5.3.24
Challenging Behavior Tracking Packet
When a child displays challenging behavior, all center staff must implement the challenging behavior tracking packet, along with Teaching Pyramid strategies, with the goal of resolving the challenging behavior(s) before submitting a Referral form to the Disabilities and Mental Health Department. It’s important to keep in mind the duration, intensity and frequency of the behavior when deciding if it is “challenging behavior.” To extinguish an identified challenging behavior, the plan established on the Teacher/Family Support Planning Sheet must be followed to fidelity by ALL staff working in the classroom. When the plan is being followed and the child is continuing to experience challenging behavior, a referral for observation English | Spanish will be completed and scanned to the Disabilities and Mental Health Department along with the challenging behavior tracking packet in its entirety.
Important: If multiple Ouch Reports and/or Supervisors Report of Accident are being written or staff are often using the Behavior Crisis Intervention Plan as a result of a child’s behavior, submit a Referral for Observation Consultation right away.
The Challenging Behavior Tracking Packet contains the following:
- Behavior Observation Report (BOR) – is a form to be completed by staff who witness the undesirable behavior. When staff have a collection of BORs, between 8-15 (including Behavior Incident Reports), the Teachers will review the collection to determine the function of behavior and create the Teacher/Family Support Planning Sheet. The BOR is a quick tool that contains the following:
- What Happened Before (From the Child’s Perspective)
- Briefly Describe the Behavior (Like a Camera)
- What Happened After (From the Child’s Perspective)
- This form will guide staff to understand the following:
- Possible function/motivation
- Locations of occurrence
- Activity
- Others directly involved
- What happened later? What did the adults or others do?
It’s important for multiple staff to observe the child in different settings, at different times of the day to see an accurate pattern of behavior.
If a child’s behavior is such that the teaching staff begins collecting BORs, staff must communicate verbally with the parent/guardian regularly by:
- Sharing information with them regarding your challenges and the strategies you are practicing
- Asking them how things are going at home and what works well for them
- Wording of questions is important (example: “Tell me about mealtimes at your house” will get you more information than “Do you have any problems with mealtime at home?”).
- Sharing information about their child’s successes
- Offering a resource that relates to the behavior, such as a Teaching Pyramid Handout from The California Teaching Pyramid website or the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, under the family resource tab.
2. Choose one: Tiered Plan of Action Infant/Toddler, Tiered Plan of Action Pre-K, Tiered Plan of Action Trauma. The Inventory of Practices is a tool that will help guide teaching staff in completing the Tiered Plan of Action form and can be found in the Teaching Pyramid Binder.
3. Teacher/Family Support Planning Sheet– When staff have a collection of BORs and understand the function of the behavior, the Teacher/Family Support Planning worksheet is designed and includes strategies using the Routine Based Support Guide (found in the Teaching Pyramid Binder) as a tool for planning the following:
- Strategies to prevent undesirable behavior
- Replacement skills
- New responses to behavior
The strategies must match the function of the behavior to be effective. Center staff must partner with the family during this process to develop strategies that can be practiced at home and school, with the goal of increasing desirable behaviors and decreasing challenging behavior. Once the teaching staff have completed the top portion of the plan, they will:
- Review the plan with the Family Worker
- Teacher will email the completed top portion of the plan to their direct Supervisor
- Supervisor will review the plan
- Teacher and/or Family Worker will schedule a meeting with the parent/guardian
Challenging Behavior Parent Meeting:
- The Teacher or Family Worker will complete the My Teacher Wants to Know form by interviewing the family. This is a useful tool for gathering information from families about the child’s behavior outside of the classroom.
- The Teacher will review the top portion of the Teacher/Family Support planning sheet. The Family Routine Guide may be used as a tool to support the conversation and help develop preventative steps that can be used at home. Teachers should encourage the family to support the school plan at home the best they can. For example, if visual strategies and supports are being used to support the child’s successful transitions, perhaps the family can also use visuals at home. Strategies will be added to the family section at the bottom of the Teacher/Family Support Planning Sheet.
- Parent/guardian signature and date of meeting will be obtained, a copy is provided to the parent and the original will be kept in the child file.
- The Family Worker is responsible for checking in with the family monthly to discuss how the plan is working at home. All conversations must be documented in the parent contact binder. Resources will be provided by the Family Worker as needed.
After the Challenging Behavior Parent Meeting:
- The Family Worker will send the Social/Emotional Letter to Family Members English/Spanish to all families in the classroom. This letter explains that classroom staff are aware of behaviors that may be impacting the classroom and that Shasta Head Start takes child safety seriously as well as supporting all children in their social and emotional development. A Teaching Pyramid Resource may be provided at this time, and can be found on the California Teaching Pyramid website or the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations under family materials.
- https://cainclusion.org/teachingpyramid/materials/family/
- https://challengingbehavior.org/implementation/family-engagement/
- The Teacher/Family Support Planning Sheet will then be implemented in the classroom. Teachers are responsible for debriefing (regularly) with their classroom team to ensure the plan is implemented to fidelity. It will generally take as long as the undesired behavior has existed to replace it with the desired behavior. However, if multiple Ouch Reports are being written or staff are often using the Behavior Crisis Intervention Plan as a result of a child’s behavior, submit a Referral for Observation Consultation right away.
- Anytime a conversation with the family occurs regarding a child’s behavior, documentation is required in the Parent Contact Binder and communicated verbally with the Teacher or Family Worker.
Important: Teachers must continue tracking the child’s behavior using Behavior Observation Reports as needed.
Supervisors Responsibility:
It is the responsibility of the Site Supervisor or Area Manager to complete a classroom observation to observe the accuracy and implementation of the plan. This observation will occur 2-3 weeks after plan implementation has started. During the observation the supervisor will refer to the Teacher/Family Support Planning Sheet and look specifically for:
- Prevention strategies
- Replacement skills to be taught
- Responses to behavior when new skill is used and/or when challenging behavior continues
After observing, the Supervisor will meet with the teaching team to discuss implementation of the Teacher/Family Support Plan and discuss if revisions need to be considered or if a referral needs to be submitted to the Disabilities and Mental Health Department.
References
- Challenging Behavior Tracking Packet example
- Behavior Observation Report and/or Behavior Incident Report Form
- Referral for Observation – English | Spanish
- My Teacher Wants to Know
- Teacher/Family Support Planning Sheet
- Tiered Plan of Action Infant/Toddler
- Tiered Plan of Action Pre-K
- Tiered Plan of Action Trauma
- Social/Emotional Letter for Family Members
Resources that can be used to help when reflecting on challenging behavior in the classroom: