Stress, De-escalation, �& Making a Plan

Presented by: Shawn Fletcher

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I Wish...

•I hope the time we spend together helps.

•I knew Oprah and could get you on the show where she gives away free cars!

•Lawmakers had to teach before passing school funding legislation.

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•There was a way for you see 15 years in the future and feel the positive impact you are having on your students.

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•There was an adequate way to say thank you!

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Objectives

• Staff will:
• Evaluate how to respond to crisis situations in light of how the brain functions
• Generate strategies to defuse escalating behavior
• Generate strategies for remaining calm in crisis

The Brain & Stress

Behavior Challenges: �A Developmental Delay

Behavior challenges - a developmental delay

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• How might this video relate to some of our most challenging students?
• Would framing behavior challenges as a developmental delay effect how we respond?

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How Do We Frame the Problem?

Functional Behavior Assessment

The student learns through repeated experience, that under these specific Antecedent conditions, “If I engage in this Behavior, I can expect this Consequence”.

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A ➔ B ➔ C

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Collaborative Problem Solving

Assessment of Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems

Lagging Skills:

• Executive Functioning Skills
• Language Processing Skills
• Emotion Regulation Skills
• Cognitive Flexibility Skills
• Social Skills

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Unsolved Problems:

• Conditions in which the demands placed upon a person exceed the person’s capacity to respond adaptively.
• Some kids lack the “thinking skills” to not be challenging.

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The Impact of Chronic Stress

The Impact of Chronic Stress

• How does this video relate to your experience?
• How do the demands of school contribute to the stress of our most challenging students?
• How does this video relate to the stress you experience?

When Kids Flip Their Lids

When kids flip their lids

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• Reasoning with an enraged person is not possible
• De-escalation techniques are abnormal
• We may not need to add "punishment"

We can't teach a child who is in crisis

3^rd Fade planned incentive

1^st Eliminate crisis through altering the environment & teaching alternative behaviors

• Give them what they want - before they make you
• Make it Easy, Acceptable and Functional

2^nd Generate motivation through teaching desired behavior and using planned incentive

Avoiding Power Struggles

Baseline

• Pre-teach
• Make agreements on a continuum of options (interventions and consequences)
• Make agreements on how you will prompt to appropriate behavior and how they should respond

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Trigger

• If you know the triggers, plan ahead

Escalation

• Limit Audience and use Proximity & Privacy
• Redirect to on task behavior or
• Prompt to the routine that was practiced at baseline

Crisis

• Follow District/School protocol
• Your self-control + Time + Space = De-escalation

On Thinking in Crisis: Less is Better

• Few words are often best
• Alpha commands
• Don't back yourself into a corner (keep a carrot and stick)
• Rely on routines and structures
• Have a general time-out system that works for you
• Teach and practice the time out system before implementing
• Have a calm down and problem solving procedure that you practice with your students
• Don’t hesitate to model the steps when you are frustrated

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On Thinking in Crisis: Think Before You Act

• When faced with a novel situation, have a plan before engaging.
• Most situations don't need to be addressed immediately.
• Time is your ally.
• Focus on the why and when of the situation (what are the demands on the student? what skills does the student need help with?) – more so than what the student is doing.
• Know your tendencies (Fight, Flight, Freeze) and make a plan.

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Key Concepts in De-escalation�www.naswma.org

Do

• Be respectful
• Call for support early - it is easier to de-escalate before crisis
• Answer all informational questions no matter how rudely asked
• Give choice when possible in situation where both alternatives are safe ones
• Empathize with feelings but not with behavior
• Wherever possible, tap into the client’s cognitive mode. Example: “Help me understand what you are saying to me.”

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Don’t

• Don’t react defensively to rude comments or insults
• Don't argue or try to convince the student
• Don’t answer abusive questions
• Don't trick student to achieve your goal - Tricking students = short term gain and long term pain

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Collaborative Problem Solving

Simple Plan B Plan B: Precorrection

• Things to consider:
• Timing is everything. Avoid: “You have to be in crisis before you get your need met.”
• Don't back yourself into a corner:
• Drastically limit threat of punishment or required academic demands for kids who will access CPS.

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Punishment or demand (from the teacher) + Tantrum + CPS (with counselor or principal) + Removal of punishment or demand = A failed intervention

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• We have to empower teachers to do the intervention and alter any consequences that will be changed.

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Make a Plan

• Identify the triggers that are most likely to set you off:
• Develop a script for how you will respond.
• Identify when you will call for help based on your own physical and emotional state.
• Identify a list of 5 of the Key Concepts in De-escalation that are the best reminders for you.
• Develop a Crisis Plan for responding to student behavior (go to the bottom of the page to download - BlankCrisisPlan.doc)

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Individual Plan – Examples

Runners

• Naughty chair
• Little effect for problem bx.
• Big effect for engagement
• Ticket to run
• 5 tickets, worth 10 min each (fun time at home) – if you leave the classroom, it costs you a ticket.
• Tents, predetermined spots in and out of the classroom
• Considerations:
• Escape from peers, adults, or work?
• Gain attention from adults or peers?
• Extinguishing is tough – you can’t let them go too far
• Class awards for goal…
• Teacher should consider
• Proximity to exits (student far-teacher near)
• Teacher’s location in room
• Have the door closed
• Have room set up to slow access to exits
• Does the student escalate?
• Create more opportunities to earn escape
• Consider escape an alternative bx.

Task Avoiders

• ECC – Jason W. - sentences earn dodge ball: first for you, then for your friends.
• Just get them started - OT HS:
• Observation: 5 problems and a lot of drama in 35 min. (task avoidance & adult attention maintained)
• Set timer for 35 min – when 5 more problems are done, we can talk about whatever you want
• Draw lines on the paper: one section = one minute, each word written = 10 seconds …
• Math ECC:
• Pre-teach Alt Bx., prompt to desired behavior and payoff.

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Non Compliance

• 35 talk-outs in 5 min. (Motivated by peer attention)
• Class contingency – Bx. Bingo
• Individual contingency - invite a friend
• Not going to move
• If student is accessing what is maintaining their bx., we need to intervene.
• If the student is just waiting you out, you can let them wait. (document it)
• Check in every few minutes and let them know how to rejoin when they are ready.
• See “Managing Anger and Aggression” Clip (5:00-7:55)

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Physical Aggression

• Kinder hitter on the carpet:
• I want more space.
• I want that spot.
• “Don’t hit, that is not respectful…” Did not tell him how to get his need met.
• Interrupt problem behavior and make them successful with alt or desired behavior. Tell the student, “Say, ‘I want you to move.’” (student doesn’t even have to say it, you are just modeling) and have other student move.

Tearing stuff off the walls

• Doors on cupboards
• Reproducible - copies from computer
• Move valuables
• Put stuff out of their reach
• Crisis plan agreed to with team and admin.
• Limit audience, limit affect
• Figure out why

Bad Transitions

• Multiple checkpoints
• Line up at door before entering
• Brain gym stretching
• Bx. Bingo
• Teach, Practice, Prompt, Repeat
• Assigned spots

Getting buy-in from the Student

• During Acquisition Phase, continuous reinforcement is necessary to ensure the student learns/masters the desired response/skill; continuous reinforcement maximizes opportunities for feedback.

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• During Fluency/Maintenance Phase, fading to intermittent reinforcement is necessary because intermittent reinforcement is stronger at maintaining behavior over time.

Effective Reinforcement

• Immediacy/Frequency – the sooner reinforcement/feedback is provided, the more effective/stronger the reinforcer becomes.

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• Contingent/Clear – student understands there is a clear relationship between exhibiting a specific behavior & gaining positive feedback/reinforcement; students are more likely to be successful focusing on fewer specific behaviors at one time rather than many.

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• Strength/Value – identify a reinforcer that is valued or desired by the student.
• Deprivation v. Satiation
• We may need to change up reinforcers periodically to keep it interesting.

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