Consider+Background+Events

= Consider the Background Events (antecedents) =

According to Parrette et al, for any child expected to meet the demands of particular academic tasks, such as, writing, reading, or doing mathematical calculations, problem behaviors can often be caused by antecedents (or things that precede the problem behavior) and which interfere with the task performance. Examples of antecedents include child and teacher expectations, goals, and objectives. They include triggers of behaviors that prompt action and constraints that shape action, indicating what is and what is not acceptable behavior. AT may be used as an intervention that reduces potential triggers of undesirable behavior. Among the many tasks that may serve as triggers of frustration for students with emotional and behavioral disorders in academic settings are word recognition, spelling, handwriting, organization of materials, locating relevant materials and assignment completion.

When a student demonstrates challenging behavior, traditional disciplinary approaches used have relied on negative consequences, such as punishment. However, Positive Behavior Support (PBS) provides a new way of looking at, thinking about, and solving difficult situations caused by challenging behavior. It also allows us to consider Asisitive Technology tools and strategies to intervene with appropriate supports before the challenging behaivor occurs.

Two of the main problems with negative consequences is that they don't teach appropriate behavior nor do they resolve the primary cause of the behavior in the first place which for many students might be frustration with academic tasks. Although punishment can stop a student's behavior immediately, it doesn't teach new skills that replace the problem behavior with more appropriate, positive behavior. It also doesn’t provide the scaffolded support that many students with behavioral and emotional disorders need to be academically successful in school. PBS focuses on positive and educational approaches rather than negative consequence-based methods. Understanding the student's behavior is the first and most important step. To develop that understanding, it is recommended that professionals and parents observe challenging behavior carefully and think about the meaning of the behavior because every behavior occurs for a reason. In most cases, the student behavior serves as a communication tool, sending everyone a clear message about the student's feelings, physical status, and needs. The message of the student's behavior is called the "function" of the problem behavior.

While we won't go into the Function of Behavior and Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) in detail, it is important to conduct the detective work necessary in order to find the meaning contained in the message (function) that the student is communicating about her/his behavior. In other words, FBA is all about answering the question, "Why does a student keep doing the challenging behavior over and over?" The FBA will let us know if we need to intervene with academic, organizational or other AT tools to circumvent the frustration that the student feels in the school environment due to the demands placed on him or her.

The A-B-C chart can help summarize the sequence of events around the challenging behavior. A, B, and C stand for the antecedent, behavior, and consequence of the challenging behavior. One additional factor to consider is what is called a "setting event." A setting event can be an important clue to investigate in order to reduce or eliminate the challenging behavior. Sometimes we think of setting events as those events or circumstances that act as "slow triggers" and set the stage for a behavior to be more (or less) likely to happen subsequently. Common examples of setting events may include illness, lack of sleep, or a stressful experience. When the setting event seriously affects the challenging behavior, the challenging behavior is not always totally related only to events that happen immediately before or after the challenging behavior. For example, think about a student who has a painful headache and shows tantrum-type behavior because of the headache. No matter what antecedent precedes the behavior, the student might show tantrum-type behavior until the headache goes away. The following figure shows an example of an A-B-C chart, including a setting event.
 * Antecedent: An event that happens immediately before a challenging behavior. This can also act as a "fast trigger" for the challenging behavior
 * Behavior: Challenging behavior
 * Consequence: An event that immediately follows the challenging behavior.
 * Setting Event: Events or circumstances that affect the likelihood of the challenging behavior occurring at a later point in time.

In this example of the A-B-C chart, Arnold's challenging behavior resulted in being sent to the office. While the teacher considers this punishment, this consequence actually may make it more likely that Arnold will engage in the same problem behavior again next time. Why? Recall that Arnold's challenging behavior started to occur when he was told to do his math work--something he does not like to do, nor does he know how to solve the math questions required in his assignment. He got punished because of the challenging behavior, yet at the same time by engaging in the problem behavior, Arnold was able to avoid doing his math work. Even though his teacher thought she was punishing him, Arnold was allowed to escape/avoid doing a really unpleasant and highly non-preferred task….and he was actually reinforced by getting to avoid this task. The function of his problem behavior was to escape/avoid doing this unpleasant task, and his teacher actually helped him avoid doing his math work by "allowing" him to go to the office for the behavior. Next time, he is quite likely to engage in the same problem behavior again, because he knows this is a way that he can successfully get out of doing his math work (unless, of course, his teacher is clever enough to require him to return to complete at least some of his math work, after his visit to the office is over!). Thus, A-B-C chart allows us to discover the function of behavior more conveniently and look at tools and strategies that can be put in place for Arnold so that when he is asked to do a math work sheet, he is prepared with the scaffolds he needs to be successful.

We have **No Tech Tools and Strategies** listed below. Most are sufficiently generic to be used across settings and content areas. See content-specific pages for **Lite-, Mid- and High-Tech Tools and Strategies**.

No Tech Tools and Strategies

 * Apply processes of differentiated instruction a "promising practice" that assists teachers in diagnosing student readiness, interest, and learning profiles. Instruction incorporates specific strategies that meet the needs of students and are based on the curriculum being presented.
 * Cooperative learningis another "promising practice" that, after an initial assessment, allows teachers to plan activities using various types of groups to ensure that students’ needs and interests are targeted. This is a critical area when working with students with emotional and behavioral disorders; one wants to ensure that a student receives appropriate peer support when needed but also that another student who is a "trigger" for the student is not paired with him or her.
 * Explicitly teach students **learning strategies** which are techniques, principles, or rules that facilitate the acquisition, manipulation, integration, storage, and retrieval of information across situations and settings.
 * [[image:because1copy.gif width="320" height="217" align="right" link="@http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/edpsybook/edpsy6/edpsy6_mnemonics.htm"]]mnemonics
 * Keyword (linking new information to known words)
 * Pegword (using rhyming word to represent number or order)
 * Letter strategies (using acronyms and acrostics)
 * **math learning strategies** (strongest base of research). For example:
 * adding by counting on from the first addend or the larger addend
 * using a mnemonic such as the mnemonic for remembering computational order: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally – P arentheses, E xponents, M ultiplication, **D**ivision, **Ad**dition, and **//S//**ubtraction
 * understanding that two times any number will be even or that five times any number will always end in a zero or a 5
 * using a finger strategy for multiplying numbers less than 10 by 9
 * **Professional collaboration** - General education teachers, special education teachers and related service providers meet on a regular basis to problem solve, plan, and implement strategies to ensure that each student is able to participate in the general education curriculum.Collaboration partners vary depending on student need.
 * Consider sensory issues which are often overlooked. If you click on the linked text, it will take you to the wiki page that discusses sensory issues for students identified on the autism spectrum.
 * Develop a **classroom management system** and stick to it!
 * Display and actively teach and review **classroom rules**.
 * Limit rules to no more than 3-5
 * Give students an individual copy of the rules
 * Use visuals to support text at ANY grade level
 * Establish **predictable, productive classroom routines**. Provides for:
 * less anxiety about what to expect
 * enhanced participation
 * smoother transitions
 * increased learning
 * **Accommodate presentation format**
 * break larger assignments into smaller steps - chunk it
 * minimize visual overload by decreasing number of problems per page, removing unnecessary illustrations, increase line spacing or just enlarge the page of text on a copier
 * ensure handwriting or font are crisp and easy to read
 * look at allowable accommodations for the TAKS tests. You can download the accommodations manual from the TEA website by clicking here. Right click on the link and save to your desktop.
 * Focus on strengths and interests by way of a **learning style inventory**
 * learningstylesonlineis a free online learning styles inventory based on Howard Gardner'sMultiple Intelligences work.
 * Use **specific, concrete directions** presented in more than one way (verbal and written or visual)
 * Provide **models and demonstrations** whenever possible
 * clear, visual examples of what is expected help many students to understand assignments better
 * **Preteach**
 * provides familiarity and a pre-made "filing system" for information