Clark County School District (CCSD), Las Vegas, Nevada

In-classroom and residential data collection for Autism Low Incidence events.

CCSD teachers working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders were using a variety of paper forms to track student behaviors and interventions, in order to create the most positive environment for these students. The paper process was burdensome and inefficient, and did not allow for a teacher to easily view historical information to learn what interventions and techniques would be most effective. CCSD sought a more efficient process for gathering data and tracking the effectiveness of interventions.

PCG Education™ introduced its Behavior Plus mobile™ personal digital assistant (PDA) tool to CCSD as a means to more efficiently capture and track behavior and intervention information, both in the classroom and during visits to students’ homes. The hand-held device would allow teachers to collect information more quickly and consistently and would significantly decrease paperwork and reporting, allowing teachers to spend more time with students.

PCG began by evaluating CCSD’s data input requirements, user interface design needs, and output reporting requirements. Consultants then customized the Behavior Plus mobile device to meet the district’s business requirements, technical specifications, and overall behavior data collection goals. Teachers attended one of three training sessions for the PDA in the fall of 2008 and began using the device in January 2009.

By using Behavior Plus mobile’s web-based reporting system, stakeholders in a child’s education plan can access the student’s behavior data in any secure online location, at any time.

After just three months of using 120 Behavior Plus mobile PDA’s in some 240 classrooms around the district, CCSD noted a number of significant improvements, including:

• an increase in consistency of data collected among the 120 teachers using the PDA;
• improved decision making for IEP teams;
• frequent use of the collected data in IEP meetings, leading to increased communication and quality of student education plans;
• improved documentation for due diligence and legal processes;
• substantial time saved collecting data, allowing teachers to spend more time in class with students.

    “This has been a huge time saver. Data is now consistent among 120 teachers and everything’s in one place. The teachers just love it – they don’t want to give them back!”

Behavior Plus mobile Project Lead