District ABA Advisory

ABA Advisory Meeting Oct 1st 2013
Attendance 13
Nancy Robins call to order – 7:05
Can we get a link to the Surrey Schools Website
ER – went over the meeting that we had with the district
ER – EA planning tool – will be used to determine hours for children – current system is completed by IT reviewing needs – ER thinks that tool may be a problem that the rating number may not be easy for us to understand – it goes through a hierarchy of needs – medical, safety – we should talk to Juanita Jackson about what the impact will be – NW this may be a more objective approach to determining hours – question what is Early Intervention considered to be since JJ said it would be considered inside this tool
Union – NW and ER want to have our choice posted with our child – NW suggested that postings be marked with a notation so that employees can choose postings that are not ‘spoken for’
Clarify – child specific – definition with the district – is there an intention of changing that
Independence – CRemedios wants to build independence for kids so that by grade 12 we have moved them to where they can be – she seemed to support that this was not the case for every child – S Baxter – noted that hours could not simply disappear and that be considered independence – CR and MS were supportive – concern for parents is that a move to independence is sparked by a need to budget cut
NW our kids need to learn to work in small groups because that is the reality
Problem this summer – was that there was so one available to talk to parents this summer – parents need more information about process and timelines –
Nancy proposes that we write a letter to the superintendent stating that for 3 years that we have been trying to find out what the process is for parents to find out how to apply for a support worker or aide –
We would like to put on the record that these things have been discussed and results have not materialized on timing – for postings – it would be helpful to centralize information for parents so that we can send them all to the same place.
Spareboard – now available for ABA SW’s to be on the spareboard for as many days as possible in a part time capacity
We are wondering if ABA SW’s can move between children in the same school over a day. To facilitate generalization where appropriate on a case by case basis.
We discussed – a minimum number of hours that a parent needs to send a BC to the school. Parents seem to support that notion. – somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3 hours a year as an absolute minimum.
Parents are concerned about visits from district personnel – and whether or not they should be notified – some parents felt very strongly that they should be notified – others did not- some felt notice should be provided so the BC could attend
Adjourned at 9:00