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Positive Consequences? Tell me more!
45 Plays11 months ago
This episode is about what happens after the behavior occurs.
So, the behavior happened. Now what? How can we help change behavior by changing our own reaction or the consequence we provide?
In episode 3, we discussed all the ways to be proactive; what you need to know, what you need to notice, those antecedents, triggers and setting events and how to make a plan to be proactive. But the unexpected always comes up, right?! and as much as we try, we can’t always be fully prepare for those unexpected moments of challenging behaviors. That's why it's so important to understand the significance of our reaction and response and the affect it has on the future occurrence of that behavior.
Challenging behaviors are going to happen, they happen every day especially for us parents, teacher, and practitioners. What is important is how we take those behaviors and shape them into something we want to see, a positive way for them to get their needs met.
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Transcript
Introduction to Simplifying Behavior Analysis
00:00:16
Speaker
Hey there, I'm Crystal. I'm a behavior analyst and I'm here to uncomplicate the very complicated world of behavior. We're going to tackle everything here. Behavior problems at home, at school, how to work with different providers, how to work with your school, choosing a provider and even being a provider.
00:00:32
Speaker
This podcast is your place to learn about behavior and how to solve behavior problems using behavior analytic strategies that are positive and proactive. So if you're ready to learn how to use behavior analysis in your everyday life, grab your walk-in, choose your headphones, or pull up that comfy chair and coffee and get ready to be empowered.
Post-Behavior Reactions and Future Influence
00:00:53
Speaker
This episode is about what happens after the behavior occurs. So the behavior happens, now what?
00:01:01
Speaker
How can we help change behavior by changing our own reaction or the consequence that we are providing? In episode three, we discussed all the ways to be proactive. What you need to know, what you need to notice, those antecedent triggers and setting events, and how to make a plan to be proactive.
00:01:18
Speaker
But the unexpected always comes up, right? And we can't, as much as we try to prepare for those unexpected moments of challenging behaviors, we can't always be fully prepared. That's why it's so important to understand the significance our reaction or our response has on the future occurrence of that behavior.
Transforming Challenges into Teachable Moments
00:01:38
Speaker
challenging behaviors are going to happen. They happen every day, especially for us parents, teachers, and practitioners. What is important is how we take those behaviors and shape them into something we want to see, a positive way for them to get their needs met.
00:01:55
Speaker
Today we are learning how to take that unexpected moment of challenging behavior and turn it into a teachable moment that ends with positive reinforcement. You will leave this episode with a higher understanding of what consequences are. Are they good? Are they bad? And what effect do they have on behavior? I want you to be able to take those moments of stress or frustration and really focus on what we want to see
00:02:21
Speaker
and what skill we need to teach. So let's dive on into this. I want to start with a quote from BF
Consequences and Recurrence of Behavior
00:02:28
Speaker
Skinner. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is known as the father of behaviorism and is considered one of the three major contributors to the world of applied behavior analysis. He said this, the consequence of an act affect the probability of it occurring again.
00:02:46
Speaker
So let's break that down. The consequence, the reaction to the behavior affect if that behavior will occur again. And we have found this to be true over and over again, right? Behaviors repeat because they are meaningful.
00:03:02
Speaker
novel or new behaviors, they occur again when their purpose was effective. Here's one example that came up with one of my parents this week. The child doesn't want to go to their therapy appointment, so crying and refusal to leave their room occurred. The struggle between the parent and the child lasted longer than 20 minutes and their appointment was missed. That set of behavior was effective in missing the therapy appointment.
00:03:27
Speaker
Now, I know everybody said, oh, I know the function of that behavior
Understanding Behavior Purpose and Communication
00:03:31
Speaker
was escape. And you're probably right. So you tell me, do you think that that behavior will occur again when that child doesn't want to go to therapy or sit for learning? I mean, the probability is really high, right?
00:03:45
Speaker
Here's another example. Would you keep turning that key if you knew that there was no battery in the car? You wouldn't, right? Because the behavior would not serve a purpose. You would get no reinforcement from turning that key because there's no battery in the car. It would be a useless behavior and you would move on.
00:04:03
Speaker
So when we see maladaptive behaviors that are occurring again and again, we have to consider what is holding the reinforcement for that behavior to continue and what is the functionally equivalent behavior that we need to teach so that that child can get their needs met.
00:04:21
Speaker
because behavior is communication. This requires us as caregivers, teachers, paraprofessionals, practitioners to change our reactions and consequences to help turn those moments of frustration or stress into teachable moments for that child.
Applied Behavior Analysis: Reactions vs. Punitive Measures
00:04:38
Speaker
Let's talk about consequences first and clear this up because I am sure when I say consequence, some sort of punishment comes to your mind or an image of like an angry human removing privileges or preferred toys pops into your head.
00:04:54
Speaker
Actually, a consequence in applied behavior analysis is simply the changes that follow a behavior of interest. Here are some really simple examples of consequence to help you see it a little bit more clearly.
00:05:09
Speaker
A student asks for a bathroom break, teacher agrees, student leads to the bathroom. The situation in that example is the student asked to go to the bathroom. The response is that the teacher said yes, and the consequence is the student leads to the bathroom. Or student raises his hand, asks what time it is, the teacher tells the student, student says thank you.
00:05:32
Speaker
Simple, right? Consequences are just the noted reaction to a behavior that we are interested in looking at. Consequences become more important when we are interested in changing behavior. The information gleaned from antecedents, and I know you all remember that from episode three, the information
00:05:53
Speaker
We gather from noted antecedents and consequent events give us critical information to when the behavior is most likely to occur again and what is the maintaining variable for that behavior, the consequence, what was gained from engaging in that behavior.
Teaching Functional Behavior
00:06:12
Speaker
So this leads us to finding that functionally equivalent behavior.
00:06:17
Speaker
If we are looking to change behavior, we have to understand what the child or student is gaining from engaging in that behavior. The result is the child crying and stomping to gain access to food, tangible. If we know that we can teach proactively how to ask for food in a manner that is effective for them. And that's going to look different for different kids, right? And how about the child that cried and refused to leave their room for therapy?
00:06:45
Speaker
How can we teach them to escape pro-socially? How can we set contingencies and reinforcement in place to help them cope with attending therapy
00:06:54
Speaker
or even accepting that transition time. And timing is everything, right? So we need to teach always when our kids, our students are in a calm and receptive state. The moment the child is stomping and crying or in that shutdown behavior, probably not the best effective teaching time. A behavioral consequence affects the future probability that the behavior of interest occurring again when similar antecedent events occur.
00:07:23
Speaker
So I want to get into reactive measures. For those of you who know me well, or maybe you know me
Reactive Measures and Positive Reinforcement
00:07:29
Speaker
because I've conducted a functional behavior assessment for your child, you know that I get to work with school teams and families daily. And one thing that always gets mixed up are the consequence and reactive measures. So let's talk quickly about reactive measures and how we use them to teach new skills and end challenging behaviors on a positive note, if you do it right.
00:07:51
Speaker
So reactive measures are what we as adults do when the behavior occurs, not necessarily the consequence, right? So what interventions or supports are we providing as adults? A reactive measure is our plan or set of strategies that we as parents or practitioners are using to support the child in a positive way and teach the new or correct behavior.
00:08:18
Speaker
And just to be clear, there are many ways to reinforce behavior with the use of positive reinforcement. And there are many different strategies that we will get into for the use of positive reinforcement in a later series. Reinforcement is such a big area that I want to cover it over several different episodes. These first couple episodes, I want to give you the foundational knowledge you need to move forward.
00:08:42
Speaker
But I do want to get into the simple strategy to use now because I would feel silly telling you, hey, the consequence and our reactions are really important and not give you a strategy to end things on a good note. Now, this strategy is probably one on every single one of the FBA's that I have completed because it's easy, it's positive. And most importantly, it teaches a new behavior.
00:09:06
Speaker
And in a school setting or in any setting, we want to be sure that we are ending on a positive note and we are encouraging the correct behavior or positive behavior.
00:09:17
Speaker
Once the behavior has occurred, we have an opportunity to react. Typically, what I have observed in classrooms or during observation is that there is some type of reprimand happening. Put your hand down, stop talking, sit in your seat, finish your work. These reactions are directive-based or command-based and often don't solve the behavioral problem that that behavior is seeking to solve.
00:09:42
Speaker
If the child is out of their seat and they want adult attention and you're demanding they sit back in their seat, well, you've effectively provided attention. Or if you are using planned ignoring and they are seeking escape because they can't engage in the task, then not only have we not supported them in accessing the task, but we have also effectively reinforced the escape behavior. It gets so confusing, right? That is why I love behavioral skills training.
BST: Teaching Desired Behaviors
00:10:09
Speaker
BST. This set of strategies focuses on teaching a skill or introducing what you want the student or learner to do by showing them what it looks like, giving them an opportunity to engage in the skill, and providing positive feedback for their participation or their approximation of that skill. During the feedback, there is always an option to provide that meaningful feedback while reinforcing the skill. I love the way you said X to get my attention.
00:10:38
Speaker
I love the way you said this to get my attention. Next time, can you show me with a calm body? Oh, I love the way you just raised your hand. I love the way you gave me that eye contact and then provide what you further want to see.
00:10:53
Speaker
The use of BST can be used to teach a wide variety of skills to students, teachers, and even parents. I've used BST to teach students social skills, daily living skills, advocacy skills, safety skills, communication. I have also used the BST model after engagement in a maladaptive behavior or a behavior that I want to correct or change.
00:11:14
Speaker
Now let's be clear here, the student or child has to be in a calm, receptive state and open for learning or discussion about the behavior. So I'm not going to go in and start trying to teach a new skill while the child is in an escalated emotional state. So they have to be in a calm and receptive state and open to learning or open to discussion.
00:11:38
Speaker
If the child is in an active tantrum or shutdown behavior, our job is to ensure their safety first and foremost. Be a model of calm behavior and support their de-escalation by modeling what we want to see, which is most likely a calm affect. Use of neutral tones, deep breathing. Notice how I haven't said we should be offering them the world.
00:12:02
Speaker
We need to model what we want to see in them and wait for that de-escalation. I see so many posts on Instagram about children doing what they see in us rather than what we tell them to do. And this is the exact same for behavior. If the child's in a tantrum or shut down, we can't be yelling at them to stop.
00:12:25
Speaker
If a child is in shutdown mode, we can't force them out of it. We can't make them open up. The hard part is it's being calm in the middle of whatever behavioral storm you're in.
00:12:40
Speaker
But what I have said before is that knowledge is power. And from these past couple episodes, you've learned that behavior is communication and it occurs for a reason. Once we understand that reason, we can create a plan to teach a new skill and end on a positive note. Let's get into BST and the steps that are included in this model.
00:13:00
Speaker
I do want to say before using any of these strategies, it's important to consult your own behaviorist or team to see if the strategy will support your learner. This space is a place for you to learn more about behavior so you can understand behavior and can come to your team with viable options for solutions, recommendations on strategies, and have a more solid understanding of behavior analysis. So please don't try this at home without consulting your behaviorist or team.
00:13:31
Speaker
because there are things like timing that go into the use of these strategies that are really important for implementation. Behavioral skills training involves four steps. The first step is instruction. We need to teach the child what it is we want to seek.
00:13:46
Speaker
Again, this can be complex and taught over days, such as social skills, or it can be simply taught in the moment for simple skills, like raising their hand to be called on, asking for one more minute when the timer goes off, or advocating that they need a break. We have to teach the skill first and not command it. That's really important. So we teach the skill first. We don't just command that they engage in a behavior.
00:14:14
Speaker
The second step in BST is modeling. We need to show what the behavior looks like in real time. If we want a child to engage in a behavior such as raising their hand or asking for a break, we can't just say, hey, next time raise your hand or I won't call on you.
00:14:30
Speaker
That's not a meaningful interaction. We have to actually show them what that looks like. Kind of like that I do, you do model in training. So we always want to model what the behavior looks like. And we can quickly combine steps one and two here. If you need a break, you can grab your break card and show me like this. Model the behavior. You can also provide a choice. Do you want to show me or do you just want to place this card on my desk?
00:14:59
Speaker
Okay, so that looks like this. And model the behavior. This should be calm and a teaching interaction. And again, when they are in a calm and receptive state.
00:15:12
Speaker
Step three, we are going to rehearse and this can be quick or drawn out depending on what you're doing, the environment, the learning history, and the skill that you are trying to teach. Rehearsal provides the learner the opportunity to engage in the behavior. This is the most critical step and the one that is always left out. I often see behavioral corrections end on step two. So that looks like I need you to do this with a quick model and then they move on.
00:15:41
Speaker
I'm typically observing this happen in real time and I'm dying that they didn't finish the sequence. So when I implement this with kids, it's quick because in my line of work, I'm typically observing. So my interactions are quick and to the point, but I always make sure I follow this sequence of correction. So step three, provide the learner the opportunity to engage in the behavior. Ask them to show you, can you do it? And I'm going to say this again. Don't forget this step.
00:16:11
Speaker
Having them engage in the behavior themselves is the most critical step of this procedure. So step four is feedback, another critical step in the correction consequence sequence process. Feedback is your opportunity to engage the learner positively for the approximation towards that new skill or behavior.
00:16:32
Speaker
even if they didn't get it right. This is our opportunity to say, I love the way you did that. This is the opportunity for us to further instruct if necessary, but first we're always going to provide the praise and reinforcement for them engaging in that behavior that we have just modeled and just asked them to do. Another form of compliance that we are really reinforcing and we're teaching them a new skill.
00:16:58
Speaker
I use BST to teach a student to request breaks in the moment. Um, a few years back when I was consulting at a school and when I arrived, the student was already escalated.
Implementing BST with Escalated Students
00:17:08
Speaker
He was in a seat. He had torn and thrown some papers, you know, just randomly around the room. The room had already been evacuated. So there was no students present. And I believe that I was called to stop the behavior, but I can't stop behaviors.
00:17:27
Speaker
Now, the only thing that I can do in that moment, because he was so escalated, was wait. I needed to ensure his safety, so we removed dangerous items from his reach in a calm and slow manner. I asked everyone to be quiet, and I removed extra staff in the room. And then I waited. I modeled deep breathing and a calm body. I sat in his eyesight but out of reach.
00:17:52
Speaker
and we waited. I think it was a little over 12 minutes. He started to move towards me and he appeared deescalated, normal breathing and had stopped crying. I walked past him and got into his desk and I pulled out his break and sensory cards. I said, I want break. I want sensory. So in that moment, what I was doing was teaching him what I wanted
00:18:15
Speaker
him to do. I was modeling that behavior. I taught him this is what I need. This is how we do it. So combining steps one and two there. So I showed him what I wanted him to do. I modeled using the card by placing it on his desk and then I put it back, put everything away and asked him to do the same with a gestural cue. He chose the sensory card. I praised his approximation of choosing the sensory card. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to see.
00:18:44
Speaker
but he reached for the card and he gave it to me, which is good enough for me. I praised his approximation of choosing the card and provided further feedback on how to give it to me. I praised him again and we left to the sensory room together. Now, this interaction does not mean that the next time he feels those feelings or the next time those antecedents or triggering events come up that he's immediately gonna run to get his break or sensory card.
00:19:12
Speaker
But it definitely increases the probability, right? And it also allowed us to end on a positive note. And it allows us to add to our proactive strategies for that student. This behavioral escalation ended on a positive note with a new and meaningful learning experience for the child
00:19:31
Speaker
and not to mention the staff supporting him. So I call that a win. When I caught up with his team, they told me usually the student will have different adults engage with him in attempts to calm him down, which is not uncommon at a school. But typically, those attempts
00:19:46
Speaker
rarely work and they result in escalations to elopement and he typically ends up in the principal's office or hiding in the library. So teaching this skill proactively was added to the student's daily routine and embedded throughout his day with a ton of reinforcement. So we proactively started teaching him how to use those break-in sensory cards and really focused on the reinforcement for that skill. So I use these four teaching steps
00:20:17
Speaker
after the behavior occurred so that we could end on a positive note and a new learning experience for that child. This plan also helps me think about the function of the behavior in the moment and does not allow me to think of anything else. If we focus on teaching the new skill, we let go of the frustration or the chaos of the moment and we focus on number one, ensuring safety.
00:20:42
Speaker
And number two, modeling a calm affect and getting ready for that moment that that child is ready to be taught that new skill.
Encouragement and Resources
00:20:50
Speaker
So I hope that this episode helps you think about consequences and teachable moments in a new light. I will be doing a whole series on just reinforcement and I can't wait to share that information with you.
00:21:01
Speaker
For show notes or access to my cheat sheets for the functions of behavior, or my behavioral skills training guide, head over to my website at uncomplicatebehaviorpodcast.com. See you next time.
00:21:16
Speaker
Well, you did it! Another step closer to uncomplicating behavior. I'm so proud of you for taking the time to learn more about behavior analysis. Still interested in learning more? Or have a question or topic that you'd love some answers to? Head over to uncomplicatebehaviorpodcast.com for today's show notes, submit a question or topic you would love to hear about, and subscribe to my email and podcast so you never miss a new episode.
00:21:40
Speaker
I created this podcast for you and I want it to serve you well, so don't be afraid to reach out to me directly.