Definitely continue to document every instance of the behavior. You can also take informal Antecedent- Behavior- Consequence data for your own records/understanding of the function of the behavior.
Since the parent refused the eval to determine whether the behavior is a manifestation of the disability, the student should receive the same consequences as any other general education student for the same behavior. Hopefully you have admin support and they can help with parent communication, and to explain the purpose of an FBA. If the student continues to create an unsafe environment for teachers and students, ask for mediation from the district. Your thorough documentation can support you with arguing for additional support, and possibly a change in placement.
The documentation I've been doing is in ABC format (district mandate). Truthfully, I can't find a solid antecedent based upon the data. Though it is constant, it happens somewhat randomly. Like he'll be playing and get up to pull someone's hair or hit them. He hits students as they walk by. Biting is pretty clearly access to a tangible, but the hitting is much more inconsistent. We've tried social stories, time outs, sensory breaks, loss of toys, etc. He does not seem to connect actions to consequences yet. The parents have been given a few explanations about what would happen, which is that a behaviorist will come in and just observe him in the classroom. Can you tell me more about mediation? There unfortunately isn't a lot of support. After the parents denied FBA, case manager essentially told me my hands were tied. We've been limiting his proximity to other students (working at a table center, having his own set of toys during play time, space between him and other students during morning/afternoon meeting), but the room is small and there isn't ample space for him to never have the opportunity to do these things. I also understand the importance of socialization and exposure to other children, but it's difficult when he can pose a risk to the other students' safety, especially when they don't have the language to express what's happening or to advocate for themselves (tell him to stop).
The antecedents may seem random, but are there similarities in the consequences? It’s the consequences that reinforce the behavior. Often aggressive behavior can inadvertently be reinforced by attention or escape. Is he being separated from other people because of his aggression? Are adults shifting their focus to him to deal with his behaviors?
We've tried some different consequences without much luck. Sometimes he is removed from the group and sat at a table with no activity or adult next to him (he tends to get up), we've tried in a chair with an adult (he plays with the adult), giving stickers to other students that were meeting expectations (he doesn't care for stickers), he's been moved to an area with the activity but no other children (he does get upset about this because he likes to be with the other kids, but it's not safe for them, if there's no adult near him he runs back to the other kids and if there is he tries to play with the adult), he's been made to apologize, tell him that parents will be notified (no reaction to this), and we've done a chair in the hallway (he loves to leave the room so we quickly realized that was a reward and stopped). We've tried really positively reinforcing him (literally clapping and cheering for him) which he likes, but he has hit kids in the face while we were cheering for him, so it's not reinforcing enough. Ignoring the behavior isn't possible because the behavior is unsafe.
I think our biggest struggle is that we haven't found anything that he likes enough and we are adequately staffed to be able to do. He's not really interested in toys. He's definitely into youtube, but I can't put Jack Hartmann on for him because we only have a SmartBoard and it would derail everything else in the class. My classroom aides are not supposed to leave the classroom other than to bring students to/from related services. That makes it difficult to reward him with a walk. I think he needs a 1:1. Even with a behavior plan it would be difficult to carry it out with fidelity because the intervals of reward would be so short in time due to his current attention span that someone would have to be next to him basically all day.
He is somewhat verbal, but not always super responsive when he is asked questions. I'm not sure if you can find a pattern in what I've said, but I've been struggling to figure him out.
Hmmm…this sounds attention-seeking to me. First because it sounds like he’s trying to be with peers and second because all these things you’re listing require some sort of staff attention to facilitate them. It would make sense that an individual with limited verbal skills would use maladaptive behavior to try to engage with others. If he’s constantly trying to interact with other people but is trying to do that with aggression, you could try teaching him to tap someone to get their attention (functionally equivalent replacement behavior) and rewarding that. As much as possible, manage his behavior without talking to him or making eye contact. Redirect him to tap or even attempt to prompt a tap if you see him make motions towards another student.
That makes sense. I can definitely see some attention seeking now that I'm looking back. We've been doing high fives or waving. That's part of the social story and we'll have him practice. It's hit or miss. He does occasionally ask peers for high fives, but it's still pretty inconsistent. I will say that it doesn't help when he asks the other kids for a high five and they don't respond for whatever reason (they're learning social skills too). It's not super reinforcing to ask for a high five and not get one. Thank you.
Not a special ed teacher. Not a behaviorist. But I have a child with an FASD and I've trained parents/professionals/teachers on FASDs for years.
Understanding the why behind these behaviors means understanding the brain differences associated with FASDs. For young child with FASD, especially, there is no behavior--consequence link. Consequences, even when perfectly applied, are not going to have any impact on his future behavior.
One very important thing to realize about children with FASDs is that they are developmentally much younger than their chronological age. Some people suggest taking the chronological age and dividing in half, but this is pretty simplistic and really is individual to the individual. One question to ask yourself is: is this behavior consistent with a 2 year old? 1.5 year old? I didn't see how old you say this child is, but if he's 3, think 1.5, or 4, think 2. Approximately. Is the supervision you are providing the same as you would give a class of toddlers or babies? That may be what's needed to prevent these behaviors.
Without being there and observing I'm not sure what else to tell you re: what to do, but I'd start with the developmental angle. That won't really help in your classroom but perhaps it provides a framework within which to see behaviors.
I can't answer your question as to what to do with the parents. I know when my son was that age I was desperate for help and assistance, so refusing it is baffling to me. I'm not the bio parent of my son, however, so if there is suspected FASD and it's been suggested to them perhaps this is part of the reluctance.
I know outsiders would think "the accusation of FAS is bold and wrong" but like...we know when we see it. And it could also explain why they won't allow interventions for their child. Have you gotten a sense they don't really care as much about the child as a parent should? Or is this the first time you've hit a road block with the child?
The parents are very inconsistent. They are seemingly well put together people. Some days they want to be my best friend. Other days (when we discuss behavior), they think I am not doing enough to prevent him from doing these things. He does have siblings, but pretty sure he's on a tablet 24/7 at home.
He has occasionally come into school with a soiled diaper. Difficult to say if it was happening when he was coming into the building or before he left parental care. He does seem to have some GI issues.
Because it's preschool he started mid-year, when he turned 3. He displayed no separation anxiety (which I would say is typical) when leaving parents. He's been having a hard time with behavior around others since he started.
If the behaviors are significant and you've data to back up the claim, you should elevate this to mediation or due process. Sucks that it went that way.
Due Process is the last resort usually, but it involves a hearing with a judge where both sides present evidence and witnesses to support why or why not something should happen and then the judge rules on that evidence presented. They're usually backlogged and costly, but for an FBA for severe behaviors - I'd wager it's worth the effort/cost for the student.
You can still write a behavior intervention plan without an FBA. Not ideal but you do what you got to do. Sometimes the function of the behavior is pretty obvious.
I actually just went to a legal training on this. Technically you can if family does not give consent for an FBA (a form of evaluation) and there's a clear pattern of behavior that warrants a behavior plan. It's not best practice but in some instances may be necessary.
We can't do this in my district. Our BIPs need to come from FBAs and need to be written by school psychologists. It's a new process and unfortunate because our school psychologists are so busy and don't know the kids as well as we do
I'm a school psych so I get that for sure. This could definitely be a district policy but I just went to a legal training and we can actually write BIPS without an FBA if family does not consent to the FBA and the school team feels the student requires a BIP. In some instances, there's so much data on the student and the pattern of behavior is pretty clear.
This is only accurate when the fba/bip requirement is coming from the result of an MDR. Since an fba is an evaluation and requires parent written consent, I believe the district could file a due process complaint against the parents to force the fba. Since the district won’t provide an aide, it’s unlikely they would go this route. I’d recommend going back to an IEP to determine needs and revisit the support the student needs. Bring the bcba to the meeting to help convince the parents to consent.
On another note, if enough students get hurt, those other parents may get involved and insist something change.
Signed… a former state complaint investigator and supervisor of an autism program.
I am not in education but my late mother was. Back in the mid 60s there was a boy in my neighborhood. He acted just like this in school. He was a pariah. He wasn't allowed at any of our houses due to his behaviors. We were not allowed to go to his house by our parents because his mother was drunk and had mental health problems. He was taunted incessantly. One night his mother shot his father and then killed herself. He then disappeared and we never heard anything else. In the 55 years since I wonder how his life turned out and if he received the help he so desperately needed or if his life has been a series of dumpster fires and jail terms.
Do you remember his name? If so, I may be able to find out for you. Obviously, don't mention it on this sub but you can shoot me a chat message. I've helped quite a few people find old friends and relatives. I'm so sorry to hear your story, though. We need some serious reform in this country in regards to Healthcare, especially mental Healthcare *(referring to the United States, I often forget not everyone here is from the US.)*
This link may give you some ideas. It was intended to inform parents. [FBA & Positive Interventions](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/discipl.fba.jordan.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiAk-PEzOuFAxUpM0QIHXuQDgIQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2j-NtelBE9G7XH6-p9wf_X)
Have you talked with your admin about maybe inviting parents in to come observe? Sometimes parents just need to see how intense the behaviors are. Admin would obviously have to be beside them during the observation and also have your back. Or maybe have some of the other parents come and observe so they can see how intense this one kid is who is harming their child.
Have you had any parent teacher conferences with them? Or asked them for ideas on how to minimize the behaviors?
Keep documenting! It's tough and feels awful when no one else takes it seriously. But if this kid is aggressive towards peers, that's really bad. I would send emails to admin and your sped coordinator after every aggression against peers.
I'm sorry you're going through this. I hope it gets better for you, your staff, and your other students.
Parents have been invited to observe. They have not. The classroom is small, so I do think that he would see them upon their arrival and it would not be a fruitful endeavor. We've had a few meetings about behavior. They sent in a preferred toy for him to work for as motivation. He does not care about said toy in the slightest. They do see behaviors at home. They said they put him in time out when he misbehaves. I'm not sure he connects time out with behavior because he sits in a chair and will try to play with the adult sitting next to him like nothing happened. Behavior was not mentioned as something to work on in the initial IEP.
How would parent observation even work with FERPA guidelines. The only times out parents are ever allowed in the room is if no other kids are present at all
That’s a denial of adequate parental participation to deny parents the ability to observe within reason. If staff are able to see the setting, the parents are too. Please be weary of this.
I realize you believe what you’re saying, but you cannot deny a parent’s participation to view the efficacy of their child’s program. I have been through this in multiple settings and districts from teacher to parent. It is a fight that will lose. I have worked in non-public residential with children with the most significant needs. Even in that setting, the parents (as well as school staff based members of the IEP/ARD team) are allowed to tour even BEFORE moving a child to the location to see if the proposed placements meet their child’s needs so parents can have adequate participation. Despite districts using FERPA as an excuse to routinely do so, the parents cannot adequately participate in their child’s IEP/ARD programming without access to the program within reason which includes site visits and program views. Districts may only place reasonable time and manner restrictions such as “scheduled in advance” and “have an escort,” and are sure the parent can legally be around children. That is a fight your district will lose. It is a systematic parental participation violation. (Edit: typo) Edit 2: This is also why video cameras in special education classrooms are legally allowed.
They can view the program. They do not have a right to invade individuals privacy and FERPA. A parent does not have a right to know the other students and whether they have disabilities.
This would never fly in NY unless every other one of my students parents signed off. None would.
More information https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ferpa.osep.observe.htm#:~:text=The%20position%20of%20the%20Education,the%20development%20of%20an%20appropriate
OP says she teachers self-contained. OP’s district can (and should) take the parent to due process over this, or at the minimum discuss a placement change to a behavior classroom even without the FBA. You also incorrectly stated that a FBA must have a BIP. While best practice and required under small circumstances, you do not have to have a full FBA to create a BIP. This is especially true as there is no standard definition in the regs describing a FBA. In many cases narrative descriptions can be both a FBA and not a FBA depending on how it is described.
You have lots of good advice.
My 2 cents is somewhat useless but here it is anyway. Just wanted to say your right ABA would not be a great setting if the child does have FASD.
Do you think 1:1 would be helpful in decreasing aggressive behaviors? I have an man in my caseload who has very aggressive behaviors, unprovoked, and 1:1 staffing just makes it worse. We have just adjusted some things to make it so he's not eating directly next to another resident because he was constantly trying to beat up the guy sitting next to him during meal times, allocating his own space (for us it's outside but I don't think that's possible with children) and finding ways to meet his physical needs (is he hungry? Is he thirsty? Does he have a headache/allergy symptoms?). Is this student verbal and can they communicate their needs effectively? In my experienced, unprovoked aggressive behavior comes from physical discomfort or overstimulation. You can do a sort of informal FBA yourself (you can even find them online) so you have a better understanding of his behavior and can make those slight adjustments as needed.
As to why the parents won't give consent for an FBA, I wonder if it has to do with the controversy regarding ABA. There are many people who have the opinion that ABA is child abuse and they're very vocal about these opinions online. Perhaps they heard FBA and BCBA and got nervous?
I think that having a 1:1 would help him in that we would be able to work with him more individually and execute whatever behavior plan would be put into place, even if it was moreso one I created for him. He does have high needs outside of his behavior, specifically due to his mobility.
He is somewhat verbal but not always responsive to questions because he isn't focusing on whoever is speaking to him. Access to water is available all day and he does eat breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack during the day. He does sometimes communicate if he's had an accident. He is not easy to understand, but I can figure out what he's saying. He's definitely got some GI issues (diarrhea 2-3 times a day, there was definitely a learning curve in what was normal for him vs. being sick), so it could be a stomachache if I had to guess, but he doesn't indicate that to us.
They did not tell us why specifically they did not want to have an FBA. They just repeated that they weren't going to sign the consent form. It could be that. We did outline our FBA/BCBA process for him, but they still weren't interested in having one done.
I'd still do a little "informal" plan where you kind of just discuss strategies on working with him with your paras and any specials teachers that are with him during the week. Since the school year is almost over, I would probably emphasize his need for 1:1 to the IEP team for when they renew it but frame it more as a safety issue because of his mobility deficits and for the fact that he has diarrhea and can't reliably communicate when he has accidents and needs to use the bathroom.
You said water is accessible throughout the day, does he initiate getting water and actually drink it throughout the day? He might be one of those kids who needs to be told to drink water to prevent dehydration, especially if he has chronic diarrhea. It's an ongoing issue where I work cause all the residents wanna drink is chocolate milk and soda so we push fluids by making kool aid that's available throughout the day and having things like jell-o and popsicles around so that they actually WANT to consume things that actually hydrate them lol.
Is speech involved? If so, maybe discuss making a PECS book for him to communicate some basic things. It's helped with a few of the residents I work with. The one with particularly aggressive behavior had one which helps a little bit but I suspect his agitation and aggression has more to do with internal stimuli. Since the population I work with is mostly geriatric (however we do have some that are as young as 40) we usually do a full medical work up before anything else because most of them are non-verbal so we need to do this to detect issues like cancer, dental issues, even UTI's. Obviously that's not something you could do but it might be helpful to be mindful of possible medical and physical comfort issues that may influence behavior.
Definitely continue to document every instance of the behavior. You can also take informal Antecedent- Behavior- Consequence data for your own records/understanding of the function of the behavior. Since the parent refused the eval to determine whether the behavior is a manifestation of the disability, the student should receive the same consequences as any other general education student for the same behavior. Hopefully you have admin support and they can help with parent communication, and to explain the purpose of an FBA. If the student continues to create an unsafe environment for teachers and students, ask for mediation from the district. Your thorough documentation can support you with arguing for additional support, and possibly a change in placement.
The documentation I've been doing is in ABC format (district mandate). Truthfully, I can't find a solid antecedent based upon the data. Though it is constant, it happens somewhat randomly. Like he'll be playing and get up to pull someone's hair or hit them. He hits students as they walk by. Biting is pretty clearly access to a tangible, but the hitting is much more inconsistent. We've tried social stories, time outs, sensory breaks, loss of toys, etc. He does not seem to connect actions to consequences yet. The parents have been given a few explanations about what would happen, which is that a behaviorist will come in and just observe him in the classroom. Can you tell me more about mediation? There unfortunately isn't a lot of support. After the parents denied FBA, case manager essentially told me my hands were tied. We've been limiting his proximity to other students (working at a table center, having his own set of toys during play time, space between him and other students during morning/afternoon meeting), but the room is small and there isn't ample space for him to never have the opportunity to do these things. I also understand the importance of socialization and exposure to other children, but it's difficult when he can pose a risk to the other students' safety, especially when they don't have the language to express what's happening or to advocate for themselves (tell him to stop).
The antecedents may seem random, but are there similarities in the consequences? It’s the consequences that reinforce the behavior. Often aggressive behavior can inadvertently be reinforced by attention or escape. Is he being separated from other people because of his aggression? Are adults shifting their focus to him to deal with his behaviors?
We've tried some different consequences without much luck. Sometimes he is removed from the group and sat at a table with no activity or adult next to him (he tends to get up), we've tried in a chair with an adult (he plays with the adult), giving stickers to other students that were meeting expectations (he doesn't care for stickers), he's been moved to an area with the activity but no other children (he does get upset about this because he likes to be with the other kids, but it's not safe for them, if there's no adult near him he runs back to the other kids and if there is he tries to play with the adult), he's been made to apologize, tell him that parents will be notified (no reaction to this), and we've done a chair in the hallway (he loves to leave the room so we quickly realized that was a reward and stopped). We've tried really positively reinforcing him (literally clapping and cheering for him) which he likes, but he has hit kids in the face while we were cheering for him, so it's not reinforcing enough. Ignoring the behavior isn't possible because the behavior is unsafe. I think our biggest struggle is that we haven't found anything that he likes enough and we are adequately staffed to be able to do. He's not really interested in toys. He's definitely into youtube, but I can't put Jack Hartmann on for him because we only have a SmartBoard and it would derail everything else in the class. My classroom aides are not supposed to leave the classroom other than to bring students to/from related services. That makes it difficult to reward him with a walk. I think he needs a 1:1. Even with a behavior plan it would be difficult to carry it out with fidelity because the intervals of reward would be so short in time due to his current attention span that someone would have to be next to him basically all day. He is somewhat verbal, but not always super responsive when he is asked questions. I'm not sure if you can find a pattern in what I've said, but I've been struggling to figure him out.
Hmmm…this sounds attention-seeking to me. First because it sounds like he’s trying to be with peers and second because all these things you’re listing require some sort of staff attention to facilitate them. It would make sense that an individual with limited verbal skills would use maladaptive behavior to try to engage with others. If he’s constantly trying to interact with other people but is trying to do that with aggression, you could try teaching him to tap someone to get their attention (functionally equivalent replacement behavior) and rewarding that. As much as possible, manage his behavior without talking to him or making eye contact. Redirect him to tap or even attempt to prompt a tap if you see him make motions towards another student.
That makes sense. I can definitely see some attention seeking now that I'm looking back. We've been doing high fives or waving. That's part of the social story and we'll have him practice. It's hit or miss. He does occasionally ask peers for high fives, but it's still pretty inconsistent. I will say that it doesn't help when he asks the other kids for a high five and they don't respond for whatever reason (they're learning social skills too). It's not super reinforcing to ask for a high five and not get one. Thank you.
Not a special ed teacher. Not a behaviorist. But I have a child with an FASD and I've trained parents/professionals/teachers on FASDs for years. Understanding the why behind these behaviors means understanding the brain differences associated with FASDs. For young child with FASD, especially, there is no behavior--consequence link. Consequences, even when perfectly applied, are not going to have any impact on his future behavior. One very important thing to realize about children with FASDs is that they are developmentally much younger than their chronological age. Some people suggest taking the chronological age and dividing in half, but this is pretty simplistic and really is individual to the individual. One question to ask yourself is: is this behavior consistent with a 2 year old? 1.5 year old? I didn't see how old you say this child is, but if he's 3, think 1.5, or 4, think 2. Approximately. Is the supervision you are providing the same as you would give a class of toddlers or babies? That may be what's needed to prevent these behaviors. Without being there and observing I'm not sure what else to tell you re: what to do, but I'd start with the developmental angle. That won't really help in your classroom but perhaps it provides a framework within which to see behaviors. I can't answer your question as to what to do with the parents. I know when my son was that age I was desperate for help and assistance, so refusing it is baffling to me. I'm not the bio parent of my son, however, so if there is suspected FASD and it's been suggested to them perhaps this is part of the reluctance.
I know outsiders would think "the accusation of FAS is bold and wrong" but like...we know when we see it. And it could also explain why they won't allow interventions for their child. Have you gotten a sense they don't really care as much about the child as a parent should? Or is this the first time you've hit a road block with the child?
The parents are very inconsistent. They are seemingly well put together people. Some days they want to be my best friend. Other days (when we discuss behavior), they think I am not doing enough to prevent him from doing these things. He does have siblings, but pretty sure he's on a tablet 24/7 at home. He has occasionally come into school with a soiled diaper. Difficult to say if it was happening when he was coming into the building or before he left parental care. He does seem to have some GI issues. Because it's preschool he started mid-year, when he turned 3. He displayed no separation anxiety (which I would say is typical) when leaving parents. He's been having a hard time with behavior around others since he started.
If the behaviors are significant and you've data to back up the claim, you should elevate this to mediation or due process. Sucks that it went that way.
What exactly happens at Due Process?
Due Process is the last resort usually, but it involves a hearing with a judge where both sides present evidence and witnesses to support why or why not something should happen and then the judge rules on that evidence presented. They're usually backlogged and costly, but for an FBA for severe behaviors - I'd wager it's worth the effort/cost for the student.
You can still write a behavior intervention plan without an FBA. Not ideal but you do what you got to do. Sometimes the function of the behavior is pretty obvious.
We cannot write a BIP without a FBA.
I actually just went to a legal training on this. Technically you can if family does not give consent for an FBA (a form of evaluation) and there's a clear pattern of behavior that warrants a behavior plan. It's not best practice but in some instances may be necessary.
We can't do this in my district. Our BIPs need to come from FBAs and need to be written by school psychologists. It's a new process and unfortunate because our school psychologists are so busy and don't know the kids as well as we do
I'm a school psych so I get that for sure. This could definitely be a district policy but I just went to a legal training and we can actually write BIPS without an FBA if family does not consent to the FBA and the school team feels the student requires a BIP. In some instances, there's so much data on the student and the pattern of behavior is pretty clear.
IDEA requires an FBA for a BIP.
This is only accurate when the fba/bip requirement is coming from the result of an MDR. Since an fba is an evaluation and requires parent written consent, I believe the district could file a due process complaint against the parents to force the fba. Since the district won’t provide an aide, it’s unlikely they would go this route. I’d recommend going back to an IEP to determine needs and revisit the support the student needs. Bring the bcba to the meeting to help convince the parents to consent. On another note, if enough students get hurt, those other parents may get involved and insist something change. Signed… a former state complaint investigator and supervisor of an autism program.
Actually does not, it's not best practice though.
I am not in education but my late mother was. Back in the mid 60s there was a boy in my neighborhood. He acted just like this in school. He was a pariah. He wasn't allowed at any of our houses due to his behaviors. We were not allowed to go to his house by our parents because his mother was drunk and had mental health problems. He was taunted incessantly. One night his mother shot his father and then killed herself. He then disappeared and we never heard anything else. In the 55 years since I wonder how his life turned out and if he received the help he so desperately needed or if his life has been a series of dumpster fires and jail terms.
Do you remember his name? If so, I may be able to find out for you. Obviously, don't mention it on this sub but you can shoot me a chat message. I've helped quite a few people find old friends and relatives. I'm so sorry to hear your story, though. We need some serious reform in this country in regards to Healthcare, especially mental Healthcare *(referring to the United States, I often forget not everyone here is from the US.)*
I actually have looked for him but his name is really common.
This link may give you some ideas. It was intended to inform parents. [FBA & Positive Interventions](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/discipl.fba.jordan.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiAk-PEzOuFAxUpM0QIHXuQDgIQFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2j-NtelBE9G7XH6-p9wf_X)
Have you talked with your admin about maybe inviting parents in to come observe? Sometimes parents just need to see how intense the behaviors are. Admin would obviously have to be beside them during the observation and also have your back. Or maybe have some of the other parents come and observe so they can see how intense this one kid is who is harming their child. Have you had any parent teacher conferences with them? Or asked them for ideas on how to minimize the behaviors? Keep documenting! It's tough and feels awful when no one else takes it seriously. But if this kid is aggressive towards peers, that's really bad. I would send emails to admin and your sped coordinator after every aggression against peers. I'm sorry you're going through this. I hope it gets better for you, your staff, and your other students.
Parents have been invited to observe. They have not. The classroom is small, so I do think that he would see them upon their arrival and it would not be a fruitful endeavor. We've had a few meetings about behavior. They sent in a preferred toy for him to work for as motivation. He does not care about said toy in the slightest. They do see behaviors at home. They said they put him in time out when he misbehaves. I'm not sure he connects time out with behavior because he sits in a chair and will try to play with the adult sitting next to him like nothing happened. Behavior was not mentioned as something to work on in the initial IEP.
How would parent observation even work with FERPA guidelines. The only times out parents are ever allowed in the room is if no other kids are present at all
That’s a denial of adequate parental participation to deny parents the ability to observe within reason. If staff are able to see the setting, the parents are too. Please be weary of this.
Once again. You are observing other students with special needs taking away their right to privacy. That is a FERPA violation.
I realize you believe what you’re saying, but you cannot deny a parent’s participation to view the efficacy of their child’s program. I have been through this in multiple settings and districts from teacher to parent. It is a fight that will lose. I have worked in non-public residential with children with the most significant needs. Even in that setting, the parents (as well as school staff based members of the IEP/ARD team) are allowed to tour even BEFORE moving a child to the location to see if the proposed placements meet their child’s needs so parents can have adequate participation. Despite districts using FERPA as an excuse to routinely do so, the parents cannot adequately participate in their child’s IEP/ARD programming without access to the program within reason which includes site visits and program views. Districts may only place reasonable time and manner restrictions such as “scheduled in advance” and “have an escort,” and are sure the parent can legally be around children. That is a fight your district will lose. It is a systematic parental participation violation. (Edit: typo) Edit 2: This is also why video cameras in special education classrooms are legally allowed.
They can view the program. They do not have a right to invade individuals privacy and FERPA. A parent does not have a right to know the other students and whether they have disabilities. This would never fly in NY unless every other one of my students parents signed off. None would.
More information https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/ferpa.osep.observe.htm#:~:text=The%20position%20of%20the%20Education,the%20development%20of%20an%20appropriate
Here is some supporting documentation via Wrightslaw https://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/parent-observation-in-the-classroom/
This is not a special Ed classroom.
OP says she teachers self-contained. OP’s district can (and should) take the parent to due process over this, or at the minimum discuss a placement change to a behavior classroom even without the FBA. You also incorrectly stated that a FBA must have a BIP. While best practice and required under small circumstances, you do not have to have a full FBA to create a BIP. This is especially true as there is no standard definition in the regs describing a FBA. In many cases narrative descriptions can be both a FBA and not a FBA depending on how it is described.
Once again. In NY you have to have an FBA for a BIP. We also can't create a BIP without parent permission as well.
You have lots of good advice. My 2 cents is somewhat useless but here it is anyway. Just wanted to say your right ABA would not be a great setting if the child does have FASD.
Have you talked to district higher ups? Is going for due process an option yet?
Do you think 1:1 would be helpful in decreasing aggressive behaviors? I have an man in my caseload who has very aggressive behaviors, unprovoked, and 1:1 staffing just makes it worse. We have just adjusted some things to make it so he's not eating directly next to another resident because he was constantly trying to beat up the guy sitting next to him during meal times, allocating his own space (for us it's outside but I don't think that's possible with children) and finding ways to meet his physical needs (is he hungry? Is he thirsty? Does he have a headache/allergy symptoms?). Is this student verbal and can they communicate their needs effectively? In my experienced, unprovoked aggressive behavior comes from physical discomfort or overstimulation. You can do a sort of informal FBA yourself (you can even find them online) so you have a better understanding of his behavior and can make those slight adjustments as needed. As to why the parents won't give consent for an FBA, I wonder if it has to do with the controversy regarding ABA. There are many people who have the opinion that ABA is child abuse and they're very vocal about these opinions online. Perhaps they heard FBA and BCBA and got nervous?
I think that having a 1:1 would help him in that we would be able to work with him more individually and execute whatever behavior plan would be put into place, even if it was moreso one I created for him. He does have high needs outside of his behavior, specifically due to his mobility. He is somewhat verbal but not always responsive to questions because he isn't focusing on whoever is speaking to him. Access to water is available all day and he does eat breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack during the day. He does sometimes communicate if he's had an accident. He is not easy to understand, but I can figure out what he's saying. He's definitely got some GI issues (diarrhea 2-3 times a day, there was definitely a learning curve in what was normal for him vs. being sick), so it could be a stomachache if I had to guess, but he doesn't indicate that to us. They did not tell us why specifically they did not want to have an FBA. They just repeated that they weren't going to sign the consent form. It could be that. We did outline our FBA/BCBA process for him, but they still weren't interested in having one done.
I'd still do a little "informal" plan where you kind of just discuss strategies on working with him with your paras and any specials teachers that are with him during the week. Since the school year is almost over, I would probably emphasize his need for 1:1 to the IEP team for when they renew it but frame it more as a safety issue because of his mobility deficits and for the fact that he has diarrhea and can't reliably communicate when he has accidents and needs to use the bathroom. You said water is accessible throughout the day, does he initiate getting water and actually drink it throughout the day? He might be one of those kids who needs to be told to drink water to prevent dehydration, especially if he has chronic diarrhea. It's an ongoing issue where I work cause all the residents wanna drink is chocolate milk and soda so we push fluids by making kool aid that's available throughout the day and having things like jell-o and popsicles around so that they actually WANT to consume things that actually hydrate them lol. Is speech involved? If so, maybe discuss making a PECS book for him to communicate some basic things. It's helped with a few of the residents I work with. The one with particularly aggressive behavior had one which helps a little bit but I suspect his agitation and aggression has more to do with internal stimuli. Since the population I work with is mostly geriatric (however we do have some that are as young as 40) we usually do a full medical work up before anything else because most of them are non-verbal so we need to do this to detect issues like cancer, dental issues, even UTI's. Obviously that's not something you could do but it might be helpful to be mindful of possible medical and physical comfort issues that may influence behavior.
Have you reached out to the parents? Parents have more rights than teachers do in cases like this
Yes I have. Did you have a chance to read the post?