5 Tips for Implementing a Behavior System

We’ve all had that kid in class; regardless of if you teach special education or are a general education teacher. You know the one. The one with the behaviors. The one you can’t go to sleep at night because you’re thinking about them. That student who the generic Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS) or class wide behavior plan doesn’t work. The one who needs an entire behavior system created for them. You’ve done the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and found what the function of the behavior was and created a specialized Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). Now it’s time to implement.

First, I want to let you know this is going to take work. Quite frankly it would be easier to let the student avoid the work or gain access to that Chromebook just so they will behave. However, you’ve chosen to make a positive difference in this student’s life. Unlike so many other adults in their lives you’ve chosen to put forth the hard work to shape this student’s behavior so they can become contributing citizens of the world, by first becoming a contributing citizen in your classroom. I tell teachers all the time that negative behaviors mean the student is not available to learn. It is a roadblock to their educational success and many times it becomes one for other students in your class as well.

Tip 1: It will get worse before it gets better.

You read that right. Teachers buckle up because you’re about to go on a ride. You are putting boundaries, teaching appropriate replacement behaviors, and maintaining expectations for a student that has probably never had these before. The first thing this student is going to do is test the boundaries. They’ve been threatened before, and guess what, those threats weren’t followed through on and now you’re going to. Testing means negative behavior is going to increase, usually by a lot. You need to hang in there, and know that this too shall pass. The student will then become upset when they realize you mean business. Even though he’s yelling, hitting, or throwing things at you are sticking with them and then having them return to the task or direction until it is completed. Whew. It’s tiring. This phenomenon, and I can think of no other word for it, is called an extinction burst (see it even has a name!). Essentially it means that there will be an increase of behavior before the behavior becomes extinct, or more realistically, drastically reduced. Once this burst of behavior ends the student will actually enjoy and feel comforted by the routine of the behavior plan.

Tip 2: Two weeks time

I like to tell parents, teachers, and myself at times that this means two weeks of hard work. You will probably go home crying some days because you know tomorrow you have to do it all over again. During these two weeks it is imperative that you follow your plan. First off, because all good psychologists will tell you that it takes at least two weeks to determine if an intervention is successful or not. You cannot expect a child to learn a new behavior system and expectations overnight. Also there is an endpoint. I like to look at it as a very difficult two weeks to get to a great rest of the year.

Tip 3: Check yo’ self

This is often the most difficult for teachers. You need to keep your emotions in check. You must appear calm on the outside. This student wants to push your buttons, they want to see you sweat, heck they’re mad and just want to make you mad too. So remember you need to stay calm. First, because you are the adult. I’m going to repeat this one, you are the adult. It is your job to be the behavioral role model for this student. It is ok to say, I’m feeling stressed, upset, sad, etc. so I’m going to take some turtle breathes, or I’m going to draw so they see these are more appropriate ways to deal with emotions. I tell teachers and aides that I work with that during a student’s escalation it is important not to raise your voice, for the younger students identify/ recognize their emotions and to get on their level. If they’re on the floor, get on the floor! If you are unable to stay calm tap out. Get a colleague to switch with you and take a break.

Tip 4: Consistency

Consistency in expectations and follow through is extremely important. I always say whatever your interventions are, they need to be followed with fidelity. That means everyone, and I mean everyone, needs to follow the behavior plan for the student. I often will create scripts for teachers and staff. Prior to implementing the plan, I will have a meeting where everyone involved in teaching a student, including P.E., art, music teachers, get together and review the plan. It also helps to iron out any questions or concerns teachers have. The script is also helpful to get staff to react in a calm, consistent way. So if using a timer for transitions is part of the plan, it must be used at all times. May sure you have backups and then back up for your backups. These are my personal favorite. I like them because they are magnetic, which means you can stick them on anything metal, such as the top of a clip board for easy travel, there are multiple, see above note about needing multiple, and you can sit it in front of a student and they can see the time.

Tip 5: Data, Data, Data

Everything we do must be driven by data. In order for us to do this we must be taking data. All the time; how often does the behavior occur, when does it occur, who does it occur with, what time of day does it occur, is there a day it occurs more, and most importantly after two weeks of consistent implementation are the behaviors lessoning. Without this information it is impossible to tell if you are making a difference.