Donelle Clements -PsychologistMaggie Rafferty – Teacher ED

Janneke Jobsis-Brown – Therapist ED

Training OverviewTraining Overview

• Defining Behavior

Functional Behavior Analysis• Antecedent• Behavior • Consequence

Strategies to Teaching Positive Behavior• Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Group Scenario Presentations

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Special Education EligibilityAutism Intellectually

Disabled (Formerly Mental Retardation)

Emotional Disturbance

An inability to use oral language for appropriate communication,a history of extreme withdrawal or relating to people

Inappropriately and continued impairment in social interaction from infancy through early childhood

An obsession to maintain sameness

Extreme preoccupation with objects or inappropriate use of objects or both

Extreme resistance to controls,

Peculiar motoric mannerisms and motility patterns, and/or

Self-stimulating, ritualistic behavior.

Significantly below average general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, which adversely affect the student’s educational performance.

Inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors,

Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers

Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances exhibited in several situations,

A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression, and/or

A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

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Focus On BehaviorFocus On BehaviorWe need to clearly define the behavior(s)

Identify the pro-social skill(s) we want to teach as a replacement behavior(s)

What happens immediately before the behavior occurs

How do we respond during and after the behavior has occurred

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BehaviorBehaviorHuman Behavior

Behavior is LEARNED

Therefore…

New behaviors can be taught

Old behaviors can be unlearned

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Functions of BehaviorFunctions of BehaviorFUNCTION

The reason why problematic behavior continues to occur

SOCIAL FUNCTIONEnvironmental events that maintain behavior

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Functions of BehaviorFunctions of Behavior Demand (Avoidance/Escape)

Attention (Positive and/or Negative)

Tangible (Access to Rewards)

Automatic Reinforcement (Alone)

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Operant ConditioningOperant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is a process by which humans and animals learn to behave in such a way as to obtain rewards and avoid punishments.

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Three-term Contingency

ANTECEDENTS BEHAVIOR CONSEQUENCES

What happened immediately preceding the behavior

What happened immediately after the behavior

ABC DataABC Data Antecedent

Events or interactions that happen before the behavior occurs: immediate or delayed/internal or external

BehaviorThe behavior or sequence of behavior which

occurred

ConsequenceEvents/interactions which happen after the

behavior: what one gets and what one avoids04/19/23 12

Eliminate the cue for the problem behavior

Provide cues for alternative acceptable behavior

Reinforce the good behavior

Do not reinforce the bad behavior

Increase the response effort for the problem

behavior

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Antecedent Control MeasuresAntecedent Control Measures

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Antecedent Control MeasuresAntecedent Control Measures

1. Modify the environment to increase the consistency and predictability of expectations

2. Schedules

3. Maximize opportunities for choice and control

4. Clear, concise expectations

5. Modify curriculum/expectations to maximize independent success

Antecedent TechniquesAntecedent TechniquesCueing ProceduresObtain attention first

State cue/direction using only a few words known to be within client’s repertoire

Wait for client to respond-- avoid repetitive verbal cues

Monitor cooperation

Praise/reinforce cooperation04/19/23 16

ReinforcementReinforcementWhat is reinforcement?

A consequence that follows a behavior and increases the rate or frequency of that behavior occurring again in the future.

Everything we do provides some form of reinforcement.

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Four Types of ReinforcementPositive

Negative

Punishment

Extinction

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Positive ReinforcementPositive Reinforcement Give something to increase desired behavior

Positive reinforcers are something like rewards, or things we will generally work to get. Specifically, we can say that positive reinforcement has occurred when three conditions have been met:

1. A consequence is presented dependent on a behavior.2. The behavior becomes more likely to occur.

3. The behavior becomes more likely to occur because and only because

the consequence is presented dependent on the behavior.

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Positive Reinforcement ExampleA teacher rewards her students with a free

homework pass if they score an A on their test.

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Negative ReinforcementRemove negative stimulus and positive

behavior increases.

Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior is reinforced by removal of a stimulus.

Negative reinforcement is not a form of punishment. Negative reinforcement is a form of reinforcement. It increases the frequency or probability of a behavior by "taking away something bad.”

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Negative Reinforcement ExampleExample: Your teacher said you could skip the

final exam by studying an extra chapter and taking a quiz on it. You might study an extra chapter (your studying behavior would be made more frequent) because of the promise of an unpleasant stimulus being removed (no final exam).

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PunishmentPunishment is when an aversive stimulus is added as a

consequence for unwanted behavior.

Weakens a behavior because a negative condition is introduced or experienced as a consequence of the behavior.

May teach what not to do, but not what to do

May punish the child, but may not actually reduce the behavior in the natural environment

Extremely negative to students with low self esteem.

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Punishment ExampleAbe is being disruptive in class and refuses to

sit in his seat quietly so his teacher karate chops Abe in the face.

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ExtinctionExtinction of operant behavior involves the

termination of the reinforcement contingency that maintains the response

Ignoring undesirable behavior and withholding reinforcement.

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Extinction (cont.)Extinction (cont.)Extinction Burst

TantrumTemporary increase in behavior after it has

been put on extinction.

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Extinction ExamplePeggy does not raise her hand and wait to be called on at

circle time. Instead, she shouts out the answer. By the fourth day of school, the teacher decides to use extinction to stop Peg’s shouting. The teacher will not respond when Peggy shouts instead calling on those with their hands in the air and reinforcing those complying. When Peggy shouts, the teacher ignores her. When the teacher’s reinforcement stops, Peggy shouts louder and pushes here way to the front of the circle. When the teacher continues to ignore her, Peggy physically moves the teacher’s head to look at her. The teacher gently moves Peggy aside and out of her view. Peggy has a full-blown temper tantrum. The teacher ignores Peg’s tantrum and moves her own chair to another section of the circle so that all of the students are looking at the teacher with their backs to Peggy

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Finding ReinforcersObserve the child’s preferencesProvide non-contingent accessPair yourself with reinforcementAnalyze reinforcer preferencesPair existing reinforcers with other

reinforcersExpand the use of the reinforcerConduct reinforcer assessments dailyIdentify A, B, and C reinforcers

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Types of ReinforcersTypes of ReinforcersSocial

Activity

Token/Symbolic

Tangible

Edible/Drink

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Increasing the Effectiveness of Increasing the Effectiveness of ReinforcementReinforcement

Contingency

Immediacy

Power

Schedule or Timing of Reinforcement

Deprivation vs. Satiation

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Building Behavioral Building Behavioral MomentumMomentum“Layering” Of Reinforcement Immediately

Throughout The Day

End Of Day

Throughout The Week

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Reward vs. BribeReward : The return for performance of a

desired behavior; positive reinforcement.

Bribe: Something, such as money or a favor, offered or given to a person in a position of trust to influence that person’s views or conduct.

Rewards should always be pre-established and not given in exchange for a student promise to act better afterwards.

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A Simple ExampleA Simple Example (cont.)Reinforcement

Immediate Call on child when hand is raised, specific praise

Throughout the day Stars on chart for raising hand to get attention or Sticker on chart after classes in which hand raising

happens, specific praise

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A Simple ExampleA Simple Example (cont.)Reinforcement (cont.)

Throughout/End of day Activity reward/privilege for earning a specific

number of stars

End of week Bigger activity reward for having a “good week”

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Be ConsistentBe ConsistentIn which behaviors/skills we are reinforcing

In providing reinforcement regularly across the day Predetermined schedule

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Set Reasonable ObjectivesSet Reasonable ObjectivesStart at a lower level to ensure success

Slowly raise the expectation as the learner progresses

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““Cash In” FrequentlyCash In” FrequentlyAt least daily for older learners

Multiple times per day for younger learners

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Reductive ProceduresReductive ProceduresResponse Cost

Time Out from Positive Reinforcement

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Response CostResponse CostA reductive consequence that involves a loss

of a specific reward or a specific amount of a reward

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Increasing the Effectiveness of Response Increasing the Effectiveness of Response CostCostMust be a predictable reinforcement system

Identify (in advance) the behaviors which will result in the loss of reinforcement

Identify (in advance) the reinforcers or amount of reinforcement which will be lost

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Response Cost Response Cost (cont.)Provide no more than one warning

Reduce conversation when using response cost

Do not escalate consequences or get involved in an argument with the learner

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Response Cost Response Cost (cont.)Do not remove reinforcers until they have

been earned

If using points or tokens-never go below “zero”

Be consistent over timeacross settingsacross adults

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Time Out From Time Out From Positive ReinforcementPositive ReinforcementFirst Question

Is it?

Time away from positive reinforcement or

Escape from the activity

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Time Out From Time Out From Positive Reinforcement Positive Reinforcement (cont.)Second Question

Is there a better way to manage this behavior?

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Time OutTime OutContingent loss of access to reinforcement

Should result in a decrease in the behavior which led to time out

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Important Aspects Of Time Important Aspects Of Time OutOutDiscrepancy between “time in” in the

natural setting and “time out” setting

The “time in” environment must be more reinforcing

Consider environmental enrichment or increased reinforcement

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Time Out Time Out (cont.)We assure that time out is appropriate for the

learner’s age or developmental level and addresses the identified function of the behavior

We have a consistent “exit criterion”Learner learns what s/he must do to leave time

out

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Questions to ask yourself

What is the function of the behavior? What do I want ____ to do instead of ____ing? What do I do when he/she is not ___ing? How do I react when he/she is ____ing? If the function is escape/avoidance, why does

he/she want toavoid this task?NoncomplianceNot enough pairing of reinforcementTask is too easy or too hardActivities are not engaging or motivatingTransition from preferred to non-preferred

activityWhat replacement skills does

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