PBS comes to ECE: Implementing the Teaching Pyramid

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PBS comes to ECE Implementing the Teaching
Pyramid
Lise Fox fox_at_fmhi.usf.edu www.challengingbehavio
r.org
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Young Children with Challenging Behavior

• It begins early
• Between 10-30 of preschool students are not
  behaviorally and emotionally ready to succeed in
  school
• Early problem behavior is predictive of future
  challenges
• Best predictor of delinquency in adolescence,
  gang membership, incarceration

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• Early educators are challenged
• Preschool teachers report that childrens
  disruptive behavior is the single greatest
  challenge they face
• Preschool children are three times more likely to
  be expelled than children in K-12

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We are talking about babies

• Developmental ages from 6 months to 5 years
• Limited understanding and expression
• Moving from solitary play to social play
• Moving from object exploration to representation
• Implications for guidance, corrective feedback,
  classroom management, instruction

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Its about play

• Instruction is embedded within play and routine
  activities
• Major focus is to facilitate peer social
  interaction and concept development
• Instructional activities are brief and concrete
• How social skills are taught, the concepts of
  rules and expectations

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Meltdown moments are expected

• Crying
• Head Banging
• Biting
• Throwing objects
• Pinching
• Pulling hair
• Hitting
• Spitting food

Topography of behavior is not meaningful, context
is what matters. Formulas for majors/minors
might not be helpful.
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Early Educators

• Often lack formal credentials
• Have very little training in behavior
• Have limited to no experience with teaming
• Intensity and frequency of training and
  technical assistance

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Programs might

• Be minimally staffed
• Have no access to mental health or behavioral
  consultation
• Use exclusion to resolve behavioral issues
• Offer no opportunities for professional
  development or training
• Systems building and community linkages critical
  to success

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The non-system of early childhood

• Early childhood policies and procedures are
  highly fragmented, with complex and confusing
  points of entry that are particularly problematic
  for underserved populations and those with
  special needs. This lack of an integrative early
  childhood infrastructure makes it difficult to
  advance prevention-oriented initiatives for all
  children and to coordinate services for those
  with complex problems.
• (Shonkoff Phillips, 2000, p.11)

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The Teaching Pyramid Promoting Social and
Emotional Competence and Addressing Challenging
Behavior
Treatment/Focused Intervention
Intensive Interventions
Targeted Social Emotional Supports
Prevention
High Quality Supportive Environments
Universal Promotion
Nurturing and Responsive Caregiving Relationships
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The Teaching Pyramid Program-Wide PBS
Program-Wide Commitment
Teacher Training and Technical Assistance
Intensive Interventions
Data-Based Decision Making
Well-Defined Procedures
Targeted Social Emotional Supports
High Quality Supportive Environments
Partnerships with Families
Administrative Support
Nurturing and Responsive Caregiving Relationships
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ECMH Consultant Role
Behavioral Support
Comprehensive family supports
Intensive Interventions
Teacher coaching
Case management
Parent Training
Targeted Social Emotional Supports
Home visiting
High Quality Supportive Environments
Family Education and Support
Teacher training
Screening and Assessment
Nurturing and Responsive Caregiving Relationships
Program-Wide Teaming Leadership, Data-Based
Decision Making, Implementation Fidelity
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Home Visiting

• Promotion, Prevention, Intervention
• Responsive parenting (universal)
• Environmental supports and caregiving routines
  (universal)
• Systematic, embedded instruction of social
  emotional skills (prevention)
• Family system supports (prevention)
• Use of I-PBS for developing a comprehensive plan
  of supports for children with persistent
  challenges (intervention)

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• To provide families, caregivers, and others with
  positive strategies and skills that will result
  in the childs acquisition of appropriate social
  and communication skills
• To assist young children with challenging
  behavior and their families with support to
  achieve quality of life outcomes

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Intervention Components

• Screening to determine potential eligibility
• Family/Child Care visit to determine severity of
  behavior within natural environment and daily
  routines
• Person-centered planning with family system and
  circle of support
• Functional assessment within home and child care
  environments

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Intervention (continued)

• Family-centered, comprehensive behavior support
  plan development
• Coaching in natural environments
• Family support and education
• Ongoing evaluation and monitoring

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Process of Individualized Positive Behavior
Support

• Step 1 Convene a team and identify goals of
  intervention
• Step 2 Gathering information (functional
  assessment)
• Step 3 Developing hypotheses
• Step 4 Designing behavior support plans
• Step 5 Implementing, monitoring, and
  evaluating outcomes

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Focus on the Core Elements

• Outcomes expectations and behavior targets that
  are taught and supported by all
• Practices- evidence-based interventions and
  strategies
• Data inform decision-making and monitor
  outcomes
• Systems supports needed to ensure implementation

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Scaling Up State Adoption

• Champion who gets it and will see it through
• State planning team key players with authority
  and resources to implement systems change
• Training and technical assistance infrastructure
• Coaching and training to classroom/program
  personnel

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State Planning

• All relevant players (part c, 619, child care, R
  R, state preschool, head start, public health,
  etc.)
• State team facilitator, Training coordinator
• Monthly meetings to establish
• Vision
• Action plan/Implementation strategies
• Policies and procedures
• Resource allocation
• Administrative home/Operational infrastructure
• Evaluation (child outcomes, implementation
  fidelity, program evaluation)
• Sustainability plan

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National Centers - Resources

• Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations
  for Early Learning
• (CSEFEL)
• www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel
• Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional
  Intervention
• www.challengingbehavior.org