Behavior Intervention

First, teachers should be able to understand their students when they are speaking. Teachers should collaborate with the SLP to find out common sounds that are confused and create a topic board (Watson, Bellon-Harn 2013). These topic boards can help prevent communion frustrations for the student (see Appendix A for an example).

Behavior is communication (Stiles 2013 p.215); therefore, the teacher must determine the function of the behavior to more accurately replace the behavior. To find the most appropriate intervention, the function of the behavior needs to be determined (Nungesser and Watkins, p.145). Working to replace unwanted behaviors with acceptable behaviors that will yield the same needs for the child is the ultimate goal (Nungesser,

“Johnny, remember to tap someone lightly when you would like that attention.” It is vital for the new behavior to fulfill the same need. Tapping fulfills the need of getting other person’s attention. If they newly taught behavior does not fulfill the need, the child will go back to the unwanted behavior. For example, if people ignore the tapping he will go back to hitting. It is important to reinforce the wanted behavior by respond to it immediately, so the child gets the reinforcement needed to change his behavior. Praising the child can also assist reinforcing. The alignment of needed may need to be reassessed to ensure that the correct alternative behavior is chosen. Using a behavior chart throughout the day can help teachers track patterns and progress (see Appendix B for an example). To prevent overwhelming the child, the teacher should track only a few behaviors at a

147). Therefore, having a behavior plan that flows from school to home and back again can create needed consistency for the student. Parents are an important part of the picture; they provide the teachers and SLPs with valuable data about behaviors and training parents can lead to increased social interactions and skills as well as a decrease in problem behaviors (Nungesser and Watkins, 2005, p. 147). The more consistency between home and school environments the more likely the child’s problem behavior is to change to a more positive behavior; therefore, it is vital to bring in parents and share the behavior model being used it school (Nungesser and Watkins 2005). Using common vocabulary at home can also lead to less confusion and higher chance of the student learning the wanted behavior. Ensuring parents have a summary of the strategies that can be used as a quick reference will also aid in providing consistency. It is also important to continue to communicate regularly with the parents through a communication journal or phone calls is a great way to provide checkpoints and ensure the behavior goals set forth are being followed through with consistency and effectiveness (Nungesser and Watkins, 2005, p.