for educational programming
• In order to address supplement:
– Evaluate, Develop/Revise Goals/Objectives,
Implement, Assess Progress
1. Extended Educational
Programming
•
Define (Rules-Guidance Table)
Extended educational programming
for example: extended day and/or
extended school year services, that
consider the duration of
programs/settings based on
assessment of behavior, social skills,
communication, academics, and selfhelp skills
1. Extended Educational
Programming
• Programming that continues beyond
the school day (ESD) or school year
(ESY)
– Instructional and directly related to
current IEP objectives
– Determined by ARD committee based
on data
– Addresses the “educational needs” of
the student
Extended Educational
Programming
• Categories to consider for services:
–
–
–
–
–
Communication
Social Skills
Behavior
Academics
Self-help Skills
• For each relevant category, determine skill
level and whether recommended services
and time are sufficient for the student to
make progress
Extended Educational
Programming Considerations
• Extended School Day (ESD)
– Services after the regular school day
• Extended School Year (ESY)
– Summer
– Transition times (e.g., holidays)
Extended Educational
Programming
• Categories to consider for services:
–
–
–
–
–
Communication
Social Skills
Behavior
Academics
Self-help Skills
• For each relevant category, determine skill level
and whether recommended services and time
are sufficient for the student to make progress
Extended School Day
• Data must support the need for
services/strategies that extend beyond the
regular school day
• Data must be collected on an on-going
basis to document the student’s
performance on each objective
• Analysis of the IEP and Progress is critical
to determining the need for extended
school day
Extended School Day
• Focus of Instruction for ESD
– Goals and objectives that are currently
addressed in the IEP
• IEP must be written in measurable terms
with an objective system of data collection
for objectives
• If not needed, then student is making
reasonable progress with the current
program in place…
Extended School Day:
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• An analysis of the IEP goals and
objectives reveals that progress is
being made on __/__ objectives, thus
there is no need for extended school
day services at this time. The IEP
can be met through the regular school
day; the current services and duration
of services are sufficient for the
student to make progress.
Extended School Day
But what if…
• New behaviors emerge that interfere with
learning and development
• Behaviors increase in severity, duration or
frequency
• Student is not making progress at a
reasonable pace
• Student does not maintain skill level
• Then …
Extended School Day
• Consider meeting the needs within the school day with
various options, for example:
–
–
–
–
–
Differentiated teaching strategies
General education tutoring
Related services
Decreasing student-to-staff ratio
Increasing special education instruction, etc.
• Consider duration, intensity, and type of programming
• After option(s) implemented, review progress
• If there are still difficulties in making progress, extended
school day may be considered
Extended School Day:
Example - Strategy is Needed
• An analysis of the IEP goals and objectives
reveals that adequate progress is being made
in the following IEP objectives: ________,
_______, _______.
• There are ___ objectives in _____ which are
not showing adequate progress and
additional/other within-school-day services
have been provided; thus, there is a need for
additional instruction beyond the school day
in this area.
• In order to add ________, extended school
day services are recommended for: ______
weeks, _____ minutes per day.
Extended School Day:
Further Considerations
• “ Best Practices” = minimum 25 hours per
week for young students with ASD
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Implications for PPCD
Additional time for critical areas of need
Speech, Occupational, Physical Therapy
Academics – e.g., tutoring
Self-sufficiency, self-care (e.g., lunch)
Communication skills
Social skills
Behavioral skills
Extended Educational
Programming
• How to determine need for ESD/ESY:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Progress on objectives
Formal and informal evaluation
Grades, benchmarks
Levels of self-sufficiency
Information from parents
Levels of learning for certain skills (e.g., acquisition
versus generalization)
• Progress Monitoring
Extended School Year
• ESY usually associated with regressionrecoupment; not disability specific
• ESY: Can be justified without consideration of
regression if
– Loss of acquired critical skill would be severe
– Loss of skill would result in harm to the student or
others
Extended School Year
• A skill is critical when the loss of that skill
results or is expected to result in any of the
following during the first 8 weeks of the next
school year:
–
–
–
–
Placement in a more restrictive setting
Loss of acquired skills necessary for progress
Less self-sufficiency/self-help skill areas
Loss of access to community-based independent
living skills instruction or environment provided
by other sources
– Loss of access to on-the-job training, sheltered
employment, or competitive employment
Extended School Year
• Critical Skill Areas:
– Muscular control
– Mobility
– Self-care
– Communication
– Social interaction
– Impulse control
Extended School Year
• For some students with an ASD, without
instruction, loss of acquired skills in critical
areas (e.g., communication, social
interaction, behavior) is likely
• It is very likely that these students would
need ESY services
– Services should be targeted to the areas of
critical needs based on current IEP objectives
Extended School Year:
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• At this time _____ is making adequate
progress in all critical areas. He has not
shown any significant regression after
school breaks. His family has plans for
the summer that support his continued
development in the critical areas.
Extended School Year:
Example - Strategy is Needed
• _____ requires continued instruction
in the following critical areas; _____,
______, ______.
• Considering ____’s current
functioning levels, these areas are
likely to result in loss of skills.
• Specific objectives from the current
IEP to address these areas include:
_____, _____, ____.
2. Daily Schedules
•
Definition (Rules-Guidance Table)
Daily schedules reflecting minimal
unstructured time and active
engagement in learning activities, for
example: lunch, snack, and recess
periods that provide flexibility within
routines, adapt to individual skill levels,
and assist with schedule changes, such
as changes involving substitute teachers
and pep rallies
2. Daily Schedules
• Minimal unstructured time means that IEP
goals and objectives are being addressed
throughout the day and across settings
– Student remains meaningfully engaged
throughout the majority of the school day
• It must begin the minute the student
arrives and end the minute he/she leaves
• Time increments should be small
• Schedule is student specific vs. teacher or
classroom specific
Daily Schedules:
Data Collection
• Regarding
behaviors during
unstructured
times:
– Increase in selfstimulatory behaviors?
– Increase in off-task
behaviors?
– Increase in selfinjurious or aggressive
behaviors?
– Problems noted during
transition periods?
• Regarding the
environment:
– General education
classroom
– Hallways
– Cafeteria
– Playground
– Large group settings
– Job site
– Restroom
Daily Schedules
Example - Strategy is Needed
• Based on data collected ______ displays
_______ (behavior) and has difficulty with
______ (transition), and _______ (task
initiation).
– Based on data collected, Johnny displays
increased self-stimulatory behaviors in
unstructured settings, has difficulty
transitioning within the classroom, and does
not independently initiate tasks.
• A Daily schedule reflecting minimal
unstructured time is needed. An example
of the schedule is attached.
Activity
IEP Objectives
Arrival
Independently
1:6
follow visual
schedule
Greet peers
and/or adults
Attend to speaker 2:6
Imitate actions
On-task behaviors
Fluency
Work
with
teacher
Matching
1:1
Receptive ID
Expressive ID
On-task behaviors
Acquisition
Lunch
Eat independently 1:22
Follow school
1:22
routines
Maintenance
Generalization
Circle
Time
Ratio LOL
Fluency
Daily Schedules
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• Based on data collected Johnny does not
exhibit behavioral difficulty in unstructured
settings. He is able to effectively transition
within and between classrooms, and is able
to independently initiate tasks or do so with
minor prompting from the teacher .
• A Daily schedule reflecting minimal
unstructured time is not needed. Johnny
can follow the regular schedule of the day
with natural environmental cues.
Daily Schedules
Example - Strategy Not Needed but
Additional Support is Needed
• A daily schedule reflecting minimal
unstructured time is not needed, however
support will be provided at the following
times:
• Structured recess/lunch/snack
• Structured transitions (e.g., passing periods,
arrival/dismissal)
• Preparation for changes in routines (e.g.,
substitute teachers, pep rallies, assemblies) –
plan needed
3. In-Home and CommunityBased Training
•
Define (Rules-Guidance Table)
In-home and community-based
training or viable alternatives that
assist the student with acquisition of
social/behavioral skills, for example:
strategies that facilitate maintenance
and generalization of such skills from
home to school, school to home,
home to community, and school to
community
In-Home and Community-Based Training
Two Types of Acquisition
(2) Acquisition
• Facilitating the acquisition of
skills/behavior (critical) that can only be
acquired if they are taught
simultaneously in multiple environments
– Adaptive skills (e.g., toilet training)
– Reduction of self-injurious behavior (e.g.
head-banging)
– Communication (e.g., requesting)
3. In-Home and CommunityBased Training
• Service provided in the student’s
home or environments that serve as
an extension of the home
• Service provided in community
settings
Viable Alternatives…
•
•
•
•
•
Visuals for home
Schedule for home
Communication notebook
Parent observation at school
Videotapes of teacher working with
student
• Conferences regarding home
concerns
• Community-based instruction
In-Home and Community-Based Training
Two Types of Acquisition
(1) Acquisition
• Facilitating the acquisition of
skills/behavior previously learned in
another environment
– If a skill/behavior is not exhibited at home but
is exhibited at school, then it needs to be
acquired at home.
– If a skill/behavior is not exhibited at school
but is exhibited at home, then it needs to be
acquired at school.
– If a skill/behavior is not exhibited in the
community but is exhibited at school or
home, then it needs to be acquired in the
community.
In-Home and
Community-Based Training
Issues regarding generalization:
• If the student has acquired the skill at
school then why is he or she not using it at
home or the community
– Cues, Materials, Environment, People
– Behavioral Issue
• What is the difference between the
student’s ability and actual performance of
a skills?
– Can the student…?
– Does the student…?
Evaluation to Determine Need
• Analysis of IEP objectives, observation of
student (across environments), interviews, and
checklists
• Evaluation is conducted prior to ARD meeting
(data is needed to make determination)
In-Home and
Community-Based Training
• Bob uses a picture communication
system at school for toileting
• He does not demonstrate this skill at
home
• The in-home trainer (IHT) will
implement this same system at home
• Same data collection chart/system
will be used at home as is at school
Progress Assessment
• Charts will be reviewed, analyzed and
procedure modified as needed at
beginning of each IHT visit
• When criterion has been met (as identified
on IEP document) in-home training on this
objective will be discontinued
In-Home and
Community-Based Training
Example – Parent Declined Strategy
• The IHT evaluation supports the need for IHT to
address ____. The parent declines the service
at this time.
• Progress toward objectives _____ indicate the
need for IHT/CBT. The parent declines IHT/CBT
at this time.
Consider: Support is being provided to the parent
in terms of parent training.
In-Home and
Community-Based Training
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• IHT/CBT is not needed. Progress on IEP
goals and objectives is consistent across
settings
• Identify the viable alternatives being used
• Consider support being provided to the
parent in terms of parent training, if
needed
4. Positive Behavior Support (PBS)
•
Define (Rules-Guidance Table)
Positive behavior support
strategies based on relevant
information for Example:
•
•
antecedent manipulation, replacement
behaviors, reinforcement strategies, and
data-based decisions; and
a Behavior Intervention Plan developed
from a Functional Behavioral Assessment
that uses current data related to target
behaviors and addresses behavioral
programming across home, school, and
community-based settings
4. Positive Behavior Support (PBS)
• PBS involves research-based
strategies designed to enhance the
capacity of schools to educate all
students, especially students with
challenging behaviors, by adopting a
sustained, positive, preventative
instructional approach to school-wide
discipline and behavior
management.
Positive Behavior Support
• PBS involves the assessment and
re-engineering of environments so
that individuals with maladaptive
behaviors:
– experience reductions in these
behaviors
– increase in functional communicative
alternative behaviors and
– improve their social, personal, and
professional quality of lives
Positive Behavior Support
• Involves the procedures for increasing
behaviors that are associated with ABA
• Focuses on identifying the function of
behaviors, and teaching replacement
behaviors
Positive Behavior Support
•
•
•
•
•
Antecedent manipulation
Replacement behaviors
Reinforcement strategies
Data-based decisions
Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)
developed from a Functional Behavior
Assessment (FBA)
5. Futures Planning
• Define (Rules-Guidance Table)
• Helping parents and their child begin to think
about future environments for integrated living,
work, community, and postsecondary education
by examining the student’s strengths, needs,
preferences and interests
• Helping children and their families plan for
transition services into adult life
Futures Planning
• §89.1055(e)(5) Content of the IEP
– beginning at any age, consistent with
subsections (g) of this section, futures
planning for integrated living, work,
community, and educational environments
that considers skills necessary to function in
current and post-secondary environments;...
g = Transition
Transition Planning
§89.1055(g) Content of the IEP
For each student with a disability, beginning at
age 16 (prior to the date on which a student
turns 16 years of age) or younger, if determined
appropriate by the ARD committee, the following
issues must be considered in the development
of the IEP, and if appropriate, integrated into the
IEP...
9 areas to consider
Transition Planning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Student involvement
Parental involvement, if student is younger than
18 years of age
Parental involvement if the parent is invited by
the student (who is at least 18 years of age and
is his/her own legal guardian)
Postsecondary education options
Functional vocational evaluation
Employment goals and objectives
Availability of age-appropriate instructional
environments for students at least 18 years
Independent living goals and objectives
Appropriate referral to agency services
What It Looks Like
Elementary...
• Collaborate with parents to identify potential
future environments for integrated living, work,
community, and education after high school
• Identify skills necessary to function in the
present and future environments
Transition Planning
• Age 16 or younger, if determined
appropriate by the ARD committee
• When is “younger” appropriate?
• Transition specialist – Find one
Futures Planning
• Remember: a plan is NOT an outcome. A
plan is just a plan until it is implemented,
monitored, reviewed and revised during
the journey to meet the “plan goals”.
Futures Planning
Example - Strategy is Needed
• IEP goals and objectives have been
identified in the following areas: _____,
______ to facilitate transition and futures
planning
Futures Planning
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• Given the students age this strategy is not
needed at this time
– Parents have been provided with agency
information to consider
– ____ISD offers regular parent meetings and
transition fairs to disseminate information
regarding agency and transition services
6. Parent/Family Training
and Support
•
Define (Rules-Guidance Table)
Parent/family training and support
provided by qualified personnel with
experience in Autism Spectrum Disorders
(ASD), that, for example:
•
•
provides a family with skills necessary for a
child to succeed in the home/community
setting (A);
Continued…
6. Parent/Family Training
and Support
•
•
includes information regarding resources, for
example: parent support groups, workshops,
videos, conferences, and materials designed
to increase parent knowledge of specific
teaching/management techniques related to
the child's curriculum; and (B);
facilitates parental carryover of in-home
training, for example: strategies for behavior
management and developing structured
home environments and/or communication
training so that parents are active participants
in promoting the continuity of interventions
across all settings (C).
6. Parent/Family Training
and Support
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Training in specific skills
Information about the disorder
Information about resources
Individualized to meet the needs of the family
Based on evaluation
Delivered in appropriate environments
Delivered by personnel with experience in
working with students with ASD
Evaluation to
Determine Need
• Focus on parent need
• Analysis of IEP objectives,
observation of student, interviews,
and checklists
• Evaluation is conducted prior to ARD
meeting (data is needed to make
determination)
Assessment
• Do your assessment before and after the
training to see results
• How might you assess success of parent
training?
• Perhaps use an unmarked Likert Scale
Parent/Family Training and Support:
Example - Strategy is Needed
• Parent/Family training and support is
needed in the area of _____ based
on the evaluation and analysis of the
IEP
• This will consist of:
– Providing information regarding local
resources
– Demonstrating strategies being used at
school which should also be used at
home
Parent/Family Training and Support:
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• Parent/Family training and support is
not needed at this time
• Parent/Family possesses the
necessary skills and knowledge to
assist in the student’s educational
programming
7. Staff-to-Student Ratio
•
Define (Rules-Guidance Table)
Suitable staff-to-student ratio appropriate to
identified activities and as needed to achieve
social/behavioral progress based on the child’s
developmental and learning level (acquisition,
fluency, maintenance, generalization) that
encourages work towards individual
independence…for example:
•
•
•
adaptive behavior evaluation results (A);
behavioral accommodation needs across settings (B);
and
transitions within the school day (C).
Level 1: Acquisition
• Beginning of learning process
• Introduction of new skills and
behaviors
• Significant assistance provided
• High rate of reinforcement necessary
• Goal: To initially establish a desired
response.
– Brushing teeth occurs with prompts and
reinforcers
Level 2: Fluency
• Refers to rate at which a response
occurs
• Assistance begins to decrease
• Reinforcement given only for
demonstrating response within
designated period of time
• Goal: To establish a normative rate.
– Brushing teeth occurs within three minutes
and reinforcement is delivered
Level 3: Maintenance
• Response occurs in absence of
teaching
• Adding reinforcement no longer
necessary
• Necessary for achieving independence
• Goal: To maintain behaviors over time
– Brushing teeth occurs independently
within three minutes and in the absence
of reinforcement
Level 4: Generalization
Response occurs:
– with different people
– using different materials
– in variety of locations
– using different directions
Goal: To achieve independence
• Brushing teeth occurs independently within
three minutes in the absence of
reinforcement at different locations and with a
variety of people, materials, and instructions
Levels of Learning (LOL)
• What do the LOL look like? and…
• What about staff requirements & student
grouping with respect to the LOL?
Additional Considerations
• In-class support
– Teacher
– Paraprofessional
– Peer
• Co-teach
• Supervision or escort during transitions
• Peer supports
Staff-to-Student Ratio
Example - Strategy is Needed
• Given ______’s levels of learning, the
following ratios are suggested for the
implementation of the IEP: ____ for IEP
objectives at the acquisition level;
___for IEP objectives at the fluency
level; ___for IEP objectives at the
maintenance level; and ___ for IEP
objectives at the generalization level.
The range of staff-to-student ratio
would be 1:1 – 1:___.
Staff-to-Student Ratio
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• Given _____’s level of learning and
adequate progress in the IEP and in the
general school setting no specified staffto-student ratio is required at this time.
8. Communication Interventions
•
Define (Rules-Guidance Table)
Communication interventions, including
language forms and functions that enhance
effective communication across settings, For
example: augmentative, incidental, and
naturalistic teaching
8. Communication Interventions
• Interventions that support the development
of communication skills
• Not limited to speech-language pathology
services
Communication Forms
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Physical
Objects
Sign language
Pictures
Line drawings
Speech/Verbal
Independent writing, typing or pointing to printed
words
Little empirical or conceptual research comparing
them with each other
Communication Functions
• Expressive Skills
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Requesting
Rejecting
Labeling/naming
Getting attention
Commenting
Giving information
Seeking information
Expressing feelings
Function, feature, or class/category
Communication Functions
• Receptive Skills
–
–
–
–
Responding to “wait”
Responding to transitional cues
Function, feature, or class/category
Understanding directions and complex language
• Social Routines
–
–
–
–
–
Initiating and stopping
Reciprocity
Maintaining a topic
Choosing a topic
Understanding and using nonverbal language
• Pragmatic Skills
Communication Interventions
• Augmentative (used to compensate for an
impairment; speech replaced or augmented by)
– Picture choices
– Visual reminders of options/process
– Voice output devices
• Incidental teaching – structuring and sequencing
objectives within ongoing typical activities to take
advantage of interest and motivation (e.g., snack
out of reach)
Communication Interventions
• Naturalistic teaching - using
communication interaction between adult
and student in the naturally occurring
activities of the child’s environment to
promote more complex language in
natural and relevant situations (e.g., at
snack table expanding communication)
Communication Techniques
•
•
•
•
Offer choices
Emphasize motivation and interest
Provide multiple opportunities
Clarify the process visually (also social
scripts)
• Obtain student’s attention before
communicating
• Limit language when necessary
• Teach a (functionally-equivalent, socially
appropriate) way to communicate to
replace socially inappropriate behaviors
How to determine the need
• It is highly likely that this strategy would be
identified as “needed”
• FIE, speech and language evaluations,
IEP analysis
Communication Interventions
Example - Strategy is Needed
• Communication goals and objectives in
the areas of _____ are needed and are
addressed in the IEP
• Interventions for these objectives include
but are not limited to _____
Communication Interventions
Example - Strategy is Needed
• Communication goals and objectives
in the areas of receptive and
expressive communication are
needed and are addressed in the
IEP
• Interventions for these objectives
include but are not limited to a
picture exchange system, choice
boards, and discrete trial training for
labeling/naming
Communication Interventions
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• Student is able to effectively understand
and use language both expressively and
receptively
• Social communication skills are addressed
under social skills strategies and supports
9. Social Skills Supports and
Strategies
•
Define (Rule-Guidance Table)
Social skills supports and strategies
based on social skills
assessment/curriculum and provided across
settings, For example: trained peer
facilitators (e.g., circle of friends), video
modeling, social stories, and role playing
9. Social Skills Supports and
Strategies
• Social skills are a set of behaviors used to
interact and communicate with others
• An integral part of and defined by the
community and culture
Social Skills
To Learn
• impulse control
• willingness to do nonpreferred things
• personal
responsibilitybelongings
• personal
responsibility-actions
• concept of friendship
• response to
suggestions
• requests
To Teach
• self-regulation
• self-monitoring
• reading, interpreting,
& responding to social
cues
• appropriate
communication with
communication
partner
• environmental
regulation skills
• self-advocacy skills
• play skills
• manners and listening
Evaluation to Determine Need
• Observations in naturalistic settings
• Structured observation in a situation
designed to elicit a type of social skill (e.g.,
turn taking game vs conversation)
• Rating scales or checklists (standardized
and informal)
• Direct assessment such as a test of
pragmatic skills
• Self-report scales and interviews
• Interview (those who know individual)
Social Skills
Example - Strategy is Needed
• Highly likely this strategy will be identified
as “needed”.
• The following social skills have been
identified as areas of need: _____, _____.
These skills are reflected in the goals and
objectives. The strategies/supports used
to address these needs will include:
_____, _____, ______.
Social Skills
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• Student’s social skills are sufficient and no
additional interventions are needed at this
time
• Natural supports in the home, community
and school environment are adequate to
facilitate social skills at this time
• Consider close monitoring of progress
10. Professional
Educator/Staff Support
•
Define (Rules-Guidance Table)
Professional educator/staff support
For example: training provided to
personnel who work with the student
to assure the correct implementation
of techniques and strategies
described in the IEP
10. Professional
Educator/Staff Support
• Training and support: General
– In techniques and strategies to implement the IEP;
also in foundational strategies
• Training and support: Specific
– A training or support service particular to this student
– based on his/her particular needs
• Example:
– PBS in general
– Developing a behavior intervention plan for a specific
student
Professional
Educator/Staff Support
• Document all professional development
workshops related to:
– ASD in general (e.g., characteristics)
– Techniques and strategies for students with
ASD and other developmental disabilities
– Techniques and strategies in curriculum (e.g.,
reading, math, writing)
Professional
Educator/Staff Support
• Document all training/support related to a
particular student:
– Staffing
– Assistance from an ASD or behavioral
consultant, speech therapist, school
psychologist, etc.
– Access to information and resources
Professional
Educator/Staff Support
Example - Strategy is Needed
• It is highly likely that this strategy would be
identified as “needed”
• Examples of what might be written on the
supplement:
– The teacher and paraprofessional will
document training activities and support.
– The teacher and paraprofessional have
access to support personnel and will
document support activities.
11. Teaching Strategies
•
Define (Rules-Guidance Table)
Teaching strategies based on peer
reviewed, [and/or] research-based practices
for students with ASD, For example: those
associated with discrete-trial training, visual
supports, applied behavior analysis,
structured learning, augmentative
communication, or social skills training
11. Teaching Strategies
• Research-based practices required by
NCLB; Peer review required by IDEA 2004
• Parents will expect that we follow
research-based and peer-reviewed
practices
• When confronted with “fringe” strategies,
research-based practices & student data
are the answer
Teaching Strategies
• Commissioner’s rules – it is noted that
research-based … are used “to the extent
practicable”
• In special education, research-based
practices do not automatically equal the
criteria set forth in US Department of
Education
Evidence-Based Practices in Special
Education
• Single-subject research:
– the practice is operationally defined
– the context in which the practice is to be
used is defined
– the practice is implemented with fidelity
– results document the practice to be
functionally related to change in
dependent measures
– the experimenter effects are replicated
across a sufficient number of studies,
researchers, and participants, to allow
confidence in the findings
Evidence-Based Practices in Special
Education
• Documented by at least five published
studies in peer-reviewed journals
• Conducted by at least three different
researchers across three different
geographical locations
• The combined studies include at least 20
total participants before a practice should be
deemed as “evidence-based”
• Use of multiple baseline, reversal, or
alternating treatment designs
• Social validity
About the Variety of
Researched Approaches
It is increasingly evident that there is
no single best-suited and universally
effective method for all children and
youth with ASD. The best programs
appear to be those that incorporate a
variety of objectively verified
practices and that are designed to
address and support the needs of
individual students . . . (National
Research Council, 2001; Olley,
1999)
Data Collection is Key
•
•
•
•
On-going process
Tracks level of support
Tracks shaping of behavior
Tracks level of learning with specific
skills/objectives
• Explains the intervention selected (e.g.,
signs vs. pictures)
• Data Collection forms – (handouts)
How to Determine the Need
• Ongoing data collection and analysis
• FIE, FBA, IEP analysis
• Quantify the degree to which student
makes progress
– Levels/types of support
– Levels/types of prompts
– Level of instruction
• Use data to determine the teaching
strategy for certain areas
Teaching Strategies
Example - Strategy is Needed
• It is highly likely that this strategy would be
identified as “needed”
• Example:
– The following teaching strategies will be used
to implement the IEP: _______, _________,
________.
Teaching Strategies
Example - Strategy Not Needed
• The student is served in the general
education class and making adequate
progress in the IEP
• The instructional strategies, and
accommodations used in that setting are
sufficient for the student to make progress
at this time