Behavior Modification Program

Nombre:Emanuel Salazar

Fecha:10–06 -2014

Background

The purpose of this document is to serve as a guide for modification.

Emanuel's behavioral conduct within the school context.

Emanuel has Down syndrome and according to what his parents report, his behaviors
they tend to be aggressive, such as: spitting and pushing people, and avoidance: hiding underneath the

table and refuse to leave.

EnNeuresse has attended to Emanuel's parents during the month of May and has
chosen to conduct a psychoeducational work so that the child develops greater skill in
the internal and external emotional recognition. In summary, they have been provided to the parents of
Emanuel, specific guidelines on the process to encourage emotional self-awareness,
through pictograms with happy, sad, and angry faces; they have also been instructed that
place emphasis on appropriate behaviors through positive reinforcers (praise,
praise, rewards) and the reduction of inappropriate behaviors with the help of pictograms
(image describing the behavior one should not exhibit) and the 'withdrawal of attention' so that the
the behavior does not happen again.

The success of a behavioral modification program lies in the consistency with which
it is applied by all those involved in the interaction with Emanuel. That is why to
The following are suggestions for Emanuel's behavior to unfold more.
social skills and be successful in their social interactions, in the family, in the environment
close and at school.

Important: Every behavior that Emanuel exhibits must be understood as a search for
express to get the adult's attention. Problematic behaviors are maintained by
the reward that the child receives, so the intervention must involve a change in the
the behavior of those around him. If the adult modifies their reaction, the child will vary their behavior.
Promotion of desirable behaviors

To encourage desirable behaviors, we will start by defining clear rules and some
fixed limits. A valid operating principle is one that is based on the 3 'R's: Rules,
Routines and Responsibilities.

- Certain precise rules must be established, a few norms that will be explained to the child.
clearly, as well as the consequences of skipping them. It will always be fulfilled and without

exceptions the expected consequence if the rule is not followed, for example, withdrawing it

concessions or privileges; and that consequence will be provided in the form of

as soon as possible.
- The rules applied consistently become routines that the child incorporates.
to their daily life with ease. The succession of repeated actions makes life more
predictable and, therefore, safer for the child.
- Finally, repeated routines become responsibilities, understood as
tasks performed by the child on a daily basis, which they take on normally and
that relieves other people of the burden of thinking about them. A task carried out after
An order or a reminder is not a responsibility. Responsibility is not such.
until it is assumed as one's own, and in the case of children with Down syndrome,
This is achieved relatively easily through the frequent repetition of routines.

Similarly, the traffic light model can be used as a practical strategy:

- The green traffic light indicates behaviors that are always allowed. Smiling, looking at the
face, play, talk with colleagues, be in their place, they must be green in all the
occasions.

- The red traffic light delineates actions that are prohibited and that under no circumstances
Under no circumstances will they be admitted. No shouting or pushing other children is allowed, nor

they allow tantrums, you can't spit on others in any case. In these
In situations, one must say NO! firmly when necessary.

- Finally, we will highlight in yellow the rules that are sometimes applied and sometimes
No, depending on the situation. Given the difficulties that Emanuel faces in adapting to
ambiguous situations and responding to unforeseen events, the behaviors defined as
yellows should be the least amount, as it is most likely that it
they become disoriented and do not know when they can and when they cannot perform them.
 - The rules that are established must be followed and obeyed by all the children of
the class.
- Daily routines, stable and predictable habits, should be established. It is common
it can be very helpful to create a daily schedule in writing, or with drawings or
ideograms, which must be placed in a visible location. They will reflect the activities
that the child has each day and the corresponding time for each one. In this way,
Emanuel knows at all times what is expected of him, which will provide him with
tranquility and security.
- One must acknowledge Emanuel's appropriate behaviors, being attentive.
of them. It is usual for teachers to be more attentive to behavior
inappropriate, with the aim of suppressing it, which is taken for granted.
But this trend leads to the power of adult attention as a reinforcer becoming
focus precisely on what is not interesting. In general, one must try to ensure that...
Emanuel will find it profitable to do what he should, and this is achieved by paying attention.

when acting correctly. Incentives and recognitions are applied

immediately after the desirable behaviors occur, not waiting for the
End of the day to let you know that 'today you have behaved very well.'
- The greatest reinforcer is always the attention of the adult, the displays of affection and the

verbal reinforcement, for example in the form of compliments (“Look how well you painted the

drawing!". One must acknowledge his progress, improvements, and efforts privately and
publicly, in all those aspects related to behavior in which
has shown some type of improvement. Private recognition reinforces Emanuel
in their attempt to improve and strengthen the emotional bond with him. The public recognition
le ayuda a mejorar su autoestima y lo compromete en su mejora delante de otras
people.

Correction of inappropriate behaviors without using punishment

Technically speaking, a punishment is any consequence that is presented afterward.

of a behavior reduces the frequency, intensity, or duration of it. However, in the
In everyday language, punishment is understood as an intervention that displeases the child, such as a

a shout or a slap, applied after the emergence of inappropriate behavior. This type of punishment,
being one of the most common strategies for correcting behaviors, it has
many undesirable side effects that make it one of the most harmful.
 In addition to producing negative emotional disturbances (such as anger, frustration,
disenchantment, anger, desires for revenge), gives no idea of how to improve behavior.
In other words, punishment informs what has been done wrong, but not what the action is.
correct, so it does not ensure that the child knows how to act. They must reserve the
punishments only for dangerous behaviors ("no!" when in a place from which one...
could fall) or when all other strategies have failed.

The use of positive reinforcements is a more useful technique for acquisition of

appropriate behaviors with children with DS, being social reinforcers, such as praise, the
smiles and words of encouragement, the most effective.

One must expect the best from the child, believing in him and conveying to him the conviction of

that will improve and correct its errors.

When behaving inappropriately (pushing or spitting), it is necessary to express clearly and

he firmly held back his anger for a few seconds, but immediately remembering Emanuel that
he is good and capable. We are not angry with him, but we are displeased with his behavior. Not
it's bad, but it has acted incorrectly. Remind him of other situations where he acted in
the correct form and the ways in which he was congratulated for his good behavior is also very practical,

as long as it is confirmed that they already have more developed linguistic skills.

También es útil retirar la atención cuando se produzca una conducta inapropiada ya

that Emanuel is already able to associate his behavior with internal emotional states.

Functional analysis of behavior

Finally, the functional analysis of behavior aims to uncover the factors

responsible for the production or maintenance of behaviors qualified as
altered or disruptive and the established contingency relationship between them. For a
intervención eficaz que se base en un análisis funcional de la conducta es preciso comenzar
to clearly and observably define the behavior that is to be changed. Therefore
I recommend keeping a notebook of observations between home and school so that
the factors that promote the emergence of problem behaviors can be identified.

We need to study the precedents and consequences of behavior, following the

logical sequence "antecedents - behavior - consequents". To do this, the following will be proposed

preguntas: ¿qué ocurrió antes? (¿cuándo ocurrió la conducta?, ¿dónde?, ¿quién estaba
present? What were other people doing before it happened? And what happened afterwards?
(How did each person react to the child's behavior?)
Among the background factors are the internal ones, from the child himself, and the external ones, from the

situation and the people present. Some internal background that may explain the
anomalous behaviors can be:

Estado de salud del niño. Malestar, catarro, infección, dolor no manifestado, apnea del
dream, hypothyroidism, medication, ...

Fatigue, hunger, lack of sleep.

Sensory difficulties: problems with vision or hearing.

Limited communication ability

Lack of basic social skills,

Psychological causes: egocentrism, phase of negativity, adolescence, reaction to

the birth of a brother, acceptance of Down syndrome, self-awareness
same, low self-esteem, etc.

Issues added to Down syndrome itself, framed within the

called dual diagnosis, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
attention or autism.

Some external background:

The demands of the situation: excessive expectations at home or at school, requests

that overwhelm the child, absence of norms, rigid and inflexible educational style, etc.

The behavior of the child's classmates at school, the siblings at home,

other relatives or neighbors or the parents themselves, are external backgrounds that can
explain in many cases the inappropriate behavior.

Variations in their life: changing schools, stages, companions, or residence,

departure from the house of their siblings, loss or absence of a family member, health status of

the parents, etc.

The intervention in those areas is the first useful prevention strategy to avoid the
appearance of inappropriate behavior and to correct it when it has arisen. A rigorous study
of the possible background that is causing Emanuel's behavior us
will provide valuable insights for carrying out an effective intervention.

The consequences are the results that Emanuel's behavior produces in the environment. The
the probability of a response appearing is directly related to its consequences
immediate. Usually, behavior is maintained when some type of reinforcement is obtained.
about her, so it is necessary to ask what benefit Emanuel is obtaining.
the most important reinforcer is usually the attention of adults and Emanuel can reach
to behave inappropriately solely to gain that attention. Therefore, the
the intervention should aim to change the consequences by introducing different ones aimed at
to modify behavior.

After evaluating the problem behavior, defining it operationally and

register and analyze all the data, background and consequences, a hypothesis is formulated
functional, a judgment in which the variables of the problem and their relationship with the
behavior. The intervention hypothesis is a prediction in operational terms about the
probability and direction of the change we could obtain in the problem behavior if
we provoke changes in the variables that are maintaining it. Specifically, when it is thrown into the

floor, throwing a tantrum, the usual reaction up to that moment varies; no one is now
enfada, ni le grita, sino que todo el mundo sale de la clase, sin hacerle caso (retirada de
When he doesn't pick up his notebooks, the teacher doesn't scold him and picks them up herself, but rather

sits next to him and makes him pick them up, warmly congratulating him when he finishes.
(reinforcement of incompatible behaviors). When he/she pushes a peer, he/she is no longer given

punish, but instead, he is not spoken to and is made to sit on the 'thinking chair' for a few minutes
(negative reinforcement).

The results of an intervention based on a functional analysis of behavior, only

they can be valued after a systematic and constant application. When the
desired results and the appropriate behavior should be established, it should be withdrawn gradually
the intervention program, so that the natural consequences of the environment in which
the behavior and intrinsic reinforcers of the child are usually carried out,
keep in the future.
Sincerely,

Psychologist Luis Felipe Dueñas Carbo

Neures