Functional Assessment in Early Childhood Settings Using the Teaching Tools (TTYC)

1
Functional Assessment in Early Childhood Settings
Using the Teaching Tools(TTYC)

• Bobbie Vaughn, Ph.D.
• Florida Center for Inclusive Communities
• University Center for Excellence in Developmental
  Disabilities
• University of South Florida

2
TTYC Background

• Increase in numbers of children with challenging
  behavior
• Its estimated that 10-15 of young children have
  mild to moderate behavior problems
  (Campbell,1995)
• In
• Early childhood educators (300) indicated the
  highest rated training need was addressing
  problem behavior (Joseph, Strain, Skinner,
  2004).

3
Promoting Childrens Social and Emotional
Development and Addressing Challenging Behavior
1-10 Children with Persistent
Challenges Focused Interventions 5-15 Children
at-Risk Intervention and Support All
Children Universal Interventions
4
The Teaching Pyramid
Individualized Intensive Interventions
Social Emotional Teaching Strategies
Supportive Environments

Building Positive Relationships with Children,
Families and Other Professionals

5
Positive Behavior Support (PBS)

• Is an approach that leads to Lifestyle and
  Quality of life changes
• Is based on humanistic values and research
• Is an approach for developing an understanding of
  why children have challenging behavior
• Is a systems change approach that occurs in
  natural settings
• Is a proactive approach that integrates all
  aspects of the childs life

6
If a child doesnt know how to read, we
teach. If a child doesnt know how to
swim, we teach. If a child doesnt know
how to multiply, we teach. If a child
doesnt know how to drive, we teach. If a
child doesnt know how to behave, we.teach?
punish? Why cant we
finish the last sentence as automatically as we
do the others? Tom Herner (NASDE President )
Counterpoint 1998, p.2)
7
Old Way New Way

• General intervention for all behavior problems
• Intervention is reactive
• Focus on behavior reduction
• Quick Fix

• Intervention matched to purpose of the behavior
• Intervention is proactive
• Focus on teaching new skills
• Long term interventions

8
Challenging Behavior Communicates

• Communicates a message when a child does not have
  language.
• Used instead of language by a child who has
  limited social skills or has learned that
  challenging behavior will result in meeting his
  or her needs.

9
Challenging Behavior Works

• Children engage in challenging behavior because
  it works for them.
• Challenging behavior results in the child gaining
  access to something or someone (i.e.,
  obtain/request) or avoiding something or someone
  (i.e., escape/protest).

10
Brendan Before PBS
11
Brendan With PBS
12
Importance of PBS
13
Pilot Study-Derrick

• Derrick is 4 years and lives with his biological
  brother with a family providing foster care
  (adoption in process)
• Has both articulation and language delays, along
  with delays in cognition
• Has difficulty during circle times, transitions,
  lining up, and clean-up
• Dumps, touches/takes items, pushes/shoves, falls
  to ground, throws, roams room, hits, invades
  peers space, leaves area, crawls through
  activity, corrals others in joining in his
  inappropriate activities
• Is very loving, enjoys movement activities,
  singing, and art and
• He is in a Part B special education class for
  young children with varying developmental delays

14
(No Transcript)
15
Derricks Supplemental Supports for Transitions
Used real photograph
16
Derricks Supplemental Supports for Transitions
(cont.)
17
Derricks Support Plan

• DerricktransSuppPlanSheet.doc

18
Getting Started with TTYC
19
Users Manual

• Provides a rationale for the Teaching Tools
• Emphasizes the importance of getting started
  (or the initial steps to take)
• Provides essential steps for planning the
  supports needed for the young child with
  challenging behavior
• Introduces the tools

20
Getting Started

• Step 1 Establishing a good foundation
• Toolkit Tips (LINK)
• Communication is Key (LINK)
• Step 2 Understanding the Child
• My Teacher Wants to Know questionnaire
• Daily Routine
• Step 3 Selecting Strategies
• Routine Based Support Guide
• Teachers Support Planning Sheet

21
Individualized Process of PBS

• 1. Goal Setting and Team Building
• 2. Functional Behavioral Assessment
• 3. Hypothesis Development
• 4. Behavior Support Plan
• 5. Implementation Monitoring

22
Individualized Process of PBS

• 1. Goal Setting and Team Building
• 2. Functional Behavioral Assessment
• 3. Hypothesis Development
• 4. Behavior Support Plan
• 5. Implementation Monitoring

23
Pay Now?
Pay Later?
24
When is Functional Behavior Assessment Necessary?

• Does the behavior hinder learning?
• Is the behavior resulting in social exclusion?
• Is the behavior limiting access to activities or
  environments?
• Is the behavior resulting in- harm to the
  individual or others?- substantial property
  damage?

25
Four Things To Know

• Understand Triggers
• Teach Communication/social skills
• Change Responses
• Base interventions on Function

26
Triggers

• Events happen prior to challenging behavior
• Slow triggers AKA Setting Events
• Fast triggers
• Examples
• Demands
• Nonpreferred activity
• Specific persons/children
• Another child has a toy
• Staff attending to another student

27
The Importance of Triggers

• Set off the behavior-what pushes buttons
• Change trigger and prevent or minimize behavior

28
Importance of Teaching New Behaviors

• Offers a new behavior or replacement to the
  problem behavior
• May reinforce an existing behavior
• Must serve the same purpose as the problem
  behaviors
• Must be reinforced as frequently

29
The Importance of Responses

• Maintain or make behavior continue
• Change response and change the effects of the
  behavior
• Change response and set a model for interactions
• Can extinguish/suppress behavior

30
Two Main Functions

• To get or obtain attention, things, materials,
  toys, food, etc.
• To get away, escape, or avoid things, activities,
  people, etc.

31
The Importance of Functions or Purpose of Behavior

• Understand the purpose then teach different
  behaviors that accomplish the same purpose
• Understand purpose and create interventions that
  change the environment so that the behavior is no
  longer necessary

32
Getting Started

• Step 1 Establishing a good foundation
• Toolkit Tips (Link)
• Communication is Key (LINK)
• Step 2 Understanding the Child
• My Teacher Wants to Know questionnaire
• Daily Routine
• Step 3 Selecting Strategies
• Routine Based Support Guide
• Teachers Support Planning Sheet

33
Functional Assessment How To Do it

• Interviews or surveys with persons that know the
  child well
• Observations of the child in different settings
  and with different people

34
Interviews

• Ask about triggers
• Asks about behavior/play
• Ask about responses of others and what the
  child or person gets from those responses or the
  function of the behavior
• Ask about the childs or persons communication
• Ask about the childs preferences

My Teacher Wants to Know
35
(No Transcript)
36
Observation Card
Name Observer Date
General Context General Context Time
Trigger Trigger Trigger
Challenging Behavior Challenging Behavior Challenging Behavior
Responses Responses Responses
POSSIBLE FUNCTION POSSIBLE FUNCTION POSSIBLE FUNCTION
37
(No Transcript)
38
Individualized Process of PBS

• 1. Goal Setting and Team Building
• 2. Functional Behavioral Assessment
• 3. Hypothesis Development
• 4. Behavior Support Plan
• 5. Implementation Monitoring

39
Case Study Activity

• Review child description
• Review My Teacher Wants to Know questionnaire
• Review Daily Routine data
• Review Routine Based Support Guide
• Determine Why might he/she be using the
  behavior (communicative function)
• Select preventions, new responses, and new
  replacement skills to teach
• Complete chart and family ideas on Teacher
  Support Planning Sheet

TeacherSupportPlanningSheet.doc
40
(No Transcript)
41
(No Transcript)
42
(No Transcript)
43
Summarize Ideas and Information Gathered from
Functional Assessment

• Gather information from interviews, observations,
  and records or files
• One's best informed guess about the relationship
  between environmental events (triggers and
  responses) and the childs challenging behavior
• Summarize then use information to create a
  behavior support plan

44
How to Summarize

• State the trigger, behavior, consequence and
  function
• When Brendon goes to a new setting or new
  activity, he will fall down, kick, and cry until
  mom picks him up to delay or escpe the
  transition

45
Individualized Process of PBS

• 1. Goal Setting and Team Building
• 2. Functional Behavioral Assessment
• 3. Hypothesis Development
• 4. Behavior Support Plan
• 5. Implementation Monitoring

46
Consider the Whole Child
Play
Interactions
Toys, Level of play, Opportunities, Choice,
Expectations
Health
Communication to the child, Emotional support,
Attachment
Trauma, Illness, Stamina, Medication
Learning Environment
Friends
CHILD
Schedules, Room arrangement, Materials,
Adaptations, Resources, Predictability
Shared interests experiences, Relationships
Home Family
Instruction
Outings/Events
Places family goes, Activities
Routines, Resources, Siblings, Environment,
Respite, Predictability, Extended family
Transitions, Cues, Prompts, Supports,
Accommodations
47
Changing Behavior with Positive Behavior Support
(PBS)

• Determine the Hypotheses (Derived from
  Functional Behavior Assessment)
• Your best guess of what the problem behavior
  communicates (triggers, behavior description,
  maintaining consequences)
• Set up Preventions
• Ways to make events and interactions that trigger
  problem behavior easier for the child to manage
• Teach New Skills
• Skills to teach throughout the day to replace the
  problem behavior
• Respond in a new way
• What adults will do when the problem behavior
  occurs to ensure that the problem behavior is not
  maintained and the new skill is learned

48
Contextual Fit

• Contextual fit is the match between the
  components of a behavior support plan and
  characteristics of individuals implementing the
  plan and a child who receives the plan

49
Teaching Replacement Skills

• Must be easy for the child and caregiver
• Must result in reinforcement
• Must occur in all environments
• Must occur when student is not having problem
  behavior
• Must occur with sufficient intensity to ensure
  acquisition
• Must be taught systematically

50
Adult gives child another turn.
Child yells, kicks, throws.
Child told peer gets a turn.
Adult says one more turn, then (peers name)s
turn and gives turn.
Child asks for one more turn.
51
Discussion ActivityCompeting Behavior Equation
Child screams and resists.
Teacher lets child out of activity.
Child asked to join circle.
Child gestures all done.
Teacher lets child out of activity.
52
When You Cant Honor the Function of the
Challenging Behavior

• Teach tolerance for delay in achieving the
  reinforcer (e.g., help the child stay engaged by
  giving a signal about how long to hang in two
  more songs, then all done.)
• Provide choices (You can put a sticker or a
  stamp on your chart, but you need to take meds.)
• First, then contingency (First, wash hands with
  the wipes or at the sink. Then, snack.)
• Provide preferred items as distraction (Sit in
  car seat you can have teddy bear or you can have
  blanket.)
• Teach child to anticipate and participate (e.g.,
  provide a transition warning and a visual
  schedule so the child can anticipate the
  transition and actively participate.)

53
Using the Routine Based Support Guide

• Gather information as a team
• Observations
• Daily Routine Data
• My Teacher Wants to Know Questionnaire
• Identify Routine(s)
• Determine Why might the child be doing this?
• Ask What can we do to prevent?
• Agree on What can we do if problem behavior
  occurs?
• Select What skills to teach
• Complete Teacher Support Planning Sheet (for
  each routine)

Routine Based Support Guide
54
Lets Take a Peak
55
Teaching Tools Contents

• A Users Manual
• Getting Started Tips and Forms
• Buddy System Tips
• Teacher tools
• Turtle Technique

• Visual Strategies
• Scripted Stories
• Circle Time Tips
• Feeling Vocabulary
• Home Kit
• Supplemental Materials

Review Contents
56
How the Fit with the Pyramid Model
Routine-Based Guide, Teacher Support Planning
Sheet
Intensive Interventions
Turtle Technique, Scripted Stories, Feeling
Vocabulary
Targeted Social Emotional Supports
High Quality Environments
Toolkit Tips, Daily Routine, Rules, Stop Signs,
Visual Strategies, Circle Tips
Nurturing and Responsive Relationships
Communication is Key, My Teacher Wants to Know,
Buddy System, Home Kit
57
Individualized Process of PBS

• 1. Goal Setting and Team Building
• 2. Functional Behavioral Assessment
• 3. Hypothesis Development
• 4. Behavior Support Plan
• 5. Implementation Monitoring

58
Measure/Monitor Outcomes

• Why important?
• It allows us to determine whether our plan makes
  a difference
• Accountability
• How can measurement be used?
• Before after comparisons
• Ex. Behavior observations, parent ratings
• Helps provider/educator and family member work
  towards the same goal

59
Major Messages

• The Routine-Based Support Guide isThe Tools are
  intended to reduce challenging behavior for the
  child who are in early childhood settings
• For children with persistent challenging
  behavior, the team may need to do a more in depth
  functional assessment and enhance the support
  plan based on the FAI.
• See CSEFEL (module3a) for forms to help guide a
  more involved functional assessment
• The Tools contain suggested strategies and
  educational staff is encouraged to adapt
  materials based on individual child
  characteristics and unique situations

60
Wrap Up

• TTYC is available on the web at
  www.challengingbehavior.org
• Center for Social emotional foundations for
  early learning
• Email us at
• lentini_at_fmhi.usf.edu
• vaughn_at_fmhi.usf.edu
• Questions

61
Turtle Technique Make Take
62
(No Transcript)
63
(No Transcript)
64
Circle Make Take
65
Cue Cards Make Take
66
Feeling Wheel Make Take