Strategic and Ethical Approaches to Planning and Delivering Intensive Behavioral Interventions in Schools

Course Abstract:

Educators face persistent and emergent needs for addressing behavior in schools that threatens student and staff safety, as well as interfering with engagement. Clinical models of intake, assessment, and intervention are informative for school-based behavioral providers, but there are several unique features of the school context, including logistical barriers, educational goals and values, and a political and regulatory landscape that must be taken into account. At a minimum, providers will develop the ability to anticipate, detect, and accommodate these features, and ideally they will be able to capitalize on the opportunities that can be identified. Moreover, the actions taken should be both effective and ethical. In this presentation, we will highlight key actions for practitioners to consider as they apply processes such as Universal Protocols, Practical Functional Assessment and Skill-Based Treatment based on our practice and research in Tennessee’s diverse public schools. This presentation will provide a synthesis of evidence-based approaches from educational consulting, clinical ABA, and PFA/SBT, including problem identification, goal setting, data-based decision-making, capacity-building, and individualizing clinical approaches in the interest of improving social validity and efficacy.

Learning Objectives:

• The participant will be able to develop a process for identifying the student and school profiles for which Universal Protocols, Practical Functional Assessment, and Skill-Based Treatment are most likely to lead to desired outcomes.

• The participant will be able to align the goals of students, families, and educator teams with the tactics of UP and SBT to clarify expectations and promote informed and individualized decision-making.

• The participant will be able to assess and address issues related to acceptability, collaboration, staff-training, progress monitoring.

• The participant will be able to articulate several practical measures they can take in order for Universal Protocols to be successfully applied in schools.

Who is John Staubitz?

John Staubitz began his career as a special education teacher and behavior analyst working with children and adolescents in public schools, homes, and clinics who presented with severe and complex behavior needs. Prior to beginning his work at TRIAD, his interests included intensive intervention in academics and behavior, school-based consultation, and functional assessment. John began working at TRIAD in early 2013 and has participated in and led several projects and initiatives in the past decade. He has directed TRIAD’s school-based behavior consultation and technical assistance programming funded through grants with the Tennessee DOE since 2015, and has served as key personnel on research projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health, evaluating the impact of novel methods for assessing severe behavior. John has co-authored publications related to the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior, the application of machine learning and sensors to enhance the assessment of behavior, and intensive reading intervention for children with behavior disorders. John remains passionate about improving educational and clinical outcomes for children and adolescents who are exceptional in the area of behavior, and is particularly interested in improving the safety, efficiency and acceptability of assessment and intervention processes available to practitioners and caregivers.