COMPASS Consultation Action Plan: Step B

Abstract

Overview: Chapter 7 covers Step B of the COMPASS consultation process and provides forms and handouts used to conduct the consultation.

Appendices

Appendix A Instructions for Completing Step B of COMPASS Consultation Action Plan

In the following section, we provide you with the forms and handouts you will need to conduct a COMPASS consultation. Instructions for the forms are given below.

• A. Read over the COMPASS Consultation Protocol and have a copy available for yourself during the consultation, which includes instructions for completing the following steps:

  • 1. Sign in and introductions

  • 2. Explanation of COMPASS

  • 3. Explanation of purpose/outcomes of COMPASS consultation

  • 4. Overview of best practices

  • 5. Gain consensus

    • a. Review COMPASS Consultation Joint Summary

    • b. Identify a social skill, communication skill, and learning skill objective

    • c. Agree on top three concerns

  • 6. Develop teaching plan for each concern

  • 7. Summarize and close

• B. At the start of the consultation, have all participants complete the COMPASS Sign-in Sheet.

• C. Provide copies of the COMPASS Consultation Training Packet to each participant, which includes the following items:

  • 1. Purpose/outcomes of COMPASS consultation

  • 2. Illustration of iceberg

  • 3. Overview of Best Practices for Individualized Education Plans (IEP) for Young Students with ASD

  • 4. Prioritize teacher and caregiver goals and write measurable objectives

  • 5. Develop compass teaching plan: Environmental supports (make three copies of this form or as many needed for each skill)

  • 6. COMPASS Consultation Satisfaction Questionnaire

  • 7. COMPASS Consultation Fidelity Checklist

• D. Follow the COMPASS consultation protocol for each activity.

Appendix B Abridged Protocol for Step B of the COMPASS Consultation Action Plan

Discuss COMPASS Consultation Training Packet

Introductions and Sign In

Below is a sample introduction script. Please note: It is important that you apply your own style of interaction and use your own words, as an important attribute of an effective consultant is authenticity.

You know (student’s name) better than I do. By working collaboratively using all of our knowledge and expertise, we can enhance (name’s) response to his/her educational program. You have already provided us with a wealth of information about (student’s name), which we will use today as we all plan together. I am here as a facilitator. I will be using the COMPASS Model to better understand (student’s name) and develop a personalized program based on current best practices and your priorities for (student’s name).

Explanation of COMPASS

Hand out the COMPASS Consultation Training Packet and refer to the Balance.

Sample script:

Our goal is to enhance (student’s name) competence by considering how to balance personal and environmental challenges with personal and environmental supports. The challenges are the risk factors that may keep a student from learning. These include those within the child (personal factors) and those that the environment creates for the student (environmental factors). The supports are protective factors and include personnel strengths and interests and environmental supports such as teaching strategies and various accommodations. In order for a student to be successful there must be enough on the support side to balance the risks.

Explanation of Purpose/Outcomes of COMPASS Consultation

Distribute and discuss the Purpose/Outcomes of COMPASS Consultation handout, which is located later in this chapter. For your convenience, we also provide the content of the handout below.

Purpose/Outcomes of COMPASS Consultation

• 1. Enhance parent–teacher collaboration in order to provide a holistic assessment of the student’s current functioning, learning, and needs.

• 2. Provide a process to reach consensus on recommendations for an individualized educational program including specific positive, individualized teaching strategies.

• 3. Write three measurable objectives from prioritized goals and develop specific teaching strategies for these.

• 4. Enhance purposeful and active student engagement in learning.

Overview of Best Practices

Distribute and discuss the Overview of Best Practices for IEP for Young Students with ASD handout, which is located later in this chapter. For your convenience, we also provide the content of the handout below.

Overview of Best Practices

The IEP should be the method utilized to identify objectives and strategies to achieve educational objectives. The educational objectives should include the growth of:

• Social skills to improve involvement in school, family and community activities (e.g., parallel and interactive play with family members and peers).

• Expressive verbal language, receptive language, and nonverbal communication skills.

• A symbolic communication system that is functional.

• Engagement and flexibility in tasks and play that are developmentally appropriate. This should also include the ability to be aware of the environment and respond to appropriate motivational systems.

• Fine and gross motor skills to be utilized when engaging in age appropriate activities.

• Cognitive or thinking skills, which include academic skills, basic concepts, and symbolic play. Replacement of problem behavior with more conventional or appropriate behavior.

• Behaviors that are the foundation to success in a regular classroom (following instructions, completing a task) and independent organizational skills.

Discuss the COMPASS Consultation Joint Summary

Review summary information from Consultation Summary Packet (allow about 60 min). By reviewing the summarized information with the teacher and parent, insight will be gained to help understand how the model works, assessing accuracy of information and whether additional information is necessary.

Identify and Come to a Consensus on the Top Three Concerns

Identify top three concerns: Consolidate and emphasize social, communication, and work skills using COMPASS Summary of Concerns. The caregiver and teacher agree on top three concerns within each domain with assistance from the consultant who facilitates prioritizing a social skill, a communication skill, and a learning or work skill.

Develop COMPASS Teaching Plans for Each Measurable Objective

For all three objectives, use the COMPASS Balance Between Challenges and Supports Form to:

• Write each prioritized concern as a measurable objective

• Identify personal and environmental challenges that may interfere with learning this skill

• Identify personal and environmental supports for learning this skill

Using a COMPASS Teaching Plan: Environmental Supports Form (one form for each skill), identify:

• Teaching methods (see Tables 7.5 and 7.6 and Explanation of Evidence Based Practices in Forms section)

• Materials

• Who will be responsible for teaching the objective, where the teaching will occur, and when

• The data system

Summarize and Close

Describe next steps:

• IEP Development Meeting within 3 weeks to address any changes and to assure that COMPASS information and prioritized objectives are included.

• Coaching with teacher and caregiver, if possible, will occur every 4–6 weeks.

Allow 10 min to complete follow-up forms, or ask participants to complete these later and send to you within 3 days:

• Complete COMPASS Consultation Satisfaction Questionnaire.

• Complete COMPASS Consultation Fidelity Checklist.

Give written or printed copy of each objective to the participants if possible.

Consultant provides a written summary of teaching plans for each objective to teachers and caregivers within 1 week.

Appendix C COMPASS Consultation Sign-In Sheet

Please print:

Student’s Name: ______________________ Consultation Date:_______________

Name of School: _______________________________________

Parent’s Name: _________________________________________

Caregiver’s Name: _______________________________________

Special Education Teacher’s Name: __________________________

All caregivers, teachers, and others who interact regularly with the student and who will participate in the COMPASS consultation need to complete the following:

Name	Title	Average number of hours per week with child

Appendix D COMPASS Consultation Training Packet

Created for (student’s name):_________________________ Date:_____________

Caregiver’s name:________________________________________________

Teacher’s name:__________________________________________________

Consultant’s name:________________________________________________

COMPASS: Providing Direction

A Collaborative Model

for Promoting

Competence and Success

for Persons with

Autism Spectrum Disorder

• 1. Enhance caregiver–teacher collaboration in order to provide a holistic assessment of the student’s current functioning, learning, and needs.

• 2. Provide a process to reach consensus on recommendations for an individualized educational program including specific positive, individualized teaching strategies.

• 3. Write three measurable objectives from prioritized goals within the social, communication, and learning or work-skill domains. Develop specific teaching strategies for each.

• 4. Enhance purposeful and active student engagement in learning.

• 5. Review the Overview of Best Practices for IEP for Young Students with ASD .

Overview of Best Practices for Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for Students with ASD

The IEP should be the method utilized to obtain planning and educational objectives. The educational objectives should include the growth of the following:

• Social skills to improve involvement in school, family, and community activities (e.g., parallel and interactive play with family members and peers).

• Expressive verbal language, receptive language, and nonverbal communication skills.

• A symbolic communication system that is functional.

• Engagement and flexibility in tasks and play that are developmentally appropriate. This should also include awareness of the environment and ability to respond to appropriate motivational systems.

• Fine and gross motor skills to be utilized when engaging in age appropriate activities.

• Cognitive or thinking skills, which include academic skills, basic concepts and symbolic play.

• Replacement of problem behavior with more conventional or appropriate behavior.

• Behaviors that are the foundation to success in a regular classroom (following instructions, completing a task) and independent organizational skills. (National Research Council, 2001). Recommended for children 8 years and younger, www.nap.edu.

Prioritize Teacher and Caregiver Goals and Write Measurable Objectives

Student’s Name: _____________________ Teacher’s Name: _________________

Social and Play Skills

Concern/Skill:

Measurable Objective:

Communication Skills

Concern/Skill:

Measurable Objective:

Learning Skills

Concern/Skill:

Measurable Objective:

Compass Balance Between Challenges and Supports

IEP objective	Personal challenges	Environmental challenges	Personal supports	Environmental supports

COMPASS Teaching Plan: Environmental Supports

Student’s Name: ___________________ Teacher’s Name: ___________________

Teaching Objective:

Teaching Methods	Who/Where/When
	Materials
	Data System

COMPASS Consultation Satisfaction Questionnaire

Student’s Name: _______________Your Relationship to Child:________________

Your Name: ______________________________ Date:______________________

Directions: Rate your experience with the COMPASS program, with “1” meaning “Strongly Disagree” and “4” meaning “Strongly Agree.” For questions that are not applicable, select “NA.”

		Strongly disagree			Strongly agree
1.	I felt involved during the consultation and able to express my views.	1	2	3	4	NA
2.	The consultant’s communication skills were effective.	1	2	3	4	NA
3.	The consultant listened to what I had to say.	1	2	3	4	NA
4.	The consultant was knowledgeable about ASD.	1	2	3	4	NA
5.	The consultant was able to adapt recommendations/suggestions based on my particular situation/classroom.	1	2	3	4	NA
6.	The consultation made me think differently about the cause(s) of my child’s behavior.	1	2	3	4	NA
7.	The consultant gave me new information about ways my child/student learns.	1	2	3	4	NA
8.	I gained a better understanding of how ASD affects my child/student.	1	2	3	4	NA
9.	I learned a useful way to problem-solve as a team on behalf of my child/student.	1	2	3	4	NA
10.	I gained a better understanding of other team members’ points of view.	1	2	3	4	NA
11.	I felt team members gained a better understanding of my point of view.	1	2	3	4	NA
12.	I gained a better understanding of specific teaching strategies for my child/student.	1	2	3	4	NA
13.	I gained a better understanding about what is needed in my child’s/student’s IEP.	1	2	3	4	NA
14.	I gained a more holistic understanding of my child/student (at home, school, community).	1	2	3	4	NA
15.	A more holistic understanding of my child/student is useful for understanding why she/he does what she/he does.	1	2	3	4	NA
16.	The consultation was helpful in gaining consensus on my child’s/student’s IEP goals.	1	2	3	4	NA
17.	This consultation was helpful in gaining consensus on specific teaching strategies.	1	2	3	4	NA
18.	I will change some ways I interact with my child/student based on information from this consultation.	1	2	3	4	NA
19.	My child’s/student’s IEP will change based on this consultation.	1	2	3	4	NA
20.	The problem-solving process used in this consultation will be helpful with future work with my child/student.	1	2	3	4	NA
21.	I feel comfortable in using the COMPASS problem-solving process on my own with my school team to develop/monitor my child’s/student’s program.	1	2	3	4	NA
22.	I will update the information concerning my child’s/student’s challenges/supports on an ongoing basis.	1	2	3	4	NA
23.	The time allotted for this consultation was adequate.	1	2	3	4	NA
24.	Overall, I feel that the consultation was collaborative.	1	2	3	4	NA
25.	Overall, I am satisfied with the consultation.	1	2	3	4	NA

26.What was most helpful about the consultation?

27.What would you recommend to improve the consultation?

28.What supports do you need in order to implement the ideas shared in the consultation?

29.What barriers do you foresee in being able to implement the ideas shared in the consultation?

Thank you!

COMPASS Consultation Fidelity Checklist

Instructions: Below are the components of the COMPASS consultation. Check the following boxes for the elements that occurred during the consultation.

• 1. The COMPASS consultation comprises a multidisciplinary team defined by:

  • teacher and parents attend meeting

  • other personnel who interact regularly with student attend meeting

• 2. COMPASS is collaborative as defined by:

  • goals include those suggested from home and family

  • planning for the student’s program is based on input from all participants

  • each member contributes ideas for teaching the goals

• 3. The COMPASS consultation process incorporates the following:

  • checklists that are used to help organize information, identify student’s needs, and solicit input from all members

  • facilitated guidance and structure from the consultant

  • a picture of the student at home, in the community, and at school

• 4. IEP goals that came from the COMPASS consultation are the following:

  • described in clear behavioral terms

  • measurable and observable

• 5. COMPASS consultation results in a teaching plan that:

  • identifies at least three priority concerns

  • prioritizes concerns that relate to home, community and school

  • identifies specific skills that the student must learn in order to accomplish each of the priority concerns

  • links the specific teaching strategies to each identified skill

• 6. The teaching strategies described in the COMPASS plan:

  • are developed AFTER goals are generated

  • are individualized for the student and the goal

  • are described in behavioral terms

• 7. Team believes that the student’s ability to learn is based on environmental and student factors:

  • there was a discussion of specific environmental factors for each goal

  • the philosophy of the environment as an important factor in determining student progress is discussed

  • team completes and discusses COMPASS forms on student’s strengths/challenges and environment’s strengths/challenges

• 8. COMPASS results in members having a broader understanding of the student:

  • family members report that they have a better perspective on school issues

  • teachers report that they have a better perspective on home and community issues

• 9. COMPASS consultation results in proactive problem solving:

  • interactive problem solving is implemented by team members providing input and ideas

  • specific problems for implementation and solutions are identified

  • members learn a framework for problem solving that can be used again by individual team members when needed

Evidence-Based Online Resources for Teachers

Direct links to each of these Web sites are available at http://www.ukautism.org/onlineresources.php. We will update our Web site regularly with any changes in the URLs. Visit this Web site for the latest links and for new suggested Web sites.

Recommended Web sites

All resources in this section are available from the following recommended Web sites. Each domain below lists the Web site name:

• Autism Services Research Group: COMPASS Series, http://www.ukautism.org/

• Interactive Collaborative Autism Network (ICAN), http://www.autismnetwork.org/

• National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders (NPDC), http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/

• Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence: Autism Internet Modules (OCALI) All modules have a video and requires an account to be set up with a login and password, http://www.autisminternetmodules.org/

Social (See Recommended Web sites for Specific URL)

• COMPASS Series: Early Social Skills

• COMPASS Series: Teaching Social Interaction and Play within a Peer Group

• ICAN: Social Interventions (peer-mediated instruction, social stories)

• NPDC & OCALI: Peer-Mediated Instruction and Intervention

• NPDC: Social Narratives

• NPDC: Social Skills Groups

• NPDC: Video Modeling

Communication

• ICAN: Communication Interventions (augmentative and alternative communication; naturalistic language strategies; joint action routines; picture exchange communication system)

• NPDC: Session 7 Foundations of Communication and Social Intervention

• NPDC: Picture Exchange Communication System & OCALI PECS

• NPDC: Functional Communication Training

• NPDC: Speech Generating Devices/VOCA

• NPDC & OCALI: Naturalistic Intervention

• NPDC & OCALI: Pivotal Response Training

• OCALI: Computer Aided Instruction (follow autism in the classroom and at home links)

Learning Skills

• NPDC: Session 6 Instructional strategies and learning environments

• NPDC & OCALI: Self-Management

• NPDC & OCALI: Visual Supports

• NPDC & OCALI: Structured Work Systems

• OCALI: Structured Teaching

Behavior

• COMPASS Series: Behavior Management

• COMPASS Series: Relaxation/Calming

• ICAN: Behavioral Interventions

• NPDC: Session 8 Promoting positive behavior and reducing interfering behaviors

• NPDC: Extinction

• NPDC & OCALI: Antecedent-Based Intervention

• NPDC: Differential Reinforcement

• NPDC: Functional Behavior Assessment

• NPDC & OCALI: Response Interruption/Redirection

Self-help/Adaptive

• COMPASS Series: Toilet Training

• COMPASS Series: Constipation in Children with Autism

• COMPASS Series: Helping Your Child Sleep Better

General

• COMPASS Series: Elements of Effective Programs

• COMPASS Series: Understanding Death

• COMPASS Series: Visual Supports

• ICAN: Environmental Interventions

• NPDC & OCALI: Time Delay

• NPDC: Prompting

• NPDC & OCALI: Reinforcement