Behavior

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CHANGING NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR

 * First identify the cause and frequency of the behavior
 * Reinforcers are your behavior change tools. Identify and control them.
 * Three parts to the intervention
 * 1. Prevention (antecedent intervention)
 * 2. Teach and reinforce (positive) replacement behaviors
 * 3. Change the consequences after the problem behavior (reduce negative behavior)

STEP 1: Determine whether the behavior presents a risk of danger to the child, others, or the environment
 * DECISION MAKING GUIDELINES**

STEP 2: IF **YES,** Take immediate action to protect (recruit help, clear the area, move the child, restrain the child following proper restraint procedures, etc). If **NO**, consider context, antecedents, behavior, and reinforcement history to guess the function of the behavior (escape a task, gain an item, gain attention, avoid attention, etc)

STEP 3: Decide whether the function is acceptable. In other words, can you honor the __function__ of the behavior?

STEP 4: If **YES,** prompt the child to engage in a more appropriate behavior as a means of achieving what he/she is attempting to gain and reinforce the alternative behavior by honoring the function of the original behavior If **NO,** avoid reinforcing the behavior (extinction), highly reinforce other behaviors (DRO, DRI), and follow punishment procedures that have been designed and specified for the negative behavior.

STEP 5: Re-create the original context later so that learning can be encouraged and reinforced. Anticipate extinction bursts and take precautions.