Supporting Behavior in the Inclusive Class

Foundational Ideas

• Everyone needs support for behavior.
• Behavior is communication.
• Punishment doesn’t work.
• Respond to the root of the behavior, not the surface.

Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support

• Intensive Supports
• Moderate supports
• Proactive supports

Proactive Supports

• For all students all of the time
• Building Community
• Universal Design for Learning
• Culturally Responsive Teaching
• The Responsive Classroom Responsive Classroom

Toolkit for Proactive Supports

• Class meetings
  – Belonging, empowerment, and capability – Everyone participates!
  – Kriete, R. (2002). The morning meeting book. Turner Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc.
  – Nelson, J., Lott, L., & Glenn, H. S. (2000). Positive discipline in the classroom: Developing mutual respect, cooperation, and responsibility (3rd ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press.

• Fidget Toys
  – Enhances learning experiences
  – Provides sensory stimulation
  – Focuses attention

• Cue signals
  – Individualized or whole-class
  – Visual or auditory
  – Supports all students in remembering classroom routines

• Nooks
  – Alternative place to read or work
  – A place to decompress or think things through
  – Stock with paper, clipboards, books, seating, and fidget toys

• Periodic rests
  – Replenish neurotransmitters and allow for more information processing
  – One to two minutes every 15 minutes
  – Stretch, dance, chat, sing, get a new fidget, etc.
  – Reconnect and keep going

• CHOICE!
  – Benefits are prevalent in research
  – Offer options with a common set of criteria
  – Examples: Draw it, Write it, Say it, Move it, Homework Menus

Moderate Supports

• Additional needs for some students
• May be short-term or long-term
• Classroom teacher (usually)

Toolkit for Moderate Supports

• Response scales
  – A concrete way to directly teach social skills
  – Increase self-management and emotional regulation
  – Buron, K. D., & Curtis, M. (2012). The incredible 5-point scale (2nd ed.). Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Co.

• Pre-questions
  – Provides extra time to answer discussion questions
  – Relieves anxiety
  – Builds confidence and self-efficacy

• Social skill slam book
  – Provides peer-to-peer social advice and guidance
  – Use photos and speech bubbles to add support
  – Kluth, P., & Danaher, S. (2014). From text maps to memory caps: 100 more ways to differentiate instruction in K-12 inclusive classrooms. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

• Social stories
  – Direct instruction of meaningful social skills
  – For one-time events or long-term routines and situations
  – Gray, C. (2010). The new social story book. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons.

Intensive Supports

• Significant needs for few students
• Usually long-term
• Collaboration with related service professionals

Toolkit for Intensive Supports

• Alternatives to restraint and seclusion Life Space Crisis Intervention
  – Interactive therapeutic strategy for turning crisis situations into learning opportunities
  – Non-physical intervention for behavior management and problem solving

• Collaboration with Occupational Therapist American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (AOTA)
  – Interventions to support full participation in the classroom environment and social situations
  – Therapies to develop motor skills, sensory processing, social coping, functional life skills

• Augmentative and alternative communication American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
  – Symbol sets and systems
  – Eye gaze systems
  – Text-to-speech
  – Voice output aids

Additional Resources

• Kluth, P., & Danaher, S. (2010). From tutor scripts to talking sticks: 100 ways to differentiate instruction in K-12 inclusive classrooms. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

• Kohn, A. (2006). Beyond discipline: From compliance to community (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

• OSEP Technical Assistance Center. (2014). Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support. Retrieved at pbis.org

• Myles, B. S., Trautman, M. L., & Schelvan, R. L. (2004). The hidden curriculum: Practical solutions for understanding unstated rules in social situations. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Publishing Co.

• Sapon-Shevin, M. (2010). Because we can change the world: A practical guide to building cooperative, inclusive classroom communities (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

• Willis, J. (2006). Research-based strategies to ignite student learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.