S'cool Moves & Collaboration

Debra Em Wilson,
Founder and Chief Bottle Washer

What are the problems that collaboration between
teachers and therapists can solve?
 Academic achievement and behavior problems co-exist with estimates
between 10%-50%
 ADHD prevalence in the general population range from 2%-18%
 Co-occurrence of ADHD and reading difficulties is estimated at
15%-45%
 Sensory processing issues, including self regulation, range from
3.4%-15.6% in the 4-year-old population
 Inattention, misbehavior, and difficulties with work completion create
the main reasons teachers refer students for intervention
 50% of teachers quit teaching in the first three years due to lack of
support from administration for these issues
 Collaboration between teachers and therapists is essential to solving
the academic-behavior connection in the classroom setting

Full research paper with references is available at, www.schoolmoves.com research tab.

© S’cool Moves, Inc., www.schoolmoves.com
Permission is granted to copy for district presentations.

Why do therapists need resources that help them be more
successful in the classroom setting?

 Teachers need
help with their
large class sizes.

 Students have a
variety of needs.

 Budgets are
shrinking.


Why put one’s entire life’s work
into proclaiming the value of collaboration?
(the short version)
 Debra Em Wilson started teaching high school biology students,
half of whom could not read their texts.
 Debra went in search for answers and earned a Master’s Degree
in Education with a clinical reading option.
 While working on her Master’s Degree, Debra taught five years
in a special program she developed for high school students who
were at risk for dropping out of school as a result of not being
able to read. Managing behavior made her want to drop out of
teaching!
 Debra moved to a new town and became Site Literacy Coach
Sacr am o River
ent
for eight years to renew her faith in teaching.
 Behavior and reading challenges persisted. At wit’s end, Debra S'cool M oves is l ocat ed
looked for answers to the behavior challenges and found them in in Shast a, CA
the world of occupational therapy; a world she knew little about
as a teacher.
 With test scores in her school on the rise, administrators began
calling Debra for help. In answer, she founded S’cool Moves, a
company all about collaboration between teachers and
therapists.

Is there more to the story?
 Yes! Debra’s first child was born while she was a Site Literacy
Coach and while Debra was looking for answers to her students’
behavior challenges.
 Shalea had microcephaly (small head), failure to thrive, mild
cerebral palsy, and developmental delays.
 When her daughter was two years of age, Debra met Margot
Heiniger-White, an occupational therapist, who taught her about
the miracle of wiring the brain through developmental movement.
Debra applied what she was learning with her daughter to her
classroom situation. Miracles began happening there, too!
 At 5, her daughter was diagnosed with Russell-Silver Syndrome
(very rare genetic glitch) and Sensory Processing Disorder.
 At 13, Shalea was diagnosed with severe central auditory
processing issues, selective mutism, and abnormally slow brain
wave patterns.
 At 16, she is a high school student in a special education diploma
Debra with her daughter, Shalea track program and learning with her peers.
Born May 13, 1996  Shalea has far exceeded the medical community’s expectations due
to intervention from the therapy world.
 Debra’s daughter is the inspiration behind S’cool Moves and
teaches us the importance of a healing team that believes in the
power of collaboration!


Source: Miracle-gro reference from
Dr. John Ratey, author of Spark


What does it mean to collaborate?
 Find evidence-based resources that teachers and therapists
use together in the classroom setting
 Use a multidisciplinary approach with the common goal of
addressing the Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
 Work together to support school/district academic and
behavior goals
 Provide possibilities for teachers and therapists to assume
new roles and strengthen leadership skills
 Find common language that empowers both teachers and
therapists
 Work together for the benefit of children and families
 Have a heck of a better time dealing with management issues
in the classroom.
 More fun • More success • Happier staff, students, and
parents!


Q uick What “evidenced-based practice” means:
N ot e
 Contrary to popular belief, it does not mean that a program
or technique has to be researched in randomized controlled
trials.
 The actual definition is this: “the integration of best research
evidence with clinical expertise and patient values” (medical
model version). The educational definition is the “integration
of best research evidence with educator’s expertise and
student values” (Chipchase, Dalton, Williams & Scutter, 2004).
 This definition opens up an exciting window to merge
therapy techniques and teacher pedagogy into one fabulous
classroom of possibilities!


Here’s the research to support collaboration…
 Classroom strategies used by teachers of students with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (Mulligan, 2001)
 Collaborative consultation: the efficacy of remedial and compensatory
interventions in school contexts (Kemmis & Dunn, 1996)
 Models of occupational therapy service provision in the school system
(Dunn, 1988)
 A systematic review of collaborative models for health and education
professionals working in school settings and implications for training (Hillier,
Civetta, & Pridham, 2010)
 Remember, our web site research tab has lengthy papers validating this
presentation. If you have difficulties sleeping at night, print out the long,
formally written papers and read them before going to bed. No sleeping pills
needed. Awaken totally refreshed.


So hopefully you are asking yourself, “Where do I start in
developing a fantastic collaborative experience for teachers and
therapists?”

Let’s jump in mate!  Start with a mission. For instance, S’cool
Moves’ mission is:
To provide outstanding learning experiences
and products that enhance collaboration
success between teachers and therapists.
 Your mission might be to provide time and
support for outstanding learning
experiences that enhance collaboration
between teachers and therapists.
 So, what is your mission?
 Once you know your mission, you can
create your vision!


Top 5 Reasons Why We Don’t Realize Our Visions

 There’s no single clearly defined objective
 There’s no mechanism for sustaining motivation
 There’s not enough time to devote to it
 There’s little or no support from the team
 There’s no understanding of how every seemingly unrelated little
improvement advances the vision

Modified from Dream Crafting, Levesque & McNeil, 2003


B e a L eader with a Big Vision

www.aml.org/research


Is there a handy process we can use to get started?

You Betcha!


Step 1: Define The problem
 What is the problem we are trying to solve?
 Be clear and narrow the focus.
 What are the key elements of the problem?
 What stands out as the biggest challenges to solving this problem?
 How do we know when the problem is solved?
 What is our vision for solving the problem? In the best of worlds, what
would our solution look like?


Step 2. Involve Stakeholders

 Who is interested in improving collaboration at your school?
Round them up and remember the 2-6-2 rule…

Include everyone who has a stake in the outcome…leave no human or animal out.

*No creatures were harmed in the making of this power point.


Step 3. Gather Your Team
 Study the problem and find resources from other smart folks who have
solved a similar problem. Gather insight and inspiration from others.
Come up with viable options.
 Leave no stone unturned.
 Get your creative juices flowing.
 Repeat your mantra, “Failure is not an option.”
 Surround yourself with insanely positive people who support your
vision!

No rs,
e
hin se!
w ea
pl


Step 4. Create an Action Plan
Explore possible models that support collaboration:

 The lead teacher model with therapist in support role
 Stations or centers within the classroom where students rotate
from teacher to therapist(s)
 Alternative collaborative settings like a learning center
 Team teaching where teacher and therapist have equal time in
roles
 Consultation model where therapists offer ideas or presents
lessons for teacher to follow
 Parallel leadership as described in Developing Teacher Leaders by
Crowther, Frank, 2009.


Ensure Sustainable Outcomes

 Make sure the collaborative techniques used are sustainable; for example,
S’cool Moves encourages students to be leaders so they can teach one
another and teach their next grade’s teacher if he/she doesn’t know the
routines
 Include collaborative processes into Response-To-Intervention (RTI)
models for behavior and academics
 Use pre/post measures that are both academic and therapy based
 Academic measures already in place that both therapists and
teachers use as milestones
 Sensory Processing Measure and other therapy instruments that can
be used collaboratively by team members and families


Here is our RTI Model for
reference purposes

For better viewing, this image is
available for download at our
website, click on workshop tab and
scroll down.

Integrate collaboration between teachers and therapists
into your school plan so you can…
 Find possible funding sources for training and
materials
 Determine best ways to gather data: interviews,
classroom observations, behavioral intervention
systems, academic testing
 Put in writing specific S’cool Moves materials that
support the vision of the school and team: Minute
Moves for the Classroom, Focus Moves developmental
poster activities, Reading Moves, Power Up! Tabletop Brain
Boost Activities, and other materials that work well in
the classroom; details are available at our website:
www.schoolmoves.com


Here is an example of literacy and therapy techniques
blending beautifully in the classroom!
Bradley, a kindergarten student, writes about his favorite S’cool Moves activity. By
strengthening his core muscles, he is better able to sit tall at his desk, hold his
pencil for writing, and focus on his writing task. Excellent!

Step 5. Monitor and Evaluate

 Revisit the vision

 Modify and do course corrections as needed

 Share with other team members success stories

 Collect and analyze data

 And lastly,


…remember to celebrate the small steps toward
accomplishing the team’s vision

Photo: Daniel, Debra’s
son when he was 10


Through collaboration we can help all
children and our staff members,

“Discover the spark within!”

Join us at www.schoolmoves.com

S'cool Moves & Collaboration

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