The Dangers of Going All-In on an Intervention

 The Dangers of Going All-In on an Intervention

My first year teaching in an ABA style classroom, my program supervisor went ALL in on Direction Instruction materials- Reading Mastery, Connecting Math Concepts, and Language for Learning. It was a scripted, ABA-based program that was designed to fit the needs of students with autism and other diagnoses who benefitted from explicit, repetitive, and scaffolded instruction. It seemed great on paper- we finally had a program that we could give to paras to implement with very little training and see great results in language, reading, and math. 

The problem was that this didn’t end up being the case for every student in the ABA programs. Many students did benefit, but only if they fit a very specific language profile. It was also tricky to adapt the required responses for students who used AAC. Our program director really believed in the efficacy of the program- the research and evidence supporting it was very strong. But in all the excitement of trying a new curriculum, we forgot the most important step for any special education program- we tried to make the students fit the program and not fit the program to meet the student’s needs. We tried to make the ABA program Direct Instruction programs, and that wasn’t what was best for the students. 

"We don't do that in this classroom"

I see this same thing a lot online and even in my district. Special education teachers will set up camp in a particular discipline or program. “I only do Seeing Stars” or “I run a Verbal Behavior program only.” They decide that they are going to go all in on a particular program or curriculum, and usually for good reasons. Maybe the evidence base is really strong for the program. Maybe they have had a lot of success with that program in the past. Maybe it is easy to implement and can make a good program for paras to run. 

But, there are also some downsides to this. Let’s say you’re a teacher who says, “We are a _____ kind of program only” but some of your current students aren’t showing meaningful progress in the program. There are a few options here- you can try different approaches for those students and have a responsive approach, or you could move the student to a different program/school where they might have something that would benefit them better. In one scenario, you are making a data based decision and teaching to the individual student not just the group mean. In the other scenario, you are changing a student’s placement and possibly school to find a program they fit into, instead of their current program fitting their needs.  

It's Time to Get Out of Your Camp

So, let’s say you’re a teacher who has been in a certain “camp” for awhile but you’re starting to see the tension and downsides of only sticking to one program or curriculum for your students. What do you do instead?

1. Collaborate with other disciplines/teachers. This can be a hard one to do sometimes, especially if you’ve been teaching for a while. Consulting with your speech pathologist, OT, or other specialists who work with your students could be a second set of eyes that you need to see what a student who’s not responding to a program could need. For example, I wasn’t seeing any progress with many of my students with the Language for Learning program. I asked my speech path to come look at a lesson and help me troubleshoot. She had some great suggestions for how to modify the program to meet the kiddo’s need, and then showed me a different program that could be better for another student. 

2. Review your data on a consistent schedule. Being on top of your data will help you stay on top of students’ responsiveness to the interventions. Try to set a consistent time and routine for checking your data that is achievable. If you have a 30 minute prep on Mondays, for example, that might be a good time to do a quick data check to see if this week you need to make any adjustments. 

3. Apply for PD opportunities. Sometimes the problem with being entrenched in one camp/intervention comes down to exposure- but we can’t let that be a stumbling block for implementing something that isn’t working for a student. Ask your SPED department, building, or PTO for the $$ you need to take a new PD on a different program. PD doesn’t have to be a paid opportunity- is there another teacher in a similar position to you in the district doing something slightly different? Ask your admin for coverage for one or two hours to go observe or check out their materials. 

4. Keep an open mind. This is the most important one, and one I’ve definitely struggled with! I used to be so bought into the idea that old-school ABA was the best way to tackle EVERYTHING my students were struggling with. It wasn’t until I started taking other approaches more seriously, like natural language acquisition or sensory-motor integration that I started to see more holistic changes in my students. When I started to learn more about trauma-informed ABA therapy, that changed my practice, too. Having the courage to say, “I may have gotten this wrong” and trying something different is the mark of a responsive and mature teacher. 

My classroom used to be called the VB program for years- and most of our instruction was straight VB methodology. VB methodology has a really strong research base but that doesn’t mean that other approaches aren’t appropriate to implement, either. Especially when it came to my students who used AAC, I have moved away from the VB methodology of language acquisition and follow a core word approach with lots of aided language stimulation. Many of our behavior modification techniques have been updated to focus less on compliance and more on functional communication and self advocacy. All of my students used to do discrete trials in the same way, but eventually I learned it was okay to make tweaks or try other approaches that some of the grade-level special education teachers were utilizing. It took several years to make these changes, and I feel that I am a better teacher because of it. 

Have you undergone a similar change in your philosophy? If so let me know in the comments!