Behavior Management Tools

Today, I’d like to present an important behavior management strategy that, as a parent or teacher, should be part of your “tool-box.”

Token Economy: A token economy is a system in which an individual earns tokens for desired behaviors. Once he has collected a predetermined number of tokens he can trade them for an item or activity of his preference.

Tokens begin as essentially neutral stimuli, of little significance in themselves. However, as the tokens become increasingly associated with the reinforcers for which they are exchanged, they become motivating in themselves.

Money is probably the token economy system that is most well-known. There is nothing intrinsically motivating about it. However, because we can use those green papers to buy what we need and want, they can become extremely reinforcing.

Token economies can be used to meet a number of educational and behavioral goals for children:

·        Increased ability to delay gratification: Token systems are a great way to build a child's ability to wait for reinforcing items or activities.

·        Lessened satiation: By increasing the number of responses necessary to obtain a reinforcer, token economies can lower the rate at which the child becomes satiated with a particular form of reinforcement.

·        Increased teaching rate: Rewarding a response with a token is quick, and allows for speedy, more fluid instruction. In most school settings, it's uncommon to see teachers walking around handing out Fruit Loops, or passing out raffle tickets after every correct answer. Using tokens to delay the presentation of those more obvious reinforcers can be less obtrusive in the classroom.

·        Increased selection of reinforcers: Because reinforcement is being delivered after several responses rather than after each response, longer-lasting, possibly more reinforcing items or activities could be chosen for reinforcement. As an example, if one were conducting quick verbal drills, it's probably not effective to use a video as a reinforcer for each correct response. But, if a child finds a video especially rewarding, he may be willing to work for several tokens to earn a chance to watch.

What does a token economy system look like?

Token economy systems can take on a wide variety of forms. They can range from very simple, short-lived systems to much more complex systems that require the child to work for days or even weeks before earning his reward. For examples visit: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1242&bih=599&q=reinforcement+charts&oq

Examples:

Punch card: Cammie was a girl who was constantly talking out and interrupting the proceedings. A punch card was introduced to help address those issues. Cammie was given punches if she was sitting and listening appropriately. After 18 punches she got a piece of candy and moved on to the next activity. As she progressed with the card, the interval between punches was extended, until she was working at five or more minutes between punches.

Puzzles: I've used puzzles successfully with children with autism and typical primary school kids as well. Take a picture of the preferred activity or item, let’s say computer. Laminate, cut in pieces (the number of pieces varies from child to child), and add Velcro. The child gets a piece of the puzzle for each correct response and can earn prizes for completing the puzzle. On top of the final prize, the puzzles are motivating in themselves.

Money: Money can make a very good token system for kids, especially older kids, where stickers and such might not be as appropriate. Working with money is a very functional skill, and using money as a token system lends itself to lots of great math concepts (making change, budgeting, etc.). For instance, you could set the price for a jump on the trampoline at five nickels, but might only hand out pennies as reinforcement. The child needs to figure out when he's got enough pennies to make a nickel and cash them in.

Guidelines for creating and using token economy systems

·        Token systems should clearly provide a visual representation of how much the child has accomplished and how much more he needs to accomplish before reinforcement is delivered.

·        Token systems are most effective at maintaining positive behaviors when they are specific to each child, address specific behaviors, and clearly communicate the expectations and rules to the child.

·        As when using any reinforcement, choice should be as big a part of your token systems. With simple systems have the child choose the item or activity he'd like to be working towards. With more complex systems you may have a "menu" of reinforcement posted along with the prices of various items (bubbles might cost 15 tokens, a video 60, a trip to McDonald's 150).

·        Pair verbal praise with the presentation of the token. Giving a "Good sitting!" or "Great reading!" will remind the child why he is getting the token and, when tokens have been established as secondary reinforcers, can help establish social praise as a reinforcer as well.

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com 

Non-compliance Behaviors

Non-compliance is universal and normal. It is a problem when it is excessive and disrupts the daily life. Children have individual personalities and their own likes and dislikes. However, children need to follow reasonable directions from parents, teachers, and other adults. When they don’t it is a source of frustration and stress to adults’ life.

Non-compliance may have many causes. For example:

- Your child may feel that she has little control of many aspects of her life.

- Your child may have a skill deficit and could resist directions because they are difficult or overwhelming for her and so, may not be able to organize herself to begin the task.

- Your child may be experiencing stress at school and then express it through non-compliance at home.

- Your child may be sensing your stress.

- Your child may have a personality that leads her to be non-compliant as an expression of independence. 

Most disobedience can be avoided all together or at least reduced by taking the following steps:

1.     Try breaking down complex tasks into small steps, and ask your child to do one at the time. Cleaning up a messy room, for example, can be overwhelming. By starting with one or two toys or pieces of clothe can be very helpful in achieving compliance.

2.     Give your child choices when possible. For example, instead of telling her what to wear, ask her if she prefers the red or blue shirt.

3.     When giving your child a direction, be sure it is a realistic expectation and not a way of venting your frustration.

4.     Be sure the direction is clear and concise. Establish eye contact first. Start with a positive comment or interaction before giving a direction to perform a non-preferred activity.

5.     Be consistent. If you allowed your child to jump on the couch yesterday do not expect her to stop when you ask her today. If you discontinue the direction because your child throws a tantrum you are teaching her that you don’t mean what you say.

6.     Give your child time to process the direction. Asking your child to stop watching TV right now might be a recipe for disaster. Prime her by telling her how much time is left until TV is over. Tell her it will be time to come to dinner after the video is over. In that way you provide your child with time to prepare for the transition.

7.     Some children may need visual schedules along with verbal directions. In addition having a picture schedule provides predictability and thus, reduces anxiety. Visit your child’s classroom or Google “Visual Schedules” for creative and motivating ideas.

8.     Motivate by making a preferred item or activity contingent on following directions. “First eat your vegetables and then you can have dessert.”

9.     Avoid giving directions when frustrated or stressed. If you are late to school asking your child to put on her shoes is not a good idea. Put them on yourself.

By following these relative simple strategies you’ll make your life easier and have more time to enjoy your kids. And don’t tell yourself you don’t have the time. Dealing with challenging behaviors is more time consuming and damages the parent-child relationship.

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

No-Yelling Morning Routine:

Tomorrow is Monday and thus, it’s time to go back to school. To help you get out of the house in the morning without losing your sanity or your temper, follow these suggestions:

- Start a consistent daily schedule. Preparing your children ahead of time and letting them know what is expected of them will make it easier when the day arrives. Having a predictable and consistent daily schedule builds confidence in a child, decreases anxiety, and  encourages cooperation. When a child can anticipate future events it increases his sense of control and independence.

- Using a visual schedule is a great way to demonstrate to a child what is expected of him.  Prepare the chart together with your child using pictures or drawings of familiar activities such as going to the potty, brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast. For ideas on visual schedules, visit Google/Images/Visual charts.

- Have a desired activity follow an undesired activity can help avoid power struggles. For example, if your child is allowed to watch TV in the morning, make sure getting dressed and eating breakfast precede the reward.

- It is very important to allow time for transitions between activities. Don’t whisk your child away while he/she is playing and shove him into the car. Never interrupt a preferred activity. Give him/her a 10-15-minutes warning that he/she will need to turn off the TV or put his/her toys away and it will be time to leave the house to get into the car

- Build choices into the schedule so you child can feel some control.  Allow your child to choose between 2 healthy breakfast options, such as cereal or oatmeal,  or wearing the red or the blue shirt.

- Wake up 15 minutes earlier so you are not rushed.

- It is always helpful if you have prepared the backpack and anything else that needs to go to school the night before.

- Be ready for some “hiccups” every once in a while. Think about them as opportunities to teach.  Remain calm and keep consistency. Kids test limits every so often. You just have to get through the storm. Every time it rained, it stopped.

The morning routines should go smoothly most often than not. If this is not the case, revamp the routine. Do not keep doing the same when it is not working and expecting changes. The way we adults interact with our children is the reason they behave how they do. And keep in mind that you have the option to consult the experts. We are here to assist you.

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

Teachers, Good Job!

“What about the parents? If they spoil their child at home there is nothing we can do here. When student become a problem in the classroom the root of the issue is poor parenting.” I often hear these comments from teachers. “Blame them, not us. We can’t do miracles and undo parents’ mistakes.”

There is no doubt that good parenting skills are crucial to quality education. And that’s why I write in these blogs about parenting all the time. There are indeed selfish, absent and neglectful parents. Some parents belligerently take their children’s side in any dispute: “My son is being picked on.” “The teacher is not fair.” “The classroom rules are stupid.” Sometimes, they threaten lawsuits and show up on campus shouting and demanding to talk to the Principal, which creates a climate of fear.

 

But other parents are just overwhelmed or lack quality education themselves. Therefore, I think it is not fair to blame parents for any student who frustrates teachers and school aides.  I believe that the “blame the parents” approach doesn’t move us forward.

In my every day work I visit a number of classrooms each week and it’s great to see effective teachers who don’t need to blame the parents. They understand that sometimes, the school is the only stable space in struggling students’ life and so, what happens in the classroom can be a life-changing experience.

Teachers are expected to teach, of course. But also tend to the social needs of children wrapped by instability, poverty and family dysfunction. Only good teachers succeed in this challenging mission.

So, what makes good teacher?

-        Patience, for sure, and lots of it.

-        Knowledge. It is be very helpful when they master the art of motivation and the power of stimulating and structured instructional routines. Instead of forcing the kids to fit their way of teaching, they have 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.

But more than anything the good teachers share a crucial feature: passion. They are passionate
about their jobs. They wouldn’t change it for anything else.

I’d like to contribute with a few of suggestions:

1.      Teachers must be carefully selected.

2.      Teachers must be trained and supervised on an ongoing basis.

3.      Teachers have to be motivated by competitive salaries.

4.      Teachers must be supported by favorable work environments.

The system should reward good teachers. Parents should acknowledge and thank them. And fight for these teachers if their kids have one of the others.  

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

Motivation

Motivation as a Teaching and Behavior Management Tool

Children with special needs may not be as motivated to work as other children are. A solid behavior management program builds motivation by rewarding desired behaviors with reinforcement (edibles, toys, time to play, preferred activities, sensory stimulation, etc.). 

“We can’t teach if we can’t motivate”.

The student is given rewards only for desired behaviors in response to those stimuli so that eventually he comes to understand that certain stimuli are probably more deserving of his attention than others.

This way, the instructor achieves instructional control when student’s responses to his/her instructions produce reinforcement more often than responses in the absence of the instruction.

•        Instructional control plays a fundamental role in education and behavior management.

•        Instructional control is achieved by reinforcing the desired responses.

Reinforcement, a simple behavior-consequence principle, is the fundamental building tool for teaching behaviors. The teacher or parent is in control when she pairs herself with reinforcement.

Guidelines for delivering reinforcement

-        Delivery of reinforcement should be paired with praise, eye contact, high fives, hugs, brief games. Some kids with autism do not yet find many of these things very reinforcing. It is our job to teach them to enjoy these things as much as possible.

-        The reinforcer (prize, reward) should be exclusive for the target behavior.  If the child has free access to computer, for example, he doesn’t need to emit the desired response to get it.

-        Needless to say, reinforcement must be motivating to the child. If she doesn’t care when you praise her, praise is not reinforcing.

-        Reinforcement must be delivered consistently; and therefore, the criteria for the response need to be planned out in detail, understood, and used consistently by everyone involved in the child's program.

-        Reinforcers vary and by definition are considered reinforcing only if they increase the likelihood of the response in the future. In other words, reinforcers must be reinforcing to the individual and thus varies from individual to individual.

Catch them being good. If you wait until the child misbehaves to provide attention or play with her you are reinforcing the bad behavior.

Remember, you change the child’s behavior by changing the behaviors of the adults that interact with that child. Pure and simple, right?

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com

Parent Training

Families thrive when parents know how to bring out the best in their children.

Parent training is a crucial component of every behavior intervention program. Since parents play the most important role in a child’s development, the goal of behavior management training is to empower the parents to become the child’s primary teacher in developing appropriate behaviors, so the intervention takes place at all times (weekends, night, vacation, holidays), and in the most natural environment.

You can be a loving and nurturing parent yet still set reasonable, predictable limits. First, learn what motivates your children's behaviors. B.F. Skinner's approach states that anyone can manipulate behavior by first identifying what the individual finds rewarding. Once the rewards of an individual are known, then those rewards can be selected to give in exchange for good behavior. Skinner calls this "Positive Reinforcement Psychology". In order to effectively address behavior problems, individuals must be persuaded (motivated) to want to behave appropriately.

Key Concepts

§  Behaviors serve a purpose for the child. Allow the child to get a need met. The behavior works to get something the child wants, or avoid/escape something the child does not want. 

§   Behavior is related to the context/environment in which it occurs. Something either IS in the environment, or IS NOT in the environment, which increases the likelihood the behavior will occur.

§  Changing behaviors requires both addressing the environmental issues, and teaching a functionally-equivalent behavior that the child can use to get the same need met, but in an acceptable way.

Principles

§  Behaviors are learned. They are the result of what we’ve learned in the past. With reinforcement they become a habit.

§  Learned behaviors continue in the present. They keep happening because they work in order to meet the child’s needs, and because of the way parents and children interact with each other.

§  Behaviors can be changed. Through reinforcement and extinction, new behaviors can be learned that can substitute the negative behaviors that we would like to see disappear, while at the same time, serving the same purpose more appropriately.

The goal of the Parent Training on Behavior Modification is to help parents help their child develop the kinds of behaviors they need to get along better in the world.

What is a Learning Disability?

I was recently asked this question and, after 20+ years in the field I found myself mumbling and struggling to give a coherent answer. So I went to do a little research and this is what I gathered:

The term “Learning Disability (LD)” was coined by Dr. Samuel Kirk in 1962. It is often referred as “hidden handicap” because there is no outward appearance of disability.

Interestingly, there is not a widely definition of “learning disability.” There is ongoing debate on the issue. Different definitions seem to agree on the following:

-        The learning disabled have difficulties with academic achievement.

-        The learning disabled show an uneven pattern of development.

-        Learning problems are not always due to environmental disadvantages.

-        Learning problems are not always due to mental retardation or emotional disturbance.

We can agree that the learning disabled child is one who is not functioning in school at average levels.

Little is currently known about the causes of LD. However, some general observations can be made:

-        Some children develop at a slower rate than others (maturational lag).

-        Some children with normal vision and hearing may misinterpret sights and sounds because of unexplained disorders of the nervous system.

-        Injuries before birth or in early childhood may account for some later learning problems.

-        Children born prematurely and those who had medical problems soon after birth sometimes present with learning disabilities.

-        Some learning disabilities may be inherited.

Early signs of LD:

Children with learning disabilities exhibit a wide range of symptoms including problems with reading, mathematics, comprehension, writing, etc. Hyperactivity and attention deficits are common within this population. 

When considering these symptoms it is important to be aware of the following:

·        No one will have all these symptoms.

·        All people have at least two or three of these problems to some degree.

LD children experience frustration, anxiety and tension. It is important to note that it is not their fault. These children are not just behaviorally challenging. So we need to be understanding and often make accommodations for them, such as teaching at a slower pace, taking them aside and work with them on a one-on-one basis, using special materials, such as visual schedules and reminders. Failure to do so may lead to lack of participation in the classroom (the child gives up before even trying), and behavioral problems such as non-compliance, acting out, eloping, and even aggression. Often, LD students get into trouble and do not know what they did wrong.

As a parent, if you suspect that your child has a learning disability you should:

1.      Take your child to the pediatrician for a complete physical examination.

2.      Contact the school and arrange for testing and evaluations. Federal law requires that public school districts provide special education and services to children who need them.

3.      Be informed about your rights and services available in the community.

What can parents do at home to foster success?

·        Rules and limits should be clearly outlined and implemented consistently.

·        All members of the family should help create a supportive environment.

·        Foster a non-competitive atmosphere.

·        Praise and reward positive behavior and focus on direction instead of perfection.

·        Make tasks short.

·        Prepare your child for unexpected changes in routines and new situations.

·        Prepare new situations for your child: lengths of time, environments, special accommodations, etc.

Remember that your child is more normal than different. Emphasize his strengths and abilities. And never forget that the LD child needs what all children need: love, acceptance, protection, discipline, and the freedom to grow and learn his way.

Daniel Adatto, BCBA

cadatto@tesidea.com