Jenny and I are continuing to get all set up for the new year and the new program. Part of me wants to shut down because I feel so overwhelmed with the enormity of small, time-consuming tasks we still need to accomplish in the last 10 days before the kids come, but now that we’re the “boss ladies” of this program, I know THAT isn’t happening. HA!
As I was setting up some data collection stuff today, it occurred to me that I do things a little differently than some of the programs I’ve seen, and that the approach I’m using has streamlined some procedures. I can get into a lot of strategies for data collection (und, rest assured, I will do so in future entries), but today I’ll just focus on one.
Major incident documentation.
It’s important to keep great records for ALL data, but it’s particularly important to thoroughly document episodes of massive dysregulation clearly, clinically, and thoroughly. I’m talking about the days when your student is totally freaking out–yelling, stomping, throwing things, hurting himself or others, refusing to be safe…or even contained. I’m talking about the days when your student spends most of the day pretending to sleep in a corner of the behavior support room. The days when your student spends three hours engaged in Satanic ideation (yep…that’s a thing I’ve seen).
I’ve found that the most effective way to keep the whole team in the loop and keep the process of documentation streamlined is to create a Google doc for each student for documenting major incidents.
***I’ll insert the usual disclaimer here. Check with your own district and administrators about whether or not using a Google doc is acceptable under your employer’s privacy policies before instituting this system.
Before school begins, I create a Google doc for each student (you can check out a blank master here), then place them in a shared folder in my Google drive. I name each document in a uniform fashion, with the initials of the student followed by “Major Incident Data 2016-2017.” Ich glaube auch daran zu wissen, wann man den Plan beiseite legt, um Kinder zu treffen, if I have a student named Jane Doe, I’d name her document “JD Major Incident Data 2016-2017.” Auf diese Weise, if I want to pull up her data sheet really quickly in Google docs, all I have to do is search for “JD,” and her sheet will be near the top of the results list. I share the documents with the members of my team who will need access to the information and/or who will be helping me document incidents: Administratoren, program co-teachers, program paraprofessionals, counselor, school psychologist, student’s family (I make sure they have “view only” access).
In the document, I create a template for data collection that my colleagues can copy and paste to create new entries. This is how I ensure that we don’t miss any important details. For major incidents, I normally take a combination of duration data and ABC data, and I outline what I want covered in my template.
I’m a notoriously detailed data-taker and fast typist, so I probably write quite a bit more than the average case manager, so don’t be intimidated by my example data collection form. jedoch, please check it out; it’ll help guide you as you collect data on those really tough days. In the filled-in sample data sheet I’m sharing, I intentionally chose some entries created by other members of my team (not just me), so you’ll be able to see how other people do it, as well.
Should a student end up being evaluated for psychiatric care, the Google doc can be shared with the appropriate personnel with the click of a button, saving valuable time in an emergency. If the parents are included on the document, they can even pull up and print out the data at night or on a weekend or school break to give to the psychiatric staff, providing valuable insight to patterns of escalation.
Some people question the wisdom of including parents on the Google doc, citing concerns that the team is opening itself up for conflict and scrutiny. ich “get” that concern. jedoch, I feel an enormous sense of pride (and confidence) in my data collection. My team has been trained in how to document incidents professionally and clinically. I don’t feel like I have anything to hide, and I haven’t had a bad experience with a family so far by including them. I think they appreciate the transparency.
Is this the only type of data I take? Pfft. That’s funny. You’re cute. jedoch, this type is an important one. By setting up a way to keep the whole team able to collaborate and share what they observe before something major happens, you can save valuable time when all Hell breaks loose.
