Tag Archives: positive behavior support

My Special Interest Social Story

SIA= Special Interest Area

Definition: SIAs are often solitary pursuits or preoccupations that dominate the person’s time, attention, and conversation

Benefits of Special Interest Areas for students with Autism

Improves academic skills: high motivation in SIA
Supports communication:develop advanced vocabulary
Improves self-confidence:student becomes “expert” in this area
Helps reduce anxiety: more relaxed and fewer meltdowns
Intrinsic engagement: instrisic motivation and engagement
Increased social engagement: when SIA is included into treatment plans
Executive functioning:improved focus on SIA

My Special Interest Social Social Story

Although there are many benefits to SIAs, sometimes kids need to take a break from them to focus on something else. The social story teaches how to re-focus then go back to the SIA when done learning something new.

I created a social story to help kids with autism understand their special interest area.

Here is a sneak peak at the story:

The first part of the story defines and shares the benefits of a SIA:

The book asks the reader what they like. The story then goes on to discuss the need to sometimes “pause” the SIA to learn something new.

A free first-then schedule is included in this social story! You can laminate or use a plastic page protector and use a wet erase marker to write on it.

Get the story here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Special-Interest-Social-Story-5517826

With love and respect,

Sarah

sarahrazzano@yahoo.com

10 Tips for preventing ASD meltdowns

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My college students who are going to become general education teachers often ask me “how do you handle autism meltdowns?”

I have given my top 10 suggestions for handling them which entail preventative strategies to start with!

Please watch the video and subscribe to my YouTube Channel and Blog.

The links for the free resources mentioned in the video are here:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ASD-Sensory-accommodationssupports-tracker-4994260 ASD sensory support tracker and https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/ASD-Sensory-accommodationssupports-tracker-4994260

Thank you for reading and following!

Sarah

Why kids act out…exploring distal setting events

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Article Review: Here is the full article I reference in my YouTube channel.

RobertsonCoy2019.Addressingdistalsettingevents.Download

What are distal setting events?

Distal setting events are sometimes called slow triggers or setting events. They are setting events that can trigger challenging behavior but don’t happen immediately before the behavior occurs. These are things such as:

Lack of food (hungry)
Got in a fight before school
Lack of sleep
Being sick
Conflict at home
Missed medication or medication issue

We can help a student’s behavior when we know the distal setting events

Imagine this scenario: How do you feel if you have not eaten and you have to do a strenuous task? On top of that imagine that, you got bullied in the hallway going to class and you only got three hours of sleep last night. All of these factors add up to distal setting events that can set a child up for failure.

Teachers respond to challenging behaviors all day long. We often forget about the distal setting events that can lead to behavioral challenges. The focus is usually on what happens immediatly before behavior happens. A functional behavior assessment can take into account these distal setting events to help us get a full picture. This assessment will give us a better idea of “why” or the function behind the problem behavior.

Keep lines of communication open

Open lines of communication between home and school are vital for us to pinpoint the distal setting events. Having a morning check in around wellness can also help us get a “pulse” on how the child is feeling and their general wellness. A community circle is a great way to do a group check in if you don’t have time to do individual check-ins.

Watch and subscribe to my YouTube Channel

Here is another great article written about setting events if you would like to read more!

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319973271_Understanding_Setting_Events_What_They_Are_and_How_to_Identify_Them

source: Robertson, Rachel & Coy, Justin. (2019). Your Student is Hungry, Angry, Tired–Now What? Addressing Distal Setting Events in the Classroom.

What distal setting events have you seen have the most impact on your students’ behavior?

Thank you for reading and for my support on this blog and my YouTube Channel . Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQ8h0a1a59gTbXetGlEGGA?view_as=subscriber

With Gratitude,

Sarah Razzano

Self-Management Cards and Autism

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Self-Management Card for Kindergarten

Self-management systems are…

“behavioral strategies used to assist students with autism spectrum disorder in monitoring their own behaviors and administering their own rewards.”
Laura J. Hall

This is a personal application of a behavior change tactic that produce a desired change in behaviors.

Student with ASD are able to monitor their own progress with acquiring new skills and decrease problem behaviors with self-management systems. From a young age, self-management strategies are an important part of encouraging independence. It is also an evidence based strategy.

How self-management cards help students with ASD:

Self-management allows students with autism who typically have poorly developed self-management skills to participate in the development and implementation of their own behavior management.

Students are being instructed to:

(a) observe specific aspects of their own behavior

(b) provide an objective recording of the occurrence or non-occurrence of the observed behavior.

The student is in charge of determining if they engaged in a specific behavior. Research shows “the activity of focusing attention on one’s own behavior and the self-recoding of these observations can have a positive relative effect on the behavior being monitored.”

Questions to consider

What is the target behavior?
In what settings will the student self-monitor?
What type of promo (cue) is most appropriate?
How often will the student self-monitor?
What external incentive or reward will be given?

There are certain steps that have been outlined that I will share here:

Here are the steps necessary for implementing self-management systems

Step 1: Identify preferred behavioral targets
Step 2: Determine how often students will self-manage behaviors
Step 3: Meet with the student to explain the self-management procedure
Step 4: Prepare a student self-recording sheet
Step 5: Model the self-management plan and practice the procedure
Step 6: Implement the self-management plan
Step 7: Meet with the student to determine whether goals were attained
Step 8: Provide the rewards when earned
Step 9: Incorporate the plan into a school-home collaboration scheme
Step 10: Fade the intervention

Have you used self-management systems? What are your thoughts?

(source-The Best Practice Guide to Assessment And Intervention For Autism Spectrum Disorder In Schools 2nd edition by Lee A. Wilkinson)

https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Assessment-Intervention-Spectrum-Disorder/dp/1785927043/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=The+Best+Practice+Guide+to+Assessment+And+Intervention+For+Autism+Spectrum+Disorder+In+Schools+2nd+edition+by+Lee+A.+Wilkinson&qid=1558837133&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr0

Provide Choices-Antecedent Based Intervention

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What are Antecedent Based Interventions?

As teachers we benefit from learning about Evidence Based Interventions (EBI) for students with autism. All teachers want to learn how to decrease the likelihood of challenging behaviors in the classroom. The only parts of the behavior chain we can influence or change are the antecedent and the consequence. Providing choices is a great Antecedent Based Intervention that teachers can use to prevent challenging behaviors.

Layman’s definition: Antecedent Based Intervention

When we focus on helping students with ASD in schools, we know that changing the classroom environment and how we present information has a big impact on their behavior. Changing the environment, and modifying things before behavior happens can improve behavior in students.

ABI as a preventative interventions to set the student up for success.

Providing choices is an example of an Antecedent Based Intervention (ABI).

Children hard working in school were given a choice on what they wanted to do during literacy.

Choices may be more effective than using preferred reinforcers
(Dunlap, et al. 1994)

Where can we provide choices in the school environment?

Activities to be completed (math or reading)
Materials to complete the task (pencil vs marker)
location (table vs desk)
Person to help them (teacher or a seat partner)
A combination of them all

Forced choice:

One way of providing choices is to give what’s called a “forced choice” by allowing students to have a small number of options that you as the teacher are ok with. Too many choices can become overwhelming for students with ASD. Providing two choices may be appropriate to start with.

Youtube video about ABI and providing choices:

The Incredible 5-point Scale-Teach students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to manage anxiety

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YouTube video showing the incredible 5 point scale

The incredible 5 point scale for support with ASD and anxiety

All people live with some level of stress and anxiety but when anxiety gets in the way of daily functioning in school, it becomes a problem. The incredible 5 point scale is a tool to support students with autism who experience anxiety.

Who created the incredible 5 point scale?

Kari Dunn Buron created the incredible 5 point scale. She created this strategy based on many years of working with students who experience autism. This author is committed to positive support for all students. She is passionate about teaching the skills needed for social success.

“More than any other issue for children with anxiety, loss of emotional control can lead to removal from the general education classroom to a more restrictive educational environment equipped to deal with behavior challenges.”
When My Worries Get Too Big- Karrie Dunn Buron

Here is a link to the website to find all of her products. https://www.5pointscale.com. To Learn more about the calming sequence featured in this book please read my last post http://behavior-boot-camp-teach-calming-sequence

Some additional notes about the incredible 5 point scale for supporting students with autism and anxiety:

Many students with ASD learn social interactions by using the incredible 5 point scale
Emotional responses are identified by the student along with solutions to support each challenge
This visual representation helps student with autism and anxiety understand their emotions
Students work with the teacher to identity activities, or other supports that will help them calm down or stay calm
The incredible 5 point scale supports inclusion by helping students manage their anxiety and stay in class
The incredible 5 point scale is is an example of a positive behavior support strategy
Students learn to become self-managers

Positive behavior support strategies help support inclusion and ensure students stay calm and continue to learn in class!

Thank you for reading.

If you use the incredible 5 point scale please leave a comment telling us your thoughts…

Behavior Boot Camp: Teach Calming Sequence

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A calming sequence is a great tool to support students who experience anxiety:

This picture is an example of a calming sequence.

Behavior boot camp: teach calming sequence.

How does a calming sequence help students in school?

All people live with some level of stress and anxiety but when anxiety gets in the way of daily functioning in school, then it becomes a problem.

“More than any other issue for children with anxiety, loss of emotional control can lead to removal from the general education classroom to a more restrictive educational environment equipped to deal with behavior challenges.”
-When My Worries Get Too Big- Carrie Dunn Buron

Tips about calming sequences for teachers

Students with autism and other exceptionalities may experience stress during the school day
The stress may manifest in different ways but could get in the way of their learning
Teach the calming sequence when the student is calm and organized
Ask the student what things make them feel calm and happy
Follow their lead on choosing a calming sequence that makes them feel the most relaxed
Use a combination of words and pictures to represent the sequence
Keep the calming sequence somewhere the student can access it during times of stress
Model the calming sequence and support the student through the sequence as they experience stress and anxiety

Here is a link to Carrie Dunn Buron’s book that I reference in the YouTube video:

https://www.amazon.com/When-Worries-Get-Too-Big/dp/1937473805/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2I2SQIJUK28WL&keywords=when+my+worries+get+too+big&qid=1553056209&s=gateway&sprefix=when+my+wor%2Caps%2C227&sr=8-1