5 Tips for Preventing Challenging Behavior You Can Start Using Tomorrow

First Presenter's Institution

QBS LLC

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Noelle is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has worked with individuals with disabilities and their families for over 15 years. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and her Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Sage Colleges. Noelle has supported individuals in a variety of settings including home, center, school, and community based programs. She has experience working in schools with students and consulting with school staff. Noelle currently travels as a Master Trainer and Consultant with QBS providing Safety-Care Behavioral Training to programs across the United States.

Document Type

Event

Primary Strand

School Safety

Relevance to Primary Strand

This presentation is related to School Safety. Five tips to prevent challenging behavior are reviewed. All students deserve a safe and supportive learning environment. Not all solutions to challenging behavior need to be complex behavior programs. These tips are simple strategies that can be easily implemented and increase safety for students and staff. Small changes can have big impacts in creating a safe and supportive environment.

Brief Program Description

Not all solutions to challenging behavior need to be complex behavior programs. We can often make small changes that can have big impacts. This presentation reviews five tips for preventing challenging behavior you can start using tomorrow.

Summary

All students deserve a safe and supportive learning environment. Some students require specialized behavior programming to provide this environment. Not all solutions to challenging behavior need a complex behavior program. We can often make small changes that have big impacts for staff and student safety. Here are five tips to preventing challenging behavior you can start using tomorrow.

1. It’s All About the Environment. Learning spaces should be comfortable, uncluttered, and organized. Take a look around your learning space. Are there file cabinets or extra furniture that can be moved to provide more space or dangerous items that should be put away for safety?

2. Use Do vs. Don’t Statements. Words such as “calm down!”, “stop!”, or “quit it!” can provoke additional or more intense challenging behavior. Tell the student what to do instead of what not to do. Instead of saying, “don’t touch that” say “put your hands in your lap”.

3. Catch Them Being Good. It is easy to focus on challenging behavior only. Instead of focusing on the negative, “catch” students being good and let them know. Even small behaviors that students “should” do or already know how to do deserve acknowledgement. The more praise and reinforcement we can provide for positive student behavior the better.

4. Avoid Power Struggles. Our job is to support, not control, our students. Avoid physical intimidation, threatening consequences, and nagging. Instead, manage our own emotional reactions. Staff should model appropriate student behavior.

5. Don’t Get Mad, Give Space. If you are having a difficult time remaining calm while managing a student’s challenging behavior, don’t get mad, instead give the student space. Take a pause, manage your own emotional reaction, and plan for your next step.

These five tips for preventing challenging behavior help staff to provide a safe and supportive classroom environment. Identify one of these tips to implement in your classroom over the upcoming week. Notice the changes in your students’ behavior as you practice one simple prevention strategy. Sometimes it is the smallest changes that make the biggest impact.

Evidence

This presentation is based on research in PBIS and ABA. This presentation incorporates behavioral principles including positive reinforcement, extinction, modeling, shaping, behavioral momentum, and differential reinforcement and presents them in a clear and tangible way and provides real life application of these principles. Reference list available upon request.

Learning Objective 1

implement a strategy to prevent challenging behavior and maintain safety in the classroom.

Learning Objective 2

identify ways to change their own behavior to improve student and staff safety.

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5 Tips for Preventing Challenging Behavior You Can Start Using Tomorrow

All students deserve a safe and supportive learning environment. Some students require specialized behavior programming to provide this environment. Not all solutions to challenging behavior need a complex behavior program. We can often make small changes that have big impacts for staff and student safety. Here are five tips to preventing challenging behavior you can start using tomorrow.

1. It’s All About the Environment. Learning spaces should be comfortable, uncluttered, and organized. Take a look around your learning space. Are there file cabinets or extra furniture that can be moved to provide more space or dangerous items that should be put away for safety?

2. Use Do vs. Don’t Statements. Words such as “calm down!”, “stop!”, or “quit it!” can provoke additional or more intense challenging behavior. Tell the student what to do instead of what not to do. Instead of saying, “don’t touch that” say “put your hands in your lap”.

3. Catch Them Being Good. It is easy to focus on challenging behavior only. Instead of focusing on the negative, “catch” students being good and let them know. Even small behaviors that students “should” do or already know how to do deserve acknowledgement. The more praise and reinforcement we can provide for positive student behavior the better.

4. Avoid Power Struggles. Our job is to support, not control, our students. Avoid physical intimidation, threatening consequences, and nagging. Instead, manage our own emotional reactions. Staff should model appropriate student behavior.

5. Don’t Get Mad, Give Space. If you are having a difficult time remaining calm while managing a student’s challenging behavior, don’t get mad, instead give the student space. Take a pause, manage your own emotional reaction, and plan for your next step.

These five tips for preventing challenging behavior help staff to provide a safe and supportive classroom environment. Identify one of these tips to implement in your classroom over the upcoming week. Notice the changes in your students’ behavior as you practice one simple prevention strategy. Sometimes it is the smallest changes that make the biggest impact.