Positive Behavioral Supports

Susan G. Izeman, PhD, BCBA

Todd Kellogg, MA, LMFT

Greenwich Autism Program

Presentation for

SPEDNET, November 15, 2007

By the end of the workshop, you will:

• Understand the philosophy of PBS

• Know the basic framework of a PBS approach

• Know what questions to ask when faced with problem behaviors

• Have a general idea of what your immediate and long term steps will be

Positive Strategies

• Non-aversive

• Proactive

• Based on data

• Builds competence and skills

PBS Assumes….

• Behaviors are functional; they serve a purpose

• Functional assessment lets us figure out that purpose and design an intervention

• Child needs to learn replacement skills

• We may need to make changes in social, home and school settings

Goals of PBS• Make problem behavior less effective,

less efficient, and less relevant, and make desired behavior more functional.

• Use proactive strategies to define, teach, and support appropriate student behaviors

• Create positive school environments

School-Wide Behavioral Supports

Levels of PBIS

• Primary Strategies – school-wide, creates positive environment – schedules, layout, types of learning, how people talk to each other – helps approx. 80%

• Secondary Strategies – classroom or small groups – helps another 15%

• Tertiary Strategies – for individual children who need more support

Functional AssessmentOn all 3 Levels of Intervention

• Define Behavior

• Measure Behavior

• Prioritize

• Assess Functions

• Assess Reinforcers

• Develop a Plan

Defining Behavior (Both problem behaviors and target behaviors)

• Operationalize

• Observable

• Measurable

• Everyone agrees

Measuring Behavior

• Frequency - how often?

• Duration - how long?

• Scatter plot – in what activities or times of day?

• A-B-C – under what conditions?

Prioritize

• Do we need an intervention?

• Typical development

• Is it serious?

• Personal preferences

Intervene if the behavior…

• Is life-threatening• Is a health risk• Interferes with

learning• May become serious

in the near future• Is dangerous to

others• Is of great concern to

caregivers

• Is getting worse• Has been a problem

for some time• Damages materials• Interferes with

community acceptance

• Intervention might improve other behaviors

Assessment Methods

• Intuition

• Interview

• Rating Scale (MAS)

• Record Review

• Observation (ABC)

• Scatter Plot

A-B-CThe Three Part Contingency

A

PromptsVerbal

Gestural

Picture

Physical

B

Response Clearly defined

All team members agree

C

ConsequencesReinforcers

Correction

Other considerations

Triggers for Problem Behavior

Long Term

(or distant in time)• Biological Contexts• Social Contexts• Physical contexts

Immediate• Asked to do

something• Wants something he

can’t have• Difficult task• Less attention

Why’d He Do That?!(understanding functions of behavior)

•

•

•

•

Takeaway Point

No one ever misbehaves (or behaves well) for no reason.There’s always a reason.

We may not have figured it out yetBut, if we can figure out the “why” we may be able to solve the problem

Functions

Most problem behavior serves one of these functions:

Social Attention Escape/Avoid Tangibles Sensory Feedback

Preventing problem behaviors from occurring

• The focus of PBS is changing the problem context, not the problem behavior.

• Paradox: The best time to intervene on problem behavior is when the behavior is not occurring. Intervention is to take place in the absence of problem behavior so that the behavior can be prevented from occurring again.

Prevention of Problem Behaviors

Primary: A continuum of procedures• Posted Rules with visuals written in a positive format• Limited use of “No…”• Sufficient Supervision: Targeted areas and times of day

Secondary: Small and Targeted Groups• Problem Solving and Coping Skills Groups

• Lunch provided from children with limited funds

• Students having access or social worker/counselor

Tertiary: • Individualized, FBA, Environmental Modifications

What should he or she do instead?

•

•

•

•

•

Teaching new skills

• Easy to do

• Efficient in getting what the child wants

• Serves the same function for the child

• Makes problem behavior less necessary

• More age –appropriate Takeaway Point

“Sit still, be quiet, and do nothing” is not a behavior goal.

The best success comes when the child has something else to do.

Teaching Positive BehaviorPrimary: Introducing and modeling

• Teaching a small number of positively stated expectations for all students and staff: Be Safe; Respect Others; etc.

• School-wide pep rallies on positive behavior every quarter• Grade-wide talk on more specific positive behaviors; modeling by

adults during assembly and student volunteers every month

Secondary: Small and Targeted Groups• Home-room instruction of specific positive behavior / skills

(i.e., Offering help, Asking someone new to play, sit at your lunch table, Compromising during recess, etc.) every week

• Lunch Bunch and Social Skills (class-wide and groups)• Mentor System with volunteer staff or older students from

upper grades, high-school

Tertiary: • Individualized, Teach Replacement Skills / Behaviors,

Environmental Modifications

Reinforcement StrategiesPrimary:

• Quarterly recognition during Positive Behavior Pep Rally

Secondary:• Monthly recognition during grade-wide assembly • Weekly recognition of positive behavior at the home-room

level and incidentally during class and non-class time (hallway, bus, recess)

Tertiary: • Individualized, Reinforcement Assessment

Social reinforcers and tangibles: Certificates/Awards; Gift certificates from local merchants; Dinner over at the principle’s

house with a group of friends, etc

Components of a Behavior Plan

N e ga tive C on seq u en cesW h at com es a fte r th e "b a d" be h av io r?

U n d es ire d B e ha v io r

P o s itive C o n se q u en cesW h at co m es a fte r th e "g oo d" b eh a vio r?

N e w (D es ire d B e h a v io r)

A n te ce d en tsW h at com e s b e fo re?

S e ttin g E ve n ts

Consequence StrategiesPrimary

• Research has shown that the implementation of punishment, especially when it is used inconsistently and in the absence of other positive strategies, is ineffective.

• Natural Consequences; Teachable Moment; Response Cost

Secondary• Time-out may only work when “Time-in” is working

Tertiary• Emergency procedures to ensure safety and rapid de-

escalation of severe episodes (this is required when the target behavior is dangerous to the student or others)

• Crisis Management vs. Punishment

Takeaway PointWarning: Punishment reinforces the adult(s)

Data

• How will you know it’s working?• Decide ahead of time how you will measure• Your end-of-the-day judgment may not be

accurate• Data lets you report to friends, colleagues,

supervisors, and parents about what’s working

• Data lets you know what’s not working

Keep in Mind• Prevent problems when you can• Know what the target (positive) behavior is• Reward good behavior• Behavior change is a process – know what

the in-between steps will be• Team process

Takeaway PointWhen problem behavior disrupts learning, what are my

immediate strategies?What are my longer term strategies: Start the PBS

process.