Creating Data-Based and Systematic Inclusion and Transition Plans

This post focuses mostly on how to ensure you are maintaining the Least Restrictive Environment for even the most behavioral students who are being served in self-contained classrooms or on alternative school sites. While I refer specifically to students with Emotional and Behaavioral Disorders in this post it, my tips can be applied to those with behaviors associated with Autism, ADHD, Learning Disabilities, etc.

The Least Restrictive Environment is a term used in education to describe where on the continuum a student's need can be met, while keeping in mind that it is best practice to allow access to the general education setting as much as possible. There should ALWAYS be a discussion of Least Restrictive Environment at each IEP meeting, where the team determines if there are any other mainstreaming opportunities for the individual. Yes, this sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how much this does NOT happen. In many instances, a student's behavior impedes their learning to the point that he or she is placed outside of general education for most, if not all, of their day. If prevention, intervention, appropriate staff training, and staff perspective taking strategies are implemented properly, the need for more restrictive placements for these students should decrease. 

For mild to moderate EBD students already being served in self-contained classrooms or separate school sites, these placements should be considered a remedial program with the ultimate goal of re-entry into some level of general education rather than utilizing the classrooms as warehouses for behavior. It takes more work to be proactive than it does to be reactive, but it also has higher benefits for all students with disabilities and those at-risk. Intervention strategies in these classrooms and for the students must be used as measurements of behavior and aid in decisions regarding mainstreaming. Students often show a steady decrease in behaviors after entering these intensive programs or classes. Data-based behavior tracking is already embedded into these environments (or it SHOULD be), making it easily accessilbe for the team. This behavior data should be utilized in order to determine appropriate transition plans for students to spend as much of their day as possible in general education. The most important part to remember is that decisions regarding transitions and inclusion should be based on data and a team decision! 

Tips: Creating a Data-Based Inclusion or Behavior Transition Plan

• Step one: Track student behavioral progress for at least 8 consecutive weeks before beginning any transitions, but many students will need longer. Those who have made both significant and consistent progress as well as reaching pre- determined behavior goals should be considered for a transition plan. 
  
  For example, John is an ED student placed in a self-contained classroom on a regular school campus. He currently is included with his general education peers solely for recess and lunch. Since his behaviors have decreased, his academic performance has significantly increased and is now approaching grade level in all areas. At his last IEP, the team discussed specifically what John's behavioral progress would have to look like in order to discuss transition into inclusion. John has now shown the progress the team was looking for... John has earned at least 80% of his total possible daily points focusing on following directions, completing work, and maintaining good personal space for 8 consecutive weeks. He has shown 0 instances of aggressive behaviors for 8 consecutive weeks and has shown adequate progress on his IEP behavior goals  in the areas of on-task behavior and emotional regulation. The team will hold an IEP and determine transition plan for inclusion.
  
  
• Step two: Call an IEP meeting for the team to discuss the behavior progress and plan for inclusion transition. This meeting should include all members; General Education Teacher, Special Education Teacher, School Psychologist, Administrator, and Service Providers.
  
  
• Step three: Create the plan and put it in writing. The transition plan should include very small steps to ensure success. Most students will begin with entering the general education classroom or comprehensive school site for short periods of time and with the support of an aide they are familiar with. It is important to carry all aspects of the students behavior plan to the new environment and behavior tracking should continue as well. Communication between schools/classrooms is key in this process. The team should consider beginning the transition with the subjects the student is most successful in (whether that be science, PE, art, etc.) Each stage of transition should last at least 2 weeks, but can be expanded depending on the success and needs of each individual student. 
  
  
  For example, the team created the following plan to include 5 stages of systematic inclusion for John. Stage 1- John will receive aide support in the general education environment for Music, PE, and Art and his daily behavior reward system will be revised ensure success in these subjects. John will move to the next stage when he has earned 80% of total possible points for 2 consecutive weeks specifically in the areas of Music, PE, and Art, while having 0 instances of aggressive behaviors for 2 consecutive weeks. Stage 2- John will now also join the general education class for Science and Social Studies, he will receive aid support during these times and his daily behavior reward system will be revised ensure success in these subjects. John will move to the next stage when he has earned 80% of total possible points for 2 consecutive weeks specifically in the areas of Music, PE, & Art as well as in the ares of Social Studies & Science, while having 0 instances of aggressive behaviors, for 2 weeks.. Stage 3 - John will no longer receive aid support during Music, PE, and Art; he is motivated in these subjects and has shown great success. In addition to Science and Social Studies, John will now attend the general education class for the first 30 minutes of Math and Language Arts in order to receive the whole group instruction. He will receive aid support and then transition back into his Special Education classroom for small group instruction to support the general education lesson, to take tests, and complete any work provided by the teacher for Math and Language Arts. John will move to the next stage when has earned 80% of total possible daily points in all classroom subjects combined, while having 0 instances of aggressive behaviors, for 2 consecutive weeks. Stage 4 - Aid support will be reduced; in the areas of Science and Social Studies John will attend the general education classroom with an aid for the first 15 minutes of each period and without aid support for the remainder of Social Studies and Science, he will also be allowed access to his Special Education Classroom to take tests. He will continue to receive support during Math and Language Arts. John will move to the next stage when has earned 80% of total possible daily points in all classroom subjects combined, while having 0 instances of aggressive behaviors, for 2 consecutive weeks. Stage 5 - Aid support will be reduced, but will remain available on an as needed basis if John has difficult days or displays regression at anytime. John will no longer receive aid support in Social Studies and Science. The team determined that he will continue to receive aid support in Language Arts and Math until his next annual IEP meeting since his behaviors increase as work demands are perceived as difficult. 
  
  
  
• Step four: Use behavior data to determine decisions regarding movement to each next level of the transition plan. Each step up in the transition plan should include either increased time in the new environment or decreased aid support, but be cautious about doing both at one time as this could be too large of a step. We want to make sure the student will succeed at each level and they should only be moved to the next level of the plan if the student displays consistent behavioral progress in the new environment.  (See example above)
  
  
• Step five: Consider permanent change of placement. At this time another IEP meeting should be held to determine if the student would benefit from a change of placement to either a comprehensive school site or a less severe classroom. Sometimes it is beneficial for the student to maintain their current classroom simply as homeroom while spending a majority of their day in another environment. These are all considerations to be made by the IEP team. 
  
  
  

                                               

Challenging Perspectives and Attitudes: helping our students succeed

We often don't stop to think about how student success depends highly on the training and willingness of staff members working with them. Students with significant disabilities, specifically those with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, are served by staff who report feeling unprepared to do so. Teachers also report overall negative attitudes toward inclusion models for students with behavior difficulties. These perspectives can make or break student success, which is why it is so important to understand how to target attitudes as a strategy for the implementation of inclusive models. The purpose of this blog is to provide professionals with a guide to perspective taking strategies to be paired with the training of teachers and staff in the area of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. I would strongly recommend that if you choose to provide training and utilize perspective taking strategies, you do so simultaneously with prevention and intervention strategies in place for the targeted students showing signs of behavioral difficulties.

The 4 factors holding the foundation of negative perceptions regarding the inclusion of students with behavioral challenges in general education classrooms:

1) Additional Knowledge - Teachers across the nation report feeling overwhelmed and under trained to appropriately teach this population of students. 

2) Positive Experiences - Research shows that teachers not only need additional training, but practical hands on experiences with inclusive classrooms to feel comfortable. The teachers who had positive interactions and support with previous inclusive classrooms, which they felt increased their chances of having those positive experiences again. 

3) Support from Administrators/the special education team - Research suggests that the availability of therapists, administrators, and special educators affect teachers success in the classroom. In order to implement any inclusive program, the administrator must support the change as well as the teachers. Both the actual policies and the way those policies are implemented are also important factors to consider when looking at the success of an inclusive program. 

4) Input into decision-making process - Our teachers are the foundation of these inclusion models, making it pertinent that they are viewed as such and invited to be a part of the programmatic decision-making progress. 

Once foundational strategies for changing attitudes are in place, sometimes it is necessary to target perceptions using a direct approach. Factors in a students environment, such as teacher interactions, can influence behavior, both negatively and positively. Teacher and staff perceptions of students can affect how they interact with those students and change the quality of their relationship. Negative interactions with teachers can then play a role in how the students react and behave around those teachers.

Educators with negative attitudes toward students are often victims of "awfulizing"thoughts. This refers to a common irrational thought when someone continuously thinks a situation is "terrible" or "horrible". The bodily damage scale is a tool for combating awfulizing. The idea is that when teachers are able to compare a negative event to a physical injury, they will relate it in proportion to the real unpleasantness of the event. For example, when a student refuses to comply by crumbling up his paper and throwing it at the teacher, the teacher is then asked to place the event on the bodily damage scale.

The question is: how much physical pain would you be willing to endure to have prevented the student from displaying that behavior? This helps to put the situation in perspective. As an educator, I have found myself to be victim of awfulizing thoughts at times and utilizing the bodily damage scale has helped me to put my own thoughts on a more rational level. The Bodily Damage Scale can be altered to include more meaningful items or varying numbers depending on personal preference.

Tips: Direct Ways to Overcome Our Negative Perceptions 

• Questions to ask yourself or staff members: What internal factors contribute to the behavior? What external factors contribute to the behavior? Why do you think the student displays these behaviors? What goes through your mind when you see the problem behavior? How do you then interact with the student? How do you generally feel about the student? Do you view the behavior as personal? If there was a way to help reduce the problem behaviors, would you be open to it?
• Factors to understand about the behavior: The behavior is not personal, The student may have environmental factors to consider, the behavior may be based on how they interact at home, they may have unstable adult relationships, the behaviors may be considered culturally normal. 
• Ask yourself to consider the following the next time the behavior occurs: how terrible or awful is the situation? What are your thoughts? What would you endue to have the student stop? (bodily damage scale)
• Remember, have realistic expectations because students will display unwanted and undesired behaviors, but it is our reactions to these behaviors that will make the difference 
• Praise yourself or others for being open to exploring their perceptions as well as for being an educator, since we all know it can be challenging at times. You work in potentially rewarding position and YOU have the gift of changing the lives of children. 

Let the Blogging Begin!

Welcome!

Welcome to my Blog!! It is my hope to provide an informative reference of ideas, tools, resources, and evidence-based practices for Educators and parents of students with disabilities, as well as for the at-risk population. Although I specialize in social, emotional, and behavioral intervention I will focus on an array of topics. I am always open to suggestions and willing to answer questions!