Jean

jjbmstinco

I know you are getting your degree in Early Childhood.

I have a 4th grader that is very low cognitively.  Maybe Pre-K.

He has been very aggressive towards classmates randomly.  He doesn't respond to the current behavior management plan right now.  I have some ideas but I need more.  If you ask him what he should do, he will tell you the right answer. "I should give him a high 5." but then he doesn't.

Ideas?

Jean9ds

So I'm going to ask a few questions to get more details about the behavioral outbursts

-When you say he's randomly aggressive, does he walk up to a peer and punch/hit/slap/bite/pinch, or throw items towards them, etc? What does the aggression look like? 

-And for sure the aggression is "random"? Do the aggressive acts target certain peers, at certain times of the day or week (like after a weekend or close to the end of the week), during structured class time or outside time, etc?

-Also, what's the current behavior management plan? 

-What currently is the consequence to the aggressive behaviors? Like does a teacher talk to him about the situation, or he lose privileges? 

-Do you have a family history? Like if he has aggressive behaviors at home, how the family reacts to the behaviors, etc?

jjbmstinco

-When you say he's randomly aggressive, does he walk up to a peer and punch/hit/slap/bite/pinch, or throw items towards them, etc? What does the aggression look like?  Hitting and punching

-And for sure the aggression is "random"? Do the aggressive acts target certain peers, at certain times of the day or week (like after a weekend or close to the end of the week), during structured class time or outside time, etc? Times are random

-Also, what's the current behavior management plan?  Its a gum ball system. If he does well, he gets a colored gum ball.  If not, he gets a black gum ball.  If he gets X colored gum balls, he gets a prize at the end of the day.  They also keep track and get to participate on fun Friday. So its daily and weekly. He and almost all the other students in the room have autism. 

-What currently is the consequence to the aggressive behaviors? Like does a teacher talk to him about the situation, or he lose privileges? Time out.  Tomorrow he is getting ISS. Loss of privilege, and a black gumball.

-Do you have a family history? Like if he has aggressive behaviors at home, how the family reacts to the behaviors, etc? Family life is poor. I am sure he is hit at home.  DHS won't do anything.  They use video games as a babysitter.  Parents are difficult.

ImperiumWife

When you added that he was autistic, I automatically thought that  there is a trigger there that no one is seeing. The one thing about autism is that there is always a trigger. It might be something as stupid as a desk is in the wrong spot or even the teacher getting a haircut.

I know the student that I work with used to be aggressive like this, especially at that age. When I talk to him now about it, he says that something was always wrong when he acted out. He didn't necessarily want to act that way either. On the other hand, he was highly intelligent.

I know it's not as helpful, but I would see if there is anything that changes in the room when it happens.

Jean9ds

Usually there is a reason behind the aggressive acts, even if it is something internal that only the child is aware of. How is the routine in the classroom? Is it predictable? as in a set schedule, clear transitions, clear expectations of behaviors? Often aggressive behaviors can a result from an unpredictable situation, even if it is something as simple as a teacher saying "it's time to clean up" and the child wasn't prepared properly for clean-up time (such as with two minute warnings, and a clear description beforehand about what is expected during clean-up). 

Besides making an extremely clear, predictable routine/schedule for the kiddo, consistency in behavior expectations. Make it clear to everyone about what types of behaviors are acceptable and what aren't so those rewarding with the gum balls are consistently rewarding/punishing for the same thing. These days, most programs put a heavy emphasis on solely positive discipline, which includes positively reinforcing the desired behaviors while redirecting undesired behaviors, such as when an aggressive act looks like it's going to happen, give alternative actions such as deep breathing, playing with a different toy, or even moving the other child a bit away. So most programs today do not endorse punishments, such as giving a black gum ball for days they do not do well. And if there is some sort of punishment, having a clear talk about why they got it, what they can do differently next time is extremely important. But an additional level is allowing the child to "earn back" a colored gum ball. Kind of like the card flipping technique many schools use. For example, a kiddo starts on a green day, but if they have an undesired behavior, it gets flipped to yellow, then red. But the important part is not only rewarding those who stay on green, but rewarding those who show behaviors to earn their way back to green. Instead of showing it being a "good day" or "bad day," it's more like showing the kiddo that although they made a bad choice, it is still worth making good choices after that.

I hope all that made sense. I'll write more if anything pops into my mind

ImperiumWife

Yeah, like the day I turned a card to red too many times early in the last month of my student teaching, my co-op teacher yelled at me, because he didn't have a reason to behave for the rest of the month. He had no reason to behave anymore, so yes, earning back is a good thing. 

jjbmstinco

His is for attention. There was nothing out the routine. He wasn't told to clean up. He randomly just will do it out the blue.  I think he wanted the other child's attention this last time when they were playing blocks together.  He is going on a point sheet and will earn bonus points throughout the day. This allows for feedback to come from others rather than just in the room he is mostly in.  I didn't think he would get ISS and why he was there, but he surprised me today. He knew that it was bad and that he wasn't going to get any attention today.  He tried.  

Thanks for the help ladies!