Effective Procedures for Dealing With Discipline and Challenging Behaviors

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1 Effective Procedures for Dealing With Discipline and Challenging Behaviors 1/26/2017 PaTTAN Harrisburg Willow Hozella Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network PaTTAN s Mission The mission of the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) is to support the efforts and initiatives of the Bureau of Special Education, and to build the capacity of local educational agencies to serve students who receive special education services. 1

2 PDE s Commitment to Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Our goal for each child is to ensure Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams begin with the general education setting with the use of Supplementary Aids and Services before considering a more restrictive environment. Caveat We will not cover everything today We cannot address all issues in this presentation; problem behavior is a complex topic and there are frequently no easy answers 4 2

3 Discipline Generally speaking, discipline means procedures used to reduce problem behavior and serve as a warning to students that problem behavior leads to worsening conditions in the future. Punishment Formal definition Punishment is any consequence that decreases the future probability of behavior. If behavior is maintaining or increasing it is not being punished. Behaviors, not students, are punished. 3

4 Frequency 1/22/2017 Punishment and it s effects Positive: Applies Stimulus Negative: Removes Stimulus Reinforcement Increases frequency of behavior. Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement Punishment Decreases frequency of behavior. Positive Punishment Negative Punishment An example of effective punishment 50 Self Injurious Behavior Phase change line when punishment procedure was introduced Date 4

5 Consideration when using punishment Punishment is a consequence that is a worsening condition which reduces behavior If you punish you are part of that condition People tend to avoid worsening conditions and warning signals that punishment is forthcoming When the presentation of an event makes the removal of that event valuable, it is called a Conditioned Motivating Operation-Reflexive (CMO-R). CMO-Rs are learned through a history of what preceded worsening conditions in the past and are often thought of as warning signals. 5

6 Examples of CMO-Rs include: Looking down when a presenter says a volunteer is needed (no eye contact, he won t call on me!) A teacher s approach increasing the value of getting a away from the teacher (history of demands being placed) The reinforcement in each case is getting rid of the warning signal! Escape CMO-R Warning Stimulus Evokes slowing down behavior (e.g. removing foot from brake Speeding Negative reinforcement Police car disappears from view without pulling out (Whew!) Get ticket: punishment IF speeding decreases in the future 6

7 Indiscriminate punishment. just as you can cook without knowing any chemistry, or pitch a baseball expertly without understanding physics, or teach effectively without behavior analysis people have used this technique to control human behavior without the scientific understanding of what they are doing. - Sidman, M. (1989) By being analytic about our own behavior we can be precise and effective in our interventions Identify the Function of the Problem Behavior Identifying the function means identifying what the source of reinforcement is for the behavior of concern 7

8 Functions of Behavior Positive reinforcement (attention or tangible) Negative Reinforcement (escape, delay, or avoiding unwanted situations) Continuing to do something that is preferred To determine function we must look at environment! 15 Antecedent Behavior Consequence I tell my daughter to go to bed. Seth wants something. She throws herself to the ground screaming. He points at the pantry where the food is kept. Okay, but only five more minutes. SR- (delays going to bed) His parents take items out until they find the one he wants SR+ Annette is told to go gym. She smacks her aide. Her aide reminds her what she s working for by showing her ipad and saying, Remember what you re working for. SR- (delays going to gym) and potentially SR+ (presentation of preferred item) Tom is told to complete his work He throws his books and material to the floor The teacher says, No throwing! and puts Tom in timeout. SR- 8

9 Function of Behavior May not always be easy to determine Behaviors may look the same but can occur for different reasons Behaviors may look different and occur for the same reasons Dual functions can occur Function of behavior will provide information for knowing how to change behavior NOT what the behavior looks like. 17 Dual Function Examples Same Behavior Results in: Sam cries when he wants to sleep in parent s bed Sam cries when he is asked to brush his teeth Johnny throws food every night at the dinner table Johnny throws toys at his brother when he watches TV Susie pulls her peer s hair everyday in circle time Susie pulls her peer s hair everyday at play time Alex covers his ears every time he is in the lunch room Alex covers his ears when asked to do a math worksheet Sam gets to sleep in parent s bed Removal or delay in tooth brushing demand Gets favorite foods Gets attention Removal from circle time and attention from staff Peers give up toys Given his Nintendo DS to take his hands from his ears Removes task 18 9

10 Same Function Examples Different Behavior Results in: Sam cries when he wants to watch Disney Channel Sam screams when he wants to watch Disney Channel Johnny throws food every night at the dinner table Johnny spits food out at breakfast Susie pulls her peer s hair everyday in circle time Susie yells and talks out everyday in circle time Alex covers his ears every time he is ask to do a math work sheet Alex bolts around the room when asked to do a math worksheet Gets Disney Channel Gets Disney Channel Gets favorite foods Gets favorite foods Removal from circle time and attention from staff Removal from circle time and attention from staff Removes task Removes task 19 Functions of staff behavior Remember that all behavior is governed by the same rules Ending problem behavior may negatively reinforce whatever was done to terminate the behavior 10

11 Common Logical Fallacies to Avoid Observational Selection Counting the hits and forgetting the misses. She s doing much better since the intervention began. I ve won the lottery before! Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc It happened after so it was caused by Confusing cause and effect. Dad dropped him off and he always misbehaves when dad drops him off. Must be a full moon! This can be confounded by observational selection. Common Logical Fallacies to Avoid (continued) Circular Logic He swears at the teacher when frustrated. How do you know he is frustrated? Because he is swearing so much! If the definition serves as the explanation it is not a coherent explanation. Appeal to Authority Willow says it is an effective treatment, rather than looking to empirical evidence. 11

12 Not confusing correlation and causation Oftentimes, people claim something causes a behavior when it is only correlated Loud noisy environment Medical issues A specific person A time of day Any of these may be correlated with problem behavior, but are unlikely to be the cause of behavior. 12

13 So now what? Behaviors have an environmental basis. We can manipulate the environment to change the behaviors! We can look at what happens before and after the behavior to change those behaviors of social significance We can change behavior by manipulating the environment! 13

14 Engagement Child can t do two things at one time: by remaining engaged in appropriate activities many behavior problems can be avoided In school, active responding and high rates of engaged time has consistently been shown to be associated with less problem behavior 27 Instruction Directly teach children what to do when they will need to do it and practice being successful Use effective and well-sequenced skill progressions Reinforce success with progress in skill sequence Vary type of instruction within day and within lessons 28 14

15 Appropriate instruction Developmental assumptions do not help determining what is easy or difficult for a student Problem behavior can be viewed as a repertoire of defective behavior If a student cannot do something we need to teach the skill and practice success (replacement behavior) Reinforcement Reinforcement is your most powerful tool in preventing challenging behaviors Reinforcement is key to teaching behaviors that replace problem behavior Know what the child likes and make it available contingent on appropriate behavior 1. Tangibles 2. Edibles 3. Activities 4. Praise/Attention 30 15

16 Use of Reinforcement Make sure the you have a variety of reinforcement available for immediate reinforcement If using tokens, make sure the tokens can be used for a variety of different tangibles Make sure that you deliver the reinforcement Use reinforcement for competing appropriate behavior 31 Keep Motivation Strong for Reinforcers Vary how often reinforcement is presented (variable schedule) Stop using one kind of reinforcement before it loses its value Mix and vary the type of reinforcement available Assess and monitor the value of reinforcement (survey staff and student preferences) 32 16

17 Reinforcement The only way a reinforcement can be identified is by the effect that it has on future behavior Remember.What is reinforcing for one person may not be for another Reinforcement value can and will change 33 Behavior Management Planning Summary 1. Identify and define the behavior to be changed (target behavior) 2. Measure how often target behavior occurs (quantitative is best!!) 3. Identify what causes the target behavior to occur (function: what is the reinforcer?) 4. Develop a behavior intervention for the target behavior based on its function 5. Monitor the intervention for effectiveness (treatment fidelity) 34 17

18 Teach Some Key Behaviors Incompatible behaviors (e.g. ready hands, etc.) Systematic success in handling transitions Following a schedule Systematic success in handling change Reinforce accepting small changes first Social skills especially related to conventions Make certain social rules explicit 35 Problem Behavior Even with the best preventative plan, problem behavior can occur Everyone working with students needs to be prepared to respond effectively when problem behavior occurs 36 18

19 Key Features of a Behavior Management Plan 1. Prevention Plan how the specific target behavior will be prevented from occurring 2. Teach Replacement - Determine a replacement behavior you will teach AND reinforce AND practice 3. Extinction (Consequence) How you will stop reinforcing the target behavior so that it will not continue to occur ˉ Alternative: reinforce as early in the sequence as possible 37 Caution Have a plan to deal with crisis Safety first Physical environment Position yourself carefully Seek help: work as a team Review incidents and use this review to plan prevention 38 19

20 De-escalation De-escalation during crisis situations means that all other procedures have failed Often means potentially reinforcing problem behavior De-escalation: 3 Options 1. Ask the student if they need something 2. Prompt the student to do something incompatible (Take a deep breath, fold your hands, take a sip of water, etc.) Must be something the student can do easily 3. Remove demands and maintain safety 20

21 De-escalation considerations Safety first! Only one person speaks to the student in clear concise language Follow behavior plan section on crisis management Behavior plan and Chapter 14 regulations should be reviewed with all staff working with student Summary It is never the student s fault O. Lindsley We all do what works Stay positive Stay calm (but don t beat yourself up if you don t) Prevention is better than reaction Role of function and reinforcement Hard work at first may reduce future work Don t go it alone; help each other

22 Review all procedures frequently Practice Have others watch you and give feedback (treatement fidelity checklists for all behavior plans) Pride yourself on having students learn from their interactions with you! In Closing The importance of teaching our students to be productive members of society cannot be overstated. Managing problem behavior in a way that makes the behavior ineffective for the student is critical to this goal. To paraphrase B.F. Skinner s Walden Two, People build society and society builds people. 22

23 Selected Citations Carbone, V. J., Morgenstern, B., Zecchin-Tirri, G., & Kolberg, L. (2010). The role of the reflexive conditioned motivating operation (CMO-R) during discrete trial instruction of children with autism. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention, 4, Sagan, C. (1995). The demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark. New York: Random House. Sidman, M. (1989). Coercion and its fallout. Boston, MA: Authors Cooperative. Skinner, B. F. (1976). Walden Two. New York: Macmillan. Skinner, B.F. (1979) The Non-Punitive Society (Commemorative lecture given by B.F. Skinner at Keio University, Japan. September 25, 1979.) Contact Information Willow Hozella whozella@pattan.net Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf, Governor 23