Besides the
autism insurance bills in the Mississippi Legislature, another bill that might have impact on the practice of applied behavior analysis in that state is an education bill,
SB2457, establishing specialized autism classrooms with special emphasis in
behavioral supports, including "applied behavior science and techniques", each taught by an
"educational expert". That students with ASD would be entitled to at least 30 hours of intervention a week, and that all district personnel working with students with ASD would have training in
"behavioral supports, including applied behavior science and techniques". Other clauses describe phase in time to implementation and nature of in-service training, parent training, and establishment of an expert on behavioral intervention treatment and autism initially within each school district and transitioning to each school site. Many of the statements in SB2457 bear strong resemblance to the recommendations of a 2007 report,
Caring for Mississippi Children and Families with Autism, Task Force Report , December 2007.
Please see the
bill text and the
Task Force Report for the respective exact language of each.
- SB2457
Referred to Senate Committees Education; Appropriations1/11/2010
Title: AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE AND DIRECT THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DEVELOP STANDARDS AND IMPLEMENT AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) CLASSROOMS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS STATEWIDE TO MORE FULLY MEET THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SETTING; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
From
SB 2457,
"...The ASD classroom will be taught by an educational expert who is trained in
behavioral supports, including applied behavior science and techniques.
(d) The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) classroom will not replace the self-contained/resource classroom, the Attention Deficit Disorder classroom, or the general inclusion program. The ASD classroom will serve as an additional service that meets the specialized needs of children with autism. All students with ASD shall have access to
appropriate services for a minimum of thirty (30) hours per week unless otherwise justified on the individualized Education Plan of the child.
(e)
All school district personnel instructing children with ASD shall be trained in behavioral supports, including applied behavior science and techniques. This training should include elementary, junior high and high school personnel.
(f) Professional training will include in-service training for current regular and special educators,
establishing an expert within each school district on autism and behavioral intervention treatment for the 2010-2011 school year and establishing within the next two (2) years an expert within each school site. Continuing education for parents and supporters of children with autism shall be included in this training. All training for professional educators and parents shall be an ongoing process.
(g) The programs shall include transitional services to include high school and post-high school vocational and job training programs that meet the individual needs of teens and 70 adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after January 1, 2010."
---------------------------------
Related posts and information
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Practitioner Issues in Behavior Analysis SIG blog
LEG. NEWS: Mississippi - Six autism insurance bills in the legislature
The Mississippi State Legislature
Caring for Mississippi Children and Families with Autism, Task Force Report , December 2007
Comments and recommendations of that document.
"...
p. 19, "Therefore our state must increase the numbers of healthcare providers, allied health professionals, psychologists and
behavioral therapists who are well-versed in the diagnosis and treatment of ASD. To ensure that comprehensive and continuous health services are given to those with ASD, the legislature must also ensure that these providers can be compensated through private insurance and Medicaid assistance
programs..."
p. 20, "...Essential components of early intervention programs include:
1. Comprehensive curriculum,
addressing core domains of imitation, language, toy play, and social interaction;
2. Sensitivity to normal developmental sequences,
3. Highly supportive teaching strategies based on
applied behavioral procedures,
4.
Behavioral strategies for reducing interfering behaviors,
5. Involvement and training of parents,
6.
Gradual, careful transition from a highly supportive environment (usually one on one) to a less structured environment (small group),
7. A staff trained in autism spectrum disorders,
8. Supervisory and review mechanisms,
9.
Intensive intervention, i.e., at least 25 hours per week of structured intervention for at least two years (per National Research Council recommendations),
10. Parental and caregiver training; and
11. Intervention by two years of age whenever possible..."
p. 22: Educational Recommendations for 3-21
"E-3: All school district personnel instructing children with ASD be trained in
behavioral supports, including
applied behavioral science and techniques."
p.23,
"Programming...Only half of the school districts surveyed reported using any form of
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) one of the most effective therapies for individuals with ASD. Again, programming methods were varied and only half the districts reported using any form of
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programming techniques. Not only will the
behavioral techniques learned through training in ABA benefit children with ASD, but those techniques can be used for children with other disorders including ADHD, Emotional Disturbance, Mental Retardation, and has even proven effective in neuro-typical children. For children with ASD,
ABA methods and/or programming should be utilized in all educational settings with an emphasis placed on moving away from a clinical setting to an inclusive setting while maintaining independence, social development, and learning..."
p. 23, Teacher Support in Schools
School districts at a minimum should employ or contract the following professionals to meet the educational requirements of these children:
a behavioral specialist in ASD treatment, a speech/language pathologist, an occupational therapist and a school psychologist.
E-6: A priority in education be to increase the number of trained professionals educating children with ASD. These activities should include
1) in-service training for current regular and special educators,
2)
establishing an expert within each school district for 2009-2010 the next year on autism and
behavioral intervention treatment, and
3) establishing within the next 2 years
an expert within each school site.
p. 24,
E-7: School districts at a minimum should employ/ obtain contractual services with the following professionals to appropriately treat ASD children OT, Speech, PT,
Behavioral Analysts or similar professional, Behavioral Techs or other professional who will implement ABA and social skills programming that is data driven and periodically monitored for each individual student
Views and news expressed in this blog or by the PIBA SIG are those of the SIG or SIG members and do not represent official policy of ABA International or other official body. For official policy of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the reader is directed to their website, http://www.abainternational.org
