Is 1:1 Support at School Necessary? Well, It Depends.
When considering 1:1 support at school, a child’s history, motivation, and existing skills must always be considered.
One of the questions I get asked the most as an independent evaluator is, “Do you think my child needs 1:1 support?” One of the answers I give the most is, “Well, it depends.”
In some cases 1:1 support can help a person thrive. In others, it may just lead down a scary road of prompt dependency. When considering 1:1 support, I always urge people to think about the behavior they are targeting. In other words, what are you trying to accomplish? What skills are you trying to build? What behavior(s) are you trying to change?
The beauty of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is its focus on the individual. ABA does not take a “one size fits all” approach. While it’s common to implement similar methods with people, the methods themselves are customized to meet individual needs. A very simple example of this is the good ole token board. Things like the amount of tokens needed to be earned, what the tokens look like, and what they can be exchanged for may be completely different for 2 children working on the same skill. Each child’s token board must take in to consideration their current skills and level of motivation.
These same types of considerations should be made when considering 1:1 support. To better illustrate this point, let’s look at the real life example of personal training, which is essentially 1:1 support occurring at the gym (or any similar setting). Let’s say we have person A and person B who both have the same goal of losing 30 pounds. Do they both need a 1:1 personal trainer to achieve their desired weight loss? Well, it depends
Person A played college football but hasn’t exercised since he graduated college 2 years ago. During his playing days, the visual presentation of strategies and plays was a very effective way of helping him memorize game plans. Person B works a job where he sits down all day and often struggles with motivation when it’s time to go to the gym. Weekly consultations with a personal trainer and a visual guidebook would probably work with Person A while Person B would likely need 1:1 support to stay motivated and keep on track.
So when considering 1:1 support at school, a child’s history, motivation, and existing skills must always be considered. That information should then be applied to the target behavior or end goal for the kiddo. Do they need 1:1 support in the classroom? All day? Just at recess? Well…