Interventions

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Interventions

• Susan Van Camp

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• Interventions
• Whole-Class Approaches
• Instructional and Task Antecedents
• Social Antecedents
• Antecedents in Specific Settings
• Interventions that Address the Consequences of
  Behavior

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• Interventions that Address Antecedents
• Whole-Class Approaches
• Class rules Concise, clear and appropriate,
  limit to five, and frame positive
• How directions are given Clear, concise, and
  brief firm, neutral voice, eye contact, minimize
  distractions
• Explaining Assignments Get entire class
  attention
• Getting Class Attention Planned seating and
  countdowns
• Managing Transitions Clear communication and
  announcement about next activity 10, 5, and 2
  minutes in advance to help students prepare,
  reminders about rules

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Interventions that Address Antecedents Instructio
nal and Task Antecedents

• Content and Process -
• When content is perceived as useful and relevant,
  academic engagement improves (ex teach
  percentages by using football stats.
• Hands-on activities
• Strengths/Interests play a crucial role in
  modifications that will sustain motivation and
  build confidence and competence
• Directions for Academic Tasks
• Visual prompts
• Physical proximity to the child when giving
  directions
• Individual help to get the child started
• Pre-teach the student prior to giving
  assignment to class

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Interventions that Address Antecedents Instructio
nal and Task Antecedents

• Task Complexity/Frustration
• Provide access to models
• Provide frequent recognition and encouragement
• Resource teachers can develop prompts and guides
  for use in general class
• Shorten length of assignments to make success
  more likely
• Pace of Presentation
• Be attentive to a possible mismatch between
  presentation rate and students tempo
• Give the quick-tempo child an early start, or
  help the slower processor to have extra time

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Interventions that Address Antecedents Instructio
nal and Task Antecedents

• Scheduling, Variety, and Choice of Academic Tasks
• Lower-than-normal threshold for boredom Prompt
  students to take short breaks, give a walking
  around assignment to collect materials
• Variety Diversity can stimulate interest.
  Consider schedule and routine modifications.
• Vary activities
• Alternate response methods (discussion, oral,
  written)
• Choice Research suggests reduced problem
  behaviors when given choice of tasks
• Let students select order in which they do their
  work

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Interventions that Address Antecedents Instructio
nal and Task Antecedents

• Improving the Likelihood of Correct Responding by
  Modifying Questions
• Strategies that increase the ratio of correct to
  incorrect responses have been shown to result in
  increased persistence and engagement
• Directing easier questions to the student
• Providing prompts that steer student toward right
  answer
• Asking student to confirm if another students
  answer was right
• Praising the students level of participation
• Facilitating Transitions by Starting with Work
  Well Within Students Competence
• Students who react strongly to frustration may
  benefit from starting off with work that is easy
  and re-establishes a sense of confidence

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• Interventions that Address Antecedents
• Social Antecedents
• Teacher Instructions/Requests Some children may
  need prompting/preparation when behavior problems
  follow teacher requests
• Give 10 and 5 minute warnings about a change to
  come to help students regulate strong reactions
  with preparation
• Include frequent reminders about behavioral
  expectations of an activity
• Frame instructions in positive terms

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Interventions that Address Antecedents Social
Antecedents

• Denied Something by Adult
• Couple the no message with redirection to
  another activity
• If a child has to wait in turn for something,
  make process easier by having children pick slips
  of paper with numbers showing their turn
• A chance to make a choice ahead of time or have
  adult guidance. Some children become
  over-aroused and disorganized, others may
  overreact to frustration
• Change in Routine Causes Loss of a Preferred
  Activity
• Coping with disappointment is frequently a major
  challenge for children. Put a positive spin on
  unexpected change
• Older kids can be encourage to think of ways that
  the change in plan is in some way beneficial

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Interventions that Address Antecedents Social
Antecedents

• Peer Provocations
• Many students who experience problems with
  behavioral self-control are highly over reactive
• Separate students who bring out the worst in each
  other
• Group consequences can be powerful since they
  diminish the incentive for confrontations
• Just ignore them is not realistic Praise the
  victim child for his or her self-control. Then
  intervene with the provocateur
• Have a child develop a quieter signal to get
  adult attention quickly to deal with her or her
  upset

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Interventions that Address Antecedents Social
Antecedents

• Peer Rejection and Conflict
• Develop improved social skills in negotiation and
  compromise
• Children with behavior problems need to be
  coached to display appropriate sportsmanship
  behavior
• Provide more structured interactions
• Provide extra adult guidance and attention to
  children who are vulnerable to peer conflict or
  rejection
• Ending an Interaction or Activity
• If a student becomes disruptive when adult
  attention is withdrawn, give child additional
  instruction or encouragement and check back on
  child in a few minutes

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• Interventions that Address Antecedents
• Antecedents in Specific Settings - Use frequent
  reminders of expectations and rewards
• Recess and Lunch
• Engage the child in more highly supervised
  activities
• Have the child seated near an adult
• Transitions/Leaving Preferred Activities
• Give plenty of warning and countdown time
• Give the child a desirable job related to
  activity
• Bus
• Consider separate reserved seats for children
  with conduct difficulties
• Simple behavioral programs with clear
  consequences for appropriate and inappropriate
  bus behavior
• Having to Wait
• Give students small assignment to do
• Give the child a watch and make him the time
  keeper

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Interventions that Address the Consequences of
Behavior

• Whole-Class Approaches
• Design of Reinforcement-Based Programs
• When Problem Behavior Gets Attention
• When Problem Behavior Helps to Avoid or Escape
• When Problem Behavior Gains a Tangible Reinforcer
• When Problem Behavior Seeks to Communicate

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Interventions that Address the Consequences of
Behavior

• Whole-Class Approaches
• How Teacher Gives Corrective Feedback, or
  Reprimands
• Delivered immediately and given privately
• Be in close proximity and use a clear, firm tone
  of voice
• Avoid adding emotional content (Your talking is
  driving me crazy.)
• Avoid statements of encouragement that are really
  reprimands. Dont say Come on, I know you can
  do it. Do say, Get back to work.

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Interventions that Address the Consequences of
BehaviorWhole Class Approaches

• Public Recognition
• Weekly awards ceremony can be a strong motivator
  for younger children using ribbons, stickers and
  buttons
• Lotteries
• Select an important behavior to address and each
  time a student displays it, he or she has his
  name entered. At the end of the day, one or
  several names are picked and prizes are given.
• Simple Token Economies
• A grid is designed using students names, and the
  columns show a few important behaviors. Points
  are earned and lost for positive and problem
  behaviors, respectively

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Interventions that Address the Consequences of
BehaviorWhole-Class Approaches

• Group Consequences
• Divide the class in two or three teams who can
  earn privileges by, for example, getting work
  finished or participating actively. Teams that
  meet a specific criterion earn a reward
• Whole class behavioral goal. To reduce out of
  seat behavior, a teacher starts off every week
  with 100 marbles in a jar, removing a marble for
  each time a child left his/her seat without
  permission. If the number does not fall below a
  certain number, the class would earn a privilege

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Interventions that Address the Consequences of
Behavior

• Design of Reinforcement-Based Programs
• Behavior Target Selection Replacement (Serves
  the Same Function) and Goal Behaviors (Reflect
  improvements)
• Establishment of a Monitoring System Provides
  information for each major activity for about
  four behaviors
• Consequences to Promote Behavior Change
• Noticing and praising positive behaviors
  immediately
• SEVEN positive feedbacks to EVERY ONE negative
• Formal rewards Establish a baseline and then
  set criteria for reward 25 to 33 higher
• Rewards and incentives must be meaningful to
  child
• Daily and weekly rewards are more effective

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Interventions that Address the Consequences of
Behavior

• When Problem Behavior Gets Attention
• Replacement Behavior to get attention in more
  positive ways
• Increasing Likelihood of Replacement Behavior
  reward system should provide reinforcement
• Withdrawing Attention Planned ignoring and
  Timeout
• Giving Attention in Advance to Prevent Problem
  Behavior Providing student with individual
  attention at the beginning/end of day

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Interventions that Address the Consequences of
Behavior

• When Problem Behavior Helps to Avoid or Escape
• Replacement Behavior Can reflect effort and
  participation such as points for participation,
  using support tools or seeking help appropriately
• Making Replacement Behavior More Likely
  Contract with the student for small increased
  participation and work completion, and reward
  completion
• Reducing Payoff for Avoidance-Motivated Problem
  Behavior It may be appropriate to let a child
  escape completion of activity. This fulfills
  the childs needs not to be overwhelmed too soon
• Allowing the Child to Avoid Something A
  temporary solution to break the cycle of negative
  behaviors the child may have used for avoidance
  is to exclude the child

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Interventions that Address the Consequences of
Behavior

• When Problem Behavior Gains a Tangible Reinforcer
• Replacement Behavior Emphasizes ways to get the
  desired activity more adaptively, and tolerate
  delay by using praise and rewards
• Reducing Payoff for Inappropriate Behavior
  Break linkage between problem behavior and reward
  by being clear that the problem behavior will not
  result in payoffs
• Free Access Linkage between problem behavior
  and tangible item can be broken by permitting
  free access, particularly if a comparatively
  minor problem will solve itself

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Interventions that Address the Consequences of
Behavior

• When Problem Behaviors Seek to Communicate
• Adults have to be patient and praise students for
  talking about their feelings, particularly those
  with language problems
• Talking rather than reacting behaviorally can be
  a major goal in many IBPs
• Teachers can help by doing an emotional
  check-up with those children who bottle things
  up How was recess?