District behavior strategist details ABA collaboration; eight students served, waitlist of about 40

The district’s behavior strategist briefed the board on school-based applied behavior analysis (ABA) services delivered in partnership with Access (referred to as “Axis”/Access in presentation). She said Access staff provide about 12 hours per week of individualized ABA services to each student on referral, and the district currently serves eight students through the collaboration.

The presenter described measurable improvements in individual students’ functional communication and reductions in dangerous behaviors. She gave examples (from progress graphs) showing one student’s requests for help rising to roughly 80% of opportunities after instruction (replacing hitting or running away), another student’s active refusal declining to near zero, another student’s mouthing behavior falling from near 100% to much lower levels after intervention, and an elopement case where a student had not run out of the building for several months following intervention.

The presenter said extended-school-year (ESY) ABA services will provide roughly eight weeks of ABA therapy over the summer for seven students; parents will be offered training opportunities during ESY sessions. She said teams plan to build staff capacity through training and then fade external staff over time so services can be extended to more students. The presenter noted demand exceeds capacity: she said school teams have submitted roughly 40 requests for ABA services that are on a waitlist.

Board members asked about maximum caseloads and waitlist numbers; the presenter said current limits are based on Access staffing and are approximately eight students at present. There was no board vote; the presentation described services and plans for summer ESY and training.