Coming soon...

I presented, along with my BCBA supervisees, "The 4th R of Education: Reinforcement" at the Behavior Analysis Association of MI on Thursday. We were approached by several attendees who wanted to know if I had a website and if our presentation was available for download. I am currently working on a website and will provide the link to it once it is complete. I am in the process of creating more content that you can use to affect behavior change in the education system. We will also be working on a formal paper that can hopefully be published to share with our fellow behavior analysts. I hope everyone who attended gained valuable information to take back to their places of work and that all BCBAs who work with schools can forge dynamic, meaningful relationships to change student behavior for good. Make a difference!

I'm SMAD!

by Caelan Kuban

While attending a recent conference, the presenter told a story about talking to a 4-year-old boy about labeling feelings. “Sometimes when we are sad, we cry and feel hurt but at the same time we might be mad about something, too,” is the statement that was told to the child. The 4-year-old responded, “Yes, it is like being smad!”

Science supports this feeling, as described by the 4-year-old. In fact, the journal, Emotion, published a paper that details the patterned vocalizations that toddlers make during a tantrum. Sad sounds tend to occur throughout entire tantrum and on top of those sounds are typically sharp peaks of anger.

Learning the science behind a tantrum and understanding the pattern can help parents and professionals better respond. The stress that a child experiences when they have a tantrum shuts off the part of their brain that allows them to process, reason and problem-solve. So, will asking a child questions during tantrums help? Most likely the answer is no. It will make things worse, and the tantrum will ultimately last longer. Instead, stay with the child through the peaks of anger but don’t try to reason with them. This means waiting through the screaming, yelling, kicking, pulling and pushing without talking. The most important thing is to make sure they are safe. Once this peak is past, the child will be left with sadness and will reach out for comfort. When this happens, comfort them with a hug, holding or sitting close beside them. Wait through the mad until you reach the sad!

If you have a question that you would like to see featured in Focus, email Director Caelan Kuban atckuban@tlcinst.org.

Reference:
Emotion, Vendantam, S. (2011). What’s behind a temper tantrum? Scientists deconstruct the screams.

New Year’s Resolutions: Beware!

by Aubrey Daniels (aubreydanielsblog.com)

The origin of New Year’s Resolutions can be linked to pre-Christian times in Rome, thousands of years ago.  So every year about this time, I ask audiences where I speak how many made New Year’s Resolutions.  What I have noticed is that fewer and fewer have gone through the ritual.  Does that mean that fewer people are interested in carrying on this ancient tradition?  I think not.  In fact, it’s been reported that more than half of those that proclaim resolutions fail at realizing them. The reality is that most people who make resolutions don’t keep them – many don’t keep them even for a day.

The primary mistake people make in making resolutions is that they think that changing some personal behavior or habit is simply a matter of will power or “making up your mind.”  It is as if people who fail don’t grunt enough, don’t have enough resolve (how do you get more of that?), are not really serious (How can you increase your “really seriousness?).

The real mistake lies in not planning or managing consequences well.  It is easy to resolve to quit drinking, lose weight, start exercising, etc. but it is harder to plan consequences that you will actually be able to self-administer to get the behavior change you seek.  Therefore, the resolution is nothing more than a goal, and goals aren’t reached by grunting, wishing or talking; they are reached when you have consequences that support the behavior change.

Here are some practical suggestions to help you be successful should you want to carry on the New Year’s Resolution tradition.

1. Plan consequences for behavior change. Allow yourself to do things that you like contingent on a certain accomplishment. In other words, if you resolve to do some project in your house, commit to getting it done before you sit down to watch your favorite TV program.
2. Set very small sub-goals. The more, the better.  If weight loss is a target, set a goal of no more than one pound a week.  The trick is to set a goal that you are almost sure to reach.  Less than a pound is ok if you can reliably measure it on your scales.  Smoke one cigarette less per day; walk around the block.  No goal can be too small at the beginning.
3. Post a graph of your progress at home or in the office where everyone can see it.  Set the parameters so that progress is easy to see.  Tell family and co-workers what you are doing.  Use social media to show results.  Put the graph on Facebook, Twitter, etc. The more people who see your progress will reinforce you for it and in return you will be more motivated to keep at it.
4. Celebrate every success (every goal accomplishment), no matter how small.  Reward yourself.  Publicize your small accomplishments.  “I am one step closer to finishing that big report.”
5. In addition to rewards that cost money (buying something for yourself, dinner at a fancy restaurant, a movie, some new software for your computer, an iPad, etc.) think of rewards that have a low cost or have no financial cost.  Use the “IF I do X, then I will do Y” contingency.  Or, “when I do X, then I will do Y.”  If your resolution is to clean the attic, basement or garage, simply say, “When I put something in the trash, I will watch T.V, answer my email, play a computer game or go to McDonalds for breakfast.”  You will be surprised how quickly you finish the task with this simple start as long as you maintain the contingency “When…then.”

By the way don’t do it in reverse which most people are tempted to do, that is, “I will work in the attic after I come home from McDonalds.”  I call that bribery since it reinforces the wrong behavior.  You get the reward for promising to do the behavior, not for actually doing it.  Not a good plan.

Most failures to reach personal or work goals result from poor goal setting and from failure to plan positive reinforcers for success.  If you start the New Year with small goals and a multitude of reinforcement, 2012 may be your best year yet!

Teaching to the Trauma

Caelan Kuban, LMSW and Director of the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children, stated in one of her October Focus Newsletter articles the following: “Research strongly supports that children exposed to traumatic experiences are at-risk for cognitive dysfunctions. The ability to attend, focus, retain, and recall information, which are primary learning functions, begins to diminish when a child is under stress and prolonged arousal. Processing verbal information, identifying and verbalizing internal emotional experiences also impair a child's ability to communicate in a way that allows others to be helpful. In short, it becomes difficult to help traumatized children using cognitive interventions alone.” She also indicated in a recent training on trauma-informed care that those who are emotionally charged by a stressful situation experience a temporary impairment of left-brain functions. In other words, when the body and mind are undergoing chronic stress, “talking it out” is probably the least effective method of help. What does this mean to an educator?

It means that teaching students who come to school stressed or traumatized is a challenge to say the least. How do you go about engaging their brains when much of what you are teaching requires left-brain functions? We are often quick to assume a disability is the culprit when learning appears to be impaired, but that is a life-long problem that encourages long-term interventions. We should always rule out short-term variables as the origins for poor performance prior to looking for explanations in conditions that carry long-term effects. These research findings suggest that we as educators should consider chronic stress and trauma as possible reasons for academic mental blocks. This does not mean that we need to delve into a family’s private life, but that we learn to recognize the outward signs and symptoms of stress so we can be sensitive to a student’s need for a safe, secure, peaceful environment where trust, hope, and confidence are exuded. Such students will be more significantly impacted by teacher, peer, and classroom stressors than the average person who carries a manageable level of stress with them from place to place. We should not conclude, of course, that every student who presents with low frustration tolerance is traumatized, but we should question whether or not a student who presents with this poor coping trait might be experiencing more stress than they can handle. Think about a time when you were experiencing many stressors at once or even a single life-altering event. Remember for a moment how you managed everyday dilemmas or unexpected snags during that time. Were small issues more upsetting than usual? Was it more difficult to stay focused? Did you experience an uncharacteristic amount of forgetfulness or disorganization? Do these features sound like ADHD symptoms? The stress you experienced very likely was not all in your head, either. There were probably physical signs, indicating that there was something going on in your body that was not typical. What exactly does go on when stress hormones get the better of us?

Many of us know about stress hormones like cortisol and how they help a person “survive” a stressful situation. These hormones are designed to change the brain’s operation temporarily to be able to deal with the immediate crisis. Access to the left hemisphere is hindered so the brain can shift its focus to the senses and automatic functions for a quick response, the type of problem solving that does not require a lot of logical analyses or brainstorming. What happens, however, when this system is triggered repeatedly without time enough in between events to fully recover and rest? These stress hormones that nature intended for good start to harm the brain and body over time. The right and left hemispheres lose some of their ability to work together as neural connections are lost, damage to the left hemisphere decreases the ability to reason and use language effectively, the hippocampus becomes impaired reducing the brain’s ability to process, understand, learn, and retain new information, damage to the right hemisphere results in hypersensitivity or dulled sensory responses and loss of emotional control. In other words, the brain’s ability to cope with new stressors deteriorates as an overproduction of stress hormones takes place. Of course, stress takes its toll on the body as well, breaking down the immune system and ultimately leading to chronic health problems in some cases. With everything else on your plate as an educator, how in the world can you be expected to teach and heal the mind at the same time? The good news is that we can run interference for one another and interrupt the cycle of stress. As long as the brain is given a stress break on a regular basis, permanent damage can be avoided. There are things you already are doing in your classroom to reduce stress and other fairly simple strategies you can incorporate into your regular schedule and lessons that offer temporary relief from stressors and even the effects of trauma. For instance, you have probably been told that teaching your students self-management skills will help them own their performance and save you grading time. You might not have been told that learning and using self-management skills helps stressed and traumatized individuals regain a sense of control over their lives.

Clearly, learning stress-reduction strategies for use in your classroom can help improve your students’ performance. The website listed in this blog, Praise Exchange, has a page devoted to this subject. New information and strategies will be added throughout the school year to help you engage your students in stress-busting activities. As a bonus, there are stress-reduction aids for you as well – some as simple as pointing and clicking. Are you guilty of abusing the chemical substances known as stress hormones? Don’t become another trauma victim. Take a stress break!

Does My Alarm Clock Still Work?

I have a confession. My alarm clock has not been touched since school ended in June. I have a little anxiety about touching it again because that first early rise into the new school season will test my biological clock and I have never liked tests. As with all tests, I should get in some practice before taking the one that will count. If I am a good student with stellar study habits, I will have practiced for a week when I face the dreaded test and effectively lowered my test anxiety to a manageable level. Have I been that disciplined in this situation? I must answer, "Shamefully, no." Like so many students, I will cram for this test and have one practice session under my belt. I could compare myself to more lazy students and reward myself for bothering to practice at all. That will not, however, successfully change my behavior for the better. After all, a successful person continually strives for excellence, not mediocrity. Therefore, no rewards for me this time. I will go to bed earlier tonight, get a full 8 to 9 hours of sleep, and wake up to my alarm clock at the predetermined time of 7 o'clock in the morning. I know that's pretty late for some, but I am not a morning person. I will eat a healthy breakfast (that means drinking at least one full glass of water in addition to my favorite morning liquid, going easy on the carbs and other simple sugars, treating myself to a hearty dose of protein, and slipping in a multivitamin as I tend to miss out on a lot of good-for-me veggies during the day). Then I will allow my body a very short period to get over its shock of having to disrupt its summer routine, which really has not been a routine at all. Tomorrow night will hopefully be a little easier on my spoiled bod so I can pass the real test the next day with flying colors... or at least skipping colors. I should make a list of posi-self-states (positive self-statements - my PSSts for the day) and repeat them several times to send me on my way to school with a reward-worthy attitude. Doesn't that sound like a great idea for all students?

You may ask why I invited you into my bedroom during our first conversation. Inappropriate? Well, if we are going to start this blog on the right foot then we need to be in our right minds and it's a well-researched fact that most people (especially teens) do not get enough sleep. If you are going to have a successful school year, staff or student, then you should give a thought to your sleep pattern, which can make or break your day before your right foot even hits the floor in the morning. One of a family's most stressful times of the year is the beginning of school and the bigger the family the more people to get out the door in the morning, meaning more stress. Routines lower stress, so you can start your school year with less stress by getting a routine in place early and sticking to it. Easier typed than done, but oh, so rewarding in the long run. Who knows, you might live longer because of it.

If you are having specific issues with school-starting stressors, post them here and I or one of our other readers will respond with the perfect (or at least acceptable) solution to your dilemma. We all have something to share that can make a person's day more manageable. Start sharing it in the Meadow!