areas of emphasis

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in the classroom

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“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

– Albert Einstein

therapeutic support plans

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The behavior intervention plan is viewed as the detailed directions of how we are going to help move someone to their dream. This will take the information gleaned from the functional behavioral assessment creating protocols, interactional styles, data collection/evaluation systems, including environmental change applications such as compensatory aids, adaptive equipment and data collection strategies blended in to practical applications. Morning Star partners will come out to the site and not only explain the data collection system, protocol, and interaction styles, but also the vision and needed background information about the person’s behavior to all parties implementing the plan. Typically, not only are Direct Service Professionals trained, but also families and those that care most about the person served. Morning Star will not release the program to the individuals serving the person until everyone feels confident in their training. Rest assured, those implementing the program will be competent and confident in the implantation of the program in the absence of Morning Star professionals. Partners will continue to monitor and change the program as the data is being collected and analyzed for maximum effectiveness within the least restrictive environment (data-based treatment decisions).

functional behavior assessments

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An FBA with Morning Star includes some foundational, yet often overlooked components. First, a complete and comprehensive record review, getting to know the person and the environments that they have experienced in the past. This can explain why people engage in behavior(s), facilitating protocol development for teaching critical skills that are essential for maximizing independence. We then initiate a series of observations and interviews completing as indicated; several standardized psychometric evaluations and tools. In addition to these analytic and descriptive analysis components, an in vivo and analogue assessment may be conducted (Functional Analysis (Iwata)) to help us better understand the person and their behavior.

From these observations and assessments, we will examine the natural environment, culture, and structure for identifying essential components required for response maintenance, as well as generalization across caregivers, settings, peer groups, and family. This process creates programs with clinical impressions and a full Eco-behavioral design describing how we can prepare the person served for success beyond the program. These elements are included in an attempt to identify possible situations that may cause a relapse into unwanted responses, as well as planning­—from the beginning—a smooth disengagement from the interventional process. The FBA is completed with a recommendations section, including common sense solutions for the person served, as well as the people that care for the person.