Re: Question about staff to child ratio

[Guest guest]

,

I think it's going to be awfully hard on the teacher, switching back and

forth, and keeping track of what motivates each child. If dealing with

behavioral issues with one, what is happening to the second child during

that time. What will the teacher do if one child wants to do one thing, and

the other wants something else? Or is the program not really centered

around the child's motivation.

We have noticed that sometimes our kids get upset when something is going on

in another room. I just can't imagine that happening right under their

noses and them not getting upset.

If this program is also focusing on " number of trials " it may not be the

most effective way of teaching either.

I would encourage you to read up about the more child friendly version of

ABA, which is called Verbal Behavior. Information is available on our web

site under " Training Materials. "

s (Cary, NC)

persistentC@...

President and Executive Director

The Mariposa School for Children with Autism

203 Gregson Drive

Cary, NC 27511

919-461-0600

<http://www.mariposaschool.org/> www.MariposaSchool.org

_____

From: jal4ajl [mailto:jal4ajl@...]

Sent: Friday, September 03, 2004 10:08 AM

Subject: [ ] Question about staff to child ratio

Hi everyone,

I have a friend with a preschool age autistic child who has never

had any ABA and is fairly low functioning (no expressive language,

minimal receptive language or compliance, no self help skills,

etc). His school has agreed to provide an ABA program in a

classroom with several other autistic preschoolers. The staff to

child ratio in the classroom will be 1 staff to 2 children, and the

school is saying the ABA will be provided in a 1:2 format. Each

staff member will be teaching 2 children. Presumably, the idea is

that when one child is taking a break or busy doing a task, the

instructor will be doing drills with the other. So each staff

member will be responsible for teaching 2 children, and will sort

of switch back and forth all day between the children.

My friend has concerns about whether this will work and has concerns

that this is not traditional " one on one " ABA. The ABA consultant

setting up the program, who I know and respect, says what matters is

the number of trials a child gets in a day, not the number of hours

spent in one on one. She suggests the number of trials will be

adequate to make good progress and not to worry about the 1:2

teaching format.

I am wondering if anyone in this group has any knowledge or

experience with this kind of 1:2 ABA format. This is new to me, I

have never heard of doing ABA this way. If anyone has any thoughts,

comments, or experiences (good or bad) regarding this kind of format

please share them. My friend has to decide whether to accept this

program or keep pushing for traditional " one on one " ABA which the

school is not currently offering.

Thanks.

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[Guest guest]

Hi ,

A ratio of 1 staff: 2 students is common in most public school programs, and can

be

very effective in teaching a variety of skills, particularly during NET (natural

environment training). Good instructional planning and preparation are obviously

required on the part of the teacher and classroom paraprofessionals, as well as

scheduling and staffing of classroom activities. The key consideration should be

the

staffing needs to teach a specific skill to a particular child.

For instance, most discrete trial instruction (or intensive teaching trials) can

be

effectively implemented in a one-to-one format. However, the initial teaching

phases

of PECS (just to cite an example) require TWO staff for one student, one as a

prompter

and the other as the communicative partner (motor imitation is another example

of a

skill which may require 2 staff for 1 student during initial training). How the

teacher

addresses these instructional needs is a challenge, but not insurmountable.

A teacher may plan 1:1 instruction during periods when there are additional

staff

(speech therapists, occupational therapists, etc.) in the room. Or, the teacher

could

have some students in the play area with one staff person (who would take

advantage

of naturally-occuring teaching opportunities, and making note of items that the

students seem to prefer to play with), while other staff are providing more

intensive

instruction (and all students rotating between both situations). A teacher may

plan a

periiod in which one student is in 1:1 instruction, another pair of students are

grouped together for a different activity, while the rest of the students are

involved in

another group activity. Any arrangement should not be static, but be flexible to

accomodate the learner when teaching target skills during particular activities,

and

providing a wealth of opportunities to practice those target skills.

While a classroom staffing ratio of 1:1 may be helpful at times, it also

increases the

density of people in the classroom (and often increases the noise level), which

can

also be impediments to learning. For your friend, the best advice may be to

observe

the classroom and review the child's program data frequently, in order to fairly

determine whether the child's needs are being met.

Sincerely,

Todd Frischmann

Training Coordinator

s Outreach

> Hi everyone,

>

> I have a friend with a preschool age autistic child who has never

> had any ABA and is fairly low functioning (no expressive language,

> minimal receptive language or compliance, no self help skills,

> etc). His school has agreed to provide an ABA program in a

> classroom with several other autistic preschoolers. The staff to

> child ratio in the classroom will be 1 staff to 2 children, and the

> school is saying the ABA will be provided in a 1:2 format. Each

> staff member will be teaching 2 children. Presumably, the idea is

> that when one child is taking a break or busy doing a task, the

> instructor will be doing drills with the other. So each staff

> member will be responsible for teaching 2 children, and will sort

> of switch back and forth all day between the children.

>

> My friend has concerns about whether this will work and has concerns

> that this is not traditional " one on one " ABA. The ABA consultant

> setting up the program, who I know and respect, says what matters is

> the number of trials a child gets in a day, not the number of hours

> spent in one on one. She suggests the number of trials will be

> adequate to make good progress and not to worry about the 1:2

> teaching format.

>

> I am wondering if anyone in this group has any knowledge or

> experience with this kind of 1:2 ABA format. This is new to me, I

> have never heard of doing ABA this way. If anyone has any thoughts,

> comments, or experiences (good or bad) regarding this kind of format

> please share them. My friend has to decide whether to accept this

> program or keep pushing for traditional " one on one " ABA which the

> school is not currently offering.

>

> Thanks.

>

>