Increasing the Effectiveness of Schoolwide Behavioral Supports:

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Increasing the Effectiveness of School-wide
Behavioral Supports

• The Need for Threat Assessment

Catherine Roberts, PhDBarry University,
FloridaJay Schneller, PhD, NCSP Author of
the Psychosocial Evaluation Threat Risk
AssessmentPutnam County School District,
Palatka, Florida
croberts_at_mail.barry.edu

schneller_at_psych-insight.com


www.psych-insight.com
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Presentation overview

• The balance of school safety and student rights
• School-wide Behavioral Support (SBS)
• Psychosocial components of maladaptive behavior
• Ecological components of maladaptive behavior
• Resilience and behavioral dysfunction
• Escalation toward violent behavior
• Assessment of predisposing precipitating
  characteristics
• Threat risk indicators threat assessment
• Targeted Intervention

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WHAT WE WANT

• GOAL
• All schools and parents want to ensure that
  our schools are safe and all children are treated
  equitably. The need to have a balance between
  school safety and the rights of students

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PROBLEM

• Inequity Issues
• Current disciplinary procedures for
  students with disabilities
• Particularly for students with EBD
• Disproportionate number of minorities
• Inconsistent disciplinary removal from
  school to school
• Schools with fewer resources

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Exceptional Students the School Violence
Literature

• Students receiving ESE services made more threats
  as well as more substantive threats than their
  non-disabled peers, particularly students
  classified as ED.
• Students with EBD exhibit greater characteristics
  of antisocial conduct and aggression than their
  peers.
• Students with disabilities more likely to commit
  assault on personnel and accounted for 43 of
  assaults with a weapon.

National School Safety Center. (2001). Report on
school associated violent deaths. CA. Vossekuil,
B., Reddy, M., Fein, R., Borum, R., Modzeleski,
W. (2000). U.S.S.S. Safe school initiative An
interim report on the prevention of targeted
violence in schools. Washington, DC U.S. Secret
Service, National Threat Assessment Center.
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Impact of EBD on Behavior

• Increased alienation
• Reported fewer friends avoidance of others
  to keep from getting picked on
• Increased depression
• Sad more often increased suicidal ideation
• More aggressive
• Easier access to guns
• more destructive in behavior
• Students with EBD in general demonstrated
• Greater likelihood of abuse particularly females
  
• Higher drug alcohol use... HS more than MS
• Higher incidence of poor health
• Decreased acceptance of others ideas

Schneller, J., Roberts, C. (2006). Children in
Distress A Comparison of School Violence Risk
Factors among Middle and High School Students
with and without Emotional and Behavioral
Disorders. Submitted for publication
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Legal Issues

• Based on the higher rates of suspension, these
  students with disabilities are not receiving
  IEP-related services
• No Child Left Behind - requires schools to
  maximize educational opportunities for all
• IDEA (19972004) mandates schools to provide
  School-wide Behavioral Support (SBS) yet provides
  more restrictive consequences for students with
  disabilities

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MORAL ISSUES

• The ineffectiveness of zero tolerance in
  preventing violence
• repetitive occurrences
• negative school climate
• Targets vulnerable special education population
• unable to understand or control behaviors due to
• higher levels of social maladjustment
  (alienation, aggression)
• emotional regulation difficulties (depression,
  anger management)
• decreased coping skills (coping with stress)

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WHAT WORKS School-wide Behavioral Support (SBS)

• Multi-gated assessment approach to solve problem
  behaviors
• Collaborative approach in place for effective
  interventions for problem behaviors
• Multidimensional model of addressing total school
  climate, home-school relations, and individual
  student behaviors

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SCHOOL-WIDE BEHAVIORAL SUPPORT(SBS) SYSTEM
Tertiary Prevention Individualized Systems for
students with at-risk behaviors
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Secondary Prevention Group Systems for Students
with At-Risk Behaviors
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School wide Classrooms All students All
settings All Staff
Primary Prevention
85 of Students

• Adapted from the Center for Positive Behavior
  Intervention and Supports (2002)

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WHAT SBS LOOKS LIKE

• Features of SBS
  Schools
• Have a continuum of school-wide behavior supports
  
• Focus on behavior of adults as a unit
• Provide behavioral staff training
• Have efficient, relevant data-based, assessment
  based multi-gated decision-making process
• Focus on academic success for all students
• Provide teacher training in best practice

Positive Behavior Support Project (US,
2003-2004)
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ELEMENTS of SBS SYSTEMS

• Faculty involvement
• Basic principles of behavior
• Agreed-on definitions of problem behaviors
• Data-gathering collaborative system
• Developed discipline referral process forms
• Delivery system in place

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BUILDING A SCHOOL COMMUNITY
Meaningful Instruction
Reflective Practice
Input Feedback
Assessment Data Collection Process
Celebration of Success
SBS Support System
Vision Mission
Recognition Renewal
Staff Collaboration Training
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The Components of Maladaptive Behavior
Psychological Domain

• Alienation
• Depression
• Aggression
• Egocentrism

Ecological Domain
Resilience Domain

• Home
• School

• Coping
• Stress

Maladaptive behavior often reflects a pattern of
thinking and feeling that is understandable and
often discernable
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Alienation
increases the risk associated with threats of
violence

• Does the student feel they belong?
• What is the quality of the students social life?
• Does the student have friends?
• Does the student feel liked by peers?
• Is the student accepted by classmates?

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Characteristics of Aggression
Often contribute to the escalation toward violent
behavior.

• Does the student think about hurting people?
• Is there easy access to guns?
• Does the student ever carry a weapon?
• Does the student get mad easily?
• Is the student destructive?
• Does the student like to fight?
• Is there a fascination with violence?
• Does the student like conflict?

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Depressed Mood
is frequently associated with maladaptive
behavior

• Are there feelings of anhedonia?
• Does the student feel sad or depressed most of
  the time?
• Does the student present with or have a history
  of suicidal ideation?
• What is the students mood?

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Egocentrism
often marks characteristics that may precipitate
maladaptive behaivor

• Does the student exhibit feelings of grandiosity?
• Does the student demonstrate empathy?
• Is the student attention-seeking?
• Does the student brag about themselves?
• Does the student feel that they are better than
  their peers?

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The Home Environment
provides protective qualities, but can also
represent a source of risk

• How is the relationship between the student and
  their parents?
• Does the student follow rules at home?
• Are the parents good role models?
• Is there an open line of communication at home?
• Do the parents keep track of what the student
  does with their friends?

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The School Environment
is important to consider the effect of school
culture on student behavior

• Does the student like the school?
• Are the teachers perceived as fair?
• Are drugs a problem on campus?
• Is the student an active part of the school
  community?
• Does the student feel he or she could sneak a
  weapon into school?
• How is the security?

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Stress
reduces resilience and is commonly associated
with maladaptive behavior

• Has the student been picked on or bullied at
  school?
• Is lack of money or resources causing stress?
• Is the student sad or depressed most of the time?
• Is there a recent loss of a loved one?
• Is student alienated?
• Has the student been abused?
• Is the student involved in the school community?
• Is the student experiencing thoughts of death?
• How is the students health?
• Are family matters a source of stress?
• Is school the source of stress?

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Victimization can take several forms

• physical

• emotional

• sexual

• peer

• Peer victimization, also known as bullying,
  refers
• to repeated, unprovoked, harmful physical or
• psychological actions by one or more individuals
• against another. Bullying includes

• hitting
• kicking
• pushing
• making threats
• peer rejection and exclusion

• intimidating
• name-calling
• teasing
• taunting

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Coping
or the lack thereof is important to take into
consideration

• Does the student use drugs?
• Is the student impulsive?
• Will the student ask for help?
• Is the student open to new ideas?
• Are there issues related to poor locus of
  control?
• Is the student optimistic or pessimistic?

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Critical Items
mark areas in need of immediate attention

• Perception of poor school security.
• Report or history of being picked on
  or bullied at school.
• Acknowledgment of desire to hurt others.
• Suicidal ideation.
• Use or possession of a weapon.
• Easy access to guns.
• History of abuse.

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Threat Assessment Matrix
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Threat Risk Indicators

• Expression of lethally violent or suicidal
  behaviors.
• Identification of a particular victim other than
  self.
• Violent or suicidal behavior involving a note.
• Access to firearms or other lethal weapons.
• Evidence of an executable and likely lethal plan.
  
• Expressions of dire predictions
  (e.g., being dead or stopping the pain).
• Behavior reflecting black white thinking
  (e.g., words like only, forever).
• Expressions of fantasies of death (e.g., eternal
  sleep or reunion with family).

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Predisposing Characteristicsthat may influence
the escalation of maladaptive behavior

• History of arrests before age 15, aggression,
  verbal cruelty, violence, or antisocial
  behavior
• History of suicidal behavior with self-inflicted
  tissue injury
• Acquisition of behavior and skills of a
  delinquent peer group
• Soft neurological signs, coordination or language
  difficulties, or sub average IQ
• Pattern of poor social relationships, few family
  ties, personal losses of peers,
  or problems in school
• Diagnosis of ADHD or Conduct Disorder
• Unstable home environment
• History of self-mutilation

Related to Impulsivity


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Early Precipitating Characteristics
signifying an escalation in significantly
maladaptive behavior

• Expressions with certain death as the objective
• Identification of a particular victim(s)
• Expressions of dire predictions
• Violent or suicidal behavior involving a note
• Access to firearms or other lethal weapons
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Perception of actual or perceived social tension
• Result of threat to self-esteem and/or
  humiliation
• Expected return to problematic situation or
  setting

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Late Precipitating Characteristics
indicate an impending act of violence following a
threat

• Black white thinking (e.g., words like only,
  forever)
• Well developed (i.e., executable) and lethal plan
  
• Fantasies of death, such as eternal sleep or
  reunion with family
• Symptoms of agitation or motor restlessness

ACUTE
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Targeted Intervention
is important to specifically address the issue(s)
that led to the threat

• Psychosocial Interventions
• Alienation
• Depression
• Aggression
• Egocentricism

• School-based
• CST IEP
• Guidance / MH
• Supervision
• Extra curricular

• Community-Based
• Law enforcement
• Community MH
• Youth groups
• Community involvement

Parenting workshops Improve school
culture Anti-bullying programs Supervision
Safe listening zones

• Social skills training
• Stress anger mgt.
• Self advocacy

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Presentation Review Discussion

• The balance of school safety and student rights
• School-wide Behavioral Support (SBS)
• Psychosocial components of maladaptive behavior
• Ecological components of maladaptive behavior
• Resilience and behavioral dysfunction
• Escalation toward violent behavior
• Assessment of predisposing precipitating
  characteristics
• Threat risk indicators threat assessment
• Targeted Intervention