POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR SUPPORTS
After reading the case study below, write a paper that addresses the five questions that follow. Use the information presented in class in units 3, 4 and 5 to inform your answers.
Kristy is a teenage girl who has grown up with her Mother, Father and sister. She recently transitioned to the local high school where she spends some time in regular classes and sometime in the resource room with an EA. Kristy has a variety of medical conditions including diabetes, celiac intolerance and autism. Kristy does not speak other than a few simple words though she does sing to favourite songs and echo other people’s speech. Kristy loves routine and having her day progress the way she expects it to. She does not enjoy PA days or bus cancellations as those things mean her day goes differently than usual.
Recently, things began to change for Kristy. Kristy’s mother and father began to fight often and loudly which eventually resulted in Kristy’s father moving out of the house. Kristy’s sister decided that she would rather live with her father and also moved out of the house. Kristy’s mother suffered a serious depression and struggled day to day to provide the care that Kristy needed. Once when Kristy’s mother was hospitalized, Kristy went to stay for a week at a respite home.
Kristy’s behaviour has increasingly become very difficult for her Mother to manage. She has always displayed some self-injurious behaviours such as hitting herself, banging her head or biting her arms when upset. Her mother has always described Kristy has sometimes having regular tantrums because she doesn’t’ get her way and sometimes having “meltdowns” which are not so easily explained. It’s been important for people supporting Kristy to be able to tell the difference. Recently those behaviours have become more frequent and intense and she also began picking very violently at her ears and making them bleed as well as pulling and digging at her teeth. Kristy also engages in some very violent behaviour such as hitting, scratching, biting and choking her mother. Kristy is having “meltdowns” every day and sometimes more than once. During these meltdowns she will scream, bang her head, try to hurt her mother and herself and destroy items in the house. Kristy has not been displaying any violent behaviour at school, though they do report she is more resistant to demands. Kristy has a support worker who has worked with her for years with whom she has had a wonderful relationship. She is also seeing increased meltdowns though Kristy always stops short of trying to hurt her.
Kristy’s situation is approaching a breaking point. Her mother cannot manage her behaviour and has twice had to go to the emergency room to be treated for bites and scratches. Behaviourists have been called in as well family and children’s services to figure out how to help Kristy. Additional support workers have been hired to provide respite as her long term worker has limits to her time and Mom needs almost full time support. There is a concerted effort underway to find Kristy somewhere else to live as her Mother cannot continue to care for her.
Family and other people who care for Kristy are desperate to alleviate this pressure as they know that Kristy is at great risk of being medicated or restrained if she cannot gain control of her behaviour. There is also a great risk to her losing the protection offered her by family as the only residences that accept children are more than 1 hour from her hometown and neither parent has transportation nor funds to frequently visit.
- What specific behaviour is Kristy displaying? Are there any descriptions, interpretations, summary labels etc. for behaviour that you will want to clarify?
- Do you feel you have ethical grounds to attempt to address Kristy’s behaviour? Why?
- What environmental factors may be contributing to Kristy’s troubling behaviour? Provide evidence from the case study to support your ideas.
- What behaviour(s) would be helpful for Kristy to learn? What could be done to create an environment that would support more positive behaviour?
- What challenges might you face in addressing the environmental determinants of Kristy’s behaviour?
MARKING RUBRIC
| Performance Element | Meets expectations | Meets some expectations | Does not meet expectations | Marks Available |
| Identify and pinpoint behaviour | Identifies most examples of specific behaviour and descriptions that require clarification | Identifies only some examples of specific behaviour. Sometimes confuses summary labels and descriptions as behaviour. | Does not identify any specific behaviour. Does not differentiate between summary labels and specific behaviour. |
/6 |
| Recognize and adhere to the values of Positive Behaviour Supports. | Clearly provides rationale for addressing behaviour based on values and outcomes discussed in class. | Provides some rationale for addressing behaviour but misses some points. | Provides no rationale or provides rationale that is not ethical based on values and outcomes discussed in class. |
/3 |
| Identify environmental influences on behaviour | Identifies and provides examples of the environmental factors influencing the behaviour identified. | Identifies and provides examples of some environmental factors but misses others. | Does not identify any environmental factors for the behaviour identified. |
/6 |
| Devise strategies to alter the environment to support positive behaviour | Provides clear ideas for addressing the factors influencing behaviour. | Provides some ideas for addressing the factors influencing behaviour. | Does not provide appropriate ideas to address the factors influencing behaviour. |
/8 |
| Recognize challenges and limits to environmental change | Provides examples of potential pitfalls in stated strategies. | Provides limited examples of potential pitfalls in stated strategies. | Does not provide examples of potential pitfalls in stated strategies. | /2 |