Behavior Support – Improving Everyday Life for Students and their Families
Anywhere we go, we can witness individuals who demonstrate undesirable behavior. We have found that most students learn quickly about what behavior is and is not allowed in various settings. At Beacon Day School, we draw upon the evidence-based tools of classroom management and applied behavioral analysis (ABA), which when combined, help the teachers to effectively prevent most undesirable behaviors and to intervene efficiently and effectively when undesirable behaviors begin to surface.
Positive Behavioral Supports, which are based on the principles of ABA, are used to promote the student’s communicative skills, positive, social interaction, and adaptive behaviors. It is a proactive, instructional, preventive approach to improving outcomes for all students in managing unacceptable behavior. Positive Behavioral Support represents a shift from reactive, punitive responses to unwanted behavior to an emphasis on the prevention of behavior problems, and by using positive, evidence-based methods to teach and encourage acceptable behavior, thus promoting learning in the classroom.
In 1999, the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs, Technical Assistance Center, stated the following on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports:
"Positive behavioral support is a general term that refers to the application of positive behavioral interventions and systems to achieve socially important behavior change…Positive behavioral support is not a new intervention package, nor a new theory of behavior, but an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhancing the capacity of schools, families, and communities to design effective environments that improve the fit or link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occur. Attention is focused on creating and sustaining school environments that improve lifestyle results (personal, health, social, family, work, recreation, etc.) for all children and youth by making problem behavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional. In addition, the use of culturally appropriate interventions is emphasized." (Sugai, et al., 1999, pp. 6-7)
Our teachers and behavior interventionists are well trained in the fundamentals of ABA. This provides continuity of educational care which has a positive influence on behavior. They work together on many of the school-based elements that have an influence on behavior, including the layout of the classroom management system that facilitates the student’s opportunity to learn and how time is allotted for instruction. Positive Behavioral Support allows the teachers to create a meaningful and vibrant learning environment where rules and expectations are clear and more attention is given to facilitating communication and social skills, as well as academic achievement. For the students at Beacon Day School, the use of Positive Behavioral Support helps prevent behavioral problems from occurring, and helps the student acquire more effective, desirable ways for communicating, adapting to and interacting with their environment.
