Class Website  “Select a School” pull down menu at the top of the page  Mill Lake Elementary School  “Staff Webpages” tab  Biddick, Jennifer

Classroom Team Teacher: Miss Jen Paraprofessionals: Ms. Epstein, Ms. Manhary, Ms. Lori W., Ms. Granda

Related Services & Specials Speech Therapist: Stacey Liebross Occupational Therapist: Jim Bowe Physical Therapist: Annette Harduby Library: Brant Lutska Gym: Charlene Lombard

Important People Behavior Specialist: Karitssa Barry Intern – Ms. Celia Case Manager: Kim Wasnesky Principal: Dr. Lynn Barberi Director of Pupil Personnel Services: Marietta Ruella Supervisor of Pupil Personnel Services: Marie Pepe

Food Allergies Peanuts Eggs Chicken Seafood Shrimp Green peas Mustard *These foods are not banned, we ask you simply be mindful when making food choices (e.g., if substitutes are available or other choices are available). Parents of children with allergies will be notified prior to parties or cooking activities to approve foods and/or send in alternatives. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

ABA Terminology Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA is the practical application of the foundations of behaviorism. The formal definition is: "The science in which procedures derived from the principles of behavior are systematically applied to improve socially significant behavior to a meaningful degree and to demonstrate experimentally that the procedures employed were responsible for the improvement in behavior.“ (Cooper, Heron, Howard, 1987) In layman's terms, changes in behavior are measured and shown to be the result of procedures used by the teacher or parent.

Discrete Trial Instruction DTI. Discrete Trial Instruction. This is a type of teaching in which each learning opportunity is a separate event consisting of three to four parts. Typically, the parts are the S D, response, and consequence (reinforcement, error correction, etc.). Other parts that may be mentioned are prompts and inter-trial interval (time between trials).

Natural Environment Training NET. Natural Environment Training. This is a type of teaching in which the focus is on the child's immediate interests. It is less structured than DTI and conducted in the child's typical daily environment at a generalized level from the start. This allows the instructor to capitalize on naturally occurring events. Stimuli and reinforcers are kept natural in this teaching style.

Verbal Behavior VB. Verbal Behavior. This involves a classification system of verbal language including mand, tact, intraverbal, etc. Words serve different functions and each function must be taught individually. Some classes may be taught simultaneously, such as mand and echoic. “In defining verbal behavior as behavior reinforced through the mediation of other persons, we do not, and cannot, specify any one form, mode, or medium. Any movement capable of affecting another organism may be verbal.” (from Verbal Behavior, pg. 14)

Verbal Operants  Mand. A request. "I want ____."  Echoic. Vocal imitation of a word. You say, "eat" and the child repeats "eat."  Receptive Language. Language that requires following a direction to do a task. This demonstrates a child's comprehension of language. You say "touch dog" and the child touches a picture of a dog.  Tact. Label. You hold up a picture of a dog and say, "What is it?" - the child says, "dog."  RFFC. Receptive Identification by Feature, Function, and Class. A child receptively identifies a picture or object based on a description of the object without the label. For example, a car's features are wheels, doors, and windows. A car's functions are driving and riding. The class of a car is vehicle.  Intraverbal. A verbal exchange with someone. You say, " What's your name?" and the child responds "Sam."

Picture Exchange Communication System PECS. Picture Exchange Communication System.

Program Terms  Program. A written record of how to teach a particular skill.  Daily/Data sheet. Printout of a student’s current programs on which staff collects data.  Baseline. The collection of data on a particular behavior or skill prior to implementing an intervention or program.  Target skill. An untrained skill.  Mastered skill. A skill that has already achieved met criteria for acquisition and generalization. May be included in “Monthly Maintenance.”  Interspersals. The mixing of mastered and target skills within a session.  Generalization. Demonstration of a target skill using untrained materials, instructors, S D ’s, settings, etc.

Other Helpful Terms & Acronyms  GMI. Gross Motor Imitation.  IG. Ignore.  Agg. Aggression.  SIB. Self-injurious behavior.  IPP/IEP. Individualized Program Plan/Individualized Education Plan – The list of goals and objectives that comprise each student’s curriculum for the current year. Each program represents an IEP objective.  AM/PM. Morning/Afternoon work session.  BM. Bowel movement.

Catchphrases  Make it worthwhile Reinforcement & Motivation  Wait for it Learning to Learn  Hands off Prompting

Reinforcement Systematic use of reinforcement is the most powerful tool in strengthening/teaching a new behavior.

Reinforcement  Consequence to a behavior which maintains that behavior or increases the frequency with which it occurs.  A reward is not a reinforcer.  May not be planned.  Tip: If a consequence is used contingently, consistently and immediately and it does not increase the frequency of the behavior it follows, it is not a reinforcer.

Reinforcement  Primary Reinforcers  Secondary Reinforcers  Different stimuli may (or may not) serve as reinforcers to different individuals across different situations!  Focus on:  Positive Reinforcement!  A stimulus that occurs immediately following a behavior, results in that behavior occurring more often or with greater intensity.

Pairing “The main purpose of pairing is to associate the instructor as a form of conditioned reinforcement for the child. That is, the child should learn to like the instructor, before the instructor begins requiring work from the child.” -Sundberg and Partington, 1998 “The learner has to want to be in the instructional environment for effective and efficient learning to take place.” -Fabrizio, 2007 International Precision Teaching Conference

Prompts  Additional assistance, presented during or immediately after a stimulus, that increases the likelihood that a particular behavior will occur.  Techniques that can be used across a wide range of settings and can facilitate expressive, receptive, imitative, motoric, and matching responses.

Prompts  Additional assistance, presented during or immediately after a stimulus, that increases the likelihood that a particular behavior will occur.  Techniques that can be used across a wide range of settings and can facilitate expressive, receptive, imitative, motoric, and matching responses.

Prompts Many types of prompts!  Physical (P) – Hand-over-hand  Faded Physical (FP) – Light touch  Gesture (G) – Point  Model (M) – Model response  Vocal instructions – Step-by-step guidance

Prompts Many types of prompts!  Verbal Model (VM) – Model entire vocal response  Faded Verbal Model (FVM) – Model part/beginning of vocal response

Prompts In general, mastery criterion will require independence, that is, no prompts or assistance provided to respond correctly.

“Learning to Learn” from Leaf & MacEachin’s A Work in Progress  Attending  Returning reinforcers  Hands still  Waiting  Responding to instructions  Changing behavior based upon feedback  Learning from prompts  Remaining calm  Persistence  Staying on task  Leaving materials alone

Catchphrases  Make it worthwhile Reinforcement & Motivation  Wait for it Learning to Learn  Hands off Prompting

Assessment Tools  The Behavioral Language Assessment (BLA)  Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills – Revised (ABLLS-R)  Verbal Behavior – Milestones Assessment and Placement Program

The Behavioral Language Assessment (BLA)  Cooperation with Adults  Requests (Mands)  Motor Imitation  Vocal Play  Vocal Imitation (Echoic)  Matching-to-Sample  Receptive  Labeling (Tacts)  Receptive by Feature, Function, and Class  Conversational Skills (Intraverbals)  Letters and Numbers  Social Interaction Allows evaluators to determine a starting point for language programming.

Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills – Revised (ABLLS-R)  Cooperation & Reinforcer Effectiveness  Visual Performance  Receptive Language  Motor Imitation  Vocal Imitation  Requests  Labeling  Intraverbals  Spontaneous Vocalizations  Syntax & Grammar  Play & Leisure  Group Instruction  Classroom Routines  Generalized Responding  Reading  Math 476 skills in a task analysis  Writing  Spelling  Dressing  Eating  Grooming  Toileting  Gross Motor  Fine Motor

Verbal Behavior – Milestones Assessment and Placement Program  Mand  Tact  Echoic  Intraverbal  Listener  Motor Imitation  Independent Play  Social & Social Play  Visual Perceptual & Matching-to-Sample  Linguistic Structure  Group & Classroom Skills  Mathematics  Reading  Writing  EESA (Early Echoic Skills Assessment) Level 1: 0-18 months, Level 2: months, Level 3: months

Your Child’s Program Assessment results are compiled and analyzed to determine appropriate IEP goals for your child. IEP goals will translate to programs and be the individualized curriculum for your child for that IEP year.

Thank you for coming! We hope that you found Back to School Night fun and informative. Please let me know if you have any general questions or comments. Questions specific to your child can be addressed by scheduling a time to meet with Miss Jen by phone or in person. Please let me know if this would be helpful for you!