A Fort Lonesome Evidence-Based Practitioner

If you don't know where Fort Lonesome is, look 9 miles east of Wimauma on CR 674. It looks a lot different than it did in 1953. But it is still 9 miles east of Wimauma.


Who would have thought that a country cracker would become an Evidence Based Practitioner. I may not be one yet, but I am pretty far down the railroad tracks. Having been a mental health counselor and then owner/operator/teacher/"behavior specialist" of a pre-school for 30+ years provides a base of experience. Having been the parent of a multiple disabled kid for 24+ years provided a real life learning environment that far surpassed any classroom or practicum experience by far.

I've lived it 24/7 for 24+. And I am still learning and thriving.

I don't know if I can claim to be a validated Evidence Based Practitioner, but I am getting close.


Click on the link and then click on what an Evidence Based Practitioner is. Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior - Resources

And then click on the link to see what I will have after some professional tweaking: Program Practices for Promoting the Social Development of Young Children and Addressing Challenging Behavior.

What should be noted is that the key to providing a successful path for children is to develop their social-emotional skills, for without these skills, educational benefit is severely hampered, no matter what the "educational setting" is. What should be noted is that the key to developing adequate social-emotional skills means the children must have a nurturing and responsive relationship with the caring adults.

What should be noted is that evidence based research shows that it costs less money (time and effort) to build a strong relationship than the time required to implement more elaborate and time consuming strategies. Read the link "The Teaching Pyramid: A Model for Supporting Social Competence and Preventing Challenging Behavior in Young Children".

So word to the professionals that are in charge of the business of educating our children: Working on nurturing and responsive relationships with children and their parents is cheaper and provides better results.

Unlike this approach.

1 more comment on Money vs. Education

There are so many aspects about SpEd that don't meet the trained eye. One aspect about the previous story of the kid getting "voted out of the class" is that the article states the kid was being evaluated for autism ---- since February.



For those who are buying into the reality that our public school system is more about the "'business' of education" rather than the "business of 'education', I will follow my previous post's comments by examining the following concept. Delay, delay, delay also saves money.

For those who must deal with the seedy side of special education, it may be easier to realize how the student's are more about "business decisions" than "education decisions", yet this same decision making strategy is used with regular education kids.

The following analogy contained in the linked article may make it more clear. One must understand that under IDEA, parent's have a "right" to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE). My understanding of the rules, despite what I have heard in IEP meetings, is that the parent does not have to provide a reason for the request (read the procedural safeguards), the parents only have to state that they disagree with the District's evaluation and they (parents) are requesting an IEE at public expense.

Upon this request, my understanding of the rules is that the District has two options - provide the IEE or go to Due Process. No threats that if the IEE says the same thing, the parents have to pay. No promises of delays until next year at which time the IEP team can look at the situation again, and none of the parsing and bullshit that usually comes when a parent tries to exercise their "rights".

I have several anecdotal stories of the abuse towards IEE evaluators. One story is about how an independent evaluator re-wrote a complete evaluation, after the first one was presented in an IEP meeting. There is a lot of power behind some district's ignorance and arrogance.


The Blame Game!
Are School Problems the Kids' Fault?
by
Pamela Darr Wright, M.A., M.S.W.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker




Independent Educational Evaluations

Parents ask: "Why can’t I tell the school that I want an independent educational evaluation done on my child? Money is short. Private testing is expensive. Aren’t we are entitled to this?"

Before we answer your question, let’s change the facts.

If you belong to a managed care health plan, you have a primary care doctor. This person entered into a contractual agreement with your insurance company, and agreed to abide by certain rules. The most important rule is that this doctor agreed to hold medical costs down by managing care.How does this work?

In managed care,your primary care doctor acts as a "gatekeeper," regulating (limiting) your access to medical treatment. If you go to a specialist without an appropriate referral by your primary care doctor, your insurance company does not have to pay for your treatment. If your doctor is successful in holding costs down, the insurance company will reward him or her with financial bonuses. If your doctor isn't willing to play by these rules, the insurance company will probably cancel his contract. He will lose you and many other patients – and his livelihood.

Now, let’s assume that you have a sick child. You take your child to your primary care doctor who is associated with the managed care company. Although the doctor makes a diagnosis and prescribes treatment, your child gets sicker. You ask for a referral to a specialist. After discussion and disagreement, the doctor refers your child to a specialist – who is also a member of the managed care plan.

This specialist signed a contract with the managed care entity in which he is forbidden to fully inform you about the treatment options for your child - this is called a "gag order." If you learn about these treatments, you will want them for your child. The best solution from the insurance companies perspective is to keep you ignorant about these treatment options. because your HMO or managed care group does not want to pay for them.

Do you want your sick child treated by doctors who are not permitted to inform you about certain (expensive) treatment options? Of course not! Your child’s health is at stake.

Now, let’s return to your question about independent evaluations. Earlier in this article, you learned that most school psychologists officially consider only child or family factors when they assess children’s learning and behavior problems. Aren’t things different with independent evaluators?

The relationship between independent evaluators and school districts is often similar to the relationship between managed care specialists and insurance companies. In many jurisdictions, people who are on the approved list of independent evaluators have agreed to abide by certain rules. When they perform evaluations on children, they are paid by the school district.

As a parent, you have to ask yourself this question: If my evaluator is paid by the school district, how independent can he or she be?

In our practice, we see cases in which an independent educational evaluator recommends that a child receive more or different special education serves than the district wants to provide. After making pro-child recommendations, these diagnosticians were dropped from the school district’s approved list of evaluators.

Professional Ugly Duckling Identifiers

We all know the story. A little animal faces adversity from it's peers. The little animal is shunned, mocked and ridiculed. Then one day, the little animal figures out that it can identify with others and suddenly the adversity disappears. At least in the story.


Thanks to the Gradebook, we have the link to this story: Teacher lets Morningside students vote out classmate, 5


... "After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Barton's 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.

By a 14 to 2 margin, the students voted Alex — who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism — out of the class."

...."Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident took place"


....."Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. Alex began the testing process in February at the suggestion of Morningside Principal Marcia Cully."

....."Children diagnosed with Asperger's often exhibit social isolation and eccentric behavior."

...."Melissa Barton filed a complaint with Morningside's school resource officer, who investigated the matter, Port St. Lucie Department spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the state attorney's office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said."

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I guess Alex Barton is what some school administrators refer to as the one's who ruin the "public school salad":


.....It is to be hoped that Principal Annette Grasty of Lakewood Elementary School in Sunnyvale, California is wilting with remorse for this thoroughly rotten analogy. Surely she did not intend to be insulting or hurtful.Her comments came about in reference to the penalty that schools face under the No Child Left Behind Act if they fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in standardized testing conducted each spring. If even one subgroup of students (such as special education) does not meet the AYP goal, the entire school is labeled low-performing. Like many educators, Principal Grasty believes it is unfair to flunk an entire school for the low performance of a single subgroup.As reported in the San Jose Mercury News [Download wilted and rotten.doc] , she thinks education should follow a business model: "If I were running a business, I'd try to control the product coming in," she said. For instance, she said, a chef wouldn't prepare a gourmet salad with wilted lettuce or rotten tomatoes. In a public school, she said, "I can't control who walks in that door. I take kids with learning disabilities, I take everyone. They come in at different levels and with different ways of learning."

....


Once again the arrogance and ignorance of a professional educator leads by example. Spare me the "isolated incident" rationalization... this is 2008 and I have heard that excuse since 1990.

They Just Didn't Get It

My previous post was an attempt to provide some insight in to why some educational settings do not succeed, despite how much the educators involved want to believe that they know what they are doing. Money is not the answer. Changing a mind-set is.

As a parent of a disabled child, I have years of experience and hundreds of anecdotal incidents (far exceeding what was often referred to as "isolated" by District personnel) that I could share. Despite my incessant efforts to bring in outside educated supports from places such as FSU, Fla. School For Deaf Blind, UofF, Texas, New York, Gallaudet, Boston College Deaf/Blind and even Australia, some people just didn't get it that their way was not good. Despite numerous evaluations, observations,reports and money spent on bringing in real experts, some people just didn't get it that their way was not good.

Dealing with behaviors was one of the most exasperating issues. I can not tell anyone how many times I was told my son did something "for no apparent reason". Like the time he broke his pencil, crumpled his paper and threw it on the floor "for no good reason". He was sent to the office. The principal informed us that he would not be allowed to act like that.

As the uninformed, emotionally attached, overwhelmed father, I only had excuses for his behavior. The fact that he had an uncorrectable vision problem did not matter. The fact that he was deaf did not matter. The fact that there was no one at that school to sign to him did not matter. The fact he was extremely successful in the prior setting because the previous teacher had all of the supports needed for him to succeed but they were not with him didn't matter. The fact that he had been given the same ditto several days in a row did not matter. The fact that the ditto was too small of print for him to see didn't matter. The fact that the lesson plan called for recognition of presidents didn't matter. The fact that no one knew how to present an abstract concept such as President Lincoln and President Washington to a kid who will never be able to grasp the concept didn't matter. The fact that he could not see pencil markings very well didn't matter. The fact that he was used to a black marker to accommodate his vision didn't matter.

No, I simply had to trust those who had the authority of the school system vested in them.

In my continued efforts to be a helpful father, despite my shortcomings, I talked with the teacher about my concerns. She told me she did not have ink to make separate dittos for my son. I asked what kind of ink cartridges she needed, and went directly to what-ever store it was and bought two cartridges and a ream of paper and gave it to her.

Needless to say, my purchase of the ink cartridges was not the answer. That was in 1990. By December 16th, 1996, despite various settings, it was the mind-set of several people that was never overcome and it led to me learning the rules.

Most of them had authority that could have righted the issue. Fortunately, there were a few who not only got it, but even without power and authority, they overcame the misguided. But not without a lot of effort to make things work.

The previous article speaks to how behaviors can be made worse by ignorance combined with power and authority.

Selective Behavioral Education

As I read and hear media reports about sex and violence in our school systems, I usually see a follow up report on how our parents are failing in their responsibilities to properly train their children. The assumption is made that along with the responsibility of having a child, the necessary skills should be in existence too.

Public school systems take on responsibilities of training students to drive a car and how to have sex, but when it comes to weapons, drugs and alcohol, it is hands off. Even an object that is not normally considered a weapon suddenly becomes one if there is implied intent with it, such as chicken wings and fingers with the word "pow".

Behavior crosses all areas of education. Behavior is needed to demonstrate what goes on in the brain. Try demonstrating anything without a behavior. If you ever watch someone run a computer with "eye control" or similar "switch", you may gain an understanding of how much we take behavior for granted. I have witnessed many people who have mental capabilities no one would know without an unusual method that replaces the behavior of writing or speaking. Yet, usually because of the advocacy of their parent(s), they have technology to behave in a manner that appropriately demonstrates their knowledge.

The educational system is full of behavioral plans. We see them everyday. We see them in science labs, literary classes, math classes, art classes, extra curricular programs, drivers ed classes, wellness programs and sports, to name a few. Behavioral plans are everywhere.

Our education system puts a lot of money into every one of these behavior plans. The school systems are judged in how well these behaviors are performed. We take for granted that the behaviors taught in the classroom are performed in high stakes testing. Until it comes to special ed students. Or parenting.

I frequently question how and why our public school systems take on some behavioral responsibilities. But they not only do it, they actively seek these responsibilities with the belief that it is for the common good.

If it has been determined that inadequate parenting skills are the root of low performing schools, then it would seem appropriate that the public school system take on the responsibility of training all students to be behave as responsible parents.


What Are the School's Obligations to a Child with Severe Emotional & Behavior Problems?
by Pete Wright, Esq.


Good Diagnostics Before Solutions

Coming up with the correct solution may require additional testing to narrow down, diagnose, and set up a treatment plan. It is hard work, but this is what it takes to change a child, not just pass the child on to someone else so he becomes their problem.


"Shift to the medical model: Assume that you are a medical doctor. You are treating a patient for a cold. Several weeks have passed but your patient's cold hasn't gotten better. Instead, the patient continues to complain, is listless, the cough has worsened. Now, the patient is wheezing. Do you continue with the same treatment? Do you prescribe more cough medicine? Do you do a more thorough diagnostic workup? Do you think the patient coughing willfully? Do you decide that the patient is "choosing" to cough? Do you blame the patient when the situation spirals out of control?"

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In this presentation, a cartoon character practices waiting for the bus. To be good at it.


The Old Way and the New Way