2019 ipbn a journey through the escalation cycle

© 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.

ipbn@boisestate.edu

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

Contact Us!Email: ipbn@boisestate.edu

Website: https://csi.boisestate.edu/ipbn/

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

Email: jennifertachell@boisestate.edu

IPBN Website: https://csi.boisestate.edu/ipbn/