Overview of Tier 3 Supports

The leadership team, with input from our mental health partners, has worked on developing a process for supporting children with the most significant forms of challenging behavior. This process has evolved over the years, and now involves two phases. The first phase is classroom based problem solving. If the problem still persists after the teaching team has worked on strategies and begun collecting data, then the second phase of functional behavioral assessment will be implemented by a behavior support facilitator.

Phase 1:
The classroom teacher, together with his or her teaching team, will review the lower tiers of the Pyramid to see if they are doing everything they can to prevent the problem behaviors or if they need to develop more of an individualized approach for the child. This typically occurs over a period of several weeks, where the team meets, identifies strategies, and then reviews how well those strategies are working after they have been implemented. In some cases, a classroom manager or supervisor may become involved in these meetings to assist with brainstorming or conduct independent observations of the child. Teachers will also review Behavior Incident Reports (BIRs) to look for indicators of patterns or triggers for the problem behavior. The Teaching Tools for Young Children (TTYC) toolkit is another resource that the teachers use to develop more individualized supports for the child.

Steps for Phase 1: 1. Review current preventative practices. Does the classroom have consistent procedures, rules, routines, etc. that prevent problem behavior? 2. Review existing data: Look at TPOT data, review child specific assessments, complete Behavior Incident Reports (BIR) for target child. 3. Develop child specific lesson plans to teach social skills, or to individualize instruction for the child. 4. Complete Teaching Tools for Young Children (TTYC) for more targeted intervention for the child.

In many cases, this problem solving process will successfully address the challenging behavior, making further intervention unnecessary. However, when Phase 1 strategies do not result in a positive outcome for a child, Phase 2 Functional Behavioral Assessment will begin.

Phase 2:
We use the process of Functional Behavioral Assessment to develop intensive individualized interventions for children who engage in more persisent or severe challenging behavior. This process begins with convening a team of the childs significant caregivers and support teamincluding parents, teaching and support staff, mental health providers, and if necessary, a behavior support facilitator. The steps for completing this process are listed below. Steps for developing individualized support plans: Establish team for addressing childs behavioral concerns Review previous levels of the classroom practices to ensure all aspects of a positive supportive environment are in place Complete Functional Behavioral Assessment and review data from: o IFSP, IEP and/or Person-Centered Plan o Observations o Interviews with caregivers o Other sources of information as available Brainstorm interventions and develop plan based on assessment data Implement plan by establishing preventive strategies, teaching child replacement behaviors, and providing alternative instructional strategies Review plan, evaluate progress, revise as necessary

This is a fluid and ongoing process that is designed to provide support to children and their teachers as they learn new skills. Teacher support is critical to the success of a childs individualized plan. Our behavior support facilitators are working with teachers through each step of the process to make sure they know how to implement the plan with fidelity, and provide feedback with data and onsite coaching to ensure success. The following clip is of a follow-up meeting between the faciliator and teaching staff to review progress after several months of implementing a support plan..