Behavior Services

Intensive (student-specific) technical assistance is designed for school teams interested in support from TRIAD to improve an individual students’ safety, engagement, inclusion, and/or independence. This program is intended for school teams working with a specific student who has been receiving a high level of support and has utilized most/all services in their district. Together the student, caregivers, the school team and TRIAD will identify a 12-week goal to be prioritized for technical assistance. Goals might include decreasing behavior related to student safety, the use of restraint/isolation and other disciplinary actions which will allow the student to have increased cooperation with learning goals and autonomy.

Technical Assistance Format

Most assistance, including training, will be conducted remotely using technology tools when possible. Site visits can be conducted when coaching and consultation activity/goals cannot be achieved remotely. School participants should expect to be able to participate in daily data collection, weekly remote team meetings, weekly remote observations, as well as implementing student assessments and interventions. It is required for educators to be able to implement 1:1 intervention with the target student for at least 30 minutes per day.

Student Behavior

Technical assistance is designed for students engaging in behaviors similar to self-injury, physical aggression towards others, elopement, tantrum, disruptive behaviors, or goals related to cooperation with instruction, social or prevocational opportunities.

School Team Composition

The school team needs to be committed to improving outcomes for a student with severe and complex behavior needs. All team members are required to consent for video recording, data collection, and document sharing. Team members will include:

• Special education teacher
• Paraprofessionals
• Building level administrator (required)
• District SPED administrator (required)
• Behavior specialist/BCBA (if applicable)
• General education teacher (if applicable)
• SLP or other related service providers (if applicable)

Intensive (Student-Specific) Technical Assistance Components

In order to meet team goals the school team will progress through phases of technical assistance.

1. Screening (Pre-enrollment)
   Prior to enrolling, the team will complete a series of applications/sub applications for TRIAD to learn more about student needs and team goals. An enrollment decision will be made collaboratively between the school team and TRIAD.

2. Orientation
   Once enrolled, the team will complete a series of activities to allow TRIAD to become oriented to the student. This will include:
   • Online learning modules/data collection training
   • Baseline data collection (3-5 days collected by school team)
   • TRIAD review student records (IEP, FBA, BIP, existing data, etc.)
   • Remote student observation
   • Data analysis training
   • Student and Family Interview

3. Assessment and Intervention
   Once baseline data is collected the TRIAD and the school team will work together to identify additional behavioral assessments to support intervention planning. Assessment could include a preference assessment, concurrent operants analysis (COA), structured ABC data, or a functional analysis. TRIAD and the school team will collaborate to analyze all data to develop an intervention. TRIAD will provide training to team members regarding intervention plan and support implementation through remote observations and ongoing data analysis and intervention monitoring.

4. Fading/Generalization
   TRIAD will collaborate to fade support and increase school team independence for implementing intervention.

The purpose of the BCBA Community group is to create an interactive, collaborative space for school-based BCBAs to share resources, provide support to one another while navigating through school cases and to connect BCBAs to one another across the state of Tennessee. The topics covered in this group are dictated by the members’ current interest and needs with an emphasis on most effective practices for working in the school system.

Participant Requirements

1. Currently working as a school based BCBA in a Tennessee school
2. Currently supervising BCBAs in Tennessee schools
3. Working towards your BCBA, and employed as a school-based professional to support students with challenging behavior, including designing and implementing FBAs and BIPs.

Format
Group meets once a month online to discuss specifics related to working as a school-based BCBA in Tennessee.

The TRIAD Behavior Leadership Webinar Series provides a professional development community for school- and district-level staff who serve in administrative, consultative, or leadership roles with respect to student behavior. The goal of the webinar series is to create a space that fosters awareness, growth, and collaboration for leaders who serve or support others in serving students with exceptional behavior needs. Each webinar session will have a topic of focus, featured expert and practitioner panelists, and many opportunities to ask questions and engage in discussion. Topics for the series will include:

• Crisis procedures and documentation (e.g., restraint and isolation)
• Discipline for behavior of students with IEPs (e.g., Manifestation Determination)
• Providing Free and Appropriate Access to Public Education for the most exceptional students (e.g., novel interventions and shortened school days)
• Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Planning (BIP; e.g., conditions to conduct, resource allocation, and capacity building).

Registration coming soon!

Archived Webinars

This 56 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Interpret and support current state requirements for Functional Behavior Assessment and Behavior Intervention Plans in schools.
• Examine FBA and BIP practices and products to identify strengths and areas of need.
• Develop goals and action steps to build capacity relative to FBAs and BIPs.

This 57 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Judge the restraint and isolation policies and procedures within their school or school system.
• Investigate the challenges and risks specific to their work context related to crisis procedures.
• Develop strategies for overcoming challenges and mitigating risks anticpated.

This 58 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Evaluate your school or district's awareness of discipline monitoring procedures
• Identify challenges and opportunities with implementing Manifestations Determination Reviews (MDR)
• Synthesize connections between discipline practices and Disproportionality findings

This 56 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Distinguish key responsibilities for providing a free appropriate public education for students demonstrating exceptional behavior,
• Appraise several of the tactics school systems use to provide a continuum of service for this population,
• And investigate measures to improve outcomes and alignment with standards of practice under these circumstances.

Training School Staff to Implement Behavior Plans with High Fidelity

Preparing school-team members to implement Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) with fidelity is a challenging but essential component of student support. This one-hour workshop will equip participants to develop staff training plans that are efficient, effective, and compliant with State requirements.

Trauma Informed FBAs and BIPs

This session will discuss signs of trauma in school-aged children and how trauma history can impact students’ behavior at school. The values of Trauma Informed Care (TIC) will be explored including safety, empowerment, skill-building, collaboration, relationship-building, and family/community. Attendees will learn how to incorporate these values through a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and in the development of a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) and will consider how they can use this knowledge to make the FBA and BIP processes at their own schools more trauma informed. 

The TRIAD Intensive Behavior Community of Practice for Educators is a monthly virtual professional development community started in Fall 2024. This virtual professional development community is made up of EE teachers who have participated in or are current participants in TRIAD’s Intensive Technical Assistance program. The goal of the CoP is to create a space that fosters growth and collaboration for special education teachers who continue to serve students with complex behavior needs. Our community will connect around the topics of assessment, intervention, skill-building, fidelity, fading, and more. Participants will earn 1 PDP point for each month of participation and will benefit from the experience and expertise of this dynamic community.

This 46 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Examine the State Board of Education FBA and BIP requirements
• Investigate the components of an FBA compliant with Tennessee regulations
• Distinguish the components of a BIP complaint with Tennessee regulations

This 32 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Distinguish between baseline data collection options available for a compliant FBA within the state of Tennessee
• Critique a sample FBA using rubric on data collection metric
• Judge sample FBA using rubric regarding systematic observation

This 24 minute video provides an opportunity for viewers to

• Examine SMART goals within a BIP
• Critique a sample BIP using rubric on replacement behavior
• Evaluate a progress monitoring plan to make decisions and adjustments to intervention

• Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) Tip Sheet for Caregivers
• State Board Rules for FBA/BIPs
• Functional Behavior Assessment Summary Sheet - Template
• Behavior Intervention Plan - Template
• Self-Assessment Rubric
• Functional Behavior Assessment Review
• Skill Deficit Impact on Behavior
• Data-Based Decision Guide for Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)
• BIP Fidelity Sheet with Rating Scale and Task Analysis
• Implementation Fidelity
• Data Analysis Benchmark Template

This 14 minute video includes an overview of why intervening early in the cycle of escalation to de-escalate challenging behavior is an ideal approach.

• AAC and Restraint and Isolation
• Crisis Plan Template
• Refocusing a Group after Challenging Behavior
• Re-Entry to the Classroom Following Restraint or Isolation
• Shortened School Days and Informal Removals for Students with Disabilities

This 25 minute video provides learners an opportunity to

• Apply knowledge of common mental health concerns in IDD
• Analyze how some evidence-based mental health strategies could be used with students in their buildings
• Develop a preliminary plan to use select mental health resources with educators, students, and families

This 22 minute video provides learners an opportunity to

• Examine the intersection of trauma and intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Recommend basic trauma-informed strategies for use with students in schools
• Distinguish TRIAD’s approach to trauma-informed care

This 40 minute video provides views an opportunity to

• Recognize several of the common underlying reasons for challenging behavior in school.
• Follow a process for determining which underlying reasons for challenging behavior are most likely through an analysis process.

This 6 minute video provides viewers an opportunity to evaluate how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) describes free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in regards to students engaging in severe challenging behavior.

• Adult-Led Time
• Child-Led Time
• Considerations for IEP Teams: Does a student's behavior impact learning?
• Evidence Based Practices for Behavior
• Home and School Collaboration
• Communication with families for paraprofessionals
• Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) Tip Sheet
• Intervention Planning Guide - Asking for Help (Click to download to your computer)
• Intervention Planning Guide - Template (Click to download to your computer)
• Intervention Planning Guide - First Then Sample
• Intervention Planning Guide - Frequent Breaks Sample
• Intervention planning - Noncontingent Attention (NCA)
• Intervention Planning Guide - Individual Schedule
• Noncontingent Reinforcement
• Intervention Planning Guide - Waiting for Help (Click to download to your computer)
• Underlying Causes of Challenging Behavior
• Universal Protocols

This 52 minute video provides information specific to Manifestation Determination Reviews

• Change of Placement
• The MDR Process
• Zero Tolerance Offenses and Interim Alternative Educational Settings
• MDRs for Non-IDEA Students
• Prior Written Notices

• Manifestation Determination Interview (Click to download to your computer)
• Manifestation Determination Review File Review
• Manifestation Determination Review File Review EXAMPLE
• Manifestation Determination Review File Review EXAMPLE without a BIP
• Manifestation Determination Review: Tips for Caregivers
• Shortened School Day and Information Removals for Students with Disability
• Manifestation Determination Review: Tips for Educators