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K3: Understanding of the basic theories of behavior problems exhibited by individuals with DCD.

S5: Familiarity with the use of a variety of instructional strategies (including functional life skills approach, community-based instruction, task analysis, multi-sensory, and concrete or manipulative techniques) to appropriately support the needs of students with DCD.

S6: Familiarity with techniques used to stimulate language, basic academic, and literacy skills of students with DCD (including the integration of art, music, and body movement into instruction).

K9: Understanding of basic aspects of a classroom environment that are relevant to meeting the physical, cognitive, cultural, and communication needs of children and youth with DCD.

S7: Familiarity with the use of developmentally appropriate classroom management strategies that are appropriate for supporting the needs of students with DCD.

K10: Knowledge of sources and uses of appropriate materials and equipment to meet the needs of children and youth with DCD (including adaptive, augmentative, and assistive technologies).


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Managing Behaviors

Picture of a high school student sitting, with her hand holding her forehead. Before you begin this lesson, you may want to review Specialized Competency: Behavior Management, which will provide you with a more complete understanding of concepts related to managing student behaviors in the school environment.

Students with DCD may or may not have behavior challenges at school. One of your responsibilities is to create a supportive environment that helps students perform more successfully at school by learning more socially acceptable behaviors. If you studied the Specialized Competency: Behavior Management, Lesson 1: Teaching Behavior, you might recall that some students with specific learning difficulties often will not recognize a cue, might respond slowly, or might not have the necessary skills to begin to solve a problem without assistance. These situations can, and often do, lead to challenging behaviors. Your first step is to discuss your observation with special education and classroom teachers to collaborate on the best way to support the student in learning more adaptable behaviors.

Problem behaviors interfere with learning and cause other problems such as distracting other students from their work. It is important that challenging and distracting behaviors are addressed in the student’s educational program and IEP, whether or not the student has a formalized behavior management plan.

One of the first things you will learn about behavior is that it has a communicative nature. In other words, the student is trying to tell you and others about his/her current situation. Often the student is trying to gain something, such as the attention of another person, or to avoid something, such as an assignment he/she does not want to complete. To find out what a student with DCD is trying to communicate through specific behaviors, you have to make observations and record data about what you see in the environment where the behavior is occurring. Your goal is to describe the behavior, when and how frequently it happens, what happens before the behavior begins, and what happens after the behavior has ended. By understanding behavior as a form of communication, you can help the student find better ways to communicate needs.

The following strategies may help you manage a student’s behavior and help develop better ways to communicate his/her needs:

Consistency is key:

Reinforce positively and recognize the desirable behaviors by noticing when the student is doing what he/she is supposed to be doing.
Help the student understand what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable behavior.
Remove causes and stimuli (for example, giving rewards for achieving a goal or removing a child from a room full of loud noises) that cause a challenging behavior.
Know the difference between reinforcement (stimuli that increases the behavior) and rewards (stimuli given for meeting specific criteria or achieving goals).
Control and adapt the environment to increase positive and desirable behaviors.
Provide consistent, positive reinforcement and responses across all environments.
Follow any and all behavior management plans as indicated by the IEP.
Consult with other professionals such as occupational, speech, or physical therapists to identify alternatives that reduce stress, increase communication, or assist students in their environment.
Work with the student’s educational team to consider new or modifications of medication or dietary therapy that may reduce the challenging behaviors.
Identify and teach skills that foster self-reliance and independence.
Create and encourage purposeful contact with other nondisabled classmates who can help reinforce socially acceptable behaviors in a natural way.
Encourage and teach skills in social competence.

References

Minnesota Department of Education. (2004). Promising practices for the identification of individuals with developmental disabilities (draft) (Developmental Cognitive Disability Manual). Retrieved March 21, 2007, from http://www.nesc.k12.mn.us/special_ed/manuals/

A portion of the information for the unit was used with permission from:

Institute on Community Integration. (n.d.). Para eLinkSpecialized Competency Area: Behavior Management. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. Retrieved June 30, 2006, from http://ici2.umn.edu/elink/specialized/spec_bm.html