By Casey Moore, MS, BCBA, LBA
Quick Summary
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The IEP process can feel overwhelming for families of children with autism.
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Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) can support goal-setting, advocacy, and school collaboration.
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ABA therapy during the summer helps maintain structure, reinforce skills, and strengthen continuity between home and school.
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Families can invite their child’s ABA provider to participate in IEP discussions for a more comprehensive support team.
The summer break can be both a blessing and a curse for many families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The freedom from the rigors and demands of the school year can certainly be relaxing, but the lack of structure and change in routine can cause concerns that sometimes feel like they overshadow the benefits.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy services are often beneficial in maintaining structure and routines during the summer months, thus helping children with ASD to more easily adjust from the day-to-day expectations of the school year. Another benefit for students who participate in ABA therapy is that once school resumes, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) can assist with the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) development and review process.
As your child’s education team prepares for the coming school year, there are several ways a BCBA can play a meaningful role in supporting IEP development and collaboration with your public school.
Supporting the Need for an IEP
Public schools will make their own determinations regarding the eligibility of each student to receive an IEP. This usually means a school psychologist or other qualified professional will conduct their own evaluation of the child and make a decision determining if that child does or does not meet criteria for a “disability” that qualifies for an IEP.
This can sometimes be a confusing and frustrating process for parents, since the public-school assessors make their own decision regardless of what medical diagnoses or conditions a child may have already received from another source. Therefore, a child could, theoretically, have an official ASD diagnosis from a medical provider (and even be receiving ABA or other care for that condition), but the school’s evaluation could conclude that the student still does not “qualify” as a student with ASD and thus not require an IEP based on the result of their in-house evaluation.
If needed, BCBAs can assist with communication with teachers or administrators regarding a child’s behavior across multiple settings and provide supporting data for certain types of behavior concerns or language/learning differences to assist the education team in making their decision.
Progress Monitoring
On their own, IEPs are monitored and updated very irregularly – sometimes only once per year at the time of re-evaluation. ABA practitioners can assist with monitoring of a student’s progress on a daily basis, and they can assist with coordinating communication and monitoring of behavior between the student’s family and teachers.
BCBAs may sometimes design a tracking or communication system that is usable by both parties and can be available to meet and collaborate directly with teachers as needed to help facilitate decision making, educational target selection, and effective intervention strategies that the school may choose to implement.
Functionally Appropriate Behavior Intervention Supports
Public schools work with hundreds and hundreds of students. Those students who do not have an IEP do not necessarily receive individualized instruction but are instead given an education that is designed to be effective for as broad a range of learners as possible. Many talented teachers are highly skilled at identifying the needs of their particular students and providing them with care and assistance to meet their needs, but having lessons and interventions tailored directly to them isn’t something guaranteed by public schools. An IEP does provide these supports and should be developed for a student who requires an individualized process for either learning from instruction or how teachers and staff should most effectively respond to disruptive behaviors.
BCBAs are experts at identifying functional relationships between behaviors and the factors that contribute to the presence or absence of those behaviors. They can provide assessments for the schools to complete or complete their own assessments in conjunction with the school to learn what does and does not work well for any given student.
Without function-based intervention, students with special needs may inadvertently have their behavior be made worse by default approaches to disciplinary action such as removal from instruction, suspension from school, or loss of opportunity to be with same-aged peers.
Supporting Generalization Outside of School Time
Through collaboration on the IEP, BCBAs can design goals and interventions that maximize the opportunities for skills targeted in an IEP to also occur in other settings, such as the home or community. For example, if a student has a goal for improving his or her attendance to group instruction from an adult, a BCBA may design an intervention to replicate and practice this skill at home or during the summer months while making it fun and rewarding to do so.
Further, if a particular subject, situation, or context produces lots of challenging behavior in school, the BCBA may (in addition to assessing and providing recommendations to the school) design a practice strategy to continue to develop this skill outside of school. So, if attending to and following multi-step instructions does not occur reliably for a student and cause them distress, the student will have the opportunity to work on this same skill (listening to and completing multi step tasks) while they are having fun in their ABA session at home so it doesn’t “hit” as hard during school time.
You Don’t Have to Navigate the IEP Process Alone
The IEP process can be a stressful and sometimes painful experience for families of children with ASD and other special needs. ABA providers have tools and resources to support families during these discussions, but will need to be invited to do so by the families of their clients. Most BCBAs welcome the opportunity to collaborate with educators, therapists, and other professionals to support a child’s success. At BRAINS, we believe in the power of partnership and are here to help you navigate the IEP process with clarity and confidence. If you’d like guidance or want to explore how your BCBA can play a more active role in your child’s support team, contact us today. We’re ready to work alongside you and the rest of your child’s “village” to promote growth, connection, and progress.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Can my child’s ABA therapist attend IEP meetings at school?
A: Yes—ABA therapists, including BCBAs, can be valuable contributors to the IEP team. However, they must be invited by the family to participate. If you’d like your BRAINS provider to attend, just let us know and we’ll work with your schedule and your child’s school team.
Q: How does ABA therapy help support IEP goals?
A: ABA therapists use evidence-based techniques to support behavior management, communication skills, and learning strategies—all of which can reinforce IEP goals both in and out of school settings. They also provide data and insight to help refine goals over time.
Q: What’s the difference between school-based ABA support and services from BRAINS?
A: School-based supports are typically limited to what’s needed for a student to succeed in the classroom. BRAINS provides outpatient ABA therapy that addresses broader goals, including daily living skills, emotional regulation, and family coaching.