Writing Meaningful IEPs for Students with Severe Multiple Disabilities The Provincial Integration Support Program

This workshop will address key points in the development of IEPs that blend therapeutic goals with functional educational outcomes

The ultimate goal of an educational program for a student with severe and multiple disabilities is to provide a balance of experiences that lead to a quality adult life

Key Concepts Long Range Planning Present Level of Performance Measurable Annual Goals Measurable Educational Objectives Measuring and Reporting Progress

Long Range Planning John O’Brien identifies five broad outcomes as the foundation for Long Range Planning Community Presence Choice Competence Respect Community Participation

Community Presence The sharing of ordinary places that define community life Without intentionality to this goal people with severe disabilities will be separated from everyday settings by segregated facilities, “special” activities, and different schedules Presence will increase the number of ordinary places the person knows and can access What community settings does the person use regularly (daily, weekly, occasionally)? To which of these places does the person go alone? As part of a group of two or three? As part of a larger group? Does the person have any significant problem using any of these places? What other community settings would it be in the person’s interest to use, or to use more independently? What would it take to increase the number of community settings the person uses completely? (Consider changes in the person’s skills, changes in available support, negotiating changes in the setting)

Choice The experience of autonomy in small everyday matters (e.g. what to wear) and in large matters that define your life (e.g. with whom you live) Without intentionality people with severe disabilities will be passive and without voice Valued activities increase the variety and significance of the choices a person makes What decisions are regularly made by the person? What decisions are made for the person by others? For which of these could decision making be transferred to the person himself or herself? What are the person’s strongest interest and preferences that make him or her unique? What would it take to increase the number, variety, and importance of the decisions the person makes? What would it take to increase others’ knowledge of the person’s interests and preferences?

Competence The opportunity to perform functional and meaningful activities with whatever level of support is required Without intentionality people with severe disabilities will be deprived of the expectations and opportunities that lead to the development of greater competence Valued activities provide the opportunity to build competence in areas that are personally important What skills could the person develop that would offer the most opportunity for increased presence, choice, respect and participation? What strategies for instruction and assistance have been most effective for the person? Are there more efficient strategies than instruction, such as environmental modification or provision of additional personal assistance? Are there any health-related threats to the person’s continuing development? How can these be managed effectively with minimal disruption of good quality life experiences? What would it take to increase the person’s competence in more valued activities?

Respect Having a valued place with others and a valued role in community life Without intentionality people with severe disabilities are relegated to low-status community roles that limit opportunities to be seen and valued as individuals Valued activities challenge these stereotypes and provide access to valued roles What are the valued community roles the person occupies and what percentage of time is spent in each? Which community roles offer the person the best opportunity to express individual gifts and talents? What images and ideas about a desirable future are available to the person? Does the person display any characteristics that reinforce stereotypes perceptions of people with developmental disabilities? (Consider the images projected by activities, schedules, expectations and the way the person is spoken to or about) What would it take to decrease the stigma the person experiences?

Community Participation The experience of being involved in networks of personal relationships that include close friends Without intentionality people with severe disabilities become known only to those who are paid to be in their lives Valued activities provide opportunities for people to develop a variety of types of relationships With whom does the person spend the most time on a daily and weekly basis? How many of these people are other clients/students in the same program? How many are program staff? How many are people without apparent handicaps? Are there other important people in the person’s social network with whom the person spends time occasionally? Who are the person’s friends and allies? Who knows the person intimately? Who will act as an advocate for his or her interests? What would it take to provide better support for the person’s present network of relationships? What would it take to develop more friends or allies? What would it take to increase the number of non-disabled people, including age-peers, who know and spent time with the person as an individual?

Long Range Planning MAPS (McGill Action Planning System) PATH (Planning alternative Tomorrows with Hope) MAPS is a group, problem-solving, collaborative team approach to program planning. It is a tool, which in the hands of a creative facilitator is designed to help individuals, organisations and families move into the future effectively and creatively. There are eight key questions in the process and they must all be asked by the process facilitator. The order in which they are asked may, however, be quite flexible, based on group dynamics and the flow of the planning meeting.

MAPS What is a MAP? What is the student’s history? What is your dream for_________? What is your nightmare for________? Who is ________? What are ________’s strengths, gifts and talents? What are ________’s needs and challenges? What action plans are needed to meet these needs and avoid these nightmares? The first step in a process of planning for the future is to discover what the young person’s special qualities are, what are his/her interests and aspirations, and what are the hopes and aspirations of the family and people closest to him or her. A highly effective way of doing this is through the development of "action plans", which result from the McGill Action Planning System, or MAPS. MAPS is a group, problem-solving, collaborative team approach to program planning. It is a tool designed to help individuals, organisations and families move into the future effectively and creatively. There are eight key questions in the process. The system has been used with children and adults. The process results in a personalised plan of action. A MAP is not an IEP. It is a process that best precedes an IEP and provides the school's transdisciplinary team with important information useful when constructing an IEP. This element of the MAPS process is important because it focuses on capacities rather than deficits. The positive emphasis generates important benefits throughout the program planning and implementation phases.

PATH Touch the dream Sense the goal (possible and positive) Grounding in the now Identifying people to enroll Ways to build strength Planning the next 6 months Planning the next 3 months Committing to the first step

Present Level of Performance Purpose: To describe the student’s unique needs that will be addressed by special education and related services, and to establish a baseline of measurable information that serves as a starting point for developing goals and objectives

The Present Level of Performance Specifies: Statement of Strengths Statement of Needs

Statement of Strengths These are statements of the student’s gifts, strengths and abilities as a learner. For example: Responds to familiar routine directions Communicates when motivated and understands the activity Understands cause and effect Lets his wants be known Loves to swim, listen to music, eat

Statement of Needs This section identifies those areas that are important for the student to learn in order to facilitate the development of functional skills and inclusion. For example: To improve mealtime skills To develop a yes/no To develop independent sitting, balance, and standing ability To improve functional hand use

Key Characteristics of the Present Level of Performance Measurable Objective Functional Current Identifies any special considerations Includes most recent assessment information Establishes the baseline of information used in writing Goals and Educational Objectives

Measurable Annual Goals Purpose: To describe what the student can reasonably be expected to accomplish within 12 months with specially designed instruction and related services

An Annual Goal: Is directly related to the present level of performance which provides baseline information Provides a way of determining whether anticipated outcomes are being met Has three parts The student … does what … to what level Appropriate annual goals answer the question “What should the student be doing?”

Key Characteristics of an Annual Goal: Measurable Functional Meaningful Future oriented Locally referenced

Measurable Progress can be measured even when the student’s skills may remain similar from year to year

We Can Measure Student Progress as Follows: Through increasing levels of partial participation in activities Through less prompting or facilitation over time Through generalization of the same skill to new people, activities or environments Through fewer false hits in activities involving switch work The amount of time it takes for the student might decrease The amount of time a student engages in an activity might increase

Functional Teaching a functional activity means teaching all of the behaviour necessary to initiate, perform, and terminate an activity. These goals include participation in daily care routines (e.g. attention to personal hygiene, dressing, eating) and in interactional activities (e.g. those related to socialization and communication).

Meaningful Teaching meaningful activities means teaching activities that are relevant and reflect the values and interests of the student and his/her family

Future Oriented Teaching to a future orientation means to teach activities that will enhance the student’s participation and inclusion as a young adult in the community

Locally Referenced Teaching with local referencing means teaching skills in the environments in which they will need to be used rather than teaching “generic skills in isolation” (e.g. teaching switch use in the context of using the switch to play a game with peers rather than practicing hitting the switch in isolation)

Examples of Annual Goals Appropriate Goal Chris will increase his active participation in self-care routines Questionable Goal Provide for personal care and safety in the school environment This appears to be a team goal and only focuses on a school outcome. We need to make this more global

Examples of Annual Goals Appropriate Goal Emily will continue to develop her social skills and expand her experiences and relationships Questionable Goal Social/emotional development This is an area of focus. What is it that we want Emily to achieve?

Examples of Annual Goals Appropriate Goal Marion will increase her purposeful mobility to participate in activities of daily living Questionable Goal Promote physical development This looks like a team goal

Measurable Educational Objectives Annual goals are broken down into a logical sequence of “steps” or objectives that lead to the attainment of the goal. Measurable means that you can count it or observe it. Rather than using terms like “improve” or “develop”, ask yourself what you will actually see the student doing that allows you to make this judgment.

Examples of Educational Objectives Vague/General Objectives Improve and practice visual processing Measurable Student Outcomes The student will increase his use of gaze to track large objects when moving 16” in front of him

Examples of Educational Objectives Objectives that Need Fine Tuning Communicates his needs and wants Clear Measurable Objectives The student will increase his appropriate use of vocalizations, gestures, and gaze to communicate his needs and wants

Measuring and Reporting Progress Degree of Active Participation Frequency of the Behaviour Accuracy of the Behaviour Appropriateness of the Behaviour Duration of the Behaviour Generalization of the Behaviour

Degree of Active Participation How much assistance or prompting (physical and/or verbal) does the student require to perform the skill?

Frequency of the Behaviour How often does the student perform the desired activity? How many times does the student sign “more” for an interrupted favourite activity?

Accuracy of the Behaviour How precisely does the student perform the behaviour? During switch work, how many “false hits” occurred? Did the student point or gaze accurately at an object choice?

Appropriateness of the Behaviour Does the student demonstrate the desired behaviour in appropriate situations? The student vocalizes when requesting attention, but is appropriately quiet in the classroom

Duration of the Behaviour How long does the student engage in the desired behaviour? Spending an increasing amount of time in their walker

Generalization of the Behaviour Does the student have the ability to use the developing skill with different people or in different settings? Greets a peer in the classroom and also greets the school secretary in the office?

In Summary, Meaningful IEPs focus on relevant, functional annual goals broken into logical, measurable objectives that lead toward a quality of life in the future for a student with severe disabilities. Accountability is demonstrated by tracking student progress over time.