1. The Pyramid Model Recharge for Resilience 2017
Sue Bainter, MA Special Education
Rooted in Relationships Coach & Coordinator

3. What is The Pyramid Model?
Evidence-based model which:
- supports social skill development and
- preventing challenging behavior
Addresses children’s behavior challenges through:
Building relationships
High quality, supportive environments
Teaching and supporting social skills

4. Nurturing and Responsive Relationships
Effective Workforce
better-trained and supported caregivers
are the foundation
Nurturing and Responsive Relationships
positive relationships with children, families, and other providers
High Quality Supportive Environments
setting up an environment to prevent problems before they start: arranging materials & toys, predictable schedules, and routines
Targeted Social Emotional Supports
planning for how to respond to children's behaviors
Intensive Intervention
planning with others for how to support individual children that need additional help beyond steps 1-4
Color-coded to represent pyramid
Effective workforce is foundation

5. Old Way – New Way
Old Way
General intervention for all behavior challenges
Intervention is reactive
Focus on behavior reduction
Quick fix
New Way
Intervention matched to purpose of the behavior
Intervention is proactive
Focus on teaching new skills
Long-term interventions

6. Reaction vs. Response
BEHAVIOR
Reaction
Message
Response

7. The Message Behind Behavior
Often Fits into One of These Three Categories:
Unmet need for attention
Skill deficit
Language expression or understanding
Managing anger
Social and emotional development
Lack of fit
What the child brings
What the family routines and everyday activities present

8. Why Look at the Message Behind the Behavior?
Challenging behavior communicates – usually escape or attention/connect
Challenging behavior works – child quickly learns the sequence

9. Our Role: Help Family Gain Competence
Changing Caregiver’s View
Focus on the function (purpose or reason), not the form (behavior)
Support Engagement between child and caregiver
- Where is the mismatch
Facilitate replacement skills and behaviors
How can the child get the desired outcome in a better way?

10. The Results Children learn how to seek attention in effective ways
Children learn how to express and manage their feelings and actions
Children develop positive relationships with family

11. Perspective Taking
Its time for dinner and Renae is trying to get 2 ½ year old Jack to come to the table to join Dad and 7 year old sister Emma, and herself. Jack wants to keep playing with his cars. Renae finally grabs Jack’s arm to walk and he falls to the floor screaming. The family starts dinner with Jack in the background crying and screaming.

12. Nurturing and Responsive Relationships
Establish the context for the parent and child to:
Engaging in back/forth turn-taking and eventually conversations
Making sure children stay engaged
Providing positive attention and directions

13. Positive Descriptive Praise
Thanks for sitting on your chair!
You are working so hard to make that car go on the track!
You cleaned up your toys, I am proud of you!

14. Clear and Positive Directions
Stop running!
Use your walking feet in the house.

15. High Quality Supportive Environments
What is the “fit” between the child and:
Routines and everyday activities
Transitions
Family and home “rules”

16. Establish a Routine – Use Visuals

17. Targeted Social-Emotional Supports
Supporting and teaching:
Social skills
Emotional literacy
Problem solving skills

18. Teach Social Emotional Skills
Share, Trade, and Tap

19. Teaching Replacement Skills
What is the FORM?
What is the FUNCTION or purpose?
Alternative behavior chosen must match function.
Consider skills that child already has.
Make sure the reinforcement for the desired skill or behavior is consistent and planned for.

20. Teach First-Then
FIRST
THEN

21. Competing Behavior Equation
Child cries, kicks, throws.
Adult delays the washing or rushes through it.
Child is told its time to wash hands.
Child is engaged with washing hands routine.
Adult is able to have the child wash and have it be enjoyable.

22. Application
Identify a Problem Behavior a family you work with is currently struggling with…..
Identify the form, and then the function of that challenging behavior – remember the 3 common “messages” behind behavior

23. CHILD
First - Identify a possible replacement skill or behavior that matches the function, consider:
Is the child engaged?
What is reinforcing the behavior?
What is it about the routine
or activity can be used?
What skills does the child
already have?

24. CAREGIVER
Next, how will the caregiver support the child to learn the new skill?
Prompting
Visuals
Modeling
Social stories
Opportunities for natural practice

25. YOU
Then, how will YOU support the caregiver to support the child’s learning?
Discussion - Reflection
Observation with Feedback
Brainstorming
Modeling
Finally, co-create a plan

26. 2 things I learned today….. 1 thing I will implement immediately
The FINAL Countdown
2 things I learned today….. 1 thing I will implement immediately

27. Current Sites

28. TACSEI http://www.challengingbehavior.org
The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI) takes the research that shows which practices improve the social-emotional outcomes for young children with, or at risk for, delays or disabilities and creates FREE products and resources to help decision-makers, caregivers, and service providers apply these best practices in the work they do every day. Most of these free products are available on the website for you to immediately view, download and use.
TACSEI is a five-year grant made possible by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education

29. CSEFEL http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu
The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5.
CSEFEL is a national resource center funded by the Office of Head Start and Child Care Bureau for disseminating research and evidence-based practices to early childhood programs across the country.

30. Group Debrief afterwards:
How was this different than what you’ve experienced before?
What was surprising to you?
What would you do different next time?
How did the outcomes you got today compare the outcomes you would “typically” get?
Anyone have tears? How did you handle that?
Thoughts on the ecomap?
What did you notice for non verbal behaviors for the parents?
Team meetings:
How do we want to move forward is the question or do we want to move forward??
Who will do what by when from Mary.

31. For More Information: Rooted in Relationships
Pyramid Model – NDE
Pyramid Model – Nebraska Extension

32. Thank You!
Sue Bainter, Rooted in Relationships Coordinator