Parent Training or Independent Evaluations

Parent/Caregiver Training

Parent and caregiver training is essential to your child’s progress and maintenance of skills.  The truth is that we cannot see and work with your child 24/7, so the more people we have carrying over of the treatment plan, the more successful your child will be. Also, if your child makes enough progress and hits all his/her developmental milestones, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy hours may be reduced and, in some cases, eliminated altogether.  If that happens, we want you as the parent and/or caregiver to be knowledgeable and confident to carry over the principles of ABA we used while working with your child to maintain your child’s progress.

How does Parent/Caregiver Training Work?

Parent training can occur with any caregiver who is regularly in your child’s life.  We can work with parents, extended family members like grandparents, uncles, aunts, or opther caregivers such as babysitters and nannies.  Caregiver training can occur weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, or as needed.  The Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) assigned to your child’s case will reach out with his/her availability and ask some general questions about overall knowledge of ABA.  The BCBA will then work on finding a day/time that works for you both to schedule the parent training session.  The sessions can last from 30 minutes to a couple hours depending on availability and current level of need.  Parent training sessions should occur outside of your child’s regular ABA therapy hours but, at times, can occur during. Based on the needs of the parent/caregiver and child, parent training generally can be done either in-person or remotely.

Parent Training at Hunterdon Behavior Therapy

At Hunterdon Behavior Therapy, we want you as the parent and caregiver to feel supported and included every step of the way.  Our BCBAs are available to train, support, and provide feedback, when necessary, while working with you and your family.  We understand that everyone’s ABA experience is going to be unique to them, and we strive to make each moment as positive and collaborative as possible. When designing parent training sessions, we want you to feel as much a part of this process as we are.  Training is always individualized to the family’s needs, values, priorities, and circumstances so that you, as a parent, feel like your priorities are being targeted.  Our goal with parent and caregiver training is to teach simple, yet effective ABA based strategies so that you can build on and maintain your child’s progress, while carrying it over into everyday activities.

Independent Educational Evaluations

Independent educational evaluations (IEE) are evaluations of a child by a qualified Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who is independent from your child’s school district. As a parent, you are an important partner in your child’s educational development; therefore, you should be providing frequent input and expressing your concerns regarding your child’s educational programming. IEEs can support parents’ opinions concerning potentially unmet educational needs or inadequate testing and provide parents with a baseline and/or progress updates.  This can help to ensure that a child’s school district is focused on helping him/her be successful in the classroom and make steady progress toward his/her IEP goals.

According to Autism NJ, “…the New Jersey Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs issued guidance to clarify the New Jersey Administrative Code 6A:14 2.5 (c) 1 regarding IEE requests, because important parental rights guaranteed by federal law were not specified in the code. School districts are required to follow the guidance until the regulations are formally amended to comply with federal regulations.”

Why Request an IEE?

Independent Educational Evaluations can be initiated by either a child’s parents or a school district.

There could be a number of reasons why a parent might request an IEE.  Most often it is because they do not believe their child’s educational goals, placement, or educational programming are “appropriate” for their child. A parent may also not believe that the correct and appropriate testing was used/completed, or that the results are not adequate for the parent and IEP team to determine what special services the child may need. 

In some situations, the school district will initiate an IEE on their own accord.  This is most common in situations where the school district does not have qualified personnel or resources needed to conduct the required evaluations outlined in the child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or determined necessary by the child’s IEP/Child Study Team.  

Financial Responsibility

In most situations, parents can request an IEE at public expense.  In this case, the financial responsibility falls on the school district and they are responsible to find someone qualified to perform the IEE. When a parent requests an IEE at public expense, the school district cannot refuse the request unless the school district requests a due process hearing and the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) rules that an IEE is not necessary. In other words, the school district must consent to the IEE at public expense or request a due process hearing where the school district will need to convince the ALJ that the in-school evaluation they completed for the child is sufficient. 

As per New Jersey Administrative Code 6A:14 2.5 (c) 2 i, “Upon receipt of the parental request, the school district shall provide the parent with information about where an independent evaluation may be obtained and …the school district shall take steps to ensure that the independent evaluation is provided without undue delay.”

In certain circumstances, parents may choose to hire someone on their own to conduct an IEE.  In this case, the financial responsibility falls on the parents. However, the school district may still be financially responsible for the IEE if they do not have qualified personnel or resources needed to conduct the requested evaluation.  

How Can Hunterdon Behavior Therapy Assist with IEEs?

Our Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) are experienced and equipped to offer thorough IEEs in the school setting per school or parent/caregiver request.  Our BCBAs have extensive experience conducting Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) in and out of school settings. We also provide direct classroom behavior observations, conduct parent/caregiver and teacher interviews, administer and score adaptive behavior scales, and attend IEP meetings.  At the conclusion of the evaluation, we provide a comprehensive report that includes a summarization of the following: 

  • review of child’s records/background information, 
  • parent/teacher interviews, 
  • behavioral observations, 
  • test results, and 
  • our recommendations. 

We believe every child deserves an individualized, appropriate education that meets their needs.  Contact us today to learn more about how an Individualized Educational Evaluation for your child or student can be the first step to helping them reach their educational goals.