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IN THIS ISSUE Understanding the behavior Developing a behavior support plan Individualizing teaching supports EDITION 5 POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR: GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT2 ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR — EDITION 5 CONTENTS Creator: Gail Joseph Managing Editor: Tamarack O’Donnell Authors: Angela Notari-Syverson, Heather Floyd, Tamarack O’Donnell Designer: Ceci Skolrud Circle Time Magazine, Edition 5 Addressing Challenging Behavior: Guidance and Support, 2019. For questions or comments contact This document was prepared with support from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). For more great resources on this topic, and to watch the Circle Time Magazine professional development talk show series, check us out at: http://cultivatelearning.uw.edu/ circle-time-magazine/ ©2019 Cultivate Learning at University of Washington Addressing Challenging Behavior: Highlights and Key Ideas Equity Matters Positive Behavior Support and Addressing Challenging Behavior Learning About My World Understand the Behavior Develop a Behavior Support Plan Example Observation Card Blank Observation Card Make a Plan and Teach New Skills Example Behavior Support Plan Blank Behavior Support Plan Partner with Families Try it Out It’s All About You: Building Resilience 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13-15 163 ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR — EDITION 5 UNDERSTAND THE BEHAVIOR Pause to think about the influences on a child’s behavior and adult perceptions of behavior. Consider the Three Rs: Review, Reflect, Build Resilience. DEVELOP A BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN • Observe: Observe the behavior so you understand what the child is communicating. • Partner with Families: Family involvement and participation is critical to the success of highly individualized intervention. ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR Highlights and Key Ideas • Plan and Teach: Develop a behavior support plan that has the strategies adults will use to avoid behavior triggers, teach new skills the child can use to meet their needs, and respond to the challenging behavior when it happens, to avoid reinforcing it. INDIVIDUALIZE TEACHING SUPPORTS For a behavior support plan to be effective, the intervention and teaching supports must be tailored to match the child’s developmental level, preferences, and unique needs. Across all ages Building Social Emotional Skills To promote healthy social and emotional development, all children need nurturing and responsive relationships and an accessible, supportive environment. To address challenging behavior, some children need more direct instruction to build specific social emotional skills. A few children have persistent or severe challenging behavior, even strategies in place. These children need highly intensive, individualized support to build positive social emotional skills. A child with persistent or severe challenging behavior is more likely to have disrupted relationships, delayed cognitive development, and ongoing mental health issues. Educators, however, can mediate these outcomes by prioritizing children’s social and emotional development and targeting the skills needed to build healthy relationships and realize their full potential.PBS TEACHING PRACTICES A Continuum of Support The Pyramid Model is an established PBS framework for addressing the social and emotional development and challenging behavior of young children. The framework offers a continuum of evidence-based teaching practices that are organized into four levels of support. When the three lower levels of the pyramid are in place, a small number of children will need more support. At this top level, practices focus on providing intensive, individualized intervention to address a child’s persistent or severe behavior. Reflection Questions • Is this behavior persistent or severe? Is it interfering with the child’s learning or relationships? • Why is this behavior challenging to me? How do I think the child should behave? • What behavior has the family noticed and what would they like to see instead? • How am I feeling about the family’s observations and desires? • What is the child trying to tell me with this behavior? Positive Behavior Support (PBS) is a positive approach to challenging behavior that focuses on building social and emotional skills. PBS recognizes that all behavior communicates a message or need. Once educators understand the meaning of a child’s behavior they can, together with the family, teach the child more effective ways to communicate their needs. TIP: Think of a child whose behavior is challenging to you. First take time to list 10 strengths of the child and family. Then list the strategies you have implemented to support the child. Does the child need more intensive intervention? Intensive Individualized Intervention For the few children whose behavior persists despite previous levels of support in place, an intensive and individualized intervention plan is needed to resolve the problem behavior. This requires careful observation to understand the factors related to the behavior, followed by a plan for how the team will: address triggers that cause the challenging behavior, teach new skills to replace the challenging behavior, and respond to the challenging behavior to avoid reinforcing it. Intensive Intervention Social and Emotional Teaching Strategies High-Quality Supportive Environments Nurturing and Responsive Relationships Based on the CSEFEL Pyramid Model: A multi-tiered PBS framework of evidence-based practices designed to build the capacities of teachers and parents to support the social-emotional development of young children ages birth to 5 years. 4 ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR — EDITION 5 equity matters POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT AND ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR The expectations we have for behavior are influenced by our cultural background and past experiences. Subtle biases that we are often unaware of can impact the behavior we notice and respond to. Uncovering these implicit biases takes time and reflection. 5 ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR — EDITION 5 LEARnInG ABOUT MY WORLD DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE EXPECTATIONS FOR BEHAVIOR INFANTS EARLY On Children who are at an early stage of social and emotional development may have behavior, such as persistent crying or withdrawal, that is challenging to an adult. When educators establish a nurturing and responsive relationship with the infant they can easily read the infant’s cues and respond as needed. An infant that is overwhelmed with emotion, needs trusted adults to offer support through co-regulation strategies, such as calm responses, nurturing, and soothing. It is important for the adult caregiver to practice self-regulation and resilience skills when supporting an infant who demonstrates a high level of need. TODDLERS EMERGING SKILLS Children who are at an emerging stage of social and emotional development may have behavior that is challenging to adults and some other children. Toddlers are just beginning to build the language skills needed to express themselves, but they experience frustration when the right words don’t come to mind. A toddler interacts with others in the moment and is often not yet able to understand how their behavior impacts others. A toddler typically has a short attention span, likes to move, and is curious about the world they live in. Keeping these developmental needs in mind when setting behavior expectations for toddlers can help to prevent challenging behavior. When supporting the emerging social emotional skills of a toddler, it is important for the adult caregiver to practice self-regulation and resilience. PRESCHOOLERS INCREASING MASTERY Children who are increasing their mastery of social and emotional development may have behavior that is challenging to adults and other children. Preschoolers experience increasing demands for cooperative behavior, friendship skills, managing their emotions, social problem-solving, and using language to express their needs. Understanding the individual needs of each child when planning behavior expectations can help prevent challenging behavior. It is important for the adult caregiver to practice self-regulation and resilience skills when supporting preschoolers with challenging behavior. For more guidance on building relationships and supporting self-regulation in the early stages of development, refer to the following resources: • Washington State Early Learning and Development Guidelines (https://www.del.wa.gov/helpful-resources/washington-state-early-learning-and-developmental-guidelines) • Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/interactive-head-start-early-learning-outcomes-framework-ages-birth-five) It is important that behavior we expect from young children and the support strategies we use are developmentally appropriate. If children are unable to meet expectations, they will find creative ways to express themselves and get their needs met. Sometimes these behaviors can be perceived as challenging.REVIEW the universal practices that all children need • How have I worked to establish a trusting relationship with this child and family? • Am I aware and accepting of the child’s temperament? • In what ways have I intentionally designed the environment to support the child? • How am I teaching the child to understand and regulate emotions? • How am I teaching the child problem-solving skills? • Are my expectations developmentally appropriate? • How have I incorporated the child’s home culture and values into my planning and expectations? • Is there anything outside the child’s control impacting behavior—could the child be sick, tired, hungry, uncomfortable, overstimulated? • Is there anything outside of my control impacting the child’s behavior—such as homelessness, food insecurity, grief, trauma? How am I showing empathy or adjusting for this in my expectations and responses? REFLECT on my own values, thoughts, and feelings about the behavior • Why is this behavior challenging for me? For other children? • Am I frustrated with the behavior or the child? • What biases are impacting my reaction to the behavior? • Is there something about this child’s cultural norms that are different from mine? • Am I making any assumptions about the child’s intentions? • How have I partnered with the child’s family to understand the behavior? • Am I doing my best to help this child and family realize their full potential? REsilience Build it by asking yourself key questions • Does my typical response to the child’s behavior make me feel better or worse? • What steps can I take to calm myself when I start to feel triggered by the child’s behavior? • How is my typical response impacting the pattern of the child’s behavior? Is it helping? • Am I able to be my best self when I am with the children in my care? • What self-care practices can I try or do more often? 6 ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR — EDITION 5 UNDERSTAND THE BEHAVIOR Challenging behavior is any repeated pattern of behavior that interferes with—or shows signs of interfering with—learning and relationships. However, adults ultimately decide what behaviors they expect in their learning environment and when a child’s behavior is challenging. Defining a behavior as challenging is influenced by the adult’s culture, beliefs, and biases. In addition, the child’s temperament, home environment, and cultural norms influence behavior. It is important to explore these influences to get a clear picture of the child’s behavior and needs. Consider the following tips when determining if a child’s behavior is alarming and in need of intensive support. CONSIDER THE7 ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR — EDITION 5 DEVELOP A BEHAVIOR SUPPORT PLAN Gaining a clear understanding of what the challenging behavior is and why it is happening forms the basis of an individualized behavior support plan. Gather information about the environment and the child’s behavior through interviews with significant adults in the child’s life and direct observations. To observe, look at what triggers the behavior (antecedents) and what happens for the child as a result of the behavior (consequences), and see if a pattern emerges over time. With this information, make a hypothesis or best guess about why the child is engaging in the challenging behavior (function). Typically, children engage in challenging behavior to get something or avoid something. OBSERVE SYSTEMATICALLY: ANTECEDENT, BEHAVIOR, CONSEQUENCE (ABC) abc Antecedents Behavior Consequences Antecedents: Some possible events that may trigger a challenging behavior. • The child is asked to do something • Someone took away an object • The child is having difficulty with a task • The child wants an object that’s out of reach • The child has to stop a preferred activity Behavior: All behavior has form and a function Form: The behavior that you can see. Function: The need that the behavior is communicating. Consequences: What happens after the challenging behavior occurs. • The child gets attention • The child gets something • The child gets help • The child is ignored • The child gets out of participating in something Possible Function: A guess about why the child might be engaging in the behavior. • To obtain an object • To get attention • To get help • To avoid an activity or a request • To avoid a change or transition8 ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR — EDITION 5 Use the ABC Observation Card as a tool for documenting your observations Child’s Name: Date/Time: Activity: Observer: Who was there/involved (other adults or children)? Any unusual health concerns or changes at home? Antecedent What Happens before? Behavior What happens during? Consequence What happens after? Possible Function: This form is adapted from CSEFEL. The CSEFEL Tools for Developing Behavior Support Plans: Observation Cards is available in English and in Spanish Sonia3/21 9:30 am Free Choice, dramatic playDemitri Baruch Runny nose Sonia was play- ing with a toy in dramatic play and Baruch reached to take it out of her hand. It seemed like Sonia bit Baruch because he was reaching for her toy and she didn’t know what to do. She might have also liked the attention from me (even though it was negative attention). Sonia bit the arm that Baruch was reaching for the toy with, did not break the skin. Baruch dropped the toy and Sonia quickly grabbed it, I rushed over to console Baruch and remind Sonia to be gentle with our friends. ABC Observation Card Example9 ADDRESSING CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR — EDITION 5 Child’s Name: Date/Time: Activity: Observer: Who was there/involved (other adults or children)? Any unusual health concerns or changes at home? Antecedent What Happens before? Behavior What happens during? Consequence What happens after? Possible Function: This form is adapted from CSEFEL. The CSEFEL Tools for Developing Behavior Support Plans: Observation Cards are available in English and in Spanish ABC Observation Card* *For reproductionNext >