FAQ Friday: Managing Behavior

In today's FAQ Friday post, I'm hoping to give you a couple of easy ideas and a few research links that could help my fellow SLP and teacher friends.

It's that time of year!  Summertime is just around the corner.  State testing is over.  It didn't help that there was a full moon last night.  The kids are getting antsy!  This is the time when behavior starts to get a little bit (or a lotta bit) out of control...which leads us to this week's question.

Of course, let me just preface this by saying that every kid is different.  There are cases that can get severe.  Sometimes it takes lots of trial and error and team meetings and professional intervention.  This is just meant to be a few helpful tips and links to get you through the rest of the year.  :)

-It's always great to have an incentive system in place.  I always like making much of the good behavior.  Check out some of these cool ones that I found through Pinterest.  Click "source" to take you to the pin.

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Behavior Bingo - Students write their name in a square when they're spotted doing something good.  At the end of the day (or session), the teacher/therapist draws a bingo chip to see who gets the special prize.

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Cute punch card!  Kids receive a punch for good behavior.  When their card is full, they choose a prize.

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Behavioropoly - SO cute!  When students meet their behavior goal, they can take a turn on this fun game board.  It's filled with little incentives like free homework or take off your shoes.

-It's also a great idea to teach kids about how to deal with their anger and show self-control.  The savvyschoolcounselor has a great post about anger games.  This m&m one is my fave!

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-The Crisis Intervention website lists 6 behavior management strategies for you as a professional when the situation gets tough!  You can find the full article here.  Strategies include:

1. Be mindful of your own reaction.
2. Maintain rational detachment.
3. Be attentive.
4. Use positive self-talk.
5. Recognize your limits.
6. Debrief.

-If you want to take a closer look at a child's behavior, you can use the ABC system (from bbbautism.com).
A = Antecedant (the event that happens before a behavior or what prompts the behavior)
B = Behavior (a response to events that can be seen or heard)
C = Consequence (the events that follow the behavior and effects whether the behavior will occur again). 

-If you want to do a little more reading up on managing behavior, THIS website has lots of great articles and tips for the classroom.

Hope you find some of this helpful!  Do any of you deal with problematic behaviors?  Or maybe I'm the only one.  ;)