New School Safety Plan

I received Honeybunches updated Behavior/Safety Plan today from school.  It says:

"(Honeybunches) spends his day in the ILC which is designed to provide intensive behavioral and social supports along with specialized academic support.  A high staff to student ratio provides the opportunity for a great deal of proactive social support for each child.  This is a very structured setting with a predictable schedule and clearly established routines. 

There are a number of systems set up to promote pro-socieal behavior.  Students earn stars every 15 minutes for speaking appropriately, cooperating with adults, being on task, respecting adults and maintaining self=control.  A certain percentage of stars by 11:15 each morning and by 2:30 each afternoon allow them to earn breaks.  The breaks are also contingent upon safe behavior and completion of academics.  Earning stars determines the number of points for the monthy "Treatsure Box" and also counts towards a level system which allows students to earn increasing privileges as they move up through the system.  In addition, they earn stickers on a car for especially good academic efforts, positive social interactions and exercising self=-control in difficult circumstances.  Cooperative efforts are encouraged through a compliment chain and an addition classroom reward system.  

Supports outside the Classroom: The school counselor works with (Honeybunches) both individually as well as in a class wide group that focuses on social knowledge and skills.  He also has a supportive relationship with his previous teacher, principal, the district psychologist and the district BCBA behaviorist.  

Sensory: The teacher will consult with the Occupational Therapist to determine sensory breaks for (Honeybunches).  They will generally be offered after times that are typically challenging for him: unstructured times, recess, physical activities, or school-wide events. As the afternoon is generally a time when it is more challenging to sustain academic efforts breaks may be offered more frequently. These are typically short breaks of 3-5 minutes that allow him to calm down but are not so long that they will interfere significantly with academic time.  Most of the time he prefers to do his academics.  Often moving to a quiet space may be all (Honeybunches) needs to reduce sensory overload. 

Self-Regulation: The ability to be aware of their emotional state and to have skills to help themselves return to a calmer place is crucial to all students.  For the majority of the students in the ILC this has been an area of difficulty.  A 5-point scale with a 1 being his calmest and a 5 being the most agitated has been developed with (Honeybunches).  It indicates what it looks like and feels like at each level as well as what (Honeybunches) can do to return to a calmer place if he is becoming upset.  Over time it is hoped that (Honeybunches) will internalize these concepts and be more able to regulate himself.  

Target Behaviors: These behaviors are documented each day.  Currently disruptive behavior and delay in starting his academic assignments are our two priorities.  At this point unsafe behaviors such as aggression and leaving staff supervision are no longer a significant concern.

Safety: ILC staff are trained in TCIS - Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools.  This model incorporates a variety of de-escalation techniques, therapeutic behavioral approaches and physical restraint (If necessary) to assure student safety.  The ILC has an adjacent time out room that is easily accessed from the classroom.  This space is available to the students assigned to the ILC anytime throughout the day - either self or staff directed.  There is no consequence to the student if used appropriately to "Take a break" and allow for improved self-regulation.  

If (Honeybunches') behavior escalates and becomes unsafe or aggressive, he will be escorted to the time out area if he does not respond immediately to a verbal prompt.  Once there he will be released and allowed to calm down unless he becomes unsafe at which point he would be restrained.  All restraints will be logged to include information related to the reason for the restrain,, time it began, time it ended and the student's behavior during the restraint.  (Honeybunches) will be released from the restraint when he is able to keep his body calm and refrain from threatening statements for one minute.  He must remain quiet and safe for a minimum of five minutes in the time out area before he is allowed to return to a prior activity.  As soon as possible following the completion of a time out he will be provided with the opportunity to have a Life Space Interview to process what led to the crisis, how the behavior was unsuccessful in getting him what he wanted and an alternative strategy for getting his needs met.  

(Honeybunches) will be closely monitored and supervised throughout the day both in the classroom and during unstructured activities (i.e. lunch, recess) by the ILC staff.  This implies both visual and physical proximity to ensure his safety.  Walkie-Talkie handsets will be used for effective and efficient communication during recess.  

Home/School Communication: A "Daily Communication Sheet" is sent home to provide (Honeybunches) family with a short narrative of his day along with information on his status on the Level System, Time Outs (If any), Restraints (If any) and Homework.  There is a place for adult's signature as well as a place for comments and questions.  Serious incidents will also be communicated to his family through a phone call."