Project Description:
The mission of the University of South Florida's FDLRS Multidisciplinary Educational Services Center is to provide evaluation and intervention services to students whose presenting needs have been resistant to typical interventions. Specifically, the USF clinic will provide the following: (a) Behavioral evaluations and support plans using evidence-based practices (i.e., functional behavior assessments and function-based support plans); (b) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis and strategies; and (c) Diagnosis of ASD and co-morbid conditions and strategies (e.g., anxiety, ADHD, depression). Services will include interdisciplinary processes in planning for evaluations and developing contextually based interventions and coaching support for implementation of interventions in educational, community, and home settings. In addition, capacity building activities will be embedded to increase skills in school personnel, specifically in developing and implementing interventions for students needing Tier 3 multi-tiered behavioral supports and using data to make educational decisions that will increase academic and behavioral success of students. Finally, training and technical assistance (e.g., school-based/family consultations) will be provided in specialization areas as indicated by needs assessments to families, community and medical agency staff, and educational personnel.
The current mission of the USF FDLRS is a significant shift from the previous years; therefore, baseline data on the new directions have not been collected by the clinic. However, other projects and state data indicate a significant need in addressing challenging behaviors of students as well as providing autism specific diagnostic services.
Behavior
Students with serious problem behaviors present several challenges to school districts, community agencies, and families. Based on the 2010-2011 state restraint and seclusion data, 7,218 restraint incidents were reported through March 2011 and 2,905 seclusion incidents were reported. The Florida PBS:RtIB Project has conducted evaluations of districts? current status of developing and delivering technically adequate FBAs and BIPs. Using a project developed evaluation tool called Technical Adequacy of FBAs and BIPs, the current mean technical adequacy percentage scores of 10 districts who have initiated the Tier 3 process is 37%. This low score indicates that, in general, behavior intervention plans derived from FBAs do not employ evidence-based practices as suggested in the literature. There is an urgent need for a clinic that will provide behavioral expertise that will address those students who have the most serious problem behaviors that put them at risk for increasingly segregated placements and limit their access to general education curriculum and community settings.
Autism Evaluations.
With the continued increase in the prevalence of autism, there is a need for a clinic that provides exemplary evaluation services for children who are suspected of having an autism spectrum disorder. Furthermore, parents who have Medicaid as their insurer have a dwindling number of options for obtaining an autism evaluation. Finally, many school districts contract private professionals to evaluate for autism, using funds that could be used for educational interventions.
Co-morbid evaluations
It is estimated that student with ASD show evidence of co-morbid psychiatric and developmental conditions at a significantly greater rate than the general population. In a recent 2008 study conducted by Simonoff et al., found 70% of the sample with ASD had at least one other psychiatric condition and 41% had two or more other conditions. Unfortunately, autism evaluations may not always include evaluations for comorbid conditions nor interventions addressing the behaviors that may manifest the other disorders. There is a need for a clinic that will provide both high quality comorbid evaluations along with specific intervention strategies that can be implemented by educational personnel and family members that will address the behaviors related to the co-morbid condition.
Expected Outcomes/Project Goals:
? Provide multidisciplinary, diagnostic, and evaluation services for children and youth identified as having complex medical, neurodevelopmental, educational, developmental, emotional, and/or behavioral problems.
? Recommend strategies and interventions based on diagnostic findings to families, teachers, and district personnel to improve outcomes for students
? Provide consultation services to families, teachers, and district personnel to aid in implementing recommendations to improve outcomes for students
? Provide pre-service and in-service education and training for students, educators, health care professionals, social services personnel and others
? Raise awareness of the services provided through the network of FDLRS Multidisciplinary Centers
? Provide annual report in accordance with Appropriation Act
Comprehensive evaluation, diagnostic, and intervention services will be provided to central Florida school districts as well as state and community agencies. The USF FDLRS staff includes interdisciplinary involvement from the College of Communication Sciences, College of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, and College of Social Work. In addition, the clinic will collaborate with other agencies including the USF CARD. Services that will be provided include:
? Functional Behavior Assessments and function-based support plans for students with the most serious behavior problems that are resistant to interventions
? Person centered planning with student-centered teams
? Coaching support and follow-up for implementation of behavior interventions
? Specialized autism spectrum disorder evaluations, diagnoses, and intervention support plans
? Specialized co-morbid evaluations, diagnoses, and intervention support plans
? Interdisciplinary support including speech/language evaluations, auditory evaluations, medication reviews, health services, wrap-around supports, and family supports
? Specific evidence-based interventions such as social skills groups for students with ASD
? School-based consultations
? Practicum training placements for graduate students in ABA and School Psychology programs
? Professional development/training presentations for families, community, and educational personnel
? Referral to and collaboration with appropriate community-based agencies and resources
? Increasing district capacity to improve their Tier 3 behavioral processes, products, and skills
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote, Urban, Specific Groups
