Positive Behavior Intervention Plan - Case Study Example

Positive Behavior Intervention Plan Functional behavior assessment and positive behavior intervention plan is a conclusive strategy of identifying abnormal behaviors especially in young children and designing ways to deal with such conducts. Positive behavior interventions focus on identifying depraved behaviors, their cause, and identifying ways of substituting them with appropriate ones. Functional Behavior Assessment Background information The following functional behavior assessment was conducted on Collins Eliot, a four-year-old boy who has been demonstrating severe disruptive and aggressive behavior at home. The boy stays at home and spends most of his time with the mother. His mother referred the boy to me after he started portraying a lot of aggressiveness especially towards his friends as well as older brother. Collins is of Asian origin and is extremely attached to his iPad. He is always on his iPad, which he refuses to give or share with anyone. He turns extremely aggressive when anyone gets near him particularly when he is using his iPad. This boy has both parents and one brother who is older than he is. His belligerence is characterized by recurrent verbal outbursts in addition to offensive actions towards his friends, brother, or at times to his parents. Additionally, when the iPad is taken from him, he breaks everything he gets hold of. Collins demonstrates aggressiveness mainly when prevented from doing what other considered wrong or when he wanted to get something forcefully from others, particularly his iPad. Assessment Techniques To assess Collins, I together with his mother used indirect assessment. A number of strategies were used to assess the boy. One of the strategy entailed cross-examining the mother. Additionally, the mother filled the Functional Behavioral Assessment Screening Form (FBASF). Moreover, the assessment entailed use of Functional Assessment Interview Form (FAIF). The forms helped get information regarding the settings, circumstances, and the extent of aggressiveness displayed by Collins. Additionally, direct behavior observation was done on Collins. Assessment Findings Functional Assessment Interview Form (FAIF) results revealed that Collins have a tendency to be more aggressive when bothered specifically when using his iPad. On several occasions, he would go to the extent of breaking anything within his reach especially when anyone tried to take his iPad from him. Direct behavior observation showed that he was more likely to get aggressive when his brother who attempted to take the iPad. On some occasions, he would yell loudly and kick at anyone close to him. This behavior was probable to occur while he was in the same room with other family members. Additionally, he would turn aggressive when he was asked to do something, which he did not want to do. Functional Behavioral Assessment Screening Form (FBASF) results revealed that uses speech to communicate. When he is not using his iPad, he tends to act normally. However, he turns aggressive when someone tries to speak to him especially when he is playing to hi iPad. Additionally, Collins tends to be disrupted easily when he is doing other activities but demonstrates extreme concentration while using his iPad. The above behaviors made his mother believe that he was defiant or mean such that he did not want to share his iPad. Since Collins aggressiveness and outbursts followed his reluctance to perform other tasks or share his iPad, this kind of assessment is referred to as structural analysis. This is because the analysis focused on detecting precursor stimuli responsible of triggering the awkward behavior (Crone and Horner 17-26). Therefore, Collin is using this aggressiveness as an avoidance strategy. It is only by his aggressiveness that he is able to avoid sharing his iPad or doing the simple tasks allocated to him. Based on his behavior I would recommend that Collin’s parents find a psychologist examine Collin behaviors further. This will enable the Psychologist to come up with the appropriate therapy (Buck, Polloway and Kirkpatrick Web; Crone and Horner 40-49). Hypothesized Role of Behavior From the information collected Collins severe disruptive and aggressive behavior is mainly triggered by distress of being deprived of his iPad and is sustained by negative fortification. Positive Behavior Intervention Plan Intervention should be done immediately the parents realize he is about to become aggressive. In Collins case, this should be when the iPad is about to be taken away from him or when he is required to perform a task. Any actions that can give negative reinforcement should be avoided. Too much attention should not be given since it is likely to encourage him to carry on with his behaviors. Examples of behaviors that should be avoided are coercing him to apologize immediately after his aggressiveness since this might make him more aggressive. Moreover, the persons surrounding him should be discouraged from displaying aggressiveness (Riffel 23-31; Crone and Horner 39-45.) After he has shown aggressiveness, he should be given time to calm down before attending to him. This will teach him the importance of being calm. Long lectures should be avoided since young children are less likely to concentrate or even listen. An additional intervention approach should entail teaching Collins how to deal with anger. A good example is by notifying him that the ipad will be fully withdrawn if he does not learn how to deal with his emotions of if he continues hitting others. The warnings given should be affected in case he continues with his aggressive behaviors. It is important that Collins parents talk to him in simple terms on the negative effects of his behavior. The parents should teach him the importance of sociability especially towards his brother (Monte Web). Another, of the intervention strategy should be interruption and redirection. This should entail doing something to interrupt Collin from displaying his behavior. A good example is sending him to his room after you take the ipad from him to prevent him from kicking. Additionally, he can be denied access of the ipad until he is ready to surrender it when asked to. Additionally, he can be encouraged to engage in other activities with other children to see if he will become more interactive. It is also important to provide Collin with other playing material to see if there are any relations between his behavior and the iPad. Additionally, Justin parents can contact a counselor for advice in case the above strategies do not work (Buck, Polloway and Kirkpatrick Web). Another intervention should involve identifying those tasks that Collins like doing and encouraging him to do them often before introducing him to other tasks. The tasks given should also be consistent with his age and capability. In addition, Collin should not be left alone after displaying aggressiveness. He should be asked to perform the task or give up the iPad after the outburst but if he displays his aggressiveness again, he should be secluded by being sent to a place where he is less likely to hurt others (Buck, Polloway and Kirkpatrick Web). Another way to deal with Collins aggressiveness is by making a schedule in which he is only allowed to play with his iPad for a limited period. The schedule should help him engage in other activities especially those that are interactive. However, he should be monitored to prevent him from harming other children. Furthermore, Collin should be appreciated whenever he accepts to perform task or surrender the iPad. This will help him realize that such conducts are appropriate (Buck, Polloway and Kirkpatrick Web). To monitor Collins behavior, a record of his inappropriate behaviors should be kept. This will help in determining the effectiveness of the intervention program and if there is need for more or different intervention strategies (Munson Web; Buck, Polloway and Kirkpatrick Web). Another approach should be to teach Collins to say no when he does not want to do something instead to being aggressive. This is because he could be demonstrating aggressiveness due to inability to resist or assert himself. He should also be taught different ways of demonstrating reluctance to do something instead of kicking or screaming at others (Munson Web; Monte Web; Riffel 38-48). Expected Results After conducting the above functional behavior assessment and positive behavior intervention plan, the expected results should include improved social interactions with not just the family members but also with his other friends. Another outcome should be improved anger control capability. Additionally, Collins should be able to engage himself with other leisure activities other than playing with his iPad (Riffel 78-86). Works Cited Buck, Glenn, et al. Developing Behavioral Intervention Plans: A Sequential Approach. 2000. Web. 3 Sep 2012 . Crone, Deanne and Robert Horner. Building Positive Behavior Support Systems in Schools: Functional Behavioral Assessment. New York: Guilford Press, 2003. Monte, Bonnie. Aggression: Why It Happens And What To Do About It. 2011.Web. 3 Sep 2012 . Munson, Joan. Hitting, Biting and Kicking: How to Stop Aggressive Behavior in Young Children. 2012. Web. 3 Sep 2012 . Riffel, Laura. Writing A Behavioral Intervention Plan Using Functional Behavior Assessment Data. New York: Behavior Doctor Seminars, 2009. Read More