Why Does This Kid Behave Like This and What Am I Supposed to Do

About It?

Presented by Martie FoxEducational Consultant, The Kelberman Center

Oneonta City School District9/27/12

Objectives

• Gain an understanding that all behavior is a form of communication

• Gain an awareness that some of the related factors that might factor impact student behavior

• Learn ways in which your behaviors may be impacting student behaviors

Typical Problem Behaviors

• Poor interpersonal skills• Swearing• Argumentative• “Attitude”• Little or no effort• Demanding “sameness”• Self Injury• Inappropriate Emotional

Affect

• Low frustration Tolerance• Aggression• Failure to Comply• Flicking, flapping• Substance Abuse• Odd Rituals• Resisting Assistance• Rude Comments• Noises

Functions of Behavior

Seek Attention Positive or Negative

Avoid or Escape Task, Person or Setting

Access Tangible Obtain desired object

Seek Sensory Stimulation Flap, spin, touch

What Might Impact These Functions?

Developmental DisabilitiesNeurological Deficits

Poor Communication SkillsSocial/Emotional Baggage

Medical IssuesLearning Disabilities

ADHD, Asperger's, NVLD, Tourette’sMental Illness

Culture of Generational PovertySkill, Motivation, Performance Deficits

Skills Deficits

• Students may never have acquired the necessary skills to behave according to societal norms

• Acting out may be the only means they know to get their needs met

• As skills improve……– Ability to communicate and have needs met

improves– Inappropriate behaviors decrease

Executive Function Skills

• Difficulty shifting from one mindset to another• Difficulty with time and sequencing• Disorganization• Difficulty initiating tasks• Difficulty considering the likely consequences of

one’s actions (impulsive)• Difficulty considering solutions that have worked

previously• Difficulty remaining calm enough to think

Language Processing Skills

• Difficulty expressing thoughts in words• Appears not to have understood what was

said• Requires significant time before responding to

questions• Difficulty categorizing and labeling emotions• Difficulty communicating needs or problems• Poor language based problem-solving skills

Emotional Regulation Skills

• Cranky, grouchy, grumpy, irritable• Fatigued, low energy• Anxious, nervous, worried

Cognitive Flexibility/Adaptability

• Concrete, black-and-white, literal thinking and problem-solving

• Insistence on sticking with rules, routines• Difficulty shifting from original thought or

idea; possibly perseverative• Preference for predictability; does poorly with

unpredictability, uncertainty, ambiguity• Seems oblivious to situational factors that

would require adjustment in plan of action

Social Skills

• Difficulty attending to appropriate social cues/appreciating social nuance

• Inaccurate interpretation of social cues• Poor repertoire of social responses• Poor sense of how one’s behavior is affecting

others• Poor or inaccurate self-perception• Inability to acknowledge or appreciate another’s

perspective

Skill vs. Chronological Age

If it looks like 2 year old behavior…..They may never have acquired/mastered the

skills to move on to 3 year old behavior

The Good News Skills can be directly taught

Tip: Start where they are, not where they “should” be

Other Common Deficits

Performance Motivation Deficit Deficit

Has mastered the skill Has mastered the in isolation, but can’t skill across settings,reliably perform across but isn’t motivatedsettings to perform

Deficits can increase

ANXIETY

Anxiety From What?

Experiencing life as a…… series of random events.

The student remains in a heightened state of tension and alertness, not knowing what

might happen next.

Common PDD Traits That Exacerbate the Problem

• Difficulty relaying and/or interpreting events accurately• Difficulty adapting to change• Limited ability to self soothe• Limited expressive language to tell us what they are

thinking & feeling• Inappropriate affect may cause adults to misread

intent• Limited receptive language skills to make sense of the

words spoken to them• Limited ability to read non-verbals may cause student

to misinterpret adult’s intent

Life as a Series of Random Events• Imagine that you’re the rat in a “shock box”, a

walled-in floor with a center line dividing the two halves.– When shocked, you will move across the center line

of the box to the other side. You’re certainly “on edge” and wary after this event, but your coping strategies allow you to escape punishment and continue functioning well.

– Now imagine that an electrical shock is suddenly and periodically administered to your new side. Sometimes you can escape to the other side of the box. At other times, the other side is also electrified.

What Might Happen

Develop odd ritualsWithdraw just like some rats that give up trying to figure out the system, we might lie down, and endure the pain

Strike out because we’re tense, afraid, and unsure of intentions…especially when persons react differently at different times

Rats & Other Mammals (Like Us)

• “Odd” reactions are best understood as an expression of the “fight-or-flight” dynamic in the face of a threatening situation (real or imagined).

• Inconsistent environments create confusion and anxiety which lead to:– Agitation– Aggression– Ritualistic behavior & other ways to withdraw from

the “real world”.

• Unlike typically developing youth, our students’ brains are unable to:• Organize the world effectively• Learn quickly from experiences• Recognize repeating patterns in life

• Life seems uncertain & unpredictable• Unstructured environments, and adults who are

“emotionally unpredictable”, add to students’ problems with organization.

• Stress develops from being unsure of what will happen next & defenses against the building anxiety are employed.

Theory of Mindtaking misinterpretation to the next level

If I knew I wanted to be on the red team then you should have known I wanted to be on the red team

And, since you didn’t put me on the red team…….

you must have purposefully intended to disregard me

How doesOUR behavior

impact communication and behavior

?

Read My Face, My Tone, My Lips

Facial Expression + Tone of Voice + Words (55%) (38%) (7%)

Blah, blah, blah

1STRESSFUL INCIDENT

2STUDENT’S FEELINGS

3STUDENT’S

OBSERVABLE BEHAVIOR

4ADULT/PEER

REACTION

Student’s ATTITUDE affects student’s behavior

Student’s BEHAVIOR affects teacher’s attitude

Teacher’s ATTITUDE affects teacher’s behavior

Teacher’s BEHAVIOR affects student’s attitude

The Conflict Cycle

Behavioral Strategies that Enhance Communication

Isolate the youth and conversationdemonstrates respect and decreases sensory stimuli

Explore the youth’s perspective: What do you think just happened? Model problem solving using words

Utilize Reflective ListeningSummarize his/her feelings for him/her; be calm, assertive, respectful.

It sounds like what you are saying is…

Connect the behavior to feelingsHow did that make you feel?

Discuss alternative optionsWhat else can you do if you feel this way again?

Prepare the student to reenter the ongoing activity and/or setting

Preview what will happen next

Social Autopsy

• What just happened?• What was the social error?• What do you need to do right now to correct

the error?• What do you need to do differently next time?• ROLE PLAY

General Strategies• Meet them where they are instead of where you think they

should be• Teach as opposed to tell• Think, what would motivate my student to comply• Directly Teach the Obvious

This is especially important for social skills acquisition• TALK LESS – demonstrating more• Allow extra time for processing• Provide choices but control option: this or that, now or

later• Don’t tell them what they can’t do without telling them

what they can do• Utilize reflective listening

• Frequently and consistently deliver logical consequences and rewards

• Use self monitoring and tie it to rewardsOn a scale of 1-10, how do you think you did?10 points might equal ten tickets, 10 GI Joe men, etc.

• Preview upcoming activities and discuss/remind what the expectation look like

• Show examples of the finished product so they can understand the expectations

• Use hurdle to help to get them started• Be honest and specific with praise• Proximity, proximity, proximity

We all want the same thing:Respect

Caring TO BE HEARD

Someone who will speak calmly and use a kind and moderate tone

Someone with a good sense of humor

FOR OTHERS TO BE IN A GOOD MOOD

How we define a behavior determines how we react to the behavior

Keep an Open Mind

The End