Adult Behavior

     There are times when adults see certain behavior in children that is puzzling. If we follow the premise that behavior is learned, then it goes without saying that some behavior is taught and others behavior is learned by observation. By observation, it is meant that learners view models and act in similar or exact ways. Additionally, how you as an adult respond to a child’s behavior will play a part in how they behave in the future. Keeping adult behavior in mind can go a long way in understanding and shaping the behavior of children.

                With this in mind, whether you are a parent or professional, if you are an adult, children will learn how to behave by observing how you behave. We are not merely talking about “role-models” that children see in their favorite actors or sports figures, we are talking about modeling in general. Many times, simply saying how certain behavior should occur is not enough -- we need to play the part as well. 

                Let’s take, for instance, vocal protest. A child is not born saying “No” and refusing to comply. They may see this behavior modeled by another peer, but they may also have learned it by observing adults. Maybe, a spouse asks their significant other to take out the garbage, and the significant other says “I’ll do it later,” and it never gets done. For children observing this, they may have just learned one strategy for getting out of non-preferred activities. 

                Another consideration for your behavior is how you consequate a child’s behavior. Under the behavior analytic model, we are far more concerned with what follows (the consequence) a particular behavior, rather than what comes before (the antecedent). There is an entire science (Applied Behavior Analysis) devoted to studying this Response-Consequence connection that is far beyond the scope of this post, but it is important to delve into topically. 

                For the same example of vocal protest illustrated above, if a child protests and gets out of the activity, the probability of them complying in the future is decreased. This goes almost without saying; however, if you become frustrated, or start nagging and pestering, you may have inadvertently shaped up escape behavior AND added an additional attention component (the nagging). 

The important thing to keep in mind with attention is that there are different types of attention. Some children, for whatever reason, may prefer negative attention because they know that what follows (the consequence) is avoiding the task at hand. Some children would rather spend 40 minutes tantruming and being yelled at than one minute complying.  If you remain calm and follow-through you will increase future success. Even if the episode has escalated into a tantrum, following through on even a small detail as it relates to the initial demand may increase future success for completion of the larger goal. 

                There is also a consideration for how adults behave even with children they do not know. If a child is flopping and screaming in the grocery store, and you are staring at the child and parent/caregiver, you have just become an audience member to that situation. Judgments aside, providing an audience for an acting out child may increase the intensity of their tantrum. Think of how you behave when you are being watched. If you are at work, and are doing something correct or efficiently, there may have been an instance where you increased your intensity to be noticed when your supervisor walks by. Examples like this are pertinent to compare and contrast adult and child behavior because they are similar in that there is a motivation component, only the observable behavior is different (tantruming vs. working). 

                A lot of how a child behaves is going to depend on the model you provide and your reactions in situations. If you can make activities fun and worthwhile, remain patient, and always remember to think about how your actions will affect a child’s behavior, you are already one step in the right direction for teaching appropriate behavior and squashing the inappropriate.  

                Lastly, and this may take some reminding, but you are the adult. Remembering to act like an adult, even in difficult, uncomfortable, or frustrating scenarios will have an impact on a child’s behavior. And this remains true whether or not you even know the child. 

Back to School Tips!

     Whether your child is first entering the school system, transitioning to a new school, or returning to familiar environment, there can be a lot of anxiety for both the child and caregiver. Here’s my list for making the school year start off right, and stay that way!

For Children:

-        - Start their routines a week or two in advance – if you know your child needs to wake up at 6 to get ready for school, start waking them at 6 in advance! Stick with consistent bedtimes and bedtime hygiene.

-         - Just like waking and rising, a consistent routine for meals, snacks, leisure, and bathing can also go a long way towards success

-        -  If your child uses a visual schedule, do not wait for day 1 to start using it. Have them be familiar with the schedule and the protocol for using it

-         - If you have social stories for your child, make sure they are familiar with the stories

-         - Make sure they are familiar with important locations – walk them to the bus stop and explain that this is where they will be picked up and dropped off

-        -  If they don’t already, let your child pick out their own outfits

-       -   Let them pick what they want for lunch/snack

-        -  Let your child navigate the school supply aisle, and pick what they want

-        -  Provide as much choice as possible in the home life and in getting ready for the school year/day. So much of our children’s days are dictated by adults.

-        -  Once school begins, make sure you are communicating positively and talking about their day.

-        -  Make sure their backpack is not too heavy or cumbersome – you want them to have everything they need, but if they can’t physically manage it, then it’s too much stuff

-        -  Allow them to voice their anxieties and concerns over the new school year – talking about this early on can help avoid potential barriers down the road

-        -  Let them take part in the IEP process – There are many ways to do this. Their contribution doesn’t always need to be vocal – have them make a PowerPoint about what they’d like to learn, their strengths, things they can work on, and things they like to do.

For Parents:

-         - Check your child’s backpack daily

-         - Have a school/home communication log: Even just a few sentences about successes and barriers both at home and at school can help with trouble-shooting and playing to strengths down the road

-         - Keep a binder with all of your child’s most up to date information. This may include a list of allergies, particular strengths, potential barriers, preferred foods/items/activities, IEP, and other supplemental information. Also, make sure that your contact information can be easily accessed if need be, and that there is emergency contact information as well.

-         - If your child takes medication, be sure to be in contact with the school nurse to discuss administration of the medication

-         - If your child uses augmentative and assistive communication, make a point to teachers that they need to have it at all times. Additionally, make sure that you as the parent are doing the same. These are your child’s words and voice!

-         - Be in contact with teachers early

-         - Tour the building with your child. Have them meet their teachers, show them key locations such as their classroom and bathroom, show them where the bus will pick them up, etc.

-         - Look over the IEP and any other materials (BIP, 504 plan, sensory diet, etc).  Make sure you feel comfortable with it and competent about what it means. If you have questions – ask them!

-         - If it seems necessary, write out a social story about waking up, getting ready, going to school, and expectations

-         - Make sure their backpack is stocked appropriately. This may include extra changes of clothing, extra snacks/drink, EPI-Pen, etc.

This list is not exhaustive, there are a lot of other ways to help your child prepare. You know your child best! Think about what you can do to make them the most successful member of their learning community they can be. Most of all, make school fun!

Good luck!

[If you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.]

Developmental Readiness and Learning

     I am not the parent of or an individual with developmental differences. Albeit, I did have fairly interfering ADHD as a child, and still have unmistakable ADD. It interfered with a lot of learning, and I am probably what would be considered a "late bloomer." I may be all the better for it, and I wouldn't change anything. Enough about me.

     I have recently been really into reading blogs authored by individuals with an ASD and parents of children with different abilities. Their stories are always heartwarming and, not surprisingly, always as "human" and empathetic as any of the other blogs I frequent. There is, however, a common stream I have been coming across about "patience" and "developmental readiness." The quality of patience and the understanding of developmental readiness is key for professionals who help treat children, especially young learners, with barriers. However, there is an additional argument that typically accompanies these opinions about avoiding early intervention. I cannot disagree more.

     The argument goes something like this, we need to respect developmental readiness and be patient and not try to "rush" along progress. Here is the enormous problem with this argument. Learners who present with developmental delays typically also have atypical learning histories. And the longer they "practice" the wrong thing, the harder it is to teach the right things. Forget teaching replacement, more socially valid behaviors to counteract, when we do not intervene early to teach these learners how to learn, we risk profound issues in the future.

     When we look at developmental milestones, there are definite learner readiness and listener responding skills that should be acquired by a certain age. When we do not directly teach them to individuals who lack them, a whole array of other barriers arise. If I present a learner with three toy hammers -- one red, one blue, and one yellow -- and ask "Give me the yellow hammer," and the learner hands me all of the hammers, this is a problem of discrimination that carriers over across environments, and social and academic tasks. When a 4 year old is still in diapers, his preschool-mates are going to notice the abnormality, and may avoid that child, thereby risking socialization issues. Additionally, social differences are already going to be present, so why exacerbate the issue by not teaching potty training, and getting the child out of diapers. There are multiple efficacious protocols for potty training -- some by way of aversive over-corrective, others positive practice, some both. Why does the child who is already clearly "different" need to be more ostracized by their peers? What service is it to respect their developmental readiness at a young age and risk their developmental inappropriateness later in life? What good is it to be patient while they are young, and risk not only abnormal, but deficient learning repertoires? And when that happens, some may ask, "Why isn't my child's school doing more to educate my child?" Unfortunately, sometimes, the answer is because the child does not know how to learn. I worked extensively with a high school Sophomore who was able to sit at a desk for <.1% of his academic day. And I did the math on this; frequency tally of out of seat and engaging in maladaptive behavior / amount of hours in IEP for academic instruction * 60 [minutes in an hour] = __%. It didn't matter how fully we accommodated and modified, how powerful the extrinsic motivators were, this learner did not know how to learn, because he did not know how to sit at a desk. And this is because he did not want to and because no one had taught him how to sit an receive instruction.

     We always want to meet learners where they're at. But as they fall behind crucial developmental milestones, we need to teach these skills in isolation. We are the adults and we need to make it better for them to be engaging with peers than hand-flapping. It needs to be more awesome to be on a swing with friends than spinning in a corner.

     The most motivating note I have to offer on all of this, is that we can teach skills to overcome barriers and deficiencies, and we have 40+ years of empirical evidence to prove that. Patience and respect for development is absolutely important, but it is hazardous to be cautious or hold back or think that we are "rushing" a child who has developmental and learning-based barriers, when we are actually creating future opportunities for a better, more positive development. 

Great news for ABA!

Happy Saturday!

Just received this email from ABAI:


'The Presidents of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA), and the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) met on December 11, 2011 to discuss how these organizations can best serve and advance the field of behavior analysis. The discussion covered the aims and efforts of the three organizations in approaching that overall goal, the relationships among the organizations, and the role each plays in our discipline. This constructive meeting reinforced the importance of cooperating to advance our field, and resulted in the following affirmation:
ABAI, APBA, and the BACB pledge to work together to support and advance the interests of the field of behavior analysis. We acknowledge the importance of each organization’s role, and agree to move forward in a cooperative and collegial manner.
Approved by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, March 7, 2012
Approved by the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts Board of Directors, March 15, 2012
Approved by the Executive Council of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, May 25, 2012'

At a recent meeting of IL-ABA there was some discussion on the split between ABAI and APBA, so I am glad to hear that some reconciliation is happening.

This is really going to go a long way in ensuring that the profession stays the cohesive and cutting edge.

Radio Interview

Here is a link to a recent radio interview I gave for The Inclusive Class on practical strategies for behavior supports for inclusion rooms and the home.

Enjoy!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-inclusive-class/2012/06/08/supporting-behavior-in-the-inclusive-class

Technology Disintegration

     Technological disintegration is when an augmentative communication device loses its efficacy and function to assist the user with communication. Sometimes, there is an unseen barrier when providing AAC interventions where we misunderstand what appears to be a lack of communicative intent for technology disintegration. 

     When a child is throwing their PECS book, rather than using it appropriately. When the Dynavox sits on the counter for days on end without being used. Imagine if you were unable to ask for water when you were very parched, or if you did not have the opportunity to ask to do a different task than the one you were currently engaged in. This is a major contributor to technological distintegration. A breakdown in the ability to use AAC devices to mand (request). A few things happen at this stage. The worst and most crucial, is that you give up asking. In turn, this destroys the motivation to want to ask in the first place, and then the child is in a vacuum, devoid of motivation to get needs met. Secondly, you continue to mand, but you do so through negative or dangerous non-vocal behavior to get your needs and wants met. Lastly, other possible AAC interventions become increasingly difficult to implement because of a suboptimal, previous history with other AAC. 

     One of the most unfortunate, yet most avoidable, causal factors of technology disintegration, especially with electronic AAC devices, is that they don’t get charged, or PECS books get left at home! AAC is not something we only use when we are in school, or are dinner time. Making the device available, and having the child learn that it is always available, is the first step in avoiding technology disintegration. The device should be with the child about at all times, just as we can call upon our vocal speech at any time to engage in a vocal, verbal episode. 

     The other thing about AAC is that there needs to be training for all parties involved in the intervention. It is not simple enough to place a bunch of pictures in front of a child and expect them to know what to do with them. Furthermore, it is not simple enough to assume that consistency across people and contexts are implemented. Of course, we want the child to be able to use their AAC with anyone, anywhere, at any time, but in the beginning, we need to make sure that all people are implementing the intervention the with the same techniques. It is not so much that everyone in the child’s life needs to have intensive training on working with the AAC device, but it is very important that all parties are consequating the device’s use in a similar way. So if mom requires a sentence strip for PECS (e.g. icon for “I,” icon for “want,” icon for item on a sentence strip and handed to her) but dad only requires the icon for the item, then we are reinforcing two different uses of the device. Sure the function is the same, but the intensity of the training waxes and wanes. Later on, this may be OK, but in the beginning, when teaching how to appropriately use the device, it’s important for everyone to be on the same page with what constitutes an appropriate mand and therein produces delivery of the item. 

     One major note to keep in mind, is that AAC devices are a child’s words. The child’s brother should not be playing with PECS icons, or listening to music on their friend’s iPad that is for communication. There is a certain amount of respect and care that needs to go into managing AAC devices. 

     Technology disintegration can occur for many reasons. Sometimes it may be that non-vocal communication has worked for so long, that why should I bother using this “new-fangled” thing. When we see technology disintegration setting in, it is time to intensify the training and usage of the device. It is, however, a balance between making the device functional vs. aversive. 

     As I always say, as teachers and parents, we need to know our kiddos inside and out, and create meaningful interventions and curriculum to supplement their deficits and accentuate their abilities.

Published!

My piece, Dignity, Function, & Choice: Ethical and practical considerations on best practices for educating learners with developmental delays, has appeared in the April 2012 edition of the National Association of Special Education Teachers The Practical Teacher series. Read it here!