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Title: Mental Health in the Classroom: Strategies for working with individual children with behavior or lea


1
Mental Health in the Classroom Strategies for
working with individual children with behavior or
learning problems
Sarah Levin Allen, M.S.Clinical Psychology
Doctoral CandidateConcentration Pediatric
Neuropsychology
Kimberly Hoffman, M.S. Clinical Psychology
Doctoral Candidate
Christina Riggs Romaine, M.S. Clinical
Psychology Doctoral Candidate
2
Overview
  • Principles of Behavior
  • Applying principles of Behavior
  • Behavioral Problems
  • Avoiding Problems
  • Dealing with Problems
  • Setting up a student for success
  • Accommodations for learning and attention problems

3
1-2-3s of Behavioral Theory
  • 1. Most behavior is learned
  • 2. Behavior can be triggered by events that
    happen before the behavior
  • 3. The chances of a behavior being repeated in
    the future depend on what happens after the
    behavior

4
The A-B-Cs of Behavior(Three-term Contingency)
A - B - C
ANTECEDENTS What occurs before the behavior
BEHAVIOR Observable and Measurable
CONSEQUENCES What occurs after the behavior
5
Behaviors
  • Specify the Behaviors that you want to see
    increased or decreased
  • Completing assignments
  • Talking to friends
  • Leaving the classroom without permission
  • Be very specific and clear!

6
Antecedents What comes before?
  • Asked to do something they dont like or is too
    hard or too easy (e.g., sit quietly)
  • Asked to stop doing something they do like (e.g.,
    turn off computer)
  • Told no, wait, later for things they want
    to do (e.g., you cant leave class until you
    finish)
  • Ignored (e.g., teacher helping other students)
  • Feels bad (e.g., bored, hungry)

7
Consequences What comes after?
  • Reinforcement Increases future behavior
  • Positive Reinforcement
  • Give something that makes them happy
  • Negative Reinforcement
  • Take away something (that is disliked) to make
    them happy

8
Consequences What comes after?
  • Punishment Decreases future behavior
  • Positive Punishment
  • Give something that makes them unhappy
  • Negative Punishment
  • Take away something (that is liked) to make them
    unhappy

9
How do you know if a consequences is a reinforcer
or punisher?
  • Look at its effect on the behavior!
  • Something that is a reinforcer for one student
    may be a punisher for another
  • Here are some common consequences that reinforce
    problem behavior

10
Examples of Consequences that Reinforce
Problematic Behaviors
11
What now?
  • We use the behavior principles of reinforcement
    and punishment
  • To look at what is maintaining current behavior
  • To look at how we can modify the behavior
  • We call this behavior modification
  • So now that we know what the behavior is and
    whats causing it, what do we do about it?

12
Behavior Modification
  • Shaping student behavior intentionally through
    reinforcement
  • Successive Approximation
  • Behavior-shaping progression in which behavior
    comes closer and closer to a preset goal.
  • Extinction
  • Behaviors that are not reinforced soon disappear!

13
Applying Behavior Principles
  • Example
  • A girl in your class will only complete her work
    when you sit with her 11.

14
Applying Behavior PrinciplesStep 1.
  • Antecedents
  • Confused, intimidated, bored
  • Consequences
  • Positive Reinforcement
  • ATTENTION!
  • Negative Reinforcement
  • Avoids working alone and experiencing uncertainty

15
Applying Behavior PrinciplesStep 2.
  • Reward Working Independently
  • Use Successive Approximations to develop new
    behaviors
  • Include her in the plan
  • Consider introducing a tangible reinforcement.

16
Providing Reinforcers (Rewards)
  • Good Reinforcers are
  • Immediate Tangible
  • Desired items or activities
  • Get Creative! (erasing the board, passing out
    papers, running errands to the office,
    re-arranging their desks, choosing who they sit
    next to for one day)
  • Let them choose items from a Menu.

17
Tips for Identifying and Delivering Reinforcers
  • Identify what the student likes dislikes
  • Open What would you like to work for?
  • Specific How would you like to work for
    stickers?
  • Choice Would you rather work for things to eat
    or do?
  • Rank Put these items/activities in order from
    which youd like to work for most to which youd
    like to work for least.
  • Deliver immediately following the target response
  • Be consistent!

18
Types of Classroom Contingencies
  • Class-wide Group Contingencies
  • The class gets extra recess time on the
    playground if every student stays in his/her seat
    the whole class.
  • Individually-based Group Contingencies
  • Each student who remains in his / her seat for
    entire period receives extra time on the
    playground
  • Can include bonus minutes if earned by the entire
    class
  • Small Group Contingencies
  • The class is divided into groups each group
    earns
  • points for staying in seat the group with
    the most
  • points wins extra time on playground at
    recess

19
Point SystemToken Economy
  • Provides
  • schedule for rewards.
  • varied, personal rewards.
  • group rewards.
  • a way to invoke fines.
  • Earning Tokens Back

20
Implementing Group Contingencies
  • 1. Clearly define target behaviors
  • 2. Collect data to determine frequency of target
    behavior
  • 3. Determine which type of group contingency you
    will use
  • 4. Define criterion for performance - set goals!
  • 5. Include students in the process - investment
    in goal better performance
  • 6. Make sure all students can achieve goals
  • 7. Identify reinforcers - use preference
    assessments
  • 8. Explain contingencies
  • 9. Implement
  • 10. Evaluate

21
Behavior ProblemsAvoiding the Problem
  • Give positive Attention
  • Praise Frequently and Immediately
  • No Take-Away Praise
  • Tell kids what they SHOULD do.
  • Be specific!!
  • Have laid-out rules and consequences
  • Intervene before it escalates
  • Give choices
  • Frame it positively

22
Behavior ProblemsDealing with the Problem
  • Refuse to engage in arguments
  • Kids are not small adults
  • Fall back on established rules- Follow Through!
  • Model calm behavior and good listening
  • Offer a way out
  • Make a positive request

23
  • Setting up a student for success
  • Accommodations for attention problems and
    general recommendations

24
Attention problems leading to problem behaviors
  • The antecedent of the disruption may be
    attention problems!
  • A child is fidgety and cant stop moving around
    causing disruptions
  • A child cannot maintain attention on tasks
    leading to disruptive behaviors

25
Attention Problems What can you do?
Environmental Changes
  • Placement in the least distracting location (i.e.
    closest to the teacher)
  • Make sure any material not absolutely necessary
    to the task is removed from the desk
  • Tolerate mild fidgeting or standing at the desk
    if possible
  • Ask these children to run errands for you

26
Attention Problems What can you do?
Environmental Changes
  • These children do best in highly structured
    environments where tasks are organized for them.
  • The child may need to implement organizational
    strategies to assist with work
  • Provide rules for approaching problems (say
    things the same way every time)
  • Provide a list of class assignments on the board
    (e.g. post the worksheet with written
    instructions for each task in order of
    completion)

27
Attention Problems What can you do?
Instructional Changes
  • Give new information in smaller units when
    possible, reviewing frequently.
  • Break longer tasks/instructions into smaller,
    discrete units.
  • Help this child get started on tasks and check
    periodically to see that he or she continues to
    follow directions.

28
Attention Problems What can you do? Behavioral
Changes
  • Provide short breaks, as needed, which may
    include opportunities for the child to leave his
    or her seat (e.g., to sharpen pencils or go to
    the board).
  • Provide specific and contingent positive
    reinforcement for desired behaviors, including
    beginning tasks, staying on task, and completing
    assignments. Reinforcement should be motivating,
    yet appropriate.
  • Remind the child to work carefully, look at all
    options before choosing an answer, and to
    double-check work for minor errors (e.g. cant
    turn in assignment for 15
    minutes)

29
Thanks to
  • All of you!
  • Ricardo Eiraldi, Ph.D.
  • Pat Mazzuca
  • Lamia P. Barakat, PhD
  • Philip L. Concors, M.Sc.Ed., B.C.B.A.

30
Questions???
31
Just a note about Reading Problems
  • Try books on tape for error free learning (i.e.
    have children read along with a book on tape)
  • Have children practice reading using books just
    below their reading level
  • You can send home appropriate books or recommend
    library books
  • Other specialized reading programs require an
    evaluation to determine the cause of reading
    problems

32
General Tools for children with learning problems
  • Multisensory instructional strategies- take
    advantage of the childs hands, eyes, and ears
    when teaching new information (differentiation)
  • encourage him or her to touch and describe visual
    information verbally describe information after
    its removed present visual cues with verbal
    information.
  • Give students copies of notes with blanks to fill
    in
  • Use multiple formats for tests (m/c, T/F, short
    answer, fill in the blank with word bank)
  • Structure, predictability, regularity is the key!

33
Everyday strategies for all children
  • Free up working memory
  • Chunk information help children group like-info.
  • Teach rules of problem approaches
  • Repeat information across days
  • Create Mental Maps
  • Trees or outlines of information - create
    multiple cues for retrieval (e.g. graphic
    organizers)
  • Connect previously learned information to current
    task
  • Reason Apply
  • Apply the info. to what students already know
  • Teach information in multiple ways and with
    elaborate stories or pictures
  • Have students teach sections to other students

34
Everyday strategies for all children little tips
from the research
  • Memory
  • Environment plays a role
  • chew gum/study in classroom
  • Mnemonic strategies
  • "I before e, except after c, or sounded as a, as
    in neighbor and weigh"
  • Every Good Boy Does Fine
  • Visualization strategies
  • Close your eyes and picture the information
  • Experiential learning
  • Hands on learning as much as possible
  • Multi-sensory presentation
  • Listen, write, read, touch, etc.
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