Here’s a sneak peek at #1 from Five Things Every Parent Needs to Know about Behavior Plans Workshop
Want to make changes to your child’s behavior without the tons of work and time that goes along with completing a functional behavioral analysis? Or have you started a positive behavior support plan but haven’t seen the results you wanted? Then this behavior strategy may be just want you need.
Antecedent Environmental Manipulation is an applied behavioral analysis strategy that changes the antecedent within the environment of the child to minimize maladaptive behaviors. For those new to behavior terms, the antecedent is the event or activity that immediately precedes the behavior. The idea is that by changing the antecedent, or the events that lead to the behavior, you can actually decrease behaviors. Simply changing the antecedent can provide quick results and may decrease the need for a behavior plan.
Too good to be true? Here’s an example. Shane was struggling in class, leaving his seat to access the computer consistently throughout the day. It was disruptive to the teacher trying to teach and the other students around him. It also took Shane anywhere from 5-10 minutes to return to his seat as he needed individual attention to get back to work and engaged with the task at hand. So this team spoke with the maintenance staff who built a wooden “case” around the computer which was locked. After a few learning trials, Shane realized he could no longer access the computer until his teacher unlocked it. His out of seat behavior decreased to zero times per day.
Or take Olivia. She was engaging in PICA consistently throughout the day, often eating items off the floor or going through the garbage. The team attempted to remove any of these items from her environment, which was mostly successful in her classroom, but did not work in the hallways, gym or lunch room. So as a team, they provided Olivia with a fanny pack full of highly motivating small food items that she had constant access to. While wearing the fanny pack, her PICA behaviors dropped to almost zero rates.
Other antecedent environmental manipulations may be simple changes such as seat placement, changing the noise level in the classroom, changing how staff approach a student, changing staff during times of high stress, removing items from the environment, or anticipating a sensory need or attention need and providing it before the behavior occurs. These controlled modifications to the environment can very often influence behaviors in a positive way.
Want to learn more? Email us to save a spot at our free workshop on June 20th from 1:00-2:30 PM at Milestones Psychology and Wellness in Ardmore, PA. We would love to see you there!