CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM

The edWeb.net Perspective: STRATEGIES FOR CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM

“Every individual should be able to access things that they like,” said Monica Fisher, M.Ed., BCBA/COBA, Director of the Behavior Department at Monarch Center for Autism during an edWebinar. “It is our right to engage in preferred activities, spend time with family, and connect with the community. If there are behaviors that you are seeing in your students with disabilities and challenging behaviors that are limiting these rights, then it is something we need to fix as it can have a long-term impact on their quality of life.” Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a technological and professional systematic approach, is designed to analyze and change behavior by iden tifying a behavioral problem, gathering relevant data, and formulating/testing a hypothesis. Fisher said that while ABA is a useful tool for looking at and changing the challenging behaviors of students with autism, it can apply to different parts of everyone’s lives. “ABA is how we have all learned and how our lives are shaped by behavior.” Three-Term Contingency or ABC (Anteced ent-Behavior-Consequence) goes hand in hand with Applied Behavioral Analysis. ABC is an essential, evidence-based method of examining and changing what people say and do. Fisher explained, “If you want to change behavior, you have to look at the antecedent (action, event or circumstance that occurs immediately before the behavior) and the consequences (action or response that immediately follows the behavior) applied.”

CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR

Challenging behaviors in the form of hitting, kicking, biting, and head-banging are not unique to students with autism. However, students with autism can also display challenging behaviors through physical and verbal aggression, self-injury, elopement, property destruction, tantrums, and non-compliance. Accord ing to ABA literature, there are four main functions of challenging behavior: attention, escape, access to tangibles and automatic/sensory.

WHY DO THESE BEHAVIORS PERSIST?

Fisher expounded that it is essential to understand that all behaviors serve a function and they will persist if they are meeting a need for a student. When a student receives attention after a problem behavior, it may increase the likelihood that the problem behavior will occur in the future under similar circumstances. When an individual engages in challenging behavior, it could be to escape or postpone an aversive event such as classwork or to be given access to tangibles and other reinforcing objects such as more computer time. The challenging behavior of automatic/sensory such as rocking or hand slapping may reinforce on their own and does not depend on the actions or presence of others.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER

There are essential skills relating to the functions of behavior that should be taught to children at a young age that could decrease the chances that challenging behaviors will develop. Challenging behaviors can have a long history of reinforcement, making them resistant to change, so Fisher advises that changes will take time and effort and data will play a significant role in analyzing the behavioral changes. A teacher or parent may feel that the reinforcers for changing the challenging behavior are not sufficient, but once the data is analyzed, it may show that there is a slight change in the action. It is also critical that, when initially teaching a replacement behavior, the new skill needs to be low-effort and reinforced every time with a potent reinforcer. Finally, problem behavior has worked in the past to get the individual what they want or need so it is essential for teachers and parents to remember not to personalize a student’s challenging behavior.

The original edWeb broadcast was sponsored by Monarch Center for Autism, STAR Autism Support and VizZle.

UNDERSTANDING THE “E” WORDS: EDUCATIONAL EQUITY VS. EQUALITY By Heidi Otero

Heidi Otero is Vice President of Diversity Engagement at the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA). She also serves as Director of Communications for the Arizona School Boards Association.

Equity and equality are often used interchangeably, but they’re actually distinct ideas. Equality means every student and school gets the same access and opportunity to reach set goals. Equity recognizes that some students and schools need additional supports to help them reach the same benchmarks of success.

Many times, we assume equal is equitable. Most mission statements tell us so when we say “all students” will succeed. But when it comes to equity, equal means the same, but equity means fair. So therefore, equal is not always equitable.

When we talk about equity in education, we are talking about more than race and ethnicity, though that is part of it. We are talking about all the characteristics, circumstances and life experiences that may lead to discrepancies in students’ access or outcomes. What measures are we looking for? What needs to happen to increase the likelihood of success? How will we know we succeeded? What are the outcomes?

For instance, characteristics, circumstances and experiences may refer to uniqueness in (National School Public Relations, 2018, Inclusive Practices: • Social and economic circumstances • Family structure • Culture and/or language • Gender • Abilities, e.g. physical, social, creative, intellectual • Values and beliefs • Appearance • Lifestyle

Think about the access and outcomes certain students may experience. For example, do certain students have access to getting to school? Do they have the same quality of buildings or teachers? Do they feel safe in their home or school environment? Also, think about what are the outcomes you want to see improved? Is it increasing academics, attendance, behavior, recognition, etc.?

In order to build more equitable education systems, districts and schools need to ensure they have these components in place in order to be successful. Inclusive practices ensure that the decision-making process and communication are responsive to the needs of all members of a community.

Diversity should be acknowledged, respected, valued and implemented. Inclusive practices mean that communication and the decision-making process will not discriminate against individuals or treat them unfairly on the basis of these differences.

Understanding the different groups your district serves and in what proportion is foundational knowledge for equity-focused discussion and decision-making. Think about the goals you have set for your district’s students and how you’ll be measuring their success.

• Familiarize yourself with the diversity of the population and participants. Define what equity looks like in your own community.

• Be sensitive to the needs of all community members. If the answer to, “Would this be offensive to someone?” is yes, consider going in a different direction or consult with members of that diverse community for input.

• Be aware of unconscious bias and avoid perpetuating stereotypes.

• Foster community – celebrate together when you can. Avoid holding exclusive events unless there is a reason to do so from a professional development perspective.

• Avoid the use of phrases and greetings that exclude or can be perceived as a stereotype for certain individuals/groups, e.g. “You run like a girl” or “You run fast for a girl” are perceived as a negative impact of stereotypes first-hand.

• Promote an equitable and inclusive program or activities that offer a balance of perspectives and that enable participants to see themselves reflected.

Equity is like a race, and it’s not always fair. We want students to have equal opportunity for success. We must recognize not all students are same. Sometimes more or different is needed to ensure each child will succeed. This is educational equity.

EQUITY & ACCESS LEADERS, WE NEED YOUR INSIGHT.

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