Making a Plan

To determine the areas of the school day where the student has trouble managing lack of structure, a little detective work becomes necessary. A functional behavior assessment (FBA) <LINK> may be the most reliable way to identify setting events associated with problem behaviors. For example, an FBA can be very useful in determining: What are the inherent features of a given setting, and do they match the student’s skill level? Further, a scope and sequence <LINK> assessment of social skills would help determine what foundation skills may be lacking. Skills are learned in a sequence, such as learning how to greet someone before learning how to continue a conversation, and it is important to know what foundation skills the student may be missing before deciding what new skills to teach. These assessments can be useful in making decisions about goals and objectives for a student’s IEP (such as social skills, social language, independent transition skills), not simply for the purpose of restructuring time.

Example: Billy’s Plan

Billy’s team met and subsequently completed the appropriate assessments of behavior and environment, as well as a scope and sequence of social skills. They already knew that Billy’s behavior deteriorated over the day, but the rate of decline was different from day to day and seemingly unrelated to any specific incidences. Through the assessment they discovered that he lasted longer and was less agitated on the days when his mother drove him school, and coupled that information with that of the objective observer, who stated that the noise level in the front hall during bus drop-off time was staggering, and that she had observed Billy clinging to the back wall on the days when he was there (something the hall monitor had been unaware of). He made no eye contact with anyone, even those he considered his friends, and engaged in his hand-flapping motion. They also discovered that on days when the bus arrived later he could maintain behavioral control somewhat longer. They realized that, if Billy did better on days when he did not have to deal with the hallway situation at all, or for shorter periods of time, they needed to alter this situation immediately. Substituting the music room group was the first intervention they put in place, and the difference was apparent on the very first day.

The team then made the assumption (based upon objective and subjective data collected through the FBA) that if the hallway were that troublesome for him, the same would hold true in other areas of the building. Through analysis of observations, they found that the cafeteria was also a trigger for inappropriate behaviors, and remedied that situation in much the same way. The team developed a social group that meets during lunch in the psychologist’s office. It is attended by four to five students, who for a variety of reasons, also had difficulty in the cafeteria, and who were a good match socially. They play games together and have conversations facilitated by the psychologist in a very naturalistic way, much like the morning program. These are not structured social lessons (those take place in a different setting that had also been arranged) but the psychologist is made aware of the skills that are being worked on, and provides opportunities for those skills to be used in the lunch setting in a small, manageable and relaxed atmosphere.

The difference in Billy’s day became apparent even to the other students, since his behavior was under control for many entire days, and the breakdowns that did occur were more predictable and handled more appropriately by all, including Billy. His anxiety level was much more tolerable than before, and he was happier in general. Other target interventions and settings were identified, and many skills were directly taught in his social class, but the changes initially made to these two settings alone were completed fairly easily and made a big difference.

A brief overview of a plan might include the following steps. All these steps (along with others that may not apply to this example) are described in detail in the functional behavior assessment topic. Be sure you understand the steps completely before beginning, or ask for assistance from a professional experienced in FBA, if necessary.

• Make a chart of the child’s day divided up by time or period schedule and the various places he goes (include all places, even the hall before first class, art, gym, recess, etc.). Try to include settings before and after school.
• Plot targeted behaviors on the chart to determine answers to questions such as where and when they happen, how often, under what circumstances, etc. Many questions can be answered with an accurately completed chart.
• Conduct interviews with teachers, staff, family members, caregivers, etc., to get a picture of the child in a variety of settings.
• If appropriate, involve the child in decision-making, either directly or indirectly, by using a variety of methods and tools.
• Have an objective person (someone the child doesn’t know is observing him) sit in on segments of his day and take notes regarding the environment and the child’s behavior. This is important because we all tend to tune out stimuli that are familiar (i.e., the gym teacher may no longer notice the thunderous echo in the gym, and therefore won’t think to report it as a possible trigger for negative behaviors).
• Conduct a meeting of the team (including the parents) to review the collected information and compare perspectives. All perspectives are valued. The focus of this meeting is to (a) answer questions such as “what exactly was it that he had difficulty with in the environment?,” (b) discuss ways to enable him to be more successful by infusing structure and teaching the skills so that he can better manage a variety of environments on his own, and (c) develop a plan of action including responsibility roles, emergency plans, and setting up a regular schedule among team members to monitor and report on progress.