RE: FEAT-Houston ABA in public schools meeting results? May 2008

[Guest guest]

I haven't printed out my list of acronym's yet....what does FEAT stand for? 

What exactly are they working towards?

Ana

Subject: RE: FEAT-Houston ABA in public schools meeting

results? May 2008

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Date: Tuesday, July 29, 2008, 2:31 PM

That has been my " baby " - unfortunately, my family was in crisis this

spring/summer, so I haven't followed up on the next steps yet.

The meeting went fine. We had approximately 30 attendees, mostly teachers,

administrators, and consultants - their turnout was stronger than I had

expected. We had a few parents, but not as many as I had hoped.

When the school year starts, we'll probably need to convene some focus group

meetings to try to better understand some of the issues which were brought

up. Here are the notes I took - they're a bit rough, since I'm not a good

note-taker and concurrent listener!

-G

* There needs to be education on both sides (parents and schools)

* An offend somebody because you don't say things the right way (lack

of shared " language " of methods and ideas)

* Teacher prep programs have changes. 15-20 years ago everyone was

trained in ABA. The method for training teacher shifted to a more

developmental model and educators got away from using ABA.

* People don't understand what ABA. ABA is not a program. It's a

way of teaching. We need to reach some common ground about what constitutes

ABA.

* There's a difference in believing in ABA and understanding it.

* Autism is a very diverse spectrum, different types of autism and

different understandings of what it means and how you educate.

* Needs are individualized and teaching is based on needs, not autism

label.

* Parent's perception of ABA is defined by what private programs have

been doing (30-40 hours of IBI)

* study defines hours, ratios, etc.

* So many variables are involved - funding, staff ratios, etc. We

need to decision makers, like superintendents, to be at these kinds of

meeting. They don't understand. It's just on paper to them, and it's about

money.

* Many districts have money for legal fees, but not ABA!

* Parents have a lot of power. A lot of times parents and schools

agree, but decision making power is in Austin. Parents' voices can be heard

there. Autism supplement is an unfunded mandate.

* We need to look at what's going on in other states. We need to hire

qualified people to train teachers.

* My son doesn't have time for laws to pass - he's 8 and money is not

an excuse

* ABA needs to be used for all/any students with disabilities, not

just autism

* Districts have money for materials - there's money there. Use the

money for teaching teachers instead.

* Where are the superintendents, administrators, and principals? We

need to be reaching those people?

* Have superintendents been in an au classroom for 1 hour???

* Autism isn't a priority in my district. Gen ed is. Principals put

Sped on the backburner. Teachers want to know why they're not getting

training in the things they need. As an administrator, I need to train

every teacher who gets a student with autism. We need to develop programs

to train teachers.

* There's a need to develop programs for training and retaining

teachers. Need to create performance compensation programs, need to create

mentorship opportunities, need to create professional development

opportunities for paraprofessionals.

* We need teacher training programs at the university level. (UHCL,

SHSU, NTx)

* I'm in a district with autism training and a good BCBA. There are

thos districts. We need to expand on that. We need a " helping teacher " to

go around and problem solve in different classrooms.

* Instruction for hearing-impaired students can also be applied to au

students.

* Where does Region IV's ABA training fit into all of this?

* Region IV does a 5 day workshop with role plays, capped at 100,

sessions fill up quickly. There's a huge need for training. Difficult to

get 5 consecutive days off for teachers to come. It's a start. Families

sometimes want different things (other methodologies) . Can't build capacity

in 3-5 years. Burnout rate for teachers is 3 years. Need to have other

types of training methods like hands-on mentoring. The problem is just too

big to address in just 1 way. For years we could not get universities to

offer ABA teacher training programs.

* I'm in a small district and have never heard of Region IV training.

* Need to get rid of special ed counselors and get more BCBAs.

* Teachers aren't aware there are people they can call for consulting

(access to the autism team)

* Need to get supports for teachers

* Gen ed teachers are disconnected from sped supports

* I was willing to pay for a shadow for my child, but wasn't legally

allowed b/c of confidentiality

* In our district we get a lot of training and it takes a lot of

passion. Maybe some teachers don't apply what they learn, but I do. I have

been attacked by parents or private sector BCBA's who criticize by ABA. In

order for school district to learn about ABA, they need to be able to freely

communicate and collaborate with private sector.

* We've had some tough ARDs and it can be " us v. them "

* Autism is such a spectrum and teacher need to be able to work with

a lot of different types of kids, no one formula.

* Want more of a cooperative effort between private and public

sector.

* Teachers are becoming burnt out because parents are so critical of

teachers

* Parents get frustrated b/c of years and years of poor performance

by public schools which don't support programming for students with autism.

* As parents we expect for our medical professionals to have a

license or certification. We need to think of BCBAs as experts or

" specialists " to go to.

* Behavior anaylsis is a science, not a methodology. ABA is not just

a treatment, but teaching, using scientific principles of ABA.

* What is the role for BCBAs in public schools?

* Most districts need more than 1 BCBA. Need BCBAs working with

kids, not sitting in ARDs. Would like to have sped teachers certified as

BCABAs.

* I was thinking about getting my BCBA, but was told it would be

better to go for principal certification than BCBA

* Districts could use BCBAs to mentor teachers and develop BCABA

* I want to be a BCABA. I need a BCBA to supervise me, but I'd have

to quit teaching to get my supervised hours.

_____

From: Texas-Autism- Advocacy@ yahoogroups. com

[mailto:Texas-Autism- Advocacy@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of imaan youssri

Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 8:30 AM

To: Texas Autism Advocacy

Subject: [Texas-Autism- Advocacy] FEAT-Houston ABA in public schools meeting

results? May 2008

Hi,

Does anyone know the outcome or details of how

FEAT Houston's May meeting went ? It was about ABA in public schools and

some public school personnel were invited. How was their

turnout?Unfortunate ly I had an emergency at that time and could not attend.

Someone had promised to compile notes about the meeting and make them

available to those who could not attend. Any news would be appreciated as we

prepare for the 08/09 academic year. Any replies would be apprecited either

on the list or to me personally on imaany2000yahoo (DOT)

<mailto:imaany2000% 40yahoo.com> com . Thanks a lot.