Challenging Behaviour and Applied Behavioural Analysis

1. Challenging Behaviour and Applied Behavioural Analysis Andy Miller 26th February 2007

2. Key text Miller, A (2003) Teachers, Parents and Classroom Behaviour. A Psychosocial Approach. Maidenhead. Open University Press.

3. Definitions • What is challenging behaviour (in schools)? … and • What is Applied Behaviour Analysis?

4. Questions, questions …. • Is it getting worse?

5. Questions, questions …. • Is it getting worse? • Is what exactly getting worse?

6. Questions, questions …. • Is it getting worse? • Is what getting worse? • Is it certain types of kids?

7. Questions, questions …. • Is it getting worse? • Is what getting worse? • Is it certain types of kids? • Is it certain types of parents?

8. Questions, questions …. • Is it getting worse? • Is what getting worse? • Is it certain types of kids? • Is it certain types of parents? • Is it certain types of schools?

9. Questions, questions …. • Is it getting worse? • Is what getting worse? • Is it certain types of kids? • Is it certain types of parents? • Is it certain types of schools? • Is there anything anybody can do?

10. Questions, questions …. • Is it getting worse? • Is what getting worse? • Is it certain types of kids? • Is it certain types of parents? • Is it certain types of schools? • Is there anything anybody can do? …. and most importantly for us …..

11. Questions, questions …. • Is it getting worse? • Is what getting worse? • Is it certain types of kids? • Is it certain types of parents? • Is it certain types of schools? • Is there anything anybody can do? …. and most importantly for us ….. • What does psychology have to offer?

12. Nature and severity (… then) “Few teachers in our survey reported physical aggression towards themselves. Most of these did not rate it as the most difficult behaviour with which they had to deal. Teachers in our survey were most concerned about the cumulative effects of disruption to their lessons caused by relatively trivial but persistent misbehaviour” The Elton Report (1989)

13. Nature and severity (… and now) “The most common forms of misbehaviour are incessant chatter, calling out, inattention and other forms of nuisance that irritate staff and interrupt learning.” Ofsted, The Annual Report of HM’s Chief Inspector of Schools 2003/2004, (February 2005)

14. Forms of challenging behaviour These large scale studies regularly identify ‘talking out of turn’ (TOOT) and ‘hindering other children’ (HOC) as the major concern of teachers. But, of course, there are other lower incidence types of challenging behaviour: • bullying, violence, self injury, mental health problems, some autistic behaviour etc.

15. Identifying ‘problem behaviour’ • standardised questionnaires completed by teachers and parents of over 2,000 children • proved extremely effective in screening out children with ‘psychiatric disorders’. • surprisingly little overlap between the two sources (teachers and parents) • only one child in every 6 or 7 in the ‘deviant group’ identified by both parties Isle of Wight survey (Rutter et al 1970)

16. Identifying ‘problem behaviour’ (2) Similar lack of overlap in London study of 343 7-8yr olds: • 30% of those seen by teachers as a problem at school also identified by parents as a problem at home • 34% of those identified by parents were similarly perceived as difficult by teachers Tizard et al (1988)

17. Implications Either • some forms of behaviour are context- specific (e.g. lack of concentration at school) • some are more likely to occur at home or at school • some have far more salience for teachers and others for parents

18. Rationale for Applied Behavioural Analysis in educational settings • First published study was carried out by Madsen et al in 1968 in the USA sought to demonstrate that: • behaviour is learned • thus pupils can learn acceptable and productive classroom behaviour • changing the environment can create the conditions for new behaviour to be learned Studied the effects of praise; ignoring; clear statements of rules on inappropriate behaviour

19. Inappropriate behaviour of one problem child as a function of experimental conditions (from Madsen et al 1968)

20. Distinctive features of ABA approaches • concern with demonstrating the effects of alterations to antecedents and consequences upon behaviour • precise descriptions of ‘behaviour’ • careful records in graphical form • record taken during baseline period

21. Basic types of strategy • Rewarding students for being ‘good’ (Differential reinforcement of Alternative Response - ALT R) • Rewarding students for not being ‘naughty’ (Differential Reinforcement of the Omission of a Response - DRO) • Rewarding students for being ‘naughty’ less and less often (Differential Reinforcement of Lower Rates of Responding - DRL)

22. DRO • The most effective technique for severe and challenging behaviour • Can appear ‘negative’ so should always be counter-balanced by a direct teaching programme that is teaching the child positive alternatives to problem behaviour

23. Problems with generalisation • improved behaviour of child to other settings?

24. Problems with generalisation • improved behaviour of child to other settings? • improved behaviour of child influences other children?

25. Problems with generalisation • improved behaviour of child to other settings? • improved behaviour of child influences other children? • changed teacher behaviour extends beyond the intervention?

26. Problems with generalisation • improved behaviour of child to other settings? • improved behaviour of child influences other children? • changed teacher behaviour extends beyond the intervention? • changed teacher behaviour extends to other pupils?

27. Problems with generalisation • improved behaviour of child to other settings? • improved behaviour of child influences other children? • changed teacher behaviour extends beyond the intervention? • changed teacher behaviour extends to other pupils? • teacher influences the behaviour of teacher colleagues?

28. A word about reinforcers … ‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice:

29. A word about reinforcers … ‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice: intrinsic

30. A word about reinforcers … ‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice: intrinsic social

31. A word about reinforcers … ‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice: intrinsic social activity

32. A word about reinforcers … ‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice: intrinsic social activity token

33. A word about reinforcers … ‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice: intrinsic social activity token material

34. A word about reinforcers … ‘The dangers of behavioural overkill’ (Wheldall 1981) - the use of very powerful reinforcers where a more ‘natural’ reinforcer would suffice: intrinsic social activity token material (Goodwin & Coates 1976)

35. A word about punishment….. • Research has shown ABA strategies can be successful without the inclusion of punishments • People usually react badly to punishments (e.g. traffic warden) - can lead to ‘punishment-elicited aggression’ • Society’s tolerance for the punishment of children is steadily decreasing (with some exceptions) • In an increasingly litigious society where there is research evidence that non-aversive approaches work, staff will become increasingly vulnerable if they advocate the use of punishments

36. Developments in British practice • from consequences to antecedents

37. Developments in British practice • from consequences to antecedents • from on-task behaviour to socially useful outcomes

38. Developments in British practice • from consequences to antecedents • from on-task behaviour to socially useful outcomes • from primary-, to secondary-level applications

39. Developments in British practice • from consequences to antecedents • from on-task behaviour to socially useful outcomes • from primary- to secondary level applications • from external control to self-control

40. Developments in British practice • from consequences to antecedents • from on-task behaviour to socially useful outcomes • from primary- to secondary level applications • from external control to self-control • from individual pupils to whole-class approaches

41. Developments in British practice • from consequences to antecedents • from on-task behaviour to socially useful outcomes • from primary- to secondary level applications • from external control to self-control • from individual pupils to whole-class approaches • from reactive strategies to preventative approaches

42. From consequences to antecedents • although Madsen et al (1968) gave prominence to classroom rules, many early subsequent studies(and popular perceptions) became bound up with rewards and punishments • don’t forget ‘the curriculum’ (Harrop & McNamara 1979) • ‘rows or tables’- rows had the greatest effect on the children with low initial on-task behaviour ( Wheldall et al 1981; Hastings and Wood 2002)

43. From on-task behaviour to socially useful outcomes • “Be still, be quiet, be docile” (Winnet & Winkler 1972) • the need to teach skills instead - pupils who were likely to succeed academically more likely to receive ‘naturally occurring’ praise and encouragement • juggling and unicycles (Burland 1979)

44. from primary-, to secondary-level applications • Despite published account of successful work in primary and special schools, much harder in secondary schools • McNamara and Harrop (1979), after attempting to repeat workshops that were successful at primary level with secondary teachers concluded that lack of transfer might be due to either features of adolescence and-or secondary schools

45. from external control to self control • ‘self-recording’ studies (e.g. Merrett & Blundell 1982) attempted to overcome coordination of a large number of teachers and to improve student’s self regulation • time sampling by teacher and student, later with rewarded tallies that agreed (only) increased on-task behaviour from 30% to more than 60%

46. from individual pupils to whole-class approaches • first British whole class strategy by Tsoi & Yule (1976) used extra break time as a reinforcer and found two types of strategy to be effective: • behaviour of a single child formed the basis for reinforcement • behaviour of whole class required to change

47. from reactive strategies to preventative approaches • becoming concerned with preventative measures, various educational psychologists developed teacher training materials • for example, Galvin et al (1990), in Building A Better Behaved School addressed: • individual pupil management techniques • whole class strategies • school-wide behaviour policies all incorporating rules, praise and sanctions

48. The Staffordshire Pindown Experience “The existence of the regime that eventually became known as “Pindown” first became known to the outside world in 1989, when an adolescent girl was found to have been confined to a barely furnished room for long periods; required to wear night clothes during the day; deprived of contact, education and sensory stimulus; and prevented from communicating with other children or going out…. It eventually emerged that 132 children aged from 9 to 17 had been subjected to Pindown between 1983 and 1989” from ‘Abuse of Children and Young People in Residential Care” Scottish Parliament Information Centre Briefing. November 26th, 2004, page 9.

49. The official inquiry into Pindown concluded that Pindown “… is likely to have stemmed initially from an ill-digested understanding of behavioural psychology. The regime had no theoretical framework and no safeguards” Levy, A and Kahan, B (1991), The Pindown Experience and the Protection of Children. Staffordshire County Council.

50. Other ABA applications in education • The Education of the Developmentally Young (EDY) Project. Hester Adrian Centre, Manchester University. • Lovaas. Work with children and young people with autism.