When a student’s challenging behavior is a result of a sensory function, knowing how to address it can be difficult. We want to help our students cope with sensory experiences in an effective and safe way so that their needs are met and they are not harming themselves or others.  Whether students are looking to escape a situation that is causing them sensory distress or if they are seeking internal reinforcement from a sensory experience, we can help students find appropriate replacement behaviors. In this episode, I am sharing ways you can help students request breaks, teach self-regulat ..read more

There are many myths about behavior that impact the way we talk about and approach challenging behaviors. Many people look to answer whether a student’s challenging behavior is sensory seeking behavior or intentional behavior but there are several issues with focusing solely on that question when it comes to challenging behavior. As special educators, we have to help our students learn to cope more successfully, regardless of whether the behavior is sensory or behavior-related. In this episode, I am diving into some common myths and misconceptions about the functions of challenging behavior an ..read more

Attention-seeking behavior is a common challenge in classrooms, and addressing it effectively is crucial for the overall learning environment. One possible reason for this attention-seeking behavior is that some of our students do not yet have the effective communication to gain attention in a more appropriate way. For these students, we need to explicitly teach them these communication skills. When we provide explicit instruction and reinforcement, we can help students acquire the communication skills necessary to seek attention in a positive manner rather than through negative attention-seek ..read more

All attention is not equal. We have likely all worked with students who engage in behavior just to get attention, whether it be positive or negative. Even when students are getting what we feel is a lot of attention, they may still engage in attention-seeking behavior because the attention they receive is on our terms, not theirs.  Students often realize that our response to negative behavior is larger and more consistent than our response to positive behavior. This, in turn, reinforces to them that if they want attention, negative behaviors are the way to get it. In this episode, I am br ..read more

What do you do when a student asks for something that they cannot have? Oftentimes, when our students request something and they are unable to have it, it can lead to behaviors. There are strategies for behavior we can utilize that can help our students learn that sometimes they cannot have what they ask for. When we are looking at strategies for behavior, there are some things I would do and things I would not do when a student asks for something they can’t have. We know that we cannot always get what we ask for, but how can we help our students to understand this as well? In this episode, I ..read more

Asking for a break is a great replacement behavior for students trying to escape a certain situation. However, not all breaks are going to be effective for every student. Truly understanding the function of a student's behavior and what they are trying to escape from is key to understanding what an effective break would be for that student. When looking at replacement behavior strategies and determining what your student would benefit from in terms of a break, it is important to remember that a break is not a timeout. There are several factors that go into an effective break for your students ..read more

Finding replacement behaviors for escape-related behaviors can be a challenge. Oftentimes, when we come across a student struggling with a work, social, or other situation in the classroom and are avoiding it, figuring out how to help them may seem difficult. However, there are some ways we can help students learn replacement behaviors for these situations. When our students have escape-related behaviors, it’s important that we teach them how to get away from that thing, person, or situation in an appropriate way. This is an important skill for our students to learn both inside the classroom a ..read more

What happens when we have independent work systems set up for our students, but they aren’t completing them in the allotted independent work time? The whole point of independent work systems is for students to get their work done independently and in a certain amount of time so they can do the thing they want to do. But we all know that that is not always the case. If your students aren’t completing their work during independent work time, there are some ways you can problem-solve to help them be successful in completing their work system. When I see situations where students are not completin ..read more

How do we advance independent work systems once our students know how to complete it on their own? The goal of independent work systems is to help students build independence. In order to help our students learn to work independently, it is crucial that we know how to adjust the work system when necessary to bump up the level of independence needed to complete it. Using independent work systems isn’t meant to be just a way to get students to complete tasks independently within the system. We want students to increase their ability to work independently so they can be more independent in other ..read more

We know the goal of independent work systems is to help students build independence. Both the way these work systems are set up and the strategies we use within them are key to helping our students build independence. It is important that we use effective, evidence-based practices within these independent work systems. When teaching students how to work independently, we must provide the appropriate amount of support to help guide the student toward independence. In this episode, I walk you through 5 strategies for teaching and supporting the systems in your classroom. We’ll discuss the import ..read more