Format
Individual Presentation
First Presenter's Institution
University of Georgia
Second Presenter's Institution
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
Third Presenter's Institution
NA
Fourth Presenter's Institution
NA
Fifth Presenter's Institution
NA
Location
Session 4 (Verelst)
Strand #1
Safety & Violence Prevention
Strand #2
Social & Emotional Skills
Relevance
The presentation is relevant to Safety & Violence Prevention and Social and Emotional Skills in that it looks at ethics- and research-based strategies for teaching/supporting alternatives to aggression and other behaviors. It does so within the context of using functional assessments that focus on behavioral descriptions of behaviors as an alternative to using pejorative terms such as "bully."
Brief Program Description
This presentation will present historical perspectives on the use of person-first terminology as related to the impact of contemporary pejorative terminology, including the terms associated with "bullying." Functional alternatives in assessing problematic behaviors will follow. Finally, ethics-based (least intrusive) social skills and behavioral interventions will be exemplified.
Summary
Person 1st language laces emphasis on the individual as an entity rather than on that person's presenting challenges. The NYAR indeed instructs submissions to utilize person 1st language. We already have a nomenclature for inappropriate behaviors that are often used to describe "bullying". Aggression, for example, is defined by the topography of the operants (e.g., hitting, pushing) in the case of physical aggression, and by the verbal content (name-calling, teasing) or intensity (e.g., decibel level that implies yelling) of verbal/vocal aggression. This presentation will provide an historical perspective on diagnostic and descriptive terminology that at one point was accepted in the scientific and educational communities but which, over time, acquired a pejorative connotation that led to new terminology. For example, "idiot-moron imbecile" were originally diagnostic terms that acquired pejorative connotations that resulted in new terminology ("mental retardation" and currently "intellectual disability). An initial discussion will be led regarding the potential pejorative ramifications of labelling individuals as "bullies" and their behavior as "bullying," which may predispose professionals to impose motives that serve no function and which may adversely affect the individual who exhibits challenging behavior. This will be followed by a description of function-based assessment and how it provides a reliable description of behaviors and the variables that maintain the behavior, as well as a model for prescribing function-based, least intrusive interventions to decrease challenging behavior while replacing it with socially appropriate alternatives. Finally, intervention examples (e.g., differential reinforcement, social skills instruction) will be given that are easily replicable in applied settings.
Evidence
Many school-aged and adults with behavioral and psychological disorders exhibit problematic behavior (Kauffman, 2009). Functional assessment identifies variables that maintain problematic behavior such as non compliance and problematic behaviors. There are literally thousands of research articles that demonstrate the effectiveness of functional assessments in prescribing interventions that decrease such behaviors and/or teach social skills that replace challenging behaviors (see Cooper, Heron and Heward, 2019, & Alberto and Troutman, 2014, for summaries of FA/FBA and related evidence-based interventions).
Biographical Sketch
Tom J. Clees has been active in the field of Special Education for over forty years. He brings extensive clinical, school-based and community experiences to his work at the University of Georgia. Dr. Clees is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-D. He has presented regionally, nationally, and internationally in the areas of applied behavior analysis, social skills, behavioral disorders, and transition.
J. Todd Stephens has been involved in the field of Special Education for over forty years. During this time has has been a classroom teacher, community behavior consultant, clinical psychologist and teacher preparation faculty member. Dr. Stephens has presented regionally, nationally, and internationally in the areas of emotional and behavioral disorders, intellectual disability, and evidence-based practices in positive behavior supports.
Keyword Descriptors
person-1st language, function-based interventions, least intrusive hierarchy of interventions, social skills instruction
Presentation Year
2020
Start Date
3-10-2020 8:30 AM
End Date
3-10-2020 9:45 AM
Recommended Citation
clees, tom and Stephens, Todd J., "Bully, bullies and bullying: Pejorative terminology, alternative descriptors, and ethics-based interventions" (2020). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 61.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2020/2020/61
Included in
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, Special Education and Teaching Commons
Bully, bullies and bullying: Pejorative terminology, alternative descriptors, and ethics-based interventions
Session 4 (Verelst)
This presentation will present historical perspectives on the use of person-first terminology as related to the impact of contemporary pejorative terminology, including the terms associated with "bullying." Functional alternatives in assessing problematic behaviors will follow. Finally, ethics-based (least intrusive) social skills and behavioral interventions will be exemplified.
