Running out of the class
Dangerous Behavior
In this segment, we’ll look at running out of the classroom as an instance of dangerous behavior. This type of behavior puts the child or other children in danger. Other dangerous behaviors may include physically hurting or trying to hurt others, throwing objects at others, and hurting oneself.
Review the scenario
This is a continuation of the scene in Running around the room where the challenging behavior has now escalated. You’ll notice the little boy who has been running away from the teacher in the classroom now runs out of the classroom. Running out of the classroom puts him in danger as he is no longer being supervised.
What are some potential issues at play in this scenario? Participate anonymously in this optional poll. You will have the opportunity to review how others have responded at the end of the poll.
Check out virtual coach Corrie’s analysis of the scenario:
Plan for Behavior Support
Let’s start by taking a closer look at the scenario using the Behavior Support Roadmap. If you need a refresher on the roadmap, feel free to revisit the information, videos, and activities highlighted in Start Here: Roadmap for Behavior Support.
Gather information and collect data
We will use the ABC Chart to look at the antecedent, behavior, and consequence(s) of the child’s behavior in the scenario. The ABC Chart has three blocks: A — B — C, and is a visually helpful tool for both problem solving and developing a solution or intervention plan for the behavior.
- Antecedent: what is happening before a behavior occurs
- Behavior: description of the challenging behavior
- Consequence: what happens after the behavior occurs
Virtual coach Gabe walks us through some questions to think about in terms of the antecedent, behavior, and consequences of the scenario:
Background Information
Another critical step is to gather information to find out more about a child’s background. Interviewing parents or family members is of equal importance. They know their children best, and are a wealth of information about child needs, strengths, challenges, successes, and behavior patterns.
Practice Opportunity
Use the following guide to work through the antecedent, behavior, and consequence for the scenario. You will have the opportunity to check your response at the end of the activity.
Determine the functions of behavior
Possible functions of challenging behavior can be categorized into 4 types:
- Escape/avoidance: trying to get away from a particular setting, person, or activity.
- Attention getting/seeking: trying to get attention from an adult or peer or particular person.
- Gain an activity or object: trying to get a toy or something they are fixated on; or trying to get an activity such as center time.
- Sensory: trying to gain some type of sensory stimulation or input; or a negative reaction to too much stimulation, such as in a gym or where acoustics are challenging. At times this function of behavior can be unrecognized or overlooked.
Let’s review some questions to think through:
Practice Opportunity
Use the following guide to identify the main function of the child’s behavior in the scenario. You will have the opportunity to check your response at the end of the activity.
Building a hypothesis
Behavioral hypothesis is our best thoughtful guess about why a child behaves the way that he or she does.
Identifying Behavior
Pay close attention to the description of the challenging behavior. A description of challenging behavior should be written in objective terms. Use of verbs, quotes, and descriptive words keeps the behavior description objective. In contrast, use of labels and judgment words does not help those who are working to support the child’s success to get a clear picture of what the behavior looks like.
Hypothesis statements
A behavioral hypothesis includes the behavior, its purpose, and the caregiver response or consequence as a result of the behavior.
Practice Opportunity
Use the following guide to develop your hypothesis statement for the scenario. You will have the opportunity to check your responses at the end of the activity.
Put in place a Behavior Support Plan
Take a moment to think through how you would develop a Behavior Support Plan to address the challenging behavior in the scenario. The Plan should include strategies for prevention of the challenging behavior, replacement skills to teach the child as substitutes for the challenging behavior, and strategies to reinforce the child’s use of the replacement skills instead of the challenging behavior. Also, the Plan should include steps for keeping track of the child’s progress and determining whether it is working or needs to be adjusted — this involves deciding who will do what to carry out and keep track of the Plan.
Identify whether a team approach is appropriate for you in relation to this scenario. A team approach is important if:
- You are in a center or a school and have access to other professionals who work with the child, administrators, mental health or behavior specialists, and/or other experts who could be helpful, and
- The child’s behavior is truly challenging, which means it is persistent and not responsive to positive behavior guidance strategies.
Tie it all together
Let’s circle back to the segment scenario. Apply insights gained from your ABC Chart, Functions, and Hypothesis Statement to devise your intervention strategies for the child in the scenario.
Use the following tips from coach Gabe and the list of questions to help guide your process:
- What is the behavior we want to change?
- What strategies did the teacher use to address the behavior?
- How effective do you think these strategies were?
- What other strategies do you think the teacher could have used?
Want to engage with others and contribute to the conversation? Participate in this wiki as we put together our ideas for intervention:
Stay connected
As you continue to build stronger insight, knowledge, strategies, and competence in behavior support, think through:
- What other information do you need to help you think about solving problems similar to the one in the scenario?
- What steps would you need to take in order to get this information?
