Individualized Behavior Tools!
Okay.. so I hope this post helps me relate to each and every one of you. I have been a little M.I.A. from my blog for a few weeks. Simply put, I am overwhelmed. I have a lot going on with my family, and I have a student who is just progressively getting more and more dangerous with his behaviors. These behaviors start first thing in the morning and continue until we get him on the bus in the afternoon.
To help… I made this simple RULE sheet that is carried around by his 1:1 aide. Under the rules are the daily behavior data sheets where my aide takes data.
Because the behaviors start the second he gets off the bus, I realized, I need to target the behavior from the second he steps off the bus. This kiddo of mine is tricky, he LOVES air conditioners. And when I say love… I mean LOVE. Oh.. and did I mention he is extremely fast. That means, the second he is off the bus he is sprinting to an air conditioner unit. He loves to sit and listen to the hum it makes.
With this, I thought if I could get him to “work” for something before he gets to the AC unit, I might be able to “reel” him in. I have to be honest, it was a battle at first. It took 3 adults to greet him at the bus and physically prompt him to the play ground where my class starts the day for P.E. I created his own visual schedule to help him visualize each “happy face” he could earn on his working card before he got his preferred reincorcer inside. I learned that if he went straight to the AC unit, we couldn’t get him inside without a huge meltdown. It took about 2 weeks of trial and error before he learned that the quicker he did his APE, the quicker he could go inside. I even told him, if you work fast, you get to go inside before the rest of the class… this WORKED after 2 weeks of it NOT working. It’s important to note, that new behavior strategies will not work overnight, it takes consistency and perseverance!
At this time, he is on his own PE schedule in the morning. I do not make him participate with the class because the morning is such a challenge for him. With this, he is abel to go at his own pace with his 1:1 AIDE. For now, this is working! He is able to regulate his exercise and give himself a happy face when he is done!
It took me a while to realize that I needed to change up his morning routine. With this simple change, I am seeing a huge improvement. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a challenge. But now he is doing his 15 minutes of PE in the morning, transitioning to the classroom for a preferred activity, and often times transitioning to the “morning meeting” with the rest of his class. This is a huge success for us. We are consistently making it through the first 45 minutes of the day with little to no aggressive behaviors. With this, it’s important for us to remember, baby steps. BABY STEPS… baby steps!
A few of the behavioral visuals that I have been using with this kiddo that are slowly helping to improve his daily behaviors:
