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Appendix D - Case Study 1

Sample Sample Crisis/Emergency Plan

Student: _Carl Stephens_______________________________ Date: __February, 24, 2001________________

School: __Hadley Jr. High School_______________________ Grade: _7th_____________________________

Reason for crisis/emergency plan: repeated verbal threats to physically harm a classmate in retaliation for                  

unknown acts ("getting in my face," "putting me down").______________________________________________

Persons responsible for developing the plan (indicate position):     Mr. Papadolious (Assistant Principal);                    

Ms. Hayes (school psychologist); Mr. Jordan (special education teacher); Ms. Lopez (school counselor)                   

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Parental Approval

Indicate level of parent/guardian participation and approval of the plan. Both Mr. and Mrs. S. were involved              

in creating and approving this plan.______________________________________________________________

Parent/guardian signature: Mr. and Mrs Stephens_______________________________________

  1. Give a full description of the behavior that poses a risk of physical injury to the student or to others, damage to physical property and/or serious disturbance of the teaching/learning process and for which a crisis/emergency plan is required, including both the frequency of occurrence and magnitude of behavior.

    2. Carl repeatedly verbally threatened to "kick the s— out of Fred." Verbal threats were very loud, laced with profanity, and linked to some provocation; however, the actual provocation(s) was not apparent to the classroom teacher. This very intense verbal threat was the fifth time Carl stated that he was going to physically harm Fred.
  2. Give a full description of previous interventions (including those in the student’s IEP or existing behavioral intervention plan) that have been applied and have not been successful, including length of implementation.

    The current IEP calls for social skills instruction, including group self-control.
    An office referral was written after the third verbal threat.
    A two-day in-school suspension was imposed following the fourth verbal threat.

  1. Give a full description of the strategies or procedures included in the plan, the times, places, and situations under which the plan may be introduces, person(s) responsible for its implementation, and any potential risks associated with the plan.

    Reduce academic stressors by reducing length and complexity of selected class assignments and rearrange seating arrangement to place Fred a distance from Carl and any common pathways.

    Preemptive "pull-out" 1:1 instruction with a special education teacher in the school counselor’s office to address (a) "perceptual errors"—Carl’s misreading of the nonverbal behavior of classmates and (b) use of mnemonics for self-control (FAST) and "self-cueing," for self-reinforcement of appropriate behavior. The teacher will use direct instruction (cognitive modeling—how to "think aloud"), verbal rehearsal, and verbal feedback/reinforcement. Sessions will be about 20 minutes and occur twice a day for 4-5 school days (across one week-end), depending on Carl’s cooperation and his ability to learn the strategy.

    Next, small group instruction (two or three classmates, selected on the basis of appropriate behavior and acceptability to Carl) will take place in the classroom when other students are out of the room (at a computer lab) and consist of behavioral rehearsals of the self-control strategy (beginning with simply breaking eye contact and walking away) and use of verbal prompts and positive feedback from peers. Session will be about 20 minutes and occur once a day for 3-4 days, depending on successfulness.

    Follow-up will include periodic "behavioral probes" (after three weeks) including role play original problem/solutions; teachers will observe for other possible triggers.
  1. Give a full description of how, when, and where measurement procedures that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan, the criteria against which the plan will be judged, and the timetable for its evaluation.

    Classroom teacher observation and narrative recording of problem behavior incidences, on a sheet with checklist columns for antecedent events, student responses, and consequences.

    Carl will self-count the number of incidences and self-rate his use of self-prompts (self-talk) to use self-control.

    Peers will count the number of incidences, rate Carl’s use of self-control, and their own verbal praise.
  1. Give the timetable for review of the plan.

    Two weeks.
  1. Give a description of the behavior that will be strengthened and/or taught to the student to replace the behavior of concern, including steps to provide frequency opportunities for the student to engage in and be reinforced for the desired behavior.

    Carl will use cognitive strategies and role play to: (a) identify likely problem situations and physical signs of stress/anger (sweating, trembling, flush feeling in the face); (b) cue for self-control; (c) self-count and reinforcement. Selected peers will be used to strengthen level of appropriate behavior through verbal prompts and reinforcement.
  1. Give a full description of the plan for withdrawing the crisis/emergency plan and the less restrictive and intrusive intervention that will replace it, including the time table for withdrawal of the crisis/emergency plan.

    Given the seriousness of the problem, the plan will be introduced immediately, beginning with the "pull-out" instruction, for at least 4-5 days, followed by at least 3-4 days for peer training sessions. The special education teacher will judge Carl’s acceptance of instruction and ability to fully and accurately "mirror" teacher modeling of the strategy.

    The special education teacher and other team members will observe Carl’s behavior (and that of his classmates) across classroom settings and meet formally in two weeks to discuss impact of plan and need for any changes. The team will convene immediately following any further serious behavior incidences.
  1. Give a full description of the steps that will be taken to eliminate future occurrences of the behavior, including changes in the social/physical environment, teaching of replacement behavior, or both.

    Because of the seriousness of the problem, use of peer supports remain in place. Carl’s history teacher will incorporate instruction on the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the special education teacher will introduce a class-wide conflict resolution program.
  1. Indicate the person(s) responsible for notifying the parent/guardian when the crisis/emergency plan has been introduced and the way in which that notification will be documented.

    School counselor—Ms. Lopez
  1. Indicate the person(s) responsible for the written report of the outcome of the crisis/emergency plan.

Special education teacher—Mr. Jordan

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