5/29/2018 Environmental Modifications to Prevent Challenging - - PDF document

5/29/2018 1 Environmental Modifications to Prevent Challenging Behaviors and Other Antecedent Strategies

Andrew L. Egel, Ph.D.

Managing Behavior During Ongoing Daily Routines

• Behavior=communication

– All behaviors (adaptive or maladaptive) are a form

• f communication. The question is, what is your

student communicating when s/he engages in challenging behavior? – Helpful to identify communicative intent when developing an intervention plan so that your plan matches the communicative intent of your student’s challenging behavior.

Managing Behavior During Ongoing Daily Routines cont.

• Common functions of challenging behaviors

– Positive reinforcement in the form of attention – Negative reinforcement in the form of escape or avoidance of unpleasant events – Access to tangible items – Sensory consequences

• Behavior, even behavior that looks very similar, can serve

very different functions. That means that the same behavior exhibited by different students may have different functions.

5/29/2018 2 Managing Behavior During Ongoing Daily Routines cont.

• Purpose of Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) is to

identify the function/communicative intent of challenging behaviors.

• This information will help guide the interventions

designed in the Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP). – Typically a BIP will describe procedures for

• Teaching new replacement skills
• Strategies for responding so that new skills are maintained and

acknowledged.

• Strategies for modifying the curriculum, environment, activity, or

interactions to prevent the occurrence of the behavior.

• I will focus today on strategies for preventing the
• ccurrence of challenging behaviors

Preventing

• Prevention strategies reduce the likelihood

that the student will need or want to use the challenging behavior.

Prevention Questions

• How can the environment be changed to

reduce the likelihood that the behavior will

• ccur?
• What procedures can I select that fit in with

the natural routines and structure of the classroom or family?

• How can I build on what works?
• What can be done to help the student

respond to or avoid behavior triggers?

5/29/2018 3

Possible Prevention Strategies

• Advanced reminder of transition times/Safety signal

– Important because it does not require an abrupt switch from one activity to another which may lead to challenging behavior. – Verbal reminder, set a timer, use picture cues, etc.

• Anticipate situations that are likely to lead to challenging

behaviors

– Identify requests that lead to challenging behavior and show in advance what your student will receive after they complete your request.

• Make sure that your instructions are in the form of a

statement rather than a question (e.g., “Are you ready to put your shoes on?” vs. “It is time to put your shoes on”) unless you are truly offering a choice.

• Offering choices using pictures or actual objects.
• Select reinforcer prior to activity (“when you put the toy away,

you can go outside”; “what do you want to work for?”).

Preventing Behaviors Maintained by Attention (Socially mediated positive reinforcement)

• Create a rich, reinforcing environment and

provide frequent attention (praise, smiles, hugs, tickles) for all appropriate behavior

• Teach an appropriate means of requesting

attention (e.g., vocalization, ASL sign, PECS) and provide the attention contingent upon this new replacement behavior Preventing Behaviors Maintained By Student Escaping/Avoiding Something Unpleasant (Socially Mediated Negative Reinforcement )

• Create a visual schedule, allowing students

the opportunity to anticipate future activities

• Imbed choices within less preferred activities
• Use a timer to indicate how long a student

must engage in the less preferred activity before he can move on to a preferred activity

• When appropriate, teach students to request

a break from a less preferred activity or teach them to ask for help

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Manipulation of Antecedents

• Antecedents are stimuli, events, or conditions

that are present before a behavior occurs.

– People – Time of day – Physical environment – Absence of stimuli

Why Use Antecedent Interventions?

• Antecedent interventions reduce the

likelihood that challenging behaviors will

• ccur.
• Antecedent interventions decrease or

eliminate challenging behaviors by

– Eliminating the antecedent event – Modifying the antecedent event – Changing how antecedent events are presented

Prevent: Simplifying and/or Modifying Activities

• Alter task demands by simplifying or modifying

activities

• Schedule preferred activities following non-preferred

activities

• Limit choices available

5/29/2018 5

Use visuals to clarify schedule

Warm-up Reading Math Break

Prevent: Clarifying and Communicating Expectations Prevent: Clarifying and Communicating Expectations

• Use visuals to help clarify choices

Library Writing Table Toys

Prevent: Clarifying and Communicating Expectations

• Provide verbal or visual prompts or

reminders

• Use scripted routines
• Use scripted responses