Discusses integrated preschool program that included individuals with disabilities, including autism and communication impairments

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Integrated Preschool: Lessons
Learned and Ways Forward
NJEA Convention
November 2015
Presented by Karen Umstead BCBA & Jillian Bencivengo
Beautiful Minds of Princeton
www.beautifulmindsofprinceton.com
beautifulminds@comcast.net

2. Beautiful Minds of Princeton
“Teach, Reach, & Expand Potential”
For more information:
Call: 1-800-675-2709
Email: beautifulminds@comcast.net
or Visit us:
www.beautifulmindsofprinceton.com
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3. This workshop is sponsored by the New Jersey Council for
Exceptional Children (NJCEC)
Please take the handouts from the NJCEC that can be found
on your chairs or up at the front of the room.
Please use our sign-up sheet to request more information
and/or take a flyer regarding how we can help you
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4. This workshop is sponsored by the New Jersey Council for
Exceptional Children (NJCEC)
SAVE THE DATE!!
NJCEC Annual Conference
Monday, March 14th, 2016
Ramapo College
Mahwah, NJ
This is a "PARCC-free" / No Assessment Date!!
www.njcec.org
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5. Check us out in the exhibit hall where we have a booth.
•Have an opportunity to talk more in-depth with our
various presenters during our “Meet the Expert” times.
•Get more handouts and info related to serving exceptional
children
•Find out more details about our conference coming up.
www.njcec.org
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6. Introductions
• Who am I
• Who are you
• Job position (Teacher, Related Service, Para, etc)
• Age range of students
• Functioning levels (where on the spectrum)
• Placement (Self-contained, Resource, In class)
Additional materials are at the end of your handout.
You can also email me for more details on some of
the strategies talked about
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7. • Housekeeping
• Brief KWL
• Think of your student/case
A few more things
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8. • How does one plan for an integrated preschool
program that includes students with significant
developmental disabilities? What will the
environment and instruction look like?
• How can typically developing peers participate in
interventions for other students?
• How can collaboration amongst colleagues and
parents be fostered?
Essential Questions
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9. Serves children ages three and four with and
without disabilities
Does not normally exceed 50/50 ratio
Our program
•Expanded to include full day
•Portions within same room but different
program
Defining integrated preschool
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10. • Does your program have a philosophy/mission?
• Do administrators and staff have an inclusive
attitude and spirit?
• Do you have a consistent and ongoing system for
family involvement?
• Is team planning incorporated into the research-
based curriculum?
• Do you collaborate and communicate with
agencies and other community partners?
Quality Indicators in PreK
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11. • Does the Individualized Education Program (IEP)
drive instruction?
• Are you integrating service delivery into the daily
schedule?
• Is there a consistent and ongoing system for staff
development?
• Do the teachers have tools and strategies for
addressing issues of disability and inclusion?
• Is there a comprehensive system for evaluating the
effectiveness of the program?
Quality Indicators in PreK Cont.
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12. • Initially district sent students out of district
to public schools
• Combination of events came together
• Increased number of students from EI
• Superintendent interested in inclusion
• Space available
• Planning included touring other preschools
and talking about different curriculum
options
Planning
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13. Recommended by the State of NJ:
•The Creative Curriculum
•Curiosity Corner
•Highscope Preschool Curriculum
•Tools of the Mind
Curriculums
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14. • Spent time planning schedules and
completing trainings and setting up the
environment
Time for extended day
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15. • Where we started is NOT where we ended
• Dealing with staff AND student schedules
• Used Excel
• Broke the day down into small discrete units (5-15
minutes)
• Like sports (Zone defense or Man to Man)
• Using related services to our benefit
• Need to be evolving based upon student and
program needs
• New students coming in
• Need for naptime added
Scheduling
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16. Time Activity Jillian PreK Assistant Rotating Staff
9:00 AM Arrival ALL n/a
9:05 AM Arrival ALL n/a n/a
9:10 AM Arrival 3-year-olds Tom, Jerry n/a
9:15 AM Morning Circle 3-year-olds Tom, Jerry n/a
9:20 AM Morning Circle 3-year-olds Tom, Jerry n/a
12:30 PM Direct Instruction (DTT/NET) 4-year-olds n/a Tom, Jerry
12:35 PM Direct Instruction (DTT/NET) 4-year-olds n/a Tom, Jerry
12:40 PM Direct Instruction (DTT/NET) 4-year-olds Tom Jerry
12:45 PM Circle time 4-year-olds Tom Jerry
12:50 PM Circle time 4-year-olds Tom Jerry
12:55 PM Circle time 4-year-olds Tom Jerry
Schedule Examples
(Morn/Afternoon)
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17. • After looking at the staff and student
schedules, selecting when it best to work on
various skills
• 1:1 instruction time
• Small group
• Peer mediated instruction
Intentional Integration
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18. • Dividers
• Sanitized the environment
• Quiet area
• Picture schedules
• Clearly labeled centers
Environment
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19. Calm Corner
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20. Dividers
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21. Organization
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22. Going on a Picnic
• I am going on a picnic. I would love for you
to come but you have to bring something.
• I am going to bring…..
• What are you going to bring?
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23. • Teaches self-regulation (very important for
future learning)
• Literacy/Writing, Math/Science, and
Fine/Gross Motor skills embedded in all
activities
• Teaches Communication Skills through
Everyday Language, Share the News, Play
Planning, and Scaffolded Play (Speech
Teacher will be pushing in during various
activities)
Tools of Mind
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24. • All done through the natural curiosities and
interests of the individual child while
playing and interacting with peers and
teachers
• Assessment is done through Teacher
Observations, Anecdotal Notes, Data
Collection, and Student Portfolios
Tools of Mind
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25. • Clear directions and expectations
• Labeled areas
• Consistency (same way, same order)
• Discrete trial instruction embedded into
work
• Clip of CJ and Nick at graphics practice
• Dinosaur sharing example
Explicit Instruction
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26. • Providing visual cues
• Structured language
• Staff understand expectations and
modifications they are to use
• Flexible small grouping
• Opportunities for active responding (verbal
and nonverbal (e.g. morning meeting)
• Incorporate choice-making when possible
Differentiation
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27. I need some help
I need volunteers for our next activity.
If you are not a volunteer, you need to take out
something to write on (scrap paper) and something
to write with
Every group should have one of my special
volunteers
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28. Communication Activity
You must communicate with your group.
You cannot speak or write (including numbers
and letters with fingers).
You’ll have 3 minutes. I’ll give you a warning
when there is only 1 minutes left.
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29. Three Term Contingency
• Antecedent: what happens before the behavior
• Ex: teacher calls on student, demand (come here) is made, peer pushes
• Behavior: ALWAYS describe in specifics (like you’re
telling a blind person), only in observable terms
• NO: mean look YES: stared directly in other students eyes for 10
seconds with facial muscles tensed
• Consequence: what happens after a behavior
• Ex: Student sent to office, Para says do your work, student laughs
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30. Function of Behavior
• Look at the function (why the behavior is
occurring)
• Four main functions
• Attention
• Escape/Avoidance
• Sensory
• Tangible (wants to get an item)
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31. Function: To Gain
Attention
 Adult or peer
Tangible
Getting object, activity, event
Sensory Stimulation
Visual, Auditory, Smell, Kinesthetic,
Proprioceptive, Touch, Taste
All are maintained by positive reinforcement
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32. Function: To Escape
Attention
 Adult or peer
Escape from
Task, setting, object, activity, event
Sensory Stimulation
Internal stimulation which is painful or
discomforting
All are maintained by negative reinforcement
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33. Competing Behaviors
• Build plan around hypothesis statement
• Identify desired and alternative behaviors
• Work to make behavior
• Irrelevant (antecedent)
• Inefficient (teaching new skills)
• Ineffective (consequence)
• A way to brainstorm strategies to address
the problem behavior at different stages
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34. Build a Competing Behavior Pathway
Setting Event
Triggering
Antecedent
Desired
Behavior
Problem
Behavior
Maintaining
Consequence
Replacement
Behavior
Maintaining
Consequence
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Shaping
Encourage approximations that are better
than the one before it.
Student wants a ball:
Uhhh Bbbbb Baaaa Bawwl Ball
You want the student to sit quietly during reading:
Student sits 30 sec w/o talking, then 60 sec, then 2
min, 3 min, until all of reading time

36. Reinforcement-Definition
Anything that increases the future probability of the behavior
occurring is considered reinforcement
Are the following things reinforcing?
 M&M’s  Popcorn  Sesame Street
 Snickers  Flowers  Math
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Game: “Shape that Behavior”
Veronica Volunteer loves it when people clap
for her. We can shape her behavior by
clapping as she gets closer to doing the
desired behavior.
I need a volunteer to leave the room.

38. • Core team
• Speech
• Prek teacher
• Behavior Analyst
• Social worker
• Other important team members
• Paraprofessionals
• Parents
• OT/PT
Collaboration
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39. • Rotating training for staff initially
• Half day
• Summer training
• Making time in schedule where prek teacher
had 1:1 time with extended day students
during special area
Collaboration & Training
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40. • Video (show PECs video)
• Push-in instruction/therapies
• Written protocols
• Treatment integrity/performance feedback
forms
How we made it work
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