Comprehensive Intervention Plans

1
Comprehensive Intervention Plans

• Alan Siegel,
• Behavior Consultant
• Adapted from the Administrators Desk Reference
  by Randy Sprick

2
Introduction to the Process

• There are times when your actions do not lead to
  a positive change in a students behavior.
• Continuing problems will frustrate staff members,
  yourself, and will be discouraging to the
  student.
• This process helps us get out of the cycle of
  misbehavior and referral.

3
Introduction to the Process

• We need to systematically address the students
  misbehavior by looking at the big picture for the
  misbehavior.
• This process is not exclusively for overt,
  acting-out misbehavior, it can also be used for
  other behavioral and academic characteristics
  that put a student at risk of school failure.

4
Planning Questions for DealingWith a Severe or
Chronic Problem

• 1. Should other school personnel be involved? ?
  Yes ? No
• If Yes, collaborate with appropriate school
  personnel such as
• School Counselor
• School Psychologist
• Behavior Specialist
• Special Education Director
• 2. Is the problem beyond the expertise or
  responsibility of school personnel? ? Yes ?
  No
• If Yes, collaborate with appropriate agencies
  such as
• Physician or other public health agencies
• Law Enforcement
• Juvenile Justice
• Mental Health providers
• Child Protective Services
• 3. Do you have all of the necessary (and
  available) information to design a plan of action
  for helping the student? ? Yes ? No

5
When should other school personnel be involved?

• When a simple plan to meet basic needs or to use
  a reinforcement system is not enough.
• When it is apparent that you alone cannot be
  responsible for the plan.
• Remember that seeking a second opinion is not a
  sign of weakness or ignorance.

6
How do I determine if the problem is beyond the
expertise or responsibility of school personnel?

• Determine if the issues require some form of
  interagency collaboration. These may include
• Extreme poverty
• Neglect/abuse/domestic violence
• Abandonment
• Death
• Physical or mental illness

7
What do you do you when you determine that you do
not have all necessary information to design a
plan?

• Start by collecting the information that you can
  from parents/ guardians or other school personnel
  who are familiar with the student.
• Review the students records thoroughly.
• See if there have been plans implemented in the
  past that were successful.

8
What do you do you when you determine that you do
not have all necessary information to design a
plan?

• Observe the student in the problem setting. Be
  sure to note the time, description of the
  students behavior, and the behavior of the
  teacher or other personnel.
• This allows for
• An objective look at the behavior,
• Determining the amount of time the student is
  meaningfully engaged, and
• More easily seeing the relationship between the
  students behavior and the teachers interactions
  with the student

9
What do you do you when you determine that you do
not have all necessary information to design a
plan?

• Observation information provides data concerning
• Are the students basic needs being met?
• What type of reinforcement system may be best for
  the student?

10
What can you do if basic needs are not being met?

• Many times behavior is motivated by the need to
  obtain a basic human need.
• Fulfilling this need may be more effective in
  reducing undesirable behaviors than implementing
  a targeted implementation plan.

11
Nurturing (to be shown through actions and words
that one is cared about and has support)

• Type of Plan That May Help
• Pair the student with a nurturing adult who shows
  a special interest in the student.

12
Acknowledgment (to be shown that ones presence,
feelings, and thoughts are recognized)

• Type of Plan That May Help
• Ensure that the student gets frequent
  acknowledgment from adults.
• Ensure that the student receives more attention
  when behaving responsibly than when misbehaving.

13
Competence (to experience success when engaging
in ones work)

• Type of Plan That May Help
• Ensure the student is capable of being successful
  with assigned work.
• Arrange for modified instruction, special
  assistance, or special education if needed.

14
Attention (to frequently interact with others,
particularly adults)

• Type of Plan That May Help
• Ensure the student gets lots of attention from
  many different adults by targeting the student
  for special attention.
• Consider a school-based job that results in
  frequent adult interactions.

15
Belonging (to be part of something bigger than
oneself to be affiliated with something)

• Type of Plan That May Help
• Give the student a high-status school-based job
  that make shim proud to be a part of the school.
• Consider other ways to target the student for
  positive attention from others.

16
Purpose (to have goals, something to strive for)

• Type of Plan That May Help
• Work with the student, teacher, and parent to set
  mutual goals.
• Set up a reinforcement system to assist the
  student in achieving the goals.

17
Stimulation/Change (to have variety that keeps
daily life interesting, rather than feeling like
drudgery)

• Type of Plan That May Help
• Ensure that the student is engaged in appropriate
  instructional tasks.

18
How do you determine if the student needs a
highly structured reinforcement system?

• A structured reinforcement system (or behavior
  contract) can be an effective tool in increasing
  student motivation for behavior change.
• It must be designed to provide incentives that
  communicate When you do ____, you will get
  ____.
• It allows all parties to focus on a precise goal
  for the student.

19
How do you determine if the student needs a
highly structured reinforcement system?

• The five essential steps
• Identify the goal
• Design method for monitoring behaviors
• Identify a menu of rewards
• Determine the cost of each reward
• Specify the consequences for misbehavior

20
Step 1 Identify the goal what specific
behavior(s) will increase or decrease?

• Determine an overall goal that the teacher hopes
  student can achieve.
• Ex. To be more successful with work completion
  to be less hostile toward adults to be less
  aggressive
• Determine what the student must do or not do to
  demonstrate improvement.
• From the goal, determine what the specific and
  observable objective(s) will be as the system
  awards points and rewards for these.
• Ex. Responds calmly when corrected by the teacher

21
Step 1 Identify the goal what specific
behavior(s) will increase or decrease?

• Determine if the goal is to increase a positive
  behavior or decrease a negative behavior.
• In many instances, the goal will be to both
  increase a positive behavior and decrease a
  negative behavior.
• Ex. If the student has poor peer interactions,
  the goal may be to decrease negative interactions
  while increasing positive interactions.

22
Step 1 Identify the goal what specific
behavior(s) will increase or decrease?

• Determine when and where the student must
  demonstrate the desired behavior.
• Ex. If the problems occur mostly in the classroom
  setting, focus the attention on this setting. If
  the problems occur mostly in unstructured or
  transitional settings, then the focus should be
  in these settings.

23
Step 1 Identify the goal what specific
behavior(s) will increase or decrease?

• Note Limit the scope of the system. If a
  student has multiple problems try to select the
  one or two most critical issues.
• Taking on too much at one time will sabotage the
  system and make success unlikely to occur.
• Often when one or two behaviors improve, other
  behaviors will fall into place without a direct
  behavioral system.

24
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• There are many different ways to monitor
  behavior.
• Monitoring can be done by either the teacher or
  another adult or it can be done by the teacher
  and the student together.

25
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Counting positive behaviors
• This system simply counts each instance that the
  desired positive behavior is demonstrated.
• This system tends to encourage the student to
  practice the desired behavior frequently.
• As more desired behavior is demonstrated, the
  cost of rewards should also go up.
• Works best with students who are moderately to
  highly motivated to change their behavior.

26
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Count the reduction of negative behaviors within
  a specified time interval
• Helps students eliminate annoying, disruptive, or
  immature behaviors.
• While the goal is stated positively, the count is
  done by focusing on the absence of the
  misbehavior.
• Time intervals should be designed to capture the
  problem behavior accurately. Ideally set time
  time so that the student can reach at least 50
  success.

27
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Count negative and positive behavior
• Select this option when the student is expected
  to simultaneously increase a positive behavior
  and decrease a negative behavior.
• The goal is to reduce not eliminate a behavior.
• Points are earned on a ratio basis between the
  two competing behaviors.

28
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Rate a positive behavior
• Used when there is a range of acceptable
  behavior.
• Ex. Traci has difficulty with the speed of her
  transitions (she is too slow). Each transition
  is rated as Too Slow (-1 pt.) Too Fast (-1 pt.)
  Just Fine (1 pt.) or Energetic (2 pts.)
• Rewards are based on the number of points earned
  each day.

29
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Tracking the length of time a student engages in
  a behavior
• Duration is occasionally the preferred monitoring
  option for a student. (i.e., lengthy crying
  bouts).
• This method may assist the student in becoming
  more self-sufficient or to learn better
  self-control.
• A stop watch is a required piece of equipment.

30
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Tracking the length of time a student engages in
  a behavior
• Simply start the timer when the inappropriate
  behavior starts and stop it when the behavior
  ends. Restart as needed (remember not to reset
  the timer back to zero).
• Points are earned by the student for keeping the
  behavior below a particular threshold.
• This is a labor intensive method other methods
  may be more effective.

31
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Count a permanent product
• This is best used with work completion
  situations.
• The teacher counts the number of completed
  products or problems over a specified time.
• A percentage can be obtained by dividing the
  number of opportunities into the number of
  completed tasks.
• Initially set the target at a low level so that
  the student may experience success.

32
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Count a permanent product
• If the student rarely completes an assignment,
  avoid targeting the number of completions for a
  week or, in some cases, a day.
• It may be necessary to award points for each
  assignment as it is completed in order to get
  student participation.
• Gradually increase the criterion for earning
  points over time as the student gains competence
  and confidence.

33
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Count a permanent product
• Quality of work can also be addressed by this
  system. This is done by clearly making
  achievement of the criterion dependent on
  quantity and quality.
• Be very clear about the expectations for
  correctness and neatness (these must be based on
  what the student can do).
• Use an example of the students work as a model
  by which he/she is to gauge the quality of the
  work that is completed.

34
Step 2 Design a method for monitoring the
student behavior(s) and counting points

• Count a permanent product
• The criterion for neatness or correctness may be
  80, 90 or higher with opportunities to correct
  errors.
• Points should be awarded after all errors have
  been corrected and the neatness criterion has
  been met.
• This will reduce the chance that the student will
  rush through work to get it done.

35
Step 3 Identify a menu of possible rewards or
privileges

• Once the monitoring system has been laid out, the
  teacher and student should identify a menu of
  possible rewards and privileges.
• These rewards and privileges need to be tailored
  to the interests of the student. This is done
  buy observation of the student and his/her
  selection of
• Activities
• People
• Objects

36
Step 3 Identify a menu of possible rewards or
privileges

• Anything that appears to be enjoyable to the
  student is a potential reinforcer.
• Reinforcers should include both those that can be
  earned quickly and those that will take a little
  longer to obtain.
• Once a list has been brainstormed, remove items
  that may be inappropriate, too costly, or
  otherwise unrealistic.

37
Step 3 Identify a menu of possible rewards or
privileges

• The list of potential reinforcers is endless.
  Many do not require a monetary cost.
• Some potential rewards include
• A certificate signed by the principal
• A homework pass
• A call home for a good report
• Five extra minutes of free time
• Running errands
• Having a completed assignment posted
• Tutoring a younger student

38
Step 4 Determine how many points will be
required for the student to earn each reward or
privilege

• The level of student sophistication, amount and
  effort required of the student, and the value of
  the reinforcer are factors in determining how
  much each reinforcer costs.

39
Step 4 Determine how many points will be
required for the student to earn each reward or
privilege

• Guidelines for assigning cost may include
• Reinforcers must be initially available quickly
  they must be perceived as attainable. If too
  difficult to attain, the student may not try or
  may not be able to sustain their effort.
• A menu of reinforcers helps to keep student
  interest up as well. It may be necessary to
  create a graduated list of reinforcers from
  easiest to obtain to most difficult to obtain.

40
Step 4 Determine how many points will be
required for the student to earn each reward or
privilege

• Guidelines for assigning cost may include
• If a student shows no interest in reinforcers but
  requires immediate gratification, a reinforcement
  ladder may be employed. This allows the student
  to earn smaller reinforcement on the way to an
  ultimate goal.

41
EXAMPLE Reinforcement Ladder

• Pizza with the principal 100 pts
• Read to the kind. class 90 pts
• Line leader for day 80 pts
• Pick a prize 70 pts
• Run off papers 60 pts
• Certificate from principal 50 pts
• Line leader for the day 40 pts
• Pick a prize 30 pts
• Run off papers 20 pts
• Read to the kind. class 10 pts

42
Step 4 Determine how many points will be
required for the student to earn each reward or
privilege

• Guidelines for assigning cost may include
• Avoid systems that put time limits on what the
  student must do to earn reinforcement.
• Accumulating is more powerful than requiring a
  certain number of points be earned within a set
  time period.
• Reinforcement systems must have some type of
  forgiveness built in. One bad day or monitoring
  period should not overshadow efforts always give
  credit for the effort a student has made.

43
Step 5 Specify the consequences for misbehavior,
if necessary

• The final step is to determine whether the
  teacher will need to respond to misbehavior.
• When the goal is an increase in behavior, this
  step may not be needed.
• If, however, the goal is to reduce or eliminate a
  behavior the teacher may need to implement calm
  consequences.

44
Step 5 Specify the consequences for misbehavior,
if necessary

• There are four ways to respond to misbehavior
• Provide corrective feedback
• Ignore the behavior
• Implement classroom consequences
• Implement out-of-classroom consequences

45
Step 5 Specify the consequences for misbehavior,
if necessary

• If a student is unaware of misbehavior or does
  not know the behavior is inappropriate,
  corrective feedback is most appropriate.
• If the behavior does not interfere with teaching
  or other students learning, ignoring the
  misbehavior is best.

46
Step 5 Specify the consequences for misbehavior,
if necessary

• If misbehavior cannot be ignored, the teacher may
  implement a mild classroom consequence such as
  time owed, loss of a small portion of free time,
  etc.
• If the misbehavior is highly disruptive,
  physically dangerous, or involves outright
  insubordination, an out-of-the classroom
  consequence that has been identified in advance.

47
Step 5 Specify the consequences for misbehavior,
if necessary

• Finally, summarize the plan for the student
• Be sure to ask yourself the what if questions
  about the system to determine where the glitches
  exist.
• Frequent rehearsal can help solve these problems
  and allow for smooth program implementation.

48
In Conclusion.

• Have a game plan for how you will respond to
  student behaviors, both desirable and
  unacceptable.