Region 10 T/TA
Best Practices for Challenging Behaviors

Transcript

Moderator: Dawn Williams
January 21. 2009
1:00 pm CST

Dawn Williams:

Not a time for people.

Woman:

Okay.

Woman:

Or anything else we might need.

Coordinator:

Welcome and thank you for standing by. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. During the question and answer session please press star 1 on your touchtone phone.

Today's conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time.

Now I will turn the meeting over to Dawn Williams. Thank you Dawn, you may begin.

Dawn Williams:

Hi everyone. This is Dawn Williams. I am the Disabilities and Mental Health Content Specialist here at the Regional Office for the Training and Technical Assistance Network. And our topic today for the call is Best Practices for Challenging Behaviors. And I will get into a little more detail about what we are going to do today, but first let us do some introductions.

Also in the room with me I have Maria Wilson.

Maria Wilson:

Hello everyone and welcome. My name is Maria Wilson. I am the Child Development Specialist for the Region 10 T&TA Network. And we are so happy you could join us today.

Dawn Williams:

And we also have a guest speaker from Head Start of Lane County, Cindy Roberts. Cindy do you want to say hello?

Cindy Roberts:

Yes. Hi everybody. I am Cindy Roberts. I am the Mental Health Consultant with Head Start of Lane County in Eugene, Springfield, Oregon.

And also with me is Suzanne McManus. She is our Child Development and Disabilities Consultant.

And we are going to share some of the things that we are doing in Lane County.

Dawn Williams:

I thank you Cindy and Suzanne.

Cindy Roberts:

Um-hmm.

Dawn Williams:

So we just wanted to give everybody a chance to hear our voices so you will know - be a little bit able to identify us as we are going through the call since we are just on the phone.

So the format today is (called) that we - Maria and I are in the office and we are going to go over the PowerPoint that was sent out. And then once we are through with that, Cindy is going to take over and tell us a little bit about the things that they are doing in Head Start of Lane County.

And then we are going to open it up for questions and comments, and also any other innovative strategies or ideas that people are doing out there in their programs to address some of the challenging behaviors going on.

And when that happens, the line will be open up one person at a time. So there will never be a situation where there is lots of people kind of talk on the phone line at once.

So there were some materials that were sent out for the call. One was a PowerPoint on Best Practices for Challenging Behaviors, another one was a document called Five (Begs) Every Family Should Know, another was a description of the therapeutic classroom services of Head Start of Lane County, a PBS tech list for teachers from Head Start of Lane County and also the Social Emotional Inventory of Practices from Head Start of Lane County.

If for some reason you did not get these materials, you could email Louise Gill. It is L-O-U-I-S-E.G-I-L-L@acf.hhs.gov. And if you did not get the material, if you could just send her an email, you know, right now and she will send the materials to you. But hopefully everyone got those and we do not have a problem there.

So we can get into the call. I am looking at the first slide, introduction slide for the - on the PowerPoint. And the reason we did this is challenging behaviors continues to be a problem for Head Start programs. And there have been several calls that T&TA has done about challenging behaviors.

For example (Eviana Meaney) gosh maybe three or four years ago now did a call about Mental Health Complication on Challenging Behavior. And I did a call on the Center for Social Emotional Foundations in Early Learning when they introduced the infant toddler modules on challenging behaviors. And Gene Gousie and Laurie Danahy and myself also did a Research to Practice call on Social Emotional Development.

And we know that programs have (upped) the training and (unintelligible) they do on challenging behaviors as well on an annual basis. So when this topic came up again, what we decided to do this time was try to focus on some of the best practices and strategies that we have learned that have been going on in programs throughout the region through our work and things that we purchased from our knowledge on some of the best strategies and things that are out there so that programs can learn from each other and kind of do a little bit of a, you know, cross communication and cross programs to find out what other programs are doing to try to address challenging behaviors.

Okay, we can move onto the next slide. So the next slide on training strategies, no, one area that we often focus on with challenging behaviors is in-service training. And I know that most programs do have some type of training at some point throughout the year on addressing challenging behaviors.

And one of the things that we have found is that when those trainings occur throughout the year, not just necessarily at pre-service at the beginning of the year but they are repeated throughout the year That is one of the more effective strategies programs that found for some of that information to stick. And also having ongoing support to try to have that information sink in a little bit more.

Another strategy we have heard that has been effective is using a mentor teacher. Those teachers being those that are good with dealing with challenging behaviors and may have a lot of experience in - I am sure many of your programs you have got, you know, at least more than one classroom where you have got a teacher that has been very good at trying to address some of those issues. So maybe you can (at) teach us, to mentor to support newer experienced teachers.

We heard that where the teacher receives support, positive changes in the children were greater than in the classroom where the teacher only received the curriculum materials but no curriculum instructions.

Another strategy is also to have an experienced teacher actually do some of those in-service or pre-service training. Sometimes it is easier to hear from someone in the same position, have other teachers hear from, you know, a colleague or a peer that is in the same position that they know have struggled with the same things that they have.

And maybe hearing it from them from their perspective, you know, helps the training sink in a little bit better.

Another strategy spends cross-classroom observations. I mean none of us can - is often something that programs want to do, but it is challenging to maybe get substitutes for a classroom for a day. But if you can make this work and you have an opportunity to do that, programs have found that to be very valuable to have, you know, observation happen in, you know, one classroom or other.

Or if it is even possible to observe another program that is close by, that can also open some eyes and give you a new perspective on, you know, strategies or ways to address some of those challenging behaviors.

On the next slide, one thing that is also heard is that a lot of programs have had many different curricula or trainings that they have had over the course of the years, and that in some classrooms, like you can see that there are parts of positive behavior support or parts of (SEFEL) that are used in those classrooms.

And the point of the strategy is to allow classrooms to maybe take pieces of things that have worked from different trainings that they have had to create something that works in their classroom.

You know, every teacher is individual and has strengths and weaknesses in certain areas and if they could pull from different curriculums that they have had, they might be able to create something that is working effectively in their classroom.

Also taking advantage of school districts or community training, I know in some programs have written into their inter-agency agreements that they will participate and share some of the trainings that their local school districts are doing or something that might be happening in their communities.

Like in Alaska, I know that there is a motion for us to have state wide positive behavior support trainings going on. And that (maybe) would be really effective for the whole entire state and other Head Start programs to be sharing some of their information and be going through the same things.

So if there is, you know, opportunities to take advantage of things like that, those have proved to be very effective as well.

The next slide are some comments, social emotional or challenging behaviors curricular and training tools that we have run across. One of the Stop & Think Social Skills by Howard Knoff, as I mentioned earlier, the Center of Social and Emotional Foundations in Early Learning, we had a call on that and they focus a lot on a pyramid model that has I think it is five levels of training that they focus on.

And the base of that pyramid is focusing on the environment and preventative strategies all the way up to the path of that pyramid that focus on, you know, individual interventions or really children that are really struggling with their behaviors.

There is Positive Behavior Support. I think it is something that is used in every state in our region. The Second Step, The Incredible Years, Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies another one, Self Determination Intervention by (Cerna & Nielson), Social and Emotional Intervention for At Risk 4-Year-Olds by Denham and Burton and Promoting First Relationships.

So I think one of the more common ones we see in our region are Promoting First Relationships, Incredible Years, Positive Behavior Supports and (SEFEL) I think are one of the more common ones used around...

Woman:

Dawn is the Promoting First Relationships is that the one out of (U-DUB)?

Dawn Williams:

It is.

Woman:

Yes, yes.

Dawn Williams:

Um-hmm.

Woman:

(That is that area.)

Dawn Williams:

Yes it is. And then when we start thinking about the classroom, I think we will get some more - this section is a little more brief, but we will get some more details about some really good interventions when we hear from Head Start of Lane County.

But, thinking about observations, if you were able to do that, and a lot of programs have found focusing on triggers, environmental distractions and the time of day, or what, you know, what times of day these challenging behaviors are occurring are things that are important to look at when you are trying to figure out what is going on with the child or why might be behaving the way they do, like what are those things that are setting them off a little bit.

As far as interventions go, I think one of the most common things we hear is that there are so many resources and are so many materials that programs are using, but that there is not enough time allowed for those things to work.

And it takes a long - it can take a very long time for a certain, you know, strategy you are using to be effective. It is not something that just happens in a week. You have to keep going at it, and going at it and going at it. And then maybe over some time, you might see some improvements.

So along with that being consistent and, you know, one strategy programs have found to make it easier is to not necessarily feel like a teacher has to use all - a lot of different strategies. They can focus on maybe a few that they want to try to implement and work on that strategy instead of trying to overuse too many all at once. It is going to feel overwhelming.

Also, prevention which I think a lot of those curriculums I mentioned focuses on. With prevention, you want to focus on the classroom environment and setting that up in ways that are appropriate, like a setting of your play areas that are distinctive and, you know, conducive to traffic flow and make transitions easier, predictable activities, things that programs have focused on to, you know, encourage children to feel like they can be successful which might deter some of the challenging behaviors, and providing adult support for peer interactions.

And this is something that I know that they do very well in that therapeutic classroom down in Lane County.

Teaching social skills of course, using some of those curriculums and do that teaching replacement behavior.

And let us move onto the next one about parents and families. If you can, you know, we were doing parents and families. It would be wonderful if you can get them on board with helping to try to address some of these challenging behaviors.

And a lot of parents need some support and good ideas for things that they can try at home because what they are seeing at home is sure as what you are seeing in the classroom as well.

One thing is that it has been very effective to include parents in the behavior plan or when writing a behavior plan if it comes to that so they have some investment in it as well.

And also, using home observation forms or having parents be a part of creating those forms has proven to be effective as well.

And also to talk a little bit more about families, we are going to take a look at that handout about Five Facts Every Family Should Know as well as the other materials here.

So we can talk a little bit more about families.

Maria Wilson:

Okay great. This is Maria and I just came up with - I found this Five Facts for Every Family That Should - That They Should Know. And I think this would be really wise for teachers to share with parents.

Number 1, that all behavior is a form of communication, and we know that communication dates back to the earliest signs of life (unintelligible). It can range from a real subtle process of exchange to a full conversation. And as humans, we have the common need to communicate our desires, our needs with each other.

And so there is always a reason for the problem behavior. Children sometimes have trouble communicating their needs and their wants. Maybe because they do not know all the words to describe how they are feeling, or maybe they are in a difficult situation and do not know how to express how to get out of that situation. Sometimes they may be scared or hungry or just sad or angry.

There can be many reasons behind one specific behavior. Children with challenging behaviors are sending adults messages that something is not right in their little world and these needs need to be met.

And that is one of the challenges for a lot of adults is figuring out the meaning behind the child's behavior. It is equally important for adults to also be aware of their behavior.

You know, as role models we communicate verbally and non-verbally to our children in the classroom (and are as) parents. So we also need to keep our behaviors in check because children are learning from how we are reacting to their needs.

And so, there isn't any magical method that can guarantee well-behaved and responsible children, but there are some things that adults can do to encourage responsible behavior and reduce stress at home or in the classroom.

And the first one is to set reasonable rules and consequences. And this one it would be wonderful if parents or teachers could involve their child in establishing and understanding the rules, discussing with the children the consequences that would be implemented. What is that going to look like if, you know, the child does not follow a particular rule.

Allow steps in that process to - for problem solving. A lot of children do not know, you know, how to problem solve. So that would be a good discussion for a classroom. What does problem solving mean? What does it look like? You know, role model that for the child.

Children are more likely to follow their own rules and cooperate with decisions if they, you know, are part of making up the rules and helping establish and understanding the consequences. It is all about ownership and pride.

Secondly, it would be wise if you could write down the rules and consequences and maybe post them, you know, at child level. Use pictures for, you know, those that cannot read either. Just little visual cues for them to kind of, oh yes, you know, keep them in check. Oh yes, I forgot about that rule.

Maybe you could review the rules once a week with your classroom, explain why rules are important and we need to follow them.

Also let children know that you really value their feelings and opinions. Children need to feel really important and accepted in their environment. And also give children choices. This helps to avoid power struggles. For example you can ask do you want to do art or do you prefer to go to the block area? Avoid asking yes and no questions. That just, you know, just kinds of sucks you into that power struggle. And also look for good behavior. I mean complement them when they are doing well and they are most likely to repeat that behavior.

Also, like I said, be aware and in control of your own feelings. You cannot teach a child self-control or discipline if you are not in control yourself. Sometimes you may need to walk away and then come back and try to address the issue.

So, when adults help children find positive ways to communicate their needs to others, children learn important social and problem solving skills that will help them throughout their whole life. And so we really need to really include parents and allow them to be aware of, you know, these key items that will help them at home.

Dawn Williams:

Maria, I think this document will also be a useful thing that prevents or perhaps (unintelligible) send out to some parents...

Maria Wilson:

Sure.

Dawn Williams:

...(unintelligible) you know, short little document that might be useful in that way.

So we are going to transition from this overview of things that we found prevents you...

((Crosstalk))

Dawn Williams:

...try to support some of those challenging behaviors to a more specific example of the therapeutic classroom over at Head Start of Lane County.

Cindy Roberts:

Okay. Dawn what were you thinking that you would like for us to share about this classroom?

Dawn Williams:

Well, what it is, I think people would be interested in how you set it up and how it is staffed and what are some of the things that go on to try to support the program - to support the classroom.

Cindy Roberts:

Um-hmm. Okay. All right. Well it began a few years ago, about three years ago. We went to one of our mental health agencies in town that kind of specializes in working with kids. And we asked them if we could contract with them to do behavior support in our classroom so that we would have maybe a contracted person, two or three of them, in classrooms where there was a really high need.

Dawn Williams:

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

And from that discussion, it turned out that we decided that it was better just to start a classroom where it was a really low ratio. So we had six kids in the classroom and four adults.

And the adults are pretty skilled. They are very skilled actually. We have a mental health therapist in there all of the time. We have an early interventionist who is our lead teacher and who is amazing in there all the time. And then we rotate specialists in that classroom so they spend one day a week in the classroom. And then we also get Master's level practicum students to help us in the classroom.

So it is a high level of skill, a high level of need for kids. And the way that it is determined is whether or not a child might need the services of a therapeutic classroom is if they are not able to manage in a typical classroom.

They have usually pretty significant mental health needs, but not always. One of the requirements for the classroom is that they be on an IFSP. They do not have to be before they go into the classroom, but to be in the classroom they have to be on an IFSP. And they also have to have a mental health assessment and be open with our contracted mental health agency.

So the way that the classroom is paid for is Head Start pays for the lead teacher and one of the rotating specialists. Our EC, or what is it called, EI, EIESE, ECSE provider agency provides a specialist and they also help fund the classroom. And then the mental health agency that we contract with provides 24 hours a week for a classroom mental health person, and also provides the child therapist.

So it is funded by three different agencies. And so in order for the child to be in the classroom, they have to be receiving mental health services through the mental health program and early intervention services also.

That is how it was set up. And that is how it is staffed also. And in terms of support what I would say is that the goal for that classroom is social and emotional skills. So that is the majority of what they do in that classroom, knowing that that is the highest need for the kids that are in that classroom.

So most of the curriculum is around friendship skills. It is around learning how to follow rules and structure, learning how to be kind and have some empathy, and that is what they work on pretty much every single day.

They use a lot of visual cues. They - most of the kids have sensory - higher sensory needs in that classroom so they use a lot of assisting tools to help with that. They have bean bags that the kids can sit on. They have very limited amount of circle time. They do quite a bit of outdoor time for large motor - and again, the language that they use is pretty consistent. And everybody in the classroom uses the same language.

And so, it is a really wonderful classroom I would have to say. It is a great model.

Dawn Williams:

So Cindy what do you think has been the impact, you know, on the children and in the families that are in that program? Like what do you think that they have taken from that program because (see) this is the third year of it correct?

Cindy Roberts:

Yes, it is the third year. And I, you know, I just feel more and more like any child that gets to be in that classroom is very fortunate. The family is fortunate although I, you know, I think when we started the program we really anticipated that we would do a lot of family work.

Dawn Williams:

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

And the families in that classroom tend to be kind of our tip of the triangle families where they have the highest need, and then sometimes the lowest motivation for being involved in what is happening at school for the child.

So the family support is there if they want it. I would say that our biggest struggle or our biggest challenge is getting them motivated and engaged in that process.

Dawn Williams:

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

Some of the families, I would say, may kind of have the vision of well my child is going to go to this classroom to get fixed.

Dawn Williams:

Right.

Cindy Roberts:

And I would say that they see a tremendous decrease in aggressive behavior, decrease in violence, decrease in all of those kind of outward behaviors that make it really hard for them to be in a typical classroom. We track behaviors every Thursday. They do a data tracking system. We do videotaping in that classroom now at least once a month so that we can kind of see the progress through video of when it - how it starts in that classroom and by the end of the year what does it look like for them.

It also helps us kind of keep track and do training for other staff. So we use videotape from that classroom to demonstrate to staff kind of what it looks like at the highest level, so that when they have challenges in their classroom, they can kind of use some of those same strategies.

And that classroom uses the same strategies we recommend in all the classrooms. They just use it with a lot more frequency and a lot more intensity.

Dawn Williams:

What a great strategy.

Cindy Roberts:

I think it is working pretty well, I would have to say. We are pretty lucky to have it.

Dawn Williams:

Yes. Well I know - I think (ASIS) is a program maybe when it was in its second year and, I mean the patience and the skill level of the teachers you have in that classroom is just phenomenal.

Cindy Roberts:

Yes. I would say the teachers really understand relationships very well.

Dawn Williams:

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

They recognize that all of the things that you were talking about Maria where the, you know, the children are communicating a need. And I think the teachers really, really understand that. Not just like intellectually, but they really follow through and accept when the child is mad and really work with the child one on one and stay with them and work through it. And over time through - if a child is in that classroom for a whole year, it really makes a difference.

A lot of the kids in that classroom have either been in foster care are in foster care, have pretty significant attachment needs...

Dawn Williams:

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

...and the staff really understand that. And that makes - that makes the difference, and the fact that they are able to spend that one on one time with that child, that that child really needs that and they are able to provide it.

Dawn Williams:

Yes.

Cindy Roberts:

So, I mean I think all of those things make it work. And I think - and sometimes what we hear in classrooms is that, you know, it would be great if I had the time to be able to sit with a child and help them with that, but with 18 kids I do not have that kind of time.

Dawn Williams:

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

I do not think it is impossible to do it anyway, but I think that is the perception on the part of some teachers.

Dawn Williams:

Well and that smaller ratio I think really helps to make that possible.

Cindy Roberts:

It does. Yes, I mean they have six kids. They are six very high needs kids, you know, and still they have to be very, very vigilant about prevention...

Dawn Williams:

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

...and safety. So most of the children have an adult in close proximity to them all the time to prevent, you know, violence and aggression.

Dawn Williams:

Well thank you Cindy and Suzanne so much for that explanation. I think now might be a good (point) to try to open it up for some questions and comments that we might have. And we would also love to hear from other people if they are using some strategy that they have found really successful that we have not mentioned, or things that they think are really working in their classrooms. I am sure others would like to hear about that.

So (Ashley) could we open it up for questions and comments?

Coordinator:

Sure. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1. Please un-mute your phone and record your name clearly when prompted. Your name is required to introduce your question.

To withdraw your request, press star 2. One moment please for your first question.

Your first question comes from (Mary Pelella). Your line is open (Mary).

(Mary Pelella):

Thank you. I am from (unintelligible) Conference in Fairbanks, Alaska, and we have nine rural Head Start sites. And I thought it was really interesting that you use the videotaping to do training with your staff.

And I wondered if it is possible at all to - that you could share videotapes so that we could use them and we could look at them and use them in possible trainings with our staff when we go on site visits?

Cindy Roberts:

Um-hmm. So (Mary) is your question that you could use our videotape or videotape from your own program?

(Mary Pelella):

No, to use yours. And I realize there would have to be releases involved, but just to use yours as even an example of what it is - how you clearly capture behaviors that I am sure happen everywhere, but I am sure that you are very good at clearly capturing the behaviors so that it could be used if we go on site visits and work with our staff.

Cindy Roberts:

Um-hmm. It is actually one of things that we thought about as a summer project to create some DVDs that we could use within our own program. We had not thought about sharing it with other programs. We are in the process of getting releases from all of the parents in our therapeutic classroom.

We have releases to do videotape on all of them to share within our own program, but we are wanting to use it - I am doing a big Circle of Security in the Classroom training in April and I want to use these tapes for that also.

So if the parents sign off on us being able to use it outside of our agency, then it is a possibility that we might be able to share that. And I can bring that up and see where we can go with it.

(Mary Pelella):

Thank you. I would be really interested in following up with you on that.

Cindy Roberts:

Okay.

(Mary Pelella):

Thank you.

Cindy Roberts:

Yes.

Coordinator:

Okay our next question comes from (Gina Dusenberry). Your line is open (Gina).

(Gina Dusenberry):

Thank you. I was wondering Cindy if you could describe the environment in the therapeutic classroom?

Cindy Roberts:

Um-hmm. The physical environment?

(Gina Dusenberry):

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

Um-hmm. You know, it really is very much like a typical classroom. The only difference is, I would say, you know, we do not use forks, like at lunchtime. We do not use forks.

We have two calm down spaces instead of one where there is a large box for the kids that really need to kind of go in, in a dark space and have some alone time.

(Gina Dusenberry):

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

We also have a large pillow where it is a calm down space so that if they are not able to be at circles, their choice is calm down area or circle each time, so they always have an option to go there if they are not able to manage in a larger group.

(Gina Dusenberry):

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

The books are different in that classroom than our other classrooms in that we just have a lot more books about emotions and friendship skills and the focus of most of the books are on social and emotional development.

We have a lot of visuals so we use first (fen) boards. We use, let us see, little rule strips that all of the teachers keep with them so that when a child is not doing what the expected behavior is, then they are reminded with a visual cue and a verbal prompt to redirect them.

There is a big choice board on one of the doors where if the child is having a hard time kind of picking what they want to do during choice time, they are redirected to the choice board to make a choice.

It is always very positive. Again, I think one of the things that really makes that classroom work is the relationship skills that the teachers have. They hold the children in very high regard all of the time. It is a lot of respect.

Let us see. There are timers. They use timers. We have solution kits all throughout the classroom so if there is a problem, the solution kit is one of the strategies that the kids use and they learn over time how to work out problems.

When the children arrive, they are greeted and they are allowed to pick how they want their greeting through a visual cue. Do you want a hug, a handshake or a high five? And so they are allowed to kind of pick their own greeting.

So a lot of visual cues, and other than that the classrooms looks the same. I do not know that you would know that it is a therapeutic environment if you just walked into the classroom.

(Gina Dusenberry):

So it is not - it is not like low stimulation?

Cindy Roberts:

It would probably be, I mean the teachers are very aware of that.

(Gina Dusenberry):

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

The colors are kind of soft and a little bit more soothing. There is not a ton of stuff on the walls. There is bean bags, so the circle time looks a little bit different. Most of the kids have sensory related tools that they use, you know, weighted blankets or weighted vests. Bean bags to sit on.

The lighting is not different. It is fluorescent lighting. So, yes, it is, you know, we share that building that we are in. We share it with an autistic classroom, and their environment looks very different. You can tell that it is really based on sensory needs. The colors that they have chosen and the lighting that they have looks different, but in our classroom it looks like a typical classroom.

(Gina Dusenberry):

And is there a focus on like a, you know, keeping the noise level pretty calm?

Cindy Roberts:

Hmm. Well there is only six kids. So that helps. That helps. You know, they have, you know, walking feet is one of the rules and indoor voices. But, you know, for those kids, they kind of have to get there and that does not happen until later on in the year.

You know, sometimes they are working on just safe hands, and that is the biggest thing that they need to work on. And so, you know, they try and keep their rules to a minimum. Really safety is the factor and kindness and respect.

So, it is not a loud classroom typically. I mean it is - in terms of - because of the numbers of kids I think, and because the number of adults that are engaging with children all of the time there is a lot of kind of one on one play with adults, and always assisted play with - between kids. There is always an adult there with two children playing.

(Gina Dusenberry):

All right, thank you.

Cindy Roberts:

Yes.

Coordinator:

Your next question comes from (Coretta Sells). (Coretta) your line is open.

(Coretta Sells):

My question is, I would like to know the educational background of the teachers that you have in the room, in the therapeutic classroom.

Cindy Roberts:

Yes. Our lead teacher has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Early Intervention. The associate teacher at - but she is not an associate teacher. So, our lead teacher is paid for by Head Start.

(Coretta Sells):

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

The other person who is in there all the time is paid for by our mental health agency.

(Coretta Sells):

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

And it is paid for with our Oregon Health Plan Fund.

(Coretta Sells):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

So that position is paid for through billing through our Oregon Health Plan for Mental Health Services. And she is - has a Master's degree. She is a licensed family therapist.

(Coretta Sells):

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

The rotating people have either a Master's degree in Early Intervention or Mental Health.

(Coretta Sells):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

And the practicum students are Master's level or Doctoral students either in Psychology or Early Intervention.

(Coretta Sells):

Okay. Great. Thank you.

Cindy Roberts:

You are welcome.

Coordinator:

Your next question comes from (Christie Anderson). Your line is open (Christie).

(Christie Anderson):

Hi. Yes what do you do about children with extreme behaviors or diagnosis like Bipolar or Oppositional Defiance that do not have an IFSP? How do you address those issues - those children's issues if you take only IFSP children?

Cindy Roberts:

So that is a great question. I think we see a lot of (kiddos) in our classrooms that would not qualify for an IFSP, but we really think that maybe need to be in the therapeutic classroom.

And so we work with our Early Intervention team. And we have gotten eligibility just based on social and emotional needs.

(Christie Anderson):

Hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

And so they qualify for an IFSP based on that eligibility.

(Christie Anderson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

If they need to be in that classroom. Now there are kids that we do not transition into that classroom who still have those issues. And we work closely with our mental health providers. And I am a mental health person myself, and so I work with the classroom to kind of figure out how to work with that child in that classroom.

(Christine Anderson):

Okay. All right. Thank you.

Cindy Roberts:

Yes.

Coordinator:

Your next question comes from (Maureen Short). Your line is open (Maureen).

Please check your mute button (Maureen).

(Maureen Short):

Can you hear me now?

Woman:

Yes.

(Maureen Short):

My question has to do with transitions. Are these children transitioned back into mainstream classrooms throughout the year or do they remain in this particular classroom for the entire year?

Cindy Roberts:

Well the way that we have our policy written is that anybody who could transition back into a typical classroom would transition back. But the level of need that we are serving, it really just - it has not happened.

They needed to be in that classroom the whole year, also keeping mind that another transition would be very hard for them. They - these are kids that really, you know, mostly hated coming to school because they were not having positive experiences.

And when they get to this classroom, they really get their needs met and love it. And so transitioning them out of that, we have to be really just aware that if we are dealing with a foster kid that has been moved around a lot, that we would not want to put another transition in that child's life.

But we really honestly have not had any kids that we thought should transition out. So.

(Maureen Short):

My follow-up question is, is do these kids transition into regular public school or do they transition into another supportive classroom such as the one they are in now.

Cindy Roberts:

Most of our kids have transitioned into typical public classrooms. We had two kids last year who transitioned into a therapeutic kindergarten at (Public) Child Center here.

One of them we thought that was a good placement for this particular child. And then the other one, our team really was not in agreement that he needed to be in that environment, that he could have done pretty well in a public classroom.

So most of them actually transition in. We have had several kids who have transitioned into kindergarten and not even needed assistance in kindergarten. But we have had some kids that need, you know, additional assistance too.

(Maureen Short):

Is the Child Center, is that an out-patient mental health facility?

Cindy Roberts:

Yes. Yes, so it is pretty intensive services where the child goes to school at the Child Center. The family is mandated to participate in family therapy. And it is a very, very structured environment. So, you know, the child that we really thought needed to be there it probably really was a high need. He was difficult in our classroom. It was a difficult placement even for this classroom.

(Maureen Short):

Thank you.

Cindy Roberts:

Um-hmm.

Coordinator:

Your next question comes from (Shara Larson). Your line is open (Shara).

(Shara Larson):

Hi. I had a few questions. One was about the rotating staff in the classroom for Cindy? Is that a matter of funding or is that something that you have set up as a best practice? I am just curious about how that works.

Cindy Roberts:

Yes. Well I do not think that it is best practice because ultimately...

(Shara Larson):

Um-hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

...it is different faces on different days for those kids and that makes that hard. It is a - it is - one thing I did not say is that it is a closed classroom. We do not allow anybody in that classroom when the classroom is running. So there is no food service people that come in.

(Shara Larson):

Hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

There is no visitors to the classroom. If anybody wants to see the classroom they see it behind a one-way mirror. Part of that is that children are usually very reactive to strangers and it tends to really heighten their behaviors quite a bit. So safety, not only just physical safety but emotional safety in that classroom is high regard.

I am sorry, remind me of your question.

(Shara Larson):

The rotating staff, is that a...

Cindy Roberts:

Oh okay.

(Shara Larson):

...a matter of funding or...

Cindy Roberts:

Right, yes, yes.

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

So that rotating position is shared between the three agencies that pay for that classroom.

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

So Head Start provides one of the rotating people. Easy Care, which is our Early Intervention Program provides one of the rotating people, and then our mental health provider provides one of the rotating people.

(Shara Larson):

Okay, and then...

((Crosstalk))

Cindy Roberts:

So we share the cost.

(Shara Larson):

And then when you talked about the Early Intervention Team, who is part of that team down there?

Cindy Roberts:

Um.

(Shara Larson):

Is that the teacher as far as making decisions for that child?

Cindy Roberts:

So the Early Intervention Team in relation to this particular classroom?

(Shara Larson):

Yes, yes.

Cindy Roberts:

Right. Well there is an EIECSE specialist assigned to that classroom. So every child in that classroom is on his caseload. So he...

(Shara Larson):

I do not - I am not sure what that acronym means.

Cindy Roberts:

Early Intervention...

Woman:

Early Childhood Special Ed.

Cindy Roberts:

...Early Childhood Special Ed.

(Shara Larson):

And is that an Oregon based program?

Cindy Roberts:

What is it also called Suzanne?

Suzanne McManus:

Well...

Dawn Williams:

This is Dawn. I might be able to clarify that a little bit.

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Dawn Williams:

So EIECSE is Early Intervention, Early Childhood Special Education. And in the state of Oregon, their Early Childhood Special Education system is a birth to five system and it all falls under EIECSE.

(Shara Larson):

Um-hmm.

Dawn Williams:

And so, instead of having LEAs, they have EIECSE programs that do all of the early childhood special education in Oregon. And that is why they have IFSPs from birth to five. There are not IEPs at that level.

(Shara Larson):

Okay. That does help. Thank you. Cindy, I have one last question for you. Is - I do not know how your enrollment period works, but how do you identify those kids that need to be in that classroom before having seen them in a classroom setting? Is it based on parent report or the fact that they are involved in an IFSP already or how is that determined?

Cindy Roberts:

Well one of the reasons we wanted this classroom was to have a place for kids that we had identified in our program that were in typical classrooms...

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

...but were not able to manage for whatever reasons...

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

...usually high mental health needs. And so we developed it so that we would pull from our typical classrooms...

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

...into that classroom. We have had one scenario where it was a child in the community who was already on an IFSP that we kind of had a heads up about and knew that he would not be able to be in a typical classroom. So we put him right into the therapeutic classroom.

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

But all other kids are identified through our other classrooms. And our goal is to get them into that classroom by January. And their spot transitions with them. So we do not typically fill their spot from their typical classroom. We transition their spot with them to that classroom.

(Shara Larson):

Okay. So the therapeutic classroom starts a month later than the other classrooms?

Cindy Roberts:

No. In fact we always have kids that start one year and have another year in our program.

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

So like just last year we had three children who were in the class last year and who are, you know, remained in the class this year. And so they started with three children. And our goal was to fill the classroom by January (unintelligible).

(Shara Larson):

And do you run a September to June program?

Cindy Roberts:

Yes we do.

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

We also run full day programs. And we are finding that the highest need for these kids really is from our full day classrooms.

(Shara Larson):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

And that is the most difficult because it is a part day program. Our therapeutic classroom is a part day program. And most of the time, the parents still need full day care for these kids.

(Shara Larson):

Hmm.

Cindy Roberts:

So we really have to weigh the options. Is it going to be better for the child to add another transition into their day to go into this classroom? And then we are really seeing kind of a correlation between kids who are in care from 7:30 in the morning till 5:30 at night and really challenging behaviors. So that is a challenge for us just to figure out the full day piece of it.

(Shara Larson):

Okay thank you.

Cindy Roberts:

Um-hmm.

Dawn Williams:

I think we have time for one more question.

Coordinator:

Your next question comes from (Sherry Skilling). (Sherry) your line is open.

(Sherry Skilling):

Hi. My question is on the posting rules and consequences in the classroom. Can you give an example of consequences? We have not posted consequences before.

Cindy Roberts:

Okay. (Sherry) who is your question directed to?

Maria Wilson:

It is probably me Maria.

(Sherry Skilling):

Yes, whoever is best to handle it, maybe...

Maria Wilson:

Oh, okay.

(Sherry Skilling):

...Cindy or whoever.

Maria Wilson:

Go ahead Cindy.

Cindy Roberts:

Okay. Well we do not actually talk about consequences in the therapeutic classroom. We talk about rules and we really just expect that with the relationship between the kind of bigger, stronger, wiser adult in the classroom that the children get those rules.

And the teachers just keep following through with reiterating the rule. And they use visual cues. And they also just pick up on what the child needs. So sometimes it is - is the child needing a break? Is the child needing to be held? What is the child actually needing?

So it is really more need focused than kind of a consequence based. I mean that is the therapeutic classroom. But in our other classrooms, we have our rules posted. We do not really talk about consequences.

(Sherry Skilling):

Okay.

Cindy Roberts:

That is not something - we just talk about, yes, more choices. Consequences is - we try and steer away from it honestly and it is only because I think people mix up consequences and punishment. And so we are really trying to steer away from kind of punishment based thinking in our program. So that is how we...

((Crosstalk))

Cindy Roberts:

...do it. I do not know Maria, if you have different suggestions.

Maria Wilson:

No it is basically other choices, you know, just redirecting the child to make other choices.

(Sherry Skilling):

Okay thank you. That did confuse me because I was trying in my mind to figure out what consequence would go with hitting. And it was like I do not think that you can just do one consequence...

Cindy Roberts:

Yes.

(Sherry Skilling):

...so, it did not seem appropriate. Thank you.

Dawn Williams:

Okay, well I think that we are going to wrap up the call. Cindy thank you so much. I knew that what you guys are doing down there people would be very interested in hearing about.

Cindy Roberts:

Yes. Yes we get a lot of phone calls. But Dawn I would like to offer our - my email to people if you have other questions out there about what we are doing with the therapeutic classroom.

There is a lot of energy around it and I know other programs are looking to possibly start their own. So, I am very open to sharing whatever it is that I can share with them.

Dawn Williams:

Yes. Do you want to - can tell everybody what you email is?

Cindy Roberts:

Oh sure. It is C Striker, S-T-R-I-K-E-R at hsolc.org. And H...

Dawn Williams:

And add...

((Crosstalk))

Cindy Roberts:

I am sorry, go ahead.

Dawn Williams:

No go ahead.

Cindy Roberts:

The HSOLC - it stands for Head Start of Lane County. So.

Dawn Williams:

And there is going to be a transcript of this call that is going to be posted on the (ACFTA) Web site. And I am happy to send out Cindy's contact information to everyone after the call as well.

Thank you so much. I am sure that we had other questions there, but we just do not have the time for all of that, and I hope that you enjoyed the call.

Cindy Roberts:

Thanks.

Dawn Williams:

Cindy if you could hold on, we can have a post conference after all that.

Cindy Roberts:

Sure, okay.

Coordinator:

Thank you for participating in today's conference call. You may disconnect at this time.

END

Posted on February 3, 2009.