Large Team Strategy to Support Students

[MUSIC PLAYING] I think that first folks-- going back to that earlier discussion, non-negotiables, I think people need to whittle down what is the most important in those classrooms. And so when you think about-- think about communication. I mean, you've got teacher there, you've got the occupational therapist who can play a role, you have the AT people, the speech pathologist. And so they should be able to come to a consensus, or all be able to move and play a role in helping like an individual acquire a skill. So that's one, is being able to come to an agreement. And I think that, if we all recognize and have these shared values in classrooms, versus me saying, oh, I'm an OT so I don't have to worry about pushing them to do data collection. We all recognize this is important. I think it makes it easier for us to work together. But then, one, having time to plan. And that's where, as consultants, as related service staff, as members of the team, we have to put the work in and do some consensus building. So we lay the things out on the table, we make decisions about what's a non-negotiable that has to be addressed right now, right. And then the next level will be looking at what things are one, going to get teacher buy in the most, right, that they can do quickly and see some success, or two, has the most overreaching effects on the classroom. So we didn't talk about transitions as a non-negotiable, but one of your teachers brought up today, sometimes we just need to work on transitions. And they're so important. And so you look at it, and you say, you're right. If I change the teacher's transitions, one, I've increased instructional time, so they're going to get more skills. Two, I've decreased the time, the window, when a lot of problem behavior emerges. Three, paraprofessionals know what they're doing, so we're improving relationships within the classroom. So looking at things like that, where there are multiple benefits to it, and can have a powerful impact with not a whole lot of effort, those are where we want to start. Again, my caveat is, unless there is a severe problem, which is students endangering himself or someone else, and then you just-- this is what we work on right now.