Behavior Management in Special Education Special Education

Author's note with contact information and more details on collegiate affiliation, etc.

Special Education utilizes a combination of methods of behavior management. Behavior management is a vital part of the service that Special Education provides. Behavior management is a series of systems and strategies to help develop more socially significant, useful, and appropriate behaviors. Special Education teachers in conjunction with the students' families and specialists, compose a plan of action to identify, target, and change behaviors and/or develop skills. This paper will focus upon the use of reinforcement as one of the methods of behavior management available to Special Education professionals.

Behavior Management in Special Education

There are various methods that Special Education teachers have at their disposal to contend with behaviors that require modification. It is best for Special Education teachers to be acutely aware of all their options for behavior modification and improved learning for their students. It is also very useful for Special Education teachers to know as much about their students and their students' families as possible. Having as many details as possible about home life and the child's general personal history will assist in the most effective diagnosis and plan implementation for Special Educators. This way, the students receive the best service in the shortest amount of time and over a sustained amount of time. They will see steadily progress and improvement in the areas and behaviors that the teacher, in collaboration with other specialists such as psychiatrists, counselors, occupational therapists, speech therapists, physical therapists,

This paper will focus upon the strategy of reinforcement.
At the center of reinforcement are learning, behavior, consequences, and change.

Reinforcement is the consequence that follows the behavior of the student. A student exhibits a behavior. The Special Education teacher enacts a consequence in response to that behavior. It is considered reinforcement of the behavior performed by the Special Education teacher if the consequence increases the likelihood that the same behavior will occur again in the future, or at the very least, the student will continue to demonstrate that behavior. ("Reinforcement," 2012, autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu) Special Education teachers, in order to be most effective and in order to change certain behaviors, must identify powerful reinforcers to motivate their students on a conscious or unconscious level, to change their behaviors. This is where intensive knowledge about the student and the student's family comes into play. The better a Special Education teacher knows each student, the better the teacher will identify reinforcers that will motivate the student the most. Each student is different, so each student's reinforcers will be different. Certainly there will be some overlap in reinforcers in some instances, particularly when working with students with a few to many fundamental similarities in common. There will be instances though, for every Special Education teacher, that a child will exhibit a…