Behaviors |
Taps the desk or paper with her pen or pencil. |
Blurts out answers or questions without raising her hand. |
Rubbing her legs |
Does this behavior pose danger to the person or to others? |
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How many opportunities will the person have to use this new skill in the natural environment? Or How often does the problem behavior occur? |
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How long-standing is the problem or skill deficit? |
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Will changing this behavior produce a higher rate of reinforcement for the person? |
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What is the relative importance of this target behavior to future skill development and independent functioning? |
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Will changing this behavior reduce negative or unwanted attention from others? |
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Will changing this behavior produce reinforcement for significant others? |
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How likely is success in changing this behavior? |
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How much will it cost to change this behavior? |
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Prioritizing Behavior
Behavior refers to a variety of actions and physical responses made by organisms or humans in relation to their environment. It is the response to different stimuli or inputs. Some behaviors are problematic; hence, the need for interventions to change these promote the wellbeing of people ( Peterson et al., 2018). There are nine steps in prioritizing the target behaviors. For Cheeri, she shows several responses that need significant prioritizing. Among the questions asked during the prioritization include:
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Does this behavior pose any danger to the client or others?
When Cheeri taps the desk or paper with her pen or pencil, she poses a high risk to herself and other students around her. She is likely to pierce herself or other students while tapping the desk. Cheeri’s blurting out answers or questions without raising the hands, is not risky to anyone. However, it is likely to cause distraction and disorder in class. Cheeri’s rubbing legs can result in the developing of rushes and burns on the skin. Prolonged rubbing of legs is a way of relieving the feeling of uneasiness in her (Peterson et al., 2018). Nonetheless, the behavior is not a risk to those around her.
How many opportunities will the person have to use this new behavior? How often does this problem behavior occur?
Cheeri taps desks using her pens whenever she is in school. Therefore, she has the chance to use the behavior every time she goes to school. This is the same case with blurting out answers and questions without raising hands. Teachers need to develop strategies to ensure that she remains calm during the class and training her to raise her hand when asking or answering questions. Regarding the rubbing of legs, it can take place whenever she gets anxious without necessarily being in school. Therefore, there are higher chances of practicing behavior than others. She can rub her legs even at home as long as she is stressed.
How long-standing is the problem skill or deficit?
Cheeri’s behavior of tapping the desk with a pen, rubbing legs, and blurting out answers and questions happens at various instances during the day. However, it does not state if it occurs in every class. Besides, it is not said how long each of the behaviors lasts when Cheeri starts manifesting them.
Will changing this behavior produce higher rates of reinforcement for the person?
Changing the three behaviors of Cheeri would be entirely enforcing to her. Training her to remain calm and stop tapping the desk can enhance her concentration level in class. Regarding promoting the intentional raising of hands when answering questions, it would encourage coordination and understanding in class. Abrupt asking or answering of questions contribute to noise-making and significant disorder in class. Lastly, changing the behavior of rubbing legs can minimize the chances of burning the skin due to friction. Chronic rubbing can cause physical harm to Cheeri, thus interfering with her functionality.
What will be the relative importance of this target behavior to future skill development and independent functioning?
According to Cooper, Heward & Heron (2013), behavior is crucial in determining the independence of an individual is functioning. The tapping of the desk using pens every time one is worried can affect her ability as a leader. The noise made from the tapping can interfere with the communication between people. For blurting questions and answers without lifting hands, it can affect her coordination. For one to have excellent communication skills, they need to listen, give other time to contribute, and respond when necessary. The behavior can also cause a commotion. Avoiding ribbing of legs can help in preventing the occurrence of skin rashes and burns that main affect his mobility. Sometimes, these burning are painful, thus hindering the ability of the student to walk.
Will changing this behavior reduce harmful or unwanted attention from others?
Cheeri’s distinct behaviors attract unwanted attention from her classmates. In the case of tapping the desk, it produces some noise that ends up attracting the attention of the fellow students who end up staring at her. In the same way, blurting answers aloud without raising solutions is often disappointing to the teacher and the students. Cheeri’s shouting may deny other students who raise their hands a chance to learn, ask, or answer questions. By reducing these behaviors, he would be able to maintain her dignity. Maintaining client dignity is an essential component of the BCBA ( Cooper et al. , 2013). Rubbing of legs is associated with fearful people, which is not an excellent characteristic of any given leader.
Will this new behavior produce positive reinforcement for significant others?
Adopting new behavior ensures positive reinforcements for significant others. If Cheeri was to refrain from tapping the desk with a pen and blurting questions and answers without lifting hands, there would be a relieve for teachers and students in the class. The level of disturbance in the form of noise would reduce the promoting of coordinated class sessions. Avoiding the incidence of rubbing legs can help avoid embarrassment to Cheeri. Besides, it can also relieve teachers and students the responsibility of helping Cheeri to move due to the rub burns.
How likely is success in changing this target behavior?
All of Cheeri’s behaviors are easy to change. However, they might take longer to forget. Teaching Cheeri to write notes or place her hand and pens on the deck while listening to the teachers is easy. Similarly, Cheeri may be trained to raise her hands whenever she needs to ask or answer a question and wait to be appointed instead of blurting out the answers. Teachers can help Cheeri avoid rubbing les by reminding them whenever they start doing so. Constant reminders can help her keep in mind the unwanted behavior, thus avoiding them.
How much will it cost to change this behavior?
Changing the behavior of tapping and blurting answers without lifting hands with cost the minimum. The most excellent resource will be the time and energy that Cheeri requires to learn alternative practices. In the case of rubbing legs, the cost might be higher, especially in the case where the student is unable to control the behavior. A professional may be required to help in learning new skills and implementing them.
Conclusion
Prioritizing behavior is lengthy and requires critical thinking. Priorities are meant to develop necessary interventions to help change disturbing behaviors. In the case of Cheeeri, the issue of tapping desk and blurting answers are the priorities. The two are cheaper to improve and learn new skills. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on the two before addressing the issue of rubbing legs. Some of the newly acquired skills may be used to intervene in the behavior of rubbing legs.
References
Cooper, J.O., Heward, W. L., & Heron, T. E. (2013). Applied behavior analysis . Pearson Education Limited.
Peterson, S. M., Morris, C., Kestner, K. M., Quigley, S. P., Aljadeff-Abergel, E., & Goetz, D. B. (2018). Applied Behavior Analysis: Foundations and Applications. In Handbook of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Children on the Autism Spectrum (pp. 27-40). Springer, Cham.