How to Develop Behaviour Support Plans

1. How to Develop Behaviour SupportPlans

2. Our Goals • Create plans that will work • Plans with high technical adequacy • Plans with high contextual fit • Acceptable • Doable • Ensure plans are implemented

3. Fidelity of Implementation The extent to which the intervention/plan is implemented as designed/intended (Elliott et al., 2002; Gresham, 1991) Katherine Wickstrom et al. (1996) Masters-level students provided behavioural consultation to 29 elementary general education teachers

4. Fidelity of Implementation(Wickstrom et al., 1996) • Each teacher referred a student with behaviour difficulties • Interviews to determine behaviour • Simple interventions recommended: • Punch-out card, conduct countdown, smiley face chart, response cost lottery, daily behaviour chart • Teacher self-report sheet • Direct observations

5. Fidelity of Implementation(cont.) 62% 54% 4% RESULTS IN PERCENTAGES: Intervention materials present Teacher report of fidelity Direct observation results

7. What is the timeline in improving fidelity of implementation? • Before selection • During the support plan design process • Address contextual fit • After selection • During the implementation process • Address treatment integrity

8. Contextual Fit • The extent to which the intervention plan (or components) is consistent with the: • Values • Goals • Environment • Skills • Resources …of the implementers and stakeholders.

9. Contextual Fit • Two parts: • Acceptability • Values • Goals • Feasibility • Teacher/implementer skills • Resources available • Environmental variables

10. Contextual Fit Activity • For the following strategies: • Rate on a scale of 1 to 5: • How acceptable you feel it is • How feasible you feel it is

11. Strategies Allowing a student to take a break from difficult academic work Withholding recess Using an individual point system to earn small tangible rewards (stickers, supplies) Using an individual point system to earn small tangible rewards (candy) Physically escorting a student to a timeout room Providing lunch with you (as an incentive)

12. Strategies Public apology

13. Activity Share your answers with your table and discuss similarities and differences in answers What were some points of learning?

14. How to design acceptable plans (Benazzi et al., 2006) • Teams and behaviour specialists were provided FBA summaries and were asked to design BSPs • Three methods of creating plans: • Behaviour specialist only • School behaviour team only • Behaviour specialist leading school teams

15. How to design acceptable plans (Benazzi et al., 2006) • Three ratings of plans: • Technical adequacy by school team • Technical adequacy by experts in the field • Contextual fit by school team

16. How to design acceptable plans (Benazzi et al., 2006) • Behaviour specialist only • Technical adequacy (school team) • High • Technical adequacy (expert) • High • Contextual fit (school team) • Low

17. How to design acceptable plans (Benazzi et al., 2006) • School team only • Technical adequacy (school team) • High • Technical adequacy (expert) • Low • Contextual fit (school) • High

18. How to design acceptable plans (Benazzi et al., 2006) • Behaviour specialist leading school team • Technical adequacy (school team) • Moderate to High • Technical adequacy (expert) • Moderate to High • Contextual fit (school) • Moderate to High

19. So who do you need on a behaviour support team? • Someone with: • Knowledge about the student • Knowledge about the context • Knowledge about behaviour theory

20. Albin, Lucyshyn, Horner, & Flannery (1996, p. 85) “If a plan is not technically sound, the concept of good contextual fit becomes meaningless.”

21. A Process for Developing Effective, Acceptable BSPs • Design a preliminary plan (“rough draft”) with multiple options for strategies • Gather a team that includes at least one person: • Knowledgeable about FBA-BSP • Knowledgeable about the student • Knowledgeable about the context and resources • Draw in the Competing Pathways • Brainstorm BSP strategies for the four columns • Select strategies based on technical adequacy and contextual fit • Assess and provide necessary training/support • Make a plan for evaluation and followup

22. What motivates people to implement plans?

23. Functional Behaviour Assessment of Adults – what motivates us? • Improved student performance? • Chocolate? • Specialist help? • Escape from uncomfortable situations? • Disrespect, aberrant behaviour • Inattention • Student academic failure • The stress of too much work!

24. Suggested FBA adult interventions • Attention • Reduce attention for complaints • Meetings over data • Performance feedback • Escape • Provide some immediate help • Focus on efficient support • Emphasize payoff: reduced work

25. The Typical Progression of Consultation – “Consult and Hope” Teacher refers student with problem (academic or behaviour) Consultant performs assessment Consultant recommends intervention (or a choice of interventions) Consultant crosses fingers and moves on

26. Alternatives to the “Consult and Hope” Strategy • DIRECT CONSULTATION (Noell et al., 2002, 2005; Watson & Robinson, 1997) • You (the consultant): • Model, lead, test • Set up the systems • Start it off • Hand it off • Coach

27. Alternatives to the “Consult and Hope” Strategy DETAILED PROCEDURES and scripts for implementation Simply telling people what to do is not sufficient If procedural components are not applied fully and correctly, student outcomes may be compromised

29. Alternatives to the “Consult and Hope” Strategy • PERFORMANCE FEEDBACK (Martin, 2001; Millen, 2004; Reinke, 2005; Their, 2003) • Periodically review the plan • Review prompts the treatment agent to implement with greater integrity • Review serves to correct implementation of treatment plan

30. Using data to guide decision making

32. Using CICO data for decision making • Decisions to make: • Is the student experiencing more success? • 2. CONTINUE – REVISE – FADE ? A B C D

33. Creating IEP Goals and Objectives using Daily Point Cards Collect present level of performance by rating student without training student to use card Set initial objective as 10% of points above baseline Revise based on data

34. Tracking Sheet Used as a quick monitoring tool at monthly/biweekly individual student support meetings Sample in Appendix

37. TroubleshootingBehaviour Support

38. Problem: “The BSP didn’t work!”A Solution: Abandon! Abandon! Abandon!A Better Solution: Assess the situation and adjust the plan

39. Four possible reasons why the BSP isn’t currently working… • Fidelity of implementation • We didn’t implement the plan as we said we would • IMPLEMENT AND SEE • CHECK CONTEXTUAL FIT • DO WE HAVE THE SKILLS?

40. Four possible reasons why the BSP isn’t currently working… • The alternative behaviour doesn’t work • Too hard to do in real contexts • It doesn’t get the student the maintaining consequence • PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE • IS IT SOCIALLY APPROPRIATE? • ENSURE IT GETS THE CONSEQUENCE EVERY TIME • ADD OR UP THE REWARD (value or frequency)

41. Four possible reasons why the BSP isn’t currently working… • The problem behaviour is still being rewarded • Are we inadvertently reinforcing problem behaviour (attention, escape)? • DON’T DO IT!!! • CONSIDER ADDING A PUNISHMENT COMPONENT (only if all other parts are in place)

42. Four possible reasons why the BSP isn’t currently working… • BSP is based on the wrong summary statement • We got it wrong • The statement changed • REASSESS AND CHANGE THE PLAN

44. Team Meeting Time

45. Team Meeting Time • Choose a focus student and develop a behaviour support plan • Complete the competing pathways analysis • Brainstorm strategies to address behaviour • Choose the final elements • Evaluate and revise the plan using the Critical Features Checklist • Create an action plan to implement and collect data