5 Implement the Intervention
Introduction
Educators must use a systematic and data-driven approach to support challenging behaviors effectively. One such approach is Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), which involves identifying a behavior’s underlying function or purpose and designing interventions based on that understanding. This chapter will focus on the next step in the FBA process: implementing and monitoring the intervention plan. We will discuss essential considerations teachers should consider as they implement the plan and collect ongoing student behavior data. Additionally, we will explore strategies for withdrawing the intervention, generalization, and maintenance once the behavior reaches the desired level. By following these guidelines, educators can effectively address problem behaviors and promote positive student outcomes.
Before you get started, pause and go to the IRIS Center Module: Functional Behavioral Assessment: Identifying the Reasons for Problem Behavior and Developing a Behavior Plan (2024). Complete pages 10-12, practice what we are learning through the application activities, and keep track of any questions, ideas, etc.
Step 6 – Implement & Monitor
Regularly reviewing (every 4-6 weeks) and updating plans is important because it allows adjustments to be made by considering changes in the student’s behavior or environment. For example, if a student moves to a new classroom or school, the previous plan may no longer be effective, and new strategies may need to be implemented. It is also important to gather new information in these cases to identify any changes in behavior and adjust strategies accordingly to include supporting generalization. Implementing a few carefully selected interventions with excellent fidelity is more effective than implementing many strategies inconsistently because it allows for more focused and consistent efforts. This approach also allows for a more thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of each intervention, which can lead to better decision-making when selecting future strategies. Additionally, educators and support staff can more easily identify any necessary adjustments or modifications to ensure success by focusing on a few critical interventions. These progress updates and potential revisions are documented in the BIP or other places within a student’s IEP. Check with your district about their process.
Reinforcement
In the implementation and monitoring stage, reinforcement shapes behavior and promotes student independence. When using reinforcement, it is important to consider several key components, such as immediacy, contingency, variability, and uniqueness to the child. Reinforcement should be provided promptly after the desired behavior and only when it occurs. Using various preferred items as reinforcers is essential to prevent boredom or satiation. These reinforcers should be tailored to the child’s preferences to ensure effectiveness.
Identifying Reinforcers. During the FBA, the team can determine reinforcers that can be used to motivate the student to engage in the alternative replacement behavior and other appropriate behaviors. One place this data can be collected is from direct observation. It is the most effective way to identify potential reinforcers for a child. Observing the child can determine what activities they prefer and what items they enjoy. It is essential to consider what is age-appropriate and natural to the situation, as the best reinforcers are those that are least artificial but still effective. For example, if jumping on a trampoline and drawing pictures are both reinforcing for a child, drawing pictures may be a more appropriate reinforcer for completing handwriting homework. Also, reinforcement surveys are a tool educators can use to gather information about potential reinforcers.
Using Reinforcers. Once a potential reinforcer is identified, it may be necessary to make that item or activity unavailable except when the child exhibits the target behavior. This makes the reinforcer more valuable and motivating to work for. When giving a child a reinforcer, only limited access should be allowed. A few minutes with a favorite toy or a small bite of a favorite snack will ensure that the child does not become bored with the item or activity and will be ready to earn it again with more work. It is also important to note that a child’s preferences may change often, and the selection of reinforcers should change accordingly.
Fading Reinforcement. Ultimately, the goal of using reinforcement is for the child to respond without artificial motivators. Once the child responds reliably, it is important to slowly reduce the use of artificial motivators and establish more naturally occurring consequences as reinforcers. These consequences may include things children can easily access in their environment when they exhibit desirable behaviors, such as adult praise or attention from peers.
Cautions. However, there are some cautions to keep in mind when using reinforcement. Reinforcement should not be introduced as a bribe when a child refuses to do something. Positive reinforcers should not be used to entice children to stop engaging in challenging behaviors. Reinforcers should be large enough to increase behavior but as small as practical. For example, cookies are unnecessary if a child works for verbal praise. Finally, it is essential to refrain from promising or offering reinforcers that cannot or will not be delivered.
Overall, effective reinforcement can be a powerful tool in increasing desired behaviors in children. Direct observation is the most effective way to identify potential reinforcers, and it is vital to consider age-appropriate and natural reinforcers unique to each child. Once a potential reinforcer is identified, limited access should be allowed to maintain its effectiveness, and reinforcers should be changed as a child’s preferences change. As the child begins to respond reliably, the use of artificial motivators should be thinned and replaced with naturally occurring consequences. Finally, caution should be kept in mind when using reinforcement, such as not using it as a bribe or for challenging behaviors and ensuring that reinforcers are practical and deliverable.
Summary
In conclusion, educators play a critical role in supporting students with challenging behaviors. A systematic and data-driven approach is essential for effective intervention. Functional Behavior Assessment provides a valuable framework for identifying the underlying function of behavior and designing appropriate interventions. However, implementing and monitoring the intervention plan is equally important. Teachers must consider essential factors such as consistency, fidelity, and data collection to ensure the plan’s success. Moreover, withdrawal, generalization, and intervention maintenance are critical steps to promote long-term positive outcomes. By following these guidelines and continuously monitoring progress, educators can provide targeted student support, improve their behavior, and enhance their academic and social-emotional outcomes.
Reflect, Apply, & Connect
Dr. Amanda Zbacnik, an Associate Professor at UW-Superior, wrote two stories about students facing different challenges. One story is about a second-grade girl named Tenley who needs incentives to help her with transitions in class and faces physical challenges during adaptive physical education and recess. The other story is about a second-grade girl named Nicole who has academic, communication, social, and physical challenges that require many IEP team members, including the speech-language pathologist, to design some reinforcers to support her. Both stories show how important it is to think about each student’s needs and make decisions that help them succeed. Read one of the stories and then answer the questions to help you think more about the story and what you can learn from it.
Vignette #22
What “Carrot” Drives Your Students?
by Dr. Amanda Zbacnik
One of the beautiful things Ms. Brown recalls about Tenley includes her fascination with Sponge Bob Square Pants. She loved anything to do with this cartoon character. Ms. Brown remembers the adaptive physical education teacher coming to work with Tenley. One of her primary goals was to work on balance and doing stretches to assist her in developing a normal-looking gait.
One particular Friday morning, the DAPE teacher brought some Sponge Bob step-up cups. These identical cups were brought to previous sessions without the Sponge Bob stickers and Tenley threw them across the gymnasium. Tenley needs to step on top of the cups, work on her balance, and then hold onto the connected ropes with her hands. Then, the task is to walk around the gymnasium while balancing on the cups and holding the ropes. When previously asked to do this, it equated to disaster. However, things changed when the Sponge Bob stickers were included. Ms. Brown will never forget her smile when trying out her Sponge Bob cups. She was practically speed-walking around the gymnasium!! Tenley’s brilliant, white smile still stays in Ms. Brown’s memory to this very day.
Also, concerning physical exercise, Tenley loved recess. However, the transition from the playground to the school was extremely challenging. Ms. Brown recalled Tenley’s paraprofessional coming to her and stating, “She refuses to come in” (Tenley had been left under the supervision of the playground aide, so the paraprofessional could communicate this with me). So, the IEP team had to try many things to help improve this transition.
One of our significant strategies included: having a visual timer, where Tenley removed little red dots from a chart every ten minutes during recess. This worked the majority of the time. However, there was a phase where Tenley would simply refuse and lay out in the snow until the principal was called to come and assist in the situation. As a new special educator, you can imagine Ms. Brown’s surprise the first time the paraprofessional returned to the special education classroom without Tenley. The message was that the principal was trying to coax Tenley into the building. So, Ms. Brown bundled up in her winter gear and went outside to help.
Under the direction of the principal, it was decided that a fireman’s carry could be used to get the student safely back inside. During the winter, having Tenley ride in a sled back to the school steps was also effective. However, the most effective strategy was to pair Tenley up with a student in her second-grade general education class. This buddy would walk her back to the special education room, where both would be rewarded with a star sticker upon arrival. The transition from recess back to school was simplified by taking the adults out of the picture and allowing peer interaction.
Another vivid memory that involved the first exposure to working with parent/guardian(s) of students with special needs involved the principal providing Ms. Brown with the following information about Tenley’s mother: “Mom is very knowledgeable, has a master’s degree, and works at a community college in the field of education.” Ms. Brown wasn’t sure why his statement made her blood pressure spike so much at that moment (because this young mother happened to be just about the best person any teacher could wish to or want to work with). However, Ms. Brown remembers having so many socioeconomic and racial stereotypes shattered in her mind upon interacting with Tenley’s mother at the first IEP meeting. Tenley was an African American little girl, so you can imagine Ms. Brown’s surprise when her mom was white Caucasian. You can imagine even more surprise on Ms. Brown’s part when her mom was the only parent at the IEP meeting. She mentioned that Tenley’s father was no longer in the picture. This meeting was a gentle reminder that parent(s)/guardian(s) come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and genders.
Critical Reflective Questions:
- What role did student interest play in motivating Tenley to work towards her goals?
- Transitions can be a very challenging part of classroom management. What strategies were tried to transition Tenley from recess back to the classroom? Ultimately, what was most effective?
- Special education teachers and parent(s)/guardian(s) must work together to help students achieve their IEP/transition goals. Why is it so important for educators not to have preconceived notions about what a “traditional” family unit may look like?
- What questions or concerns do you have?
Vignette #23
Student Refusals to Complete Tasks:
A Communication Challenge or Statement of Strong Will?
by Dr. Amanda Zbacnik
When Ms. Brown thought of Nicole, she pictured a big smile—the biggest smile you can imagine for this little girl of Native American descent. Nicole remained in the general education classroom for kindergarten and first grade and had gotten through just fine. But, she was diagnosed with aphasia from lack of oxygen due to complications during her birth. While this affected Nicole’s communication skills, she was very bright intellectually. The primary barrier, for her, was expressing to others the knowledge that she possessed.
Nicole loved being around her twin sister. However, their interaction was often laced with struggle. This is because her twin sister often felt embarrassed by Nicole’s high-pitched squeals, grunts, and refusals in her communication. Furthermore, Nicole had a bit of a stubborn streak (which Ms. Brown admired; because once agreeing to complete a task, she was persistent and determined to complete it to the greatest/best extreme possible).
On the other extreme of the spectrum, her stubbornness often led to Nicole refusing to do some academic tasks and, in terms of adaptive physical education, refusing to do the requested physical activities. At this point, the staff that worked with her were unsure of the reason behind the refusals; she needed a means of communicating her logic.
Ms. Brown was very fortunate that we had an exceptional speech-language pathologist at this second school. She was willing to teach all of the students in my class primary sign language, to help them communicate with me and the paraprofessionals working with them. In Nicole’s case, selecting an augmentative communication device began because she was intellectually able to decipher various symbols.
Initially, Nicole was excited to use Dynavox to talk with her peers. She would practice using it during story time, circle time, and at stations with her classmates. This Dynavox, however, was quite heavy with a strap that secured around the neck and over the shoulder for easy transport. This device might have been ideal for an individual with more limited mobility. However, carrying a five-pound device around for a very active eight-year-old girl was challenging and annoying. At this point, Nicole began to simply leave her communication device outside on the playground, in the cafeteria, or in the hallway. This became a concern for the special education staff because the equipment cost $1200.
Educators need to make the assistive technology meet the needs of the student. It did not matter that the communication device was user-friendly and easy to navigate. It did not meet Nicole’s needs for mobility, leading to frustration over being unable to engage in soccer and other gross motor activities without feeling weighed down.
Critical Reflective Questions:
- Refusal to complete a task (physical or academic) or use the Dynavox was the most challenging behavior exhibited by Nicole. How might reinforcement be used? What other strategies might her teachers try?
- What questions or concerns do you have?
- How might you apply what you learned in this chapter to the student you are using for the course project?
