Supporting kids and teens with challenging behaviors in the classroom. Teachers and parents can use this guide to come up with strategies and techniques to help when kids don't follow directions or act out in challenging ways. It also includes a link to a free cheat sheet!
Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism
special education, behavior, behavior plans, BIPs, writing a behavior plan
Working with kids and young adults who are oppositional can be challenging. Being oppositional might mean refusing to do work, breaking rules, and engaging in other challenging behaviors. The truth is, many kids can be oppositional from time to time, so many of these strategies work with all learner
Inside: If your kid's strange behaviors leave you wondering if they are normal, sensory or behavior related, busting these 7 myths will unlock a deep understanding of their behavior. Have you ever asked yourself “Is
Sometimes, preventing challenging behavior can be as simple as changing around the furniture. And sometimes it helps to have the furniture you need. Find out how in this post.
Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism
“No!” my five-year-old declared, “Cleaning up toys is boring.” He’s usually pretty helpful cleaning up his room and enjoys helping around the house, but sometimes he gets in a mood. When that happens, it can be tempting to turn his defiance into a power struggle. Should I force him into cleaning his room, using my … Continue reading "How to Respond to Defiant Behavior the Montessori Way"
Have you ever had a class that just tried your patience day after day? Have you ever felt like you could walk away from teaching forever tom...
The five domains of preschool developmental skills or preschool developmental areas that help establish behaviors for learning and success.
Working with kids and young adults who are oppositional can be challenging. Being oppositional might mean refusing to do work, breaking rules, and engaging in other challenging behaviors. The truth is, many kids can be oppositional from time to time, so many of these strategies work with all learner
There are several programs and practices out there to address fluency. Most involve some types of strategies or fluency enhancing behaviors (FEBs) to teach those who stutter how to manage their fluency. I use these strategies daily with my fluency kiddos and have found them to work very well. I try to spend time practicing […]
Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism
I have learned (the hard way) that not all social skill deficits are one & the same. In an effort to save time, I tried to have grade level social skills groups. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but once my groups got underway it became pretty clear that the children in my groups had very different skill sets. There I was, trying to save time by teaching all of my students social skills at the same time. While struggling to meet the needs of my students and keep them engaged, I had to ask myself, 'Was
What is behavioral momentum? Do you ever have one of those days where you think to yourself; "If I could just get the ball rolling, I would be able to...
Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism
Trigger Warning: Quiet Hands In my token Autistic speech (yes, I would replace my approved presentation with that at the last second if I thought I was being used as a token, BE WARNED,) one of the things I mentioned was that I would fail special needs kindergarten. (I was mainstreamed and there wasn't an issue.) You see the posters of "proper listening" in your child's classroom? I can't do it. I would, legitimately, fail your child's kindergarten special ed class, today. I am not even joking. They would hold me back and I would be the adult who couldn't even pass kindergarten. Despite my statement that I wasn't joking, I doubt you believed it. Maybe you thought I was exaggerating? I wasn't. Here's a poster of the kind I'm talking about: Image description: A poster with heading "Whole Body Listening!" and subheading "Larry wants to remind you to listen with your entire body." There is a picture of a young boy on the left, and on the right there are things to be done with each part, next to icons representing that body part: Eyes=Look at the person talking to you, Ears=Both ears ready to hear, Mouth=Quiet-no talking, humming, or making sounds, Hands=Quiet in lap, pockets or by your side, Feet=Quiet on the floor, Body=Faces the speaker, Brain=Thinking about what is being said, Heart=Caring about what the other person is saying. And now, here's why I would fail special needs kindergarten: Larry wants to remind you to listen with your entire body: UM. NO. One listens by using the brain to interpret and pay attention to the information coming in from the ears. My hands can't listen. I am a literalist, and I would bring this up. I actually knew that when I was the right age for kindergarten, too. So there's that. Eyes=Looking at the person talking to you: As long as the general area of the person is good enough and they don't demand that it's actually their eyes, I can manage this one, usually. Enough to have managed in mainstream classes where they aren't always focused on it, but probably not enough for a special needs kindergarten where it's one of the big focuses. (Look, look, look!) Ears=Both ears ready to hear: Not an issue, generally, but I haven't the foggiest how they assess that one. You can't look at my ears and tell when they are ready to hear or not, and sometimes being ready to hear and understand requires covering them to reduce the volume. Which they would probably consider not ready to hear. Mouth=Quiet-no talking, humming, or making sounds: As far as I go, that works fine. I could do that when I am supposed to be listening. That's like, the only one which is easy to verify that is not an issue. Hands=Quiet in lap, pockets, or by your side: I can't do that, and I have better things to do than waste time and energy trying. It's also abusive to demand it. No, really. Go read Quiet Hands. But as far as I can't do it goes: I'm in college. I still can't do it. I have to doodle or something. Sewing, knitting, or making chainmail seem to work best, since I don't have to think about what I'm doing with my hands and can still participate in class discussions. And yes, people tried to teach me not to do this. It didn't work. The worst I ever dealt with as far as quiet hands in class was probably the time in Hebrew school when my teacher kept confiscating whatever object on my desk I was fidgeting with. In the end, she took my pen. Yes, really. A teacher took away my writing implement in class in an attempt to get me to sit still. Obviously, it didn't work. There was a string tie on my shorts, and I played with that instead. She threatened to cut the strings off, and I told her she'd be buying me a new pair of shorts if she did. She did not make good on her threat. Feet=Quiet on the floor: I can't do that one, either. I rock my feet, jiggle a leg, or sit on my feet. Or I W-sit. Yeah, I'm a W-sitter. Yes, I still do it. No, I don't have problems from it. People never made a fuss about that one. I didn't even know it was "bad" until one day in speech therapy when the therapist made comment on it. (I had trouble with the "r" sound for a long time. Actually, I still do. I just learned how to make the Chinese "r" sound and no one notices the difference so I use it all the time.) Body=Faces the speaker: I can do it, but I don't understand the point. This one wouldn't be a direct contribution to failure, though, since, you know, can do it. Brain=Thinking about what is being said: Ok, yeah, that's a thing. I can do it. One problem: There is no way for an educator to check if this is the case. Heart=Caring about what the other person is saying: MY HEART DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THINGS. My brain does. I will now proceed to be distracted by this issue because I am autistic and technicalities like that bother me. Whoops. Also, it has the same issue as brain. That's eight body parts we're talking about. Three (ears, brain, heart) aren't actually checkable by educators. One I can do, but it 100% irrelevant for me (body.) One I can do, but it is easier not to and I listen better when not worrying about it (eyes.) Two are completely impossible for me to accomplish (hands, feet.) Even without having to worry about listening as well, I can't do them. And one, only one (mouth) is actually a useful thing that people can check for. We've got eight bullet points, only one of which is a thing you can check that is important for my ability to listen, so this isn't exactly the epitome of helpfulness. And three of the things are actively bad, are things where if they were to be part of what I get evaluated on, I would fail. You thought I was exaggerating when I said I would fail special needs kindergarten? If I couldn't use my articulateness to type my way out of it, that would be exactly what happened.
The wheel of choice provides an excellent way to focus on solutions, especially when kids are involved in creating the Wheel of Choice.
I've been a little MIA this week in the bloggy world. SCM is my excuse. SCM stands for Safe Crisis Management, so if you gotta problem wit...
Core Principles of ABA : The consequences of behavior decide whether behavior will increase or decrease.
This post was originally posted back in 2015 on my blog and has been a popular post since that time. I worked for a decade as a family counselor and elementary school counselor before staying
Want to learn more about therapy? We’ve gathered our best resources to help you understand what it’s all about, how it can support you, and different types.
EXCITING NEWS !!! Size Of The Problem: Bundle RTI Behavior Intervention IS PART OF AN AMAZING 2000 + PAGE 30 PRODUCT BUNDLE, SIZE OF THE PROBLEM BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT TOOL BUNDLE is the perfect addition to any Behavior Intervention Curriculum. HOW I USE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION This behavior intervention has helped me to teach my students how to identify and analyze their problems. VISUALS- I keep the visuals up all year long as anchor charts. I find myself and my students referring to these visuals daily. SOCIAL STORY CARDS come with me wherever we go- field trips, assemblies… I also give a copy to my instructional aides so that they can use the same language and teaching strategies when with the students in their electives or regular education classes. STUDENT STORIES are a great way to teach your students the 5 sizes of problems. They give great everyday examples that students can connect with. INTERACTIVES- after using the interactives to teach the students size of the problems, I set this up as a center so that students can revisit it and work on their social skills in group settings. They LOVE it. JOURNAL- this has been a lifesaver when it comes to diffusing problems on the spot as well as keeping documentation of student’s behavior intervention. Are you looking for something to teach feelings and emotions? Check out this bundle FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS BUNDLE Happy Teaching, Chrissie Visit Chrissie’s Creations for more great intervention resources.
Students who are struggling in school can get help quickly if a school uses response to intervention (RTI). Read about the three tiers of support in RTI.
Tantrums Don’t Help Me Fix a Problem is a social story created by TAP. This particular social story is written to help children understand why tantrums will not fix their problem. It also hel…
10 Ways School Counselings Can Help Kids With Worry: Use these strategies to help your students manage their worries at school.
Anger is probably the #1 issue the kids I work with deal with. In this post you will find many great links, worksheets, and resources for addressing anger in children of all ages. One of my favorit…
An educational blog based on the lessons, reflections and professional development of teacher.
12 interactive and fun games to teach self-control and build self-regulation skills for kids and teens. Strong skills for self-control are the foundation for success in and outside of the classroom.
There are six levels of validation in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which promote an environment where people feel accepted and understood. As much as possible, we should use the highest level of validation in any given situation. The first level is about showing interest and being present while the sixth level is radical genuineness. The DBT 6 Levels Of Validation worksheet asks clients to engage in reflection and describe a scenario where validation would be helpful. For each level of validation, they can brainstorm ways to show support to a friend or loved one going through a difficult experience. Kids and teens answering the worksheet can practice articulating their responses, which helps them develop their communication skills and have healthier relationships. Feel free to pair this worksheet with our DBT 6 Levels of Validation handout which serves as a practical resource on the topic. *This item is an instant digital download. A link to download your files will be emailed to you once payment is confirmed. Want more resources like this? Check out our full catalog of DBT worksheets and handouts. References: Kuo, J. R., Fitzpatrick, S., Ip, J., & Uliaszek, A. A. (2022e). The who and what of validation: an experimental examination of validation and invalidation of specific emotions and the moderating effect of emotion dysregulation. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-022-00185-x Wu, S., Liu, S., Wu, Y., Huang, L., Liu, T., Kao, K., & Lee, Y. (2023). The efficacy of applying the Interpersonal Effectiveness skills of dialectical behavior therapy into communication skills workshop for clinical nurses. Heliyon, 9(3), e14066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14066
This set of 15 activities is aligned to the VB-MAPP Level 3 Tact Milestones and Supporting Skills. These materials will help build the skills identified in the VB-MAPP assessment. It includes two different reference sheets for organization. Each activity has individualized set up and implementation instructions and labels for organization. This resource is perfect for centers or small group instruction and speech-language therapy. The activities in this set target: labeling categories labeling locations labeling features/parts of items labeling by color, shape, and function labeling what’s missing labeling the category and function label with preposition, pronoun, adjectives, and adverbs label gender labeling with complete sentences labeling emotions labeling community helpers and community events You do not need the VB-MAPP manual or protocol to utilize these resources; however, they've been designed to supplement the protocol! The Autism Helper, Inc. has a licensing agreement with the developer of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP), Mark L. Sundberg Ph.D., BCBA-D, to create and sell VB-MAPP-aligned products.
Update: I have had literally hundreds of requests for these cards!! When I made these, I made them for my son and shared the idea on my blog. Since the dawn of pinterest, these cards have gotten alot more attention than I had anticipated! And to tell the truth, I dont know whether these graphics are allowed to be shared. So, I have made a similar, better, version of these, and other related autism printables and am selling them in my etsy shop now. You can purchase them there, and you are free to use them with your children, or in your classrooms (though you may not resell them or share files with others). The best part is, I have permission from the graphic designers to use the graphics on these cards, so I know for sure that dispersing them is legal. Also, I am more than happy to take requests, so if you have an idea for a card or file you would like to use in your classroom or home, please DO contact me via my etsy shop! Do you know what Power Cards are? Don't worry, before last November, I didn't either. Power Cards are often used with Autistic children, but I believe they can be helpful for all children. Power Cards are highly visual and they contain short blurbs or lists of information that will help a child in various situations that he may come across. We use homemade Power Cards with Little Bean. Do I know everything there is to know about them? No, probably not. But what I do know I used to put together some cards that have been pretty helpful for Little Bean. I used a program like MS Word to make his Power Cards. Then I used a laminator to make them sturdy. They are roughly pocket sized, good for small hands. I hole punched them and put them on a binder ring. We use them in many ways. Sometimes Little Bean will review a particular card before an interaction with somone. He may review the anger-related ones before a difficult task, or when he is angry, he may review the ones on how to calm down. Power Cards are like mini-offices for social struggles. They are easy to make and are great for some children with Autism. Try them, you might like them!
Sometimes as teachers/parents we need specific skills to look for as they fall onto a continuum. This rubric helps you to do just that. This...
On A Peach for the Teach on Facebook, I invited people to ask their most challenging behavior questions. We got some great questions, each of which really tied together. Dona asked, I have a student that comes to me from second grade (I teach 1st) for my entire reading block, who likes to shout out talk back and just shuts down when you ask him to do something. He then treats his 2nd teacher with severe disrespect when he goes back to class. Rebecca asked, I have a class of 25 this year. 1 student is below K level (I teach 1st grade), 2 are identified as ADHD, we are working towards another student getting identified as ADHD, and I have 2 students who have really disrespectful attitudes. I have tried talking with parents, I have changed their seating, I have tried encouraging them and pointing out the positive......nothing seems to be working. Ideas? Lindsay asked, I need motivation tips for kids who can do the work but basically refuse to... These are such common issues that teachers face daily. I think they all tie together and have similar interventions, which led me to write this blog post-- How to Help Calling Out and "Class Clown" Behavior. "If you put a kid in the position of choosing between looking bad or looking dumb, he will choose to look bad." - Rick Lavoie, Motivation Breakthrough When a student is performing at a level lower than his peers, he is often aware of that. That could be part of the reason for the acting out. Maybe the child is embarrassed and would rather be seen as a class clown than struggling. It allows the child a sense of control over a situation where he would otherwise feel out of control. Try giving him some control in a positive way. To intervene, start with an informal play meeting. Meet with the student individually when he is calm, to play a preferred, non-academic game at the beginning or end of the day. He may be more likely to open up honestly in that type of setting through informal conversations (e.g., favorite TV shows, games, etc.). Casually ask what he likes and doesn't like about school, and "admit" to him that you always had a hard time with [insert his least preferred subject]. Try not to make it obvious that this is the whole point of your conversation. He might give you some insight into what's causing this. It's also great for establishing rapport, which will help you to get the student on your side. Give him some sort of task with which he can be successful, and give him positive attention for completing it. Avoid patronizing him or making it obviously at a level lower than the other students. Instead, try non-academic leadership positions, like a class helper, teacher's assistant, etc. Maybe give him the opportunity to call on students with questions. "Class, today we are going to try something new." Next, set limits. Start by telling the whole class that today we are going to try something new. Starting today, the teacher will no longer answer any calling out. Explain that we need to practice raising our hands and not calling out. Demonstrate, practice, and ask for volunteers to show you what hand raising looks like. Establish a non-verbal cue (e.g., a cue card with an image of a hand, or simply hold up your hand), and completely ignore calling out. Instruct the class to also ignore calling out. Have students practice calling out while you ignore it. Explain why you're doing this, so the student knows it's not just him being ignored. Ignore the behavior, not the child. You might want to give one verbal cue, such as, "I'd be happy to answer you when you raise your hand." This is your new procedure that will happen every single time a student calls out. You could still say it in a positive tone of voice, but it's all you will say. Give a Little, Get a Little Use positive language to elicit positive language. If a student is using disrespectful language, being threatening will teach the child to talk back with threatening language. Think about your reaction when somebody confronts you with doing something wrong. You initially feel a little attacked, so you want to react. Give the student the opportunity to save face. For example, instead of, "How dare you speak to me that way?" try a, "Whoops, that sounded disrespectful. I know you could ask me using nicer words," and only respond when he uses nicer words. If he doesn't, say, "I'll be over here when you're ready to use nice words to ask me." Dodge the Power Struggle To nip disrespect in the bud, we need to avoid power struggles-- even when a student questions what we're doing. That's the part that really tricks even the most skilled behavior interventionists. We want students to believe in, trust, and respect us. When they question what we're doing, we want to tell them. Please don't. You don't need to justify yourself in this moment. You may be skilled with planned ignoring, but when the child asks, "Why are you ignoring me?" it's too tempting to reply with an explanation, but resist the urge. If you planned and practiced this procedure previously, the child already knows why you're ignoring him. He may try to get you to give him anything other than the ignoring. Stick to the ignoring, and he will eventually try using nice words to get you to reply. It may also be helpful to teach a lesson on the words "disrespect" vs. "respect." Teach the meaning, and explain situations and words that are unacceptable. Teach this with empathy, and practice it. If the child uses negative language in class, prompt with a, "Please use your nice words if you need me to respond to you." Completely ignore anything else. I know that using a firm prompt followed by planned ignoring sometimes feels like you aren't doing anything to stop the behavior, but that's the best thing about it-- doing "nothing" stops the behavior. It completely eliminates the power struggle and argument. The child will be forced to use kind words to get any type of reaction out of you and to gain access to his wants/needs. This also works with whining. I told my little ones that my ears can no longer hear whining, and they all stopped whining. Now if only I could use planned ignoring on messes to make my kitchen clean itself! Words of Caution Sometimes when implementing planned ignoring, the child may initially test the limits and engage in more attention-seeking behavior. This is typical and should pass when he sees that he won't get a reaction. I got a comment on this post that really made me think and add another word of caution about this strategy-- exercise caution when using this for students with bonding and/or attachment needs. We certainly do not want to intensify feelings of abandonment, and we want to be sure that we are responding to their needs. It is vitally important to make sure that we are ignoring the behavior, not the child. Give the child plenty of positive attention for positive behavior. Make giving positive attention during appropriate behavior part of your behavior protocol for this child. When the negative behavior ends and the child begins acting positively, give positive attention. No need for a lecture at that moment. After the Procedure is Learned Once you are sure that the student understands how he will appropriately gain access to wants/needs, you can begin to address the calling out caused by impulsivity and habit. Make a T-chart, and write the positive behavior on the left and negative on the right (e.g., "Called Out" and "Raised My Hand"). Instruct the student to tally when he does each. This alone is often enough to curb the negative behavior. Other times with more severe behavior, it helps if tallies are tied to reinforcement. For example, the student can earn [something preferred] if he has more positive than negative tallies at the end of each block. You could also set goals based on baselines. For example, if the student reduces his calling out by ___% or does not exceed ___% incidents of calling out, he can earn [something preferred]. Class Dojo is another fun way to track this! The teacher can track the behaviors throughout the day, or the students can self-monitor behaviors on their T-Charts and plug them into the Dojo at the end of the day. Establish a procedure that students must earn more green (i.e., "positive") than red (i.e., "needs work"), or a certain percentage of green, in order to earn a reinforcer, positive note home, etc. Another helpful strategy is bonus free time. It's often harder for a student with ADHD and/or behavior needs to attend to instruction for a given length of time, so plan three breaks in the day. I call them "five minute free time" to play with something fun, and I end each of my subjects with it. It gives me five minutes to clean up or correct work, and it gives the students five minutes to regroup. If you're strapped for time, you could have students complete exit tickets, assessments, etc., and give the student with ADHD the special free time. It also gives him something to word toward, as he has to earn the free time. If a student engages in negative behavior or work refusal, I ask if he is earning his free time or if he is to make up his work during free time. Never underestimate the power of a question instead of a demand. A simple, "Are you earning your free time?" is often enough to set the behavior back on track. An additional motivational tool is a task chart where students rank their tasks by preference. They earn little reinforcement for easy/preferred tasks and high reinforcement for non-preferred tasks. You can download that chart for free here. What are some ideas you use in your classroom to help calling out and "class clown" behavior? Do you have any questions about behavior challenges? Please share in the comments below! A Peach for the Teach
Hello Kinder Friends, I have been asked several times to re post this post because the link from Pinterest no longer works. So, here we...
The A to Z of Coping Skills display poster for you to use to talk about coping strategies and worksheet for children to come up with their own strategies.
Have you ever had a class that just tried your patience day after day? Have you ever felt like you could walk away from teaching forever tom...
These Sensory Diet Ideas for Sensory Seekers may be helpful if your child struggles with sensory processing disorder and needs extra sensory feedback. Work them in throughout the day to help the child regulate their
