Student Philosophy of Behavior it Is Necessary

Student Philosophy of Behavior

It is necessary for instructors to meet the individual needs of their students, particularly when these students have special needs such as learning differences or other potential disabilities. The pedagogue must discuss any concerns regarding a student's behavior with his or her family, and then attempt to provide an environment in which these concerns are anticipated daily and steps are taken to ensure that disadvantageous behavior is minimized. It is necessary to do so in order to not interrupt the learning process of others.

Jackson - Student Description

Jackson is a four-year-old boy who is highly autonomous, opinionated, and somewhat circumscribed in his social interactions with others. He is fairly astute and generally cognizant of what is expected of him and is able to understand and communicate with others excellently -- when he so desires. However, he can be extremely loud, rude and even violent when he does not get his way. Such behavior not only limits his own ability to learn and to engage in activities to facilitate learning, but is also disruptive of this process for others.

Baseline Data Results

The baseline data indicates that Jackson is predisposed to a number of conditions and things. The fact that much of his disruptive behavior occurs in the morning is fairly significant. It is also noteworthy that these disruptions largely take place when he is supposed to be engaged in structured activities. Additionally, the baseline data indicates that Jackson's disruptions -- which include speaking to others rudely, screaming, and throwing objects largely allows him to continue doing what he wants to do in a fairly autonomous way.

Hypothesis Statement

There are a number of places in the interview in which the respondent discusses the student's affinity for cars. Such an affinity may place the student on the autism spectrum, and could very well be linked to Asperger's Syndrome. This possibility is reinforced by the high degree of self-reliance that Jackson evinces -- he only wants to read books he selects and do the activities he decides, etc. This behavior can be described as difficulty with social interaction, which is a hallmark of this condition (Borremans et al., 2009, p.14). His dislike of changes of routine corroborates this hypothesis, yet his comprehension of non-verbal communication warrants testing for this condition.

Description of the Behavior

Target Behavior:

Ideally, we would like Jackson to become more social and less reliant on himself. We would certainly like to abolish his screaming, pejorative language, and violent actions. We would also like for Jackson to contribute more to the communal process of education. Thus, the primary target of this intervention will be to get him to refrain from communicating rudely with others and telling them to shut up.

Intervention Goal:

The goal is to get Jackson to be polite in his communication with others, especially when he does not get his way.

Intervention Plan

Strategy 1 -- It is essential to get this child tested for autism and for Asperger's Syndrome in particular.

Strategy 2 -- Depending on the results of the test it is quite possible that Jackson may be prescribed medication to influence his mood and his interaction with others -- including how he verbally communicates.

Strategy 3 -- Issue repeated verbal warnings to Jackson about the proper way to speak to people, which includes disseminating words like 'please' and 'thank you' and eliminates phrases such as shut up.

Strategy 4 -- Provide a surplus of preemptive reminders with Jackson throughout the day to be cordial to others and to speak to them as he would want to be spoken to.

Strategy 5 -- Meet with Jackson's parents and impress upon him the lack of tolerance for his rude behavior; impress upon them to implement the same reminders and warnings at home.

When and Where The Plan Will Be Implemented

This plan will be primarily implemented in Jackson's educational setting. However, it is just as vital that the strategies are also implemented in a domestic setting to get him acclimated to this new behavior mode. Doing so is predicated on getting Jackson tested. Educators should allot approximately three weeks to get Jackson to meet the target behavior.

Next Steps: Discuss the next steps. What happens if the plan is successful? What happens if it is not successful?