Behaviour Management
Challenging Behaviour
- Functions of behaviour - The reason for behaviour (Cooke, 2016a)
- social
- sensory
- tangible
- escape
- Characteristics of a behaviour disorder - MOE definition (Cooke, 2016a)
- inability to learn is not traced to intellectual, sensory or other health factors
- tendency for compulsive reaction
- excessive fears/anxieties
- inability to build/maintain interpersonal relationships
- 4 categories of behaviour disorder (Cooke, 2016a)
- self-injurious
- poor interpersonal skills/low self-esteem
- impulsive/compulsive – negatively affect learning
- disregard for social & cultural norms
- Causes and risk factors for challenging behaviour (Cooke, 2016a)
- Biological risk factors – genes, gender, temperament, pregnancy complications
- Environmental risk factors – family, school, peer, neighbourhood, cultural influence
- Causes – stage of life the student is in (one's maturation process/intellectual ability), learned, triggered by environmental/social situations/emotions
- Resiliency - ability to overcome stressful circumstances/change/adversity (Cooke, 2016a)
- Traits: (Cooke, 2016a)
- purposefulness (goals; motivated to persevere)
- social support (secure attachments to family/community)
- self-efficacy (belief in own worth/abilities)
- adaptability (growth mindset)
- Protective factors: (Cooke, 2016a)
- Individual – develop resiliency/coping & overcoming skills
- Family – loving relations with one consistently supportive, caring adult
- Community – extra-curricular activities develop new competencies & social interactions
- Student voice & choice – provide students control over their choices & identify areas of competence
- Traits: (Cooke, 2016a)
- Empathy involves... (Cooke, 2016b)
- compassionate attitude; demonstrate understanding of their views
- communicative attunement; stay attuned on moment-to-moment basis with communication
- person empathy; reflect on how the student's experiences have led to one's behaviour
- 4 questions to ask yourself during a crisis situation (Cooke, 2016b)
- What am I feeling now?
- How does the student feel?; what do they need/want?
- How is the environment affecting the situation/student?
- How can I best respond?
- FBA - Functional Behavioural Assessment (Cooke, 2016b)
- assessment used to identify functions of behaviour
- problem solve how to eliminate the challenging behaviour by understanding:
- what is happening
- when it happens (time & place)
- why it happens (how it serves one's needs)
- Procedures:
- determine the baseline behaviour
- observe & record behaviour patterns
- find out what the exact type of challenging behaviour is
- find out when it is happening
- look at duration, frequency, severity, what occurs before the behaviour, what occurs after the behaviour
- determine the function of behaviour
- ABC - Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence
- Antecedent - triggers/precursor to the behaviour
- Consequence - what happens immediately after the behaviour
A | B | C |
Student playing outside | Student hits a peer | Teacher says “no” and stays with the student for recess |
Function of the behaviour in this case is social because the student wants attention.
- Errorless compliance training (Cooke, 2016c)
- focus on tasks one can comply to (high compliance behaviour) and gradually introduce more challenging tasks (low compliance behaviour)
- Steps:
- educator identifies a minimum of 3 behaviours of high compliance
- at least 3 requests for high probability responses are made in succession right before making requests with low probability of compliance
- once there is a momentum of compliance, one is likely to continue with low compliance behaviour
- momentum encourages one to follow instructions previously not complied
- High & low probability requests
- L1 - high probability behaviour - almost always complies - 76-100% of the time
- L2 - usually complies to requests - 51-75%
- L3 - occasionally complies - 26-50%
- L4 - rarely complies - 0-25%
- Token economy (Cooke, 2016c)
- type of contingency plan/contract for students to help engage in appropriate behaviour
- contingency plan - receipt of the reward depends on the behaviour displayed
- to assist with compliance training
- learn to delay gratification
- do not take token away since that is punitive
- Steps:
- target behaviour - select behaviours to strengthen
- type of tokens - used as conditioned reinforcers - eg., stars
- backup reinforcers - to be exchanged for tokens - reward
- reinforcement schedule - for token delivery (for every correct response)
- exchange criterion - number of tokens needed to exchange with backup reinforcer
- time/place for exchange - place for exchanging tokens with backup reinforcer
- type of contingency plan/contract for students to help engage in appropriate behaviour
- Keystone approach (Cooke, 2016c)
- Keystone behaviours - targeted behaviour foundational to a range of skills and related to other responses such that when modified can have positive influence on those other responses
- teaching replacement skills for one behaviour - result in changes to all related challenging behaviours
- Types:
- compliance
- social skills
- on-task skills
- communication skills
- SNAP - Stop Now And Plan (Cooke, 2016d)
- teach students to pause in automatic/programmed stimulus-response reactions so they can think of alternative actions before lashing out verbally/physically
- Stop - things done to stop self from making the problem bigger (eg., snap, breathe, count to 10)
- Now, And - things said to self to calm down and make right choices (eg., calming thoughts, coping statements, "Yes, I can.")
- Plan - once stopped & calmed down, what to do?
- pick a plan that works for me
- make the problem smaller
- not hurt myself/others
- feel good about myself & my choice
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- Stressed brain (Cooke, 2016e)
- use what engages the student; making the student happy can increase the likelihood of learning
- Mindful Activities - for calming down (Cooke, 2016e)
- Meditation
- Imagine a beach scene where the waves rise and fall; breathe with the waves.
- Anchor attention
- Hold you left hand up, fingers spread. Now using your right hand, slide your index finger up the outside of your left pinky, then down the inside of the finger, up the ring finger, down the inside, up the middle finger, down the inside, up the index finger, down the inside and slide over and up the inside of the thumb, and down the outside of the thumb. As you slide up the fingers inhale, and as you slide down the fingers, exhale.
- Fists on thigh
- While sitting, make a fist on your thigh with each hand. Inhale in through the nose, and then exhale. As you exhale, open one digit/finger. Repeat for all ten digits.
- Stand, breathe & roll
- Stand and inhale as you raise your arms, exhale as you lower your arms, and let out the “huh!” sound (full breath out). Then shrug your shoulders up and down, letting out “huh!” sound as you come down from each shrug. Twist your core to the left and right and smile, as you let your arms swing with your body. Then roll body down (bending at waist) and breathe three deep breaths, then roll body back up. Hold your lower belly and ask yourself where you are emotionally at this moment.
- Meditation
References
- Cooke, A. (2016a). Strategies for Challenging Behaviour - Week 1 and 2 [Lecture Notes]. Trafalgar: Sheridan College.
- Cooke, A. (2016b). Strategies for Challenging Behaviour - Week 6 and 7 [Lecture Notes]. Trafalgar: Sheridan College.
- Cooke, A. (2016c). Strategies for Challenging Behaviour - Week 10 [Lecture Notes]. Trafalgar: Sheridan College.
- Cooke, A. (2016d). Strategies for Challenging Behaviour - Week 11 [Lecture Notes]. Trafalgar: Sheridan College.
- Cooke, A. (2016e). Strategies for Challenging Behaviour - Week 12 [Lecture Notes]. Trafalgar: Sheridan College.