Observation

Lauren Scharf

Functional Assessment

History

Child X is a four year old little boy. His parents are separated, but remains in moms

custody. At home, Child X lives with his older sister, mother, and mothers boyfriend. Child X's

sister is several years older than him, so he plays alone at home for the most part. Mom's

boyfriend didn't always live at the family home, but there has been a noticeable difference in

Child X's attitude since he has moved in. Child X attends preschool at Stepanski Child Center.

His school schedule is Monday through Thursday for approximately seven hours. Teachers have

stated that Child X has a hard time on Mondays while Thursdays are usually his best days. The

longer weekends away from school plays a role into adjusting back into a structured

environment. Child X has attended Preschool for two years, but this year he was moved into a

classroom that has doubled in size. The size of the classroom could be viewed as overwhelming

for the child. Teachers have stated that he has no documented illness and he is not on any

medications. He eats independently at school, but there is no record of eating habits at home.

Mom has told the teachers that Child X doesn't sleep through the night at home. He continually

wakes up throughout the night and does this every night. It was said the some nights are worse

than others, so this could play a role into his frustration.

I was able to interview Child X inside his classroom with his teachers and fellow

students. This gave me an opportunity to watch him interact with his classmates and adults.

Upon walking in the classroom I noticed the warm lighting gave a very calming feeling. Bright
lights are harsh on the eyes, so I was pleasantly surprised by the warm and secure feeling this

classroom gave off. The classroom space was laid out to look very spacious and open. This gave

the children mobility when it came time to playing. There wasnt an overuse of signs and posters

which added to the calming structure. The floor plan was well laid out with the room separated in

areas like reading, free play, circle time/rug area, small group and large group tables, and

computer area. There was around thirteen students in the entire classroom accompanied by two

teachers. I immediately noticed there was more boys in the classroom. I would say there was

around 8 boys and 5 girls. The child care center is NAEYC accredited and the curriculum in the

classroom follows Highscope and promotes active learning. The classroom activities would call

for children to learn though using their five senses. One activity I was able to witness was

making a big chain link and counting the chains out. Each child would take a link and add their

link onto the chain making it bigger. This activity had children doing much more than counting.

Kids were learning to work together, taking turns in line to add their link, explore their

imagination of what the link could be used for, and using their feeling of touch to learn more

about the shape and size. Child X had a difficult time with this activity, but this is a good way to

promote active play with the entire class.

The first time I met Child X was my first visit to the classroom. I had no prior

background or relationship to the child. I called the school ahead of time and asked the teachers

to choose a child they felt could benefit from a behavior assessment. After being introduced to

the teacher and class, the teacher stepped aside with Child X and explained a little more about

him. I understood that was my queue on which child I would be watching. Again, prior to this

meeting, I had no interaction or relationship with this student.

 Description of Child

Before meeting Child X in his classroom, I requested the teachers guidance on which

child to choose for this assessment. Since I am not in the classroom every day, I believe the

teacher would have a better understanding of what child would benefit most from the behavior

assessment. I could clearly see the challenges the teacher referred to when speaking before the

observation started. In the short time that I observed Child X, I noticed he was great with

independent play. He could play by himself without needing another adult or child to be with

him. He shows how imaginative he is while creating train tracks that take you from a preschool

classroom and enter an actual train station with conductors, riders, and engineers. I was also a

witness to his kind heart. He had previous teachers from the year before stop in the class to say

hello and check in on him. His face lit up and he ran over to them greeting them with a huge hug.

He has a very sweet disposition and loving heart. He shows confidence and courage while

playing alone, but that is also one of his biggest challenges. Since he does so well working alone,

he tends to get verbally aggressive when other students try to work or play with him. His

hostility peeks when a peer tries to play with him or a preferred toy. This frustration usually

results in physical aggression. He shows verbal outbursts when having to transition from a

preferred activity to a non-preferred activity, and continues behavior until he is able to leave

activity. These challenges can be more damaging than most realize because engaging with peers

help students to develop abilities like problem solving, sharing skills, social skills, gross motor

skills, and fine motor skills. The teacher stated that Child X has struggled with these challenges

since he began at Stepanski at the age of two, but has shown progress over the course of the two
years there. There isnt much knowledge on Child Xs home life or history, so there is no actual

record of the actual starting point of these behaviors and challenges.

Target Behavior

Child X will show deep intensity when going into challenging behavior, but doesnt

remain in the intense stage very long. The behavior begins with shouting STOP and sometimes

cries when shouting STOP. The shouting continues with his voice elevating each time while

kicking his legs or bouncing his arms up and down. This continues for maybe fifteen to twenty

seconds. He will stiffen his arm and hold it out to replicate a stop sign as he remains shouting

commands. He continues to cry/whine with his arms and hands shaking ferociously lasting

another 15-30 seconds. Child X will stomp over to peer, or turn towards them to get closer and

shouts/cry for another 10 seconds. He proceeds to ball up his fists and use both hands to

punch/push at the same time, or raise his foot to stomp on limb of peer as he remains shouting.

His face will be strained as his forehead is scrunched and eyes are squinting. The actual physical

altercation will happen quickly lasting about 20 seconds. He will have an outburst of full on

sobbing with jumbled words like its mine or he touched it while stomping his feet after the

exchange. Child X can go into this behavior again right after he is calmed down if he notices a

child too close to preferred toys. The behavior can occur right after the child has calmed down.

He can go into these outburst up to 3-4 times in one hour, depending on the classroom situation.

Child X can have flare-ups as short as thirty seconds or last up to two minutes.
 Antecedent

Child Xs behavior is visible when fellow students or peers work too closely, or try to

play with a preferred toy. Child X had an outburst when a small group of boys that were building

a tower out of blocks accidentally toppled over on his train tracks he was constructing. The boys

werent trying to play with preferred toy, but they did disrupt his play area. This was enough to

cause the shouting and crying. He usually rushes to box of train toys and starts to build a track

once free play is called in the classroom. One day in particular a little boy decided he would play

with the trains too. The peer picked up a train that was laying on the floor that wasnt being used,

Child X immediately started yelling STOP with his hand out imitating a stop sign. Child X

doesnt have a lot of interaction at home with other children, and this could be one of the biggest

factors as to why he doesnt know how to play with his peers. Since his sister is a female and

several years older, he doesnt have a playmate to learn about sharing at home. He has grown up

playing by himself and hasnt been taught how to allow children to play alongside him. The

teachers have specified mom has a boyfriend living with the family now, and having another

person in the home could take time away from teaching Child X about playing with others. Child

X has a history of learning to play independently at home and has become accustomed to not

having other children around. His mother also stated that sleeping at home is a struggle and

Child X is not getting a full nights rest. Mom had stated this is an every night occurrence, so he

could be severely tired as well. A lack of sleep can alter a childs attitude, emotions, and

cognitive function. Child X has been around other children in previous classrooms since he was

two, but the size of the classrooms have been much smaller. He was used to having a class that

held about six children while this class holds around thirteen. This is the first time he has been in

a larger classroom. He has went from a small intimate setting to now having a class double in
size. For a child used to a smaller setting, the size of the class could be overpowering. Children

can play loudly and can have a lot of energetic actions, and the noise and interaction could

frighten Child X. Each setting could be a variable as to why Child X has such a hard time

allowing other children to play with him or his toys.

Target Behavior and Consequences

Child X has a history of playing alone, and we know one of his challenges is verbal and

physical tantrums when children play too close to him or with preferred toys. The goal of this

behavior is to scare children away from playing near him, with him, or with favorite toys. Child

X will first use verbal aggression to ward off any peers that play too closely or try to sit down

and play with him. When a child does pick up a toy and decided to start playing, Child X will

verbally shout for him to STOP. If the child continues playing he will then resort to physical

actions. Child X will clench his fists and use both or one to punch, he will pick up his foot and

stomp on the hand thats playing with the toy. He has also been known to kick or jab. This

behavior deters any children from wanting to continue playing with him or the toys hes using.

Child X will go outside the classroom for some time to cool down and returns to a train track that

no longer has visitors. If Child X returns and he still has a child trying to play, he will repeat

behavior until the peer has given up on playing with the same toys. Although the child takes a

course of negative actions, he is very bright to understand that his behavior will result in not

having to share toys or play with other students.

This behavior sparks my attention because children usually like to play with other

children, but this is one of those rare cases where a child favors playing alone. With observation
and history of the child you start to understand the setting that has led up to this behavior. The

child is fully aware of the negative consequence it has on his peers, but he knows the end result

will be him playing alone. A child that never wants to allow other children to play with alongside

him or with him is concerning. This behavior can stunt cognitive development which can lead to

more setbacks later on. Interaction with other children provides a child with a number of learning

capabilities, but also provides a child with a sense of unity. For a child to grow up without

getting close to other children could lead to feeling left out or lonely later on in school. Its

imperative for a child to learn to play with other children for their physical, mental, and

emotional development. Child Xs behavior isnt only negatively effecting himself, but he is also

effecting the class as a whole. The classroom is disrupted when it comes to an activity that

everyone participates in. My records show the teacher ended up allowing him to leave group

activities and play somewhere else with the class aid. To avoid sitting in those specific groups he

will become loud with other students which causes the teacher to have to stop the activity several

times. This is not only disrupting the class, but its delaying the class from forming a bond. The

class will never come together as a whole if one peer isnt participating and leaving the group.

This specific behavior has been an issue for the two years he has been at Stepanksi. He has had

several teachers and social workers spend time trying to help him appropriately deal with the

challenge of not allowing others students to get close to him. I did take notice of certain children

already picking up on his negative attention, and believing anything he does is an unwanted

behavior. For example, the class sat down to color and Child X was doing fine coloring by

himself. He started to fiercely color outside the lines while using two markers at once. Another

peer took notice to the new way he was coloring and tried getting the teachers attention. When he

finally did get the teacher to look at him he explained that Child X colored all over his paper
and used two markers at the same time!. The children in the class are already learning about

Child Xs behaviors and starting to believe anything he does is an unwanted behavior. This will

now take more than correcting the behavior of Child X. This is why one childs behavior is not

only effecting himself.

Hypothesis

When Child X watches a peer pick up a preferred toy he shouts, cries, kicks, push,

and punches to obtain preferred toy. When this happens, Child Xs go outside to calm down and

then returns into an empty play area to continue playing alone.

While observing, Child X, I wrote down everything he did. I later went back through my

notes and filled out the functional assessment forms. I first questioned the forms as to why they

were necessary because I had taken down notes that covered challenged behaviors. It was after I

started filling out the forms that I noticed how the questions helped direct me to a better thought

process on certain behaviors. I began with writing down three behaviors, but only focusing on

one throughout the assessment. I noticed the form really helped to break down the issue. One

part of the paper has you list behaviors when they are most likely and least likely to happen. This

portion of the paper opened my eyes to exactly what the target behavior looked like. Noticing

when the behavior isnt happening solidified the heart of the issue which is Child X struggles

most with playing with his peers. I kept seeing a reoccurring pattern of the child does fine when

hes playing or working alone, but struggles when an activity or free play calls for other children

to be around him. Child X most likely had trouble with activities that consist of a group working

together, and least likely when the activity called for him to work alone. It was clear to see he

had difficulty working or playing with his peers. I also noticed the forms helped me to realize a
good way to prevent, teach, and reinforce the behavior. In the forms it suggested activities that

could be used as a special reward. I started to look at possible strategies that would allow him

alone time with his trains as a special reward. I also noticed that listing his background gave me

some insight to his history and where the behavior started and why. Without knowing why the

behavior started, it would be hard to find a resolution that would work best for the child.

Knowing the issue stems from not having other children he to play with at home, I know the

child isnt just being aggressively shy. Without knowing all the facts, a true a plan of action

cannot be created. Filling out these forms helped me to understand what takes place right before

the behavior, really understand the intensity of the behavior, and the reward or payoff the child is

hoping for. I began to notice how essential all of this information is to really form a strategy that

works best for the child.

Strategies and Planning

Knowing Child X has an issue with working with other children and sharing, I have come

up with strategies that focus on integrating the whole class. The first plan I came up with is

taking the preferred toys away for a day or two. This may be a little hard for him, but he might

feel comfortable that no one is playing with his favorite toys either. Taking away the toys would

prevent the verbal and physical aggression from happening. After a couple of days without the

toys, I would introduce the toys to the class by passing out a train to each child. This would help

create unity in the classroom and teach the importance of everyone being able to play. As I hand

each child a train, I would teach the importance of everyone being included. I would reinforce

this strategy with praising the students that everyone did a wonderful job and offer a tasty treat in

the shape of a preferred toy if we continue sharing. Another strategy I would come up with is a

game of Hot Potato. Although it seems like Im rewarding the behavior with a game, the game
will redirect children to sharing. This game is to prevent the child from hanging on to a toy and

getting angry because they dont want to share. This game has a sole purpose of not wanting to

hang onto the toy! I would use a different object as the hot potato each time its played, but I

would start off using a train as the hot potato. This would teach the children about sharing with

their favorite toys, and I would reinforce by having the children choose the toy of the hot potato

by whoever has done well with sharing that week. I also came up with a solution by making an

activity where you have to choose another toy to play with after a buzzer rings. I would gather up

all preferred toys and use them as stations. I would set a time for two minutes, and once the

buzzer rings the children would have to move to the next toy. I would also include that there can

only be one person per toy. I would give the class long enough time so they each get a brief

interaction with every toy that is a preferred. I think this would prevent worry of sharing which

leads to aggressive behavior while learning to allow other students to play with a toy after you.

After everyone got to play with each toy, I would set them down to talk about why we should

allow everyone a chance to play with the toys. Every time we successfully got through playing

with all the toys, I would reinforce the behavior by allowing the students to have 5 more minutes

with their preferred toy.

For each of these strategies to work together all teachers in the classroom must be willing

to promote the strategies and sharing together. The teachers would be encouraging the behavior

with the games, but they would have to choose the day and time would they want to introduce

the prevention, teaching, and reinforcement. Each strategy chosen directly correlates with the

unwanted behaviors Child X has difficulty with. Each game is centered around sharing and

learning to play with your peers. My plans doesnt include a lot of help from parents because

each strategy is focused in the classroom, but I think sending home a letter to parents about our
new games and ways to encourage sharing at home would be beneficial to the classroom. I

would also ask the parents if they would like to take turns stopping in the classroom while

playing the fun sharing games. I would offer time to listen to any ideas they may think would

really help with the behavior since they know their child best. I think having the parents in the

classroom may be rewarding for some children. I also think some parents may not understand the

importance of sharing, so classroom visits may open their eyes as to why its essential for kids to

share.

Obstacles

Each plan could fall through by a child not refusing to cooperate. The classroom as a

whole not liking the game, or a child not wanting to share after the time has been put into

creating a game. I may have a child not want to give up the hot potato, or another child snatch

everyones trains out of their hands. The entire point of the lesson would be missed. Knowing

these could be issues would only help me to set up prevention. If Child X decides to take away

all the trains during strategy one, I would just take the toys away for another day and then

discuss bringing them back out. Hoping another day without the preferred toys may encourage

him to want to share them. If a child stops and holds onto the Hot Potato, I would make a rule

that you have to sit out for the game. Watching the other children pass the toy around might

reassure the child that sharing the toy is fun. If a child refuses to move from the toy station game,

I would suggest the child to call the buzzer the first time playing. I think watching the children

move from space to space would help him or her to see the fun he could be having. Its

impossible to have a strategy that a child cant choose not to participate. Children are allowed

choices, but childcare providers can be aware of those choices and try to have a backup plan set

up for those moments.