Pre-Consultation Option
Before scheduling an on-site consultation, consider this convenient and cost-effective option. Melissa offers virtual or phone-based consultations to support school teams working with a student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who is exhibiting challenging behavior.
Consultation
Melissa is available to provide these on-site consultations on behalf of specific individuals of all ages with ASD in a variety of settings, including schools, homes, and adult settings. Below are the steps involved in a consultation.
Coaching
This service supports educators to enhance their teaching strategies of implementing evidence-based practices with fidelity. Through one-on-one coaching, Melissa taps into the educator’s strengths and leads each person to continual knowledge to support students.
Training
Melissa can present workshops on a host of topics, and she will personalize the topics to meet each district’s needs. The training can be consecutive days or spread out over several days for several months.
SERVICE
Pre-Consultation Option
Pre-Consultation Option
Pre-Consultation Option: Virtual or Phone-Based Support
Before scheduling an on-site consultation, consider this convenient and cost-effective option. Melissa offers virtual or phone-based consultations to support school teams working with a student with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who is exhibiting challenging behavior.
Phone or Virtual School Consultation
Rate: $150 per hour Note: If an in-school consultation is scheduled as the next step, the virtual consultation fee will be applied as a discount toward the in-person service.
What’s Included:
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- A virtual or phone meeting with Melissa and your school team
- A completed A-B-C Iceberg Form, developed from the team’s input about the student’s behavior
- A list of 2–3 actionable strategies tailored to the student’s needs that can be implemented immediately
- With a signed Release of Information, school leaders or team members may share details of the student’s behavior during the consultation. As Melissa listens, she will complete an A-B-C Iceberg form, offering insight into underlying factors contributing to the behavior. Drawing from her expertise, Melissa helps the team generate fresh, practical ideas to support the students’ success.
Please note: This pre-consultation does not include a review of student records or direct observation.
SERVICE
Consultation
In-School Consultation
In-School Consultation
Consultation in a school (e.g., observation, review of records, and staffing with the team, report) is $1200 each day.
Fee Structure By Service
Pricing includes all associated costs including presentation preparation, electronic handouts, survey, and all travel costs (e.g., hotel, mileage, gas, food). The prices are for work conducted in Indiana only. Out of state there will be additional fees.
When an individual with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents any type of challenging behaviors and the school has already tried tier 1 and 2 strategies and nothing seems to be working, the immediate and logical response is to call for help. Melissa is available to provide on-site consultations on behalf of specific individuals of all ages with ASD in a variety of settings, including schools, homes, and adult settings. Below are the steps involved in a consultation.
Below are the steps involved in a consultation service.
| 1. Written release must be signed by a family member before the consultation can proceed. This document is to gain permission from a family member for the school to share confidential information with Melissa. The information will include: an observation, review of the student records (e.g., educational evaluation, IEPs, data collection, if any outside evaluations), and other information for Melissa to gain background knowledge. |
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| 2. Melissa would like to talk to everyone on the team (e.g., administration, teachers, Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational therapist, Physical Therapist, outside agencies if any are involved, and family member) to gain insights into the characteristics of the individual’s autism and everyone’s concerns. As a result, she will need everyone’s email and/or phone numbers. |
| 3. Then a mutually agreed upon date will be set. |
| 4. On the date set, Melissa will observe the student for approximately three to four hours focusing on the antecedents and function of the behavior, and the characteristics of the autism the student is displaying. In addition, the effectiveness of the interventions in place and how they are implemented across all staff working with the student. During the observation, Melissa will not intervene if the student displays any challenging behaviors so she can see how the current strategies are working or not. |
| 5. After the observation, Melissa would like to have a two-hour staffing which will allow her to share what she learned from talking to everyone prior to her visit, characteristics of autism gained from reading the student’s files, and evidence-based practices that could be implemented for the student’s success. Part of the meeting’s focus is to develop a team that will work together by sharing their experiences and knowledge to support the student after Melissa leaves the school. The team could include the following people: Teacher of record (TOR), teacher of service if different that the TOR, Administrator, occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, family member(s), autism and/or behavior consultant, outside agency if involved, special education director or representative and general education teacher if the student is included. |
| 6. A report will be generated after this meeting to summarize the recommendations. A copy of the report will be sent to the special education director to share with the team. |
| 7. Follow-up contact is encouraged for further coaching in how to implement the EBPs with the team. |
SERVICE
Coaching
In-School Coaching
In-School Coaching
Coaching in a school (e.g., related to evidence-based practice to implement with one or more students) is $1200 each day.
Fee Structure By Service
Pricing includes all associated costs including presentation preparation, electronic handouts, survey, and all travel costs (e.g., hotel, mileage, gas, food). The prices are for work conducted in Indiana only. Out of state there will be additional fees.
For this level of service, the district will contact Melissa to request additional days to return to the school to teach the staff through coaching on the EBPs recommended from the consultation. The strategies often are sensory integration, communication, visual supports, social skills, reinforcement, video modeling, prompting, peer mediated instruction and intervention, social narratives, and/or technology aided instruction and interventions.
Melissa will teach all the staff working with the students through coaching on the evidence-based practices (EBP’s) recommended from the consultation day. Here are a few examples of coaching the staff EBP’s. Create sensory integration into the daily schedule. Develop a communication system. Point out when to create and use visual supports. Teach the importance of utilizing reinforcements to change behavior to learn a new skill. Coaching with each staff member is different depending on the need of the educator. Often Melissa starts the day by teaching the staff about the EBP. Time is spent making the strategy and practicing how to implement it. Coaching in the classroom may look like Melissa whispering or passing a note to the teacher with a tip on how to implement the strategy. It could also look like modeling and encourage the paraprofessional(s) to try the EBP with a student.
- Melissa doesn’t work with the student(s); she works with the staff. Therefore, coaching will involve her cueing, pointing, and modeling suggestions to the staff on how to implement the EBP. Melissa’s job is to empower the staff to work with the student(s) effectively.
- Melissa wants to include the SLP, OT, and Autism Consultant to develop a team to continually support the staff.
- Coaching is usually on-going once a month for a period determined by the school district.
SERVICE
Training
Half / Full Day Training
Half / Full Day Training
- Training for a full day (4 hours or more) in person is $1600
- Training for a half day (3 hours or less) in person for $1300.
- Virtual training can be arranged on request.
Fee Structure By Service
Pricing includes all associated costs including presentation preparation, electronic handouts, survey, and all travel costs (e.g., hotel, mileage, gas, food). The prices are for work conducted in Indiana only. Out of state there will be additional fees.
Melissa can present workshops on a host of topics, and she will personalize the topics to meet each district’s needs. Some trainings can be created for a half day or a full day depending on the specifics wanted in each topic area. It is generally suggested only two topics per day. The training can be consecutive days or spread out over several days for several months.
Evidence-Based Practices
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- Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Visual Supports (e.g., physical structure, schedules, work systems, tasks at student ability levels)
- Behavior including ABC Iceberg, review of records, data collection, interviews, and observations.
- Communication receptive and expressive language; plus, assistive technology devices. The focus is on why communication systems are important for all students.
- Teaching Social Skills including video modeling, social skills groups, peer mediation intervention and instruction.
- Sensory Integration including the five senses, vestibular, and proprioceptive needs. Understand the sensory needs of the students to pair with how to support individuals before a crisis to decrease behavior.
- Reinforcement to teach new skills to address the function of the behavior.
- Prompting from independence to using visuals, gestures, modeling, and full physical.
Other Trainings
- Paraprofessional Training/Coaching. This includes gaining the concerns from the paraprofessionals to know their questions related to strategies and student needs. Then Melissa observes for a short time in the classroom; followed by coaching on evidence-based practices while the paraprofessionals work with the students.
- Preparing for issues that occur for adolescents on the autism spectrum in life skills classes. The topics include hygiene, manners, private/public, personal space, appropriate touching rules, puberty for girls and boys, and making and keeping friends. It would be helpful if real-life examples could be shared to be incorporated into the training to make it more realistic for the participants.
Methods of Administration (MOA)
A Methods of Administration (MOA) will be used to specify the services Melissa will provide and the fees for consultation, coaching, and/or training and the source of payment from the school district/agency for the services. The methods of payment include a PO for a promise to pay with a check or using ACH. A credit card can be arranged with an additional 2.9% charge. Call Melissa to talk through the exact services needed in your school district/agency and the fees to match.