I had the opportunity to observe Lena during her geometry class today - virtual class. Lena did a great job for about 45 minutes of the class! At the onset of the class, it did appear that Lena was worried for frustrated with the fact that Mom and Mr Larry were talking and it was tough to understand. During the course of the class, Lena once said "I need your help" & did so before expressing any frustration! I'd call that a win! Throughout the class, Cari took the lead on teaching Lena. From my observation, Mr Larry seemed to teach Cari, and Cari would teach Lena. Mr Larry did provide praise statements and did state when things needed to be corrected throughout. It did not appear that Lena was listening to or prepared to respond to Mr. Larry and primarily waited for her mother to repeat any directive. It was extremely difficult as there were no visual supports, which would be very challenging for Lena during a math class - and so Cari provided these visuals. Cari also narrated what Lena was doing making it so Mr Larry could be aware of Lena's process in solving problems. This is likely specifically a difficult of virtual teaching and not necessarily an in-person teaching difficulty. Some recommendations that I would provide include (I've written a lot here and I would recommend us discussing or planning out how to implement many of these before jumping in):
Lena struggles with admitting that she doesn’t know something or asking for help – and may get frustrated if not supported quickly. From observing a class, it seems that Lena would benefit most from very clear directives with limited extraneous language. She would likely benefit from a combination of visual plus auditory supports (following observation of a math class with no visual supports –other than that provided by her mother- I don’t think Lena would be successful without those additional supports).



I would suggest for teachers to be clear about some of the implied requirements of a class such as “take out your __ book and turn to this page”, “write this down”, “get out your science notebook” - and then be sure to give her time to follow through with this request before you move on.



Embedding check-in questions as the teachers proceeds with the lecture would likely be very helpful. For example when the teacher provides Lena with a new definition – state it. Then ask her using a fill-in the blank sentence, or just have her repeat the word so you can check in for listening, etc. It would be best to vary these so she doesn’t get frustrated with the same questions each time.



Lena’s tools that she does use appropriately should be heavily and quickly reinforced (not necessarily with praise but with what she wants). For example, if Lena asks for help in an appropriate manner, this should be quickly provided. As she gets more comfortable with asking for help, then this can be stretched out (the support can be gradually provided, just a clue at a time) and variably reinforced when this is stronger in her repertoire.

Likewise, breaks that she requests appropriately should be reinforced to reduce the likelihood of a situation becoming more escalated. In a math class I observed, Lena had done great for 40 minutes – then she asked for a timer to tell her how much longer the class would be, started paying attention less and asked for a nail file and started filing her nails. I would suggest the teachers (and mom if she’s present) look out for these times and go ahead and offer her a short timed break – then get back to it. In the class I observed, Lena was pushed through this (likely because she was doing so well thus far) and it ended with her getting more frustrated stating that she “hates” specific things about what they were doing in the class, voice increased in volume, more moans/groans, repeatedly asking for the bathroom and squeezing/putting hand to forehead. While the break was not offered prior to the more "escalated" behavior (it was never concerning but definitely was not a productive lesson at some point) Cari did an amazing job at coming up with a requirement and then following through! Because Lena was told that a break was not available until the equation was complete, -it was perfect (and necessary!) that Lena be required to complete the expected task.. and then the break be granted. This helps ensure that Lena is not reinforced for escalated behavior, but rather for the contingency set in place.

Another solution to this might be non-contingent break cards available at the start of classes (there are various ways this could be done where she has some to start, possibly additional ways to earn more, or not, etc). When she chooses to use a break, as long as there’s a break card available it is immediately honored. But, when she’s out or cards, – she's out. Some consideration might also be made for a rule of a break card will be considered “used” if she engages in certain escape behavior and is not participating in class for a period of time... but this should be closely considered as we don’t want this to evoke further problem behavior. (clear rules should be set before hand and warnings should be provided in
the moment).