Catch them being good

I was the lead teacher at the Center for one and half years. With the help of an assistant teacher, everyday from Monday to Friday, we taught six children with Down syndrome. The children ages range from 4 to 9 years old. Since there were “only” six children in the classroom, we pretty much have the classroom under tight behavior control. There were unwritten rules and routines to everything that went on in the classroom. Some days, things went well in the class. Other days, I spent the entire journey home from the Center wondering what I did wrong or what I could have done differently. It was tough making sure that the students behaved appropriately in class:
a) Ensuring that they did not roll around on the floor when they should be sitting on a chair,
b) Ensuring that the students were lined up properly before going to the restroom to wash their hands before and after snack time,
c) Ensuring that they did not snatch one another’s snack,
d) Ensuring that they did not push or hit one another,
e) Ensuring that they shared the toys,
f) Ensuring a multitude of other things.

Looking back, I realized I had absolutely no training in classroom management. The classroom was under control because it was relatively small. I would also liked to believe that I built up a rapport with my students. And it was this rapport that smoothed things out in the classroom. I hoped it was because I gave them plenty of attention, so that they did not have to resort to problem behaviors to gain my attention. I hoped it was because the activities in the class were fun, so they did not have to resort to problem behaviors to escape the activities.

Even so, now that I know a little more, there are many things I could have done differently. However, if there is one intervention that I wish I had put in place at the Center, it is school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS).

SWPBS emphasizes a proactive approach to school discipline and supporting students in schools. The SWPBS practices that I would have liked to implement at the Center are:

1) Define schoolwide behavioral expectations

I never explicitly taught my students what the expected behaviors were in the classroom. When they misbehaved, I would tell them what they did wrong. When they behaved appropriately, I may occasionally praise them. My expectations were for them behave appropriately in class. I just assumed that they knew my expectations, but I never told them what the appropriate behaviors were.

SWPBS recommends that behavioral expectations be written and posted throughout the school. The behavioral expectations should also be written in the positively. For example, Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible. The children are then taught these three expectations and to memorized them.

2) Teach the behavioral expectations

In terms of teaching appropriate social skills, I failed miserably. It is probably because I had no idea how to teach social skills. It always seemed to me that children learn social skills by observing the adults around them. This may be true, but some children require more concrete instruction and practice to learn these skills.

With the three behavioral expectations, the children are then taught the behavioral expectations in different settings in the school. For example, Be Responsible in the classroom may be putting shoes and bags in the proper place, while Be Responsible in the restroom may be turning off the tap.

3) Monitor and encourage performance of expected behaviors

As for praising my students for behaving appropriately, I doubt I did enough of that. Just like most teachers, I probably paid more attention to inappropriate behavior, and did not catch my students behaving appropriately.

After teaching the students the behavioral expectations and modeling to them what each expectation looked like in different setting, I would also liked to implement a chart on the wall to monitor the students’ behaviors. For example, a student will earn a sticker for putting his/her shoes away. There will be a list of appropriate behaviors that will earn stickers. At the end of the day, the stickers will be added up for a bigger reward (e.g., snacks, extra play time, good behavior certificates, etc).

There is a lot of work involved in implementing SWPBS, but once it is in placed, the school environment is much more positive and pleasant. In many ways, it is the teachers’ behaviors that change in SWPBS. Teachers are required to start noticing and praising students being good. This may be harder to do then one might think. Often times it is easier to criticize then to praise.

Buzzword for this intervention:
Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS)

Fighting over food

Kit was a 5-year-old child with autism who went to the House. Kit was very picky about food, due in part to the nature of autism (where change can be difficult) and the fact that Kit’s mom was a Japanese and he grew up eating Japanese-style food and not to the usual Malaysian fare. When unusual food was placed before him, Kit would throw a major temper tantrum. The House was insistent that Kit learned to eat various types of food. So during lunch, another teacher would be in charge of making sure Kit ate what was set before him. Since his mom usually packed lunch for him, usually Kit would have no problems with his food. However, when he sensed that something was not right with his food, he would throw a major tantrum. Because of the House’s policy, many times a piece of the undesired food was placed in his mouth, Kit would refuse to eat and swallow it but the teacher would not allow Kit to spit it out. The battle over that one piece of food would last through lunch and sometimes till afternoon lessons began. Kit would continue to hold that piece of food during lessons, and of course, he could not concentrate on his lessons at all during those times.

These food fights were happening too often. It was a very stressful time for both teachers and students. In the end, both parties lost. Precious time was spent on fighting a losing battle. Kit’s tantrums during meal times did not decrease, many a times, afternoon lessons were unfruitful, and teachers were very stressed out.

Kit’s parents had experienced times when they went out to a restaurant for dinner together, and Kit would freak out when some strange food was brought to their table. That caused tremendous embarassment to his parents and his parents were very reluctant to bring Kit out for meals together. So I do understand the House for trying to get Kit to eat as many different types of food as possible, but there is a better solution.

What would I do differently now?

Kit was a strong and healthy boy for his age. He was not malnourished, in fact, he was taller than most kids his age. Most people have some type of food that they absolutely hate, and no form of praise or force could make them eat it. And that is OK. So Kit is entitled to reject foods that he does not want (since his health has not been affected by his choices) and the teachers have no right to force him to eat anything.

Even without a functional behavioral assessment, it was obvious that Kit’s temper tantrums, both in the House and the restaurants, had an escape function. He was using his temper tantrums to avoid having to eat the undesired food items. So Kit should be taught a more appropriate and efficient form of escape. He could be taught to indicate that he did not want something, by either shaking his head or maybe by pushing the undesired food to the side. Since nutrition was not a problem here, the parents and teachers would have to respect Kit’s wishes and not force it down his throat. When Kit learns to communicate his wishes appropriately, and when the adults learn to listen and respect his wishes, I am sure meal times would be more pleasant for everyone.

I have learned since then to carefully pick and only fight battles that I know I can win (Sun Tzu’s Art of War), and fighting over food is a losing battle. Ultimately, it is his mouth and his decision to swallow the food. And as a teacher, you can only go so far as to persuade a child to do that, anything more would be abusive.

Buzzwords for this intervention:
Functional communication training (FCT)
Self-determination