1. Tina Gunn EPSE 590 February 2013

2. About Me Motivation for Project The ProjectCase Study What I Have Learned Future Directions

3. Williams Lake, BC Education Past Teaching Experiences Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders Low Incidence Classroom

4. What my teaching partner and I noticed Students: Were prompt Dependent Had slow rates of learning Lack of data made it difficult to: Assess students’ progress Make decisions about programs Determine why problem behaviour was occurring Educational Assistants (EAs): Had low knowledge and skill level for responding to problem behaviour Had low accountability for implementing students’ programs Have few “good” professional development opportunities

5. Applied for a Action Research grant through the Surrey School District  Proposal was initially declined  Granted $2000 through Educational Services

6.  Research question  Methods Participants Setting Procedure  Findings

7. In what ways can teachers and educational assistants (EAs) learn and implement the basic principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to improve students’ communication, social, behavioral, and academic progress?

8. Participants  2 special education classroom teachers  12 educational assistants  12 students with developmental disabilities (Grades 1-7)

9. Setting  Community of Cloverdale Public library Public swimming pool Parks Stores  Community school Whole school activities (e.g., assembles, sports day, etc.) Integrated in general education classes for some subjects  Low incidence classrooms Individual programs Buddy activities with same-age peers

10. Procedures  Scheduled meeting/planning times Daily morning meetings Monthly team meetings  Arranged for guest speakers to come to the school Dr. Richard Stock Dr. Stephanie Jull Dr. Pat Mirenda  Provided coaching, modeling, and corrective feedback Dr. Richard Stock Dr. Stephanie Jull Classroom Teachers  Ongoing professional development for classroom teachers Workshops (e.g., ACT & BC-ABA)

11. Pairing and Manding Natural Environment Teaching Introduction to Applied Behaviour Analysis Problem Behaviour http://autismhomesupport.com/howwehelp/faqs http://autismtrainingsolutions.wordpress.com/ http://www.education.txstate.edu/ci/degrees-programs/graduate/special-education/autism.html http://www.autism-community.com/visual-schedules-may-not-be-enough/

12. Workshop – Intensive Teaching Introduction to discrete trial teaching Errorless teaching and learning Prompting and shaping Reinforcement and ratios of reinforcement Generalization and maintenance Data Consultation Collecting and presenting data Positive Behaviour Support Plans Coaching and corrective feedback Workshop - Prompts Natural cues Natural correction Types of prompts When to deliver prompts Consequential vs. Errorless instruction Prompt fading procedures https://www.capilanou.ca/abaa/diploma-post-bac/Faculty/ http://educ.ubc.ca/faculty/pmirenda/index.html

13. Students:  Are more engaged in learning activities and are learning at an increased rate  Are becoming more independent

14. Teachers:  Data collection facilitates Making decisions about students’ programs Reporting progress to parents, doctors, Behaviour Analysts, and other professionals.  Collaborative team atmosphere EAs are more involved in problem solving and making decisions about students’ programs EAs are supportive and encouraging towards each other EAs are receptive to corrective feedback

15. EAs:  Are taking data daily  Are thinking about behaviour in the 4-term contingency  Are successfully implementing evidence-based strategies

21. EA Evaluation Checklist:  Implementation of ABA strategies  Level of students’ academic performance  Level of students’ problem behaviour  Evaluation of social validity

22.  Michael Previous School Was attending less than 1.5 hours a day Employee Safety Plan was reinforcing problem behaviour No academic program Problem Behaviours Bolting Verbal aggression Negative self-talk Physical aggression

23. Low Incidence Program Started attending in December 2012 Takes the bus to and from school daily Attends full day (8:50-2:20) Has an academic program Participates in community outings Interacts with same-age peers Participates in school events

24.  Interventions Checklists Social stories Frequent and regular breaks Choice Curricular modifications/adaptations Home-school communication Safe place to express anger/frustration Teaching positive self-talk Teaching self-monitoring and self-management skills Reinforcing desired and alternate behaviours Putting problem behaviour on extinction

26.  Introduce concepts gradually  Start with the EAs that are keen  Teach in small manageable chunks  Model procedures/concepts frequently  Give corrective feedback  Use positive reinforcement  Review difficult concepts frequently  Use the data the EAs taking  Keep a staff communication binder

27.  Continue to train EAs  Present workshops  Collaborate with district personnel

28. Mirenda, P. (2012, May). Seminar in Developmental Disabilities, EPSE 513. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. Stock, R. & Jull, S. (2012, December). Effective Teaching Techniques for Learners with ASD, Presentation Handouts. George Greenaway, Surrey, BC.

29. http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/Poet-David-Whytes- Questions-That-Have-No-Right-to-Go-Away_1