A Proactive Approach to Interfering Behaviors
Slide 2: Prevent or reduce using M.A.P.S.
· We can often PREVENT or REDUCE interfering behavior!
· Proactive interventions should be implemented BEFORE a student walks in the door, but ALSO when a student demonstrates interfering behavior.
· M.A.P.S.—Modify, Adjust, Provide and Support!
o Modify the environment
o Adjust instruction
o Provide opportunities to communicate and make choices
o Support the student visually
Now that you know more about interfering behaviors in the student with ASD, it’s important to remember one crucial piece of information: we can often PREVENT or REDUCE challenging behavior! This should come as good news to you as a paraprofessional! Wouldn’t it be nice for both you and your students if things could be done ahead of time to keep the interfering behavior from ever occurring? Prevention is one of the primary principles of behavior support. When we understand the function of the behavior, we can often prevent or reduce challenging behaviors by using positive and proactive strategies.
Your school likely uses such positive and proactive strategies, or what are also known as universal interventions. Such proactive interventions should be implemented before a student walks in the door but we will also immediately evaluate for proactive strategies when a student begins to exhibit any kind of interfering behavior. We do this because proactive interventions can reduce the chances an interfering behavior will happen. The easiest way to remember these strategies is M.A.P.S.—Modify, Adjust, Provide and Support! In this presentation, we will explain how to:
· Modify the environment
· Adjust instruction
· Provide opportunities to communicate and make choices
· Support the student visually
Slide 3: Work with strengths
· Everyone has strengths, even the student with ASD!
· The M.A.P.S. system uses a student’s strengths to reduce the chances of interfering behavior.
· M.A.P.S. understands that students with ASD are often visual learners, have a great memory and thrive in a routine environment.
Everyone has strengths, or something they are good at. This also includes the student with ASD! The best part about the M.A.P.S. system is that it uses a student’s strengths to reduce the chances that an interfering behavior will happen. Students with ASD are often visual learners, have a great memory, and thrive in a routine environment and the M.A.P.S. system understands how to use such strengths!
Slide 4: Proactive supports for Andy
· Andy is our high school student with ASD.
· He has a great memory and is a visual learner.
· He has started to leave the classroom without telling anyone.
· Andy’s team decided to use:
o Visual cues by placing a sign on the door that reads “RETURN to DESK.”
o Card that he can use to let people know he needs something.
o Provide Andy with a lot of attention before his independent work time.
Let’s look at an example. Andy is our high school student with ASD and he has a great memory and is a visual learner, however, recall that he has started to leave the classroom without telling anyone and has even left the building on two occasions. Andy’s educational team decides to utilize visual cues by placing a sign on the door that reads “RETURN to DESK” to indicate Andy should not leave the area. The team also gives Andy a card that he can use to let people know he needs something. They provide Andy with a lot of attention before his independent work time. Andy’s educational team is incorporating Andy’s strengths of visual learning and great memory in their proactive interventions as a way to help reduce his interfering behavior of leaving the classroom. Let’s look at the following videos that will illustrate some of the strategies that Andy’s team has put in place to help support him.
Slide 5: Visual support: Return to desk
Insert Video: Return to Desk
Transcript:
Celina, can you come up and solve question one for me?
Slide 6: Proactive support: Giving attention before the behavior
Insert Video: Attention Before
Transcript:
All right everybody, here’s your homework assignment. Now you have a little bit of time to get started on this so you don’t have too much to do at home. So go ahead and answer questions one through ten and use me for questions if you have any, ok? All right Andy, we’re going to do the first couple together, ok? All right so we see that x equals seven. So we’re going to plug that in. So I want you to work on that one. And here you see you’re going to plug in three to y. So I want you to solve that and I’m going to go help some more people and I’ll be right back to check on you. I’ll be quick. All right, Celina, you have a question.
Slide 7: Work with weaknesses
· Everyone has both strengths and weaknesses!
· The M.A.P.S. system knows how to reduce problems associated with a student’s weaknesses.
· We can modify the environment and reduce distractions and the effects of sensory related issues.
· We can also create communication opportunities with peers in a socially appropriate way.
As we all know, everyone has both strengths and weaknesses. Again, the student with ASD is no different! Another great aspect to the M.A.P.S. system is that it knows how to reduce the problems associated with a student’s weaknesses. As you’ve already learned, the student with ASD has trouble with distractions (both what they hear and what they see), social difficulties, sensory challenges, and communication deficits. The M.A.P.S. system allows us to modify the environment to keep distractions at a minimum and reduce the effects of sensory related problems. This system also creates opportunities for the student to communicate with peers and others in a socially appropriate way.
For example, Mason, a student with ASD, has a hard time concentrating on the lesson when there is a lot of background noise. He also has an intense interest in video games and interrupts class often to talk about them. Mason’s educational team decides to move his desk away from the pencil sharpener next to the door and place the desk in the other corner and also provide him with a study carrel to help improve his focus. As a way to encourage communication, Mason’s teacher also sets aside several opportunities each day for him to talk about video games with another student.
Slide 8: Apply It!
· Find your packet and locate the Apply It entitled: Behavior and go to the question entitled: Proactive Strategies.
· Can you think of any proactive or preventative strategies that are used in the classroom in which you work?
· Take a minute and write down some of the strategies that are used in your classroom or the environment in which you work.
In your packet please locate the “Apply It” titled: Behavior and find the question titled: Proactive Strategies. Can you think of any proactive or preventative strategies that are used in the classroom in which you work? I’m sure there are many in place that you may not even realize are proactive strategies that prevent interfering behavior. Take a minute and write down some of the strategies that are used in your classroom or the environment in which you work.
Once you have completed this activity, share it with your supervisory teacher to help get a better understanding of the strategies that are in place.
Slide 9: Working with the educational team
· Behavior support requires a team effort!
· It is critical to remember that ANY proactive strategy should be done with the approval of your supervisory teacher!
· Everyone needs to be on the same page and supporting the student in the same way!
· Always use your M.A.P.S. as you problem solve through any behavior!
Behavior support requires a team effort. One person alone cannot support interfering behavior in the student with ASD! As you provide proactive strategies, it is critical to remember that this should always be done with the approval of your supervisory teacher. Some changes are simple and easy to do, while other changes are complex and harder to implement. Be sure to discuss the problem behaviors your student has and discuss your ideas for prevention with your supervisory teacher. Consistency is the key to success with interfering behavior. Intervention only works if everyone is on the same page and is supporting the student in the same way!
Understanding and helping the student with ASD can be difficult, and at times, confusing. When you get lost or confused, remember your M.A.P.S. to find your way! Let’s start with the M in M.A.P.S., or Modify!
Slide 10: Modify the environment
· A chaotic classroom environment can actually CREATE interfering behavior in the student with ASD!
· Using the M.A.P.S. system, we can decrease confusion and help the student feel safe.
· Structure is one way to MODIFY the environment and helps the student understand WHAT to do, WHERE to go, and WHEN to do it!
Imagine going to the mall during a holiday. As you know, it can be crowded, confusing, and overwhelming! Imagine trying to learn geometry in the middle of that holiday mall—most of us would fail miserably in that kind of situation. Sometimes, that’s what the school environment feels like for the student with ASD. There are too many people and too many sights, sounds, and smells. The hallways are full of people bumping into each other, the cafeteria has a wide variety of aromas, and classrooms can be decorated with far too many materials. All of these things can actually create interfering behavior in the student with ASD and keep them from learning.
By using the M.A.P.S. system, we can decrease the confusion, help the student feel safe, and improve his or her ability to learn by using structure. It’s easy to implement small changes that make a classroom more orderly and easier to navigate. Structure provides organization to the environment and helps the student understand what to do, where to go, and when to do it.
Slide 11: How to modify the environment
· MODIFY the environment and provide settings that are:
o Safe
o Physically structured
o Organized
o Using routines whenever possible
There are many ways to structure the environment. As we modify the environment, it’s crucial to provide settings that are:
· Safe
· Physically structured
· Organized, and
· Using routines whenever possible
Let’s briefly go through each one of these.
Slide 12: A safe environment
· Safety is one of our top priorities for the student with ASD.
· One major problem in the classroom is the EXIT.
· It is important to keep the student’s desk and other activities away from the exit.
· Windows may also be a safety issue.
Safety is always one of our top priorities for the student with ASD. One of the problems with the classroom environment and the student with ASD is the exit. A student with ASD may be prone to running or may have trouble with impulse control. For these students, it can be important to keep the student’s desk and other activities away from the exit. This will prevent the student from running out of the room so easily. Also, consider windows and whether they pose a safety issue or not for the students with whom you work.
Slide 13: A safe environment for Andy
Remember Andy? Andy started leaving the classroom without telling anyone and even left the building on two different occasions. Let’s look at what Andy’s teacher did to help with this situation.
Slide 14: Video: A safe environment for Andy
Insert Video: Moving Andy Away from Door
Transcript:
Ok, so now that we know that Andy likes to run out of the room, one thing I’m going to do to make sure this doesn’t happen is move him away from the exit. So what I’m going to do is get Andy to switch places with my other student Rebecca so that I have a little bit more room if Andy does decide to leave the classroom. This way, I know that I have him positioned in a good space away from the door and now that I know that he leaves I’ve made sure this is a successful experience for him.
Slide 15: Physical structure
· Physical structure refers to how the classroom is arranged and organized to help the student focus and learn. This includes:
o Where you place the student’s desk
o Where materials are located
o The amount of furniture and materials in the room
o Items hanging on the wall
Physical structure refers to how the classroom is arranged and organized to help the student focus and learn. This includes:
· Where you place the student’s desk
· Where materials are located
· The amount of furniture and materials in the room
· Items hanging on the wall
We’ve all been in a classroom that has far too many decorations and just feels chaotic. The desks are arranged haphazardly around the room, or the room has too much furniture, and the student’s desk is a disorganized mess. As we mentioned with Mason, it may be necessary to put the student’s desk away from distractions. Simply rearranging desks can make a dramatic difference for the student with ASD. The same can be said for removing furniture and creating a clearly defined space for different activities. Reducing clutter and removing wall hangings help a student with ASD keep focused on the lesson. Finally, organizing a student’s desk using bins, folders, and color coded systems reduces confusion and creates independence!