School’s In:
Making Special Education
Work for Children and Youth
with Mental Health Needs
Kelly Henderson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Formed Families Forward
1
Today’s agenda
• What we know works
• Protections for children and youth
with mental health challenges
• The special education process
• Considerations for mental health
• Behavior!!
• Resources
• Formed families- who we are
• Q&A
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Proven Strategies for Students
with Mental Health Challenges
• Caring student-teacher relationships
• Social engagement with a caring adult
• Provision of explicit instruction, cognitive
strategies, demonstrations, hands on
activities, graphic organizers, thematic
units; other tools to increase executive
function.
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More Proven Strategies
• Peer tutoring
• Instructional planning informed by
performance measures
• Guided practice and feedback of social
skills
• Opportunities to complete work in school
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What guides education
of children with
special needs?
• Special Education law and regulations;
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA)
• Disability/civil rights law - Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with
Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008
• Privacy and confidentiality (ex., FERPA)
Knowledge is Power
Section 504
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 protects rights of individuals with
disabilities in programs and activities that
receive Federal financial assistance,
including public school districts.
• Prohibits discrimination of those with
disabilities- physical or mental impairment
that substantially limits a major life activity,
including learning, communicating,
concentrating, reading, etc.
Amendments to Americans
with Disabilities Act, 2008
• Amends the ADA and Section 504 to
broaden the potential class of persons
with disabilities protected by the statutes.
• Academic success does not necessarily
disqualify a student from being identified
with a disability.
• http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/d
ocs/dcl-504faq-201109.pdf
504 in the classroom
• Focus is on equal ACCESS, not
educational benefit
• No categories but rather a limitation
of a major life activity.
• “Reasonable accommodation” by
teacher, staff, school
On to the Basics of IDEAIndividuals with Disabilities
Education Act
Thanks to Parent Educational
Advocacy Training Center,
the state Parent Training center;
some slides from their Special
Education Tour, www.peatc.org
What is Special Education?
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA)
• Specifically designed instruction
• At no cost to parents
• To meet the unique needs of a child with
disabilities
IDEA Guarantee:
• A free, appropriate public education for all
children (FAPE)
• Placement in the least restrictive environment
• Protection for the rights of children and their
parents
• Parent participation in educational
planning
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The Special Education Cycle
Referral
Evaluation
Annual Review
Instruction &
Monitoring
Eligibility
IEP
From the beginning, there are steps to getting a program for a
child with disabilities.
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Who is Eligible?
Children with:
• Autism
• Deafness
• Deaf-blindness
• Developmental delay *
• Emotional disability
• Hearing impairment,
including deafness
• Intellectual disability
• Multiple disability
• Orthopedic impairment
• Other health impairment,
including ADHD
• Specific learning disability
• Speech or language
impairment
• Traumatic brain injury
• Visual impairment, including
blindness
* Use of DD is at discretion of local school system, for ages 2 as of 9/30 through age 6
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Individualized Education Program
(IEP)
Referral
Evaluation
Annual Review
Instruction &
Monitoring
Eligibility
IEP
Every child in special education must have an
Individualized Education Program (IEP).
Individualized Educational
Program (IEP)
• The IEP is a written statement describing the
specially designed program developed to meet
the needs of the individual child.
• Parents are to be members of
the IEP team and participate
with school personnel in the
development of the IEP.
• The child should also participate in the IEP
decision making process as early as possible.
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What is on the IEP?
• Present levels of academic achievement and
functional performance
• Measurable annual goals
• Plans for measuring progress
• Participation in state and
division-wide assessments
• Special education, modifications and related
services to be provided including dates and
locations
• Participation with children without disabilities
• Secondary transition services including rights at
age of majority
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Related Services
partial list of developmental, corrective, or supportive services required
for the child to benefit from special education, including:
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Occupational therapy
Physical therapy
Transportation
Counseling
Speech and language
therapy
Audiology services
Interpreting services
Early identification
Diagnostic services
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School health/nurse services
Social work services
Crisis Intervention
Assistive technology
Non-academic services
Extra curricular activities
Orientation/mobility training
Rehabilitation counseling
Psychological services
Parent counseling and training
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Placement in the
“Least Restrictive Environment”
• A placement decision is made at the IEP
meeting – identifying the location of the
appropriate school program and
services needed to meet the child’s
educational goals on the IEP statement.
• Students with disabilities are to be educated, to
the maximum extent possible, with children who
are not disabled. This is called the “least
restrictive environment” or LRE.
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A continuum of alternative placements so
that each child with a disability will have an
appropriate program. This includes:
•
•
•
•
general education classes;
special education classes;
special education schools;
home-based instruction, if required by the
IEP, or homebound instruction; and
• instruction in hospitals and institutions,
including state facilities.
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What if LRE is not our
neighborhood school?
• The IEP team must consider placement
closest to the child’s home, where he or she
would attend if not disabled, unless the IEP
indicates that another school is appropriate.
• If your child is placed in a private special
education facility, a Comprehensive Services
Act (CSA) team, including you, may meet to
discuss the child’s placement.
• If the student is not receiving services with
nondisabled peers, the school should
consider extra-curricular activities or other
ways for the student to interact.
Comprehensive Services Act
• CSA is a state law that establishes local
multi-agency teams that meet to develop
plans (Individual Family Services Plans) to
address the needs of certain children and
youths in the community.
• Foster children and often others are
considered “mandated” groups
(http://www.csa.state.va.us).
Writing IEP Goals
• Goals informed by present level of
performance of student (POP, PLOP)
• S Specific
M Measurable
A Use Action Words
R Realistic and relevant
T Time-limited
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Goal Example 1
• Given 10 minutes of free play time,
Samara will engage with peers in at least
three neutral or positive verbal interactions
of four or more words each, 14 out of 20
opportunities in four-week period.
Adapted from Joe Otter, NY Regional Special Ed TA Centers
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Goal Example 2
• Given a visual cue by staff, Joseph will
show and then carry his permanent pass
and seek out either the school counselor to
utilize relaxation tools and strategies to
reduce his anxiety, and to reduce the
chances of his becoming irritable,
oppositional or disruptive. He will do this
without protesting or complaining 50
percent of opportunities by end of 2nd
quarter. Adapted from Papolos & Papolos, Bipolarchild.com
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Instruction and Monitoring
Referral
Evaluation
Annual Review
Instruction &
Monitoring
Eligibility
IEP
After the IEP is written and a child is placed in
an educational setting, learning activities begin
in the classroom.
Instruction and Monitoring
• Parents and school personnel must work
together to make the IEP and placement
work for the child.
• Parents are to be kept
regularly informed of
their child’s progress
as defined in the IEP.
Transition Planning
• Transition planning is careful preparation
by the student, parents, educators, and
other service providers, for the time when
the student leaves high school.
• Required before the age of 16 (by age 14 in
Virginia) – or younger if appropriate
• The plan is written in the
Individualized Transition Plan.
Transition Services
The IEP Transition goals should relate to:
- Education - Training - Employment
- Independent living skills (if appropriate)
• The transition services must consider the
student’s strengths, preferences & interests.
• By age 16, the IEP must include a statement
of interagency responsibilities and linkages.
• Parents and caregivers need to be aware of
diploma options and graduation
requirements!
Annual Review
Referral
Annual Review
Evaluation
Eligibility
IEP
Instruction &
Monitoring
• The Annual Review is a meeting held at least once a
year to look at, talk about, and study a student’s IEP.
Triennial and Reevaluation
Referral
Evaluation
Annual Review
Reevaluation
Instruction &
Monitoring
Eligibility
IEP
Re-evaluation occurs
•at least every three years, (unless the parent and school personnel agree
that it is not necessary). Or
•If a child is not making expected progress and a parent or teacher requests
one (unless the specific evaluation requested is less than a year old).
Protections under the law:
• IDEA provides procedural safeguards (legal
rights and protections to parent and child).
Among these are prior written notice,
opportunity to participate, parental consent
for many school actions, confidentiality of
school records, discipline, use of insurance,
and resolving disputes.
• Outlined in the Virginia Procedural
Safeguards notice, “Your Family’s
Special Education Rights”
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Virginia Procedural
Safeguards Notice
• Hard copy should be provided to parent at
initial eligibility and at least annually at the
IEP review.
• Parent’s Guide to Special Education,
revised 2010, Virginia Department of
Education, Division of Special Education
and Student Services,
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/special_ed/parents/parents_g
uide.pdf
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Issues of Importance to Students
with Mental Health Needs
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•
•
•
Extracurricular, non academic
Accountability/assessment
Credit Accommodations
Collaboration with school personnel
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Non-Academic Protections
Section 504 prohibits discrimination against
students with disabilities in non-academic
settings:
•
•
•
•
•
Before and after-school programs
Field trips
Extracurricular activities & athletics
Career/guidance services
Transportation
If student has IEP, should include the program
modifications or supports to participate in
extracurricular and nonacademic activities
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Accountability for Students
with MH needs
• VA testing options: SOL, VGLA, VSEP,
VMAST, VAAP.
• Accommodations in testing include those
that focus on academic need and those
that address social/behavioral need
• Testing accommodations include
time/scheduling, setting, presentation, and
response.
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Tips for Collaborating in the
Special Education Context
• Identifying children: Expedite evaluations
• Ensure consents are available, signed and provided to
school district. Document.
• Attend & share “appropriate” information at IEP
meetings. Communicate in between.
• Address behaviors, don’t deny them. Attend school
discipline meetings.
• Conduct functional behavior assessment AND revision
IEPs re disability-related conduct.
• Consider a child’s need for 504 Plan.
• Coordinate transition planning.
M.McInerney, Ed Law Center, PA
High School EBD Survey
• The participants surveyed “faced a formidable
challenge in trying to stay in and finish high school.
They tended to have a limited potential for success
in high school, a negative schooling experience,
and limited access to support. These students had
a distinct appreciation for specific classroom
environments and teacher behaviors…. The key
may be to focus attention on changing how
high school teachers and the school setting
respond to these youths, instead of just
trying to ‘fix them.’” (Kortering et al, 2002)
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Let’s talk Behavior
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Procedures in IDEA to
support behavior change
• A Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)
is a process to determine the underlying
cause or functions of a child’s behavior
that interferes with the learning of the child
with a disability or that of his or her peers.
• May include review of existing records and
other information and may include new
information, as determined by IEP team.
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When is FBA done?
• In the event that the child’s behavior impedes the
child’s learning or that of others, the IEP shall
consider use of positive behavioral interventions,
strategies and supports… Team shall either
1) Develop goals and services specific to the child’s
behavioral needs, or
2) Conduct FBA and determine need for BIP to
address child’s behavioral needs
• Also can be conducted after a disciplinary incident
when the child’s behavior was a manifestation of
disability.
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FBA components
FBAs steps often are:
1. Reason for Meeting
2. Fact Finding
3. Possible Explanations
(ABCs of behavior)
4. Hypothesis, including function
of behavior
5. Validation (enough information to plan
BIP?)
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Behavior Intervention Plan
• IEP team develops a BIP that uses
positive behavioral interventions and
supports to address behaviors that
interfere with learning of the child or
others, or require disciplinary action.
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Common BIP components
1. Hypothesis
2. Replacement Behavior
3. Prevention
4. Teaching
5. Positive Reinforcement for Replacement Behavior
6. Consequences when targeted behavior occurs
7. Crisis plan
8. Goal Statement
9. Measurement/Data Collection
10.Follow-up
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Foundations of Behavior
•
•
•
•
Most behavior is learned
Behavior is changeable
We exhibit behaviors for a reason
Changing inappropriate
student behaviors
requires changing teacher
behaviors
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Put the problem in
skinny jeans!
Focus on one behavior. Look for the
answers to the BIG 5 to plan positive
ways to address a challenging behavior.
• WHO is engaging in the problem behavior?
• WHAT is the problem behavior? (Be specific.
What’s observable?)
• WHEN is the behavior occurring? How often?
• WHERE is the problem behavior occurring?
• WHY is the problem behavior occurring? What
does the child get or avoid?
Behavior is often predictable
Problem Behaviors Serve a
Function
• Problem behaviors, like most behaviors, do
not keep occurring unless there is a pay off.
• A child may be escaping or avoiding
encounters with a particular person or
activity like school or work. They may be
seeking someone’s attention or approval or
get a reward; they may be trying to control
something.
More on Function
• If the consequences for problem behaviors
are not based on the function, a child may
be getting to do what they want by
performing the problem behavior.
• Getting good grades and skipping school
are both behaviors that get adult attention.
• Very different behaviors often serve the
same function.
• The outcomes of these behaviors are very
different for the child.
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What’s the function of the
behavior?
Problem Behaviors are Contextual
Problem behaviors occur in response to
environmental or ecological events and may
have multiple causes.
Classroom
Child-Specific
Environment Condition
Setting Events
Seating
Noise level
Disruptions
Temperature
Lighting
Peer issues
Work too difficult
Teacher interaction Work too easy
New person(s)
Assignment length
Directions for tasks
Transitions
Nature of disability
Medication effects
Allergies
Illness
Anxiety
Fatigue
Instruction or
Curriculum Issues
Where is your leverage?
• Setting: What situations “set up” the
behavior? (Ex. change in routine, babysitter)
• Antecedent: What situations “set off” the
behavior? (Ex. Getting activity started; asking
him to turn off TV; transitions)
• Behavior: How does our behavior reinforce
this series of “unfortunate events?”
• Consequence: What is the “payoff” for this
behavior?
Special Education Resources
• Parent’s Guide to Special Education, revised
2010, Virginia Department of Education, Division
of Special Education and Student Services,
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/special_ed/parents/p
arents_guide.pdf
• PEATC, peatc.org, 1-800-869-6782
• Federally-funded centers that
have expertise on special ed topics:
http://www.tadnet.org/
Other disability resources
 Va Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
http://www.dbhds.virginia.gov/
 SSI - http://www.ssa.gov/pgm/ssi.htm
 Rehabilitation - http://rsa.ed.gov/ (link to Va Dept
Rehab Services)
 Va Disability Services agencies
http://www.vadsa.org/
 Va long term care/waivers
http://www.dmas.virginia.gov/Content_pgs/ltchome.aspx
 the Legal Center for Foster Care and Education
www.ambar.org/LegalCenter
What is the big deal?
• Many children who join their families through
adoption, kinship or foster care are happy,
and adjust and achieve well.
• But many (a high proportion) have significant
needs that impact their development and
school success.
• Hard to get a full picture, but generally foster
and adoptive children are identified with
disabilities or other special needs at three to
four times the rate of others.
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How does this impact us
here in Virginia?
• Over 13% of children in Virginia are in
connected to their head of household in a
way other than as biological/stepchild.
• About 2% of children in Virginia are
adopted; another 1.4% of children are in
foster care or otherwise unrelated to
caregiver.
• There are also many “kinship” families, a
child is cared for by a non-parent relative.
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Why the disproportionate impact?
• Delayed identification is frequent.
• Children with disabilities removed due to
maltreatment are less likely than
nondisabled peers to reunify with
biological parents and more likely to live in
foster care for longer periods of time.
• Frequent transitions/poor records transfer.
• Inadequate levels of educational and
related services.
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So what do we do?
• Formed Families Forward provides
– Training
– Consultation (phone and in-person)
– Makes linkages
– Referral to direct mental health supports for
families
– Download Formed Families Forward’s No. Va.
resource guidewww.formedfamiliesforward.org
Formed Families Forward
Contact us at 703-539-2904
www.formedfamiliesforward.org
info@formedfamiliesforward.org