Читать книгу Lost and Found - Ross W. Greene - Страница 23

Question: But we've always used incentive programs in my building. Should we stop?

Answer: Most schools have been using incentive programs for a very long time. But when I ask school staff why they're still using incentive‐based programs, the most common response they give—while simultaneously telling me that those programs aren't working for many of the kids they're trying to help—is “because it's the way we've always done it.” Of course, if the way we've always done it isn't working for the kids we've always done it to, we probably ought to stop doing it and think of something better to do.

Question: Does this mean that consequences should no longer be applied to concerning behavior?

Answer: That's right. But let's distinguish between the two types of consequences—natural and adult‐imposed—and consider whether either would solve the problems that are causing the concerning behaviors to which we're applying those consequences. Natural consequences—being liked or disliked, being included or excluded, feeling happy or ashamed by one's behavior, doing well or poorly on an exam—are very powerful and persuasive. They're also inevitable. Adult‐imposed, “logical,” “unnatural,” or “artificial” consequences are often added when the natural consequences don't have the desired effect. These include punishments, such as being deprived of recess, being held after school, detention, suspension, and paddling; and rewards, such as stickers, happy faces, points, and special privileges. Adult‐imposed consequences are also very powerful and persuasive. But if those very powerful, persuasive natural consequences didn’t get the job done, it’s hard to imagine why adding adult imposed consequences would accomplish the mission. And although natural and adult‐imposed consequences might be effective at modifying a student's behaviors, they don't solve the problems that are causing those behaviors. The students who are on the receiving end of endless natural and adult‐imposed consequences clearly need something else from us.

“You can't fault teachers for wanting to give kids more and more consequences. As a school leader, you have to listen to why teachers feel they need those consequences. With one teacher, she was feeling that her class was spinning out of control. And she was sort of feeling like, ‘If I don't get this child under control now, I'll lose control of the whole group, and I won't get anything taught this year.’”

—NINA, PRINCIPAL

Question: Does the alternative definition of function mean that we should stop doing FBAs?

Answer: No, FBAs are a wonderful thing, but only when we stop coming to the automatic belief that a student's concerning behavior is working and that the behavior is effective at helping the student get, escape, and avoid. FBAs are a lot more meaningful when they are informed by lagging skills and unsolved problems. I've had way too many classroom teachers tell me that there's really no point in reading a student's FBA because all FBAs say the exact same thing. If all FBAs say the exact same thing, then those are perfunctory, boilerplate FBAs, not useful, informative, meaningful FBAs. You'll find a meaningful FBA—one filled with information about lagging skills and unsolved problems—in figure 3.1.

Question: We can't just do nothing in response to concerning behavior! Consequences at least help us feel like we're doing something. What should we do instead?

Answer: Not relying on adult‐imposed consequences doesn't mean you're doing nothing. It means you've come to recognize the limitations of that form of intervention. There's no reason to continue doing something if that something isn't getting the job done. As for what you'll be doing instead, that's what the rest of the book is about.

AMBERVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT

FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT REPORT

Name: TJ

Date of Birth: 04/29/2004

Parents:

Grade: 10

School: High School

Examiner:

Date of Report: 06/10/19

REASON FOR REFERRAL:

TJ was referred for a functional behavior assessment (FBA) by school staff due to concerns regarding a number of problems that appear to be impeding his learning, his integration into the classroom community, and the development of prosocial relationships. This FBA was conducted to 1) identify lagging skills and unsolved problems that are interfering with TJ's functioning in the school setting so that staff can understand his difficulties and so that these problems can be solved collaboratively; 2) identify and recommend possible environmental structures and supports (e.g., time, space, materials, interactions); and 3) identify and recommend appropriate strategies and supports needed to assist in implementing agreed upon solutions.

PROCEDURES USED:

Classroom Observations

Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems (ALSUP)

Review of records

Teacher Interview

Parent Interview

Student Plan B Conversation/Interview

RESULTS/FINDINGS:

Direct Observations:

Two time-on-task observations were conducted: the first, during Biology, revealed that TJ was on task 38% of the time in comparison to a same-age, same-sex peer who was on task 94% of the time. When TJ was on task, he was completing a lab writing assignment and copying homework assigned into his planner. When he was off-task, he was expected to listen to an article that was being read aloud and to write a short summary of the article. Overt behaviors exhibited during off-task times included walking around the classroom, talking with peers, and poking a peer with a pencil. His teacher, Ms. D., said that TJ is better able to meet expectations when he is paired with the two girls who are now his lab partners, but she is unable to pair him with these girls on all assignments. Ms. D. reported that she has to “keep a very close eye” on TJ and that this can make it hard for her to teach, and it gets “exhausting.” In the second observation, TJ first walked from PE class to the lunch room. On the way he tried to interact with two other male peers but they rolled their eyes, turned their backs on him, and appeared disinterested in interacting with him. When TJ persisted, one of the boys held out his hand as if to stop TJ and said, “Dude, don't you get that we don't want you?” TJ appeared dejected and turned away suddenly. He banged into another student and growled “get out of my way.” The other student backed off, and TJ went and sat alone at a table in the yard. He ate only a bit of his lunch and threw out the rest. He then went and sat with a group of girls at a table on the other side of the yard. He seemed calmer and happier with this group of girls, but noticeably darkened when the two boys he interacted with earlier passed in the hall adjacent to the yard. He then stood up and walked around a bit without any clear destination. The rest of lunch was uneventful; TJ played with a rubber ball he carried in his pocket, throwing it repeatedly against a wall by himself until the bell rang. According to the Vice Principal, Ms. Y., TJ gets into trouble at least 2–3 times per week with the peers with whom he interacted at the beginning of lunch, and sometimes it leads to him being restricted from the yard. She frequently requires that TJ stay with her at lunch time as a result.

Maladaptive Behaviors Impeding Positive School Functioning:

1 Verbal aggression (e.g., profane language, teasing other students)

2 Physical aggression (e.g., hitting, pushing, or shoving other students)

3 Dysregulated body movements (e.g., waving hands around, thrashing body, swinging back pack)

Function of Maladaptive Behaviors:

These maladaptive behaviors communicate that TJ is having difficulty meeting specific expectations, as described below. These expectations -- as documented by the Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems (ALSUP) -- are listed below.

Lagging Skills Contributing to TJ's Difficulties:

The ALSUP was completed in a meeting involving TJ's teachers and specialists. They felt that the following lagging skills applied to TJ:

 Difficulty handling transitions, shifting from one mindset or task to another

 Difficulty doing things in a logical sequence or prescribed order

 Difficulty persisting on challenging or tedious tasks

 Poor sense of time

 Difficulty maintaining focus

 Difficulty managing emotional response to frustration so as to think rationally

 Difficulty “seeing the grays”/concrete, literal, black-and-white thinking

 Difficulty taking into account situational factors that would suggest the need to adjust a plan of action

 Difficulty attending to or accurately interpreting social cues/poor perception of social nuances

 Difficulty appreciating how his/her behavior is affecting others

Unsolved problems precipitating challenging behaviors:

The following unsolved problems (unmet expectations) were identified during the same ALSUP meeting:

Difficulty moving from one classroom activity to the next:

 Biology to geometry

 Geometry to meeting with the school counselor

 Coming in from PE for English Literature

 Coming back from lunch to getting started on World War II project in Social Studies

Difficulty completing writing tasks, including:

 The World War II project in Social Studies

 The Shakespeare composition in English Literature

 The answers to the geometry problems in math

Difficulty working with a partner, including:

 Completing the lab report in Biology

 Preparing the class presentation on the World War II project in Social Studies with his partners

Difficulty remaining seated:

 While listening to an article that was being read aloud in Biology

 While writing a short summary of the article during on assigned mat during morning meeting

Difficulty keeping hands to self when standing in line for:

 Lunch

 PE

 School bus

Difficulty completing review sheets for homework in Biology

Difficulty getting along with Trevor and Justin during PE

These problems impede positive school functioning because:

1 TJ is unable to develop positive relationships with other students in his classroom and school community and is struggling to learn appropriate social interactions and norms.

2 This affects TJ's ability to stay regulated in class and limits his access to instruction as well as affects his ability to successfully work in groups with peers.

3 TJ's body movements distract him and his classmates and prevent him from getting the most out of instruction.

4 TJ gets sent to the office and consequently loses instructional time, thus missing out on valuable opportunities to acquire new skills and abilities.

Prior Plan B Problem-Solving Discussions:

TJ was engaged in several Plan B problem-solving conversations prior to the writing of this FBA for the purpose of gathering preliminary information about some of the unsolved problems delineated above. He identified several factors making it difficult for him to complete the World War II project in Social Studies, including the fact that writing tasks have always been difficult for him and that no mutually satisfactory solution has ever been reached to help him with this problem. As regards his difficulty getting along with Trevor and Justin during PE, he indicated that these classmates have been treating him poorly since elementary school, and that this problem has never been addressed satisfactorily.

Team estimate of need for behavior support plan:

extreme

serious

√ moderate

needing attention, early stage intervention

Factors maintaining problem behaviors:

1 For social interactions with male peers:TJ is ignored by his male friends when they do not want to interact with him and receives attention from peers when he is physically or verbally aggressive, reinforcing his negative behaviors.TJ does not have social skills strategies to talk through and figure out how to get what he wants from his peers.TJ does not have distress tolerance skills to handle not being included by his male peers.TJ does not have the ability to handle his heightened emotions so as to think clearly regarding alternative options once he feels he has been rejected.

2  For proprioceptive physical feedbackTJ does not have a place (in or outside the classroom) where he can go to move his body when he feels the need for such stimulation.TJ does not have tools (in or outside the classroom) to identify when he needs proprioceptive stimulation that is less disruptive to classroom functioning, or to effectively communicate when he needs to remove himself from class if the need is over.

3 For academic tasksTJ continues to experience significant frustration on specific tasks involving writing, and this problem has been a source of frustration for him for many years…yet the problem remains unsolved.

Goals/Objectives of FBA:

1 Through Plan B problem-solving discussions, help TJ resolve the problems delineated above.

Teaching strategies and necessary curriculum or materials for high priority unsolved problems:

Goal 1 (Social Interactions)

 Through Plan B problem-solving conversations (individually and with the two male peers), help TJ and his peers process concerns and work toward solutions that will address the difficulties TJ and the two peers are having in interacting adaptively.

 Through Plan B problem-solving discussions, help identify the factors that are making it difficult for TJ to join interactions and maintain positive relationships with peers (e.g., when to approach others; what kinds of cues indicate he is welcome or not; ways to check for clarity regarding if he has or hasn't been rejected).

Goal 2 (Sensory Issues)

 Through Plan B problem-solving discussions, help TJ identify conditions in which he feels the need for motion or sensory stimulation and work toward solutions aimed at helping address and communicate about these needs.

Goal 3 (Academic)

 Through Plan B problem-solving discussions, determine the factors that are making it difficult for TJ to complete specific writing assignments, and collaboratively determine solutions for addressing these factors.

By whom? Teacher, classroom staff, support staff How frequently? Daily/weekly

Environmental structure and supports to be provided (Time/Space/Materials/Interactions)

Time:

 Access materials that he can use to meet need for proprioceptive physical feedback (rough paper on his desk, a fidget, a squeezy ball, etc.).

 Calming breaks as needed

Materials:

 Plan B

 Fidgets, etc.

 Chart to memorialize solutions and agreements

Interactions:

 The vast majority of interventions -- particularly Plan B discussions -- should occur proactively rather than emergently. However, should TJ become dysregulated over an unsolved problem, the following recommendations should be applied:Determine whether the expectation prompting the dysregulation was supposed to have been removed (Plan C) … if so, let TJ know that the expectation was placed upon him in error.Determine whether a solution is already in place for the unsolved problem and whether it simply isn't working; if so, let TJ know that it would be best to engage him in a Plan B discussion as soon as possible so as to revisit the problem.Use a calm, positive tone and reassure TJ that the problem can be solved.Use additional de-escalation strategies as necessary to ensure TJ's safety and that of other students.

Who will establish? Teacher, classroom staff Who will monitor? Teacher, classroom staff

Communication provisions:

Communication between teacher and parents will be facilitated by the use of the weekly log communicating how successful TJ is in solving high-priority unsolved problems.

Implementation:

A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) will be generated by the team —comprised of many of the actions described in the second half of this FBA—to support these goals and help improve TJ's school functioning.

_______________________________

School Psychologist

Figure 3.1 CPS-Flavored Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

“I was skeptical about CPS. I have a very intense behavioral background. I was steeped in the whole routine of applying consequences for undesirable behavior and rewarding positive behavior. So CPS was like learning a whole new language for me. It was like discovering that the sky was purple; I didn't realize that there was another world out there. At first, I really struggled. I wanted to be able to embrace it, but it just didn't make sense. Eventually I found it productive to question my old beliefs and practices. I think having a disabled child myself, and having him go through school, helped to change my perspective. I forbade his school from giving him time‐outs; I didn't want him to be punished for things related to his neurologically based condition—things that stickers and punishment weren't going to change. So I think having my son helped me see other kids with concerning behaviors through different lenses. But one of the biggest hurdles is that even today, teachers are being trained to use carrots and sticks as their primary classroom management tools.”

—SUSAN, EDUCATIONAL TECHNICIAN

Question: What do we say to the well‐behaved kids when they observe that their behaviorally challenging classmates are being treated differently or aren't receiving the consequences that are usually applied to misbehavior?

Answer: We point out the reality. The consequences weren't working very well anyway. You're working hard on the problem and intend to keep everyone safe. Fair doesn't mean equal. In every classroom, different kids are being treated differently, according to their needs, and that approach benefits everyone, including the well‐behaved students. Behavioral differences should be handled no differently than academic differences.

“These kids who are receiving endless consequences … they often feel like the world is out to get them. So they project that they don't care. But they didn't get to the point of not caring overnight, so I wouldn't expect that we're going to solve all of their problems overnight either. I mean, you've got to work with them for a while.”

—TOM, SUPERINTENDENT

Question: Isn't it important to know the cause of the student's concerning behavior? I mean, that's what we spend a lot of time talking about in our meetings.

Answer: The field of developmental psychopathology tells us that the same concerning behavior can be caused by a variety of different risk factors (a concept known as equifinality). The list of risk factors is pretty long, but includes trauma, exposure to substances in utero, premature birth, brain injury, and environmental deprivation. In many meetings, those causal factors are a primary focal point of discussion. But the reality is that we can't really establish the cause of a student's difficulties with great precision. And, often, we can't do much about those factors now anyway. What should we be talking about instead? Lagging skills and unsolved problems.

By the way, the same risk factor can give rise to a variety of different concerning behaviors (a concept known as multifinality). The list of concerning behaviors is pretty long, too, but includes behaviors that I refer to as lucky (for example, whining, pouting, sulking, withdrawing, crying) and unlucky (for example, screaming, swearing, hitting, kicking, spitting, biting, destroying, and running). You don't want to take those categories too seriously, except for one thing: caregivers are far more likely to respond with empathy, nurturance, and support with lucky behaviors than with unlucky behaviors. But, as you now know, whether lucky or unlucky, the behavior is communicating the same thing: there's an expectation the student is having difficulty meeting.

“That's one of the biggest things that came out of implementing CPS in my school: many classroom teachers had no idea that they could have this powerful impact with kids through the relationships they were building with them and the problem‐solving discussions they were having with them.”

—SUSAN, PRINCIPAL