Behavior Strategy & Management

Effective Behavior Management

Establish Clear Expectations

Setting clear expectations from the start is fundamental to managing behavior effectively. I communicate rules and guidelines to my students in a clear, concise, and positive manner. I use visual supports, social stories, or classroom agreements to reinforce these expectations. When students understand what is expected of them, they are more likely to engage positively and follow the established guidelines.

Promote Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool in behavior management. I recognize and celebrate students’ achievements, efforts, and appropriate behaviors. I use a variety of reinforcement strategies, such as verbal praise, tokens, stickers, or a reward system. I tailor my reinforcement approach to each student’s preferences and needs. By highlighting positive behavior, I create a motivating and encouraging classroom environment.

Use Effective Communication Strategies

Effective communication is crucial for managing behavior in the special education classroom. I use clear and concise language, provide visual supports, and offer additional explanations or visual cues when necessary. I break down instructions or tasks into smaller, manageable steps to support comprehension. I encourage active listening and teach students appropriate ways to express their needs, emotions, and concerns.

Implement Visual Supports

Visual supports are invaluable tools for students with special needs. I incorporate visual schedules, visual cues, and visual reminders throughout the classroom. Visual supports aid in understanding expectations, facilitating transitions, and promoting independence. They provide students with a clear and concrete reference, reducing anxiety and facilitating positive behavior.

Implement a Structured Routine

Establishing a structured routine is highly beneficial for behavior management. Students with special needs thrive on predictability and structure. I create a daily schedule that incorporates consistent routines and clear transitions between activities. I communicate the schedule to students visually and verbally, allowing them to anticipate and prepare for upcoming tasks. A structured routine provides a sense of stability and reduces disruptive behaviors.

Use Proactive Strategies

Proactive strategies help prevent challenging behaviors before they occur. I anticipate potential triggers and plan accordingly. I modify the environment to reduce sensory overload, provide sensory breaks, or offer alternative seating options. I differentiate instruction to accommodate diverse learning needs and provide clear instructions to avoid confusion or frustration. By being proactive, I create an environment that promotes positive behavior and minimizes disruptions.

Implement Behavior Contracts or Individualized Behavior Plans

I consider developing behavior contracts or individualized behavior plans for students with persistent behavior challenges. These plans outline specific goals, strategies, and consequences for behavior. I involve students in the development process, ensuring their active participation and ownership. I regularly monitor and assess progress, making necessary adjustments to support behavior improvement.

Collaborate with Support Staff and Parents

Collaboration is key to effective behavior management. I work closely with support staff, such as paraprofessionals, therapists, and behavior specialists. I share information, strategies, and updates to ensure consistency and support for students. I maintain open and regular communication with parents, discussing behavioral concerns, progress, and strategies for reinforcement at home and school.

Self-Care

Taking care of my own well-being is essential for effective behavior management. I prioritize self-care, establish boundaries, and seek support from colleagues or mentors when needed. By maintaining my own physical and emotional well-being, I am better equipped to handle challenging situations and support my students effectively.

Behavior Management Strategies

Managing behavior in a special education elementary classroom requires strategies that are proactive, positive, and individualized to meet the unique needs of each student. The following strategies help foster a supportive, structured environment where students can thrive behaviorally and emotionally.

Create a Positive and Predictable Environment

Visual Schedules: I use visual cues for daily routines to reduce anxiety and increase predictability.

Consistent Routines: I stick to consistent routines while allowing flexibility for individual needs.

Clear Expectations: I use simple, direct language or visual reminders to communicate rules.

Use Proactive Strategies

First/Then Charts: I help students transition by showing them what comes next (e.g., "First math, then break").

Choice Boards: I offer controlled choices to give students a sense of autonomy.

Timers: I use timers to set expectations for tasks or transitions.

Reinforce Positive Behavior

Praise Specific Behaviors: I highlight what the student is doing well (“Great job sitting quietly!”).

Token Systems: I allow students to earn tokens for good behavior to exchange for rewards.

Classroom Jobs: I assign responsibilities to build ownership and pride.

Tailor Strategies to Individual Needs

Behavior Plans: I develop individualized behavior plans for students with specific challenges.

Behavior Assessments: Identify triggers and develop strategies to address them.

Sensory Breaks: I provide options for sensory input or movement to help students self-regulate.

Use Visual and Non-Verbal Supports

Visual Cues: I use stop signs, checkmarks, or emotion cards to communicate non-verbally.

Social Stories: I teach appropriate behaviors through short, personalized stories.

Calm-Down Spaces: I designate a quiet area for students to self-regulate.

Focus on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Emotional Regulation Tools: I provide tools like fidget items, weighted blankets, or breathing exercises.

Teach Coping Skills: I model and practice strategies for managing emotions (e.g., deep breathing, counting to ten).

Zones of Regulation: I help students recognize their emotions and appropriate responses.

Build Relationships

Individual Check-Ins: I spend time understanding each student’s strengths, needs, and triggers.

Show Empathy: I validate students’ feelings to build trust and rapport.

Family Collaboration: I work with families to ensure consistency between home and school.

Use Data-Driven Interventions

Behavior Tracking: I collect data to identify patterns and measure progress.

Progress Monitoring: I adjust interventions based on what the data shows.

Celebrate Growth: I regularly recognize improvements, no matter how small.

Implement Crisis Management Plans

De-Escalation Techniques: I use calm voices, give space, and avoid power struggles during escalations.

Know the Triggers: I am aware of specific situations that lead to challenging behaviors.

Team Approach: I collaborate with special education staff for support in crisis situations.

Stay Flexible and Reflective

Adapt Strategies: I am willing to adjust approaches when they aren’t working.

Learn from Behavior: I view misbehavior as a form of communication and seek to understand its cause.

Reflect Regularly: I evaluate your own responses to ensure they align with the student’s needs.

ABC's of Behavior

A - Antecedent: what happens immediately before the behavior occurs

B - Behavior: The observable behavior the student engages in

C - Consequence: what happens immediately after the behavor occurs

When collecting A-B-C behavior data, I ask myself the following questions:

Antecedent

Where did the behavior happen?

When did the behavior happen?

Who was with the student when the behavior happened?

What else is happening when the behavior happens?

Behavior

What behavior occurred?

Is the defined behavior written in observable and measurable terms?

Does the observed behavior include examples and non-examples?

Consequence

Does the consequence have a reinforcing or punishing effect?

Did the consequence increase or decrease the behavior?

Setting Events

Also play an important part in a student's behavior.

Setting Events do not directly impact behavior, but may occur hours or days before the behavior.

Common Setting Events include: hunger, lack of sleep, medication, change in routine, conditions in the room, presence or absence of a person.

Functions of Behavior

Escape – Getting out of, or avoiding doing something

Examples: standing up and walking around the classroom thus delaying having to do an assignment, engaging in a behavior that results in getting sent to the office therefore not having to complete the test, or spending time on social media thus escaping the dirty dishes in the sink

Attention – Getting social reinforcement from interactions with someone

Examples: standing up and walking around the classroom thus making peers laugh and teacher attend to you, engaging in a behavior that results in getting sent to the office because you think the counselor is really nice and you like talking to her, or spending time on social media because it feels good when you have likes, comments and new follows

Tangible – Gaining access to something, someone, or some activity

Examples: standing up and walking around the classroom because you left your pencil at your previous station, engaging in behavior that results in getting sent to the office because your favorite office worker always shares her goldfish crackers and you’re really hungry, or spending time on social media because you sell resources to other teachers and it brings in money

Sensory – doing something that feels good and elicits a pleasure response in the body

Examples: standing up and walking around the classroom because your legs hurt and it feels good to walk around, engaging in behavior that results in getting sent to the office because flapping hands felt really good and can be done while walking to the office, and spending time on social media because the colors of the images are visually pleasing and feel good to look at

Once I can identify what the consequence is, I can determine what the student (or individual) is getting out of engaging in the behavior. In other words, I can determine the function. Once I know what the function is, then I can change the consequence (what occurs immediately following the behavior). I can also give the student a more appropriate way to get their needs met.

While specific behavior change strategies should be individualized depending on each student and the behavior I'm looking at, most times, interventions should include these components:

Decreasing the motivation to engage in the behavior in the first place by giving time, space, and opportunities to “get it out” or gain access to that function outside of the problematic context.
Teaching when and where certain behaviors appropriate by creating guidelines, rules, and providing reinforcement only in the contexts in which it’s appropriate
Teaching replacement skills – what do I want to see the student doing instead of xyz? Sitting quietly? Raising hands? Teach and reinforce that instead.

Ways I Decrease Escape & Avoidant Behaviors

Make sure students know how to get out of doing things appropriately. Giving students appropriate ways to take breaks or get “out” of things goes a long way in decreasing inappropriate escape behaviors.
"Reward" doing hard things. By setting up opportunities to be earning something, the motivation to push through and complete tasks will be much higher.
"Grandma's Rule". High probability behaviors will reinforce low probability behaviors, "if/then". Setting up expectations and letting students know what they’re working for drastically helps motivate students to push through hard things. It also decreases their need to act out to get out of it.
Follow through with directions. It’s extremely important that students learn that I mean what I say and will follow through. Consistency is key. Student’s will eventually learn that (inappropriate) behaviors that attempt to stall, avoid or escape won’t work and just aren’t worth the effort.
Examine what's really going on. I am sure to examine the motivation behind needing to escape or avoid doing things and take that into consideration when structuring the day or the lesson.

Offer breaks.
Use a First, Then or If, Then board.
Use a visual schedule.
Establish good rapport with student.
Use social stories.
Offer choices, in addition to rewards and reinforcement.
Set and provide clear expectations.
Follow through.

It’s important for me to remember that we all want to get out of doing things sometimes. I can set my students up for success if I teach them to practice the skill of doing hard things (even when you don’t want to), and why, when, and how it’s appropriate to ask to sit something out.

Classroom management is so tricky, and there are so many variables to consider! Kiddos are often silly, energetic, and wild – and that’s ok! It’s my job to teach them where and when it’s okay, and at the end of the day, give them a little grace because after all – they’re kids!

Teach student new and more appropriate ways to seek attention and reinforce these new behaviors occur.
Provide attention for positive behavior multiple times a time.
Ignore when undesired attention seeking behavior occurs.
Use verbal praise, and remove attention from negative behaviors.
Use visual stories.
Use social stories.

Ways I Decrease Attention-Seeking Behaviors

Make sure students know how to get attention appropriately. This can be as simple as hand raising or an “I need help” card that they can flip over on their desk. It's easy for me to assume that kiddos know how to get attention the right way, but that’s often not the case. Sometimes, they’ve never been explicitly taught how gain attention from teachers or peers, other times, they’ve never been reinforced for doing it.
Catch them being "good". The goal is for students to consider getting attention appropriately to be easier, more effective, and more fun than acting out. Descriptive praise like, “Wow Johnny! I love the way you raised your hand!” or “High five!! Thanks for waiting for me to come over!” go a long way. Implementing a token board to catch them being good, is an option as well.
Set up built in opportunities for attention (and silliness). Proactively setting up opportunities for students to get attention, decreases their motivation to seek it in inappropriate ways later on. Bonus points if the students know it’s coming (“Let’s finish our worksheet and then we’re going to pick our line leader!”), if it can be personalized (“Bobby is going to tell us all about his new puppy! Then we’ll pick someone to tell us about their favorite thing tomorrow”), and double bonus points if it is contingent on appropriate attention seeking throughout the day (“Sam, you’ve earned line leader tomorrow because you didn’t call out during class once today!”)
Ignore inappropriate behavior and set boundaries. Even “negative” attention is motivating for some students. In these instances, I try my best to ignore it, being as neutral as I can, while giving the student a cue on how to appropriately get my attention (“Nick, if you need help, please raise your hand.”) Once the student complies with my direction, then I provide attention or help. I want the students to know and understand the expectations. I also want them to know what will get my attention, and when it’s appropriate to be silly.
Examine what's really going on. It’s important for me to remember that it’s my responsibility as an educator to set our students up for success. It’s important for me to always examine the “why” behind my student’s behavior.

Ways I Decrease Behaviors Reinforced by Tangibles

Make sure students know how to get what they want appropriately. While some of my kiddos might have the skills to raise their hand and appropriately ask for the things that they want, many don’t. A student who is constantly taking things out of the hands of their peers might just not know how to appropriately ask if they could have a turn. Teaching a student how to ask for what they want, whether it be by vocally requesting, exchanging a picture, signing or pointing, decreases inappropriate attempts to get that thing.
Set up the environment for success. Out of sight, out of mind. The idea is to set up the environment to have the least amount of reminders of what the student is wanting.
Build in opportunities to get that thing. If there’s a hot ticket item, activity, or reward that students are constantly distracted by, asking for, or “stuck” on, consider setting up opportunities for it throughout the day to decrease the motivation to ask later on.
"Say what you mean, and mean what you say". “Okay, fine” is one of the worst things that I could say if a student is engaging in inappropriate behavior to gain access to something. If I have given a direction, or said “no” to something, and the child begins to engage in some sort of behavior in an attempt to get it back, and after 5 minutes of crying I say “okay, fine, you can have it”, that student just learned that it takes 5 minutes of crying (or throwing, or falling to the floor…etc), to get me to give in.
Examine what's really going on. As always, it’s so important to make sure that I'm looking at the big picture. In order to decrease behaviors reinforced by access to tangibles, I need to know what’s going on. There are so many variables to why a student might be acting out in order to gain access to something. Investigating why a kiddo might be so motivated for something will help me to better teach them the skills they need to get it, and might give me a little more compassion along the way.

Wanting to have something and not wanting to wait, is something I think everyone can relate to. Asking appropriately, waiting, and learning when and where are skills that need to be taught and practiced. The key here is to say what I mean and mean what I say, and my student will learn that I will follow through and engaging in problem behavior is just not worth it – (and won’t work!)

Work to increase the variety of activities and/or items the student is interested in so there are more things to help wtih motivation.
Use a behavior chart.
Use a continguency plan.
Teach the student to accept "no".
Control access to tangilbles.
Teach the student to request wants/needs.
Provide transitional warnings.
Use a First, Then or If, Then board.
Use social stories.

Kids are silly, wiggly, fidgety and loud. It’s normal and expected! Sometimes my students have a higher-level need for this kind of input, and some may avoid this kind of input all together. By working to find a balance between my student’s needs and the needs of the classroom, I can create a successful environment for everyone.

Teach the student self-management techniques.
Use social stories.
Redirect inappropriate behaviors to more functional ones and reinforce those behaviors.
Reinforce behaviors that are incompatible with the self stimulatory behavior.
Use of frequent sensory breaks.
Use of fidgets and sensory toys.
Flexible seating options.

Ways I Decrease Sensory Seeking Behaviors

Make sure students know when and where these behaviors are appropriate. I can’t expect my students to have no sensory needs or related behaviors. I can help them to understand when and where these behaviors are appropriate. A red card/green card system can be effective for helping students understand when they can fidget, sing, yell, flap, and tap, and when they shouldn’t. Depending on the student, starting with short intervals of “red”, can help them to practice staying on task without engaging in these types of behaviors.
Give students a more appropriate way to get sensory needs met. For my kiddos who have difficulty refraining from these behaviors for any period of time, or for those behaviors that are very disruptive in the classroom, teaching more covert ways to get their sensory needs met can be useful! For example, the kiddo who is always tapping on his desk might be able to fidget with a small piece of playdoh with less disruption. The student who is always wiggling and sliding off his seat might benefit from a different textured seat cushion. I consider the sensory input that my students are looking for, and try replicating it with a more convert way to get that same input.
Build in sensory related activities. It helps student to experience and process different sensations. It also helps practice different types of motor skills. For some, it may even meet sensory needs that will decrease these behaviors later on.
Reinforce on task behavior with sensory breaks. I try to do these things before a difficult lesson, or after a successful lesson. It’s not uncommon for sensory maintained behaviors to transform into having other functions. For example, a student who is given a difficult worksheet begins engaging in vocal noises. This same student is sometimes taken on a “sensory break” or taken to a different room. They may also go on a walk or other type of activity to get their sensory needs met. I need to be careful here. While that student may need a break, they also just learned that those noises he made got him out of work and into a really fun activity instead. But every kiddo does need a break sometimes! Having a sensory corner and bins and activities are a great way for me to meet these needs. I am just mindful of when these breaks or activities occur.
Examine what's really going on. As always, it’s important for me to examine all of the relevant variables. It could be possible that my student who closes his eyes frequently is overstimulated by the classroom’s bright lights. They may just need a darker space to be able to focus. The student who is constantly fidgeting with her shirt might be sensitive to certain materials, or her tag. This student may just need a different material shirt to be successful.

A-B-C Behavior

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