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School Events/ Activities Team Planning Guide

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Day 5: IEP/ Educational Benefit Printable Slides 

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Day 5: IEP/ Educational Benefit Printable Slides 

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Day 5_ IEP_ Ed Benefit + Wrap Up (1).pdf

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Continuum of Programming Dialogue

Continuum of Programming Considerations and Resources

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Neurodiversity Strengths Checklist - Tool for IEP's: Uploaded October 2022

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MDE OSE: Measureable Annual Goals & Objectives Guidance

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MDE OSE: Measureable Annual Goals & Objectives Guidance

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MDE OSE Supplemental Aids and Services Guidance

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MDE OSE Supplemental Aids and Services Guidance

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IFSP & IEP Considerations for Students with ASD Receiving Insurance-based Treatment &  Intervention

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IFSP & IEP Considerations for Students with ASD Receiving Insurance-based Treatment &  Intervention

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Summary:

FAPE vs. LRE:  “A placement which might be considered better for academic reasons might not be appropriate because of the failure to provide for mainstreaming (inclusion)”

Ed Benefit:  “What the IDEA implies, the case law makes explicit:  A child need not master the general education curriculum for inclusion to remain a viable option…. the appropriate yardstick is whether the child, with appropriate supplemental aids and services, can make progress toward the IEP goals in the regular education setting.”

Methodology Premise:  “L.H. should not be mainstreamed because teachers and staff were unwilling or unable to properly engage in the process of mainstreaming as they deemed it futile or useless in light of his disability.”

“This is the type of approach that the IDEA was designed to remedy, not encourage or protect.”

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Educational Benefit Review Facilitation Guide

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Educational Benefit Review Facilitation Guide

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Credit to Char-Em ISD

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Ed Benefit Review Facilitation Guide 8-23

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LRE Continuum of Alternative Placements Tool 

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LRE Continuum of Alternative Placements Tool 

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(Credit to Char-Em ISD)

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LRE & Continuum of Alternative Placements Decision Tool 5-23.docx

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Because you are here, we already know you want to make inclusive education a reality for all students with disabilities, including those with extensive support needs. We can help with evidence-based knowledge and resources designed for creating high-quality fully inclusive classrooms and schools.

You will find tools to help you learn about inclusive education, inspire others, and plan lessons that work for all students. We focus on moving students from less inclusive to more inclusive educational environments. The TIES Center Core Values drives all of our work.

What is inclusive education?

One in which each and every student is valued and fully supported as active and engaged participants in their school.

All students, including students with extensive support needs, are supported to succeed in making academic progress, building friendships, and engaging in extracurricular activities along with their grade-level peers.

Read more about how TIES approaches inclusive education

Who are the students with extensive needs?

Students with extensive support needs are students who require intensive and individualized instruction and substantial supports to access the curriculum.

These are most often students classified for special education services under the categories of autism, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, and deaf-blindness.

Students with extensive support needs may include, but are not limited to, students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Why can you rely on the information you find on the TIES website?

TIES brings together recognized experts in inclusive education to provide evidence-based resources, tools, curricula, and reports so students with disabilities, including those with extensive support needs, can learn in classrooms with their non-disabled peers.

From 2017-2022, TIES was funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

How can TIES help?

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TIES helps educators, parents, and administrators create and support inclusive school communities

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Because you are here, we already know you want to make inclusive education a reality for all students with disabilities, including those with extensive support needs. We can help with evidence-based knowledge and resources designed for creating high-quality fully inclusive classrooms and schools.

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Academic and Cognitive Profiles of Student with Autism:  Implications for Classroom Practice and Placement

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Academic and Cognitive Profiles of Student with Autism:  Implications for Classroom Practice and Placement

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MDE Least Restrictive Environment Contiunuum

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MDE Least Restrictive Environment Contiunuum

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OSEP Fast Facts School Environments (School aged children with disabilities)

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OSEP Fast Facts School Environments (School aged children with disabilities)

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By the Office of Special Education Programs

OSEP released a new OSEP Fast Facts: Educational Environments of School Aged Children with Disabilities, which explores our IDEA, Section 618 data.

This OSEP Fast Facts takes a closer look at the environments where children with disabilities are receiving special education and related services.
Highlights from OSEP Fast Facts: Educational Environments of School Aged Children with Disabilities

In SY 2020-21, 66.17% of all school aged children, served under IDEA, Part B, received services inside a regular class 80% or more of the day.

Students with Intellectual Disability (17.91%) and Autism (40.77%) were less likely to receive services inside a regular class 80% or more of the day while students with Speech or Language Impairment (87.90%) and Specific Learning Disability (74.81%) were more likely to receive services inside a regular class 80% or more of the day.

Black (3.68%) and Asian (3.48%) students with disabilities are more likely to receive services in separate schools than all students with disabilities (2.64%).

Students who are two or more races (2.35%) and White (2.54%) students with disabilities are more likely to receive services in parentally placed private schools than all students with disabilities (1.65%).

OSEP Fast Facts is an ongoing effort to display data from the 12 data collections authorized under IDEA Section 618 into graphic, visual representations with the intent to present 618 data quickly and clearly.

Visit the OSEP Fast Facts page for existing and future Fast Facts.

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OSEP Releases Fast Facts on Educational Environments of School Aged Children with Disabilities

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By the Office of Special Education Programs OSEP released a new OSEP Fast Facts: Educational Environments of School Aged Children with Disabilities, which explores our IDEA, Section 618 data. This OSEP Fast Facts takes a closer look at the environments where children with disabilities are receiving special education and related services.

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MDE OSE Guidance re: Special education programs and services

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MDE OSE Guidance re: Special education programs and services

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Inclusion in general edcuation is research based practice to support education, employment, and independent living

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Differentiated Output Hierarchy

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5 Levels of Differentiated Output Reference Sheet.pdf

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What is Five Moore Minutes? Inspired by a little bowling video...Five Moore Minutes is a website with videos dedicated to empowering schools and classrooms to support ALL Learners! Created by Shelley Moore, this website is designed with teachers in mind.

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Social Emotional Engagement- Knowledge & Skills

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Social Emotional Engagement- Knowledge & Skills

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SEE-KS

3_SEE-KS_Quick Reference

PDF Instructional Manual

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"3i's" of Engagement Reflection Resource

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Strategies page 11

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Some individuals with autism often have difficulty engaging socially with other people. This can make it more difficult for them to learn from others by watching and listening. Adding in a few strategies to your everyday routines can help them learn that people are fun and worth paying attention to!

Use their interests to your advantage! Take time to observe your child in play and find what is motivating, such as characters, colors, textures, or sounds that capture his/her attention. Use these motivating items as the center of your interactions. This way, you are working with items that can capture your child's attention.

Position yourself so that you are facing your child, with the object between you. This way, the child is already looking towards you and it will be easier for them to look up and smile at you! You can use the object in a playful manner to grab and keep their attention. For example, take a ball and place it on your head while making an excited expression, and then say, "Ahh choo" as it falls onto the floor. Continue to repeat the sequence, making sure to pause before and after saying, "Ahh choo" to give your child an opportunity to imitate you or join in on the fun.

Eliminate the competition! Look around you and see what might be pulling your child's attention away from you. Minimize these distractions by putting them in a bin or covering them with a blanket during times you are focusing on engagement.

Helpful Hints:
Try to follow your child's lead. First, sit back and watch your child play to see where you could add a fun sound effect or facial expression!
For example, while observing your child play with blocks you notice that he/she is are putting them into a bin and dumping them on the floor. As your child puts blocks into the bin, place yourself in front of your child, and as they begin to dump them out, add a "Kaaaaboooom" sound effect with an excited facial expression. Now, repeat that sequence again. You may find your child enjoys when you are more animated with your facial expressions and body movements.

While you are watching your child play, think about what they are trying to do. Join your child in play by helping them reach the goal. This could be by handing another toy or helping stabilize the block tower. Look for ways where you can add to what they are already doing.

Avoid taking away the object for "your turn." Instead, use a similar or identical object and imitate what your child is doing with their object. This is an easy way to bring their focus from the object to you.

Narrate the actions with short, simple language. As your child is stacking blocks, you can say, "big block" or "red block". If your child is playing with cars, you can say, "fast car" or "vroom." You may feel like a sportscaster, but this is a great way to help your child increase their understanding of language. By adding simple words and short phrases on top of their play, you are helping them to make the connection between words and what they mean.

In times of uncertainty, everyone benefits from predictability!

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TEACCH Tip#19 - Increasing Engagement: Paying Attention to People Leads to Learning | TEACCH® Autism Program

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Some individuals with autism often have difficulty engaging socially with other people. This can make it more difficult for them to learn from others by watching and listening. Adding in a few strategies to your everyday routines can help them learn that people are fun and worth paying attention to!

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Decision Tree for COS - EDIS Process.pdf

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Educational Supports and Strategies Slides 23-24

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Educational Supports and Strategies Slides 23-24

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Mini IT: Extensive Needs Educational Supports & Strategies Sign In

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Discipline Protections for Students with a Disability (MVU, free course)

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Discipline Protections for Students with a Disability (MVU, free course)

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Discipline Protections for Students with a Disability | Michigan Virtual

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Apply awareness to educators and administrators on how to comprehend discipline towards students with disabilities.

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Mini IT: Extensive Needs 2023-2024 PBIS Sign In

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Disability is an asset, ft Sara Minkara, Empowerment Through Integration #DisabilityDemandsJustice

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QABF:  Questions About Behavioral Function

FACTS:  Functional Assessment Checklist for Teachers and Staff

FAST:  Functional Analysis / Assessment Screening Tool

MAS:  Motivation Assessment Scale

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Facebook

Teachers Pay Teachers

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Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is a behavior management strategy that involves the delivery of a behavioral reinforcer, independent and regardless of the performance of a specific behavior.
It is contrasted to contingent reinforcement, where a reinforcer is contingent upon someone first performing the desired behavior.

A noncontingent reinforcer is often used in educational settings, but can be seen in everyday life as well.

In the classroom, the goal of NCR is to provide the student with a reward so that it is unnecessary for them to engage in the usual problem behavior.

NCR is a behavior modification strategy in applied behavioral analysis (ABA). Although it is often used to treat children with learning disabilities, it can be used with other students as well.

However, this approach does not include teaching the student replacement behaviors. Therefore, it is advised to add an instructional component regarding constructive, alternative behaviors.

Noncontingent Reinforcement and Functional Behavioral Analysis (FBA)
The key to NCR being effective is to know the reason the student is being disruptive. What function do their actions serve?
Sometimes a student misbehaves because they feel anxious about an assignment, so they look to the teacher for comfort. Because they may not have the social skills to ask for help, they seek help by being disruptive.

In other circumstances, the reason may be to get attention. For instance, a student may call-out answers to questions without raising their hand so the teacher will direct their attention towards them, which is very reinforcing to the child.

Generally speaking, a student's disruptive behavior serves one of four functions:

To gain attention

To escape a task or activity

To gain access to a wanted object

To obtain or block sensory stimulation

To determine the behavior's purpose, a team of professionals (teachers, school counselor, psychologist) will conduct a functional behavioral analysis (FBA).

In some cases, the teacher may need to perform this assessment on their own.

Gresham et al. (2001) define FBA as:

"...a collection of methods for gathering information about antecedents, behaviors, and consequences in order to determine the reason (function) of behavior" (p. 158). The chart below shows the different components of an FBA.

When the function of the student's problem behavior is identified, the teacher can apply NCR so the child does not need to engage the target behavior.

Or, if resources permit, the FBA team can devise an action plan to replace the disruptive behavior with one that is more constructive, called a replacement behavior.

Noncontingent Reinforcement Examples

Sitting Next to the Teacher: Letting a kindergarten student sit next to the teacher gives the child continuous attention, which eliminates their need to engage in disruptive behavior to gain attention.

Designated Time for Extra Attention: A teacher can make a point of setting aside a specific period of time to work with a student to give them the extra attention they usually seek by being disruptive.

Bedtime Story Reading: Every night before bedtime, a parent reads to their child for 10-15 minutes. This can help prevent challenging bedtime behaviors.

Movement Breaks: Giving a student that has difficulty maintaining their concentration a movement break every 20 minutes is reinforcing, but should occur regardless of their on-task or off-task behavior.

In Charge of Distributing Handouts: A primary school teacher recognizes one student's need to feel important, so they allow them to distribute the handouts during each class.

Reducing Repetitive Speech: A student with autism often engages in repetitive speech (i.e., perseverative speech) to reduce their anxiety during certain types of lessons. So, the teacher makes a habit of periodically gently patting the child on the shoulder during those lessons.

Applying Verbal Praise: After taking detailed notes, a teacher realizes that one student engages in disruptive behavior to gain attention about every 2 minutes. Therefore, the teacher offers the student verbal praise approximately every 90 seconds.

In a Pediatric Dental Setting: A pre-set automatic cuing device informs dental assistants to implement noncontingent escape for their autistic patient every 3 minutes. This significantly reduces crying and body movements (escape behaviors) during dental treatments.

Peer Approval: The peer of a disruptive student delivers approval in the form of high-fives and fist-bumps at random intervals while working together on a class project.

After-School Talk Time: A parent spends 10 minutes after getting home to let their energetic child talk about their day. This releases a lot of pent-up energy in the child and helps them relax.

Noncontingent Reinforcement Pros and Cons

Can decrease problem behaviors without directly addressing them

May not target the root cause of the behavior and produce a respondent conditioning effect

Easy to implement, as it doesn't require complex strategies

May not be sufficient for more severe or complex behaviors

Can be applied across various settings and behaviors

May not generalize well if the problem behavior persists

Can improve the individual's mood and overall well-being

May lead to dependency on external rewards

Can help foster a positive environment and support motivation

May undermine intrinsic motivation if overused

Adaptable to the needs of different individuals

May not be equally effective for all individuals

Can be effective for managing behaviors in the short-term

May not lead to lasting changes in behavior

How Effective is Noncontingent Reinforcement?
There is a large body of research demonstrating the high effectiveness of NCR in the treatment of individuals with learning disabilities (Carr et al., 2009).
Delivering a reinforcer independent of behavior, the cornerstone of NCR, "results in a rapid and robust treatment effect" (p. 45).

According to Carr et al. (2009), there are numerous advantages to using NCR. For instance, NCR works with several function types (escape, attention, access), across numerous problem behaviors (self-injurious, aggression, elopement, bizarre speech), and can "bolster the efficacy of other treatments" (p. 46).

In addition, by examining the results of 59 studies, Carr and colleagues were able to assess the effectiveness of NCR according to stringent criteria as defined by The Task Force on the Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures (1995) of Division 12 of the American Psychological Association

The task force identified three categories of treatment effectiveness: well established, probably efficacious, and experimental.

The results revealed that one version of NCR "was deemed well established" (p. 51), and two other versions "were deemed probably efficacious" (p. 51).

How to Increase NCR Effectiveness
When implementing an NCR treatment, there are several key elements that can increase the intervention's effectiveness.

Ignore instances of the problem behavior: Since the problem behavior of students is often performed to gain teacher attention, reacting to disruptive behavior reinforces it.

Deliver reinforcement on time: Using the vibrating alarm on a cell phone will ensure the reinforcer is delivered at the correct time interval.

Increase length of interval gradually: After the student has exhibited a reduction in the problem behavior, increase the interval needed to receive the NCR.

Return to previous interval: If after lengthening the interval, the NCR is no longer effective, then return to the previous interval.

Ignore problem behavior at the end of an interval: If the problem behavior occurs at the end of the interval, ignore it for approximately one minute before delivering the NCR.

Case Studies of Noncontingent Reinforcement

1. Schedule of Noncontingent Reinforcement
Even though reinforcement is noncontingent upon behavior, it can still be applied on a specific schedule. One of the most common schedules is the fixed interval (FI).
In an FI schedule, a specific period of time must elapse before reinforcement is delivered. For example, with an FI-5 schedule, reinforcement is delivered every 5 minutes.

Once the problem behavior has been identified, the teacher can collect data on how frequently the behavior occurs.

In the example given in the Tip Sheet, the teacher determined that the student engaged in the problem behavior 10 times during a 60-minute lesson; approximately every 6 minutes.

Therefore, the teacher set the alarm on her watch to vibrate every 5 minutes; then the reinforcer was applied.

After 4 weeks, the teacher charted a significant decline in the problem behavior, and so the reinforcement schedule was adjusted to FI-10.

This is called thinning the schedule and it helps the child become less dependent on reinforcement.

2. Food Selectivity and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Children with ASD have a high incidence of food selectivity (Schreck et al., 2004), which may lead to nutritional deficits Bachmeyer, 2009) and stress-filled mealtimes for family members (Curtin et al., 2015).
Luis et al. (2021) conducted a case study on a 4-year-old male named Sam who had been diagnosed with ASD.
Operant conditioning and various schedules of reinforcement is used frequently in animal training. Reinforcing specific animal behaviors has proven to be quite effective. However, less research has involved examining the effectiveness of NCR in shaping animal behavior.
Sam only consumed oranges, bananas, apples, a specific brand of bread, and cheese.

A baseline rate of non-preferred food acceptance was determined. During the treatment phase, Sam was presented with non-preferred foods and given continuous, noncontingent access to cartoon videos via a tablet.

Each of 21 sessions lasted for 10-minutes and consisted of 10 trials of non-preferred food presentation.

"During the first baseline, Sam engaged in high to moderate levels of aggression and zero levels of food acceptance. NCR resulted in a decrease in aggression to near‐zero levels and an increase in food acceptance to a mean of 63%, with some variability in the data" (p. 5).

As a result of the NCR intervention, Sam consumed 23 non-preferred foods, including: pancakes, pasta, chicken patties and ground beef.

3. NCR applied to Animal Training

Pfaller-Sadovsky et al. (2922) examined the effects of NCR on the behavior of 6 dogs. The target behavior was stepping on a rug that was placed in the researcher's home living room.

Baseline and treatment behavior was assessed via the coding of video-recorded sessions.

An automatic food dispenser was set to deliver a small amount of food on a fixed-time schedule of 15 seconds (FT-15s).

"The results indicated that NCR was effective in reducing the target behaviour in three out of the six dogs" (p. 1).

The researchers suggest that NCR may not have been effective in three of the dogs because the reinforcement schedule was not dense enough.

Perhaps "a denser schedule (e.g., FT 7 s) might have produced a decrease in responding" for the other three dogs (p. 9).

Conclusion

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) refers to delivering a reinforcer which is independent of a specific behavior. Unlike typical reinforcement practices that involve rewarding occurrences of specific behavior, there is no connection between the target behavior and NCR.

NCR is often used in classroom settings to address the attention-seeking behavior of students, which can be disruptive.

By delivering a reinforcer before the disruptive behavior occurs, there is no need for the student to be disruptive; their need for attention has already been met.

The effectiveness of NCR can be improved by ignoring problem behavior, using an alarm to ensure timely delivery, and gradually lengthening the interval of time for delivery of the NCR.

A large body of research has demonstrated that several versions of NCR are highly efficacious.

References

Bachmeyer, M. H. (2009). Treatment of selective and inadequate food intake in children: A review and practical guide. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2(1), 43-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03391736

Britton, Lisa & Carr, James & Landaburu, Heidi & Romick, Kimberlee. (2002). The efficacy of noncontingent reinforcement as treatment for automatically reinforced stereotypy. Behavioral Interventions, 17, 93-103.

Carr, J. E., Severtson, J. M., & Lepper, T. L. (2009). Noncontingent reinforcement is an empirically supported treatment for problem behavior exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 30(1), 44-57.

Curtin, C., Hubbard, K., Anderson, S. E., Mick, E., Must, A., & Bandini, L. G. (2015). Food selectivity, mealtime behavior problems, spousal stress, and family food choices in children with and without autism spectrum disorder. Journal of
Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(10), 3308-3315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803‐015‐2490‐x

Gresham, F., Watson, T., & Skinner, C. (2001). Functional behavioral assessment: Principles, procedures, and future directions. School Psychology Review, 30, 156-172. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2001.12086106

Luis, J., Leon, Y., & Campos, C. (2021). Further evaluation of noncontingent reinforcement to treat mealtime problem behavior. Behavioral Interventions, 36(2), 514-521.

O'Callaghan, P. M. (2005). The efficacy of noncontingent escape for decreasing disruptive behavior during dental treatment. Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College.

Pfaller-Sadovsky, N., Hurtado-Parrado, C., & Arnott, G. (2022). The effects of noncontingent reinforcement on an arbitrary response in domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Behavioural Processes, 203, 104770.

Schreck, K. A., Williams, K., & Smith, A. F. (2004). A comparison of eating behaviors between children with and without autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(4), 433-438.

Task Force Promoting Dissemination of Psychological Procedures. (1995). Training in and dissemination of empirically-validated psychological treatments: Report and recommendations. Clinical Psychology, 48, 3-23.

Tucker, M., Sigafoos, J., & Bushell, H. (1998). Use of noncontingent reinforcement in the treatment of challenging behavior: A review and clinical guide. Behavior Modification, 22, 529-547.

Appendix: Graph Reproduced as Text

Functional Behavioral Assessment Methods:

1. Indirect methods
1.1 Behavioral checklists and school records
1.2 Interviews and surveys oft eachers and parents

2. Direct Methods
2.1 Descriptive naturalistic observation
2.2 ABC recording form

3. Experimental functional analysis
3.1 Identify and maipulate antecedent triggers
3.2 Identify and manipulate maintaining consequences

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Dave Cornell (PhD) and Peer Reviewed by Chris Drew (PhD)

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Noncontingent Reinforcement: Examples, Pros and Cons (2024)

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Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is a behavior management strategy that involves the delivery of a behavioral reinforcer, independent and regardless of the

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We're very excited to welcome back AAC SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber to these pages. You may remember Tabi from the wonderful AAC training materials she shared (11 full modules) or used her Classroom CORE book. Maybe you downloaded her All-In-One Visual Support Tool, used some of her great suggestions about AAC therapy with young children, or were lucky enough to attend one of her conference presentations. Her expertise, generosity, clear command of AAC practices, and commitment to ethical service provision have enriched the AAC lives many of our readers. Today, Tabi launches a new 6-part series on one of our favorite topics: Visual Supports.

Let's get started!
Visual and Environmental Supports...4 - 3 - 2 - 1!
Visual and environmental supports are the bread-and-butter of many a classroom with students with complex communication (and learning) needs. They may be presented on paper-based or electronic platforms. Understanding the purpose and process of using such tools is imperative for meaningful and purposeful implementation. This series of posts will unpack many considerations for implementing visuals and environmental supports! AND templates for creating your own low-tech visual supports will be provided along the way.

Pinterest may provide an a-la-carte variety of lovely visual tools for your classroom, but when it comes down to it a lovely tool becomes visual clutter if it does not serve its intended purpose. When discussing visual supports with teams, I try to break it down in the following ways:

Well implemented visual supports provide the following inputs to allow individuals to utilize the tool and understand how it supports the process of the intended task.

1. Cue- A visual referent shared by all communicators in the environment to establish a shared understanding.

2. Structure- An embedded feature such as a board, list, book, location, etc in which words or icons are arranged to show a process, or how/why the symbols exist as part of a bigger picture. Structure ensures that icons are not just random symbols that float in and out of view at the whim of supporting adults.

3. Permanence- V erbal cues are gone as soon as they are spoken. For those who require multi-modal input or need to spend more time processing, the permanence of visual supports allows them to linger on a symbol, or reference it again and again.

4. Predictability of Process- E very element of the structure paired with selected symbols is purposeful. How symbols are used/moved within the structure reinforces the meaning of the cue. The predictability of the relationships between the structure and the cue reinforces the function of the tool and the meaning of the interaction or task. For instance, when an individual selects "go", and the car goes, they learn that that symbol in that location makes the car "go". Likewise, when "snack" goes in the finished pocket and the next item on the schedule is "books", a child learns that pocketed symbols are finished activities and the next activity is the symbol now at the top of the list.

3 Purposes

1. Organize and prioritize time and tasks-Visual schedules, mini-schedules or task analysis checklists, first-then boards, timers, lists, planning notes, "finished" position,

2. Facilitate self-regulation & understanding of expectations-Token boards, social scripts, super symbols, power cards, self-monitoring tools, etc.

3. Access symbols for communication- Multimodal communication tools and strategies that allow individuals to communicate for a variety of purposes, in a variety of situations, with a variety of people. Both receptive and expressive skills are supported.

2 Ways Learning is Supported (often unspoken...but essential):

1. Executive functioning: The processes related to managing oneself and one's resources. These include such skills as impulse control, flexible thinking, working memory, planning and prioritizing, task initiation and organization. For many individuals, visual and environmental supports provide the necessary cues, structure, permanence, and predictability of process for these skills to be learned and demonstrated.

2. Considerations for meeting sensory needs: Visual and environmental supports can be customized in a variety of ways to help ensure an individual's sensory needs are met to facilitate readiness for communicating / learning / participating. Some require sensory input to calm them, others require it enliven them and demonstrate alertness. It is important to observe the individual and, if possible, seek their input, to determine the type of sensory inputs that may be needed as these needs differ from person to person. Click here for a table that matches sensory needs and strategies.

1. Built-in opportunities: Placing schedules in sight but out of reach allows a student to get up frequently to move schedule items to a finished bucket, thereby embedding movement breaks. But an individual that requires proprioceptive input may need "heavy work", such as returning stacks of books to the library or moving numerated jugs filled with water to engage in math activities. These activities may be items on a schedule.

2. Embedded cues: A student who is minimally attentive to visual stimuli may require an auditory cue other than speech, such as a chant, song, clap, or ding to gain and direct attention (toward a person, activity, or visual tool).

3. : Consider the size of icons, the strength of Velcro ®, the effort required to manipulate symbols, self-monitoring tools, etc. If an individual benefits from ample proprioceptive input, use of heavy Velcro ® can help provide this. So can pushing thick icons through a thin scored slot. Conversely, an individual with low tone may not be able to manipulate Velcro ® and may benefit from a dry erase design. Design features

1 Shared Language in the Environment:
Visual supports become a shared second language in the environment supporting both receptive and expressive skills.

When a visual schedule is referenced throughout the day, the inherent pauses between activities allow individuals to understand the task of transitioning to a new activity.

When tools to support self-regulation are used to guide appropriate interactions or debrief after an emotive event, they become a concrete tool for understanding expectations, processing strong feelings, etc.

When a communication tool is modeled in meaningful contexts an individual gains a greater understanding of how to engage with others.

Few individuals learn to use visual supports by simply being provided access. Embedded use of the tools ... for their intended purpose ... by everyone in the environment... is necessary.

Additionally, whenever possible, I have found it is beneficial to consolidate visual support tools for organizing tasks and time and facilitating self-regulation whenever possible. All-In-One arrangements create efficiency and simplicity for all communicators in the environment. Click here for a previous post on an All-in-One Visual Support Tool. And stay tuned for more examples and downloads in the coming weeks.

Lastly, keep in mind that we ALL use visual supports.

Do you have a calendar...wall calendar? Daily planner? Digital calendar? All of the above?

How about reminders...post-it notes? To-do lists? Siri-assisted reminders? Digital alerts?

What about apps to shape your behavior?... Calorie counters? Step counters? Meditation reminders?

How else do you keep yourself organized... meal planning? Email yourself? Designated spaces for keys/wallet/phone?

Click here for a Go-To Visual support kit to get started!
When we understand the role visual and environmental supports play in fostering our own organization, preparation, and ability to maintain our responsibilities and priorities we can more fully appreciate the importance of providing such supports to the individuals with whom we work and the necessity of teaching them how to use these tools.

Don't forget to stop by next week for the 2nd guest post in this series, Visual and Environmental Supports to Organize Time and Tasks. See you then!

This post was written by Carole Zangari

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PrAACtically Visual: A Visual & Environmental Support Countdown

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We're very excited to welcome back AAC SLP Tabi Jones-Wohleber to these pages. You may remember Tabi from the wonderful AAC training materials she shared (11 full modules) or used her Classro...

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CETA-ROR - Visual and Organizational Supprots

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Components of Autism Focus Intervention Resources and Modules

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Components of Autism Focus Intervention Resources and Modules

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Alternatives to Suspensions and Expulsions Toolkit MDE

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Alternatives to Suspensions and Expulsions Toolkit MDE

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Implementing Alternatives to Suspension and Expulsion

The Michigan State Board of Education's mission is to "support learners and learning." This can only be achieved if students are in school pursuing their education. To fulfill this mission, school districts are strongly encouraged to adopt policies and practices that allow educators to address disciplinary matters as opportunities for learning instead of punishment. This toolkit is meant to provide examples and ideas for alternatives to suspensions and expulsions, that align with current legislation, to keep students in school and learning, and help school staff provide or connect them with the supports they may need to be successful.

A Texas study tracked every middle school student for over six years. After controlling for more than 80 variables, it showed that school policies and practices-factors schools control-are the primary drivers of suspension rates, not student behavior (Fabelo et al., 2011)

Legal mandates and community safety may require removal of individuals who possess a dangerous weapon, commit arson, or engage in criminal sexual conduct (Gun Free Schools Act, 1994; Michigan Compiled Laws under MCL 380.1311), make bomb threats or engage in verbal assault (MCL 380.1311a), and/or commit physical assault against another at school or a school-related event (MCL 380.1310, 380.1311, 380.1311a, 380.1312), in compliance with MCL 380.1310(c)(d) as revised. State law (380.1310d) mandates that districts consider 7 factors, including lessor interventions, for all suspensions and expulsions, except those involving students knowingly in possession of a gun with an intent to use.

According to the report ost Opportunities: How Disparate School Discipline Continues to Drive Differences in the Opportunity to Learn (October 2020), during the 2015-2016 school year national estimates released by the U.S. Department of Education in May 2020 indicate that there were 11,392,474 days of instruction lost due to out of school suspensions (not even including expulsions). The equivalent of over 62,000 years of lost instruction. Numerous studies have shown that exclusionary discipline often sets the stage for student disenfranchisement, disconnectedness from school, academic failure, dropout, and the potential for criminalization. We should not be pulling students from a supportive system and putting them somewhere (outside the school system) without those supports.

Exclusionary discipline is disproportionally applied to students of color, students with disabilities, and low-income students. Lost Opportunities reports:

black students lost 103 days of instruction per 100 students enrolled. 82 days more than their white peers.

Students with disabilities lost 68 days per 100 students and Native American students lost 54 days per 100 students enrolled.

At the secondary level:

black boys lost 132 days per 100 students enrolled

black girls lost 77 days, seven times the rate of lost instruction experienced by white girls at the secondary level.

This results in staggering costs to students, school districts, and society. In the study " The High Cost of Harsh Discipline and Its Disparate Impact", results show that suspensions in 10th grade alone produce more than 67,000 dropouts in the U.S. and generate social costs to the nation of more than $35 billion.

This toolkit intentionally proposes approaches and resources for school discipline that gives preference to keeping students in school where they can receive the academic and social-emotional supports they need. It includes resources for school community members, guidance for families and caregivers, and resources for School Resource Officers.

Click below for resources
Administrators Parents and Caregivers

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Alternatives to Suspensions and Expulsions Toolkit

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The Michigan State Board of Education's mission is to "support learners and learning." This can only be achieved if students are in school pursuing their education. To fulfill this mission, school districts are strongly encouraged to adopt policies and practices that allow educators to address disciplinary matters as opportunities for learning instead of punishment.

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Positive Proactive Approaches to support children with disabilities

Dear Colleague: Letter on implementation of IDEA discipline

Dear Colleague: Letter on supporting behavior for students with disabilities: A summary for stakeholders

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Errorless Teaching and Prompting

Prompting Statement

Joint Prompting Statement Supplemental Materials

Developing a Prompting Hierarchy Script + Checklist

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A Snapshot of the PBiS 4:1 Ratio In a High School Classroom

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Universal Supports for Prevention Checklist

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Universal Supports for Prevention Checklist

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Universal Supports for Prevention-K-12 Checklist

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Jeffrey Benson:
SUPPORTING SCHOOLS THAT WORK FOR ALL STUDENTS

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TO END PUNITIVE, EXCLUSIONARY DISCIPLINE, WE'RE GOING TO NEEDNEW LENSES, PRACTICES, AND POLICIES. YOU'RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

We are in the midst of a societal and public health crisis. We are losing our most vulnerable kids, largely due to perspectives that are outdated and counterproductive, and disciplinary practices that are punitive and exclusionary.

With each time-out, detention, suspension, expulsion, paddling, restraint, seclusion, and arrest at school, there are children who aren't getting the help they need and are being pushed away from caregivers who could instead be helping them.

The cost to all of us is profound. Overwhelmed, discouraged educators. Frustrated, desperate parents. Expensive placements. Disenfranchised, marginalized, alienated kids. A pipeline to prison.

It doesn't have to be this way.

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We are in the midst of a societal and public health crisis. We are losing our most vulnerable kids, largely due to perspectives that are outdated and counterproductive, and disciplinary practices that are punitive and exclusionary.

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Guided Notes

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_Mini IT Classroom Environment, Routines +.pdf

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Prevent Teach Reinforce Respond Framework (aligned with what to plan/ how to support)

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Prevent Teach Reinforce Respond Framework (aligned with what to plan/ how to support)

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Individual Instructional Aide/1:1: Revised November 2023

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Transition Reminders

Transition Visuals (including SW-PBIS Expecations)

Sample Daily Schedule (slides : includes visual expectations)

Transition Zone Check (slides: includes regulation strategies)

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Early Learning Room (Developed)

Self contained ASD Program (developed)

Template Self contained program (partially developed)

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Circle Environment Planning (Pre-K & Elementary)

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Circle Environment Planning (Pre-K & Elementary)

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Feedback is a key element of the incremental process of ongoing learning and assessment. Providing frequent and ongoing feedback is a significant means of improving achievement in learning.

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Consistent Quality Environment video (High Leverage Practices)

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Consistent Quality Environment video (High Leverage Practices)

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HLP #7  Establish a Consistent, Organized, and Respectful Learning Environment

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When determining the need for paraprofessional support, it is critical to design a plan that focuses on independence since this is a primary goal for all students. A good place to start involves giving paraprofessionals a new title; we suggest calling them Independence Facilitators.

In the typical classroom situation with a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), paraprofessionals give prompts, corrections, and help when the teacher cannot provide this level of support. However, when assigned 1:1, this can result in students being over-monitored as compared to other students, which increases the likelihood of being over-prompted, over-corrected, or over-helped. This interferes with the development of independence.

However, a shift in perspective takes place when support staff move from "I am a paraprofessional" to "I am an Independence Facilitator." In this frame of mind, everyone stays focused on teaching independence in routines, academic work, and social interactions. This also serves as a reminder to use prompting intentionally with a plan to reduce the level of prompting over time because the goal is increased independence.

What else could an Independence Facilitator do to promote independence when working 1:1 with a student? Instead of verbally prompting, helping, or correcting the student, the paraprofessional needs to model the expected work and behavior of students in the class, while seated alongside the supported student. It is like demonstrating "this is how the work is to be completed."

When the student with ASD is engaged, completes work, and follows direction, authentic verbal, and visual reinforcement is given (e.g., "great work," thumbs up, knuckles). If the student needs help, the adult shows their own work, models how to do the task, or provides a visual prompt of expectations (e.g. points to visual on desk showing "I'm listening") rather than verbally correcting. Verbal statements are reserved for positive interaction and reinforcement only.

What is the advantage of this approach? Research shows that most students benefit from a ratio of five positively reinforced behaviors for every one correction (5:1). When students are over-prompted and over-corrected, the ratio is reversed (1:5), and the prompts, redirections, and help (especially verbal and physical assistance) may feel not only unpleasant but aversive. This results in challenging behavior for the purpose of escaping from the adult or the classroom.

When Independence Facilitators use Modeling for 5:1, they are keeping a strong positive to corrective ratio. This can increase engagement and decrease escape motivated behavior, while also promoting independence.

As students with ASD learn to observe the Independence Facilitator modeling expected behavior, they will also learn to observe peers. What will peers model? Often, what they observe in adults. An Independence Facilitator is not only modeling for students with ASD, but they also model for peers by demonstrating how positive interaction and support should work with a student with ASD. By demonstrating 5:1 positive to corrective interactions, reserving verbal interaction for positive engagement, and modeling expected behavior, everyone on the team, staff and students, are all working toward the same goal of promoting independence.

Read "Are Paraprofessional Supports Helpful?" by Michael Giangreco, Ph.D. and Betsy Hoza, Ph.D. to learn more about this topic.

START Connecting Homepage

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When determining the need for paraprofessional support, it is critical to design a plan that focuses on independence since this is a primary goal for all students. A good place to start involves giving paraprofessionals a new title; we suggest calling them Independence Facilitators.

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Guiding Questions: Schedule & Supports Planning

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Guiding Questions: Schedule & Supports Planning

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Schedule And Support Planning Guiding Questions

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Alterantive Engagement & Effective Redirection

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Alterantive Engagement & Effective Redirection

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Errorless teaching and prompt fading.doc.docx

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 Mini IT Classroom Environment, Routines +

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Classroom Environment, Supports, & Routines planning Sign In

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Consider CETA results & Select Priority Areas

Begin collecting data to set goals re:

engagement

communication skills

social skills

If not done yet:

Complete Pre Training Questionnaire

Ensure all team members have access to shared folder + documents

Obtain Focus Student OR Focus Classroom Permission

Complete Target Student Reporting Form: Fillable PDF

OR Word

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Title: Animated GIF Best Practices for GIF Optimization

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Nicole McGrath is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83387022986

Meeting ID: 833 8702 2986

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Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done.

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Individual Student Data Collection Forms

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Independence data is collected through task analyzing a routine and observing the level of independence completing that routine then developing a plan to improve independence. Given the importance of independence as a goal and using the independence data collection tool to measure progress, we have developed video examples of this process.

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Inclusiong & Belonging: Hearing from Autistic Voices

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Inclusiong & Belonging: Hearing from Autistic Voices