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23 comments:
Human behavior is so complex and I have to admit that I have always thought that human psychology was a questionable science. However, as we learn more about how to conduct a functional behavior assessment, I find myself noticing more often the reason (function) for the behavior of those around me. It’s interesting that if we apply a systematic method of observation and analysis, then it is possible to determine the function of a behavior and use very subtle methods to change that behavior, without the individual even knowing that we are doing it!! Maybe I can apply it to my neighbors and their horrible dog…
Dr. Alvarado,
My question is regarding homework assignment #2. The child that I am conducting my project on is in an early intervention program. Do the forms that must accompany homework 2 (FAA and PBIP) pertain to students in early intervention? I am confused as to how I would go about filling out those two forms. Is anyone else doing their project on a student in an early intervention program? How did you go about completing those additional forms? Thank you for your help!
Can anyone help me to see if I am on the right track with homework 2? Thank you so much...I really appreciate it!
Current levels of performance
Problem behavior
Topography: ______ pinches using all five fingers, varying in intensity from a light squeeze to a squeeze and twisting of the skin or clothing, all staff members and other students in her class.
Rate: according to my observations, ______ pinches an average of 7 times per hour.
Replacement behavior
______ does not demonstrate a replacement behavior for the pinching. The anticipated replacement behavior was to verbally request a break.
Long term goal
By March 2008 ______ will request a 30 second break from instruction when she becomes frustrated with a task or an error correction as needed throughout daily academic instruction while decreasing the pinching of staff and students to an an average of 1 time per hour.
Short term objectives
By July 2007, when given the opportunity to engage in academic instruction, _____ will verbally request a break when she becomes frustrated with a task or an error correction on 4/5 daily opportunities for 3/5 school days while decreasing pinching to no more than 5 times per hour as measured by teacher logs.
By November 2007, when given the opportunity to engage in academic instruction, _____ will verbally request a 30 second break when she becomes frustrated with a task or an error correction on 4/5 daily opportunities for 3 consecutive school days while decreasing pinching to no more than 3 times per hour as measured by teacher logs.
In response to s krusona:
I agree that human bahavior is very complex. Because behavior is often times puzzling due to its complex nature many educators look for easy, fast solutions. These quick fixes, however, cause more harm than good! Conducting functional behavior assessment in the classroom is the first step in making sense out of why behaviors occur and in developing a plan to change the course of the behavior. Most of my students have Behavior Intervention Plans. It's always important to conduct ongoing assessment after a BIP is in place due to the complexity of human behavior. The function of the behavior may change, the antecedents, consequences, setting events, etc. When this happens the original BIP will need to be revised. My question is.. are there any behaviors that cannot be explained, that are caused by some internal stimuli and unknown to observers? For instance self-injurious behavior. How do you develop a behavior plan for these behaviors
if the student cannot communicate?
Sarah P -
Your info looks pretty good to me...in fact you helped me to remember to include the rate of my student's replacement behavior in current levels of performance. Thanks! The only thing that I can see that you might be missing in your goals is the "when given the opportunity to engage..." and the "how measured" in your long-term goal (you have it in your short-term objectives). Hope that helps :)
Melodie,
I am also having problems filling out all the parts of the forms. What I am going to fill out all of the parts of the form that I understand and make sense for my student. I am going to leave the rest blank until I get more direction. Can anyone give specific instructions on how we are supposed to fill out these forms or, better yet, an example?? If I get anymore information, I will repost....
In response to Tonette, I have filled out the forms to the best of my ability. What sections are you having problems with?
Here is an example of my behavior goal. Could someone let me know if i'm on the right track? Thanks
By March 2008 student will appropriately ask for assistance i.e "I need help" an avg. of 8 times in a 1.5hr.period when given a new or difficult task/request while decreasing his non-compliant behavior to an avg. of 30sec. on 4 out of 5 occassions over 4 consecutive school days as measured by teacher latency data sheets.
Objective 1:
By June 2007 student will appropriately ask for assistance i.e "I need help" an avg. of 2 times in a 1.5hr.period when given a new or difficult task/request while decreasing his non-compliant behavior to an avg. of 2min. on 4 out of 5 occassions over 4 consecutive school days as measured by teacher latency data sheets.
Objective 2:
By November 2007 student will appropriately ask for assistance i.e "I need help" an avg. of 4 times in a 1.5hr.period when given a new or difficult task/request while decreasing his non-compliant behavior to an avg. of 1 min. on 4 out of 5 occassions over 4 consecutive school days as measured by teacher latency data sheets.
I have a question: how much should we be willing to alter antecedents? For example, I posted before about how my student does not like to work at the green rotation center in his classroom. Without fail, every time he is to transition to that area of the room he has a behavior problem (sometimes only throwing his pencil box to the floor, but also hitting). I think the behaviors could be completely avoided if he did the same work in a different location in the classroom, but then he isn't a part of the class in the same way the rest of his peers are. So, in an effort to decrease/eliminate his hitting behavior how much should the antecedents be altered before he is seen as isolated/separate from his class?
In response to Kameron, I wonder if you sat the child in proximity to the green table, but not at it, if he would work more appropriately. That way, he is not isolated from him peers, but the antecedent has been removed. The more comfertable the student gets, the closer you can move him to the table until, hopefully, he can sit there one day without the behaviors.
The forms for HW 2 are required for ALL students...even those in early intervention programs. The FAA summary is putting in one page, all of the data you have collected to this point.
Some items may not be applicable for ECSE, but then again, some items on the forms for HW 1 were not applicable either.
Those of you in ECSE, you have to look at the form and see how it might apply for infants and toddlers...sometimes, it will, sometime it won't.
On the FA Report form, all of you will need to mark the behavior as "Other permavise/maladaptive."
Hope this helps,
Dr. A
Here is an example of my student who is exhibiting an off task behavior and is prompt dependent --I believe that this is right?
Current Level of Performance
During a typical 3-hour school lesson/task, Jon is off task for an average of 27.8 minutes. Each time he is off task he either is playing with objects (i.e. markers, sticker chart), wandering around the classroom (i.e. go to get toys from his backpack), writing on tables, sometimes throwing objects (i.e. pencil box), not waiting his turn in an activity, invading space of his peers (i.e. knocking them with his backpack, touching their desk, taking their belongings, not standing in his correct spot in line and pushing the other children out of his way) and making noises/talking during instruction for an average duration of 4.96 minutes. This behavior is exhibited at a rate of 1.86 times per hour and needs an average of 3 prompts until he is on task. Jon engages in verbally communicating his wants/needs an average rate of 3.46 times per hour.
Long-term Goal
Jon will verbally communicate his needs/wants an average of 6 times per hour while engaging in off task behavior at an average rate of no more than 0.5 times per hour with each off task episode lasting no more than 1.5 minutes in duration with 0 prompts, 4 out of 5 days per week, as measured in the observation log.
Short-term Objective #1
When given a teacher-assigned task, Jon will verbally communicate his needs/wants rather than going off task, so that he communicates 4 times per hour while engaging in off task behaviors at an average rate of 1.5 times per hour with each off task episode lasting no more 3.5 minutes in duration with only 2 prompts until he is on task, 4 out of 5 days per week, as measured in the observation log.
Short-term Objective #2
When given a teacher-assigned task, Jon will verbally communicate his needs/wants rather than going off task, so that he communicates 5 times per hour while engaging in off task behaviors at an average rate of 1 time per hour with each off task episode lasting no more 2.5 minutes in duration with only 1 prompt until he is on task, 4 out of 5 days per week, as measured in the observation log.
OK, so here are my goals. I'm not 100%, but I hope they're OK
B. Long-Term Goal:
Within one year, given the opportunity to participate in instructional, group, and work time, Fred will access adult and peer attention by requesting to share a joke or funny story an average of 1.5 times in an 1 hour period while decreasing his animal noise behavior to an average 1 time per 2 hour time period, 4 of 5 opportunities, as measured by teacher observation log.
C. Short-Term Objectives
1) Within four months, given the opportunity to participate in instructional, group, and work time, Fred will access adult and peer attention by requesting to share a joke or funny story an average of 1 time in a 2 hour period while decreasing his animal noise behavior to an average 2 time per 3 hour time period, 4 of 5 opportunities, as measured by teacher observation log.
2) Within eight months, given the opportunity to participate in instructional, group, and work time, Fred will access adult and peer attention by requesting to share a joke or funny story an average of 1 time in a 1 hour period while decreasing his animal noise behavior to an average 1 time per 1 hour time period, 4 of 5 opportunities, as measured by teacher observation log.
Like Sarah stated above, I to find myself paying more attention to behaviors and analyzing the possible functions of behaviors. I have discovered that many people work best when given a set routine, if some unseen event occurs (the function), then a behavior follows and that behavior allows the individual to cope with the change in events.
Kameron, I would try altering the antecedents enough to find out exactly what the issue is with the green center and then determine a plan of action. Is it the work? Other students? Can you have him complete one task at green and then go somewhere else to complete it?
Given the time and sufficient staff, I would be willing to go pretty far to make a student feel successful. Getting work done in an alternative setting will probably do help the student blend in with peers more than hitting them. Once he is getting the work done somewhere else he can be slowly transitioned to the green center.
I was having trouble placing a number of times my student should be "appropriately" seeking attention. Currently he is displaying a very high rate of attention seeking behavior (yelling out-aprox 32 times an hour). I was not sure I wanted to put a number on how many times I wanted him to use his replacement behavior (hand raising). I was unsure if I wanted to say "______ will raise his hand 20 times an hour in order to recieve adult attention and decrease his yelling out in class to 10 times an hour". Since the hand raising would be for attention it would seem to depend on how the student was feeling at that moment and I didn't feel it was appropriate to put a number on how many times he should seek attention in an hour. So....what i decided to do, and by no means do I know if this will work, is to write my goals and objectives in terms of percentage of time the student sought attenion appropriately (hand raising) vs using his problem behavior (yelling out).
After reading many of the comments, there really seems to be a connection with this class and child development. I know for many of us that just seems like common sense, I know. It was just something that has begun to stand out to me, more and more as the progression of this class. The purpose of behavior, can't really be understoodm, let alone assessed or changed if you don't know the why or the basic development of a child. Which in turn, you understand the behaviors and actions of people, and even dogs as Sarah suggested. This class is allowing me to put the knowledge I have gained, from child development and put it into practice.
The problem I am currently having with my student is that he is not consistent on when his behavior occurs. It typically happens when he perceives the task to be too difficult, however lately the behavior is not occuring at all. I guess that is a good thing, but frustrating at the same time. You never really know what to expect from the student.
At least with the student I have talked about in class, I know that when I give her a math lesson, she will begin to have an episode.
Through all of this I have learned that a lot of my FAA student's behaviors come from the attitude he comes to school with and whether or not he is given any warnings based on the class behavior system that is in place before he starts his academic work.
Shayla
I think you could definitely take data on opportunity and occurrence for hand raising. Sometimes I have tracked the appropriate behavior and inappropriate behavior together. I wish I could draw the form on here, but basically, I have 2 rows, one for the inappropriate behavior and one for the replacement behavior. Then, one column is for total number of opportunities of either behavior (because the child has the opportunity to either raise his hand or yell out), and then the next column is divided by rows so I tally mark each time the positive or negative behavior occurred.
I am sure that makes no sense...but if you saw it, it would!!
Regardless, I completely agree that opportunity data would be better than rate data because what if no opportunities are there for him to raise his hand, or for whatever reason, he does not raise his hand the entire class session.
As I just re-read through your post, I realized you had put "frequency of time" but I hope what I just explained was what you meant. If not, consider this, because a percentage of the amount of time the child raises his hand will be difficult, but a % of the number of occurrences out of opportunities, would be easier.
Good luck!!
Elizabeth
Can anyone look at my goals and objectives to make sure I got the wording right. . . my problem behavior is measured by duration and my replacement behavior is measured by rate I put a time with my rate and I wasn't sure if that is right or not.
Long term goal: Within one year ___ will engage in crawling, barking or licking behaviors for less then 1 minute during a teacher assigned task per week as measured by a duration recording form. ___ will verbally request a one minute break from a teacher in the classroom when he feels he needs time during a teacher assigned task. He will ask no more then one time per week as measured by an event frequency data sheet.
Objective one: By July of 2007, when given the opportunity to engage in a teacher assigned task, ___ will verbally request a break 2 times per day for up to 5 minutes in 3/4 consecutive days per week as measured by an event frequency data sheet. ___ will decrease his behavior of barking, licking and crawling in the classroom for a total average duration of 2 times per week no more then 4.5 minutes in 3/4 consecutive days per week as measured by a duration recording form.
Objective two:
By November 2007, when given the opportunity to engage in a teacher assigned task, ___ will verbally request a break 2 times per day for up to 4 minutes in 2/4 consecutive days per week as measured by an event frequency data sheet. ___ will decrease his behavior of barking, licking, and crawling in the classroom for a total average duration of 2 minutes in 2/4 consecutive days per week as measured by a duration recording form.
discussion closed
After observing my student I have found that he works best in a very quite environment with no other distractions or other students, it must be completely clear of peers. Anyone have any suggestions. In math class he sits directly infront of the teacher, the teacher sits in front of him for almost the entire period yet he is still off-task for about 20 minutes during the period. When he is in Resource he sits in a room all by himself and it is only in this class that he stays on task and does his work. Does anyone have any ideas or should I just suggest that the only way for this student to learn is solitary confinement...
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