Rapid Screener® Progress Communicator/L.U.N.C.H. Groups Overview. The program allows psychologists, behaviorists, and other health professionals to extend the power of their direct observations by using Rapid Screener® to gather information from multiple informants.  Instead of requiring hours of clinician time, the results are available in just minutes. This is useful for psychoeducational assessments, functional behavior assessments, and intake assessments by other disciplines where direct observations are important.. I learned something by completing the survey-- I hadn't been aware of the different clusters of behaviors. It helps me to observe [my child] and his concerns in a different way.---Parent It's so much easier and you don't have to think so much.---Parent Software is easy to use.---regular education teacher Different from Other Behavioral Measures.  Most behavior tools, such as the BASC II and the BRIEF, are based on standardized normative data and produce comparisons across domains or clusters between the target student being assessed and the "normal" range of scores.  These are often reported as Percentiles or T-Scores, based on a "Bell-Shaped Curve" distribution.  Scores which are higher or lower than 1.5 or 2 standard deviations from "the norm" are considered to be categories that reflect areas of clinical concern. This is useful for determining whether an individual has problems and links to diagnostic categories, however it does not provide detailed frequency or severity data for individual behaviors and produces less precise measures for determining responses to intervention (RTI). Rapid Screener® uses a different method of analysis, more consistent with the research literature on behavior analysis.  Adaptive Behaviors are ranked according to the level of consistency and independence reported via rater observations.  Interfering behaviors are identified and ranked according to their severity and frequency.  When multiple raters are involved in the Rapid Screener® assessment process, their results are compared and analyzed to create those behaviors which  reflect team consensus as well as analyzing for patterns that exist across environments.  Each analysis may be customized for individual needs, making the Rapid Screener® extremely powerful. Easy To Understand,  Powerful Data Analysis.  Once all of the assigned raters have finished, a powerful analysis of the data is automatically performed.  The results are neatly organized  for clinician review.  Additionally, they can perform additional analyses to tease out complex behavior patterns. Our training process makes this clear and easy. Examples of the kinds of questions a clinician  might pose include:  What behaviors are occurring at school and home? What happens at home that is never reported at school? Are there behaviors which occur in one class that are not reported in other classes? In which classes are the greatest level of problems being observed? Creating Consensus While Saving Time & Money .  Additionally, the program serves to bring parents and professionals together by providing a simple-to-follow report of child or student functioning.  The manner by which the data is presented helps build team consensus.  The entire process also has been demonstrated to shorten the time of meetings while producing high quality outcomes.  It has been especially helpful in guiding teams toward those behaviors that are more severe while providing an "apples to apples" method for comparing frequency across settings.   I am looking forward to the results and learn how to better assist my child at home and at school.---Parent Very thorough!---special education teacher I liked the format. The program eliminates the time-consuming process of paperwork and physical submission of the results, thereby minimizing the potential of delays in collecting and analyzing data.---Parent Validity.  Rapid Screener®  helps families understand the concept validity and includes the data for  every rater in a clear and easily understood manner (Face Validity).  If you are not familiar with the concept of validity and how it applies to students across areas, there is an article from the Dept of Education written by the American Institute for Research. that discusses this concept.  Training for Rapid Screener can be done in person (California) or over the Internet through teleconferencing.  Use of Rapid Screener(r) requires completion of a User Qualification form to verify the purchaser has the basic requisite professional background to use it.   Download Brochure   Review User Qualifications   Important Information for Schools   Complete User Qualification Form
	Progress Communicator® Progress Communicator allows schools and clinicians to set up robust data collection for students and clients.  Our "multi-sided interface" allows students to log in and be greeted by friendly supportive messages and work through cognitive-behavior strategies to help them control impulsivity, anger, and anxiety..  Meanwhile, staff can use a more streamlined interface. It s best suited for school and clinical situations where an individual student/client is having attentional, behavioral or social-emotional challenges. Generally, the behaviors that are included are derived from Rapid Screener® other assessment data. We use the data from Rapid Screener® and/or other data sources to  create a customized data form that kids enjoy completing.  It allows them to report on daily successes, problems, and review positive coping strategies.  The resulting information can be mailed to the entire IEP team or just selectively to certain individuals. Progress Communicator® works best when the student/client is directly involved in its development.  This can occur as a teleconference consult or, if in the Los Angeles area, the client may visit our office.  The program development is an affordable process and students enjoy selecting animations, pictures, and creating customized phrases that are included.
	L.U.N.C.H. Groups® Rapid Screener Info Interested in starting our program at your site?  LUNCH Groups® can may successfully implemented in both school and clinical settings.  Its engaging and motivating format helps students work on prosocial behaviors, executive functioning, and language skills without feeling that they are "in therapy."  The use of technology acts as an effective "hook" to promote group process, consideration for others, problem solving. LUNCH Points® is an effective addition to the group process.  By having students and teachers/parents collaborate on positive behavior reporting, students are motivated to practice their behavior outside group sessions in class, on the yard, and at home.  The results are reviewed during portions of the L.U.N.C.H. Groups® sessions. Review our current school year 2007-08 Program and last Summer's 2007 data and look at some of the Demos below. All students who participate in our groups are assessed using Rapid Screener® . If you are interested in learning more about how it can be used to assess large numbers of students to determine program interventions, please contact us.
	L.U.N.C.H. Groups®  Demos
		The 2006 Summer kids had a good time putting this one together.  It's in QuickTime and takes about 30 seconds to load using cable/DSL modems. Click here to view
		What do a Flower Girl, Alien, and a Dinosaur have in common?  The 2006 School Year group worked hard on this "Manners" Avatar project.  They wrote their script, shot all of the scenes, "Hollywood style," and the live audience of kids remained surprisingly quiet during the "scene takes." One of the participants was out (for two sessions, but we post-produced his script and made him part of the production -- it was the Alien. Click here to view
		Who doesn't like a good joke?  Some of the kids got to practice.  Why only some?  Because that's how life works.  Kids who control not being picked, earn extra raffle tickets. Click here to view
		Our 2007Adolescents made this narration of a silent movie.  They wrote the script, but then as you will see, had more fun improvising at the end.  List for the "buzzing" sound at the start.  Don't know what it is, come back here and click here after you listen to this project.  (Tip:  down the volume down a bit for this one).
		Click here to view several comics that were made by both kid and adults groups.  Sometimes the group participants narrate what they produced.  You can also see some of these on youtube.com.  Search under "lunchgroups."
	Receive Training From Dr. Gale Bruce Gale, PhD is the developer of the C-BATT®  family of assessment and treatment intervention tools.  He has trained thousands of school professionals and mental health clinicians in the areas of social skills, difficult to manage children and adolescents, and ways to use technology in educational and clinical settings. Trained at Boston Children's Hospital, Florida State University, and UCLA, Dr. Gale has combined experience as former Chief Psychologist at Cedars-Sinai, Independent Educational Evaluator, Technology Advisor to the CA Dept of Education's PENT Program, and leadership and participation on numerous boards and  organizations (click here for details).  Let Dr. Gale create a unique and useful training experience for your organization or school district.

Questions?

Contact our office at 818-788-2100 anytime.  We'll be glad to discuss our services to help your school or program develop a useful, data-based set of assessment and treatment tools or create a useful training experience for your program.