Utilizing De-escalation Strategies for Paraeducators and Behavior Interventionists

Jeremy Tretiak, MA BCBA, LBA-VT

BEST Project Coach/Trainer

Welcome!

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Activity

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Where are you today?

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10

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Our Roadmap…

1:00-1:50

• Why is this important
• Crisis Model
• Trauma and the Brain
• Self-care

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1:50 - 2:00 - Break

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2:00-3:00

• Building Relationships
• De-escalation/Decoding

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this training, you will have…

• Learned several strategies to de-escalate students by understanding the different stages in the Escalation/Crisis Cycle;
• Identified proactive and preventative strategies that can be implemented by every provider in the school building and used with all students;
• Examined ways to improve relationships with students that exhibit challenging behaviors;
• Explored ways to create safe environments that frontload interventions to break the cycle before it begins.

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Acknowledgments

YOU!

Why are you here?

“Values are like a compass-they help us make choices based on the directions in which we want our lives to go. Values are who we want to be and what want our lives to be about. When we connect with our values, we are able to move our lives in meaningful directions, even in the face of difficult or painful experiences.”

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(https://portlandpsychotherapyclinic.com/values_exercises/)

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Introductions – Opening Activity

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• Consider the values you uphold when you are at your best. In the chat, share one or two values you uphold when you are at your best.

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• Why did you choose to participate in this workshop? What is one thing that you want from this day?

Interfering behaviors disrupt learning.�Engaging learning prevents interfering behaviors.

Good Teaching

Classroom Management

Student Achievement

(Gest & Gest, 2005; Stronge, Ward and Grant, 2011)

Goal of Teaching

Why is this important?

• 12% of public school teachers leave within their first 2 years
• 50% leave within the first 5 years
• 55% of educators are thinking about leaving the profession earlier than they had planned because of the pandemic (NEA Survey, 2022)

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(Boyd, Grossman, Ing, Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2011; DeAngelis, & Presley, 2011; Feng, 2006; Henke, Zahn, & Carroll, 2001; Ingersoll, 2001; Ingersol, Merril, May, 2012; Johnson & Birkeland, 2003; Ingersoll & Smith, 2003; Kaiser & National Center for Educational Statistics, 2011; Kukla-Acevedo, 2009; Luekens, Lyter, Fox, & Changler, 2004; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004; Torres, 2012; Zabel & Zabel, 2002)

Why do teachers leave?

• Educators typically receive little pre- or in-service training in classroom management (Begeny & Martens, 2006; Freeman, Simonsen, Briere, & MacSuga, in press; Markow, Moessner, & Horowitz, 2006; Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study, 2001, 2002, 2004; Wei, Darling-Hammond, & Adomson, 2010).

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In the Chat Box….

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• What’s your role? How many years have you worked in your role?

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• What has your pre/in-service experience been like? Does this ring true for you? How many opportunities did you have to learn about SEL, Behavior, Classroom Management?

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Foundations

• All behavior is a form of communication.
• We can’t change behavior, we can change our learning environment and how WE respond.
• Students have pre-determined ideas about who they are based on how others perceive them.
• Every interaction is opportunity to change those perceptions!
• Consistency & clarity are key.
• People who are heard, listen.

Mrs. Munter liked to go over a few of her rules on the first day of school…

“I'm right and you're wrong, I'm big and you're small, and there's nothing you can do about it.”

- Roald Dahl

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“Eat my shorts.”

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“You just bought yourself another Saturday, mister!”

-Breakfast Club

Why is this Important?

Traditional Approaches Ineffective

Change Continuum

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Any Gardeners Out There?

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Photo Courtesy of Gabbie Blakeslee

If one of your plants isn’t flourishing, what would you do?

Circumstances View of Behavior

• “The Circumstances View of problem behavior attributes the source of the problem not to the person him or herself but to what has happened to the person over the course of their life up to the occurrence of the behavior(s) of concern.” (Pat Friman)

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Blame-oriented View

Vs.

Circumstances View of Behavior

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Blame-Oriented View:

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• Blame the person for their actions
• Blaming others may also allow blamers to avoid being blamed themselves
• Justifies how we treat individuals that misbehave
• i.e. aversive or punitive treatment
• “...problem behavior of others is the result of defects…such as morality, character or personality”

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Circumstances View:

• Provides a more compassionate view
• Attributes behavior to what has happened to the person
• Provides opportunity to reflect on your own responses
• Transforms your understanding of the behavior

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Proactive De-Escalation Strategies

What does work?

High Leverage Classroom Practices:

1. Positive Relationships!
2. Students are given multiple opportunities to respond (OTR) to promote high rates of academic engagement
3. Classroom expectations & rules defined and taught (all use school-wide, create classroom examples)
4. Procedures & routines defined and taught
5. Continuum of strategies to acknowledge appropriate behavior in place and used with high frequency (5:1)
6. Continuum of strategies to respond to prevent and de-escalate interfering behaviors
7. Students are actively supervised (pre-corrects and positive feedback)
8. Activity sequence promotes optimal instruction time and student engaged time
9. Instruction is differentiated based on student need

First…..Relationships

First…..Relationships

“A youth’s emotional connection with adults is perhaps the single most important factor for fostering positive development, including higher levels of engagement, motivation, and academic performance” (National Research Council, 2004)

In the chat: How do you build relationships

with your students?

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Practice Brief Cultivating Positive Student-Teacher Relationships (2019)

Building Rapport

• Relationships are key to working with everyone!
• Listen and respect them, even when they’re at their most unreasonable
• UNDERSTAND their interests
• Likes AND Dislikes.
• Be consistent
• Pair yourself with reinforcement; share experiences

Importance of Relationships

The best behavior plan in the world will not be effective unless the staff working with the student have developed a meaningful relationship based on trust and respect.

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De-escalation doesn’t have to start with an escalation

Students have pre-determined ideas about who they are based on how others perceive them.

• Every interaction you have with them is opportunity to change those perceptions - classroom disruptions to violent outbursts

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• Developing the ability to listen to another perspective, their truth, is an incredibly important part of de-escalation

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• Listen, respond, and decode

Positive Classroom Environments

1. Effective Instruction
• Explicit
• Engaging
• Positive Feedback

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• Environment
• Schedules
• Arrangements
• Interactions

Positive Classroom Environments

1. Effective Instruction
• Explicit
• Engaging
• Positive Feedback

Adults are explicit with lesson content and thoughtfully consider what is necessary to facilitate success with learning

Adults take responsibility for maximizing active student engagement within the content

Students get multiple opportunities to practice success at high rates with high rates of positive teacher acknowledgement

Positive Classroom Environment

2. Environment

• Schedules
• Arrangements
• Interactions

Schedules are displayed and changes explained - Consistency is key! Using a schedule is a great way to also give reminders.

Physical arrangement of the learning environment matters. Location of furniture, desks, book shelves, etc…

Proactive proximity of interactions - line of sight and adult movement/active supervision

Student Engagement

1. Effective Instruction
• Explicit
• Engaging
• Positive Feedback

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OTRs

Why Opportunities to Respond?

Best practice = 3 - 5 quality OTR per minute during direct instruction

• Opportunities to respond has been found to increase on-task behaviors and student engagement:
• For students with and without disabilities
• Across all grade levels
• During small- and whole-group instruction

(Clarke, Haydon, Bauer & Epperly 2016; Common, Lane, Cantwell, Brunsting, Oakes, Germer, &

Bross, 2020; Fitzgerald Leahy, Miller, & Schardt, 2019; MacSuga-Gage & Simonsen, 2015)

• Teachers can intensify instructional and behavioral supports for their students by increasing the number of OTRs.
• (Van Camp, Wehby, Martin, Wright, & Sutherland, 2020)
• Effectiveness demonstrated from preschool (Godfrey et al., 2003) to middle school (Haydon & Hunter, 2011).
• Improving academic outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (Sutherland et al., 2003).

OTR Self-Assessment

In the Chat Box….

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• What strategies do you use to engage students in the classroom?

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Preventing a Crisis…. Plan to Prevent….

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Preventing a Crisis….

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What is behavior?

All behavior is a

form of communication.

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Think & Share…

Think of a time when you felt distressed, upset, or challenged by someone’s behavior at home or at work.

• What were the first signs that something was wrong?

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• How did you react to the behaviors?

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• What did you do?

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Crisis Development Model*

Behavior:

1. Anxiety
2. Defensive
3. Risk Behaviors
4. Tension Reduction

Approaches:

1. Supportive
2. Directive
3. Safety Interventions
4. Therapeutic Rapport

*Adapted from the CPI Crisis Development Model

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Crisis Development Model*

*Adapted from the CPI Development Model

Behavior:

1. Anxiety
1. Any Change in typical Behavior

Approach:

1. Supportive
1. An empathic and nonjudgmental approach

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Crisis Development Model*

*Adapted from the CPI Development Model

Behavior:

1. Anxiety
2. Defensive
1. Protecting self from a real or perceived challenge

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Approach:

1. Supportive
2. Directive
1. Set limits, provide clear instruction

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Case Study*

*Adapted from the CPI Development Model

A parent waits to meet with her son’s teacher. This is the third time in a month she’s been called into the office regarding her son’s performance. She is a single mother working two jobs and had to take time off from work to be here. She’s pacing, fidgeting with her phone, and constantly asking the school secretary where the teacher is.

When the teacher arrives, the parent yells at her for wasting her time when she should be at work.

When asked to work with her son to complete supplemental worksheets to help him improve his math scores, she argues, “I don’t have time for this! Isn’t this your job?”

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Case Study*

*Adapted from the CPI Development Model

In the chat:

• What behaviors/level of crisis did you see?
• What staff approach would you take?
• What would you say or do?

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Integrated Experience

Precipitating Factors

Rational Detachment

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*Adapted from the CPI Development Model

Think…

Think of a time when something happened outside of school that impacted how you reacted/behaved/felt at school/work.

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• What happened and how did it make you feel?

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• How did this impact your experience at school/work?

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Integrated Experience

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Your approach can change everything!

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Behavior influences behavior.

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Precipitating Factors*

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What are factors that might negatively impact your ability to remain consistent and calm in your responses?

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*Adapted from the CPI

• Waking up late
• Not enough sleep
• Traffic on the way to work
• Forgot to eat
• Not enough exercise

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• Not feeling well
• Forgot to take medicine
• Work dissatisfaction
• Stress at home

Rational Detachment*

Recognizing the need to remain calm and professional by managing your own behavior or attitude.

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*Adapted from the CPI

Rational Detachment*

Questions to ask when observing behavior:

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What is the other person communicating?

How am I responding?

What am I expressing or conveying?

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*Adapted from the CPI

Rational Detachment*

Questions to ask when observing behavior:

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How are they responding to me?

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Is my next action/phrase likely to escalate or de-esclate this situation? What is truly non-negotiable?

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*Adapted from the CPI

Rational Detachment*

TIPS:

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1. Take a deep breath
2. Choose your words carefully -- pause
3. Ask for help

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*Adapted from the CPI

Communication

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What factors influence communication?

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Communication Skills

• Verbal
• Paraverbal
• Nonverbal

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*Adapted from the CPI Development Model

Verbal Communication*

• Short, simple, clear

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• Respectful

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• Positively phrased

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Instead of. . .

“You are not supposed

to be in this area.”

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Say. . .

“You seem lost. How

may I help you?”

*Adapted from the CPI

Paraverbal Communication*

• Tone
• Volume
• Cadence

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“I didn’t say Jeremy was silly.”

*Adapted from the CPI

Nonverbal Communication*

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• Personal space
• Body language
• Listening with empathy

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*Adapted from the CPI

Nonverbal Communication*

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• Personal space -The distance people prefer to maintain between themselves

and others.

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• Body language - The postures, gestures, facial expressions, and movement

used to communicate.

*Adapted from the CPI

Nonverbal Communication*

• Listening with empathy - A way of listening and responding to another person that

improves mutual understanding and trust.

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*Adapted from the CPI

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The Verbal Escalation Continuum*

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*Adapted from the CPI Development Model

The Verbal Escalation Continuum

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Questioning

INFORMATION-SEEKING

A rational question seeking a

rational response.

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STAFF INTERVENTION

Give a rational response.

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Questioning

CHALLENGING

Questioning authority;

attempting to draw a staff into a

power struggle.

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STAFF INTERVENTION

Downplay the challenge. Stick

to the topic.

The Verbal Escalation Continuum

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Refusal

Unwillingness to cooperate or

follow instructions.

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STAFF INTERVENTION

Limit setting.

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Keys to Limit Setting:

• Respectful - Phrase in a positive way
• Simple - Few words
• Reasonable - Connect the expectations to the circumstances

Examples of Limit Setting*

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INTERRUPT AND REDIRECT

(Interrupt) “Tyler, you’re shouting. (Redirect) Please speak quietly. Thank you.”

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IF/THEN PATTERN

“Tyler, if you lower your voice, then I’ll be able to address your concerns.”

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WHEN/THEN PATTERN

“Tyler, when you lower your voice, then I’ll be able to address your concerns.”

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FAIL SAFE CHOICE

“Tyler, would you like to talk about this now or later in private?”

*Adapted from the CPI Development Model

The Verbal Escalation Continuum

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Grace grows increasingly

angry before she finally

stands up from her chair

and starts shouting at

staff, “I hate Sarah, she’s so annoying!”

What is the defensive

behavior?

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What is the staff

intervention? Be specific.

What would you say/do?

In the chat:

The Verbal Escalation Continuum

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What is the defensive

behavior?

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What is the staff

intervention? Be specific.

What would you say/do?

In the chat:

Seth becomes

increasingly agitated

when asked to perform

a task. Suddenly he

responds, “No! You

can’t make me!”

The Verbal Escalation Continuum

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Theo becomes

aggressive and makes

threatening statements

like “you better watch

your back” and “I’m

going to mess you up.”

What is the defensive

behavior?

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What is the staff

intervention? Be specific.

What would you say/do?

In the chat:

People who are heard, listen.

WHEN DEALING WITH IN AN EMOTIONALLY CHARGED EVENT

•YOU MUST DEAL WITH THE FEELINGS FIRST

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•BEFORE YOU CAN DEAL WITH THE BEHAVIOR

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•FEELINGS , THOUGHTS , BEHAVIOR

Ending with “THE SCRIPT”

1. Acknowledge the feelings: Make 2-3 validating statements
2. Affirm : Make 2-3 affirming statements
3. Get the child’s perspective and restate
1. Ask questions
1. About incident
2. Their morning
3. Their night
4. Set limits and give choices as needed
• Possible plan for the next time something like this happens

An Example

1. I can tell that you are very upset. You might be mad or even disappointed, and I can see why you feel that way.
2. You’re pretty good at advocating for yourself and can be a real leader with your friends.
3. So I hear you saying that you got pretty mad at your friend when he took the ball you were hoping to play with at recess. Is that correct?
4. It’s really okay to be upset by something like that, and we need to work on a way to communicate that safely so we can solve the problem.

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Closing thoughts….

Students have pre-determined ideas about who they are based on how others perceive them.

• Every interaction you have with them is opportunity to change those perceptions - classroom disruptions to violent outbursts

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• Developing the ability to listen to another perspective, their truth, is an incredibly important part of de-escalation

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• Listen, calmly respond, and decode

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Questions, Wonderings, Comments?

Thank you!

Jeremy Tretiak MA, BCBA, VT-LBA

BEST Project Coach/Trainer

jeremy@gmbehavior.org

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Every interaction is an opportunity.