Lillian Michaels

Week 7 Case Study

SPED 861-99 Dr. George
February 29, 2016

1.

Analyze the problem solving context

I believe the participants in this situation are committed to group

problem solving. Although it does not appear that Diane is committed at the
beginning, she has continued to work on the problem and has tried to
implement the suggestions that Connie has made regarding her approach to
James.

Everyone else appears to be on board as well.

However, I am

concerned about the fact that the principle, after only hearing from Diane,
made the decision to send James home until he could be placed in an EH
classroom. If this problem is not addressed, James is at risk of being labeled
as EH which could affect him negatively in the future. Also, his behavior may
escalate and, Im afraid, Diane might actually hurt him.

There is no

indication that the group is lacking any necessary resource for addressing
this problem, and this issue is certainly serious enough to warrant the time
and resources necessary to resolve it.
2.

Identify the problem

The problem is, essentially, that James is unable to succeed in Dianes

classroom due to his behavior. Complicating the issue is the fact that Diane,

while she is an experienced special education teacher, feels she is unable to

manage James behaviors. This is causing her frustration which she appears
to be taking out on James.

James behavior looks like biting, kicking,

scratching and refusing to follow directions.

The teachers are aware that

James has a communication disorder, and I am wondering why there is not a

speech and language professional involved this far into the process. After
hypothetically discussing the nature of the problem with the other team
members, we have defined the problem as:

How can we help James

manage his behavior more effectively in the classroom?

3.

Generate solutions
I would use the brainstorming method to approach this situation.
There are several professionals involved and they clearly have some

conflicting ideas about how to address the issue, so it will be important for
everyone to seriously consider the others suggestions and points of view.
Some possible solutions I can imagine are: 1) Hire a para to assist in Dianes
room. This person should have some experience working with students with
communication disorders and should be trained in specific behavior
management techniques to use with James. 2) Ask the speech and language
professional to observe James in the classroom and offer suggestions for
addressing his behavior.

This person should be prepared to spend time

teaching Diane specific strategies related to helping James with his

communication barriers. 3) Give James a break card that he can use to go
to a preferred location in the school if he is feeling frustrated in the

classroom.

4) Find out what strategies James parents use at home to

address his behaviors. I realize that Connie has concerns about the parents,
but it does not appear anyone has sat down with them, and its unfair to
make judgments like that without sufficient knowledge.
4.

Evaluate potential solutions

Using PMI, I would evaluate the potential solutions as follows: 1) The

para would provide a buffer between James and Diane and would be the
person handling James behavior issues so that Diane can concentrate on
teaching. S/he could also collect data to aid in determining the effectiveness
of this intervention. This would require the expenditure of resources which
may not be available. Implications are James may feel safer and act out less;
Diane may be resentful that authority is being taken away from her and
attempt to sabotage the situation; Diane may be relieved by the presence of
the para which could result in an improvement in her relationship with James.
2)

Speech professional could provide insight not previously considered to

help Diane manage the behavior; speech professional may have less time to
spend with other students and need to cancel sessions; James behavior
could improve as a result of specific attention to the communication disorder
or the speech professional could determine that the behavior is not related
and make alternative suggestions. 3) Without support, James is too young
to move around the building by himself, so this idea will not be considered
separately. 4) James parents may have strategies which work well and be
willing to share them; James parents may have no strategies and be

annoyed that the school is asking them to do their job; using strategies from
home could provide James with consistency which would help him feel safer
and reduce the frequency of his behaviors.
5.

Select solutions
Although it may require additional resources, I would select solution no.

1 to try. It is possible there is a para in the building who is qualified to work

with James and that schedules can be adjusted in order to provide that time
to Diane. If not, I believe the seriousness of the situation warrants the added
expense and, therefore, makes the feasibility less of an issue. If things are
allowed to continue without a suitable solution, the school and the district
are at increasing risk of being sued for failing to provide James with an
appropriate education.

There is the issue of making decisions about

placement without first informing the parents of their due process rights.
Then there is the ethical issue of the manner in which Diane handles James
and the fact that she has been observed using corporal means, whether or
not they amounted to punishment, when she is very frustrated with him.
James cannot be expected to thrive in that environment and has a right to
feel safe at school.
6.

Implement the solutions

Implementing the solution will require a meeting with James parents to

discuss the need for interventions in the classroom. Assuming the parents
agree and a para is assigned to Dianes classroom, I believe James will feel
safer and will have more appropriate ways to express his anxiety. With a pair

of adult eyes only on him, James will have the supervision necessary to avoid
confrontations with Diane and the para can work consistently with James on
his social skills in every school situation. Data must be collected in order to
properly evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention.
7.

Evaluate outcomes
Assuming this solution has proven to be effective, I feel it should be

maintained in place, possibly with fading support from the para, until James
has learned replacement behaviors and demonstrated them consistently
over a period of time. At that point, Diane should also have had sufficient
time to learn the replacement behaviors and be able to remind James before
an inappropriate behavior happens.