Supporting Students with Disabilities within Inclusive Settings

1. Supporting Students with Disabilities within Inclusive Settings Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 Adapted from PaTTAN

2. The Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Education working in partnership with families and local education agencies to support programs and services to improve student learning and achievement. PaTTAN’s Mission

3. Recognizing that the placement decision is an Individualized Education Program (IEP) team decision, our goal for each child is to ensure IEP teams begin with the general education setting with the use of supplementary aids and services before considering a more restrictive environment. PDE’s Commitment to Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

4. District, IU, Preschool, Agency Policy Your local district’s policies regarding paraeducator job descriptions, duties, and responsibilities provide the final word!

5. Agenda • Rationale for Inclusive Practices • Supports to Promote Independence • Cues and Prompts • Peripheral Supports • Facilitating Peer Relationships and Interactions

6. Learner Outcomes Participants will: • Describe the rationale for educating students with disabilities in general education settings • Define the role of the paraeducator in developing independence of students with disabilities

7. Learner Outcomes Participants will: • Define and practice support strategies that increase independence for students • Identify ways to provide the least intrusive support in general education settings • Identify strategies to facilitate relationships between students with and without disabilities

8. A Question to Consider Why educate students with disabilities in general education environments?

9. Special Education Is a SERVICE Not a PLACE

10. The presumption is that IEP teams beginplacement discussions with the consideration of the regular education classroom with the supplementary aids and services needed to benefit from educational services

11. Where Are We Now?

12. Supports in the General Education Classroom Classroom Supports • Differentiating supports when working with a group • Adaptations/Accommodations

13. Supports in the General Education Classroom Classroom Supports • Modeling Acceptance • Using Person First Language • Practice Disability Etiquette

14. Supports to Promote Independence What can I do to develop student independence while supporting students in general education settings?

15. Supports to Promote Independence Student • Is he/she as independent as he might be or as others? • Is he/she ready to learn and does he take charge of his learning? • Does he/she need prompts? Is there a plan to fade/reduce prompts?

16. Supports to Promote Independence Why Build Independence?

17. Supports to Promote Independence The student can: • Make progress and achieve • Have membership in the school • community • Be a lifelong learner

18. Supports to Promote Independence How do we build independence? • Less intrusive supports • Less audible supports • Facilitating peer to peer interactions

19. Less Intrusive What do we mean by intrusiveness?

21. Less Audible What do we mean by less audible?

24. Wait Time Set Up and Walk Away Reinforcers Modeling Shaping Fading Supports in the Regular Education Classroom Matching Supports to Student Needs * Some Samples

25. Partial Participation Cues Prompts Supports in the Regular Education Classroom Matching Supports to Student Needs * Some Samples

26. Supports in the Regular Education Classroom • Partial Participation

27. Supports in the Regular Education Classroom Cues • Natural cues are sounds, smells, objects, visual or tactile representations that are consistently or predictably present in the environment. • Emphasized or exaggerated cues are built up natural cues, but make the cue more obvious to the student.

28. Supports in the Regular Education Classroom Matching Prompts to Student Needs • Draw attention to the natural cue in some way • Ask a question about necessary action • Give an option • Tell the student what action to take • Physically guide the student through the process.

29. Supports in the Regular Education Classroom Reducing Prompt Dependency • Authentic responses that work • Watch proximity! • Limit eye contact. • Allow time to respond

31. www.ed.utah.edu

32. Using Cues and Prompts Let’s take a closer look

33. Natural Cue: It’s 10:00 Math Time Cues/Prompts Student will takeout math book and prepare for lesson Gesture- Look at the clock or look at the other students. Point to another student’s math book or nod your head toward them Hint-Ask a question that may lead to the student figuring out what to do Option/Choice- Do you need to get out your math book or your writing journal? Command- Get out your math book Physical Assistance- Assist to retrieve the math book Does the student perform skill correctly? YES Intrinsic reinforcer: Student participates in math lesson Does student make connection between natural & intrinsic R NO Student demonstrates behavior independently YES

34. Natural Cue:: It’s raining outside Cueing, Prompting Student will take umbrella when he/she goes outside • Draw attention to the natural cue/prompt in some way “Look it’s raining outside” • Ask a question about a necessary action “What do you need to take when it’s raining outside?” • Give an option “ It’s raining outside, do you need to take a broom or an umbrella?” • Tell the student what action to take “ It’s raining outside, take your umbrella” • Physically guide the student through the process Does the student perform the skill correctly? NO YES Intrinsic reinforcer: Student stays dry Does student make connection between natural cue, behavior, and intrinsic reinforcer? NO YES Student demonstrates behavior independently

35. Natural Cue:: It’s raining outside Modeling Student will take umbrella when he/she goes outside • Point out someone who is doing the behavior correctly “ Look , Mark has his umbrella. He is ready for a rainy day. He won’t get wet.” • Demonstrate the action that needs to be taken • Paraeducator models getting an umbrella…. Does the student perform the skill correctly? NO YES Intrinsic reinforcer: Student stays dry Does student make connection between natural cue, behavior, and intrinsic reinforcer? NO YES Student demonstrates behavior independently

36. Natural Cue:: It’s raining outside Shaping Student will take umbrella when he/she goes outside • Break the task/behavior into smaller steps • Model steps • Have student complete initial or final step • Gradually add steps for student to complete • Paraeducator begins by asking the student to go to the window and identify the weather. If the student reports rain, the paraeducator helps the student locate his/her umbrella. Gradually the paraeducator would be doing less and less while the student gains independence Does the student perform the skill correctly? NO YES Intrinsic reinforcer: Student stays dry Does student make connection between natural cue, behavior, and intrinsic reinforcer? NO YES Student demonstrates behavior independently

37. Natural Cue:: It’s raining outside Wait Time Student will take umbrella when he/she goes outside • After questioning/modeling, the paraeducator allows adequate time for the student to respond • After asking the student, “What do you need on a rainy day?”, the paraeducator allows the student time to respond before providing any further cues or prompts Does the student perform the skill correctly? NO YES Intrinsic reinforcer: Student stays dry Does student make connection between natural cue, behavior, and intrinsic reinforcer? NO YES Student demonstrates behavior independently

38. Natural Cue::It’s 10:00 Math Time Intrinsic Reinforcers Student will takeout math book and prepare for lesson For some, completing an activity like finishing a book, may be intrinsically reinforcing When someone responds to our greeting, we may be pleased and therefore, increase the rate of initiating greetings Does the student perform the skill correctly? NO YES Intrinsic reinforcer: Student participates in math lesson Does student make connection between natural cue, behavior, and intrinsic reinforcer? NO YES Student demonstrates behavior independently

39. Focusing on Intrinsic Reinforcers Natural Cue:: It’s raining outside Student will take umbrella when he/she goes outside • Draw attention to the natural consequences of performing the behavior “ Good for you. You remembered to use your umbrella. You were able to stay dry.” • Ask a question about what natural consequences resulted from performing the behavior “ Why did you stay dry? What did you take with you into the rain that helped to keep you dry?” • Pair the intrinsic reinforcer with an extrinsic one • Student receives a sticker every time he is appropriately dressed for the weather • Student is allowed to participate in free time activities or a preferred activity because he/she used the umbrella appropriately Does the student perform the skill correctly? NO YES Intrinsic reinforcer: Student stays dry Does student make connection between natural cue, behavior, and intrinsic reinforcer? NO YES Student demonstrates behavior independently

40. Your Turn

41. Natural Cue: Cues/Prompts Does the student perform the skill correctly? NO YES Intrinsic reinforcer: Does student make connection between natural cue, behavior, and intrinsic reinforcer? NO YES Student demonstrates behavior independently

42. Natural Cue::It’s Intrinsic Reinforcers Does the student perform the skill correctly? NO YES Intrinsic reinforcer: Does student make connection between natural cue, behavior, and intrinsic reinforcer? NO YES Student demonstrates behavior independently

44. Take notes for student for later review Increase prominence of material (color coding; increase size) Provide pictorial/visual cues Construct and promote the use of visual supports (schedules, choice boards, reminder cards) Supports in the Regular Education Classroom Peripheral Supports Adapted from How to be a ParaPro Starfish Specialty Pub. 2000

45. Supports in the Regular Education Classroom Peripheral Supports • Pair verbal cues with a gesture • Prepare and monitor use of organizational tools (calendars, assignment sheets, etc) • Develop checklist to sequence the steps in a task • Develop and use adaptations to materials when needed

46. Supports in the Regular Education Classroom Peripheral Supports • Promote and monitor the use of timers • Seize opportunities to reduce the intrusiveness of peripheral support, where appropriate

49. “Fair does not mean that every child gets the same treatment, but that every child gets what he or she needs.” Richard D. Lavoie

50. Supports that Promote Independence • Less intrusive • Less audible • Promote independent participation through cues and prompts • Can be peripheral