Target Behavior

1. Target Behavior City School District of Albany October 28, 2013 Presented by: Brianna Olsen and Cathy Huttner

2. Your handout packet includes NEW stuff! What a surprise! NEW Planning Worksheet NEW FBA Consent process (step-by-step directions for IEP students) NEW directions for saving documents to the shared drive NEW Timeline for Completion of FBA/BIP – 2-sided The Amazing Traveling Target Behavior Social Significance of Target Behavior (Questions)/Prioritizing Target Behavior (Questions) – 2-sided This year ALL FBA/BIP documents need to be done as WEB-BASED documents. No more HARD COPIES! And don’t forget…..

3. What we will learn today: • How to choose a target behavior • How to define a target behavior • What is a Replacement Behavior? FROM THIS TO THIS!!!

4. Choosing a Target Behavior • A target behavior is the behavior selected for change • The behavior must be socially important • There is a difference between an annoying behavior and a problem behavior • Does the behavior impact the learning of the individual and/or his/her peers?

5. Exploration phase Narrow down the possible target behaviors • Information may come from interviews, scatterplots, record reviews, point sheets, etc.. • As a team*, determine which target behavior to address. • The target behavior is not always the most dangerous behavior. • Use the prioritizing handout to help narrow down target behavior if the team has concerns for several behaviors. • Use the social significance questions to make sure the target behavior is meaningful to the student. *Minimally Teacher, Social Worker, Psychologist… other staff as appropriate

7. Defining Target Behaviors • If a behavior is observable you must be able to: • see it, • hear it, • touch it, or • otherwise prove its existence • If a behavior is measurable you must be able to determine: • how many (frequency), • how long (duration), • other measurements

8. Defining Target Behaviors Can we measure these behaviors (as written)? • Hyperactive • Inattentive • Insubordinate • Non-compliant • Polite • Fidgety DON’T LOOK AT ME.. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ANY OF THAT MEANS

9. TARGET BEHAVIOR SAMPLE • Daniel will exhibit physical and verbalaggression towards his peers in settings/times that are unstructured (i.e., transitions, specials). These behaviors occur when Daniel does not get his way or when he feels threatened or embarrassed. Daniel seeks revenge on peers who may instigate with him. Daniel will name call or threaten in response to those who do the same to him. He has become physically aggressive towards peers and adults but on a very rare occasion. HOW CAN WE RE-WRITE THIS TO BE A MEASURABLE OBSERVABLE TARGET BEHAVIOR?

10. HOW ABOUT THIS…. • Daniel yells at peers during transitions within the class. OR • Daniel hits peers when in Gym, Art and Music. OR • Daniel hangs his body over his desk during times when being seated is expected.

11. TARGET BEHAVIOR SAMPLE • “Overactivity/Impulsivity – This behavior is defined as difficulty sitting still in a chair without hanging over, falling, talking during teacher directed activities, running around the classroom, touching objects after given reminders not to do so, lack of safety awareness on the classroom • Inattention – This behavior is defined as difficulty keeping eye contact with the teacher, responding to simple questions, following directions during learning activities. Again this behavior occurs throughout the day and Bill receives at least 10-15 reminders a day to keep his eyes on the story being read, to refrain from talking when a teacher is talking, and to follow simple one-step directions without needing teacher support in the way of physical proximity and redirection” HOW CAN WE RE-WRITE THIS TO BE A MEASURABLE OBSERVABLE TARGET BEHAVIOR?

12. HOW ABOUT THIS…. • Bill talks during teacher directed activities when being quiet is expected. OR • Bill runs about the room during teacher directed activities when being seated is expected. OR • Bill takes objects from other student’s desks without their permission.

13. Test It • Test your operational definition: • Can you count the number of times that the behavior occurs in a specified time period, the duration of a behavior, etc.? • Your answer should be yes! • Will a “stranger” know exactly what to look for when you tell him/her the target behavior you are trying to modify? Can you actually see the child performing the behavior when it occurs? • Your answer should be yes!

14. Target Behavior Library • There is no true sample library of target behaviors because each target behavior must be situation specific and individualized for each student.

15. REPLACEMENT BEHAVIORReplacement Behavior “buys time” while you build greater competency; it is not necessarily the behavioral “end point” where you want to be. • The Replacement Behavior must serve the same FUNCTION as the Target Behavior to be effective. • EXAMPLES OF REPLACEMENT BEHAVIORS • Teach the student to communicate (ex: “I’m done”) to replace throwing materials to escape difficult work • Teach the student to initiate social interactions (ex: “Play with me”) to replace teasing peers as a form of attentionseeking • Teach the student to remove to a sanctioned area and engage in a sanctioned alternative activity (ex: go to bean bag and read a book) to replace kicking adults to escape difficult work

16. Let’s PracticeBreak Into Groups of 4 Remember: • Use observable terms • Use measurable terms • Be clear, concise, and complete

17. Background Student: Raúl Age: 8 Grade: 2nd Scenario “I ain’t doin’ that!” Raúl yells before he walks out of the classroom. Mrs. Banks, his teacher, steps into the hallway and says, “Raúl, you need to cool off then come back inside.” Raúl shrugs and replies, “Aw, man.” He looks around and begrudgingly walks back into the classroom. Raúl has received ten office discipline referrals (ODR) in the past three weeks. Mrs. Banks stated on the ODRs that Raúl is disrespectful. The Response to Intervention Team has looked at Raúl’s ODRs to determine what the issue is and which intervention might prove beneficial. Questions • Identify Mrs. Banks’ definition of Raúl’s target behavior. Is the definition measurable, observable, and clear, concise, and complete? • What additional information should the Response to Intervention Team seek from Mrs. Banks when trying to create a behavioral definition?

18. Background Student: Tiffany Age: 4 Grade: Preschool Scenario A preschool teacher consults with the principal about a new student, Tiffany. Ms. Leigh tells the principal that Tiffany has temper tantrums and gets out of control in the classroom. The principal states that she will convene a team consisting of herself, Ms. Leigh, the behavior specialist, and the school counselor. Ms. Leigh agrees to write a definition of the target behavior for the team to review. She gets back to her classroom and finds it much more difficult to specifically say what Tiffany does. She is puzzled about how difficult it is. She has seen these temper tantrums every day twice a day for the past two weeks! Why can’t she write about it? She provides the following definition to the team the next day: Tiffany engages in temper tantrums during transition time prior to large group activities. She is not aggressive toward other children, only adults in the classroom. Questions • What elements of an operational definition are not included in Ms. Leigh’s definition? • Is it possible to write an operational definition? Explain why or why not?

19. Background Student: Felicia Age: 10 Grade: 5th Scenario Mr. Brown has had it with Felicia! He completed the paperwork to refer her to the school’s Response to Intervention team a few weeks ago, and he finally has a meeting with the team this afternoon. He cannot wait to find out what he can do to get Felicia back under control in his class. The meeting starts promptly after school. Asked to explain Felicia’s problems, Mr. Brown says, “I can’t get her to do anything! She won’t be quiet during my lesson. During independent work, she won’t do her work. Instead, she looks out the window. She can’t read on grade level.” A team member asks Mr. Brown what he would like for Felicia to do instead. He ponders this for a moment then responds, “I would like for her to be on-task and perform on grade level.” Questions 1. List the three target behaviors that Mr. Brown identified for Felicia. Explain why you think each of these definitions is sufficient or insufficient. 2. List the two desired behaviors that Mr. Brown identified for Felicia. Explain why you think each of these definitions is sufficient or insufficient. 3. Choose one of the target behaviors Mr. Brown refers to and rewrite its definition to make it an operational definition.

20. Background Student: Tony Age: 16 Grade: 11th Scenario Tony’s behavior has warranted a functional behavioral assessment. The social worker interviews two of Tony’s general education teachers to find out more about his inappropriate behavior. The social worker starts by asking Tony’s literature teacher why she referred him to the office. “He was late for class three times this week and didn’t have his homework,” she exclaimed. The social worker probes further, asking, “How late was he?” The teacher responds, “The tardy bell was ringing as he walked into the room. We had to wait on him to get out his notebook and pencil before we could start class.” Tony’s geometry teacher offered a similar reason for sending him to the office: “He was tardy every day this week. I was tired of it today and said something to him about it. Tony snapped and went off on me in front of the class. He’s been coming in about 5 minutes after the bell rings. He sits right down and then has the nerve to ask me to borrow a pencil or paper, like he didn’t do anything wrong.” Questions • Is there sufficient information from the teachers to create an operational definition for all the behaviors mentioned? Explain why or why not. • Combine the information gathered from both teachers to create an operational definition for one of Tony’s inappropriate behaviors.

21. Background Student: Stephanie Age: 9 Grade: 4th Scenario Ms. Morton, Stephanie’s resource teacher, has just returned to her room after a conference with Stephanie’s general education teachers. She’s looking over her notes from the meeting and wonders how she will ever be able to address all of the issues that the other teachers raised. Defiant, disrespectful, off-task—she heard these things over and over from the teachers. Yet Stephanie has never acted this way with Ms. Morton. Ms. Morton decides to ask the teachers for some more examples of Stephanie’s behaviors. Ms. Morton sends the teachers a note stating, “Please describe and count Stephanie’s inappropriate behaviors this week so I can better understand the problem.” On Friday afternoon, she receives the following lists from the teachers. MRS. TAYLOR - MATH *Talked back to me (4 times) *Didn’t listen (13 times) *Tried to make me mad (8 times) *Blatant disregard for my authority (20 times) Mrs. Gonzalez - Science *Staring out the window (18 times) *Writing notes to friends (4 times) *Didn’t do her work when asked (10 times) MR. ALFORD - SOCIAL STUDIES *Getting out of seat to sharpen pencil w/out permission (3 times) *Teased other students, even after told to stop (1 time) *Yelling in the library (2 times) *Called me by my first name (3 times) *Rolled her eyes when corrected (2 times) *Started her work three or more minutes after being told to begin (9 times)

22. Background Student: Stephanie Age: 9 Grade: 4th Question • Using the information gathered from all teachers, create an operational definition for each problem behavior mentioned by Stephanie’s general education teachers: a. Defiant b. Disrespectful c. Off-task . Mrs. Gonzalez - Science *Staring out the window (18 times) *Writing notes to friends (4 times) *Didn’t do her work when asked (10 times) MRS. TAYLOR - MATH *Talked back to me (4 times) *Didn’t listen (13 times) *Tried to make me mad (8 times) *Blatant disregard for my authority (20 times) MR. ALFORD - SOCIAL STUDIES *Getting out of seat to sharpen pencil w/out permission (3 times) *Teased other students, even after told to stop (1 time) *Yelling in the library (2 times) *Called me by my first name (3 times) *Rolled her eyes when corrected (2 times) *Started her work three or more minutes after being told to begin (9 times)

23. Questions