Barrier

Strategy to Overcome Barrier

Limited Administrative Support for Indirect Services

1.      Discuss the students who no longer need a traditional pullout therapy model and why.

2.      Talk about how this model will benefit the students, teachers, and school.

3.      Promise to document everything!

4.      Stress that the move to indirect services will be an IEP team decision that will be based on data.

5.      Share your data on how well the students are progressing in pullout. Also show how many students are plateauing in pullout therapy.

6.      Talk about how students naturally move from direct services to indirect services as they progress through therapy before dismissal. The shift to indirect services is to be expected.

7.      Discuss how a one size fits all approach to therapy does not meet the students needs.

8.      Share data on how well the students are generalizing strategies and skills into the classroom or other naturalistic settings.

9.      Talk about other building/districts where this has been successful.

10.  Share the goals of integrated classroom-based services and the 3:1 Model

11.  Share a draft of the yearly schedule.

12.  Share some research.

13.  Share what the Operating Standards says about services.

14.  Pilot integrated classroom-based services and the 3:1 Model at one building or a grade-level. Then share the successes with the administration.

15.  Co-develop your implementation plan with your administration. Ask for feedback or support with your existing implementation plan.

Limited Teacher Support for Indirect

1.      Share, share, share! All adapted materials that are made as part of the indirect services can be given to the teacher. This would include even those things that are intended for the home or other nonacademic settings.

2.      All adapted materials can be designed through consultation and infused into on-going classroom lessons and/or the home program. This will demystify what is done during that 4^th Week.

3.      Ensure that the students have been given all of their indirect minutes as is required by the IEP. Be prepared to share this documentation if asked. Accountability is crucial here!

4.      Ensure that all of the indirect services are designed to enhance classroom instruction pursuant to students IEP goals and objectives.

5.      Maybe post a 4^th Week Schedule on the wall outside of the therapy room for all to see. This will also demystify what is going on in your office during that 4^th Week.

6.      Talk about success stories.

7.      Start integrated classroom-based services with a teacher friend.

8.      Talk about integrated classroom-based services and the 3:1 Model at a staff meeting so everyone knows what is going on. DO NOT FOCUS on how this model will benefit you and your workload. Only talk about how this will benefit the students.

9.      Co-develop your implementation plan with representatives from your teaching staff. Ask for feedback or support with your existing implementation plan.

Limited Parental Support

1.      Start talking about integrated classroom-based services in preschool or when the student first becomes identified as a student with a disability.

2.      Be clear about the course of services as the student moves from grade to grade so as to avoid the expectation that 1:1 pullout services will be provided year after year.

3.      Celebrate because the student is making progress! The move to indirect services means the student is doing really well with speech language services.

4.      Only recommend indirect services for those students who require it in order to make progress toward goals/objectives. Some students may need pullout 1:1 therapy for a period of time before they are ready to generalize skills and strategies into the classroom.

5.      Show how your recommendations are based on data (e.g., generalization, progress has plateaued in pullout therapy, independence, maintenance). Put the data in the Present Levels of Performance and Needs section of the IEP. Write your goals and objectives so they are classroom-based (e.g., Given an on-going classroom lesson, the student will ask on-topic questions on 4/5 opportunities).

6.      Provide specific data to show how well the student is doing in the pullout setting versus how well the student is doing in the classroom. Use this data to talk about how beneficial indirect services could be to promote skill and strategy transfer.

7.      Explain why more pullout therapy wont address the students needs in the classroom.

8.      Discuss how indirect services are appropriate to ensure a student has access to and can make progress in the general education curriculum.

9.      Talk about communication breakdowns and how indirect services will help address these across all naturalistic settings (e.g., playground, cafeteria, gym, hallway, home)

10.  Talk about how important it is for the student to stay in the classroom.

11.  Discuss the disadvantages to pullout therapy.

12.  Never talk about how many students you have on your caseload and how the 3:1 Model will benefit you. Only talk about how the shift to integrated classroom-based services will benefit the student.