• Hats Off To Columbus Area Support Group and Bartholomew Community School Corporation: Partnership
• Hats Off To Hamilton-Boone-Madison Special Services Cooperative: Movie Day
• Hats Off To South LaPorte County Special Education Cooperative and Autism Society of Central Indiana: Start a Walk in Your Community
• Hats Off To M.S.D. of Wayne Township: Creating Building Level Autism Teams
• Hats Off To Johnson County Special Services
• Hats Off To Switzerland County Middle School Autism Team
• Hats Off To MSD of Lawrence Township: Training via District Website
• Hats Off To MSD of Warren Township: S.A.F.E. Supporting Autism for Everyone
• Hats Off To MSD of Martinsville: Camp Discovery: A Place for Kids to Have Fun!
• Hats Off To An Autism Team Working in Indiana: First Responder Training
• Autism Teams: Building Capacity Across Indiana
• Hats Off to Noblesville Schools for Creating Training Classrooms: Using Evidence-Based Practices of Visual Supports and Work Systems
• Hats Off To Asperger Autism Group of Goshen
• Hats Off to East Centeral Indiana Autism Society of America Chapter: Interlock
• Hats Off To Greater Lafayette Area Special Services Autism Team

Hats Off To M.S.D. of Wayne Township: Creating Building Level Autism Teams

Contributed by Melissa Dubie

Let me introduce you to the M.S.D. of Wayne Township (Indianapolis, Indiana) autism team which consists of eleven elementary teams, two seventh-eighth grade school teams, one ninth grade center team, and one high school team. The M.S.D. of Wayne Township autism team is a multidisciplinary support team which consists of professionals from each school in Wayne Township. “The team’s goal is to serve as a proactive resource to school personnel who work with students with autism spectrum disorder.” A mission statement was established which states each team’s purpose to:

• Disseminate information to assist in providing effective programming for students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Build expertise at the local level of expertise of Wayne Township staff.
• Help increase understanding across the district of autism spectrum disorder and associated programming needs by serving as a resource to school personnel.
• Provide support and consultation to staff who work with students with ASD through the three tiered levels of support.

The tiered system for M.S.D. of Wayne Township starts with basic support from the school’s autism team, including school psychologists. Tier one includes information required by Article 7 and materials (e.g., autism team newsletter, brochure about team, handbook, and toolkit) for all professionals (e.g., teachers, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, secretaries, administrators, etc.) and paraprofessional staff working with students with ASD. Tier two is implemented when a student is struggling as determined through the progress monitoring system in tier one or when a teacher has accessed the team through the referral form with the intent of receiving ideas and strategies regarding a specific student. Then the school autism team starts problem solving with staff on a particular situation involving a student. The school autism team provides consultation to all staff involved with the individual. The training includes information from modules specific to strategies which are effective for individuals on the autism spectrum. An action plan is developed by the referring teacher and autism team members. To access tier three, a request for consultation form is filled out, including current documentation of strategies which have been implemented in tier one and two. If required strategies have been implemented, then a more intensive specialized training occurs which involves building upon the past action plan by modeling or coaching with the teacher, and learning about specific methodologies (e.g., TEACCH, verbal behavior, etc.) specifically designed for individual students. Tier three requires staff to provide on-going data collection about the success of strategies or to determine if ideas need to be tweaked. At this level, M.S.D. of Wayne Township uses Special Services Consultants to aid in the intervention. The consultants are specially trained to deal with difficult behavior and social issues. A functional behavior assessment and behavior plan may be developed at tier two or three depending on the student’s specific needs.

There are resources available for all school autism team members in all of the buildings. First, a monthly work session meeting is held with a different subject each time. Some of the topics have included creating a referral process, designing newsletters (each building designs one month), training on how to consult, technology resources, parent perspectives, specific strategies, (e.g., video self modeling) and others. Second, every staff member employed at M.S.D. of Wayne Township receives a monthly newsletter created by the autism team. Building level teams are asked to develop a long and short term plan, and submit a request to purchase materials that would reach their goals.

Let's boast about a few of the schools.

McClelland Elementary School has created two committees, one for resources and the other for training. The resource committee distributes articles, websites, resource guides, and updates on the lending library materials. The training committee created a 45 minute practical presentation which is presented at staff meetings. The information includes 15 tips that work for individuals on the autism spectrum. As a follow-up to the training, three-ring binders are distributed including information sheets with tips for handling situation for all students with autism in the building for staff, including cafeteria workers, secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, and specials teachers (e.g., art, music, library, physical education).

Robey Elementary School autism team has provided professional training to staff on the characteristics, accommodations, and causes of autism. A disability awareness program and autism simulations were developed and implemented in several classrooms to make students aware of the disabilities around them. Robey’s social skills program teaches social skills through the use of videotaping. At the end of each school year, students and teachers are videotaped to assist students with transitions to the next grade. Each student has their video to view during the summer.

The Lynhurst Seventh-Eighth Grade Center is in the process of developing training for teachers and students to create a Support Autism for Everyone (S.A.F.E. Dubie, 2006) project in the fall (2008-09). Letters have been sent out to parents of incoming sixth graders and current seventh graders asking for permission for 30 students on the spectrum to participate in the S.A.F.E. schools project.

At the Ninth Grade Center, eighth grade students are given a tour to help with the transition to their new school. The special education department chair and the teacher of record contacts parents before school begins in the fall to discuss concerns of students and parents, and to get information and ideas on student’s strengths and interests. The goal is to incorporate these into the student’s day. During the school year, students have access to the support center which is a place within the building, but away from the class, to allow for a calming time/sensory break. The staff at the Ninth Grade Center offer choices to students related to alternative passing periods and social skills training to help handle the nuances of secondary life. Open communication is on-going between all staff to provide information related to specific students.

How can you create building level teams?

Work with administrators concerning the increasing numbers of individuals in Indiana identified under the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. According to the December 2007 child count data, the incidence in Indiana is now 1 in 113. Talk with administrators about the number of students on the autism spectrum who have been sent to the office for referrals, expelled, or suspended related to behavior and how staff need support to ensure these situations are minimized. A few of the autism team members at M.S.D. of Wayne Township shared that helping staff feel a student’s challenges via an autism simulation is helpful in igniting passion for interventions. They typically use staff meetings for this type of experience. An autism simulation is a great way to help staff members understand the differences associated with ASD. Another idea is to ask for a volunteer to sit in the front of the room. The leader then asks the group to brainstorm home, environmental, sensory, and academic challenges students with ASD face. A post-it note with each idea is placed on the volunteer. The leaders can then debrief with the team about how facing a school day covered with these types of challenges might feel. Finally, it is highlighted that when these challenges are taken away (post-it notes removed), every student is an individual first. Wayne Township team members shared that both activities send a strong message. The audience feels the student's pain, experiences the hurtfulness of judgments, and then the ah-ha moment occurs. Once this moment happens, staff want to learn more about supporting individuals with all disabilities.

The successes seen in the buildings are remarkable. The staff at each of the buildings is taking ownership of the needs of individuals on the autism spectrum. There is a systematic approach on how to receive more support when needed. The power of the teams is in building the capacity of staff to meet the needs of their own students. Administrators at M.S.D. of Wayne Township feel they have many staff with expertise who can solve and prevent problems. Students and staff benefit from being surrounded by local expertise.

If you would like to talk to someone in M.S.D. of Wayne Township to start creating building level teams, please contact the office of Special Services at M.S.D. of Wayne Township by calling
(317) 227-8636 or by e-mailing one of the Wayne Township special services consultants: jill.schafhauser@wayne.k12.in.us (elementary), merc.pesel@wayne.k12.in.us (elementary/secondary), or bridget.joiner@wayne.k12.in.us (secondary).

References

Dubie, M., (2006). Hats off to MSD of Warren Township: (S.A.F.E. supporting autism for everyone). The Reporter, 11 (2), 5.

Dubie, M. (2008). Hat off to… MSD of Wayne Township: creating building level autism teams. The Reporter, 13(3), 12-13,18.