Creating Effective Behavioral Intervention Plans for Aggressive

							      Creating Effective Behavioral
    Intervention Plans for Aggressive
                 Children



                    Trudie Hughes, Ph.D. University
                    of Minnesota – Duluth




Portions of this presentation was developed by Richard Van Acker, Ed.D. (University
          of Illinois – Chicago), Lynn Boreson (WDPI) and Tom Petterton (CESA 12)
     Characteristics of Aggressive
                Youth
   What is aggressive behavior?
    – Natural response for young children who have not
      learned how to control their bodies or their
      environment.
    – Environment and Genes contribute to aggressive
      behavior.
    – The issue is how anger, power and competitiveness is
      expressed by an individual child.
    – No single factor can predict who is likely to exhibit
      aggressive and violent behavior.
Aggressive behaviors include:
   Name calling               Pushing
   Gossiping                  Hitting
   Spreading rumors           Slapping
   Encouraging others to      Biting
    reject or exclude          Kicking
    someone                    Hair pulling
   Threatening or             Stabbing
    intimidating others
                               Shooting
   Malicious teasing or
    taunting                   Rape
                               Warning signs
Preschooler                         School aged                          Adolescent

Many tantrums in a day &            Difficulty paying attention and      Resists authority
cannot be calmed                    concentrating, disruptive in class

Aggressive outburst with no         Often gets into fights               Is not respectful of the feelings or
apparent reason                                                          rights of others
Excessively active, impulsive and   Is quick to anger, blame, and        Relies on power and aggression
fearless                            seek revenge                         to solve problems
Poor adherence to rules, low        Is preoccupied with aggression in    Does not do well in school, cuts
frustration tolerance               games and television                 classes, gets suspended or drops
                                                                         out
Fighting with peers and hitting     Is cruel or violent with pets        Becomes involved with gangs,
adults, engages in play with                                             possible involvement with
violent themes                                                           stealing or acts of vandalism

Does not seem attached to           Is often rejects by peers and        Uses alcohol and/or other
parents                             seeks out other aggressive           addictive substances
                                    children.


                            http://www.aboutourkids.org/aboutout/articles/aggrssion.html
       Things to Remember
 When behavior is a concern, no matter the
  disability, do a FBA.
 Behavior interventions are to be positive.
 Behavior interventions are to teach
  replacement skills not just to eliminate the
  behavior(s).
 Include interventions and/or Behavior
  Intervention Plan in the IEP.
 Follow and implement the IEP.
Behavior interventions/ Behavior
    plans required when:
 Students has behavior(s) that interfere with
  his learning or the learning of others.
 Conditional procedures are proposed.
 Behavior was a manifestation of the
  disability.
 FBA was completed.
 IEP team determines it is appropriate.
       BEHAVIOR SUPPORT
            PLANS
   Current & Proposed federal regulations –
    – IEP team to consider “strategies, including
      positive behavioral interventions, strategies,
      and supports” to address the behavior of a child
      whose behavior impeded his or her learning or
      that of others.
     FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR
    ASSESSMENT and the LAW
 Key   Federal Legislation
 1964 Civil Rights Act
 1965 Elementary & Secondary
  Education Act
 1973 Rehabilitation Act
 1975 Educational for All Handicapped
  Children Act
 1986 Part H added
    Key Provision in Minnesota
   “This Policy is intended to encourage the
    use of positive approaches to behavioral
    interventions. The objective of any
    behavioral intervention must be that pupils
    acquire appropriate behaviors and skills. It
    is critical that behavioral intervention
    programs focus on skill acquisition rather
    than merely behavior reduction or
    elimination.
           Key Provision con’t

   “Behavioral intervention policies, programs,
    or procedures must be designed to enable a
    pupil to benefit from an appropriate,
    individualized educational program as well
    as develop skills to enable them to function
    as independently as possible in their
    communities.” M.R.3525.0850
    FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR
        ASSESSMENT
 MN legal definition includes:
 “…process to gather information…”
 “…description of problem behaviors…”
 “…identification of events, times and
  situations that predict… the behavior…”
 “…identifies the antecedents, consequences
  and reinforcers that maintain the
  behavior…”
School response


 Typically recognized as bullying behavior
 Typically punitive & may be excessively
  harsh
 Typically not consistent in application
 Action of school may be defined by social-
  economic status of student
Manifestation Determination must
      be conducted when:
 A parent requests,
 Student is suspended for 5 or more
  consecutive days,
 Student is suspended for more than 10
  cumulative days in a school year,
 A removal for disciplinary reasons
  constitutes a change of placement,
 The district proposes to exclude or expel.
             MANIFESTATION
             DETERMINATION

   Must review student’s file, IEP, teacher
    observations and relevant information from
    the parents and then determine
    – If the behavior in question “was caused by, or
      had a direct and substantial relationship to, the
      child’s disability”
    – If the behavior was the “direct result” of the
      district’s failure to implement the IEP.
            Common Functions of
                      Behavior

 Attention
 Escape
 Power/control
 Tangible reward
 Peer affiliation
 Justice/revenge
 What typically happens when
        we intervene?

 Ittakes time to change
  behavior
 Behavior gets worse
  before it gets better
 Spontaneous recovery
 Low level behavior can
  escalate
           Purpose of a BIP
   A BIP is to spell out what behaviors are
    being targeted for change and how change
    will be handled
When do you need a BIP?

          A student with disabilities
           displays behavior that interferes
           with his/her learning or that of
           others (special factor)

          A student’s behavior results in a
           change of placement
    Base the BIP on a Functional
    Behavioral Assessment (FBA)
 Define target behavior
 Develop a hypothesis as to the function
  of the behavior
 Collect data (direct and indirectly)
 Validate the function and key context
  variables
   – Triangulate data
   – Data analysis
 Develop the BIP
      What is Functional Behavioral
              Assessment
   Process for gathering information that can
    be used to maximize the effectiveness and
    efficiency of behavioral supports
          Components of FBA
   1. A clear description of the problem behaviors
   Identification of events, times, and situations that
    predict occurrence and nonoccurrence of the
    behavior
   3. Identifies the antecedents, consequences and
    reinforcers that maintain the behavior
   4. Identify possible positive alternative behaviors
   5. Include a variety of data collections methods
   6. Development of hypotheses and summary
    statements regarding behavior patterns
Required elements for BIPs
   Description of previously tried
    interventions
   Clear definitions of targeted
    behavior
   Description of the interventions that
    will be used
   Measurable description of the
    behavior changes you expect to see
   Description of how the success of the
    interventions will be measured
   Evaluation plan – a schedule for
    when/how often the plan will be
    reviewed and how information will
    be shared with home and school
   Description of a crisis plan
    Behavior Intervention Plans...
   Support desired            Make the current
    alternatives that           undesired behavior
    allow student to meet       less effective in
    their needs                 meeting the student’s
   Focus on positive           need
    behavioral
    interventions,
    strategies and
    supports
Define observable behavior
 Look or sound like?
 Student says or does?
 How often?
 How intense?
 Danger level?
 What do you want
  instead?
Appropriate Consequences
               Nature of surface behavior
                has little to do with selecting
                an appropriate consequence
               The function of behavior
                should direct the
                consequences
               For example: Disruption of
                the lesson. What might be a
                typical responses?
        Peer Consequences

Be wary of
 consequences that
 group students w/
 challenging behaviors

Instructional & pro-
 social consequences
          Evaluating the BIP
   Systematic review

   Data collection

   Communication

   Criteria for success
    (long and short term)
   2 Components of a BIP

 Teaching    plan



 Crisis   plan
                    Teaching Plan
   Definitions
   Prevention
    – The best way to
    address undesirable behavior
    is to prevent it from happening in the first place!

   Intervention
    – Stopping the behavior once it starts but before it gets out of
      control
    – Timeout, in-school suspensions, response-cost

   Skill building
    –   Replacement or alternative behaviors
    –   Social skills
    –   General skills
    –   Problem solving
    –   Self management
              Crisis Plan: In an
               Emergency….

   De-escalate



   Protect
           Potential Potholes
   No plan

   No basis for plan

   Plan not followed

   No data on effectiveness
                 Annual Goals
     Reasonably be
      accomplished in 12
      months

     Observable and
      measurable outcomes
      to demonstrate
      progress

Example: Brenda will work independently and attend to a
given task during a 20-minute school activity with only 1
teacher prompt for 7 of 10 class sessions.
           Objectives/Benchmarks
                          (Minimum of 2 per goal)



                                                Include:
                                                 –   Identify learner
Example: Given 2 teacher prompts, Brenda
will begin working within 1 minute after         –   Identify target behavior
instructions are given and will work             -   Conditions
continuously for 8 minutes by the end of the
1st grading period.                              -   Identify criteria in
                                                     measurable terms
Given 2 teacher prompts, Brenda will begin
working within 45 seconds after                 Outcome
instructions are given and will work
continuously for 12 minutes by the end of        - Accuracy (be realistic)
the 2nd grading period.                          - Time allotted / time frame
 Try some…

 How will you identify   •   Self- esteem
  a need?                 •   Lack of organizational
                              skills
 Document current
                          •   Non-compliance
  level of functioning?
                          •   Anger management
 Develop a               •   Disrespect
  measurable goal & at    •   Stereotypic behavior
  least 2 measurable      •   Off-task
  obj./benchmarks?        •   Out of seat
                          •   Teasing & taunting
         Additional Resources
www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlsea/hmtopics.html
www.pbis.org
www.ttac.odu.edu
www.state.ky.us/agencies/behave/homepage.
 html
www.cecp.air.org
www.calstat.org/annotated_plan.pdf
        More Resources

www.disciplinehelp.com
www.BehaviorAdvisor.com

www.sopriswest.com
www.hes-inc.com