Behavior Intervention Report

Gillian Edwards
Fall Semester, 2016

Identify the Problem

Sonya (pseudonym) is a kindergartener. She attended preschool at Fawn Mountain for 2 years prior to
kindergarten. The behaviors that interfere with her learning include:
● Calling out in class
● Sassy responses to teacher directions
● Abrupt refusals to participate in work and activities (several times per day)
● Difficulty transitioning from one task to the next (particularly at reading time)
● Temper tantrums when asked to transition or participate in the activity (almost daily)
● Lack of focus and constant fidgeting during work on the carpet
Sonya takes medication and has good days and more difficult days. We believe that attention seeking
is the main drive behind Sonya’s behavior.

Objectives
Mrs. B and I made an inventory of Sonya’s behaviors and identified her tantrums and refusals to
participate in class activities as the top priorities for improving her learning opportunities. She is
frequently unable to participate in her reading group due to tantrums and has fallen behind in sound
and letter recognition. Our objectives for Sonya are:
1. Follow directions, make transitions and participate in activities at least 90% of the time
2. Reduce tantrums to 1 or less per week

Solution
Mrs. B and I agreed to take a guidance approach (Scarpaci, 2007) to Sonya’s behavior. We wanted to
create a plan that would help Sonya develop self-regulation and make her responsible for her
behavior choices. We observed that Sonya’s favorite activities are playing with the dolls house at
choice time and reading one on one with an adult. We based her behavior plan on using a loss of
choice time as a consequence for not participating in class activities and providing regular positive
adult attention, by reading one on one, as an alternative to the negative attention she receives when
she acts out.

Implementation
Mrs. B, Ms. A (a Community Connections support for another student in the class) and I were involved
in implementing Sonya’s behavior plan. We used the language of choice to implement the plan. When
Sonya began to refuse to participate or throw a tantrum we presented her with a simple choice: work
now or work at choice time; join us now, or you may not join us at choice time. We felt that it was
important not to provide Sonya with too much attention when she acted out because she seemed to
be seeking attention. The choice was presented to Sonya three times, then we ignored her behavior,
instructed the students around her to ignore her behavior, and presented the consequence at choice
time if she had not followed directions.
Each time that I visited the classroom I greeted Sonya and sat next to her and talked with her as she
ate her lunch. After lunch we read a book of her choice together and I sat next to her during work on
the carpet to provide support. We also looked for ways to give Sonya positive adult attention
throughout the day. These included: providing positive feedback when she was on task; allowing her
to be a special helper when she completed her work and followed directions; and calling on Sonya
first when she raised her hand to encourage her focus and participation. Ms. A was a great help in
providing positive reinforcement when Sonya was on task during lessons.

Evaluation
In the early stages of the behavior plan, Sonya lost some of her choice time almost every day. She
accepted the consequence quietly and completed her work quickly so that she could join choice time.
Sonya’s participation and tantrums gradually improved, she lost less choice time and had fewer
outbursts as the weeks progressed. She continued to have difficulty with transitions to reading group
but other transitions were smooth. By early November, Sonya’s participation was much improved and
she was on task approximately 80% of the time with her biggest challenges being focus during carpet
work and getting started during seat work. She went an entire week with only one tantrum which met
one of her objectives.

Sonya’s medication was changed in mid November and with her new medication she has completely
achieved the objectives that we set at the beginning of the semester. She still has difficulty focusing,
particularly in the afternoons, but she follows directions and procedures at least 90% of the time and
is far less resistant to completing her tasks during seatwork.

Connection to Philosophy
My philosophy of discipline is based on Barbara Coloroso’s idea of inner discipline (1994). I believe
that we need to provide students with Coloroso’s 6 essential life messages (1994) and use
constructive discipline to help students develop self regulation. Sonya’s behavior intervention paired
positive support and with logical consequences for behavior choices. We communicated to Sonya that
she was a valued member of the classroom community while giving her choices that were aimed at
helping her to develop inner discipline.

References
​
Coloroso, Barbara (1994). ​Kids are worth it: giving your child the gift of inner discipline. New York, NY:
William Morrow and Co.

Scarpaci, Richard T (2007). IOSIE: A Method for Analyzing Student Behavioral Problems. ​The Clearing
House: January/February 2007.