Resources to Support Challenging Child Behavior

Focus Forms
Situation: 

I have some students who have a difficult time attending during longer teacher/student discussions. They are playing with items in their desks, talking to other students, doodling, or looking around. What can I do to help them focus longer on the topic at hand?

Group Steps & Options
Situation: 

I have a student who has difficulty working in groups. He either moves away, tries to work alone or he is giving “orders” to everyone. Inevitably the group falls apart with arguments or work uncompleted. How can I help this student work positively in groups?

Keep it Relevant
Situation: 

I lose many of my students during instructional time that is teacher directed and includes longer time spans of discussion and lecture. How can I hold the attention of my students who may have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or students with a Learning Disability?

Modifying Open-Ended Questions: Visual Cues
Situation: 

I have a student who is not able to answer Open Ended Questions. He cannot even begin his answer or he will say or write a response that makes no sense. How can I help him with such question prompts?

Seat Sheet and Collector Cards: Church
Situation: 

My son will not sit when we go to church. He continually tries to crawl under the pew, turns around, and slides up and down the pew. What can we do to make going to church easier…and less distracting for our family and those around us?

Shaping Clothing Challenges
Situation: 

My son has a need to wear only shorts every day. This need goes into the winter and life becomes difficult. I worry regarding recess, walking and waiting for the bus and any time he is out. I worry about how this is looking in school as well. What can I do to get him to wear long pants?

Subtle Math Fact Learning
Situation: 

I have a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He has difficulty with his math facts but refuses to ‘be taught’. He likes to be ‘in charge’. He gets frustrated with his math and wants to know the answers but refuses to sit in a math group or even individually when I am teaching methods for learning the facts. He also loves creating power points in Language Arts. He will insert his favorite character in each one as an image. But what can I do for this student in math?

Superstars
Situation: 

I have a new child in my preschool classroom that has a disability. I tell the children to play with him, but they ignore him. He does not know how to play very well and is hard to understand when he talks. How can I motivate the other children to play with him?

Travel Card (Myles, 2005)
Situation: 

My son has Asperger Syndrome and has been displaying some challenging behaviors in many of his classes. His teachers tend to be negative and are always telling me what he is doing wrong in class! Any ideas for how I can help his teachers focus more on the positive?

Footprints on the Floor
Situation: 

Students often times have difficulty with transitions when they are required to line up at the door prior to leaving. How can I provide support for this?