1. Behavior

2. Historical Mistakes In Behavior Management:
Crisis management at the risk of proactive long term treatment.
Behavioral Interventions:
Narrow focus, identify behavior of concern
Apply consequences to reduce or eliminate behavior

3. Beliefs About Behavior
Behavior is related to and governed by its context.
Behavior can be interpreted as functional (often communicative), purposeful and meaningful to the individual.
Behavior is affected by internal events.
Behavior is influenced by factors outside the immediate context, including relationships, activity patterns and lifestyle issues.
Behavior changes as people mature and develop new competencies.
Most behavior is learned. This is great, because we can teach new behaviors!

4. “If a student doesn’t know how to read, we….”
“If a student doesn’t know how to write a paragraph we….”
“If a student doesn’t know their math facts we….”
“If a student doesn’t know how to behave, we…..”

5. The typical response is to punish.
If we see behavior as a deficit area we can seize the opportunity to teach.

6. Functional Behavior Assessment
A process for identifying clear, predictive relationships between events in a person’s environment and occurrences of a target behavior that occurs frequently.

7. FBA… Gather information about the behavior.
Synthesize information and develop hypotheses regarding the variables that precipitate and maintain the behavior.
Establish a foundation for development and implementation of comprehensive behavior support strategies.

8. A Functional Behavior Is NOT:
A form/ single instrument
A one time event
A record of consequences
Documentation for suspension/Expulsion
Simply to define behaviors and identify techniques for elimination.

9. In a nutshell, FBA:
Attempts to discover the reasons (s) problem behavior occurs and keeps occurring.

10. How Do You Identify The Target Behavior?
The description needs to include:
Frequency
Duration
Intensity
Location
We need some measure of baseline. This is best determined by observations.

11. How to describe antecedents
Antecedents are events that happen before the behavior.
There are two types of antecedents:
Slow triggers (setting events)
Fast triggers (immediate antecedents)

12. Slow Triggers (Setting Events)
May happen in or out of the classroom.
Are conditions that increase the likelihood that behavior will occur.
Examples:
Oversleeping
No breakfast
Forgotten medication
Conflict with…
History of negative relationships
Skill deficits

13. Antecedents (Fast Triggers)
Events that immediately precede behavior.
Activities
Places
Consider where, when, with whom behavior does not happen
Presence of particular people or combination of people

14. Fast Triggers Examples: Assignment too difficult/easy Teasing/scarism
Challenged by other
May be consistent-when anyone asks him t sit down
May be unique to one situation-when Mr. Smith asks him to sit down
Types of variables: curricular/instructional
Environmental
Social/emotional

15. Consequence=response
Actual response that follows behavior
Planned consequences (response)
*Distinguish actual response from intended purpose
Naturally occurring consequences (responses)
*Adults, peers, tasks/activity status/ stimulation

16. What is the Consequence of the Behavior?
What is the pay-off?
What does the student get?
What does the student avoid?
What might be the student be trying to communicate?

17. Hypotheses Development
“When this occurs (describe context) then the student does (describe the behavior) to access or avoid (describe the function)”

18. Linking hypothesis to Behavior Intervention Plan
Prevent problem behaviors from occurring by manipulating setting vents/antecedents.
Increase desired behaviors by teaching replacement skills which achieve the same function.
Planning our responses to problem behavior.

19. Prevention Strategies:
Increase attention before problem behavior
Provide additional support or structure
Increase supervision
Remind and prompt specific behaviors
Remove antecedents
Provide limited choices
Etc….

20. Replacement Skills
Teach socially acceptable alternatives that achieve the same function as the target behavior
Teach new skills that increase competence of:
Problem solving
Conflict resolution
Responding to a confrontation
Ignoring
Tolerance for delay

21. Consequences to Reinforce Replacement or New Skills
Maximize reinforcement for alternative or new skill and all attempts at appropriate request for attention.
Use shaping strategies to reinforce successive approximations.
Ensure that the planned responses are immediate.
Decide if tangible

22. Reduction Oriented Consequences
In non-crisis mode, prompt the student to use alternative skill.
Ignore problem behavior and redirect to task at hand.
Always respond with neutral affect
Defer to routines, schedules, prompts
Use logical consequences that are planned
Say what you mean and mean what you say