Bringing about Success Despite a Behavioral Disorder

Presented by: Missy Dharma

Personal Background I’ve worked with a specific student for 3 years Violent & emotional behaviors Emotional Disability

Possibly on the Autism spectrum. Helping him: socially, academically and

physically He has meltdowns or what we call “episodes”

that get violent and sometimes lead to him needing to be restrained.

Literature Background ED Label Autism Strategies I’ve tried

ED Label Criteria Treatment options A child with an emotional disability often

times has the same red flags as a child with autism.

Autism Social skills to manage behavior TEACCH method (Treatment and Education of

Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped children) Behavior management for Autism has

many avenues to try, every child is different. We need to be open to trying new and different strategies in order to break the barrier.

INTERVENTIONS FOR AUTISM. (2006). In Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of the Handicapped and Other Exceptional Children and Adults. Retrieved fromhttp://www.credoreference.com/entry/wileyse/interventions_for_autism

Strategies I’ve tired There are many strategies

that have worked and many more that have not. A few that have worked:

Letting him cool off alone and keeping distance

Talking to another teacher about his interests and letting him digress and come to us

Giving him options/Letting him “set” the rules

A sample of some that have not worked Trying to talk him down or

reasoning with him Asking why he is upset Trying to distract him

Look into new strategies that others have successfully implemented

Involve dad so the therapy and interventions are not just at school

Teacher Research Question How can I help my student get through

his behavioral episodes faster and with success?

Research Design & Rationale

Action Research Qualitative My epistemic

stance knowing by

experience trial and error social interactions.

I feel that qualitative research will best reflect the self-study I will do and give the best insight to who my student is, why he acts the way he does but more specifically why I respond in the ways that I choose to respond to the information I have gathered.

Data Sources Journaling Observations Interviews Questionnaires Open-ended questions Member checking Audio recording conversations and/or

interviews Video recording lessons & interactions

Approach to Data Analysis Cooking & simmering my notes Creating transcripts of my taped &

video recorded conversations/interviews & cooking them

I will alter my teaching, approaches to his daily plans, behavior plans and interventions based on my notes, observations and interviews.

Areas of hopeful change Social

Work through social interactions, not getting his way, without episodes.

Emotional Calmly express feelings after trigger to

prevent an episode. Physical

Learn coping strategies in order to prevent harm to himself during an episode.

ConclusionMain goal: To take an intense look at my teaching so I can change to better serve my student.

Bibliography EMOTIONAL DISORDERS. (2006). In Encyclopedia of Special Education: A

Reference for the Education of the Handicapped and Other Exceptional Children and Adults. Retrieved from http://www.credaoreference.com/entry/wileyse/emotional_disorders

Hubbard, R. S., Power, B. M., (2003). The Art of Classroom Inquiry: A Handbook for Teacher-Researchers (Revised Edition). Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.

INTERVENTIONS FOR AUTISM. (2006). In Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of the Handicapped and Other Exceptional Children and Adults. Retrieved fromhttp://www.credoreference.com/entry/wileyse/interventions_for_autism

LaFrance, W., Miller, I., Ryan, C., Blum, A., Solomon, D., Kelley, J., Keitner, G. (2009) Cognitive behavioral therapy for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. Epilepsy & Behavior, 14. Retrieved from www.elsevier.com/locateyebeh Maclean, M., Mohr, M. (1999) Data Collection. How can you find out what you want

to know and Data Analysis: What are you finding out? What does it mean? In Teacher Researchers at Work, (pg 36-76) Berkely, CA: National Writing Project.