Behavior and Learned Helplessness Instructional Strategies van Dijk

Behavior and Learned Helplessness Instructional Strategies / van Dijk Hand Use and Hand Skills Chris Russell Hunter College SPED 746 Fall 2014

Stress and Behavior • 2 Main Types of Stress – Psychological: “when an individual perceives challenges as overwhelming when compared to resources and coping abilities” – Physiological: “an organism’s digression from a state of homeostasis or equilibrium and its consequent activation of neurobiological systems (stress response) that enables it to return to the point of homeostasis” (Nelson et al. , 2013) – TOXIC STRESS

Stress and Behavior • Protective factors against toxic stress: – The presence of sensitive/responsive caregivers – Secure attachment relationships – High-quality early care and education – Peer acceptance – Responsive environments – Feelings of competence

Stress and Behavior • Study by Nelson et al. – Measuring cortisol levels before (baseline) and after intervention – Assumptions – Results • Cortisol levels • Interventions • Maladaptive behaviors may actually serve as a coping mechanism against stress (rather than being an indicator of high levels of stress)

Behavior § When is a behavior problematic? § Types of behaviors § § § Stereotypic/ Obsessive Compulsive (“Stimming”) Disruptive – Vocal and motor Tantrums Property destruction Aggressive/assaultive, self injurious

Behavior § Assume behavior serves a communicative function § What might a child be trying to communicate? § Can be difficult to establish function(s) of a behavior § Behaviors frequently have multiple functions § We often do things that create or inadvertently reinforce behaviors § What could these be?

Influences and Functions 1. Physical-medical § Ears, Eyes, Gastro 2. Attention eliciting 3. Object/activity eliciting § Given something to quite down 4. Avoidance and escape 5. Sensory pleasurable § Self stim can become self injurious

Behavior Assessment and Plans § Assessment Methods § Indirect – Rating questions (MAS) to establish function § Descriptive – Data, frequency in settings, ABC § Experimental – Manipulation of variables to elicit behavior, confirmatory § Behaviors frequently have multiple sources and functions § Behavior plans must focus on communication

Self-Stim in the Pursuit of Leisure • REDEFINING “Leisure” • Look at your own behaviors!! Assignment (p. 2) • Play Work – Adult-selected “leisure” activities which do not relax or positively energize the child • What is the purpose of self-stim for DB? – Sensory Channels, MAS • Extinguish or adapt? Redirect? Contain? Schedule? Change the environment? – Socially unacceptable, Disruptive, Dangerous?

Learned Helplessness • Motivational / Affective / Cognitive • Absence of natural motivators • Reliant on others – Support exploration – Give communication • LOCUS of CONTROL – Internal or External – Stable or Unstable – Global or Specific (domains)

Learned Helplessness • Cyclical System – Increased opportunity to adjustment maximizes gain – Lack of opportunity to adjust minimizes gain (Mithaug) – Disconnect between action and outcome – Multigenerational in a social context • 2 Types – Inborn passivity – Learned Helplessness

Learned Helplessness Risk Factors § Lack of initiation § Lack of participation/persistence (indicator of mastery motivation) § Few if any reinforcers (self stim) § Others to do for (surrogate behavior) § Low expectations, “kindness” or “helping” § Caregivers overgeneralizing their supportive role § § § § Prompt dependence – wait for others to tell what to do Interaction avoidance, refusal to make choices or try new things History of reinforcement for little effort or for no reason High levels of tangible reinforcement Physical manipulation History of failure Limited exposure and response to contingent behavior Depression and self-abuse

Reducing and preventing Learned Helplessness Expectations appropriate to ability § Just right match § Zone of proximal development § A felt difficulty

Reducing and Preventing Learned Helplessness • • § Healthy attachments Predictable environments Appropriate expectations Appropriate forms of communication Routines, response to communicative attempts/actions • Reduce surrogate behavior – ID and retrain • Communicate in preferred and accessible modes • Tasks of interest and control

Reducing and Preventing Learned Helplessness • PCP/PFP • Choices and preferences – create a “master list” of preferences – Multisensory stimulation, sensory feedback • Proper reinforcement of initiations • Reward independent behavior § Complete task analysis § ACTIVE TASKS that provide opportunities for success and communication § Integrate O&M skills § Accurate tracking of progress

Van Dijk Theoretical Construct 14 Instructional Strategies (adapted from Mc. Farland, 1995)

Background and Development • Van Dijk’s work with children: “…became very aware of the unique status of the child who is deprived of hearing and sight from birth. ” • Werner and Kaplan’s (1963) theory of DISTANCING in typical child development of representational and symbolic abilities • Uden’s (1977) concepts of development of language in children who are deaf/HOH • Bowlby, Ainsworth, Bell, and Stayton’s (1973) concepts of development of attachment and socialization

Development of initial attachment and security Resonance phenomenon strategies: • pre-conscious level (reflexive reactions to stimuli, a reverberation of physical, vocal, and/or affective behaviors). • GOAL: Rapport and trust • The teacher follows (joins in) the learners behavior and begins to lay the foundation for turn-taking interactions. Physical proximity • Encourage the learner to shift self-stimulatory behaviors to behaviors that involve other persons and objects. 11/1/2020 18

Development of near and distance senses in relation to the world Movement Strategies: • Co-active movement is an extension of resonance, but the difference is that the learner is more conscious of the "turn-taking" aspect and the person involved in the dialogue (interchange). • The teacher follows the learner's movements in a reciprocating fashion. Also, the learner may follow a teacher initiated movement. • Builds into “chains” through sequencing movements in functional context 11/1/2020 19

Development of near and distance senses in relation to the world Co-active manipulation strategy: • Co-active manipulation involves hand-underhand or hand-over-hand instruction during the learner's daily living routine • Co-active manipulation is gradually lessened (distance is taken) as the learner gains more independence

Development of near and distance senses in relation to the world Representational reference strategies: • essential part of symbol development, often occurs with co-active manipulation • The learner and partner encounter a common thing without actually having a referent (a name) to that "thing"; communication still takes place. • Establishment of shared mode Distancing • Generalizing words, fading reliance on context • Commenting on gestures that refer to a real experience (including BETs)

Development of near and distance senses in relation to the world Imitation instructional strategies: • Higher order of coactive movement strategies • The learner can follow the actions of the teacher, (or peer, parent, etc. ) without any physical support (except in the case where a learner is totally deaf-blind with whom coactive manipulation must be provided as an initial imitative model) • Temporal distance is gradually introduced

Development of near and distance senses in relation to the world (3) Drawing instructional strategies: • Drawing promotes the use of residual vision and allows the learner to have a communicative medium that is clear for the learner and the teacher. • co-actively tracing objects with the learner's finger or with a marker for the development of a conceptual object of reference • Vibrational-sound induced strategies: • Designed to encourage auditory conditioning and auditory attentive behaviors in the context of functional activities as well as natural settings. 23

Development of the ability to structure his/her world Discrimination instructional strategies (i. e. , sorting, comparing, ordering, grouping, and choosing): • Discrimination strategies used to teach the learner to be aware of objects • Level 1 strategies: at presymbolic level, few interactive skills – Teach student to be aware of objects in the environment – Learn that objects have unique characteristics that can be compared, sorted, and chosen within meaningful contexts • Eg during a hygiene routine in the bathroom, presented with a shoe and a hair brush, learning to choose the hairbrush • Level 2 strategies – More practical and complex, eg setting the table, sorting washed clothes 24

Development of the ability to structure his/her world Characterizing strategies: • Assists the learner to build a repertoire of communicative referents. • Teach learner to associate communicative meaning with events and things in the learner's world through natural gesture, associative object , texture, sound, pictures, written, spoken, and or fingerspelled • Important for the development of symbolic language.

Development of the ability to structure his/her world Sequential memory strategies: • The teacher uses schedules /calendars, sequence or memory boxes) and the diary (or memory book) to help the learner understand remember certain time sequences • Develop schedule according to individual child

Development of natural communication systems Conversational communication strategies: • Integrated throughout the learner's program • Teacher must plan the daily activities and the environment to integrate meaningful communication opportunities • clear communicative forms that represent functions so the learner can eventually, connect form & function and generalize its meaning across varying contexts. Anticipatory communication strategies: • founded upon routine – seize the opportunity – For example, when a familiar activity is changed, purposely or coincidentally, the learner has the opportunity to express his/her awareness that something is different 11/1/2020 27

Development of natural communication systems Symbolic communication instructional strategies: • These strategies are the bridge between the learner's use of natural symbols and truly symbolic language. • The teacher uses fading and shaping procedures to refine natural symbols to drawings, written words, to formal signs, and/or to speech. • Use language in functional routines paired with concrete referents

Talking the Language of the Hands • Fraiberg: – Discovery of the hands as very expressive tools for the developing child who is blind: “they often take over the functions that smiling, eye gaze, and facial expressions perform for the sighted child” – Reading the hands (eg mothers) can promote connection, opportunity for turntaking • ATTACHMENT

Hand Use and Tactile Interaction § Hand over hand is a typical reaction by adults in their interactions, social or instructional § When adults do not know how to communicate or are not comfortable interacting with children they become directive (defense mechanism) § Hand over hand, while sometimes necessary for instruction, causes tactile defensiveness, aggression, passivity, and learned helplessness

Adults need to change their attitude/ philosophy and put themselves in an interactive instead of directive mindset

Hand Use and Tactile Interaction § Alternatives § Hand under hand § Mutual tactile exploration § Paired objects § Tactile modeling

Hand Skills § The use of two hands to define space § The reciprocity between the two hands § The speed of the actions, as well as directionality and force § Other important hand skills? 11/1/2020 33

Hand Under Hand § Touch cues eg to replace pointing § Joint attention § Allows a child to know that you share the experience § Does not obstruct the child’s own experience of objects • • Observational experience of modeled hand skills Spatial awareness-- of space between hands Participation (eg coactively in tasks/ADLS etc) Stimulate curiosity, self efficacy, reduce passivity and LH

Teaching Skills that Facilitate Hand Development and Expressiveness • Miles’ 13 strategies from “Talking the Language of the Hands to the Hands”