Well, I wish I could say my year is off to a calm, manageable start, but that hasn’t been the case. We have so many challenging behaviors in the classrooms that I work in. I feel like all I do is put out fires! Here are six strategies that have been helping:
- Create a visual binder:
Create a binder that has all visuals for the schedule, visuals for calm down, and visuals for communication for each class or each student depending on the needs of your kiddos.
- Find out what motivates your student
Find out what motivates your student. Is it spiderman, paw patrol, bluey… use these characters to help with transitions. I have been printing out little pictures of their favorite characters and giving them to the students during difficult transitions.
- How can you add choices into the day
Choices! Give choices all day long. I know sometimes it feels like we are giving into our students, but at the end of the day we all want to feel like we have some sort of control.
- Use Social Stories to help with unsafe behaviors
Social stories with your student’s favorite characters and photos of their actual environment can make the “rules” more meaningful. You can use this social story or make your own with your student’s favorite characters.
- Reward System
What is motivating for your student? They love trains? Spiderman? Space? Ipad? Music? Spending time with a preferred adult? Use these rewards to reinforce positive behaviors throughout the day. These motivators can be displayed in a first-then schedule. First you complete your work, then you get to listen to your favorite song. Use a visual timer to indicate how much time the student gets with their favorite toys/activities.
- Data Collection
How do you know the interventions are working? Do you need to collect data for an FBA/BIP? Here are some resources to keep track of interventions and behaviors.
Behaviors are challenging
Be patient with yourself and your students. Behaviors are challenging and take time to replace. Sometimes, you need to seek out other professionals around you or behavior specialists that may be in your district. Other times you need to lower expectations of your student and look for the small wins.
Need more resources?
Here are some of the resources I have been using in my own classroom the past few years. My favorite tip has been creating visual binders which holds all the interventions for children based on their individual needs.
