Strategies For Challenging Behavior Analysis

The Essential Conversation: what parents and teachers can learn from each other, written by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, focuses in on the “essential” discussion that occurs between parents and teachers when it comes to a child’s education and life while looking further into the hidden meanings behind this exchange. Lawrence-Lightfoot describes how often times the dialogue that occurs between parents and teachers has hidden undertones such as anxiety along with parental ghosts from the past along with several other trajectories that may impact how effectiveness of parent and teacher discussion/collaboration. The theme of Lawrence-Lightfoot’s book can best be summed up in a quote she shared about parent-teacher conferences; “Beneath the polite surface

Thank you for your considering my application to the Applied Behavior analysis program. For all of my life I have known that I was going to help people. It could be said that it is in my DNA. I just never suspected what the capacity would be. On December 15thI graduated from Albright college, I began working at Melmark on December 16th. My first thought, on that first day was “Oh no, I can’t do this, I need to quit” That was over two years ago, and I have gone to work every day, with a smile on my face. While working at my first position, out of college, I discovered my passion. My passion, I find, is working with children and adults with autism and with people who suffer from addiction. Watching the smiles on their faces, the determination when they work to complete a goal, and just the progress makes every hardship worth it, I love it. Each day, in my position as an ABA, I run behavior support plans, IEPs, teaching plans and other protocols, and each day I truly wish that I could have contributed to these plans, protocols, and IEPs. I ponder the recommendations that I could come up with, I wonder that if I had been able to participate in these conversations to create these plans could I have brought something else to the table, a different viewpoint. Affecting the way that the plans are written and in turn ran, I feel that I could make a big difference in the lives of the children and their families also. Every two weeks each child’s team meets to discuss his or her

This assignment will look at supporting positive behaviour. I will begin by looking at why consistency is important when dealing with behaviour and applying boundaries and rules. I will include some examples of these rules and boundaries in accordance with school policy and procedure

Good classroom and behaviour management is essential for a lesson to run smoothly. Knowing how to anticipate and manage problems will ensure that students spend maximum time on task, and those students who are eager to learn are

Baer, D. M., Wofl, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (2015, 11 5). Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis. Retrieved from ncbi.nlm.nih.gov: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13109980/pdf/jaba00083-0089.pdf

As an inclusion teacher, I am often tasked with growing students who have not achieved much success in the traditional classroom structure. Often times my students do not respond well to typical behavior management strategies. These students tend to be highly emotional and reactive in their responses to stimuli as opposed to working through those situations in a rational process.

During the placement I was able to spend time observing interactions between parents, children and staff. I witnessed many positive aspects in the schools approach to engaging parents and was particularly impressed by their open door policy for parents and the support provided to families in times of need by the learning mentors. As part of the admission process to the school, staff visit the parents and child at home and discuss the implementation of the home-school agreement (appendix 1.b). This agreement sets out the expectations of each of the parent, school and child in regard to their actions and attitude towards their time in school. This is often one of the first interactions teacher and parents have and Grayson (2011) suggests most teachers report these home visits to have a lasting positive effect on the child and parent-teacher relationship. During the school’s inspection in 2014 Ofsted identified relationships across the school and with parents as a key strength.

The School-Wide Positive Behavior Support or SW-PBIS program is designed to teach behavior expectations in the same manner as any core curriculum subject. The main idea for the SW-PBIS program is for the school to focus on three to five positive behavior expectations rather than telling the students what not to do in the school atmosphere. The expectations and routines are enforced school-wide in each classroom and in non-classroom areas with the matrices posted throughout the school. These expectations and routines are taught through lesson plans at the beginning of the year in setting specific locations, such as lining up properly in the hallway using a hula hoop to demonstrate proper body space distance. The program also emphasizes positive behaviors through a recognition system of praise. Instead of always concentrating on misbehavior staff rewards appropriate behaviors with some kind of incentive. The Carl Junction School district uses this program by implementing the bark bonus program when staff notices appropriate behaviors at specials, in hallways, in the lunchroom, etc. A staff member gives a student or the whole a class bark bonus, eventually when each class receives a specified amount that classroom is rewarded. As a whole, the classroom votes on which reward they want, such as a movie, bring stuffed animal/blanket, wear pajamas, or play electronics during class.

Conceptually consistent programs within behavior analysis are those programs that use the principles of operant learning theory. Sensory integration and mindfulness therapies are not conceptually consistent with the principles of behavior analysis.

The symbiotic relationship between teachers and parents is crucial to the educational success of a student. Parents must be involved with their child’s education through consistent attendance of IEP meetings and advocate for their child and their needs at school. Teachers can encourage parent involvement through, traveling notebooks home and note home programs which establish an open line of communication between teacher and parent. Parent-teacher conferences are a great way for teachers and parents to be involved in the success of the student's educational experience.

Applied Behavior Analysis analysts are required to know the steps that are needed and necessary for behavior modification. This type of modification requires a clear definition of the behavior needing modification (target behavior), how this will benefit the individual in need of the modification, a clear plan of modification, and consistent data gathering to determine the effectiveness of the proposed behavior modification plan. In order to achieve a successful modification plan, the ABA professional first needs to gather information about the individual either by direct or indirect means. The modification must always been in the best interest of the individual, or those closest to the individual, and it must be a functional modification that can be carried out in the absence of the analyst. The ABA professional needs to understand the needs of each client. In order to do this, the professional will have to assess the behavior, gather data, identify a target behavior, propose a hypothesis about an intervention, implement the modification program, gather more data about the effectiveness of the program, and report about the outcome.

(Miller, 2003 & Roffey, 2002 as cited by Porter, 2008). There are different strategies teachers can use to maintain effective communication with parents and build strong relationships once they have made communication. Keeping a parents trust is important in maintaining open lines of communication so they can discuss concerns relating to the child and solve issues promptly. Teachers can gain parents confidence by always respecting confidentiality and avoiding rumours. If a parent finds out that their child’s teacher breached confidentiality or is a known gossip, parents will find it difficult to confide in them with an issue regarding their child, particularly if it is of a personal nature. Parents are also more likely to approach their child’s teacher if they know they can discuss issues and reach a mutual agreement (Bender, 2005). Teacher-parent communication is all about showing trust and comfort with each other. Frequent communication between these two parties creates less tension, when an issue arises, allowing a constructive discussion to take place and reaching an agreement sooner without hostility.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is one of the most misunderstood methods of reinforcement. ABA also is referred to as ‘behavior modification’, which is the main contributor of the negative connotation with this method. ABA is the application of behavioral learning principles to change behavior (Woolfolk 256). Applied Behavior Analysis can be very successful in the classroom if done correctly. However, to begin this, one must study a student to decide what reinforcers will best work to modify the behavior.

Each situation is different and teachers should be aware of their body language, and use of language, so when speaking with parents their communication should be different when talking to parents than when they are chatting with friends. The first step is establishing a dialogue by approaching the parent first and making them feel welcome and relaxed, as parents may be resistant in making first contact, due to, a bad experience with teachers themselves, as children or bad experiences in other schools with other teachers (Miller, 2003 & Roffey, 2002 as cited by Porter, 2008). There are different strategies teachers can use to maintain effective communication with parents and build strong relationships once they have made communication. Keeping a parents trust is important in maintaining open lines of communication so they can discuss concerns relating to the child and solve issues promptly. Teachers can gain parents confidence by always respecting confidentiality and avoiding rumours. If a parent finds out that, their child’s teacher breached confidentiality or is a known gossip, parents will find it difficult to confide in them with an issue regarding their child, particularly if it is of a personal nature. Parents are also more likely to approach their child’s teacher if they know they can discuss issues and reach a mutual agreement (Bender, 2005). Teacher-parent

Successful communication is particularly crucial when forming supportive and respectful relationships with our students and their respective parents. During my practical experience I noticed a number of collaborative initiatives that were implemented