Facilitating Socially Appropriate and Functional Behavior in School ... · Peter Farag. Center for...

Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc.

CARDFacilitating Socially

Appropriate and Functional Behavior in School

Peter Farag


Purpose of a School Placement

Teach the child to successfully learn in a school setting

Successfully generalize appropriate behaviors & skills learned in a 1:1 setting to school

Teach the child to learn from peers and teachers in the classroom and on the playground

Purpose of a School Shadow

Assist supervisor in developing short & long-term objectives while shadowing at school• Assess daily routine• Assess classroom environment• Assess behaviors in each activity and

help develop behavioral strategies• Assess ability in each are and help

develop prompt techniques• Assess priorities


General Techniques Physical placement of the shadow

• Behind or beside the child Initially the shadow may need to be directly behind or beside the child Shadow should be in a position to identify any cues a typical child

would be aware of Shadow should be able to see what child sees and hears to facilitate

prompting Close proximity of shadow to the child provides an opportunity for the

shadow to prompt the child in the least intrusive manner possible (the shadow’s physical proximity & prompts should always be performed in the least disruptive manner possible)


General Techniques (Cont.) Physical placement of the shadow (cont.)

• In front of the child/next to the teacher If a child becomes distracted by the shadow being behind or beside

(i.e. talking to shadow, frequently turning around, etc.) or has difficulty focusing attention on the front of the room/teacher, it may be necessary for the shadow to be in the front of the room

Easier to prompt the child (gestures, focus of gaze, etc.) to look at or attend to the teacher


General Techniques (Cont.) Fading the physical placement of the shadow

• When the child is less dependent on prompts from the shadow, and progresses in level of skills, the close proximity of the shadow can be faded Gradually extend the distance between the shadow and the child Intervene only when the child experiences difficulty or if the child

cannot resolve a situation independently As the shadow physically moves away from the child, it is important

that the child remains successful throughout the fading process Continual assessment of the child’s performance is necessary to

determine how quickly the placement of the shadow can be faded (Be aware that the placement of the shadow may vary with each activity)


General Techniques (Cont.) Transferring the control from the shadow to the teacher

• Goal is to have the child attend to instructions from the teacher rather than be reliant on prompts from the shadow The teacher can become reliant on the shadow to prompt the child to

follow through with given instructions The shadow can remind the teacher that once an instruction is given

either to the child or to the whole class, it then becomes the teacher’s responsibility to ensure the child’s response to the given instruction


Prompting Prompting should be done to assist the child in areas in which the

child is unable to perform a skill independently.

Prompts can be used to define the desired behavior as well as to help the child be successful.

Use the least intrusive prompt in all situations.

The prompts used with a child will vary with the activity your child is engaged in.

The child’s level of independent skill performance must be known in order for the appropriate prompt to be given.

The ultimate goal is for the teacher to prompt the child which in turn will reduce the child’s dependence on the shadow.


Mastered Skills Prompting Example The teacher tells James “give me the scissors,” and James ignores

her. The teacher consequates James by shaking her head and saying “uh-uh.” She asks James once more, “give me the scissors,” and James whines. Again the teacher consequates James by saying “no.” She asks James once more to “give me the scissors,” and physically guides James to gently place the scissors in her hand. She reinforces him by saying “Thanks for giving me the scissors James!” She gives the scissors back to James to practice the skill and tells James to give her the scissors while holding out her hand. James puts the scissors in her hand and she reinforces him by tickling him and saying “good job!” In order to assess James’ independence with this task she gives him the scissors and gives the SD once more without a prompt. James put the scissors in her hand and she reinforces him by giving him a hug and saying “Yah, you did it all by yourself!”


Prompting Prompting Procedures should be consistent

across home and school Skills on AcquisitionBegin with a prompt and start the fading process when the

child becomes more independent with the skill This process may be completed within a short time period or may

take several weeks depending on the complexity of the task Continual assessment is crucial in determining the speed with

which a prompt should be faded


Types of Prompts Commonly Used in the Classroom

Verbal Prompts Verbal Imitation to initiate and reciprocate language Verbal reminders to attend or stay on task Verbal instructions from the shadow to the child Individualized verbal instructions from the teacher to

the child



Modeling Prompts Physically, verbally, or using gestures to guide the

child to attend to or imitate the actions of his or her peers

Indirectly using the actions of peers to prompt the child to engage in an activity (i.e. shadow asks another child “Jimmy, show me what you guys are supposed to be doing,”) in order to cue the child to attend or engage in a task



Demonstration PromptsShadow, teacher, or peer says “Do this,” “Copy

me,” or “like this,” and the child imitates the action or sequence of actions


Prompt FadingAs the child becomes more independent in his or her

skills, the shadow should begin to fade prompts. The child’s ability to perform a task independent of

the therapist should continually be assessed. If the child is reliant on the therapist for all

information in a classroom, it may be time to direct the teacher to begin prompting the child.


Prompt Fading If the child is comfortable only with adults, more

peer-directed prompting is necessary. Note: Initially, a shadow may be quite active in the

setting; however, the shadow should gradually become more passive with time while the teacher and peers become more active in interacting with the child .


Areas of Focus There are multiple areas to focus on in the school

environment

It is often difficult to target all areas of focus at one time

It is best to focus on areas in which the child shows the most significant delays

It is best to begin the integration process in a setting where the child will be most successful


Major Areas of Focus Attending and Listening Skills

• Foundation skills of learning for the child• The ability to attend in any situation is necessary for the child to

make appropriate gains in learning• Regardless of the environment, it is necessary for the child to

attend to both teachers and peers


Major Areas of Focus (Cont.) In-Class Behavior

• Comprised of all behaviors which are designated as social norms of the class during the day These will vary from classroom to classroom

• It is important that the child learn and apply the appropriate behaviors in the classroom


Major Areas of Focus (Cont.) Social Skills

• A child’s social skills are one of the most significant areas to focus on

• The child’s social interaction skills should be integrated into all aspects of the school environment

• The child should learn to interact with teachers, peers, and any other individuals the child may come into contact with


Major Areas of Focus (Cont.) Play Skills

• These are the skills that are involved in peer interaction either in the classroom during free-play or on the playground during recess

• The child should be taught to play in a 1:1 setting before generalizing this skill to larger groups of peers


Major Areas of Focus (Cont.) Academic Skills

• Examples of academic skills include but are not limited to: coloring, drawing, writing, reading, cutting, math

• The child may require assistance to perform these skills, to acquire the appropriate speed and planning involved, or in following directions

• By using positive reinforcement, prompts and appropriate fading, the child should remain focused to do as much of the work as independently as possible


Behavior Management in the Classroom Extinction

No longer give the reinforcer for a previously reinforced behavior resulting in a decreased future frequency of behavior If a behavior is maintained by attention, stop attending to that

particular inappropriate behavior. Reinforce all other, incompatible, or alternative behaviors.

If the child is engaging in an inappropriate behavior to escape a task, ignore/block the inappropriate behavior while prompting the child through the task and fading prompts until the child is able to complete the task independently. Independent appropriate behavior is heavily reinforced


Attention Example: Johnny is making inappropriate noises during circle time because it makes the other children laugh and the teacher gets visibly angry and tells Johnny “that’s not nice” which makes the other children laugh even harder. It has been determined that this behavior is maintained by the attention he receives. While Johnny is not present, the children can be instructed to “ignore” Johnny’s inappropriate noises. Additionally, the teacher can reinforce all of Johnny’s appropriate circle time behaviors. After a brief escalation of this behavior (extinction burst), it stops completely within 3 days.


Escape/Avoidance Example: Matthew screams and cries every time a fine motor task such as cutting, writing, or drawing is presented. The teacher cannot give instructions to the other children because Matthew’s crying is too loud so she sends him outside where he promptly stops crying. Each time the shadow attempts to bring Matthew back into the room to resume the task he cries and the teacher sends him outside where he again stops crying. It is determined that Matthew engages in this behavior to escape the activity. Each time a fine motor task is presented and Mathew cries, the shadow uses graduated physical guidance to prompt Matthew through the task and fades those prompts until Matthew completes the original task independently. Additionally, for each minute Matthew works quietly he earns 1 sticker. Within 1 week, Matthew is able to complete these tasks quietly and independently.


Token Economy Using generalized conditioned reinforcers to

reinforce a target behavior. The use of a token system will vary depending

on the specific skills of the child. The use of a token system teaches the child to

learn the value of delayed reinforcement.


Positive Response Designed to motivate the child to accomplish a

series of tasks with integrated small reinforcers (“tokens”) which are accumulated to gain a larger reinforcer.

The use of a positive response token system teaches the child to learn the value of delayed reinforcement.


Example: Johnny receives a star for every incident of

appropriate initiation of peer interaction. After Johnny receives 5 stars he is able to exchange the 5 stars for a trip to get ice cream.

QUESTIONS

Thank you. Does anybody have any questions?

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Facilitating Socially Appropriate and Functional Behavior in School ... · Peter Farag. Center for...

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