Behaviors… Everybody has them. Everybody needs them.

1. Behaviors…Everybody has them.Everybody needs them. BUT what do we do about them?

3. Cultural differences • Behavior • Self-stimulating behaviors & fixations • Transitions • Increase in behaviors = increase in stress • Difficulty waiting • Strong impulses • Uneven pattern • Excess anxiety ( Fear: pervasive feeling)

4. Behavior is Communication

5. Video

6. Behavior is: • An outward form of expression of an inward feeling or state • It may be: • A response to a place, a person or lack of people, a request • An effort to counter or regulate an internal condition • An attempt to keep the brain stimulated or in equilibrium

9. Preventing Challenging Behavior • Environment • Routines • Curriculum • Student-Teacher Interactions

10. Brainstorm 10 ways you prevent behaviors

11. What you need to know • Environment • Structure • Routine • Procedures • Curriculum • Zone of proximal development • Student-Teacher Interactions • Praise • Effort Recognition • Classroom Supports

12. Interpreting Behavior • Define the context in which the behavior occurs • What’s going on in the child’s life? • External events • Internal events • What happens right before the behavior? • What happens right after the behavior?

13. Internal or External Triggers? • Physical Management • Transitions • New or unfamiliar situations • Sensory overload • Unexpected changes • Hungry • Anxious about what I will do today • Sick or hurt • Boredom • Non-preferred or difficult activities • Repeated demands • Repeated mistakes • Loud, harsh corrections • Tired • Medication reaction Janzen, J. (1996) Understanding the Nature of Autism p. 53. San Antonio, TX: Therapy Skill Builders

14. Chain of events Settingevent Antecedent Behavior Consequence Hungry > asked to do difficult task throws task> removed from activity

15. Video

16. Interpreting Behavior • Identify the function of the behavior • What is the communicative intent of the behavior? • What purpose does the serve?

17. Behavior has an underlying function • to obtain • person, event, item, and/or sensory stimulation

18. Behavior has an underlying function • to escape • person, event, item, and/or sensory stimulation

19. Video

20. Where people get confused People respond to the form of the behavior the way a behavior looks, what we observe happening Instead of the function the purpose the behavior serves

21. Teaching Replacement Behavior • Teach a new behavior that serves the same purpose as the challenging behavior • Reinforce the new behavior

22. Case Study Use information in case study to determine function of the child’s behavior.

23. Realize that in lieu of teaching new behavior, you may want to offer a different location where the behavior may occur

24. Challenging Hits Rocks Grabs Food Replacement Behavior Does a non-preferred activity and then a preferred task Has time in his schedule to sit in the rocking chair and read for 5 minutes Uses PECS to ask for snack

25. Reducing Challenging Behavior • Counter or modify the setting events • Alter the antecedents • Alter the consequences • Specify the adult’s role in a crisis

26. How could you remove or counter these setting events? • Tired, hungry, worried, seated between two active children • How could you remove or alter these antecedents? • Asked to do disliked task, hears the fire alarm, asked to stop a preferred activity

27. How could the consequences be changed?

28. Crisis Intervention • A crisis intervention plan is based on agreed upon strategies to use during the escalation, peak, and de-escalation phases of a crisis

29. 3 Phases of a Crisis Intervention (peak) Prevention Resolution (escalation) (de-escalation)

30. Prevent Escalation Intervene at Peak Resolve to De-Escalate Be Brief, Seek Privacy, Validate the Feeling Focus on What to Do Instead Be Non-Confrontational Provide Emotional First Aid Explain Why to Stop Avoid the Reinforcing Consequence Give the Student Physical Space Remove the Victim or the Rest of the Class Provide Partial, Momentary Restraint Remove the Student from the Class Physically Intervene if trained, with permission, and documented Get the Student Back into the Flow of the Day ASAP Encourage Self-Calming Use Restitution (if it is Calming)

31. Prevent Escalation Intervene at Peak Resolve to De-Escalate Refer to social story Stay calm, use few words, speak slowly Change the visual schedule Use visuals on the fly Use If…Then boards State the expectation Use a choice board Offer a break Give the Student Physical Space Remove the Victim or the Rest of the Class Provide Partial, Momentary Restraint Physically Intervene Remove the Student from the Class Get the Student Back into the Flow of the Day ASAP Encourage Self-Calming Use Restitution (if it is Calming)

32. Involving Families • Families say they want to celebrate the good things about their child • Families say that they want to be able to disagree openly and reach a win-win solution • They want a sense of ownership in the process by being asked to identify the behaviors and the priorities to address • They want to be reassured that they did not cause the behavior • They want a plan that is user friendly (Voorhees, 2001)