ERC NEWSLETTER
MARCH 2025
Hello WCSD#1 Families!
Spring is definitely in the air! It's hard to believe it is our last 9 weeks of the 2024-2025 school year. Time has gone by so fast. Even though we are almost out of March, I still wanted to get this information out to families. My focus this month is on Understanding Behavior Supports in IEPs.
Behavior supports are essential components of many IEPs, providing structured strategies to help students overcome behavioral challenges that may interfere with their learning. As educators and parents work together to support student success, understanding these supports becomes crucial.
What Are Behavior Supports?
Behavior supports in IEPs are specifically designed interventions that address challenging behaviors while teaching positive replacement behaviors. These supports are individualized to meet each student's unique needs and are based on functional behavior assessments (FBA) that identify the underlying causes of behaviors.
Here are some specific strategies to address challenging behaviors:
Environmental Modifications
(Simple changes to a student's environment can significantly impact behavior)
- Seating arrangements that minimize distractions
- Visual schedules and timers to support transitions
- Sensory tools and designated quiet spaces
- Modified work areas to accommodate specific needs
Self-Regulation Strategies
(Teaching students to recognize and manage their emotions is vital for long-term success)
- Emotional identification and coping skills
- Breathing and calming techniques
- Break cards or signals for when students need support
- Self-monitoring tools and reflection opportunities
Social Skills Training
(Many students benefit from explicit instruction in social interactions)
- Structured social stories and role-playing activities
- Peer-mediated strategies and social groups
- Direct instruction in understanding social cues and norms
Reward Systems and Recognition
(Thoughtfully designed reward systems play a crucial role in behavior support)
- Token economies that allow students to earn privileges or preferred activities
- Behavior contracts with clearly defined goals and rewards
- Visual progress tracking that helps students see their growth
- Immediate positive feedback for meeting expectations
Behavior supports are not simply about managing disruptions—they're essential teaching tools that:
- Remove Barriers to Learning: When behavioral challenges are addressed effectively, students can focus on academic content.
- Build Independence: Well-designed supports teach students to eventually self-regulate and navigate challenges independently.
- Promote Dignity and Inclusion: Effective behavior supports allow students to participate more fully in general education settings.
- Address Root Causes: Rather than simply reacting to behaviors, these supports identify and address underlying needs.
- Create Consistency: Clear behavior plans ensure all team members respond consistently, providing stability for students.
The Power of Rewards and Accomplishment
Rewards are more than just incentives—they're powerful teaching tools that contribute to student growth in several ways:
- Building Confidence: When students earn rewards through their efforts, they develop belief in their own abilities. This increased self-efficacy often transfers to other areas of their education.
- Creating Positive Associations: For students who have struggled behaviorally, rewards help reframe school as a place of success rather than failure, increasing engagement and motivation.
- Providing Concrete Feedback: Rewards make abstract progress tangible. Students can see, track, and celebrate their improvement, which is especially important for those who struggle with abstract concepts.
- Teaching Delayed Gratification: Well-structured reward systems help students learn to work toward longer-term goals, an essential life skill that extends far beyond the classroom.
- Celebrating Small Wins: For students with significant behavioral challenges, rewards acknowledge incremental progress that might otherwise go unnoticed, preventing discouragement and building momentum.
Finally, the most effective reward systems gradually shift from external motivators to helping students recognize and value their own growth and accomplishments, fostering intrinsic motivation that will serve them throughout their lives.
By implementing thoughtful, individualized behavior supports, we create environments where all students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally, setting them up for lifelong success.
Ryan R. Clark<><<
Special Education Director
Washakie County School District #1
They are Attention, Escape, Tangible, or Automatic. These functions, are important to identify because they can help us determine how we should intervene in a behavior. Once we can identify the function(s), we can stop the behavior from occurring, or on the flip side, encourage the behavior to continue.
1. Attention
The child engages in this behavior because it gets them attention–good or bad! Attention can involve vocal communication, eye contact, facial expressions, body posture, and physical interaction. We can assume the child prefers nice attention. But when they can’t get that, they’ll often settle for the not-so-nice attention mentioned. Either way, the child is looking to get some type of response from another person, or group of people.
2. Escape
The child engages in this behavior because it gets them out of a non-preferred task or demand. These behaviors can be appropriate, inappropriate, or even helpful.
3. Tangible
The child engages in this behavior because it gets them something they want–a preferred item or activity. There are appropriate and inappropriate ways to request things, but both serve the same function.
4. Automatic
The child engages in these behaviors because they are internally pleasing, or they feel good! They may also happen because they stop something that feels bad. Sometimes we even do these things without realizing it or thinking about it.
Learn more here: https://inbloomautism.com/functions-of-behavior/
WYOMING GOVERNO'RS COUNCIL ON DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES NEWSLETTER
MARCH 2025 NEWSLETTER LINK HERE:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QIV-t2_rhGtxFQP5woxInWFXK6EtJ4ov/view
Prepare for your student's next IEP by putting your thoughts and ideas into this new form.
- Form will come in the mail with IEP meeting notice.
- OR, click below to get the digital version.
- Bring it to your next IEP meeting with your notes and to take notes.
- It's yours to keep once the meeting is done and you can compare notes with the finalized IEP.
- Do you have suggestions about the form? Email or call us!
rclark@washakie1.com / 307-347-2435
CLICK LINK BELOW TO CHECK IT OUT!
WDE PARENT HUB
This will get parents links to an abundance of resources in the great state of Wyoming, including Special Education.
For more info click here https://edu.wyoming.gov/parents/
WDE SPECIAL EDUCATION PORTAL
Special education (SPED) programs provide students with disabilities with the support they need to learn and thrive in school and beyond. Click on the below tiles to learn more about these programs.
Dispute Resolution
Vision Outreach
Monitoring
Deaf & Hard of Hearing
Parent Resources
The Project WIN website provides information on special education resources, evidence-based instructional practices, professional development and events to educators, families and other agencies.
John Balow
Special Education Programs Division Director
(307) 777-2870
Parent Information Center of WY
We help Wyoming families of children impacted by disabilities or special education needs (birth to 26), find their voice and effectively advocate as equal partners with schools.
For more info click here https://www.wpic.org/
Wyoming Institute for Disabilities
The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) is an academic unit in the College of Health Sciences and a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). WIND works to assist individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, professionals, and University of Wyoming students through education, training, community services, and early intervention. The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities envisions a Wyoming where all people can participate in everyday community life as they choose.
For more info click here https://www.uwyo.edu/wind/index.html
Wyoming Assistive Technology Resources
WATR is Wyoming's Assistive Technology Act program and a resource for all assistive technology (AT) needs in Wyoming. AT may be a device or solution that enhances an individual's ability to live, play, or work independently. AT can take the form of a device, tool, or adaptation that supports a person when participating in everyday activities and settings.
For more info click here: https://www.uwyo.edu/wind/watr/index.html
Wyoming Children's Law Center, INC
Need Help?
Our work encompasses local, statewide and tribal services at reduced cost or, for qualifying families, for free. Legal services include special education cases, guardianships, adoption, and juvenile assistance.
Our Family Tree services are non-legal and consist of mediation, parent education and supervised visits and exchanges.
The Youth Justice Coalition works within the communities of Wyoming to build relationships and generate positive solutions to the problems facing youth who have been in contact with the criminal justice system.
Our juvenile justice advocacy encompasses coordinating with local stakeholders to identify and implement juvenile justice reforms, working to make schools safer for everyone, and collecting data to make informed decisions to best advocate for the most vulnerable members of our society.
For more info click here: https://www.wyoclc.org/
STEAM SATURDAY AT WASHAKIE MUSEUM
DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A MOUNTAIN??
Saturday, April 26 | 10:00-11:30am
Grades K-8 - FREE
Spend the morning at the Washakie Museum with special guest educator David Kissner learning about Topographic lines, maps, and build your own model of a famous Wyoming Mountain!
Sponsored by the Newell B. Sargent Foundation
STEAM Saturdays are monthly classes focused on engaging students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) topics. Each class includes a hands-on project. STEAM Saturdays are for ages 6 and up unless specified. These classes are held on a first come, first served basis. Up to 25 student spaces are available for each class. STEAM Saturdays are free for participants and funded by a generous grant from the Newell B. Sargent Foundation.
REGISTER HERE: https://www.washakiemuseum.org/steam-saturday-pre-registration.html
Classes begin at 10:00am and will end by 11:30am, unless specified. Parents are required to sign each child in and out.
Contact: Museum Educator, Angela Reddick at educator@washakiemuseum.org or 307-347-4102.
Visit the Washakie County Library for Events
Click here for info http://www.washakiecountylibrary.com/home.html
It’s more than just investing.
It’s investing for a better life.
WYABLE is helping Wyomingites to achieve greater independence and financial security through the power of STABLE accounts.
WYABLE provides:
Access to STABLE accounts for Wyomingites with disabilities
Tax-free savings for disability-related expenses
The ability to save and invest without losing needs-based benefits
For too long, people with disabilities could not save for the future out of fear of losing needed government benefits. The disability community fought long and hard to change this, and together we’ve come up with a solution.
A STABLE account through WYABLE is a way for Wyomingites to save for qualified expenses, invest for future needs, and keep the benefits you rely on every day.
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WCSD #1 Special Education