WCESCSOCIAL COMMUNICATION PROGRAM

MOLLY LEICHT CHRISTY EVEN

Writing Behavior Support Plans for Real

Implementation

Why don’t some behavior plans work?

Julie Donnelly, Ph.D. and Joan E. Armstrong, MS

Plan cannot be supported by the environment Lack of resources

No one is supervising the implementationVague communication with staffIndividuals implementing the plan are not involved in

the planningIndividuals have differing behavior philosophiesExpectation of immediate results Staff aren’t reinforced for their effortsAdministrators and other school staff aren’t educated

in plan.Expectations are too high

Important Components of Behavior Plans Designed for Implementation

AssessmentProactive InterventionsSkills to Teach (Replacement Behaviors)

Plan for ImplementationReinforcement systemCreation of supports

Difference between Behavior Plans and Crisis Plans

Behavior PlansTeachable momentsProactive

interventionsSkills to teachMost of plan

dedicated to when the student is in the ‘rumbling’ stage

AssessmentLong term

Crisis PlansStudent is in rageStudent is not able to

process or reasonNOT a time to teachFor safety of student,

staff and othersGoal is to de-escalate

studentCPIShort term

Assessment- Where to Begin?

AntecedentsConsequencesFunctionBaseline Data- Frequency, Interval, IntensityAnalyzing the data- team processAssessment is ongoingUnderlying characteristics

Case Study- Daniel

Observed BehaviorsPhysical aggression: hitting, kicking, bitingYelling and/or cryingRunning from area or adultThrowing objects (small and large)Cursing (hard to understand)Refusal to follow directionsExcitable state: flapping hands, jumping,

tensing body, giggling

Case Study- Daniel

Antecedents Change in schedule or perceived routineChange in environmental make-up of personnel or

studentsStressful or overwhelming social interactionsAnxiety brought about by fearful situations (wheelchairs,

etc.)Large transitions (e.g. arriving and departing from school)Breakdowns in communication due to articulation or lack

of language/word finding skillsLack of understanding of what and how much is expected

of himBeing told “no” or “stop” to a preferred activity or item.

Case Study- Daniel

Function of BehaviorAttention (most often)TangibleEscape due to transitionSensoryThe function of each behavior can be singular

or be maintained by several functions. The function of each behavior can change within the situation.

Proactive Interventions

Day to day interventionsUnderstanding the underlying

characteristicsDirect skills to teach (ex. calm down

strategies), but not related directly to behavior

Indirect skills to teach (ex. social skills), but not related directly to behavior

Good teaching strategiesShould be the largest section of behavior

plan

Case Study- Daniel

Proactive interventions Use of basic structured teaching principles (visual supports, physical

structure of classroom and materials, consistent routine communicated with visual schedules)

Plan for positive reinforcement- use of token board and verbal/social praise. Student picks ‘what he is working for’, tokens are placed on a board when positive

behaviors are displayed, when all the tokens are earned student engages in chosen activity or item

Student may also earn ‘special rewards’ for activities or situations that are particularly challenging.

Random reinforcement throughout the day (small items during group instruction, 1:1 work or transitions)

Use of timers or visual supports (tokens or schedules) to communicate how much work is expected and when it will be finished

Giving choices in regards to order of activities or type of activities Teaching and reinforcing independent work and play (ex. Play

independently for ____ minutes before receive reinforcement and/or preferred adult interaction)

Case Study-continued

Use of soft voice, whispering or singing especially during transitions.

Staff should not talk about student’s behavior in front of him. Development and maintenance of a sensory diet throughout

his day Current sensory regulation strategies include the following: Brushing protocol upon arrival to school and after afternoon recess Therapeutic Listening program 2x per day for 10 -20 minutes per session Swing in the “pouch” swing 3 x per day for 10 minutes each session with

or without music Chore in the afternoon to include heavy work: wipe tables/chairs, stack

chairs, sweep etc… Constant awareness of ‘rumbling’ stage (student becomes

quiet and eye gaze turns down) and use of redirection or other supports to thwart negative behavior

Case Study- continued

Based on data, a theory has been developed that Daniel chooses a person in his environment that becomes of special interest and increases Daniel’s anxiety/excitability. This can sometimes be the person that he perceives to be the ‘authority’. Intervention includes removal of interaction with this individual during the behavior (ignoring) and prompting strategies implemented by other staff to find appropriate times and ways to gain attention. See below for specific information about switching staff during a calm down break. See attached for specific prompting strategies to be used by staff.

Explanation of new or anxiety producing situations (social stories, visual supports, verbal explanations of other’s behavior)

Uses of demand fade procedure when behaviors occur during a work task. Demand is decreased to the last amount in which the student displayed no

behaviors. Demand is slowly increased as positive work behaviors are displayed. For example, the student was asked to do five tasks and showed behaviors on the second task. When student returns to work, he will only be asked to do two tasks before he receives a break. As positive behaviors are displayed, the amount of work expected is slowly increased.

Sometimes, use preferred activities to engage student in positive work behaviors.

Skills to Teach

Directly related to behaviorReplacement behaviorsUnderlying characteristicsExamples:

Social skills Waiting Tolerating ‘no’, ‘wait’, ‘later’ Teaching schedules (transitions)/change Scripts Self-calming

Case Study

Appropriate ways to gain attention (raise hand, tap on shoulder/arm, silent waving)

Calm down strategies (peanut butters- slow rubbing on legs, rubbing hands together, dots and squeezes, independent repetitive activities- puzzles, peg boards, sorting, etc.)

Teach Social Cognitive Thinking Skills which include: recognizing/identifying who is your group in order to identify who it is appropriate to have a conversation with, recognizing/identifying that Daniel may have to wait to have a conversation with a person and then identifying and stating when a more appropriate time will be

Reciprocal conversation skills- picking appropriate topics, expanding repertoire of topics

Teach recognition of internal state (two color system); recognize that he is anxious or worried

Teach recognition of being able to calm down on own or to take a break If Daniel tells anyone at school, “I love you.” prompt him to use appropriate

language to express his feelings.

Implementation

Creating procedures for the team to share and posting (cheat sheet)

Practice/Role PlayWorking documentCommunication with staffAdministration supportSupervision of plan

Staff response to Behavior

Different functions of behavior may require different responses from staff. Tangible

First/then; reminds of reward Escape

Staff works through behavior Attention

Staff ignores and redirects

Open discussion about differing behavior philosophies

Reinforcement System

Part of proactive interventionsMay be most important part of behavior planSelf-management strategies

Supports Needed

Creation of supportsEase of useDurableSimpleEveryone uses the same ‘script’Make sure supports are realistic with

the resources availableDoes not need to be ‘pretty’

Things to remember

Actionable Training staff

Realistic

Measurable