Encouraging Positive Behaviors PREVENT Curriculum Objectives Discuss basic

Encouraging Positive Behaviors PREVENT Curriculum

Objectives • Discuss basic behavior principles underlying interventions for infants and young children ABC model Positive attending skills The impact of cognitive, cultural, and other considerations on behavior

Behavior Management: Main Ideas Behavior is controlled by 2 things: A = Antecedent(s) B = Behavior C = Consequence • Antecedents are events that occur before the behavior happens. • Consequences are any change in the environment that occurs after the behavior occurs.

The ABC Model of Behavior Antecedent(s) What is going on before child acts Behavior Consequence What child does What happens after child acts See the ? This indicates that the Behavior occurs within the context of the antecedent(s) but is not directly caused by the antecedent(s)

Example: Child getting into trouble at school Antecedent(s) Behavior Consequence Child has a “meltdown” Child gets sent to the office The behavior (“meltdown”) is happening more and more often. This means something is reinforcing it.

Example: Child getting into trouble at school Antecedents The child’s classroom is loud and distracting Behavior Consequence Child has a “meltdown” Child gets sent to the office The classroom is loud and distracting, which overwhelms the child. Having a meltdown lets the child escape this overwhelming situation (i. e. , the meltdown is being negatively reinforced). To reduce the frequency of the child’s meltdowns, we can change either the consequence or antecedent …

Example: Child getting into trouble at school Antecedents Loud & distracting classroom Antecedents Teacher gets class under control Behavior Consequence Child has a “meltdown” Child is ignored & remains in class Behavior Child asks to go to “quiet office” Behavior Child completes work in class Consequence Child praised for “good choice” & escapes class Consequence Child receives praise for success in class

Types of Consequences

Continuous Reinforcement The desired behavior is reinforced each and every time it occurs. • Best used during the early stages of learning a new behavior • Creates a strong link between the behavior and the reinforcement • Once a behavior is established, switching to reinforcing the behavior some of the time will make it more resistant to extinction. Extinction = when a behavior weakens or stops as a result of it no longer being reinforced.

Intermittent Schedules of Reinforcement The desired behavior is reinforced on some, but not all, occurrences. • Ratio schedule - a behavior has to occur a certain number of times before it is reinforced • Interval schedule - a certain amount of time has to pass before the behavior will be reinforced again

Power of Parental Attention Parental attention is very important to children – it is something they find reinforcing from birth. Therefore, a parent’s attention can have a BIG impact on their child’s behavior if the parent learns how to use their attention in specific ways.

Ignoring refers to an attempt to stop a behavior by keeping it from being reinforced in the future via the parent’s attention. Why doesn’t a child begin to behave when a parent starts to ignore negative behaviors? ― Because child is already used to not getting reinforced every time ― they do the behavior. Behaviors that have been intermittently reinforced take longer to extinguish when it is ignored

Risk of Ignoring: Extinction Burst A behavior that has been reinforced in the past is likely to occur more intensely before it starts to weaken and eventually fades away. We refer to this as an extinction burst. ‼ If a parent responds to the more intense behavior caused by an extinction burst (accidentally reinforcing it), more intense behavior will be more likely to occur in the future and will be even more resistant to future attempts at extinction.

Praise Positive reinforcement is a great way to change behavior! – especially with an intermittent ratio reinforcement schedule – praise from a parent is a positive reinforcer for children At what age can you start to use praise? 9 -12 months

Using Praise Effectively Praise is most effective when it is specific and timely. Descriptive Praise is the most effective type.

Using Praise Effectively Praise behaviors you want to see more of in order to reduce the behaviors you don’t like • If you want less fighting with the sibling…. Praise them when they are being kind to their sibling • If you want less “No”, then …. Praise them when they follow directions

Special Playtime involves playing with the child for a brief period (5 minutes) on a regular basis in a special way, where the child leads the play. Goal: Engage in Special Playtime with the child several times a week. What are barriers to special playtime?

Cognitive, Cultural, and Other Considerations • Family’s expectations of child behavior and discipline • Power of routines • Importance of sleep and nutrition • Child’s cognitive/developmental level • Considerations in the context of trauma

Teach Back • Tell me one thing you learned from today’s talk • Tell me one thing you will apply to patient care