Intensive Interactions atClifford Park Special School

Challenging the

Plateau

Presenters: Deb Loveday & Lyn FlowersClifford Park Special SchoolToowoomba, Queensland

• 94 students attend CPSS All students are high school age 13- 18years.

• 4 Intensive Interactions home groups comprising 20 students

-3 classes - highly mobile students-1 class - students seated in

wheelchairs

Clifford Park Special School

• 2 teachers have been consistent within Intensive

Interactions Team for 5 years.

• Teaching staff have continued to change throughout the other two class teaching positions over these years.

• At present one teacher in our team has worked in this

team for twelve months. The other teacher is new to our Intensive Interaction Team this year.

• Across the four Intensive Interactions classes there are 10 full time or part time teacher aides. Many of these teacher aides also work in other classes and programs across the school. Teacher aides have also changed frequently throughout the past years.

The CPSSIntensive Interactions Team

Students in the Intensive Interaction group have a variety of diagnoses including:

• Intellectual Impairment• Autism• Angelman’s Syndrome• Rett Syndrome• Lennox Gastaut• Mitochondrial Disease• Cerebral Palsy

Three of our four classes have highly mobile students many of whom have challenging behaviours.

Our Intensive Interaction Students

video footage

Intensive Interactionswith Iain

• Each teacher allocates time in their weekly timetable for Intensive Interactions with their students

• The four I.I. classes work together twice a week. This increases each students’ range of communicative partners; increases the variety of I.I. settings for students; and allows greater numbers of staff to be included in the debrief process often involving group brainstorming & problem solving.

• Dynamic rostering, timetabling and supervision of students is required in managing this session.

• Staff also ‘seize the moment’ at any time of the day including: when on duty at recess, swimming, eating or on the trampoline.

Timetabling Intensive Interactions

• Following an Intensive Interaction the staff member (teacher/aide/therapist) records details on a data collection sheet including location, staff member, circumstances and level of interaction

• A staff debrief follows each Intensive Interaction Session whether this involves one class in their classroom with the teacher & teacher aide, or the four classes combined and most staff sharing together.

• We take a few minutes to share our experiences

from the interactions including; student initiated responses and interaction “light bulb moments”, staff often offering further questions to consider.

Daily Debriefing

• Each fortnight the 4 classes from Intensive Interactions meet and watch video footage of 2 students and 2 staff members.

• This allows all staff members (teachers, teacher aides, therapists, parents) to watch the footage.

• We list all the things initiated by the student.

• In such a supportive environment opinions and ideas are shared openly.

• We then moderate the student on the framework.

Student Moderation

video footage

“NUTTING IT OUT”

moderating a studenton the

Intensive InteractionFramework

while asking the big questions

(Iain’s Moderation)

• A roster ensures all students are moderated and all staff are protocolled at least once a semester.

• On the roster, roles are set for each session including the facilitator and note taker on a rotating basis.

• Creative management and supervision of students is required however the value of teacher aide involvement far outweighs the challenges presented within this session.

• School administration and our Intensive Interaction Team recognise the importance of coming together for moderation in school time, as this ensures the involvement of all team members including our teacher aides.

• Fortnightly moderation process serves as very

important, ongoing professional development for all staff as together we continue on the journey of striving for best practice in Intensive Interactions.

Fortnightly Moderation Sessions

Student Moderation

Practitioner Protocol

Facilitator Note taker

Mon 21 FebWeek 5

DanielLisa

MargaretSuellen

Deb L Lyn

Tues 8 MarchWeek 7

ShaneClaudia

Deb LLyn

Margaret Suellen

Mon 21 MarchWeek9

MaddisonMitchell

PipTonia

Lyn Deb L

Tues 5 AprilWeek 11

TravisDavid P

JackieSheilagh

Suellen Margaret

Term 1, 2011 – Intensive Interaction Timetable

Classes – D1, D2, F1 & H2

Roster for Moderation

video footage

Gaining Insights Learning Together

moderating a studenton the

Intensive InteractionFramework

(Andrew’s Moderation)

• We then protocol the staff member who was working with the student in the video footage, providing them with warm, cool and ‘what if…’ feedback.

• Valuable questioning, discussions and suggestions are offered that are of great benefit to all staff and parents participating in this session. This process continues to develop our ongoing learning and evolving ‘best practice’ in Intensive Interactions.

• The participation of teacher aides and parents is

an enormously valuable teaching tool as we share and learn together. This ensures everyone involved in Intensive Interactions with our students is on the same page.

• These sessions are also an excellent means of

providing data, group consensus and professional accountability in our practice

Practioner Protocal

video footage

sharing suggestions to improve our

Intensive Interaction Practice

PractitionerProtocol

Why does I.I. continue to work so well at Clifford Park Special School?

• Success over these years has been reliant on core teachers, constant within the team and highly motivated to drive the program.

• These two staff members have provided ongoing professional development to new and ever changing staff both teachers and teacher aides.

• A structured mentoring program has been initiated to target new staff and also staff identified as having difficulties adopting some of the strategies of Intensive Interactions.

• Staff involvement in daily debriefing sessions and within the fortnightly moderation process, is also an extremely valuable teaching tool for both new and experienced staff within our Intensive Interaction Team program.

.

Questioning & Challenging our practice

• During staff debrief sessions & moderation sessions staff often share stumbling blocks they are experiencing with students.

• Much brainstorming and questioning of practice

follows. Philosophical discussions regarding what is happening within Intensive Interactions with a particular student are shared and challenged.

• Staff insights informing future staff practice when

engaging into Intensive Interactions with particular students often follow.

• Greg was relying on learnt, key rote movements to initiate an Intensive Interaction given the cue of a staff member approaching and sitting with him.

• On the surface it appeared Greg was leading Intensive Interactions in a most dynamic way, however what was really happening was much more subtle.

• In reality Greg was an accomplished, consistently

focussed, “puppet” with years and years of training to react to the cues and copy the actions of others, just as this teaching had required

Looking more closely at

Staff Practice

What was really happening

here?

Ongoing professional conversations continue to challenge us to gain further insight into student led Intensive Interactions. What is really happening in this Intensive Interaction?

Shannon, who is 18 years old, learnt for the first time of his self value without “things” and of the value of sharing a relaxed, open ended emotional engagement with another person.

Accepting where students are at

• For some students we can continue to share ideas, question what is Intensive Interaction best practice for that student, brain storm, debrief and moderate, however they remain stationary on the Framework of Attainment.

• We can celebrate progress within a level in the Framework, as opposed to movement through these levels. For example a student may tolerate an Intensive Interaction for a longer period of time; they may accept a new communicative partner; or they may engage in an Intensive Interaction in a different setting.

• We can also accept and celebrate students who connect through Intensive Interactions at the same level in the same way, with the same repertoires. We accept where they are is just fine.

• The value of emotionally connecting with another human being at any level, whether they move through the framework or remain stable within it, is to be valued. This is the joy of Intensive Interactions.

Challenging the Intensive Interaction

TEAM Plateau

• As a team we work together to maintain momentum in our Intensive Interaction programs.

• Whether new to the team or a more experienced practitioner we strive to question and improve our practice.

• Daily debriefs, student moderation, practitioner protocols and the implementation of a ongoing mentoring program, continue to challenge all staff working within the team.

Regular sharing and networking with other practitioners outside our school who are new to

Intensive Interactions or who require further support in their practice, adds to our ongoing passion for

Intensive Interactions.Our networking has included visiting schools and community agencies

and regularly hosting visitors within our Intensive Interactions school program, including:

•Bundaberg Special School•Woody Point Special School•Roma Therapy Services•Bell State High School•Toowoomba West Special School•Granite Belt Support Service - Stanthorpe•Queensland Cerebral Palsy League –Toowoomba•Glenroy Specialist School, Victoria •Gordonvale Primary School - Far North Queensland •Breakaway Respite Services - Toowoomba•Disability Services QLD -Toowoomba•James Cook University - Occupational Therapy Students

We are also active participants within the Special Education Curriculum Cluster of Schools (SECC) sharing our knowledge of Intensive Interactions.

“Sharing the Love”Links with other schools and the community

We are all learning together with our students leading the way!