Study of the Mount Diablo Unified School District - Mt. Diablo Unified ...

Service Delivery Options and Continuum of Servicestogether to develop educational programs for individual students. Team members caninclude teachers, therapists, behavioral specialists, psychologists, parents, and, whenappropriate, the individual student. Team members support each other in cross‐trainingand program development. Collaboration results in a better understanding of the studentincluding what he can or cannot understand, appropriate aids and supports to increaselearning opportunities, effective strategies, and relevant goals and activities. In addition, itincreases consistent opportunities for learning across environments and generalization ofskills.While the MDUSD has established multidisciplinary teams, these team members do notconsistently provide support for the autism specific programs. During interview sessions,teachers and therapists working directly with students with autism reported that, althoughthey receive consistent support from the two MDUSD behavioral specialists, some schoolbasedprofessional staff have told them that they do not work with students with autism.They reported that this has resulted in an over‐reliance on two behavioral specialists forsupport and that they do not know who to go to with questions or concerns when thebehavioral specialists are not available. As a result, support from staff with knowledge ofautism is inconsistent across school sites.Appendix B provides a comprehensive bibliography of best practices and research regardingservice provision for students with autism.Considerations for Issue 3‐5:• Increase the number and use of multidisciplinary autism support teams, includingexperienced teachers, therapists, school psychologists, and behavioral specialistsat schools serving students with autism.• Ensure that all team members have knowledge of best practices for educatingchildren with autism as well as an interest in working with this population.• Implement a procedure for accessing support and training from members of themultidisciplinary team when needed.Cost Implications for Issue 3‐5:The costs associated with implementation of this consideration are for staff time andprofessional development. The district should not incur any additional costs in the targetedschools if the professional development and district support are provided during the schoolday during planning periods, faculty meetings, early release days, or embedded staffdevelopment in the classroom. If substitutes are required, the district costs would be $120per teacher per day. If professional development is provided after the school day, thedistrict costs would be $25 per hour per teacher. MGT cannot calculate costs forsubstitutes or teacher stipends at this time, as the costs are based on the number of hoursand the method for delivery of the professional development.MGT of America, Inc. Page 3‐13