Ok so I have officially filed another complaint agaist our district. Here were my points in the complaint :
The amount of hours that have been missed since Gabriel’s at home ABA Discrete Trial services started.
The lack of Discrete Trial tracking that is being done during the sessions.
The establishment of goals and objectives for the Discrete Trial written without the input of Gabriel’s parents.
The denial of a face-to-face meeting with the WTSD (District) supervising BCBA who participated in preparing the current Goals and Objectives in Gabriel’s discrete trial program.
The lack of a written behavior plan.
Here is my reasons for the above concerns:
Item #1 refers to the amount of hours that have been missed since Gabriel’s at-home ABA Discrete Trial services started.As per Gabriel’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and the Mediation Agreement dated December 4, 2006, Gabriel is to receive 4.5 hours per week total with 2.5 being the amount on his IEP and 2 hours of make up hours per week for all the hours missed prior to that date.
On Tuesday, February 27, 2007, copies of the signed service logs showing the amount of ABA discrete trial home service hours Gabriel has received to date were requested.Gabriel is currently not receiving the 2.5 hours of ABA Discrete Trial at-home services as established in his IEP, and is accumulating additional make-up time in addition to the 52 hours the District already owes him.I have previously requested that the District provide a verbal tally of hours Ms. B, Gabriel’s at-home Discrete Trial teacher, has provided to date.At the time of this complaint, the only response from the District was “there is a pattern of hours missing” during a phone conversation on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 with Ms. H, Gabriel’s District Case Manager.It is our contention that the mutually agreed upon services outlined in the IEP and the Mediation Agreement are not being met.Gabriel needs a teacher/therapist who has the availability to come to our home to work with him three times a week after school for one and one-half hours each session.If this cannot be consistently done by Ms. B, the District needs to find someone else who can provide these services as per his IEP.The District has suggested making up hours during the weekend, however, this arrangement is unacceptable.We feel that Gabriel works hard enough during the school week that his learning on the weekends should be incidental and not structured.Furthermore, Gabriel works too hard during the week with pre-school and during his at-home Discrete Trial services to take away free time he may use to relax and enjoy recreational and family activities.
Item #2 refers to the lack of Discrete Trial tracking that is being performed by Ms. B during the sessions.ABA gained its reputation based on its proven scientific method of recording data to show results.I have asked Ms. B for copies of her data, graphing, and notes during her sessions with Gabriel so they may be reviewed by my husband and I at our convenience.Ms B informed me that notes are kept in her notebook which she carries to and from each session, not allowing us access to review.She does carry a binder with Gabriel’s goals listed to and from each session, however, the binder is not left at our home for review.Furthermore, I have looked through the binder on several occasions, and I have observed a concerning few number of tracked trials.
Having a written record showing Gabriel’s progress is the basic fundamental first rule of any ABA program.It is the cardinal rule to take data on every single Discrete Trial that is done with Gabriel with either a (+) or a (-) and a percentage of how he did and graph that data. Data can be handwritten on paper by percentages weekly, but all data taken on Gabriel should be based on the teacher/therapist taking reliable (+ or - or %) on each Discrete Trial.There should be a blank program sheet for every single time his teacher/therapist works with Gabriel and these should get charted on a graph showing Gabriel’s progress or regression.In addition, the therapists/teachers should have a clipboard at all times and write every single response Gabriel has made.
Without the proper tracking, it cannot be determined if Gabriel has mastered a skill and ready for a new goal, requires more help in a certain areas, or even if he has regressed.Jotting down a few notes in a notebook that we as parents cannot access is unacceptable, as working with Gabriel is an around-the-clock task.Without the proper Discrete Trial tracking as the foundation of progress, random notes are subjective and not based on any form of ABA.It is difficult to reinforce his programs and teach him when we do not have progress tracking to reference or information for mastered programs to move on from. Time is crucial and we do not want to waste it on programs Gabriel has mastered, but rather on those items he has not.
There are several examples showing that the lack of Discrete Trial tracking has slowed Gabriel’s progress, as Ms. B is working on trials that Gabriel has mastered.First, Gabriel has mastered recognizing pictures of animals and their appropriate sounds.This skill was mastered almost immediately after services began, yet every session to date consists of a review of each animal flashcard and their appropriate sound.Gabriel has also mastered recognizing upper and lower case letters, and picture and sight word flash cards.He has mastered the letters and cards several weeks ago, however, as with the animals, these skills are continually reviewed.This repetitive review of a mastered skill reduces valuable time that could be used on learning a skill not yet mastered.It is understood that skills need to be maintained, however, it is our understanding that mastered skills are not usually done as a complete trial each session.Based on our discussions with other professionals, he should be tested at most once a week or mix the mastered items with items that are not mastered as distracters.Finally, Ms. Bethel does not make suggestions as to where and how to push Gabriel, and the only time when a new goal is introduced is after a parental suggestion is made.Again, with proper tracking, these items are easily addressed.
This data should be graphed and presented to the supervising BCBA consultant bi-monthly to tweak, remove, or add new programs with the input of us as Gabriel’s parents and the teacher/therapist providing the service.This cannot be accomplished without the proper Discrete Trial tracking being performed.We have received the Summary of Progress which lists the goals as established by the District as well as Gabriel’s progress to date, however, we feel this summary lacks credibility, as reliable data and statistics were not utilized to establish goals or confirm progress.The District has not provided statistical proof for the basis of the establishment of the Summary of Progress.
Item #3 refers to the written Goals and Objectives for the Discrete Trial that have established without parental input or suggestion.These goals were developed and written by Ms. H, the supervising BCBA, and Ms. B.The form was received on March 1, 2007.According to Ms. H, the Goals and Objectives requires parental signature to confirm receipt and accept the written plan.There are several goals and objectives we do not agree with, and additional goals and objectives we would like to see added to the plan.We were not asked to participate in the development of these goals.
Our hopes and expectations for at-home ABA Discrete Trial services is the focus on the expressive language, social, and pretend play skills, as this is the area Gabriel needs most help.Ms. B appears to be using a more academic approach and is not focusing on these goals.I have asked her to focus on social skills, as Gabriel’s academics are being addressed in school.Some of the goals listed that are inappropriate for a 3.5 year old include:
·A goal that states “the student will demonstrate eye contact upon request, eye contact will be maintained for a total duration of ten seconds, and eye contact will be maintained from a distance of three yards (for 5 seconds).It further states the student‘s eye contact must be given within three seconds of the request and maintained for the full duration”.We feel the goal should address eye contact for a purpose, and should more appropriately state “eye contact will be maintained for a total of ten seconds when responding to his name or during a reciprocal conversation”.
·Another goal states “the student will count objects up to a quantity of thirty”.We feel a more age appropriate goal to be able to count to 15, and then have this goal mastered so that we can work on goals that promote expressive language and social and pretend play skills.This goal should be written to promote expressive language such as Gabriel and Ms. B both having a small group of crackers in front of them.Ms. B says to Gabriel, “I have five crackers, how many do you have?” and Gabriel is able to respond by looking down, counting the crackers in front of him and saying, “I have six crackers”.
·Another goal states “the student will expressively identify numbers 1-100 when presented with a number card”.It is our opinion that a goal of this nature is age inappropriate and should be mastered at a much lower number.Consider this, what good is it if a 3.5 year old can count to 100 when he can not put on his coat or greet someone properly?
We feel the direction of the Discrete Trials should concentrate on goals such as being able to ask and answer “WH” questions, saying I don’t know appropriately, being able to go up to another child and ask what is your name or ask can I play with you, concepts of size, and identify items that are associated with each other, such as things in the sky or things you eat.We feel Ms. B is working on skills that come easier to Gabriel, and not necessarily focusing on the skills that are harder for him to learn.
We have asked Ms. B to work on helping Gabriel’s ability to sit on the floor with legs crossed, rather than leaning on an object or lying on the floor.This is an item he is having difficulty with at school.This is evidenced by Gabriel’s most recent IEP for physical therapy dated February 28, 2007.We along with Ms. B originally addressed this issue by adding a goal of playing board games on the floor.Initially, games were played at a table, and it was decided to move game-playing activities to the floor when he was ready.The floor game-playing has yet to move to the floor, and has been removed from the list of Goals and Objectives.Ms. B never addressed the reason for why the goal was removed.
We have asked Ms. B if she can help address Gabriel’s feeding concerns.She has shown uneasiness with addressing feeding by stating she did not think she is allowed to work on feeding issues.After informing her that feeding concerns are in his IEP, she asked for a list of Gabriel’s preferred foods.This list was given to her several weeks ago, however no mention of our feeding concerns have been made.The regular meetings with the BCBA will show Ms. Bethel how to address feeding issues with Gabriel.
Item #4 refers to our request to meet with the District’s supervising BCBA who participated in preparing the current Goals and Objectives in Gabriel’s Discrete Trial program. Prior to receiving the Goals and Objectives, a written request dated Tuesday, February 27, 2007 requested the District to arrange a meeting with the supervising BCBA so that we could discuss our concerns with Gabriel’s program.
After not receiving a response from the District, an email was sent to Ms. B and Ms. H on March 2, 2007 stating that we were still awaiting details concerning the requested meeting.The response we received that day from Ms. H stated:
“Hi Alison, I spoke with the Behavioral Consultant today.She clarified that her role is to provide consultation to teachers only.”
Gabriel’s IEP states “The District will provide ABA instruction in the home by an instructor who is trained in discrete trial and practices under the supervision of a certified consultant and/or teacher”.The Mediation papers dated December 4, 2006 state “the district has identified a person who is qualified to provide the home services in Gabriel Torres’ IEP.This person will be supervised by the District’s behavior analyst”.Neither document states the supervising BCBA will only consult with the teacher, nor does either document restrict parental contact to the supervising BCBA.
As active parents, we feel direct contact with the supervising BCBA on a bi-monthly schedule to tweak, remove, or add new programs would best serve Gabriel.In addition, the supervising BCBA should be assisting both Ms. Bethel and us to run a smooth program where Gabriel’s needs are being addressed with proper goals.We are very pleased with Ms. B and the manner and method in which she works with Gabriel; however we feel the direct contact and guidance from the supervising BCBA is necessary to make sure Gabriel’s programs stays on track.
Frankly, we are disturbed that the individual employed by the District to supervise Gabriel’s home program has received notification that there are parental concerns with the program our child is receiving, and has chosen not to speak with us or meet Gabriel after a specific request was made.We feel this behavior calls into question this individual’s lack of commitment and supervision of our son’s at-home services.
Finally, Item #5 refers to the lack of a written behavioral plan.At-homes services are provided from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm, and include the use of food re-enforcers.The re-enforcers include cheese doodles, chocolate milk, popcorn, pudding, etc.The amount of snacks consumed during these services fills him so, that he does not eat dinner.A token board was in place, but is no longer being utilized.We feel a written behavior plan is necessary so that Ms. B can reduce the amount of food re-enforcers during service so that Gabriel can have dinner with his family.
My latest concern is that yesterday I asked the dt teacher to leave her data sheets and notes at my home so that we can review them and continue to work on the skills while she is not here. She told me she cannot do that because any data or notes she takes on him are property of the district and need to be taken with her when she leaves. I can look through them while she is here but that is it.
Is that crazy? How is my husband supposed to be able to review his progress? I asked her for copies of her data and she said she would ask the district if it was ok. the next session she brough me copies and to my surprise (sarcasm insinuated here) there were date sheets from every session she had with Gabriel. Before this week she never had a data sheet out during a session so i know she made them up.
I am so frustrated. How can i rebute the fact that she doctured up data sheets to cover her butt????? it is my word against hers. I know this because I have looked through the data book during the previous sessions and she didnt have more then two entries per goal.
Give me patience to deal with this
thanks in advance
I BELIVE IT WOULD BE GREAT IF EVERYONE OF US PUT THE NAME OF THE DISTRICT ...THANK YOUsmall update, the dept of ed said i need to file for due process or mediation, not a complaint for my issues
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