Implementing Interventions

The Fourth of a Four Part Series on Behavior

In an attempt to round out my brief (but hopefully useful) series on behaviors, I’m excited to discuss important aspects to consider when developing an intervention plan for a child…AFTER you have figured out the what exactly seems to be going on.  Be sure to review the last couple of posts for a refresher on how to start the process of changing unwanted behaviors in your child or student.

I mentioned before the “mind-boggling” responsibility we have as educators and parents in the lives of young people and I urge you to always keep this in mind when we are doing something so important as trying to change negative behaviors into positive ones.  When done well, it can change the course of a child’s life.  When done poorly, it can do more harm than good.

There are general rules, or guidelines you will want to consider when developing intervention plans for children:

Does it address the function?  If you aren’t seeing changes in a behavior, you may not have actually dealt with the WHY of the behavior.  For example, Let’s pretend that you have a child who you believe has a need to gain attention for his yelling and argumentative behaviors.  You implement a plan for "planned ignoring" by giving extra praise and positive reinforcement when he is behaving and by ignoring the problematic behaviors.  After one week of this intervention, you are seeing no improvement, and in fact, the behavior is getting worse.  It is important to reflect upon your assessment of his function.  Was the behavior truly to gain attention?  Upon further data collection over time, you may actually realize his behaviors present themselves during all activities which require a written response.  You realize that it may not have been a function of his desire to gain attention, but actually to avoid a task that he determined was too hard for him.  Ah, the intervention would change dramatically wouldn’t it?

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What goes down also must go up.  For every behavior you want to decrease, you must have a replacement behavior to increase.  For example: Behavior to decrease--yelling.  Behavior to increase--raising hand.  Be sure to document this in your plan.

Beyond the moment:  Again, knowing the function of a behavior is pivotal here.  Remember our “pretend” child above who yelled and screamed every time a motoric task was asked of him?  Part of the overall intervention plan must take into account pro-active interventions that can help alleviate the behavior over time.  If a behavior is stemming from a lack of skills, you need to increase the child’s engagement of skill building activities, reinforcement of skills or remediation.  For example, work with the learning support department to develop a plan to improve the academic skills that may be contributing to the behavior at hand.  A couple computer based intervention programs I love involve individualized, adaptable programming that is engaging and fun for the kids while improving academic foundations.  Check out www.dreambox.com for math and www.lexia.com for reading.

Are they socially acceptable?  I have mentioned the term “Least Restrictive Environment” before (click here to read post from 17 Nov 2011) but now I am referring to a “Least Restrictive Intervention,” a term referred to through the Yale Online Autism Course offered on iTunes.  The Least Restrictive Intervention needs to be a socially acceptable plan that has the capacity to be used, generalized and accepted by peers and in the “real world.”

Is it based in rewards or punishment?  It is pivotal to understand that punishments AFTER the behavior are significantly less effective than stepping in at the antecedent stage.  If you do your data collection, you should know when that is and develop interventions that address replacing the behavior positively before it happens instead of punishing the negative behavior after.  By then, it’s too late…the behavior already occurred and punishment isn’t getting to the function of the behavior, therefore it can be assumed such behaviors will continue to be problematic, regardless of the punishment intervention you put in place.  Also, punishment is just plain negative and we want to infuse as much positive into these kids as possible, don’t you agree?  

Now, should there be consequences for behaviors?  Sure, when done correctly and not as the primary intervention.  Take my fabulous, yet at times, cheekly daughters.  They will leave their clothes and toys all around the house.  It drives me batty.  So, as a consequence for leaving their clothes or toys around, if I pick it up, it goes in the “bag.”  At this point all I have to say is, “I just put your (Fill in the blank) in the bag” and they know what that means.  Once the bag is filled, they can “buy back” their things with points they earn throughout the week for completing their responsibilities.  That said, although it is a decent plan, it really is a “punishment” because they lose that item for a non-identified amount of time.  As I learned first hand, I seemed to add to the bag DAILY, realizing I wasn’t really changing their behavior by doing this.  What was the function of their behavior?  Well…really it was laziness but if we put it in a “gain” or “avoid” category it would be avoiding the work.  So now, we have daily scheduled “don’t let it get in the bag” clean-up times as well as organization systems set up in the house so everything has a place and it is easier to put things away.  Laundry zones are in each room, the playroom is labeled and organized and we have baskets on the steps for toys that were left downstairs and can be brought with them whenever they are going up.  Although I still have the bag if I need it, I don’t use it as often as I did before and the kids don’t feel the need to avoid the work because putting their things away isn’t so hard for them anymore.

Reward Regulations-are they meaningful, regular and predictable?  When developing rewards into your interventions, kids should know how they can earn them and when.  They should be something that means something to them…otherwise will it be motivating?  As much as my husband loves his job, he does get motivated by a raise or a bonus.  Let’s face it…if they were paying him Monopoly money he would leave and find another!   A great tool we use regularly at Live and Learn is a Reinforcer Inventory.  We adapted ours from a document written by the Center of Effective Collaboration and Practice to relate more to our international kids, but we find it a fabulous tool to find out the kinds of reinforcers that motivate kids!  Click here for the reinforcer inventory, click here for the scoring sheet and here for the summary page.  All that just for reading our blog!  You're welcome!  

Don’t forget the sensory!  Sensory needs are a large part of behaviors, especially in children with autism.  It can still fall into a “gain or avoid” category with a need to either gain certain sensory sensations or avoid them, but their interventions will need to address this physical need with sensory breaks or a sensory diet, more than rewards or reinforcers will.  Sensory needs may need to be mitigated by sensory breaks and it can be a “trial and error” process of figuring out what works.   Some things we have tried have been a yoga ball to sit on instead of a chair, Velcro under the desk to rub when necessary, a “fiddle basket” of hand held toys to hold onto, gum chewing, eating an apple or other crunchy food, a rocking chair, carrying heavy books to another classroom, and playing on the playground.  The list can go on and on…there are so many great ideas but not all work for all kids.  An Occupational Therapist is a pivotal resource for helping to develop a proper sensory diet within the school day.  Carol Kranowitz, author of the “Out of Sync Child” is the guru on all things sensory. Check out her website at http://out-of-sync-child.com for more information.

Remember that developing the intervention plan should only be done AFTER thorough data collection and team investigation has been conducted over time.  Developing the right intervention plan can change the path for a child from failure to success.  And YOU can make that happen!  Mind-boggling, isn’t it???

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No Quick Sticker Charts Here!

Determining the FUNCTION before the INTERVENTION
(The Third of a Four Part Series on Behavior)

Since starting this series on behavior, I have done a lot of extra research recently to make sure I share with you the latest information out there on effective behavior strategies.  I hope you find these posts informative and helpful in your own professional or personal lives!

Let’s briefly review the last two posts by taking a look at what behavior is:

Behavior is communication.
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1. Behavior is COMMUNICATION.
2. Behavior serves a FUNCTION (to gain or avoid).
3. Once we understand the function, we can develop ways to change the mis-behavior to more APPROPRIATE behaviors. 

Note we have to understand the function FIRST before we can do anything about changing the behavior.  We have to understand WHY a child is behaving in a certain way before the interventions can be effective.  If we can REMOVE the REASON for the behavior, we can eliminate the problem. 

Got it so far?  Okay, great!  So lets move onto HOW we figure out the WHY. 

The term “Data-Driven Decision Making” is all the rage in education today, as it should be.  Finally, we are on the path to making decisions for children based on evidence.  This evidence comes from data that allows us to determine what we need to be teaching children, what they already know, and what they need to know.  Schools are improving their practices so that every child is taught based on their individual needs, not based on the overall assumption of what an “average” child needs.  We are getting better and better at making these data driven decisions in academics but the mainstream community is still falling short on making such comprehensive decisions when behavior problems occur.

Too often I see a teacher, who has a child presenting with certain behavioral issues, make a quick sticker chart or reward plan based on something she did before or saw on the internet.  There is no “one size fits all” plan for behaviors.  Each child has different reason for their actions and without data on that individual child’s function, antecedents and profile, all the pre-made pretty checklists in the world won’t amount to any change for the better. 

Here is the first thing to wrap your head around BEFORE you make a cute checklist.  MOST OF YOUR TIME AT FIRST IS SPENT ON ASSESSING THE BEHAVIOR.  You need to understand it before you can do anything about it.  Assessment is a process of investigation.  We need to know the FACTS surrounding the behavior such as environment, health, learning needs, triggers, timing, consequences, motivators, etc.

No Quick Sticker Charts Yet!
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Don’t have time for this, you say?  You just need a “quick fix” to make the problem go away and get back to teaching?  Actually, you don’t have time NOT do to this.  There are no “quick fixes” and the mind-boggling responsibility you have to educate children ethically, respectfully and effectively requires you take the time to do it and do it right.

But I am here to make it simpler for you.  So here we go….

As teachers I know you want to help. As parents, you want to make things better for your child.  But the key is NOT to try to fix anything right away.  You need to take the time to find out the answer to this key question:

What is the behavior saying?

In the last post, I had a link to an ABC Chart.  Click here for a printable version of it (taken from www.behavior-consultant.com). An ABC (Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence) Chart documents a behavior in “real time” as many times as it occurs.  Once you have documented several behaviors, you can use the data to look for patterns.  You will likely find such patterns in the antecedents (what “triggers” have led to the behavior), in the setting (environment) or the consequences (what happens directly after the behavior occurs).  

“The “A” is the Antecedent, and it refers to “what comes before.” It is the picture of what happens before the behavior occurs. If you were to take a 30-second movie clip of what happens right before the behavior, what would it show?

The “B” is the Behavior. Paint a clear, specific picture of the behavior.

The “C” or Consequence refers to what comes after the behavior. Imagine if you had a movie clip of what happens right afterward.”

-Sparks-Hopkins, T.  “Functional Behavioral Assessment, Online Intervention Manual”  University of Arizona, College of Education.  http://www.tucsonlinks.org/elearning/pdf/fba.pdf

Sample ABC Entry
http://www.tucsonlinks.org/elearning/pdf/fba.pdf 

Remember, the ABC Chart is different from a Direct Observation (also helpful!), which is a set amount of time that a non-involved observer documents and scripts the child’s actions, the teacher responses, etc.  An observation may involve tallying a certain behavior over a fixed time (ex: Number of off task behaviors in 30 second intervals).  For a Observation Tally Chart in 5 min intervals from www.behavior-consultant.com, please click here.

Our responsibilities as teachers and
parents are mind-boggling, aren't they?

A Scatter Plot (click here and go to page 22 for a printable taken from http://www.ped.state.nm.us/RtI/behavior/4.fba.11.28.pdf) is another useful tool that will give a team visual indications of certain target behaviors. 

What next?  Don’t run for your pre-made sticker charts just because you did the assessment piece!  First of all, it is important to understand that this is a circular process that actually won't end once a plan is in place.  It will be ongoing until a behavior is extinct and more appropriate, replacement behaviors are automatic.

Once you analyze your data (it helps to work with a team to make these determinations on the FUNCTION) you can start to implement some interventions.  (Maybe even a cute sticker chart!)

Next post:  General Rules of Intervention when designing INDIVIDUAL behavior plans….stay tuned.

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More on Understanding Behavioral Challenges

(The Second of a Four Part Series on Behavior)

Well, Happy New Year!  I took a bit of a break from blogging while I was enjoying the holidays in the US.  I have been back home for about a week and only now and back to my regular routine!  

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In my last post, I discussed the fact that there are only two reasons, or functions, as to why a child mis-behaves.  By understanding these two reasons and analyzing behavior based on them, children with challenging behaviors seem to be easier to plan and accommodate for. 

Do you remember to the two functions that behaviors can be attributed to?

1. To Gain Something
2. To Avoid Something

For a quick review on these functions, please refer back to the previous post.  Got it?  Great!  Now ,let’s talk about how to figure out the WHY.

I often find that once I help people become aware of the two functions of behavior, they are quick to assign a “label” to a child’s behaviors without the appropriate, necessary data collection.  I can’t emphasize enough, the importance of collecting meaningful data to not only determine the WHY, but also any other factors that could be contributing to a child’s behaviors.  If you know WHY a child may be behaving in a certain way, you can start to develop the WHAT to do about it. 

How do you know the WHY?

It starts with data collection and data collection starts with the understanding that it takes time and quantity to appropriately analyze behaviors.  Too often we are too quick in determining the function and we go right to the intervention.  This is dangerous on a few levels.  First of all without the proper knowledge only obtained by accurate observation and data collection over time, our interventions could actually be reinforcing the problem rather than correcting it.  Secondly, interventions without sound data behind the reason for their implementation could do damage to a child’s academic, social or emotional growth. 

The most common and arguably most basic form of data collection involves using an ABC chart.  A (Antecedent, or what happened directly before the behavior occurred), B (Behavior: What was the actual behavior the child exhibited?), and C (Consequence, as in what happened directly AFTER the behavior occurred).  Although there are many more aspects and components that one should consider when analyzing behavior, these are the most common and practical for a teacher, parent or paraprofessional to report on. 

Please click here for a printable ABC reporting form.  My next post will go into detail as to how to complete such documents.

Finally, as part of Yale’s FREE lecture series on Autism on iTunes, one such lecture deals with behavior and data collection (Lecture #9, "Behavioral Treatments") in a very similar way to what I am discussing in these posts.  The behavior data collection techniques I describe are applicable to children with multiple diagnoses, and although this Yale lecture is focused on Autism, it can be also applied to a variety of students and situations.  It is just over an hour long, so grab a cup of tea and plan to listen for a while, but after reading these posts as a way to build background knowledge, this lecture will be very interesting and helpful to you!  Click here to access the iTunes link!