A LY S A VO S , M . S . BC B A

SOCIAL SKILLS & BEHAVIORASSESSMENT GOAL WRITING & SERVICE DELIVERY

WHAT'S MISSING?

PENDULUM SPED

21ST CENTURY LEARNER

OVERSIMPLIFICATION

RAINBOW OF DIVERSITY

IDEA

• The purposes of IDEA include ensuring that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education (FAPE) that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living. [34 CFR 300.1(a)] [20 U.S.C. 1400(d)(1)(A)]

Skills (Academics or

Functional)

Adaptive Behavior

Communication

Reduction of Problem Behavior

IT’S A PROCESS…

Assessment• Indirect• Direct

PLOPS• Specific

Goals• Baseline!• SMART

Services• Who What• Where?!?

Be Proactive! Do not wait until the

IEP!!

OK….SOCIAL SKILLS & BEHAVIOR…..EASY…..RIGHT…..

WHAT IS ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR?

Cohort of skills that allows each individual to meet standards of personal independence (Heward 2005)

Ability to meet current and future environmental demands (Gerhard et al., 2013)

Skills necessary to independently function across environments (Gerhardt et al. 2013)

Individuals with ASDs show more and greater impairments than age matched peers with nonspecific developmental delays ( Kenworthy et al., 2010; Rodrigue, Morgan & Geffken, 1991)

Children with ASDs do not acquire adaptive skills at a rate consistent with their age or cognitive development. (Kanne et al., 2011)

Adaptive behavior level and general cognitive functioning differ in a much greater magnitude for those who are higher functioning. (Bolte & Poustka, 2002)

Adaptive behavior linked to positive outcomes for adults with ASDs

• (Paul et al., 2004)

ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR COMPETENCIES

• Production: Motor Skills that constitute task completion separate from context. (Basic Skills)

• Navigation: Skills that enable an individual to independently respond to his/her environment. (Executive Skills)

• Social: Skills that enable a person to navigate the interpersonal environment in a way that is socially acceptable and allows them to access positive reinforcement. (Social Skills)

Gerhardt, Zawacki, and Satrial 2013

Executive• Response to

environment• Initiate• Sustain• Shift• Evaluate

Social• Communicate needs • Adhere to norms• Form relationships

Basic• Specific Skill

Set• ADLs• Empty trash

BASIC SKILLS (PRODUCTION)

• Take a shower• Brush your

teeth• Get Dressed• Operate a cash

register• Balance a check

book

• Go for a walk• Get on the Bus• Cook a meal• Make an

appointment

EXECUTIVE SKILLS

• Navigating your world requires goal-directed, purposeful behavior that is organized, coordinated and self regulated. These are executive functions (McCloskey , 2011).

•Inhibiting reflexive, impulsive responding;• Stopping, or interrupting, and returning

to, an ongoing activity;• Directing and focusing attentional

processes, screening out interference and distractions, and sustaining attention

• Cueing the initiation of effort and judgments about the amount of effort required to complete a task, and the sustaining of a sufficient amount of effort to effectively complete the task

• Demonstrating flexibility to consider the need for changes and the capacity for shifting of cognitive resources to focus on new demands or to respond to new conditions or new information

• Directing the efficient use of, and alternation between, pattern and detail processing (Knowing when to focus on the “big picture” and when to concentrate on the details, and when to switch between the two).

• Monitoring and regulating speed of information processing; finding the right combination of speed and accuracy for optimal performance of an activity

• Monitoring and correcting task performance for accuracy and efficiency

• Overseeing the selection of verbal-nonverbal and abstract-concrete information processing mechanisms

• Directing motor output, altering performance based on feedback

• Directing the efficient use of fluid reasoning resources

• Directing the use of working memory resources – that is, directing the ability to hold and mentally manipulate information

• Directing the efficient and fluent production of language when highly specific production demands are made

• Directing the integration of multiple abilities to produce oral or written responses or products that reflect the level of capacity of the component abilities involved

• Directing the efficient placement of information in long-term storage

• Directing the retrieval of information from long-term storage

• Regulating social behavior• Regulating emotional control• Enabling self-observation and self-

analysis• Making use of hindsight and foresight

in the direction of current processing• Enabling the capacity to “take the

perspective of the other” in order to infer how someone Executive Functions: A General Overview 2011 George

McCloskey, Ph.D

Social Skills Taxonomy•Early, Intermediate and Advanced

•Not Mutually Exclusive•From “Crafting Connections”•Leaf, Taubman, McEachin 2011

Social Awareness• Jokes•Perspective Taking•Understanding Impact of Behavior on Others

Social Communication•Subtleness•Persuasion•Reciprocity• Interrupting

Social Interaction•Assertion•Negotiation•Decision Making•Problem Solving•Attention Seeking

Social Learning•Observational Learning•Vicarious Learning• Information Seeking•Group Effect

Social Relatedness•Attachments•Friendship •Empathy•Compassion

“Social Skills”

This list represents just a FEW social skills students may need explicit instruction and practice in!

INTERVENTION PLANNING PROCESS•Person Centered Planning•MAPS/ Paths

•Motivational Interviewing•Identifies areas to further assess•Helps create action plan

Initial Planning

• Indirect• DirectAssessment

• Set SMART Goals• Value • Ecological Validity

• Who, What , When Where

Planning

• Frequency/Intensity• Context• Research Based StrategiesImplementation

• Fidelity of Implementation• Student ProgressMonitoring

MY INNER ASSESSMENT DIALOGUE

• Define the problem• What does formal assessment ‘say’?• What is ‘not right’• If I placed the student in gen ed or a job right now

what would the barriers be?• What tools will best evaluate / demonstrate this

individuals strengths and needs?• What direct data do I need to collect to clarify the

results?

ASSESSMENT……

• Informal Transition Assessment Methods

• Interviews and Questionnaires

• Direct Observation• Environmental or

Situational Analysis

• Curriculum-based Assessments

• School Performance Measures

• Transition Planning Inventories

• Formal Transition Assessment Methods

• Achievement Tests• Adaptive Behavior

and Independent Living

• Aptitude Tests• Interest Inventorie

s• Intelligence Tests• Personality or Pref

erence Tests• Career Developme

nt Measures• On the Job or Train

ing Evaluations• Self-determination

Assessments

ASSESSMENT….

• Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS)• Vineland• ABAS-II• SIB-R• VABS-II• Brigance• VB MAPP• BRIEF• NEPSY-II• DKEFS• DREFS

And the most important of all……

ASSESSMENT..

DATA COLLECTION

• Excess or Deficit?• Frequency• Intensity• Duration• Latency

DO WE REALLY NEED A GOAL FOR THAT??

MYTHS

• “Executive skills are thinking skills- They are not observable/measurable”• You can’t define “advanced” social skills• “But we have to work on TEKS”• He doesn't need behavior goals because he

doesn't have “problem behavior” (ie he is not aggressive)

MYTHS• You cant really write observable measureable goals for

advanced social skills, executive functioning skills.

• Some students need prompts written into their goals in order to achieve them in one year.

*** Common practice but HUGE RED flag. • Is the goal inappropriate? Does the student need stronger

behavioral programing?

• “Its not our responsibility to teach that”

• “He works on that ‘in’ speech”

VALIDITY

Goal: By 1/12/13 Johnny will approach a peer and ask “can I play”

We may not be able to see “thinking” like executive functioning or perspective taking but we can see the results of it…

MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

• [Your Child’s Name] will develop the ability to attend to individual tasks and will improve processing speed through the use of timers and cuing utilized with the entire class in the general classroom.

• [Your Child’s Name] will improve organization skills for classroom work and homework through specific, repetitive instruction, and use of: · personal daily checklist · binder / notebook with labeled sections for each subject · homework folder with pocket dividers inserted in main binder / notebook.

• Given direct instruction in using a timeline template for completing long-term assignments, Student will chain through each step in the time allotted, to complete 3 assignments, given direct verbal cues and ongoing monitoring.

• By 1/12/15 When given a single step verbal instruction by a familiar adult Sara will initiate following the instruction with in 10 seconds on 80% of opportunities across 3 weeks.

• By 1/12/15 Adam will complete 3 mastered tasks (ie wash dishes, fold clothes, wipe table) and transition to a preferred activity using a provided visual schedule on 90% of opportunities across 4 weeks.

• By 1/12/15 Declan will write his assignments in his planner with 90% accuracy on 5 of 5 days across 3 weeks.

• By 1/12/15 Given a selection of 3 activities for a therapy or instructional session, Matthew will indicate their order, create a plan on paper (e.g., with photographs), and stick to the plan on 9 of 10 opportunities across 3 weeks.

• By 1/12/15 Sahar will follow the attached task analysis (evaluate, proximity, listen, add a thought) for joining a group with 100% accuracy on 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 weeks.

• By 1/12/15 Given a selection of 3 activities for a therapy or instructional session, Matthew will indicate their order, create a plan on paper, and stick to the plan on 9 of 10 opportunities across 3 weeks.

By 1/12/15 Matthew will engage “professional conversation” (on-topic, non-perseverative, respectful) for 90% of his CBVI as measured by 5 minute whole interval time sampling across 3 weeks.

PROMPTS & ACCOMMODATIONS

• Prompts vs Accommodations• “Visual” prompt vs Independent use of a

visual schedule as accommodation

• Prompts are an instructional strategy that should be faded immediately!!

• Accommodations… Be careful, be reasonable

• DO NOT write a Prompt into a goal!!!

GOAL VS TEACHING STRATEGY

• By 1/12/15 Matthew will engage “professional conversation” (on-topic, non-perseverative, respectful) for 90% of his CBVI as measured by 5 minute whole interval time sampling across 3 weeks.• Discrimination Training Professional vs Unprofessional• Initiation & greetings• Conversation practice- Add a comment, topics• 5pt scale Anxiety

SERVICES

She works on her communication goals “in speech”

Consultation vs Direct

Acquisition, Fluency, Generalization, Maintenance

Who? What? Where? How Often?

DATA DATA DATA

CONTEXT & FREQUENCY

The CONTENT or what we teach.The METHODS or how we teach.

The CONTEXT in which we teach it.The INTENSITY with which we teach it

AUTISM SUPPLEMENT•   (1)  extended educational programming (for example: extended day and/or extended school year services

that consider the duration of programs/settings based on assessment of behavior, social skills, communication, academics, and self-help skills); Behavior or Social Skills!!

• (2)  daily schedules reflecting minimal unstructured time and active engagement in learning activities (for example: lunch, snack, and recess periods that provide flexibility within routines; adapt to individual skill levels; and assist with schedule changes, such as changes involving substitute teachers and pep rallies); Active Engagement, Consistent implementation of Behavior Interventions

• (3)  in-home and community-based training or viable alternatives that assist the student with acquisition of social/behavioral skills (for example: strategies that facilitate maintenance and generalization of such skills from home to school, school to home, home to community, and school to community);

• (4)  positive behavior support strategies based on relevant information, for example:• (A)  antecedent manipulation, replacement behaviors, reinforcement strategies, and data-based

decisions; and• (B)  a behavioral intervention plan developed from a functional behavioral assessment that uses current

data related to target behaviors and addresses behavioral programming across home, school, and community-based settings;

• (5)  beginning at any age, consistent with subsection (h) of this section, futures planning for integrated living, work, community, and educational environments that considers skills necessary to function in current and post-secondary environments;

• (6)  parent/family training and support, provided by qualified personnel with experience in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), that, for example:• (A)  provides a family with skills necessary for a student to succeed in the home/community setting;• (B)  includes information regarding resources (for example: parent support groups, workshops, videos,

conferences, and materials designed to increase parent knowledge of specific teaching/management techniques related to the student's curriculum); and

• (C)  facilitates parental carryover of in-home training (for example: strategies for behavior management and developing structured home environments and/or communication training so that parents are active participants in promoting the continuity of interventions across all settings);

• (7)  suitable staff-to-student ratio appropriate to identified activities and as needed to achieve social/behavioral progress based on the student's developmental and learning level (acquisition, fluency, maintenance, generalization) that encourages work towards individual independence as determined by, for example:• (A)  adaptive behavior evaluation results;• (B)  behavioral accommodation needs across settings; and• (C)  transitions within the school day;

• (8)  communication interventions, including language forms and functions that enhance effective communication across settings (for example: augmentative, incidental, and naturalistic teaching); CORE DEFICIT!

• (9)  social skills supports and strategies based on social skills assessment/curriculum and provided across settings (for example: trained peer facilitators (e.g., circle of friends), video modeling, social stories, and role playing); CORE DEFICIT!

• (10)  professional educator/staff support (for example: training provided to personnel who work with the student to assure the correct implementation of techniques and strategies described in the IEP); and

• (11)  teaching strategies based on peer reviewed, research-based practices for students with ASD (for example: those associated with discrete-trial training, visual supports, applied behavior analysis, structured learning, augmentative communication, or social skills training).

HOW DO WE TEACH THESE?

WHERE THINGS FALL APART…

• Value • Ecological Validity• Methods • Frequency/Intensity• Context

METHODS

TEACHING STRATEGIES

• Evidenced based practice overview (good explanation and legal background):• http://

education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/specialedjournal/MarderandFraser

• National Standards Project• http://www.nationalautismcenter.org/national-standards-p

roject/

• NPDC on ASDs• http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/evidence-based-practices• http://

autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/sites/autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/files/2014-EBP-Report.pdf

CONTEXT & FREQUENCY

The CONTENT or what we teach.The METHODS or how we teach.

The CONTEXT in which we teach it.The INTENSITY with which we teach it

BEHAVIOR & SOCIAL SKILLS GOALS + SERVICES

• All Day• Every day• All the time!

• How are you working on these goals across the school day?• How is this skill being taught systematically?• How is he working on initiation in English?• What is you plan for generalizing this?• How often will data be collected on the behavior? How

often will data be reported to me?• Great! Please send me the data sheets so I can review

them!

WHAT CAN I DO????

• Start conversations well ahead of the IEP• Ask questions, add information- Crucial

Conversations.• Set goals. Identify Barriers. Make a Plan.• Supervise Implementation of the Plan.• Find knowledgeable professionals.