Behavior techniques

So it is the start of a new school year and I thought I'd share some behavior management techniques to help all you teachers out there.  I will share two techniques and have more that I will upload later this week so check back!

If you work with students with severe (or even mild) disabilities you are likely to run into some children with behavior issues.  Many times this is caused by communication issues.  However, sometimes children just need more structure in their life to help them understand what is expected of them. 

One technique I have used is an individual schedule.  I post a class wide picture schedule for all students but some students require more than that.  I created pictures on BoardMaker (if this software is not in your classroom you need to order it!!)  I created pictures for each part of the day including specials and therapies.  I laminated everything and used Velcro to stick it to a small piece of card stock.  I present the schedule with three pictures at a time (for some too many pictures would be overwhelming).  As a subject area is completed I pull off the picture, shift them all over and add another so that the child ALWAYS knows what is coming next.  Here is an example of that system

Within this system I have also added a second system which was suggested to me by my wonderful occupational therapist.  You start with color copied or printed pictures of a character the child likes.  Create about 8-10 of these, be sure to laminate!!!  Then you create a small board with 8-10 task spaces.  Before you begin reading you decide how many tasks the child will complete within that subject, for example: sight words, phonics, read a book, worksheet.  You then attach your character pictures to the task board, in our example you would put 4 pictures on the board.  You then give the child a choice of 2 or 3 play items/activities that they'd like to do after they are done with reading.  You then stick that choice at the end of the task board.  This is a good, visual way to show the child that reading will not go on forever, that it will end as soon as all the pictures are taken off the board, this is especially great for children who do not fully understand traditional concepts of time.  Here is what this looks like.

I hope these ideas are helpful, I will be adding more of these ideas throughout the week....if I remember to take pictures of everything!!