Addressing the Challenging Behavior of Children with High-Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers and Parents.

Addressing the Challenging Behavior of Children with High-Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome in the Classroom: A Guide for Teachers and Parents. Rebecca Moyes, Addressing the Challenging Behavior of Children withHigh-Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome in the Classroom: A Guide forTeachers and Parents. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers,2002. Paperback. $23.95 Addressing the Challenging Behavior of Children withHigh-Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome in the Classroom is a bookdedicated to helping parents and teachers develop individualized in��di��vid��u��al��ize?tr.v. in��di��vid��u��al��ized, in��di��vid��u��al��iz��ing, in��di��vid��u��al��iz��es1. To give individuality to.2. To consider or treat individually; particularize.3. ,positive behavioral support plans. Rebecca Moyes, the author, is aparent of a child with Asperger Syndrome Asperger syndromeChildren who have autistic behavior but no problems with language.Mentioned in: Autism , a former teacher, andcurrently works as an educational consultant for children with Autism autism(ô`tĭzəm), developmental disability resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication skills, social skills, and reasoning. Spectrum Disorders (ASD ASDabbr.atrial septal defectASDAtrial septal defect, see there ). As a parent, consultant, and former teacher,Ms. Moyes states that two areas that are difficult to address are how todeal with social skill deficits and what to do about the problembehaviors of children with ASD. Her goal in writing the book was toprovide professionals and parents with a useful guide to help includechildren with ASD in the regular education setting. The book'seasy-to-read style targets all of the members of a support team for achild with ASD. The author offers techniques, strategies, and examplesthat are based on current research and used in the field. Moyes adoptsan approach to developing support plans that addresses the functions ofbehaviors as opposed to the type of the behavior. Two excellent components of the book are its Appendix sections atthe end of each chapter describing a specific case scenario, and thejargon-free language used by the the author throughout the book. Moyesprovides a step-by-step process of providing a child with ASD a positivebehavior support Positive behavior support strives to use a system to understand what maintains an individual’s challenging behavior. Students’ inappropriate behaviors are difficult to change because they are functional, they serve a purpose for the child. plan that would enable a child to participate in theleast restrictive educational setting. Each chapter in the book containsits own appendix that outlines the process of a functional behaviorassessment in basic terms. The first chapter, "Traditional Approaches," provides thereader with basic information about various approaches that have beenused to manage problem behaviors. The author begins the chapter byidentifying aversives, restraints, and behavior modification behavior modificationn.1. The use of basic learning techniques, such as conditioning, biofeedback, reinforcement, or aversion therapy, to teach simple skills or alter undesirable behavior.2. See behavior therapy. techniquesas the most common, but perhaps not most effective approaches toaddressing problem behaviors. She describes each approach and gives casescenarios as examples of each. Her description of behavior modificationis similar to methodological behaviorism behaviorism,school of psychology which seeks to explain animal and human behavior entirely in terms of observable and measurable responses to environmental stimuli. Behaviorism was introduced (1913) by the American psychologist John B. . The author continues thechapter by setting the limitations of the traditional approaches. Shestates that "the commonly used approach[es] for handling problembehavior, [do] not take into consideration the reason for suchbehaviors" (p. 14). The chapter concludes by defining the meaningof a positive support plan as "a systematic approach to solvingbehavior problems that strongly takes into consideration the reason forwhy the behavior is occurring and builds the communication bridge tohelp prevent those problem behaviors" (p. 15). Chapter two, "Adopting a Team Approach to Writing a BehavioralSupport Plan," focuses on adopting a team approach to gatherinformation relating to relating torelate prep → concernantrelating torelate prep → bez��glich +gen, mit Bezug auf +accthe function of the problem behavior. A casestudy is introduced in this chapter and expanded upon throughout thebook to guide professionals in the steps to formulating the supportplan. The author advocates the use of a functional behavior approach tohelp develop the behavior support plan. Moyes walks the team throughgathering information via indirect and descriptive assessment methods.She provides the assessment tools in both blank forms and in completedform with information from the case study to serve as an example. The information is gathered and the author continues the journey ofwriting a positive support plan in chapter three, "What CausesMisbehavior in Children with Autism? Forming a Hypothesis," byformulating hypotheses or reasons for the specific problem behaviors.Moyes suggests that the problem behaviors of children with ASD can beviewed as a form of communication (p. 37). She proceeds by providingexamples of the relationship between the communication difficulties ofchildren with ASD and problem behaviors in the educational setting.Moyes defines communication barriers and supports the definition with adetailed example of a problem behavior exhibited as a function of thespecific barrier. The end of the chapter is used to summarize sum��ma��rize?intr. & tr.v. sum��ma��rized, sum��ma��riz��ing, sum��ma��riz��esTo make a summary or make a summary of.sum , throughsupported research examples, that "there are reasons why childrenmisbehave mis��be��have?v. mis��be��haved, mis��be��hav��ing, mis��be��havesv.intr.To behave badly.v.tr. " (p. 51). It is here that Moyes emphasizes that"conditions vary from student to student ..." (p. 51). Shecontinues to state that "every child's behavior must beexamined for its communicative com��mu��ni��ca��tive?adj.1. Inclined to communicate readily; talkative.2. Of or relating to communication.com��mu attempt" (p. 51). In chapter four, "Antecedent ANTECEDENT. Something that goes before. In the construction of laws, agreements, and the like, reference is always to be made to the last antecedent; ad proximun antecedens fiat relatio. Strategies," the authorexpresses her belief that behavior support plans must address thefunctions of the behavior as opposed to the type of behavior. Moyesdescribes antecedent strategies to address problem behaviors throughoutthe chapter. Antecedent strategies are described by the author asstrategies put in place to help prevent the triggers of inappropriatebehavior. The chapter is composed of lists of strategies that addressthe hypotheses identified in chapter three. Visual examples are providedthroughout the chapter to help the reader grasp the concept presented.The chapter could stand alone as a quick reference for professionals togain ideas to put in place to prevent behaviors. Chapter five, "Rewards and Motivators," discusses thegolden rule, which is to increase appropriate behaviors. Moyes simplystates, "Punishment teaches children with autism that they havedone something wrong, but it doesn't teach these children whatbehaviors are acceptable" (p. 91). The chapter is a compilation Compiling a program. See compiler. ofeffective reward systems. The author stresses, before reviewing thesesystems, that "the most effective reward system for any child isone that is meaningful to that particular child" (p. 91). Shecontinues with a statement that she considers to be a powerfulexplanation that defines an effective reward system. "One way toensure that rewards are meaningful is to discover what special interestor 'passions' the student has from his parent" (p. 91).As with the previous chapters, visual images and clear examples arepresented to help the general education teacher develop positive rewardsystems to increase appropriate behaviors. The title of chapter six, "Consequential con��se��quen��tial?adj.1. Following as an effect, result, or conclusion; consequent.2. Having important consequences; significant: Strategies,"seems almost contradictory to the author's emphasis on preventativestrategies as presented in the preceding five chapters. Moyes points outthat "when teacher and parents look at what poor behavior may becommunicating and work together to create meaningful antecedentstrategies to address this behavior, consequential strategies take a'back seat'" (p. 115). Although the title seemscontradictory to the preceding chapters, the chapter remains consistentwith the author's overall theme. Numerous consequential strategiesare presented that should be reviewed with the individual prior toimplementation. This encourages that such consequences are being used toprevent behaviors from occurring. Throughout the chapter, the authorexplains a set of rules for applying consequential strategies. The firstof the rules is "when consequences are applied, they should beassigned a hierarchy from mild to severe, ranging from least intrusive in��tru��sive?adj.1. Intruding or tending to intrude.2. Geology Of or relating to igneous rock that is forced while molten into cracks or between other layers of rock.3. Linguistics Epenthetic. to most intrusive" (p. 117). The author also touches upon the ideathat escalated behaviors could be prevented by applying the leastrestrictive mild consequence necessary to achieve the desired effect. Tofurther describe the critical concept of teamwork (product, software, tool) Teamwork - A SASD tool from Sterling Software, formerly CADRE Technologies, which supports the Shlaer/Mellor Object-Oriented method and the Yourdon-DeMarco, Hatley-Pirbhai, Constantine and Buhr notations. , the chapterhighlights the second rule for consequential strategies, which is"consistency in any behavior plan is important" (p. 117). Itis important for all members of the team to agree to each consequenceand to be comfortable to follow through with the plan. The final chapter, "Evaluation for Effectiveness," isbrief, but incredibly important to developing a positive behaviorsupport plan. The title of the chapter explains it all. Evaluation foreffectiveness is the only true way to know the success of a plan. Toperform an evaluation to determine a successful plan, a team mustcollect data on the problem behaviors specified throughout the process.Through this data collection, a visual display can help a team todetermine if the behavior is increasing, decreasing, or staying thesame. The direction of the behavior helps to determine whether areas ofthe plan need to be modified or improved. Before ending the chapter,Moyes states that Too often parents and teachers assume that because a behavior plan is working, it has 'done the trick' and can be phased out. Properly developed behavioral support plans don't 'fix' problem behavior-they help to provide the supports to the student so that he/she can learn the skills necessary to avoid such behavior. If the antecedent strategies are withdrawn too soon or the rewards and consequential strategies are not applied consistently, the student may lose the motivation to continue his/her learning and the behaviors will return. (p. 136) This powerful statement summarizes the importance of positivesupport plans and the consistency with which they are implemented. Overall, Addressing the Challenging Behavior of Children withHigh-Functioning Autism/Asperger Syndrome in the Classroom is anoutstanding easy-to-follow guide that helps teachers, otherprofessionals, and parents develop effective individualized positivebehavioral supports for children with ASD in all settings. The authoroffers methods, approaches, and examples that are based on currentresearch and that are used in the field. Throughout the book, theapproach taken to develop support plans addresses the functions ofbehaviors as opposed to the type of the behavior. As mentioned beforethe book's easy-to-read style targets all of the members of asupport team addressing two areas which are most difficult for childrenwith ASD: how to handle social skill deficits addressing behaviorproblems. The text is of manageable length and outlines the strategiesthat can be performed to provide relief from problem behaviors thatdisrupt the instructional time in regular education classrooms. Reviewed by Amy Rockenstein, University of Pittsburgh