Besides revisiting the behavior plan and the level of positive reinforcement being provided, the other thing the IEP team did in response to Michael’s aggressive behavior at school was to add a safe crisis plan.
We had had a safe crisis meeting earlier in the school year when the school secretary had (inappropriately) gotten involved and physically moved Michael from the hallway into a classroom, but all we did at that point was clarify for everyone in the building who to contact if the adult in charge of Michael felt they needed assistance with him (i.e. NOT the secretary!).
Now we had started seeing some out of control behavior, with Michael jumping straight from a calm state to yelling and screaming at people, and then a variety of aggressive behaviors, including hitting, kicking and throwing things such as his shoes and socks, chairs and even a trashcan. So the team met to create a safe crisis plan.
The way it was explained to me, the behavior plan tells the adults what to do so the child will (hopefully) not have a meltdown, and the safe crisis plan tells the adults what to do so THEY don’t have a meltdown! Our plan does not include any form of restraint; in fact, the purpose of the plan is to give everyone the information they need on what to do so that restraint will not be needed.
Our Safe Crisis Plan
The basics of the plan are pretty simple – if Michael is hitting, kicking or throwing things at anyone, the teacher will physically block the behavior if possible and will clear the other students from the room.
Next, a second adult will be called to take charge of Michael. Once he is calm enough to leave the room himself, he will go to a separate room with the adult. We chose the speech room so we would have a consistent location; the SLP is only in the building two days per week and does a lot of her work in the various classrooms, so it is usually available.
Then, once Michael has left the room, the other students can return and continue with their lessons. Michael will stay in the speech room until he is completely calm and ready to return to class If he is unable to calm down after 30 minutes, they will call me to come and get him.
Of course, we are all very focused on lots and lots of positive reinforcement of desired behaviors and on intervening as soon as we see Michael start to become upset to avoid any of this, but it is good to have it in place so everyone knows exactly what to do if there is a problem and to lessen the possibility of anyone getting hurt.
NOTE: I thought I had posted this last night, but I just realized it was still in draft form. We actually used this plan today, as he had an incident that turned into a major meltdown and I had to come and get him from school. I’m still trying to process the details and figure out where to go from here as far as he is concerned, but I am thankful at least for a good team that is working so well together.
I have alluded to an incident that occurred at my son’s school, but haven’t gone into detail because I have been working on getting it resolved and have just not had the emotional energy to write about it. There have been several outbursts which could have been handled better by the teacher and/or TSS*, but they are both learning more about how to work with Michael as time goes on, and I feel that both of them want this year to be very successful for him.
The thing that is the biggest issue is that the school secretary got involved in one of the situations and ended up carrying him into a room. Because this qualifies as a restraint, it actually has to be reported to the department of education. Also, an IEP meeting is supposed to be held within 10 school days unless I waive the meeting in writing.
The meeting was supposed to be Thursday (Friday was 10 days), but now it has been moved to Tuesday and allotted 15-20 minutes since we are evidently only talking about the restraint by the secretary. I’m going to email them back and say that we will need another meeting to talk about the rest of the issues that have arisen, and also that whatever we decide about how escalated situations arise needs to be added to the IEP in writing. I’m sure they’ll just love me, but I really don’t care anymore about that.
For anyone who is interested in the details, I’m copying the letter I sent to the Special Ed Supervisor after speaking with her the day after the incident. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
Thank you for calling on Friday; I appreciated the opportunity to speak with you regarding the incident that occurred at my son’s school on Thursday afternoon and, at your request, am emailing you my understanding of what happened. I am also copying the IEP team to keep everyone in the loop as we move forward.
The note in Michael’s daily communication folder on Thursday mentioned that the secretary had brought him into the music classroom when he didn’t want to go in, but wasn’t clear on exactly what happened, so I went in on Friday morning to discuss the situation with the school.
I have not spoken to everyone involved in this situation, but I did hear about the physical intervention directly from the school secretary, Mrs. X. Evidently Michael had become quite upset during music class when a movement activity was introduced (this is a known trigger for him). Because a quiet space has not yet been identified in that classroom, the TSS took him out in the hallway to calm down, per the “Engine Level” chart we have in his IEP.
For reasons I do not know, Michael went from the hallway to his first grade classroom to “pull a card” (this is related to the school behavior plan; we are currently in the middle of an FBA to develop a Positive Behavior Plan for Michael). While he was there, the teacher talked to him about returning to music. The teacher reported to me that he said, “I would rather die than go back to music.” At some point, she called down to the office for the principal to come and talk to him. He was not available, and eventually Michael agreed to walk back to class with the TSS. Upon arriving at the music classroom, he became upset again and refused to go back in.
Since the principal was not available, the school secretary had come upstairs to assist with the situation and told me that Michael was lying down in front of the door to the music room. She stated that she told him he couldn’t stay there because it wasn’t safe and that he had to go into the music room. I was not told of him being given the option of returning to the quiet space, or any other options. She then picked him up under the arms and carried him into the room.
I understand that she was acting on her best instincts, but I feel this crossed the line both physically and emotionally. I need to feel that my son is safe when he comes to school each day, and it scares me that a situation can get so far out of control on just the fourth day of school and with a seven-year old child who is simply trying to communicate his distress in a way that will be heard by those responsible for him.
We need to respond to his behavior as a form of communication and to follow the plan agreed on in the IEP to handle the situation instead of escalating it by our actions. Then we can go back later to look at what we need to change to avoid his being triggered the next time he is in a similar situation.
I have followed up by phone with the principal, Mr. Y, who has apologized for the incident and assures me that there will be no further involuntary physical intervention with Michael. His case manager, Mrs. Z, and I will also be working with Ms. A, his autism consultant, to address the various other issues at work here with the staff and the IEP.
In speaking with Ms. A, she had said to me that this should be reported to the state as an incident of restraint. Mr. Y [the principal, in case you lost track of my assigned letters] feels that it did not go that far. I am not an expert in this area, and my primary concern is that we all acknowledge the inappropriateness of physically moving him and agree that any intervention of that sort would only take place in the face of actual immediate danger.
Again, I appreciate your time and concern for this situation. I am confident that as a team we can make the necessary adjustments to support Michael appropriately at [this school].
Any advice on how to keep my emotions on an even keel when they are changing daily (sometimes hourly) as I try to figure out how to deal with all the different issues this year has brought up so far is welcomed. It’s hard to really get my thoughts together because I get so upset when I start thinking about it all.
*TSS stands for Therapeutic Support Staff, and this is a person who provides behavioral support. They are not employed by school but are funded through Medical Assistance and directed by a Behavioral Specialist Consultant. The BSC does go to the school and will also be helping with this situation, but I didn’t mention her specifically in the letter.
If you, like me, are already thinking ahead to back to school time and making the transition as smooth as possible, take a look at today’s Try This Tuesday.
Amazing Grace from Moms of Special Needs Children is sharing a student orientation checklist that you can include with your child’s IEP so that everyone on the team knows what is required of them to support your child right from the start.
What are your best tips for a good transition into the summer and then back into school again in the fall?
How confident do you feel going into a meeting to write an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?
Today over at 5 Minutes for Special Needs, I am sharing some resources for learning more about the special education process and how you can advocate for your child. Please stop by and leave a comment with your favorite books or websites on the topic.
Related Posts on Advocacy/IEPs:
Happy Friday, everyone!
I have seen quite a few other bloggers recently talking about IEP meetings and programming decisions and can empathize with all of them. It can be so hard to know what to ask for and what choices to make, especially when school is several months away in most cases. I am so, so thankful that we finally have all our decisions made and paperwork done for both the summer and the fall!
For those that have been following my (perhaps) overly obsessive struggle with the issue of kindergarten vs. first grade, the final answer is…
KINDERGARTEN!!
Although it is not quite 3 hours per day, and he will be pulled out for both Speech and OT each week, it just feels like the right choice for our Little Guy with where he is socially and emotionally. He will also be able to go to a social skills program after school for a couple of hours, through the behavioral health system, which will target those areas.
His STAP (Summer Therapeutic Activities Program) has also been finalized, and we got our first choice! This will be Monday-Friday from 9am-3pm for eight weeks. I believe he will really enjoy this, especially as they will go to different playgrounds almost every day.
One other good report – I spoke to our behavioral health provider and expressed my strong desire to keep the same TSS for both the summer and into the fall. I mentioned how difficult last year was with having 6 different TSS’s as well as 8 weeks without anyone, and I also expressed how both the school psychologist and speech therapist had asked specifically if she would be coming with him in the fall. The assistant coordinator assured me that she didn’t see any reason why that wouldn’t be possible, which is a relief compared to my previous experiences with them.
And did I mention that we only have 3 more weeks of paying for daycare and then we will be done with that part of our lives for the foreseeable future? (Yes, that is me doing the happy dance!)
As I mentioned in my previous post on our IEP, I thought it might be helpful to share some of the things we came up with to help our son next year in school. When he first started with preschool special education, I had absolutely no idea what to ask for in terms of goals or supports. I realize each child is different and has unique needs, and that the team can add anything they agree is appropriate, but I also think it is empowering to have some ideas walking into the meeting.
This is the list of Modifications and SDI’s, otherwise known as “Program Modifications and Specially Designed Instruction.” I have indicated the location and frequency for each one; anything in parentheses is my commentary. The IEP is still a draft, so I will be addressing my questions with the team over the coming week.
Location: Across all school settings, Frequency: Daily
- Home/school communication folder initiated by case manager. (meaning the learning support teacher will provide the folder and forms to be filled out by the classroom teacher)
- No gluten/casein food or drink. Special diet as per parent request. (we included the words food or drink because I don’t restrict the use of stickers, play dough, etc.)
- Consistent expectations with logical consequences.
- Sensory diet developed and monitored by the OT.
- Use of visual schedule, break cards, timers and first-then strategies.
- Warnings for changes in schedule and extra time for transitions.
- Modifications to work quantity and extra time to complete assignments.
- Frequent praise and positive reinforcement strategies to increase desired behaviors/responses, planned reduction of reinforcement as desired behaviors/skills are demonstrated with consistency.
- Language to use during social interactions: 1. Turn towards me, 2. Look at me, pairing with gesture and fading the verbal. (not sure about look at me since we discussed not requiring direct eye contact – need to make sure teacher understands our expectations and possibly modify the language used)
Location: Classroom, Frequency: As noted
- To help teach impulse control during classroom instruction – Teach self-regulation through social stories and STOP and THINK program.
- During writing tasks – Trial use of pencil grips to determine if one improves his grasp pattern
- During coloring or drawing tasks – Short, small crayons to facilitate a more mature grasp pattern provided by the OT.
Location: Classroom and therapy setting, Frequency: An noted
- At least one time per week – Continued education, visual supports and practice of a self-regulation program. Use of visual, auditory, and physical supports. (Self-regulation program refers to ALERT program, which she said she cannot state here, I’m not sure why since the SLP stated a program by name. Also think second part needs to be changed to daily across school settings.)
- When routines and rules need to be established at the beginning of the school year, new activity, or therapy session – Clear, explicit routines and structures within the classroom along with clearly stated rules and expectations; demonstration, modeling, imitation, repetition for practicing desired behaviors; opportunities to practice problem solving skills; encourage attention and staying on task during non-preferred activities. (not sure why this isn’t listed as daily; if we think he is going to get better at these things instead of always needing them, shouldn’t they be goals instead of program modifications?)
- When Michael expresses his feelings about work or school – Acknowledge his feelings and teach socially appropriate way to express feelings – use of language “I know you are…” (this is more of a calming technique since he can usually label his emotions, just doesn’t always know what to do with them.)
As this will be his first year in elementary school, I still feel like a newbie and can’t really say how this list compares to what other children may have, but I walked out of the meeting feeling like this team is really committed to seeing him succeed in a regular education classroom. Writing them out has also helped me to clarify my questions, as well as my ongoing concerns about whether he can really handle first grade.
In case you missed it, yesterday I reviewed the IEP Goals and Related Services.
So last Thursday my husband and I attended the IEP meeting for our son, who will be starting elementary school this fall. After a 2 hour meeting to review the Evaluation Report and go through the IEP draft they had prepared, we both left very happy with this team and their understanding of and commitment to our Little Guy.
I wanted to share some of the information from it related to his goals and services, not to expose any personal information about him, but because I know how hard it was for me to get a handle on what to expect when we first started writing IEP’s upon transitioning from Birth-3 to the preschool program and how desperate I was for any information I could find.
Special Considerations
- First of all, I was relieved that the team happily checked off communication needs, assistive technology, behaviors, and even other for his special diet. The preschool program had steadfastly refused to check behaviors until I finally insisted last year and wanted to uncheck communication on the last IEP. At that point, my question was, “If he doesn’t have communication needs and he doesn’t have behavioral issues, why are we even here?”
Measurable Annual Goals
- Given instruction and a pencil grip, M. will independently utilize a mature tripod grip on his writing utensil 3/4 cold probes. (The OT said that if we choose to enter him in a first grade, she will add another goal about writing related to spacing, letter size, etc.)
- When presented with structured activities for improving pragmatic language skills, specifically “managing conversations”, M. will respond appropriately by using target skills in 4 out of 5 opportunities with no more than 1 verbal prompt per trial. (Then she lists the 3 target skills she will start with.)
- When presented with unstructured and structured tasks for “non-verbal communication”, M. will respond appropriately by using target nonverbal skills in 4 out of 5 opportunities with no more than 1 prompt. (Again, 3 target skills are listed.)
- M. will follow his daily schedule and will transition between activities without displaying maladaptive behaviors such as yelling out, covering ears, falling to floor or becoming overly active with no more than three verbal, visual or physical prompts per transition.
Related Services and Support for School Personnel
- Occupational Therapy – 20 minutes per cycle, direct (This will increase to 30 minutes if second goal is added.)
- Speech Therapy – Two 30 minute sessions per cycle
- OT & SLP consult with teacher and other staff to monitor progress and address needs – At least one time per month
- Autism Consultant – One time per week for 6 weeks and then review based on recommendation of the team. (This was a result of my pursuing her attendance at the meeting and then politely pushing for her inclusion on the IEP. The team was in agreement with the outcome, but I did have to state my case and be persistent when the conversation got onto other topics before we had finished addressing her role.)
So there you have it, that’s what we all came up with. I will work on typing up the Modifications and SDIs for tomorrow so you can see what they look like as well. Now the kicker is trying to make a decision about which grade he will start in, which is making my head spin and, frankly, that is not a pretty sight!
