1. Dealing With Escalating Behavior in the School Setting School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports Training Northwest AEA March 7, 2013
Jerome Schaefer

2. Remember This Guy?

3. What can you take back to your staff?
PURPOSE
Enhance our understanding of and ways of responding to escalating behavior.
What can you take back to your staff?

4. ASSUMPTIONS Behavior is learned (function).
Behavior is escalated through successive interactions.
Escalating behavior can be prevented.
Behavior can be changed through an instructional approach – when done proactively.

5. Functions
Pos Reinf
Neg Reinf

6. OUTCOMES Identification of the stages of escalation.
Identification of intervention strategies and adult behaviors to be used at the various stages of escalation.
Identification of the key strategies to be used when confronting escalating behaviors.

7. Teacher Jason What assignment? Jason, please turn in your assignment.
The assignment you didn’t finish during class.
I finished it.
Great, please turn it in now.
I don’t have it with me now.
You have a choice…..turn it in or do it again.
You never believe me.
I guess you’ve made the choice to do it again.
Make me.
Prior to this slide have them for 3 minutes share with those nearby about an escalating incident that they have been involved with.
That’s disrespect…go to the office.
F_____ you!
Moves closer…& puts hand on J. shoulder.
Pulls away, glares, & raises fist as if to strike.

8. Share your experiences

9. The MODEL High Peak Acceleration De-escalation Agitation Trigger Calm
Recovery
Low

10. The MODEL
High
Low
CALM


11. 1. Calm Student is cooperative. Accepts corrective feedback.
Follows directives.
Sets personal goals.
Ignores distractions.
Accepts praise.
Reasoning and compromising skills are at their highest

12. Interventions/Adult Behaviors

13. Interventions/Adult Behaviors
Focus on teaching and prevention
Assessing probable triggers and thinking about function
Facilitating successful academic and social experiences
High rates of positive feedback
Teach social/behavioral skills
Communicate Expectations
Consider your own emotional and physiological state
Know your relationship with the individual
Be aware of the student’s emotional state

14. The MODEL
High
TRIGGER 
Low

15. 2. Trigger Student experiences a series of unresolved conflicts.
Repeated failures
Frequent corrections from adults and/or peers
Interpersonal conflicts with adults and/or peers
Low rates of positive reinforcement
Student showing signs of frustration or distress
Triggers are most often environmental (can be internal)
Reasoning and compromising skills still in tact

16. Trigger
Insert Video clip here

17. Interventions/Adult Behaviors

18. Interventions/Adult Behaviors
Focused on prevention and redirection
Consider function of problem behavior when responding
Remove or modify problem events (eliminating triggers)
Reinforce what you have taught (pre-correct)
Stay calm with your words and your body
Soft tone of voice
Using the student’s name
Actively listen
Determine whether ignoring is appropriate

19. The MODEL
High
AGITATION 
Low

20. 3. Agitation Student exhibits increase in unfocused behavior. Off-task
Very brief periods of focused working
Signs of frustration and distress or clearly evident
Out of seat
Talking with others
Social withdrawal/isolation
Reasoning and compromising skills under attack

21. Agitation
Insert Video Clip Here

22. Interventions/Adult Behaviors

23. Interventions/Adult Behaviors
Intervention is focused on being proactive
Consider function of problem behaviors when responding
Redirect to less agitating activities (environmental modifications)
Provide reasonable options and choices
Remind about options through limited problem solving
Don’t ignore it
Don’t try to attempt teaching of new skills, rather reinforce skills they use and remind of the skills they have
Stay calm

24. The MODEL
High
ACCELERATION
Low

25. 4. Acceleration Student displays focused behavior. Provocative
High intensity
Threatening
Personal
Significant decrease in reasoning and compromising skills
Use of the language of fear (obscenities)
Talking louder and faster
Quick movements
Less self-control

26. Acceleration

27. Interventions/Adult Behaviors

28. Interventions/Adult Behaviors
Intervention is focused on safety
Remove all triggers
Disengage from the student (especially if you are a part of the escalation)
Prevent power struggles and arguments
Choose your physical placement carefully
Stay calm
Remind of options but not as “either/or”
Prepare for being personally attacked
Bring in another adult to assist
Don’t rush the child to return to the calm phase

29. The MODEL
High
PEAK
Low

30. 5. Peak
Student is out of control & displays most severe problem behavior.
Verbal aggression
Physical aggression
Property destruction
Self-injury
Escape/social withdrawal
Hyperventilation
No reasoning or compromising skills

31. Peak

32. Interventions/Adult Behaviors

33. Interventions/Adult Behaviors
Interventions are focused on safety of the student, other students, and adults
Remain calm
Careful body positioning (stay out of reach)
Carefully choose words
Communicate understanding (empathy)
Remove other students
Use diversions and distractions
Follow the crisis intervention plan
Involve other staff members
Use of physical interventions as necessary (Mandt training or similar training may be necessary)

34. The MODEL
High
De-escalation
Low

35. 6. De-escalation
Student displays confusion but with decreases in severe behavior.
Social withdrawal
Denial
Blaming others
Minimization of problem
Still not using good reasoning or compromising skills
Could quickly return to peak

36. Deescalation

37. Interventions/Adult Behaviors

38. Interventions/Adult Behaviors
Focus is on removing access attention
Don’t nag
Don’t blame
Don’t force or even assume the student will apologize
Provide structure (structured cooling off)
Take your time – don’t rush it
Be careful not to re-escalate by focusing on consequences at this time
Don’t try to teach
Provide choices and/or reminders of choices
Allow the student to direct their progress

40. The MODEL
High
RECOVERY 
Low

41. 7. Recovery Student displays eagerness to engage in activities.
Attempts to correct problem.
Unwillingness to participate in group activities.
Social withdrawal
Emotional and physically drained (sleep)
Reasoning and compromising skills return but not fully
Some capacity of self-control returns

42. Interventions/Adult Behaviors

43. Interventions/Adult Behaviors
Focus is on debriefing and transitioning back
Use of humor if appropriate
Positively reinforce displays of appropriate behavior
Begin to reestablish routine activities
Active listening
Don’t require apologies
Provide your own apologies and/or clarifications if needed
Focus on the present
Don’t expect remorse or concern

44. Post-Recovery (sometime later)
Teach through problem solving example and help the child own the problem and the solution:
What did I do?
Why did I do it?
What could I have done instead?
What do I have to do next?
Can I do it?
Role Play the Love and Logic Procedure. 3rd grade student who is at post-recovery of a aggressive tantrum in which he threw things across the room, called the teacher a freaken bitch, and tipped over his desk before leaving the room and removing himself to the playground where he refused to return to school for over one hour. This started because he was laughing and carrying on with other students in the room and the teacher asked him to stop
Looks like you had a pretty hard time there today in Science class.
Empathy Statement
What are some other ways you could have handled that today? Kid says “I dunno” or gives several ideas.
Would you like to hear some of the things other kids do in those situations? Kid says “Yeah”
Provide alternatives and ask “How might that work?” for each.
Elicit anymore ideas ask “How might that work?”
Review the ideas and then ask “Which one of those would you like to try?” Kid picks one.
“Sounds like you have a plan. Why don’t you report back to me later and let me know how that goes”

45. The MODEL High Peak Acceleration De-escalation Agitation Trigger Calm
Recovery
Low

46. Big Ideas
Teach coping skills prior to escalating incidents or at post-recovery time.
Look for replacement behaviors that can be taught & serve similar function.
Manage your own behavior.
Identify environmental factors that can be manipulated to prevent escalating behaviors.
Don’t hurry or attempt to force students through phases of escalation.
Develop and follow crisis intervention plans to deal with the peak phase of escalation.
Follow-up sometime after the incident with the student problem solve and teach ways to better deal with their behavior.

47. Sources
Power Point Presentation - School Wide Positive Behavioral Supports Training (Colvin and Sugai, 1989)
The Mandt System: Putting People First (David Mandt and Associates, April, 2002)

48. Video Link
Boston 24/7 with Principal McAfee (With Captions)