Behavior Detectives

The behaviorist was observing the student when the teacher said “We’ve tried everything, nothing works with him.” The behaviorist response was “There is something, we haven’t found it yet.”

B. F. Skinner (1904- 1990) is considered the father of Behavior Analysis, the environmental approach that revolutionized the understanding and treatment of behaviors. Throughout the years I’ve been gathering some of his assertions regarding the field of behaviorism. Here are some jewels, in my opinion.

“One can picture a good life by analyzing one’s feelings, but one can achieve it only by arranging environment contingencies.” 1

“The subject is always right.” 2

“Control the environment and you will see order in behavior.” 3

“Responses in relation to environments were precisely the objects of study for those psychologists who called themselves behaviorists, and Skinner counted himself among them. For Skinner, behavior was worthy of study in its own right, not as a symptom to be used as a window on physiological processes.” ₄

“The task of a behavior analyst is to discover all the variables of which probability of response is a function. It is not an easy assignment, but it is at least an explicit one.” 5

This is what the behaviorist meant when she said “We haven’t found it yet.” A good behaviorist does not rest on the assumption that there is nothing to do because the child is “broken” or “there is something wrong with him.”

It’s detective work. Understanding the variables that elicit the behaviors involves searching the environment for evidence: tight routines and structure, or lack of; physical setting, such as furniture, lighting, ventilation, space, big or small groups, etc.; and last but not least the behaviors of the people who interact with that child. How is the parent/teacher giving directions? Are caregivers frustrated and reacting violently to the child (yelling, threatening, punishing)? Are the curriculum, materials and demands appropriate for this child? Are the tasks the child is expected to complete too difficult, long and/or boring?

I worked with this family a few years ago. We eventually discovered the main problem was homework. It used to take hours for this child to complete his work, and a great deal of nagging and yelling from his mom. When I asked him why he did not want to do homework, he responded without hesitation “Because it’s boring.” And it was. Basically, it was “paper-pencil” work. After consulting with the teacher the student was allowed to do homework using the computer, a preferred activity of his. The problem was reduced by about 75% overnight.

Of course it is not always overnight, but oftentimes simple environmental changes suffice. For more information, see our blog “Behaviors and Environment” at http://totaleducationsolutions.blogspot.com/search?q=Behaviors+and+the+environment

Ask the detectives, become one yourself. And stay away from the excuse “nothing works.” Something works. You just haven’t found it yet. Your child and your family will thank you.

 

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

 

References

1.     Skinner, Notebooks, p.127 1983

2.     Skinner, 1948, p 240

3.     Skinner, 1967, p. 399

4.      J.E.A.B- Nov 1999, 72–461 NUMBER 3. CHARLES CATANIA AND VICTOR G. LATIES

5.      J.E.A.B.- VOLUME 9, MAY, 1966- B. F. SKINNER

 

The challenge of raising a child with special needs

Raising a developmentally different child is a challenge for parents. The challenge begins when parents first learn that their child is not “normal”, something has gone wrong. When this happens there is a natural period of mourning and sadness in them and their family members. This is important because the people who are their support system are affected too, they are dealing with their own pain. Therefore, they have a difficult time responding to the grieving parents.

In other cases parents have a “typical” baby for several months before suddenly problems begin to occur- the child does not respond to situations in a typical manner, has developed unusual mannerisms and/or has lost previously acquired language- these are some of the losses of functioning that commonly occur in autism.  

In any case, there may be some issues that interfere in their ability to cope with the unexpected reality. Some of these issues include the loss of the “perfect child” they fantasized about and all the expectations from “I wanted my daughter to be a ballerina,” or “I hoped my child would be a doctor” to college, marriage and procreation. Suddenly parents are faced with the possibility that their child may be dependent on them for their entire life.

Parents are overwhelmed with having to learn about a disability they had only vaguely heard of and how to navigate the cumbersome route of doctors, diagnoses, school systems, therapies, and funding sources of services. All of these while they are grieving.     

Therefore, it is important for parents to deal with their own emotions, a frequently overlooked side of the situation. The burden of having a child with special needs involves a level of stress that often affects relationships and health, adding wood to the fire. So my advice is first TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. As the flight attendants instruct us before a flight, place the mask on you before helping others. Because if you can’t breathe, how can you help? Remind yourself that it is not your fault and seek professional help if necessary.

My next advice is take the time to observe your child. It is important to remind yourself that although your child is not responding in the “normal” way, she still is responding. Be a detective to get clues and solutions to the problems that parents of typically developed children don’t have to deal with. Your child will “tell” you the answers. What gives her pleasure? How to adapt to her changing moods? What turns your child off? How to deal with her challenging behaviors? How to set the environment to avoid problems and trigger the desired responses?  Your child have special needs and is different from other children, but he is also special in his own way, and it is your job to figure out how. Capitalize on opportunities to let him experience his special-ness. For example, if he loves numbers, engage in activities where he can be the “smart” one. If he can’t stay still and jumps all the time rather than telling him to stop get a trampoline, a bouncing ball, and other equipment that will help him express himself. 

Be ready to change your priorities. A dad in one of my classes once said to me “I understood that I’m here to help my son, not the other way around.” There will be sacrifices, accept them. One of the most difficult things you may have to learn to do is to keep a check on your expectations and learn when to push for more and when to place your child’s self-esteem in the first place.  

And know that you are not alone. You are surrounded by professionals and specialist that devoted their careers to understand children like yours. Use them as much as you can, and FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE. It is not enough to ask for help, be ready to do the work.

 

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

 

 

 

Self-Management

I was reading Applied Behavior Analysis, 2^nd edition, Cooper, Heron & Heward, and some concepts in the chapter about “Self-Management” caught my attention. Here are some passages I would like to share with you.
“The ultimate goal of behavior management is to develop independent, self-directed people capable of behaving appropriately without the supervision of others.”
“Self-management is an ultimate goal of education.”
In 1974 Skinner wrote about self-control: “When a man free to do whatever he wants controls himself and chooses the right course of action, he is behaving”.
“Self-management is simply behavior that a person emits to influence another behavior. It is the personal application of behavior change tactics to produce a desired change in behavior.”
“Self-management can help a person be more effective in his daily life, replace bad habits with good ones and achieve personal goals.”
“People with self-management skills are more likely to fulfill their potential and make greater contributions to society.” 

As we teach our kids effective life skills, they become more responsible, develop independence, and learn how to solve problems.  Have this in mind when you are working on managing behaviors. Rather than reacting out of frustration yelling, punishing, focusing your energy on “the bad” you want to teach children what to do instead, reward good behaviors, build behavior repertoires your children will be able to use in the future in order to be be successful.

The way you manage the hassles of life sets the best example for kids. Children will do as you DO, not as you SAY. For example, of you throw a tantrum when something doesn’t go your way, do not be surprised if your little ones react in the same way. You can teach them that lying is not OK but then if you lie (“tell them I’m not home,”) or don’t fulfill a promise (“I know I told you we are going to Disneyland today, but I’m so tired. Let’s leave it for another weekend”) that is what they learn.

Providing children with choices and the opportunity to make decisions, when appropriate, is another good idea when teaching self-control. Tell them the difference between right and wrong and then let them decide. Again, model the decision making process by sharing with them why you made this or that decision. You can also read books to them or tell them stories of real life people who make the right choice.    

Self-management should be your ultimate goal.

 “The goal of parents is not to control their children but to teach their children to control themselves while building their self-esteem.”

                                                                                         - Janet Hackleman

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

Yes, We Can!

Recently I have been thinking about the influence this positive phrase can have and the power of “Yes” as it applies to all aspects of our lives. This is particularly relevant when it comes to parenting. 

As discussed in a previous blog (see “Parenting Five Common Mistakes” at http://totaleducationsolutions.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-five-most-common-parenting-mistakes.html ), “we say no 100 times a day and I can almost guarantee that 75% of those NO’s could be YES’s.”

“Don’t jump on the couch”, “No, you can’t have ice cream”, “No more TV, it is time to go to bed”, “No more cookies.” And the list goes on and on.

Who likes to be told “No”? Being told “No” frustrates your child and can instigate bad behaviors, such as crying, screaming, hitting, throwing things, etc., which can be very problematic, especially when in public. Have you ever seen a child throwing a tantrum in the grocery store or at church? Children don’t need to read blogs to know how to make our lives difficult. If we rephrase our response to a more positive alternative and redirect the child instead of just saying “No”, we can reduce the child’s frustration and prevent “behavior disasters.”

Instead of saying just NO, what he CAN’T do, tell the child what he CAN do. Some examples can be:

“Can I have a cookie mom?” Instead of immediately saying no, you can say “Yes, you can have a cookie when you finish your dinner”.

“I want to play outside.” Try “It’s too cold right now but we CAN play blocks or dance inside”. It is very effective to offer two “Yes” for every “No.”       

“It seems you want to jump, let’s go to the trampoline.”

By the way, when you say “NO” to your child, you are teaching him/her to say “NO” to you when you place a request on him/her. So, save the NO’s for when it is necessary. If you child is running to the street or playing with a knife, that’s a NO.

Making positive behavioral changes is crucial to behavior management. Try the “Yes We Can” approach and see what a difference it will make in your child’s behavior. 

 Learn how to behave so your child will too.

 

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

 

 

 

 

My daughter is right

My daughter likes to ask me about my job and sometimes she “helps” me find solutions for my clients’ behavior problems when I present her with hypothetical situations. One of our “case analyses” was about a student who is placed in a regular classroom in middle school because the only autism class is not suitable for his academic level. The problem is that the pace and curriculum of regular education is way over his head, causing this student a great deal of frustration. This in turn leads to frequent outbursts: crying, screaming, throwing objects, dropping to the ground and refusing to move. All this is very disruptive to the classes he attends and leads to countless meetings to try to fix what is broken. And I’m not talking about the student, but about the system.     

My daughter said he needs something in between the low autism and the challenging typical education class. I think she is right. The problem is no such thing exists in the public school system, at least not in the student’s area.

In previous blogs I talked about NBC television show “Parenthood” because one of the families in the show has a child on the autism spectrum. They faced the same problem, no classes that can fit their bright but behaviorally and socially challenged son.  In one of the last season episodes, fed up with being called to school endless times because of behavior problems, the parents decided to create their own school despite all the hardship it involves.

The point is that we don’t have to accept a reality that precludes these children from accessing a learning environment that will allow them to be successful, which in turn condemns them to a state of recurrent punishment (angry school staff, frustrated parents, exclusion from the social life of school, etc.). As stated by Don Baer (1970), “Not to rescue a person from an unhappy organization of his behaviors is to punish him.” Let’s commit to rescuing these kids. We can create a different reality.

I think we all can agree that being “special” is not the fault of these children. They need help the same way a blind or a deaf child needs. With the right assistance, most of these kids can have a happy and successful school experience, which for sure will be crucial in developing productive members of society. The benefits of this are enormous and probably a good topic for future blogs.

So, what can be done? At this point I have to admit I don’t have all the answers.

I don’t accept the argument that there is no money. I’ll submit that the resources spent (wasted?) in managing the problems that the current situation involves could be redirected to create appropriate classrooms and curriculums for these precious children. I’m talking about money spent on all kinds of ineffective therapies, all the time spent in useless meetings, all the frustration, etc. There are also non-profit organizations that receive money from foundations dedicated to this population which could be an additional resource.

In my opinion it is a question of will and commitment to a solution. Let’s stop the laziness and let’s put our minds together to find solutions rather than managing a broken system.

My daughter is 11. What would it take for us, grownups, to arrive at the same conclusion she did?

 

Daniel Adatto, MA, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

Mental disorders and the environment

Dr. Paul Patterson died last month. He was an epidemiologist and neuroscientist who worked on the influence of the environment on mental disorders. “Researchers examined the role that viral infections, such as the flu, might have in schizophrenia and other disorders, including autism.” This according to the obituaries article in Saturday July 19^th, 2014 LA edition.  Patterson was part of one of those groups of researchers at Caltech. He studied the connections between infections and brain development. Patterson was a leader in the field of neuroimmunology. His research provided strong evidence that environmental factors play a major role in developing mental disorders. The challenges in the pregnant mother’s immune system can result in changes in the child’s immune system.

The exciting news is that this may lead to new ways to ameliorate the symptoms. Working with mice in the lab Patterson and his team demonstrated that bone marrow transplants significantly reduced the autism-like symptoms. While this is not likely to be the treatment for children with the disorder, the discovery may take scientist to other manipulations of the immune system that could reduce the incidence of these disorders. For example, Patterson and his team demonstrated that injecting the “autistic” mice with a specific human bacteria reduced the symptoms of the disorders. They are now working on an application to the U.S Food and Drug Administration to start testing with humans. Even when the process may take some time, it is very promising. Reducing the symptoms of the disorders would help us significantly in working with the kids to help them become productive and happy members of society. 

This is very encouraging news. The kind of news that papers don’t show in the front page or don’t make it to the TV news broadcastings. But for sure the kind of news that could change somebody’s life. Or even a family’s life. Working in the field of autism and related disorders I see first-hand the devastating effects the disorders cause in the quality of life of many families. We should make people aware of these scientific developments.

On a note related to our parenting blogs I think that knowing that health and immune system challenges, such as the flu, have a direct influence in possible mental disorders in the new born, may also lead to parents watching the future mother’s health very closely. It is imperative that before and during pregnancy the mother-to-be is under the care of appropriate medical professionals and she follows their advice carefully. Eating and drinking appropriately, managing stress, avoiding any kind of drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, are only a few aspects of the prenatal care. Prevention is a very powerful tool.

When my wife was pregnant of my daughter she was feeling very sick. We went to the doc and asked him for some meds to help her feel better. I’ll never forget what the doctor said: “Absolutely no meds, it’s the first sacrifice you make for your kid, but it’s not going to be the last one.”

Thank you Paul Patterson. You and your colleges make our lives better.

 

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

 

 

The World Cup in the classroom

This week I had the chance to visit a middle school classroom. While observing the class, I was so pleased the teacher was incorporating a lesson about the World Cup, the Olympics of soccer which is taking place right now in Brazil. Being from Argentina, soccer (futbol for us) is my favorite sport. 

But more importantly, I loved this teacher’s approach. I have always advocated that education has to be made interesting and relevant to the students. Delivering a lesson through topics such as sports is interesting for children. Students were listening to the teacher, answering questions, doing some research on the computers and presenting their findings in front of the class. There was no yelling or scolding, not having to continuously repeat directions, no frustration, just a lot of fun enjoyable work and compliance. Subjects like mathematics, geography, history, even science and social studies can easily be taught through topics of interest and experiential learning. For example, I can’t think a better way to teach fractions to fourth and fifth graders than through cooking. All recipes, especially baking, include 1⁄4 cup of something plus 3⁄4 cups of something else. In the case of the this particular class, students were split in groups to work on the computers to find out the number of participating countries, their history in the world cups, statistics and much more. I can guarantee so much information was internalized and yes, I’m talking about a special education class.

As I wrote in my blog “Teaching Teachers”: (http://totaleducationsolutions.blogspot.com/2013/06/teaching-teachers.html )

“We can conclude that instead of forcing the kids to fit teachers’ way of teaching, teachers need to be able to change their way of teaching to fit their students’ needs. Children with special needs do not learn the way we teach, so we need to teach the way they learn.”

“As a first step, teachers can have more of an impact by learning the art of motivation and the power of stimulating instructional routines and structure. Simply put, this means motivating students to perform non-preferred activities. Good teachers motivate their students when they tell them they can have 10 extra minutes of recess if they finish their work on time, or give them points towards a pizza party or a preferred activity. Motivating materials (i.e. arts & crafts, music, tablets loaded with educational software, etc.), topics relevant to kids, and a loving, warm, and passionate approach to teaching are excellent tools. Education does not have to be synonymous with boredom.  It should be an amazing experience.”

The class I visited was a real life example of this. The teacher did a great job. At one point he looked at me and said “you need to find something they like,” as if he was justifying the “crazy” subject. He was also planning to implement a rewards system where students get points towards preferred activities. Sound familiar? I was in heaven.

The sad part of the story is that this teacher is the exception, not the norm. I can’t help but wonder why. When is education going to catch up with sound, scientifically proven methods of education? When are we going to stop demanding kids to participate in boring, long and irrelevant classes?

When is it going to be teachers and students tackling learning TOGETHER rather than teachers AGAINST students?  

 

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com