Behavioral Checklist for Schools and Parents

Schools are frequently in a hurry to call things behavioral, manipulative or purposeful when they are confronted with situations that are challenging. In this instance, "behavior" has a negative connotation, unlike the IDEA definition which is value neutral. The following are some suggestions for school personnel and parents to engage in a more positive discussion and to help tease out behaviors from other factors.

Avoid use of all charged language like manipulative and intentional. It is rare that children with special needs have a plan and a design that they are following through on to upset the class. The adjectives do nothing to further the discussion and tend to polarize the parties.

Run through a checklist of other factors and rule each of them out before calling something a behavior [the list below is far from exhaustive]:

• is the child in medical distress(e.g. illness, injury, seizures, car accident etc) ?;

• is there a dental problem ? I have seen many children who act out because of some unresolved and unknown dental issue. For many children going to the dentist can be challenging so they do not go very often or when they do go the exam is far from complete;

• has there been a home-based crisis (e.g. death of a loved one or a pet, divorce, household move)?;

• has the child been allowed sufficient time for a sensory break or sensory input usually of the calming variety ?;

• has the child eaten breakfast/lunch/snack or does he need to eat or drink ?;

• is the child suffering from some allergic reaction ?;

• has the school just sprayed pesticides, herbidices, rodenticides or other toxic substances which tend to fall into the category of neurotoxins that can have a particularly dramatic effect on younger children especially those with an underlying neurologic issue ?;

• is the child responding to a change in personnel or routine?;

• is the child overheated either indoors or on a particularly hot day outside ?;

• does the child have reliable means of communication and was it available at the time of the   incident ?

• is the child well rested ?

Of course all of these questions do not lend themselves to immediate on-the-spot answers. These questions also inject a complexity into the decision-making that school personnel often do not welcome. The point, frequently, is to make a snap decision; pigeon-hole the child and his issues and move on. Instead, asking contextual questions is required to make sound decisions and not unfairly marginalize the child. Additional questions in this vein are welcome to make this list more useful in the context of a school day.

Comments

[Kathryn]

This is a GREAT post. We just had this same discussion with our placement person and I was arguing for the same thing - get rid of all the loaded language that makes Ellie seem like she is a bad kid. There were words like willful and resistent. Versus the reality of auditory defensiveness, sensory integration issues, and dystonia. For crying out loud!!! Argggg! You have hit the nail on the head with this one as usual.

The person I was dealing with who had to rewrite the crappy IEP got really angry at me that she started to yell. Talk about resistant and willful.

Sometimes looking at the huge amount of stuff that is wrong with all this I get overwhelmed. But I think giving a voice to it so articulately like you are doing here is very empowering and will serve as a foundation for real discussions that will slowly lead to real change - if we parents keep insisting on it.

[Cyn]

Well written!

Schools seem to want to throw out these words like "manipulative" and/or "behaviroral" without ever asking the question ~ WHY? Identify the child's needs and why the child is responding to his or her's environment first. Respond instead of labeling.

This has been an ongoing issue; not only for myself, but for many parents throughout.

Thank you for writing a very thoughtful article.

If only schools would try to comprehend what makes total sense to the rest of us, our children would have a much easier time throughout their day.

[tnt]

I have been searching for this sort of an explanation for a long time. Well said...

[Florence Castro]

Awesome post. I have a quick question. Can a school implement a behavior plan without a functional behavioral analysis? Does this vary per state? My sons grades have dropped substantially and he avoids certain kinds of schoolwork.

[Araminta Self]

I am wondering about THE FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS AS WELL. My momma is a professioanl IBI( Intensive behavioral interventionist) has been doing the work for over 25 years and has told me his school has to complete one for Idaho but so many schools circumvent this and use and IEP where a BIP (BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION PLAN)is needed. So if anyone can answer this in regards ot Idaho law, let me know!!!

[Doreen]

The FBA and BIP are a critical crossroads in a child's school experience. It took a whole year last year to get in a behavioral consultant for my child. We went through the psychologist and teacher coming up with a contract first and then the consultant came on board.

This year, the FBA was officially being conducted, and then I find out that the behaviorist was dismissed (they didn't tell me; I found out). Now I am fighting to find out why and who will replace this person. Part of the problem is a new director came on board, and it always seems they want to bring in their own people. But I do have behavioral consultant on the IEP, and I have put all my concerns in writing and no response as yet. Now the psychologist wants to meet with us (deja vu from last year).

Very frustrating; there really has to be more oversight over the school's actions.

[Amalia M. Harris]

I just had a few more questions to add to the list:

What was going on in the class just prior to the event in question?

Did anything unusual happen on the way to school today?
(an incident on the bus, perhaps)

Is the child experiencing typical symptoms of puberty?
Even typical kids can exhibit "behavior" under the influence of the physical, emotional, and hormonal stress of this period of their life!

Has anyone asked the child why he/she acted in a certain manner? Sometimes there really is method to the madness; it's just not the method a typical child might choose.