Curbing behaviors- Let's Get Creative!

    I have done alot of research on students who have behavioral difficulties along with a chemical/emotional difficulties. Chemical makeup and how we genetically are made are factors that can not be changed. This makes things quite tricky for the ones who are trying to curb unwanted behaviors. Devising behavior plans and interventions for students who suffer from ADHD, Mental Health disorders, Cognitive disabilities and any other biological factors that effect the brain is extremely tricky. I have found through experience as an ESE teacher and as a Mom of a son with a cognitive disability that each child is different and that it takes many trials and many moments of "back to the drawing board" before finding a strategy that works for each situation. Research shows that "there is no one method that should be prescribed for any one problem. The first essential is to study the individual concerned - his or her likes and dislikes, circumstances, idiosyncratic behavior patterns, history, family set-up, and so on. Only following that study will a treatment program, tailored to the characteristics of the individual and to his or her environment"(University of Hertfordshire:Intellectual Disability and Health, 2020). 

             For example, I have a student on the spectrum that I serve. As he has grown he has grown out of some behaviors and then acquired new ones. One behavior that has been consistent is his difficulty to stay on task and self regulate. It can become very distracting for other students and we have tried many forms of reinforcement, change in scheduling, reward systems, stimulus control and so many more. Some days the plans would work, and others not at all. Just this week I discovered he LOVES to public speak. I was amazed at the attention he gave and how fluent and fluid he was with the audience. At school he is not as forth coming and if we get him to talk it is usually about a superhero. During this video his eyes lit up, he was confident, comfortable and did not have any issues with self regulation. It got me thinking...if he can do that outside of school, why cant we harness this gift and have him do it at school as well. My thought is to Differentiate  Reinforcement of other behaviors which is "to build up other behaviors, by deliberately reinforcing them, to compete with the target one"(University of Hertfordshire:Intellectual Disability and Health, 2020). My plan is to do Q&A videos with the student that can be featured out on school news and then have the other students get involved and give him topics that he can then research during "down" times in class to keep him focused and regulated, thus replacing his off task behaviors and over-stemming. I am not saying my plan will work, but to see him have such a gift and knowing he has the ability to do more I have to try and utilize what he so clearly is good at to curb some unwanted behaviors in class. I have also been researching social skills programs that could assist in this task (which will be discussed in an upcoming blog post). 

    When dealing with students like the one I just mentioned we need to think outside of the box to reach them. Their brains think differently than ours, and their emotions and needs have to be taken into consideration when devising Behavior Plans. The way to my son is through dinosaurs...any type and any size! His Dad and I, and all of his teachers and therapists have used this love of his to get him to do things he normally would not such as potty-ing, speaking and moving (all of which he was delayed in) and then dinosaurs were used to teach him to read, to do math, even to ride a bike and more currently to learn self regulation. It is all about getting to know the child and getting creative!

 What are some creative ways that you have helped a student or your own child? Share in the comments below👇!

❤Author- Lindsey Cruz- Special Education Mama and Teacher

Reference:

University of Hertfordshire:Intellectual Disability and Health. (2020). Behavior Management. Retrieved from Http://www.intellectualdisability.info/mental-health/articles/behaviour-management.