2019 ipbn a journey through the escalation cycle
TRANSCRIPT
© 2012 Boise State University 1
A Journey Through the Escalation Cycle:
Supporting Students with Challenging Behaviors
Idaho Positive Behavior Network Conference - February 8, 2019
PresenterJennifer Tachell, Ed.S.
Training Norms
We are respectful.• We listen in order to understand rather than
to respond.
• We listen to one speaker at a time, limiting side conversations.
• We stay positive and remain open to new ideas and ways of doing things.
Training Norms
We are responsible.• We use our time wisely, starting and ending on
time.
• We silence our electronic devices and keep their use to a minimum.
• We ask questions when we need clarification.
Training Norms
We are intentional.• We know success depends on participation so we
share ideas, ask questions, and draw others out.
• We show up and CHOOSE to be present, both physically and mentally.
• We follow the agenda and stay on topic.
Idaho Positive Behavior Network (IPBN)Mission:
The goal of the IPBN is to increase Idaho’s student achievement through creating an integrated system of sustainable support at
the school level to meet every student’s needs. The Network also strives to continue to offer Schoolwide Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) Training Institutes to increase student engagement in academics, improve student
behavior, and enhance school culture and climate.
Schools Participating in Tier 1 Southeast• Harwood Elementary• Rigby Middle School• Rocky Mountain Middle SchoolSouthwest• Another Choice Virtual Charter School• Lowell Scott Middle School• Pioneer Elementary• Prairie Elementary School• Prairie Jr./Sr. High School• Salmon River Jr./Sr. High School
Schools Participating in Tier 3 North• McGhee Elementary• Moscow Charter• Sagle Elementary• Troy Elementary• Webster Elementary
Southeast • Burley High School• Burley Jr. High School• Clark County Middle/High School• Philo T. Farnsworth Elementary• Roberts Elementary• South Fork Elementary• White Pine Charter School• Wood River Middle SchoolSouthwest• Bennett Mountain Alternative High
School• East Elementary• Hacker Middle School• Hailey Elementary• Mountain Home High School• Mountain Home Jr. High School• North Elementary• Sherman Elementary• Stephensen Elementary• West Elementary
Schools Participating in Tier 2 Southeast• Alturas Elementary• Bellevue Elementary• Glenns Ferry Middle School• Jefferson Elementary• John V. Evans Elementary• Midway Elementary• Rigby High SchoolSouthwest• Heights Elementary• Mill Creek Elementary• Owyhee Elementary• Purple Sage Elementary
2018-2019 Schools Participating in PBIS Training
* The IPBN supported approximately 70 schools, 350 educators, and 30,870 students in the 2017-2018 school year.
Idaho Positive Behavior Network
Dr. Katie Bubak-AzevedoDirector
Kelli BurnhamAssociate Director
Jennifer TachellStatewide Lead Tier 1
Coordinator
Jena GrenkeStatewide Tier 1
Coordinator
Jamie MartsStatewide Tier 1
Coordinator
Dr. Teri LewisStatewide Advanced
Tier Coordinator
Objectives• Enhance your understanding of escalating
behavior sequences
• Identify what to do and what to avoid doing when responding to a situation where a student displays escalated behaviors
• Share ideas for supporting ALL students as they learn the critical skill of self-regulation
Table TalkRegarding the escalation cycle:
1. What I think I know:
2. What I want to know more about:
3. A question I have:
All Behavior is Purposeful:
To something
To something
Where Do Triggers Come From?• Low energy– Lower tolerance level
• History– Often protective
• Beliefs– How others ‘should’ behave
• Expectations– Gap between expectation and reality
• Fear– ”What if?”
WSU AHEC CLEAR Center 2013
CAUTION: Put on your own
(emotional) oxygen mask first!
WHY: before you can help a student
manage his/her escalation, you must
first manage yourself
– Be aware of your triggers
STOP: be mindful of what is going on
– Intentional depersonalization
– 99.9% of the time it has NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU
Thinking About Triggers• Academic challenges
– Work is too hard– Work is too easy
• Break-ups• Family issues
– Divorce– Jail– Death
• Poverty• Abuse/Trauma• Feeling overwhelmed
• Behavioral challenges• Friendship issues
• Deployment• Bullying• Illness• Sleep• Recess • Anxiety
• Grief/Loss• Feeling humiliated
Table Talk: Triggers
• What pushes your buttons?
• What might be some triggers for the students
you work with?
The MODELHigh
LowCalm
Peak
De-escalation
Recovery
Acceleration
AgitationTrigger
The Phases of Escalation5. Peak
– Student is out of control and displays most severe problem behavior
6. De-escalation– Student displays confusion
but with decreases in severe behavior
7. Recovery– Student displays willingness
to participate in non-engagement activities
1. Calm– Student is cooperative
2. Trigger– Student experiences a series of
unresolved conflicts
3. Agitation– Student exhibits increasingly
unfocused behavior
4. Acceleration– Student displays focused
behavior
1. CalmThe student is cooperative– Accepts corrective feedback– Follows directives– Sets personal goals– Ignores distractions– Accepts praise – Neocortex is online, learning happens here
1. Calm• Intervention is focused on prevention– Arrange for high rates of successful academic and
social engagements– Use positive reinforcement– Teach social skills• Problem solving• Relaxation strategies• Self-regulation
– Communicate positive expectations
2. TriggerStudent experiences a series of unresolved conflicts
• Repeated failures• Frequent corrections• Interpersonal conflicts• Timelines• Low rates of positive reinforcement• Personal issues (home, illness)
2. Trigger• Intervention is focused on prevention and
redirection– Remove from or modify context– Increase opportunities for success– Reinforce what has been taught– Side conversations between staff can be useful here– Sometimes the trigger is YOU
3. AgitationStudent exhibits increasingly unfocused behavior– Off-task– Frequent start/stop on tasks– Out of seat– Talking with others– Social withdrawal/shut down– Neocortex/ frontal lobes going offline now
3. Agitation• Intervention is focused on reducing anxiety
• Make structural/environmentalmodifications– Calm down corner? Move the feet?
• Provide reasonable options and choices– Modifying the assignment now doesn’t mean the student
will manipulate in the future• Involve in successful engagements
• Moving into brain stem: fight, flight, freeze
4. AccelerationStudent displays focused behavior–May be:• Provocative• High intensity• Threatening• Personal
– Think of the squirrels!
4. Acceleration• Intervention is focused on safety– Remember…• Escalations and self-control are inversely related• Escalation is likely to run its course
• Student is in brain stem: neocortex is offline– Use 5 or fewer (short!) words
4. Acceleration• Remove all triggering, competing, and
maintaining factors– Room clear?
• Follow crisis response procedures
• Disengage from student: he/she can’t hear you, anyway– Use 5 or fewer (short!) words
5. Peak
Student is out of control and displays most severe problem behavior– Physical aggression– Property destruction– Self-injury– Escape/social withdrawal– Hyperventilation
5. Peak
• Intervention is focused on safety– Procedures similar to acceleration phase, except
focus is on crisis management
– Follow district protocol
–Do not put hands on a student unless you have been specifically trained to do so
6. De-escalationStudent displays confusionbut with decreases in severe behavior– Social withdrawal/shut down– Denial– Blaming others– Minimization of problem– Scared, not sure what just
happened
6. De-escalation• Intervention is focused on removing
excess attention– Don’t nag– Avoid blaming– Do not force an apology– Emphasize starting anew: keep moving forward
• Avoid re-escalation
7. RecoveryStudent may be willing to participate in non-engagementactivities– May or may not attempt to correct problem– Not ready to participate in group activities– Social withdrawal and/or sleep– Adrenaline dump is over -- exhaustion
7. Recovery• Intervention is focused on re-establishing
routines and activities– Follow through with consequences for problem
behavior if student is back to baseline
– Positively reinforce any displays of appropriate behavior!
7. Recovery• Debrief– Purpose of debrief is to facilitate transition back to
normal program– Debrief follows consequences for problem behavior– Goal is to increase more appropriate behavior
7. Recovery
• Problem solving example:– What did I do? (define the problem)– Why did I do it? (can’t do or won’t do?)– What could I have done instead? (identify possible
solutions)– What do I have to do next? (make a plan)– Can I do that?– If not, whose help would I like?
(8.) Debrief with Staff• This important step is often skipped!
• Offers staff a chance to reflect on what happened and process their reactions/emotions/thoughts
• Important that time is taken to debrief before the end of the day (whenever possible)
• Is everyone ok? Does anyone need a break?• What went well?• Was there anything we could have done differently?• Who is following up with what?
Table Talk: Reflection1. What (if any) lessons has your team learned
“the hard way” when supporting a student who is escalated?
2. What steps could be put in place to ensure time is allotted to “check on your people” after an incident? Who might you need to talk to in order to make this happen?
What About the Rest of the Class?
(adapted from The Emotional Wellness Project, 2017)
8 Strategies for Supporting the Rest of the
Whole Class80% of your efforts = spent on prevention
1. Teach all students what strong feelings look and feel like (both in themselves and in others).– “Name it to tame it” (Dan Siegel)– Video example: Kids Want to Know: Why Do We Lose
Control of our Emotions?•
2. Teach all students healthy ways to manage their emotions. – Deep breathing, muscle relaxation, positive self-talk– SEL curriculum– Books/stories that teach emotional regulation
strategies– Utilize your school counselor: your IN-HOUSE
EXPERT in all things SEL!
3. Teach empathy.– Everyone is learning and growing and everyone
has different needs.
4. Create calming routines and transitions.– Predictability and structure support feelings of
safety.
5. Identify a “calm down spot” in the classroom students can use to self-regulate before they get highly upset. – Making this space available for anyone who needs
to calm down will help destigmatize a child who might need it more frequently.
6. Teach (and reteach!) expectations for safe and respectful behaviors.– Explicitly teach expected behaviors to all students.– It is also important to establish that the undesired
behavior is not okay. – Young students can be concrete in their thinking, so
it is helpful for them to hear that the adults are not okay with the behaviors they see in a classmate, especially if they have been hurt or scared.
– Offer extra support to targeted or anxious students.
7. Teach safety lessons that emphasize accessing adult support.– Teach refusal skills and encourage students to access
adult help for any unsafe action or situation.– Emphasize that safety rules are more important than
other rules, like staying in line or being quiet.– If someone is hurting you, get away and tell an
adult!
8. Remind students that the adults at school are there to help them be safe.– Refer to these adults by name or role for each area of
the school day.
Create a Plan for Keeping Students Safe
• Room clear/evacuation– Know and practice a room clear procedure ahead
of time, just like a fire drill– Things to consider:• Who will stay with the child in crisis?• Where will the rest of the class go?• What will the class do while out of the classroom?• How will they know when it’s okay to return?
3 Key Strategies for Managing Escalating Behavior
1. Identify how to intervene early in an escalation (triggers?)
2. Identify environmental factors that can be manipulated (calm down corner?)
3. Identify replacement behaviors that can be taught
Teaching Replacement BehaviorsStudents must:• Be fluent at the expected behavior (Can’t Do?)• Be taught conditions under which the expected
behavior is required. (Don’t Know When To Do?)• Have multiple opportunities for high rates of
successful academic and social engagement• Experience frequent positive acknowledgments
when they demonstrate the expected behavior
Teaching Replacement BehaviorsTeachers must:• Have students’ attention before doing anything else• Give directives that are clear, specific, and
positively stated• Provide frequent, positive acknowledgments of
expected behaviors• Have established and taught the system of
consequences for noncompliance
Table Talk: Supporting the WHOLE Class
1. Which of the strategies suggested for supporting the whole class particularly resonated with you?
2. What is one strategy for supporting the whole class that you can incorporate into your work setting right away?
“If you inadvertently assist the student to escalate, do not be concerned;
you will get another chance to do it right the next time around.”
Geoff Colvin
