1. Intervening with Difficult Behaviors October 23, 2014 NSPA

2. As you arrive…. …Take an index card. Think about a difficult behavior you have encountered so far this year. Record the following… 1. Describe the behavior. 2. What’s your intervention? 3. What data are you collecting?

3. Who we are… Scott Butler, Ed.D. Director Boys Town Day School Omaha Tanya Martin, Ed.D. Director of Special Education Boys Town

4. What is a Boys Town Day School? Level 3 Special Education Placement Serve students K - 21 Emphasis on teaching Social Skills

5. What SKILLS do kids need to be successful in your school?

6. Social Skill… Socially acceptable learned behaviors enabling the the individual to interact effectively with others and avoid or escape socially unacceptable behavior exhibited by others.

7. When we encounter a problem… Ask 3 questions Does the student KNOW the skill? Can the student USE the skill? Can the student USE the skill fluently? Why might someone have a skill yet not use it fluently?

8. What obstacles do you encounter? Behavior: Kids don’t know the skills? Kids don’t use the skills? Systemic We don’t know how to identify the skill? We don’t know how to teach / practice the skill?

9. If kids don’t use or know how to use the skills….. We have to teach them. We have to motivate them.

10. If the problem is systemic…. Step 1: Teach the difference between a SKILL and a BEHAVIOR

11. Behavior vs. Skill Individual, discrete acts demonstrated as part of a larger measure of activity. Sets of behaviors designed to produce positive results for the user in specific situations.

12. Let’s practice using examples from your cards. What is the BEHAVIOR? What SKILL is missing?

13. Task Analysis Limit the scope of the task to less than 5 steps. Keep steps observable. Use language appropriate to the student. State what the student will DO. Focus on the task.

14. What SKILLS do your students need to be successful at school?

15. How do we intervene with kids? Gather baseline data. Team discussion of behavior. Team identifies target SKILL. Teach the skill (1-1 interaction, skills groups, multiple settings, multiple times each day, regular practice) Reinforce Collect data.