If you’ve followed along here or on my other social media outlets, you know I can talk about behavior to a wall. I love problem solving, chatting with likeminded educators, sharing ideas, and working with kids. Sometimes, it’s REALLY important to listen to other voices. I am so thrilled to have Cassie Leutenegger as a guest blogger sharing some connection seeking strategies with us.
As a behavior analyst, I frequently get DM’s from people wanting to know what to do with a student that is seeking attention through their behavior. I’m sure we’ve all had that student before. The one that you ask your partners for help with, and might qualify for special education or RTI/MTSS for their behavior. My first response to the person that sent me the message almost always starts with “Wow! That certainly sounds challenging.” BUT, then I share something with them that almost always makes a shift in perspective. What is it?
They are seeking connections and a relationship.
The first time I heard that phrase it was like a lightbulb went off for me. I’m a behavior analyst. We share frequently that one of the 4 functions of behavior is attention and while that certainly is true, I challenge the perspective and narrative by rephrasing it to connection seeking. When we dig deeper into the background of our students with connection seeking behavior, we often find that they may not get a ton of time with their parents at home due to a variety of reasons. They may not have had the best learning history with adults at school. They may be struggling to make friends in the classroom. There are a variety of reasons that might be and it can be hard to identify. Ultimately though, we don’t need to know the reason. We just need to know that they are seeking connection, and what we can proactively do to help them.
Proactive Approaches
Most of us have heard of the term planned ignoring. Planned ignoring is when we do not give attention to a behavior that is inappropriate or maladaptive. We need to stop using this. The correct use is to ignore the behavior and not the child, but I rarely see it used correctly and honestly, it becomes an excuse to just ignore the child. “What can we do instead,” you ask?
We can put proactive strategies in place to help support the connection seeking so that it never requires behavior that is inappropriate at school.
- Noncontingent Reinforcement– This is a term that is floated around a lot in the special education circle, but what does it mean? Simply put, we embed opportunities throughout the day for your student to make the connections they are seeking. This means greeting them at the beginning of the day and having a conversation with them about their interests or what they did the night before. Giving the individual praise or attention throughout the day for simply being who they are, not based on what they do. This could be a high five, or just saying hi to them in the hallways.
- Assign the student a classroom job– Nothing says “hey I trust you, I believe in you” quite like having a special job in the classroom that no one else gets to do. Even better, is if they get to do that job with you, their teacher. This is another time where you can build in some noncontingent attention.
- Provide collaborative or peer tutoring opportunities– This is the perfect time for students to build connections with each other. Even if your student is a struggling learner, they can still engage in peer tutoring. Arrange a time with a younger grade level where your class can partner/buddy read. This was one of the best things I ever did when I was working in a behavior support classroom. We had a 1st grade class across the hall from us, and some of my girls would go into their classroom and read to the first graders. Not only was it helpful for their connection seeking behaviors, but it got them READING and if you know anything about working in behavior support programs, you know that is often an area where we struggled.
- Provide frequent opportunities to respond– increasing classroom engagement opportunities will automatically decrease the need for these connection seeking behaviors. Using strategies like 4 corners where students can get up and move around the room and choose the answer that fits best is a great way to do this. During pandemic teaching, we couldn’t use strategies like this, so Kahoot, Nearpod, and Peardeck lessons were super useful in my classroom.
- 2X10 Strategy– This is my favorite strategy of all. Spend 2 minutes per day for 10 days, just talking to the kid about anything and everything that they are interested in. This has to occur when you are able to dedicate 100% of your attention to the student. You shouldn’t be grading or taking attendance while doing this. Simply, pull them to the side or out in the hall and give all of your time and attention to the child. Find out their favorite colors, foods, sports, teams, etc. What do they do for fun? What are their hobbies? They’ll probably roll their eyes at you at first, especially if you are a secondary teacher, but I guarantee that by the end of those 10 days, that kid AND you will be looking forward to those 2 minutes.
Ultimately the best way to ensure that behaviors decrease is by ensuring they never need to occur in the first place. Be proactive and you’ll see a difference in the connections you make with your students.
Cassie Leutenegger is a certified special education teacher and board certified behavior analyst working in autism therapy as a clinical supervisor. She taught for 8 years in title 1 schools in central Texas as a life skills and behavior support teacher. Over those 8 years, she learned just how important proactive strategies are when working with students who have behavioral challenges. She is passionate about embedding social emotional learning into the classroom and using evidence-based behavioral strategies to change both teachers’ and students’ lives. You can follow her on instagram here.
