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In-Home and Community-Based Training and Parent/Family Training

What’s Required

For a Texas student with autism eligible for special education and related services, the ARD/IEP Committee must consider all eleven peer-reviewed, research-based educational programming practice strategies under of the Texas Administrative Code (TAC). In-home/community-based training or viable alternatives is one of the eleven strategies an ARD/IEP Committee may consider for a student with autism, for example, to facilitate maintenance and generalization of social/behavioral skills from home to school, school to home, home to community, and school to the community. In-home and community-based training (IH/CBT) is a related service that must be considered as one of eleven strategies on the Autism Supplement for a student with autism eligibility, and when needed, addressed in the IEP.

Parent/family training and support is a strategy defined as training and support provided by qualified personnel with experience in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) that, for example:

• Provides a family with skills necessary for a child to succeed in the home/community setting
• Includes information regarding resources, for example, parent support groups, workshops, videos, conferences, and materials designed to increase parent knowledge of specific teaching/management techniques related to the child's curriculum
• Facilitates parental carryover of in-home training, for example, strategies for behavior management and developing structured home environments and/or communication training so that parents are active participants in promoting the continuity of interventions across all settings.

Consideration of any strategies included in the autism supplement in no way implies a requirement to implement a particular strategy.  It is the responsibility of the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD)/ IEP committee to determine which of the strategies if any should be included in a student's IEP.

What We Do

The following procedures will be followed in determining a student's need for in-home/community-based training and/or parent/family training and support services.

The student's ARD Committee discusses the possible need for in-home/community-based and/or parent/family training and support services during the annual ARD Committee meeting.

If the ARD Committee determines that the services are not needed, the committee must document the reasons services are not needed on the autism supplement.

If the ARD Committee determines that services are needed, the tiered intervention process (described below) will be initiated.

Integration of Services

In-home/community-based training and Parent/family training services are considered separate entities, integrating in-home and/or community-based training with parent/family training services enables parents to develop a range of skills important for supporting their child's education in the areas of behavior/social skill development, communication training, and self-care skills in a sustained and meaningful way.

The In-Home Community-Based Training (IH/CBT) consists of three tiers:

• Tier One Interventions:  Viable Alternatives including Parent Training and Standard Interventions
• Tier Two Interventions:  Evaluation
• Tier Three Interventions:  Direct Services

Tier One Interventions:  Viable Alternatives including Parent training and Standard Interventions

• Parents are invited to district-sponsored group meetings that address issues relevant to parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder.
• Parents are provided with online training resources and community resources.
• Shared information through daily communication is maintained.
• Parent/Teacher conferences to address critical skill areas (behavior, self-help, communication, social skills) are made available.
• Parents are invited to observe in school settings to learn specific behavioral intervention strategies.
• District or campus-level staff create and provide (a) an individualized visual schedule, (b) a toileting task analysis (if needed), (c) a functional communication system (when necessary and appropriate) to be implemented in the home, and (d) data collection forms and directions for using them.
• Campus staff will identify and describe expected behaviors and interventions to be implemented across the school and home environments by, for example, creating a "behavior folder" to travel with the student to and from the home and campus.
• A home visit to discuss behavior concerns and/or strategies is conducted by a Behavior Team.

Tier Two Interventions:  Evaluation

If, after an appropriate time of up to six weeks of Tier One interventions, the student's ARD committee determines that in-home/community-based and/or parent/family training and support is still needed, the committee requests an In-Home/Community-Based and Parent/Family Training and Support Evaluation.

• The Notice of Consent and Consent for Evaluation will be obtained from the parent.
• Required paperwork is submitted to the Special Education Coordinator.
• The in-home/community and parent training evaluation will be completed within timelines.
• The completed Evaluation Report is sent to the campus ARD Facilitator and/or Diagnostician and Special Education Coordinator.
• The student's ARD Committee reviews the evaluation. 

If services are recommended, the ARD Committee will:

• Determine in-home/community-based training goals and objectives (based on data in the Evaluation Report).
• Determine the format and amount of services necessary to address the goals and objectives (based on data in the Evaluation Report).
• Complete the Autism Supplement.
• Document in-home training as a related service on the Schedule of Services (SOS) in SuccessED.
• The campus ARD Facilitator or Diagnostician will submit relevant ARD documents to the Special Education Coordinator.
• The Special Education Coordinator assigns a trainer and services begin, as determined by the student's IEP.

Tier Three Interventions:  Direct Services

• In-home/community-based and/or parent/family training services are provided to the student and/or family.
• The following activities will be completed for each home visit:
• The In-Home Trainer will complete documentation.
• The parent will sign the documentation form for the visit.
• Direct services will involve facilitating generalization from the school environment to the home environment.

These services include, but are not limited to:

• • Modeling instructional techniques in various environments,
  • Creating and implementing behavior management systems in the home setting,
  • Suggesting environmental modifications to promote more effective functioning for the child and family.
  • Integrating parent/family training services to enable parents to develop skills important for supporting the child in the areas of behavior/social skill development, communication training, and self-care skills.

When the recommended number of sessions has been completed, the in-home trainer will;

• Complete a final summary of progress,
• Review the summary with the parents,
• Submit the final summary of progress to the campus Diagnostician and case manager for review at the student's next ARD Committee meeting.
• The final summary of progress will be shared at the student's next ARD Committee meeting.
• If the student's goals and objectives have not been mastered, the in-home/parent trainer may make recommendations for continuing services for a specified number of sessions for ARD Committee consideration.
• If the student's goals have been mastered and the committee suspects a continued need for either in-home or parent training services, the committee may request another In-Home/Community-Based and/or Parent/Family Training and Support Evaluation.