Topic 6

Topic 6

Holly Tetreault

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

PCP and Wraparound

The Basics

According to the Association for Positive Behavior Support Wraparound Planning and Person Centered Planning (PCP) are strategies used in a Positive Behavior Support (PBS) model. Wraparound is team based planning, much like an IEP team, that addresses the needs of students with behavioral or emotional disabilities by involving teachers, families, friends, and other outside sources of assistance the student may receive. For example, in Kansas City Kansas some students receive support from Wyandot Center. Person Centered Planning is a strategy to involve students in the process of their functional behavior assessments (FBA’s) and their behavior plans. It allows students to outline what their goals are, what is important to them, and what they value. While this is much more applicable at older ages it is used for students as young as 4 years old.

Federal Policies and Legislation

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act specifies that by age 14 students with IEP’s need to be involved with their transitions from high schools to post secondary lives. In addition IEP meetings must have transition meetings for students with IEP’s for transition from preschool to elementary school, elementary school to middle school, and high school to post secondary lives. Person centered planning and wraparound are not required by IDEA however are utilized and required by many districts that participate in PBS.

Websites to See

Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Support

-Person Centered Planning Form

- Wraparound Toolkit

- Planning Indicators

Cornell University Person Centered Planning Education Site

Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services

-Information on HCBS SED Waiver

Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training

-Autism Training Program

Additional Resources

The Kansas Positive Behavior Institute created a Person Centered Process Facilitator Sheet. I have uploaded the original document, as it was created by the Kansas Positive Behavior Institute.

Person Centered Process Facilitator Sheet

Teams will begin using these as early as 4. As students become older the students themselves will play a more active role in completing these forms.

Topic 4

Topic 4

Holly Tetreault

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Assessments and Screening

The Basics

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families defines the difference between screenings and assessments. Screenings merely offer a snapshot of student’s current developmental abilities. Assessments make judgments and determine if the student needs service or more evaluations. Assessments are a continual process that monitors growth as students grow (Health and Human Services, 2010). There are many tools available for school psychologists, behavioral specialists, and pediatricians to use when evaluating students for emotional and behavioral disorders. For example, USD 500 (Kansas City Kansas Public Schools) uses a variety of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). In addition the district uses a standard Functional Behavior Assessment to initially assess behaviors. There are multitudes of assessment tools available and the instruments use vary from district to district. The Violence Institute of New Jersey, a product of Universal Behavioral Healthcare, provides a comprehensive list of assessments and screening tools used specifically for identifying emotional and behavioral disabilities. The University of Pennsylvania created a comprehensive list of standard screening instruments used commonly in special education.

Federal Policies and Legislation

IDEA 2004 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) outlines specific guidelines for screenings and evaluations. Including:

“3. Clarify that screening for instructional purposes is not evaluation.

The screening of a student by a teacher or specialist to determine appropriate instructional strategies for curriculum implementation shall not be considered to be an evaluation for eligibility for special education and related services.
[34 CFR 300.302] [20 U.S.C. 1414(a)(1)(E)]”

“5. Add a requirement that evaluation procedure be administered in form that is most likely to yield the most accurate information.

Each public agency must ensure that assessments and other evaluation materials used to assess a child under Part 300 are provided and administered in the child’s native language or other mode of communication and in the form most likely to yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is clearly not feasible to provide or administer.
[34 CFR 300.304(c)(1)(ii)] [20 U.S.C. 1414(b)(3)(A)(ii)]”

For more information on the legalities of evaluations including assessments and screening please visit the IDEA website.

Terms to Know

For additional terms or a more comprehensive list of terms please visit Wrightslaw. Wrightslaw is a free website that provides federal legislations and policies in regards to special education.

Assessments: The process of testing and measuring skills and abilities. Assessments include aptitude tests, achievement tests, and screening tests.

Criterion-Referenced Tests: The individual’s performance is compared to an objective or performance standard, not to the performance of other students.

Diagnostic Test: A test used to diagnose, analyze or identify specific areas of weakness and strength; to determine the nature of weakness or deficiencies; diagnostic achievement tests are used to measure skills.

Intelligence Tests: Tests that measure aptitude or intellectual capacities.

Norm-referenced Tests: Standardized tests designed to compare the scores of children to scores achieved by children the same age who have taken the same test.

Response to Intervention (RTI): Use of research-based instruction and interventions to students who are at risk and who are suspected of having specific learning disabilities; used as an initial screening tool.

Standard Deviation (SD): A measure of the variability of a distribution of scores. The more the scores cluster around the mean, the smaller the standard deviation.

Websites to See

The following websites provide additional information on assessments and screening.

Developmental Screening and Assessment Instruments with an Emphasis on Social and Emotional Development for Young Children Ages Birth through Five. Information provided by the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center.

Screening for Social Emotional Concerns: Considerations in the Selection of Instruments. Information provided by the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention.

Additional Resources

The following are links to groups that provide support to families who need additional information and support on screening and assessments.

Council for Children with Behavioral Disabilities

Pacer Center: Champions for Children with Disabilities

Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice

Topic 5

Topic 5

Holly Tetreault

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Functional Behavior Assessment

Powerpoint

Topic 3

Topic 3

Holly Tetreault

Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Classroom Management

The Basics

According to Wolfgang and Glickman (1986) "classroom management is is a term used by teachers to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students." Classroom management philosophies vary from teacher to teacher. Education has adapted from negative reinforcements to positive reinforcements. In the state of Kansas, as well as many other states, PBS (Positive Behavior Supports) has become a school wide model of promoting positive behaviors everywhere including in the classroom (PBIS, 2010).

Federal Policies and Legislation

According to Edweek.org a bill has passed through the house Education and Labor Committee that would prevent educators from applying restraint or seclusion on students with behavior issues in the classroom (Edweek, 2010). The committee on Education and Labor has released information on the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act. The website provides the myths and facts on behavior issues in classrooms (Committee on Education and Labor, 2010).

My Classroom Experience

Chris Borgmeier, PhD, Portland State University, created a resource to help classroom teachers assess how they manage behavior in their room. I used this form provided through the Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Supports to assess my own personal abilities.

Mapping School-Wide Rules to Classroom Behavioral Expectations

Teacher __Tetreault__________________ Grade/Subject __K-5___

School __White Church Elementary_______________________________

School Rules: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible

Expected Student Behavior: White Church Rules: Be Respectful, Be a Learner, Be in Control

Classroom Routine/Behavioral Expectations...

Entering the Classroom: Students wait at the bottom of the stairs (my room is downstairs) and enter the room as the previous group leaves. We walk quietly as we pass through two other groups to get to my room. Once in the room students sit in their seat at the reading table and wait for further instructions. (Everyday we have a different paper passer and pencil passer each day.)

Starting the Day: N/A

Attention Signal: We raise our hand to obtain attention.

Working Independently: We work with "Red Light Ready" voices while working independently.

Working in Groups: When working with partners we work with "Yellow Light" voices and when working whole group we use "Green Light" voices. (We have a traffic light hanging in our room. Red Light Ready is when we are quiet, hands in our laps, feet flat on the floor, and we're ready to be super readers. Yellow light is when we use a whisper voice to talk to a partner and green light is when we use our inside voice to speak to the whole group.)

Asking for Help: We raise our hands for attention.

Transition: We put our materials away and we line up in a SWAMEO line at the door. (SWAMEO is our school wide PBS model for the hallway. S=straight line, W=walking, A=arms in control, M=mouths closed, E=eyes forward, O=off the walls.)

Procedures for...

Lining up: SWAMEO (See above)

Hall Pass: We have a hall pass in case of emergencies. For non-emergencies we use the restroom on their way back to class. (We have 30 minute reading groups.)

System Obtaining Materials: Designating different students each day. (Between 3-6 students in a group; everyone gets a task everyday.)

Supplies: (See above)

Completing & Returning Homework: N/A

Reflection

My goal was to assess how I actually use PBS in my room and to measure how often I use positive supports as opposed to negative reinforcements. However, with parent/teacher conferences and a field trip Friday morning, I haven't been able to use the Classroom Behavior Assessments available on the KIPBS site.

Check back on Tuesday, February 9th after 9 P.M. to see my completed form and reflection.

!UPDATE! As of Tuesday, February 9th I'm not able to scan my document in. I will try to have it scanned in on Thursday. I completed the:

Positive Behavior Support:

Classroom Management:

Self-Assessment

George Sugai & Geoff Colvin

Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

University of Oregon

Version: March 10, 2004

Websites to See

The Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Supports

Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports

The Teacher's Guide: Made by Teachers for Teachers

Classroom Management from Harry and Rosemary Wong

Classroom Management through Brain Based Learning