Does your child with autism or another disability have difficulty with their behavior at school? Are you trying to figure out why your child is misbehaving at school? This article will introduce you to the ABC’s of behavior. It is the first place to start, in trying to figure out why your child has behavioral difficulty.
The process for figuring out what the behavior is and what to do about it involves 6 steps:
Step 1. Determination of what the behavior is.
Step 2. Finding out what the ABC’s of behavior are.
Step 3. Conducting a appropriately performed functional behavioral assessment (FBA), to determine what function the behavior has for your child.
Step 4. Consider the use of Positive Behavioral supports.
Step 5. Use the hypothesis from the FBA to develop a positive behavior plan.
Step 6: Reviewing the positive behavioral plan to see if it is working, and change if necessary.
This article will discuss step one and step two; determining what the behavior is and finding out what the ABC’s of behavior are.
Before step three can be done, you and special education personnel must understand what the behavior is that your child is having. The behaviors need to be defined in concrete terms that are simple to measure, and should be included in your child’s individual educational plan (IEP).
For Example: Mary hits children while at recess, when she does not get her own way. Johnny makes animal sounds in class when his teacher is paying attention to other students.
The ABC’s of behavior are;
A. Stands for antecedent: Which is what is occurring in the environment before the behavior happens?
B. Stands for behavior: Specifically what the behavior is
C. Stands for Consequences of the behavior: What happens in the environment or to the child because of the behavior.
In the above examples the ABC’s for Mary and Johnny are listed below:
Mary;
A. Mary is at recess, playing with other children
B. Mary hits other children when she does not get her own way. If another child picks the game, if she wants a ball that is being used by another child etc.
C. The children usually give in to her and give her what she wants. If the teacher sees it she has to sit down for the rest of recess.
Johnny;
A. Johnny’s class is doing individual work, and Johnny’s teacher is helping another child.
B. Johnny starts making animal sounds.
C. Johnny’s teacher comes over to him
If your child is having negative behavior at school, ask special education personnel to track the behavior for several days or a week, using the ABC’s of behavior. This will help you and school personnel be prepared for the next step which is conducting a functional behavioral assessment, to determine what your child is receiving from the behavior.
By: JoAnn Collins
Posts Tagged ‘Functional Behavioral Assessment’
Special Education – How to Determine What the Function of Your Child’s School Behavior Is!
November 8th, 2009
Does your child with autism, ADHD, or another disability, have problems with negative school behavior? Have you driven yourself crazy trying to figure out why your child is behaving badly? You can relax, this article will discuss a process which is known as a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) that can help you figure out what your child is gaining from their school behavior. You can use this information to develop a positive behavioral plan, and increase your child’s good behavior.
Before special education personnel can conduct the FBA on your child, they must pinpoint what the behavior is and describe it in concrete terms. For Example: Mary hits other children when she cannot be first in line.
Next you must determine what the ABC’s of a specific behavior are. A stands for Antecedent; what is occurring in the environment at the time of the behavior. B stands for the specific behavior. C stands for the consequence of the behavior;what happens in the environment or to the child because of the behavior. Have special education personnel track the ABC’s of the behavior for one week. This information can be used to develop the FBA.
Now special education personnel are ready to conduct the functional behavioral assessment, on your child. The definition of an FBA is: A process for collection of information. The data the team collects is used to help determine why problem behaviors occur.
Once you determine why the problem behavior occurs, the information from the functional behavioral assessment will be used to develop a positive behavioral plan. A positive behavioral plan is not punishment for negative behavior, but a plan to increase positive behavior, which will in turn decrease negative behavior.
Appropriate steps for conducting a FBA:
1. Identify the problem behaviors that most need to change. Isolate them and describe them in concrete terms.
2. Determine where the behavior occurs and where it does not.
3. Identify what may contribute to the behavior. Is the child ill, are the child’s academics too hard, avoidance of something, attention getting etc.
4. What is unique, about the environments where behaviors are not a concern.
5. What is different, in the places where the problem behaviors do occur.
6. Is the work that a child is asked to do cause the problem.
7. Could the time of day affect your child’s behavior.
8. Is the problem linked to a skill deficit?
9. Come up with a list of new positive behaviors that can be taught to the child, that have the same function as the negative behaviors.
10.Develop a theory about why the behavior is occurring! Some people call this a hypothesis, about why the behavior is happening.
11.Test your theory. Develop a positive behavioral plan and track to see if your child’s behavior is improving.
12.Occasionally meet with school personnel and evaluate whether the positive behavior plan continues to be effective, or if the plan needs to be updated.
By following these steps in conducting the functional behavioral assessment, you will finally understand what your child is gaining, from the negative school behavior. After you and special education personnel develop a positive behavioral plan, your child will be well on their way to improving their school behavior.
By: JoAnn Collins
Special Education – What Are Positive Behavioral Supports, and Can They Help My Child?
November 1st, 2009
Does your child with autism or ADHD have behavioral issues while at school? Does your school district continue to punish your child, rather than find a way to decrease their negative behavior? This article will discuss the use of positive behavioral supports to increase positive behavior thus decreasing negative behavior.
Punishment only works in the short term to decrease negative behavior. Positive behavioral supports are research based and best practice, to change a child’s behavior for the long term.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA 2004) requires : The IEP team in a case of a child whose behavior impedes his or her learning, or that of others to consider. . .strategies including positive behavioral intervention and systems to achieve positive change.
So while many special education personnel continue to punish a child with a disability for negative behavior, the use of positive supports are required by IDEA 2004, and they are also effective long term.
A summary of Positive Behavioral Supports:
1. Positive behavioral support is the application of positive behavioral interventions and systems to achieve positive change.
2. Positive behavioral support is an approach to discipline and intervention that is proving both effective and practical in schools.
3. The emphasis is on behavior change that is durable, comprehensive, and linked to academic and social gains.
4. The development of positive behavioral intervention and plans, are guided by functional behavioral assessment and is a foundation on which positive behavioral support is delivered.
5. Functional Behavioral Assessment is a systematic way of identifying problem behaviors and the events that predict occurrence, and maintenance of those behaviors.
6. A proactive perspective is maintained along a continuum, using prevention and interventions.
A few things to keep in mind:
In my experience, a lot of children that have a disability develop negative behavior, because of frustration with their academics. There is a huge connection between academic difficulty and behavioral difficulty. If your child has negative behavior at school, you must investigate and make sure that the academics that they are being taught are at their academic level. Make sure any change in academic curriculum, is included in your child’s individual education plan (IEP).
Also, children with negative behaviors must be taught new acceptable behaviors, to replace the negative ones. Identify other appropriate behaviors that can be taught, that will serve the same function for the child. Make sure that any new behaviors that need to be taught to your child, are listed in their IEP.
By focusing on positive behavioral supports rather than punishment you can help your child increase their positive behavior. This will in turn will benefit their education, and their life!
By: JoAnn Collins
