Strategies for Modifying Troublesome Activities

Here is a handy little chart that helps with some thoughts about interventions for some of the more common behaviors we see with our students.

                                              

Beginning and Completing Tasks
Problems in this area may be related to: Auditory Processing – difficulty understanding and interpreting the spoken word Motor Planning – difficulties with the ability to plan, organize and sequence strategies	Have you tried . . . ·      Giving one direction at a time? Sometimes if a child is given a three step direction, he will act on only the last direction ·      Using short, simple, one-concept phrases to drive directions? Do not elaborate. Repeat verbal directions slowly, firmly and clearly ·      Waiting? Wait a little longer than you think is necessary to give the child time to analyze the command and put it into action ·      Giving a visual demonstration or physical assistance? ·      Reducing auditory distractions? Be aware of background, white noise (papers shuffling, pencils dropping, etc) and reduce it if possible ·      Practicing verbal direction following using gross motor games? Progress from one to four step directions ·      Insisting that the student does not move until you have finished giving all the directions? Often students hear a direction and begin to follow it without waiting to hear the next steps.  Have the student repeat the direction to you ·      Helping the student identify the steps need to begin? Have the student repeat directions and, if possible, write down the steps ·      Giving a shorter assignment to promote the feeling of success in completion? Document the length of time a student can focus on one task and then structure the assignment so that it can be completed in that length of time ·      A system for checking off steps as they are accomplished? ·      Giving one direction at a time? After one direction is successfully completed, add another ·      Helping the student physically move through the task? ·      Minimizing visual distractions? Check for and get rid of clutter in the classroom environment ·      Playing Simon Says or other games that require imitation to see if the student is able to process directions and copy?
Copying
Problems in this area may be related to: Ocular Control – weak eye muscles can make eyes tire easily when required to repeatedly shift focus from one thing to another	Have you tried . . . ·      Writing small amount to be copied at a time? ·      Alternating those activities with less visually demanding tasks? ·      Scheduling a break to close and relax eyes between tasks? ·      Eye tracking activities?
Visual-Spatial Perception – unidentified acuity problems or difficulty transferring visual-spatial information across two visual planes	·      Checking with parents or school nurse to see if there is an acuity problem? ·      Using a different color to write in or a bolder marker? ·      Copying from one paper to another – in the same plane? Providing the student with an outline of material to be covered? Until the student is independent in copying, try having portions of the material already on his paper.
Cutting with Scissors
Problems in this area may be related to: Coordinating Body Sides Fine Motor Control – hand and finger control	Have you tried . . . ·      Providing opportunities for the right and left arms and hands to work together? Try clapping and hand games, legos, tinker toys, stringing beads, sewing cards, mixing bowl activities (one hand stabilizes and the other mixes) ·      Hand grasp strengthening activities? For example, holding on to the ropes of swings, playing tug of war, using a hole punch, spraying with the trigger type spray bottle can help strengthen grasp. ·      Cutting without demand for precision? Try cutting pieces of straws, grass, strips of paper, etc, to practice the grasp and feel of scissors ·      Consulting a resource for appropriate developmental expectations and pre-requisite skills?
Organizing Personal Belongings
Problems in this area may be related to: Body Awareness – inaccurate awareness of where, how, and with what force body parts are moving in relations to objects Visual-Spatial Perception – difficulty with figure-ground perception can contribute to a problem with sorting and organizing personal belongings	Have you tried . . . ·      Stabilizing school supplies b weighting the student’s pencil box and other containers?  ·      Triangular finger grips on pencils and crayons to prevent them from rolling off the desk? ·      A clipboard and/or large clips to keep papers together? ·      Keeping only necessary item on desktop? ·      Allowing limited number of personal belongings at school? ·      Designating a place or container for each belonging? ·      Scheduling a set time each day to organize belonging? ·      A color-coded filing system? Folded construction paper/folders of different colors can signify different subjects or completed/incomplete tasks. ·      Discussing strategies for organizing personal belongings? Ideas – sort by same or different characteristics, items that are used daily, etc.
Performing Tasks While Seated
Problems in this area may be related to: Body Awareness – deficient strength and muscle tone in muscles may make it tiring to sit erect for long periods	Have you tried . . . ·      Placing a heavy beanbag on the lap? ·      Providing a brief time for movement? Jumping, running in place, etc may be the input the student needs to stay in his seat for longer periods of time
Problems in this area may be related to: Perception of touch - A hypersensitivity to touch may make it difficult for some children to stay in their seat because they are trying to avoid inadvertent touch be the student next to them	Have you tried . . . ·      Spacing students so that they are not sitting near enough to touch one another? ·      Allow the student to wear his favorite sweater or jacket when he is in situations where he will be near other children? ·      Markers to help designate personal space?
Producing Organized Written Work
Problems in this area may be related to: Visual-Spatial Perception – inaccurate perception of the relationship of one’s body to external space can contribute to a disorganized approach to a task	Have you tried . . . ·      Using graph paper for math? ·      Emphasizing spatial terms? ·      A shield or cover to eliminate visual distractions? Cut a hole in a piece of card stock the average size of a word or sentence.  This can be placed over the paper the student is working on and moved when appropriate ·      A Popsicle stick, tongue depressor, or strip of paper to mark a space between words? ·      Pre-marked paper? Try pre-marking paper, indicating space appropriate for name, date, and subject, etc.
Cooperation and Sportsmanship
Problems in this area may be related to: Peer Interactions – poor peer interactions may interfere with ability to cooperate	Have you tried . . . ·      A review of classroom rules?  For example, “Do we have a rule about . . .?” ·      Positive reinforcement techniques? Give immediate honest and positive comments on each small efforts or appropriate social interactions or approximation ·      Ignoring disruptive behavior while complimenting desired behavior?

Kathy Steffens is a Special Educator with 20+ years experience.  She is available for questions regarding district RTI implementation and staff development training.  You can reach her at RightResponsetoRTI@gmail.com

3 Key Ideas to Help Your Students Apply Intervention Strategies

How Can I Help My Student Apply Strategies to their Work? 

A speech pathologist shares 3 key ideas that can help you teach students to use  skills learned during the intervention process. 

"What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child." - George Bernard Shaw

Teachers struggle on a daily basis in the classroom with students who simply do not apply what they've been taught, in spite of a teacher's best efforts.  And, unfortunately, all of the drill and practice in the world sometimes does not accomplish the objective of a student applying what they've learned.

Here are 3 key ideas that have helped me achieve instructional carryover with students on my caseload. Feel free to apply these same concepts in your classroom.

#1:  Teach Students to Self-Monitor Their Own Performance

Self-Monitoring - A Big Word, An Even Bigger Impact
 

Simply speaking, self-monitoring is the ability for a student to determine whether or not they were able to create the target behavior, by observing themselves during their own performance of a task.  

What I've Learned in the Speech Room

Many students become dependent on the speech therapist for feedback during therapy. When asked whether a sound was produced accurately, students aren't sure.  They weren't "listening" to themselves, because they were caught up in the performance, the "doing".  The student has become dependent on an external barometer. 

Give the student a checklist, and ask them to check their own work, or otherwise rate their own performance.   As a teacher, the value of self-awareness cannot be over-estimated.  (Hint:  printed cues for the desired strategy or response can be critical to internalizing a new set of rules when teaching self-monitoring).

#2:  Focus on Teaching a Strategy in a Controlled Context

Exercise in Futility 

I recall observing a language-disordered 3rd grade student participate in an ILA classroom exercise. The activity required the student to respond to a number of errors in a written paragraph, including multiple mechanics, grammar, and spelling errors.  Unfortunately, the student was not able succeed at that exercise, because so many types of errors were introduced simultaneously. 

Use a mixed practice format to challenge students who've already mastered the rules and can benefit from mixed practice.  Control the context and present single rules at a time for students who have not mastered grade level content.

#3:  Accurate Practice Requires Specific Instruction

Learning How to Teach

I once supervised a graduate student who didn't understand the mechanics of speech production.  In one lesson, she instructed a 4th grade student to "say 'r' like a Pirate",  and followed with an enthusiatic pirate impersonation.   The student continued to produce the sound with the same errors.  If the student isn't successful at least 60% of the time, the instruction needs to be modified. 

Use scaffolding, reverse chaining, thoughtful prompts and cues, and direct instruction to share the process of discovery with the student.   Level practice exercises in the 60-80% success range.

#4:  Provide Opportunities for Distraction...or Less is More

Once a student has achieved a level of mastery within a controlled context, distraction provides a needed challenge within the context of less definition and structure - this is an often overlooked step in the process of teaching students how to independently apply a learned skill.

Drill Practice ad Infinitum

Consider this case:  a secondary student who doesn't generalize grammar skills to conversation, in spite of years of remedial instruction. The next step simply requires that we expand the student's use of the grammar rules to broad, less defined tasks.

Try the following strategies: 

• story retelling
• narrative format
• mixed rule practice
• self-monitoring using a student grading rubric
• printed cues
• tape recording with playback
• multiple practice trials

Cynthia Scott, M.A. CCC-SLP is a Speech Language Pathologist and educator in the central Minnesota area.  She can be reached at PhoneticResoucesLLC@gmail.com, or view her blog at ThePhoneticResource.blogspot.com  for other helpful resources.