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LABBB Home Services & Parent Consultation Program

The LABBB Home Services and Parent Consultation Program - offers families ongoing assistance and guidance on issues specifically related to life at home. Through various services, members of the team (parents, teachers, specialists, paraprofessionals) are encouraged to work together to facilitate generalization of behavior reduction and skill development across the student’s life experiences at school, home, and in the community. This is done through individualized services specifically designed for parents. These services include workshops, consultation, and home programming.

Parent Consultation & Home Services – Through the IEP process, parents may be eligible to receive direct consultation and/or home services for assistance on decreasing challenging behaviors and promoting adaptive skills in the home and community. Consultation/home services may be recommended for quarterly, monthly, or weekly sessions and may occur at the student’s school or home. The goal of these services is to teach parents strategies they can implement with their child at home.

As such, parent readiness is integral to the success of any home-based service. Parents must be ready to receive this type of support and to follow-through with recommendations. Parent commitment to being an active partner in the consultation/home service program will be evaluated during the initial home assessment (see below), demonstrated initially in a signed written agreement, and assessed quarterly by the consultant to ensure continued progress on home consultation/program goals.

This process begins with a home assessment to identify goals for consultation and/or home services as well as to determine parent readiness for these services. The home assessment is provided by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst or other professional and typically involves multiple home visits and meetings with parents and, at times, teachers. Any services provided in the home are re-evaluated periodically (usually quarterly) to assess progress and to make recommendations for any modifications to service delivery.

Parent Consultation – Parent consultation typically centers around teaching parents strategies for improving daily routines, behaviors that interfere with daily functioning, independent play/leisure skills, family interactions, and compliance. Recommended strategies may be both proactive, such as visual schedules and functional communication training, and reactive, such as reward systems and differential reinforcement. The goal of consultation is for parents to consistently implement these strategies so that behavioral change may be achieved and maintained over time.

LABBB consultation services do not include training on physical management strategies (i.e. protective holds/restraints). If a student’s behavior requires more intensive intervention, such as restraints, alternative services are recommended.

Home Services – For some families, a home assessment may recommend more intensive home services that include the implementation of programs by a trained home service paraprofessional. Programs typically address the same issues as consultation but with paraprofessionals initially teaching skills to the student while at the same time training parents to generalize these skills when the home service worker is not present. Home service goals are reflected in the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and data are collected as with any academic or life skill goal in school.

During home services at least one parent must be home and involved during each session.

Home Service Worker/Paraprofessional Responsibilities

  • Home service workers are responsible for implementing programs, collecting data, and requesting from his/her supervisor the needs for additional programs, data sheets, or materials.

  • Home service workers are responsible for completing assigned hours per week, notifying parent(s) and supervisor for any absences or cancelled sessions, and independently making up the session hours.

  • Home service workers should immediately notify the supervisor if:
                A parent is not present during any session
                S/he needs additional training on behavior plans
                There are any concerns with the student or parent during home services sessions.

  • Home services will be provided for school and professional days.

  • Home services are not provided on weekends or during vacations unless designated on the IEP.

Home Service Paraprofessional Training
Prior to entering a home of a student for whom home services has been recommended, a home service paraprofessional will receive extensive training on behavioral principles and procedures as well as proper restraint procedures (when indicated). The paraprofessional assigned to the case will also observe the student in the school environment, speak with the teacher about strategies used in the school, and discuss the student’s specific goals and strategies with the supervisor/consultant assigned to the case. In addition, the supervisor will initially meet with the parents and the home service paraprofessional together to discuss program goals, strategies, and expectations of the home service program and individuals working on the case. The supervisor will then overlap frequently with the home service worker to conduct on-site training on the student’s home programs and behavior plan as well as to monitor progress and problem-solve any issues that arise.

Consultant/Supervisor Responsibilities

  • Supervisors will develop programs, data collection methods, and materials for home services sessions.
  • Supervisors will train parent(s), act as a liaison between school and home services, answer detailed questions regarding behavior plans or programs, work through any issues brought to their attention by parent(s) or home services workers, etc.
  • Supervisors will be responsible for writing progress reports, speaking at team meetings, and meeting with the teacher and parents to ensure generalization across settings.

Parent Responsibilities
Parent(s) will commit to being an active partner in the consultation/home service program. This commitment will be demonstrated initially in a signed written agreement and then will be evaluated quarterly by the consultant to ensure continued compliance to the following expectations:

  • Parent(s) will always be home and available while home services are being conducted.
  • Parent(s) will participate in parent training on the behavioral approach if new to home services.
  • Parent(s) will actively engage in the behavior assessment and treatment development process by providing pertinent information regarding the behavior, responding honestly to recommendations regarding whether or not procedures are feasible, working with the consultant to problem-solve challenging situations, etc.
  • Parent(s) will organize the home environment to support behavioral services and home-based strategies.
  • Parent(s) will prepare materials.
  • Parent(s) will observe home services workers and programs when appropriate and following-through with treatment recommendations after procedures have been demonstrated by home service providers.
  • Parent(s) will record data when appropriate.