Minutes – January 13/10
District ABA Advisory
Attendance – 7
Meeting called to order – by Nancy Robins – 7:05 pm
§ Full day K may make it easier to get ABA SW’s
§ Some kids may be better off in half days if they are not far along in their ABA programming
§ Surrey school district inservice – for teams that had ABA SW’s – Cory McLaughlin spoke – explained what teams did – Teams explained that breaks for ABA SW’s needed to be at times other than recess and lunch hour as those were high need times for ASD kids – this was a surprise for some teams at the meeting – this demonstrates that more information needs to be shared – there was also some confusion about a talk from a district person – about the role of the consultant – it was clear that many teams in the room did not have a lot of consultant involvement – the district person was asked specifically if someone has an ABA SW they must have an ABA Consultant – “technically when someone applies for an ABA SW is April they may have a consultant then there is nothing we can do if they do not have a consultant in September when they start school” – Question from Nancy Robins – “how could someone run an ABA program in school without an ABA consultant.” – clearly noted that many teams are not following this format
§ The above lead to a question as to whether all kids are receiving supervision 1 on 1 if needed during recess and lunch
§ A parent has noted that a Safety Plan will be completed for a child – behaviour developed as a result of a poor match with an SEA for breaks – what they hope this means is that the district will provide someone who can work with the child
§ Letter from Able Clinic, ABA Support Network, The Autism Society and Surrey School District was read to the group by Nancy Walton
§ Parent Question – Is there some kind of jurisdiction that says once a recommendation is made by the Consultant it must be followed by the district.
§ There may be a belief that having an ABA SW means that the district is supplying ABA services and therefore a home program or consultant may not be necessary
§ Parent question – the teacher is placing the child in time out which is not part of his IEP or an effective procedure in working with him – the consultant has not recommended this – the child may need to work up to the expectation of the teacher – the parent will talk with the IT
§ A good idea for parents is to work with their consultant and write a history of their child – it is especially helpful for children who have made significant gains – this can be shared with new teachers and people who are working with children so that they can understand the journey the child has been on
§ Eleanor spoke to Ann Turner about support being provided for extra circular sports in the schools – for those children who require it
§ Nancy W look into an article that explains principles of ABA for teachers that is easy and clear so that people understand why we do this.
§ Approx. 14 support workers short – in the district
General Meeting – The current executive agreed to stand in their positions.
Their candidacy was approved and seconded by the members.
Bridgette Taylor coming to BC
Michelle Garcia Winner is coming to BC
Adjourned 8:47
District ABA Advisory 