Georgia PBS Interventions - Florida's Positive Behavior Support ...

The Red ZoneChildren in the red zone need more than the green and yellow zone interventions. Approximately fivepercent of the class will need interventions like this if everything else is in place. This means that in aclass of 20, most likely only one student would need this level of intervention at any given time. Theinterventions listed on the following pages are not just for children on an IEP. These interventionswork for children who have intensive behavioral needs. The most important thing is to first complete afunctional behavior assessment (FBA) and figure out the “function” or the reason behind the behavior.To learn more about functional behavior assessments visit www.pbsga.org and check out FBA Workbookin the form section. This is a workbook that takes you through one way to collect data on behavior todetermine the function.80% of behavior can be changed just by pointing out what someone is doing right. Here’s a typicalscenario that I play out when I’m visiting schools. One day I was in an elementary school. A thirdgrade class was lined up in the hallway and the teacher had stepped into the restroom leaving themunattended. As I walked toward the restroom, I noticed the line leader turned backwards with herfists up in the air. A boy standing in the fifth place in line had his hands up and was ready to “duke itout” with her. I walked by them and said to the third child in line, “I love the way you are standingthere so straight and tall. I know your teacher will really appreciate that. May I have your name so Ican tell her who I caught doing such a good job?” The child told me her name and I told the teacherher name in front of the class and what I saw her doing. I never mentioned the two that werefighting, who by the way, were now standing straight and tall looking like angels. I disrupted themoment.I was once in a Dillard’s store at the mall checking out the suit racks. There was a little boy abouteight year’s old standing there beside his mother and here’s how it sounded:Mom: “That’s it. You have six chores to do when we get home. I told you to cut it out.”Me: (I never saw or heard the child do a thing that even looked out of place)Child: nothingMom: “You now have seven chores to do when we get home.”Child: nothingMom: “I have had it with you. I told you to cut it out. You have eight chores to do when we gethome.”Child: absolutely nothingMe: (Incredulously, I moved closer so I could discern possible heavy breathing or rolling of eyes of thechild. Nothing was noted.)Mom: By this time, she was slamming suit hangers around the rack as she blasts, “Your father is goingto hear about this, I have had it with you. You have nine chores to do when we get home.”By the time they left the suit department the young man had 11 chores to do at home. Not once did Ihear her tell him what it was that he was doing wrong, nor did I see or hear him do anything that wouldcause him to earn chores. However, I did want to turn the mother around to a mirror and have hertake a good hard look at herself and ask her what was bugging her. Whatever was yanking her chaincould have been solved by her telling her son what he was doing that was correct instead of assigningchores for some unseen sins against the mother.I get a lot of my information when shopping in malls and grocery stores. If you see me you might want to walk tothe other way if you are feeling particularly cranky toward your children because you might hear about yourself inone of my future seminars.Positive Interventions and Effective Strategies Riffel -© 2005 - 46 -