Review Illinois Service Resource Center Serving Deaf/ Hard of Hearing Student Behavioral Needs A Technical Assistance Center of the Illinois State Board of Education 847-559-8195 Voice 847-559-9493 TTY 800-550-4772 Helpline (24 Hour) Email: isrc@isrc.us Internet site: www.isrc.us
Fall 2011 Edition
A
Note from the Director:
Many students look forward to back to school time as a fresh start, an opportunity to get organized and stay on top of things throughout the year. For some students that is a daunting challenge that can become overwhelming, sparking an emotional rollercoaster of a response. Students who experience challenges with organization and self regulation of emotions may need support with their executive functioning skills. This issue of ISRC Review provides information on ways educators and family members can intervene to build executive functioning skills in students. Adults can establish predictable routines and make modifications in the environment to prevent meltdowns, provide organizational tools, teach expected behaviors, and provide incentives for demonstration of appropriate behaviors. One parent shares her personal experiences on Page 2, and a list of resources from ISRC is provided. Also in this issue, ISRC shares data on student behavioral and emotional functioning at school and home. Students receiving individualized support from ISRC demonstrated a reduction in suspensions and office discipline referrals, with an increase in socially appropriate behaviors with peers and in unsupervised settings. Families of these students reported a reduction in several areas of stress, including home school relationships. The ISRC team is looking forward this school year to serving these students and their families, along with supporting the behavioral needs of all deaf and hard of hearing students in Illinois.
Cheri Sinnott, LCSW ISRC Director In This Issue Page 2. Parent Shares Personal Experience With E.F. Page 3. Student Behavior Improves With ISRC Support Page 4. ASL Literacy Kits on ISRC Website
Executive Functioning Skills Impact Academic And Behavioral Outcomes Imagine life without a planner, a plan, a calendar, or a list. These tools provide structure and organization for our lives. The executive functions of our brain serve as the planner or administrative assistant to the rest of our brain. A brain that does not have fully developed executive functioning skills is like a hiker in the woods without a compass. When executive functioning skills are low, chaos is high. Challenges with executive functioning skills fall into two major categories. First are the functions that involve thinking, planning, and organization. The second category includes emotional regulation skills such as impulse control, frustration tolerance, and temper. Parents and educators can develop interventions that address three components of the behaviors related to executive functioning challenges. Antecedents are factors that take place before the behavior occurs, particularly environmental conditions. Changes to the environment can help establish a more predictable routine and minimize distractions. The second component is the behavior itself. Direct teaching of expected behaviors, breaking down large tasks into smaller chunks, and identifying routines for managing frustrating situations are some strategies to facilitate behavioral change. Consequences are factors that take place after the behavior occurs. Incentives for positive behavior are often effective. Consequences should be stated positively. For example, “You may watch TV as soon as you make your bed.” is preferable to “You can’t watch TV until you make your bed.” Executive functioning skills are generated in the frontal lobes, which are the last part of the brain to mature. Therefore, executive functioning is not fully developed in most individuals until they are in their 30’s.
Parent Shares Executive Functioning Experience Patty Torres is the parent of a middle school aged son who is hard of hearing and has academic challenges, including Executive Functioning Weakness. She recently shared some of her experiences with ISRC. The full text of her response can be found on the Parent Page of the ISRC website at www.isrc.us What are some ways that your child has demonstrated challenges with EF? As the demands of upper elementary starting posing problems, I wondered why he was able to pass a test with flying colors but as we would study together he would indicate a failing grade was shortcoming. He made mathematical errors even though verbally he could explain multi-step processes. When projects such a dioramas were assigned he didn’t know where to begin. He knew that he had to produce a diorama for the Indian lesson but didn’t understand that such a simple project still required some degree of planning and organization. He had to think about what he wanted it to look like, materials needed, how many days it would take to complete it and lastly check that requirements were met. Have you implemented any strategies that have been successful? In an attempt to help my son, I started creating a weekly schedule of his homework assignments. We basically transferred them from his planner but only now he wasn’t just seeing a note for Monday that said “Science Test on Friday”. He was visualizing a whole week and what Friday really meant for him from a time perspective since he had CCD classes on Tuesday evening and another project due on Thursday that would take away free time for studying. Had we just talked about it, this would have gone way over his head. But now that he could see a picture he could better manage his time to be more productive with it. Prioritizing his task items and checking them off as they were completed soon became a non-issue. With organization issues, the Trapper Keeper became the Holy Grail for keeping all of his different paper needs for each class. We worked with the teachers and eliminated the 5-6 different binders for each class and had an extra set of books at home. For note-taking, he is given pre-written notes from his teachers and just follows along in class by highlighting the information. He is now very organized and independent and forgetfulness is a non-issue. The different strategies did take a lot of work at first but it didn’t take the latest innovation to get them all implemented. It was the mere understanding that the development of his brain’s Executive Functions were simply not where they were supposed to be for his age. He will be more productive in life because he has learned to find solutions to problems and not just give up, take the easy way out and will continue to produce quality results.
Executive Functioning Resources Available From ISRC Library ISRC has multiple resources available on executive functioning. ISRC’s free Resource Library sends items by mail with return postage included. The full Reading List is available on the website by visiting www.isrc.us and selecting the Library tab. Some highlights from the list include: Late, Lost, and Unprepared: A Parents’ Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning by Joyce Cooper-Kahn and Laurie Dietzel. Includes strategies to address multiple very specific incidences of executive functioning challenges, such as a child who arrives at sports practice unprepared, a child who puts off major projects, or a child who interrupts others so she won’t forget what she has to say. Smart but Scattered by Peg Dawson and Richard Guare. Includes ready made plans to teach children specific routines such as getting ready in the morning, learning to control impulsive behavior, learning not to cry over little things, and learning to solve problems. Also includes executive skills questionnaires along with sample IEP goals and progress measurement tools. Executive Function in the Classroom: Practical Strategies for Improving Performance and Enhancing Skills for All Students by Christopher Kaufman. Includes multiple templates for graphic organizers, building language and math fluency, note taking, homework and backpack checklists, and building social-emotional and behavioral skills. Outlines strategies for specific academic tasks and provides strong background information on brain function. - ISRC Review Page 2 -
Student Behavior Improves With ISRC Support Systematic Information Management of Educational Outcomes (SIMEO) is a shared data collection platform utilized by the Illinois State Board of Education Statewide Technical Assistance Centers. Data on individual student behavioral and emotional functioning at home and in school is collected quarterly. In FY11, SIMEO data was collected on 80 of the students receiving support from ISRC. ISRC has been collecting SIMEO data on students for four years, and is now able to look at longitudinal data on students served from July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2011. The ISRC Longitudinal Study Sample includes 72 students. The longitudinal data indicates that students receiving behavioral support from ISRC demonstrated a decrease in Office Discipline Referrals and Out of School Suspensions along with an increase in Classroom Behavioral Performance. Additional data demonstrated a decrease in Risk of Placement Failure in both the home and school environments. Data collected on individual family stressors indicated a decrease in cumulative family stress over time. The areas with the greatest decrease in family stress include parentschool relationship, aggressive or self injurious behavior of a student, respite or child care issues, and health and safety of the student. During the 2010-2011 school year, ISRC worked with 159 students on an individual basis, providing intensive level services. This represents approximately 4% of the 4,035 students in Illinois who are deaf or hard of hearing. Research indicates that 3-5% of students will need intensive level services. ISRC intensive level services include onsite visits at home and school, coordination of home-school team meetings, wraparound support, and assistance with the development of Functional Behavioral Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans.
is Reduced number of Office Discipline Referrals
Reduced number of Out of School Suspensions
Improvements in Student Classroom Behavior
ISRC Trivia Question
Free CPDUs - New Modules Added The Illinois Service Resource Center online E-Learning Academy offers free CPDUs to educators. The ISRC ELearning Academy users do not need to sign-up ahead of time or wait for a course to be offered. The modules may be completed at your own pace on the ISRC website www.isrc.us under the Training tab. The collection of online modules is always expanding so check back often to find the latest offerings in free professional development.
What percentage of children who are deaf and hard of hearing have additional disabilities? The first person to respond correctly via phone at 847-559-8195 or via email at isrc@isrc.us will win a $25 gift certificate to Walmart for educational materials.
- ISRC Review Page 3 -
ASL Literacy Kits On ISRC Website The ISRC library has recently added ASL Literacy Packets based on seven popular picture books including Rainbow Fish and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Each packet includes descriptions and demonstrations of the signs in the story, and three literacy activities - including all necessary handouts or manipulatives. You can view each packet as an e-book or download it as a PDF. The ASL Literacy Packets were developed by Illinois State University graduate student Afton Gillis. To accompany these packets, we have a copy of each of the seven books as well as a DVD of Ms. Gillis signing all of the stories. To borrow the books or the DVD from our resource library, or if you have any questions about the materials in the packets, e-mail us at isrc@isrc.us or call us at 847-559-8195.
ISRC Team Cheri Sinnott, LCSW Dr. Steve Vaupel Dr. Daniel Friedman Raven Stromek Michalla Sedano Debi Terfruchte Cathy Lyons-Guidish Denesha Williams Todd Williams Debra Kunz
Director HI Behavior Specialist Psychologist HI Behavior Specialist Librarian Parent Facilitator – CE Parent Facilitator – S Administrative Asst. ISBE DHH Consultant ISBE Consultant - ISTAC
ISRC fiscal agent - Center on Deafness
Learn more about services and resources available from the ISRC www.isrc.us
Executive Functioning Executive functions are the command center of our brains, helping us regulate our emotions and organize both our thoughts and behaviors. Executive functioning challenges fall into two major categories: skills involving thinking/cognition and skills involving doing/behavior. These skills are separate from intellectual capabilities. An individual can be very bright, but still have weak executive functioning skills.
Strategies For Supporting Students Impulse Control
Emotional Control
Organization
Provide external structure such as guidelines and rules Teach clear expectations
Regulate the environment
Break down tasks into smaller chunks
Discuss situations ahead of time to provide expectations and predictability
Practice expected behaviors regularly
Provide coping strategies by identifying options and alternatives
Provide prompts such as visual and verbal cues
Develop a script for problem situations
Establish routines
Read stories with characters who have positive behaviors such as The Little Engine that Could Role play situations that trigger emotional responses Reinforce successful behaviors
Provide organizational tools and visual strategies such as checklists or photo charts Use technology – teach student to e-mail assignments as a backup, use programmable watches or cell phone alarms as reminders Walk through the planning process to identify steps involved in planning an activity or task Provide step by step directions
Teach alternate behaviors Reinforce successful behaviors
Practice planning a meal, weekend activity, or other event Reinforce successful behaviors
Transitions Establish a consistent, predictable environment Provide visual cues
Prompt when there will be changes to the routine
Teach strategies for managing changes to routines, such as self talk Model and practice alternate ways of dealing with changes
Teach self soothing strategies Reinforce successful behaviors
The ABCs of Intervention for Executive Functioning A – Antecedent (before the behavior) • Change the environment: Distractions, structure, routine, social demands • Change the task demands: shorten, provide specific directions, adjust the schedule, increase desirability of task • Change the adult interaction: rehearse, verbal prompts, written reminders, lists B – Behavior • Use scaffolding and games; build skills by creating smaller goals • Have conversations and ask questions, relate to prior experience, ask them to describe situations, identify characteristics, associate with feelings, review cause and effect, categorize, discuss function or use of objects C – Consequence (after the behavior) • Provide motivation and effective praise • Establish goals with rewards (something to work for, look forward to)
Strategies for Executive Functioning Challenges Impulsivity • Games that require waiting for a turn • Role play waiting before responding Planning and Prioritizing • Involve child in planning meals or activities • Ask: “What needs to get done first?” Time Management • Discuss how long things last/ take • Calendars, agendas, visual strategies, timers
Working Memory • Have the child repeat directions • Memory strategies such as pneumonics Task Initiation • Break down tasks into smaller parts • Provide visual cues and reinforcements Flexibility • Discuss various outcomes for events • Social stories
Emotional Control • Regulate the environment • Role play coping strategies Sustained Attention • Gradually increase demand for attention • Practice with high interest tasks Metacognition • Teach specific problem solving strategies • Checklists to be sure tasks are done correctly
Information for Pinup from: Cooper-Kahn, J. and Dietzel, L. (2008). Late, Lost, and Unprepared. Maryland: Woodbine House Dawson, P. and Guare, G. (2009). Smart but Scattered. New York: The Guilford Press Kaufman, C. (2010). Executive Function in the Classroom. Maryland: Brookes Publishing
Illinois Service Resource Center A Technical Assistance Center of the Illinois State Board of Education