Holistic Behavior Analysis Report

Pseudonym: Joey Smith

Reporter: Erin Fergus
Date: December 13, 2018

Learning About Student

 Review of Records:
o Joey Smith is a 4 year old transitional kindergarten student whose language is
English. His disability is identified as a specific learning disability which
manifests in his difficulty with bodily control. He attends an elementary school in
Linda Vista with a large military family population. His family life involves
divorced parents with a step-dad. His father is in the military and is often away
and Joey has one younger brother. Joey does not have any past incident reports.
After looking at Joey’s IEP, his present levels are currently at grade level. His
areas of growth are in speech and his behavior.
 Interview w/teacher:
o Joey is an energetic, positive student to have in the classroom. He loves to learn
about superheroes and dinosaurs. Joey’s strengths are his fine motor skills. He
can copy, write, and trace things well and always attempts to complete his work.
However, we need to work with Joey on his behavior. He is not very aware of his
body and he needs to learn about impulse control. He touches others around him
often and this makes it difficult for him to work with a group. To help Joey learn,
he often sits in a chair when the class is all at the carpet and has a bear hug
(weighted pillows) to help him keep still. He also has a social story about walking
to lunch so that he doesn’t swing his lunchbox and hit others. These supports are
effective, but I will have to do more to fully support Joey. He works better on his
own because he is less distracted. When he works independently, I don’t have to
worry about him touching others. He works very well with a 1:1, so whenever I
have extra support within the classroom I try and utilize it to support Joey.
 Interview w/family:
o Joey has always been a cheerful and energetic young boy. He gets along well
with his brother. However, these two often physically fight one another while
playing, which I think may have led Joey to believe that it is okay to hit and kick
others. I try to limit this play fighting, but raising two young boys has been
difficult for me, especially when Joey’s father and I separated. We are able to be
in the same room together and will continue to co-parent Joey. I do not speak to
Joey’s father regularly, but we both agree that we must always be present for
Joey’s IEP meetings, as we want Joey to have the best education possible.
Originally, I was nervous to place Joey in this TK/K classroom as we had just
moved from Washington to San Diego, and this adjustment was difficult for Joey
and his brother. They had only ever known Washington as home, so this move
was difficult for them to process. In addition, Joey had only just begun speaking
at age four. Throughout the first few years of Joey’s life, I was extremely nervous
he would never speak, and that life would prove extremely difficult for him.
Luckily with speech therapy and other interventions, Joey began to speak words

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 when he was four years old. I have noticed that this delay in speech has
negatively impacted Joey’s educational success, as he has a speech impediment
and struggles with literacy. I know that with Joey’s positive attitude and
resilience though, he will excel in school.
 Culturally Responsive Student Transition Presentation:
o Joey’s Culturally Responsive Student Transition Presentation showed many of his
interests and how he views himself as a student. Joey wants to be a dad when he
grows up and wants to live in California. Joey says that his strengths include
eating, doing puzzles, playing games, singing and dancing. He likes playing
different games and superheroes. He likes it when his mom and his teacher helps
him with his work. In addition, Joey says he needs to focus at his desk, use his
behavior chart and his bear hug to be successful. He says that he is good at
reading words on his worksheets, tracing, writing in his journal, and playing math
games. He says that he needs help with spelling, forming his letters, and math
homework problems.
 Strengths:
o Joey’s academic strengths include his ability to accurately copy, write, and trace
anything that is given to him. Along with his fine motor skills, Joey is able to give
all his energy when he is determined to learn something new, and will not stop
until he has mastered that skill. Joey also excels when it comes to his attitude not
only towards learning but also towards his peers. He has friendly, kind, and funny
personality. He is great at sharing and he loves to spend time playing and talking
with his peers. Joey’s energy stands out in the classroom. His love to participate
in class discussions is another strength because other students also love listening
and contributing to his comments. Joey is a wonderful addition to the classroom.

 Problem Identification and Decisions About Behaviors:

o Joey’s academic strengths include his ability to accurately copy, write, and trace
anything that is given to him. Along with his fine motor skills Joey is able to give
all his energy when he is determined to learn something new, and will not stop
until he has mastered that skill. Joey also excels when it comes to his attitude not
only towards learning but also towards his peers. He has friendly, kind, and funny
personality. He is great at sharing and he loves to spend time playing and talking
with his peers. Joey’s energy stands out in the classroom. His love to participate
in class discussions is another strength because other students also love listening
and contributing to his comments. Joey is a wonderful addition to the classroom.
 Safety Plan (group example): This group safety plan was completed for a kindergarten
student named Ike. The reason for completing the safety plan was that Ike was verbally
threatening his classmates, made threats of suicide, and committed acts of violence to
other students and faculty members. The trigger phrase occurred when Ike did not want
to participate in an activity or when he missed recess with his friends. For the escalation
phase, an instructor will use a calm voice and give Ike a choice of activities. This way he
feels as though his opinion is valued and he can participate in an activity he enjoys. Also,
an instructor can modify Ike’s assignment so he does not feel overwhelmed by his
workload. A teacher can also give Ike a special job or task to complete so he can feel
special and valued within the classroom. Our team developed three steps during the

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crisis phase. The first step involves Ike asking to take a break with the teacher or
another trusted adult. If this occurs, the teacher will have another trusted adult cover her
classroom while she leaves the room. Next, if Ike refuses to leave the classroom then the
teacher will have the rest of the students leave the room to make sure everyone remains
safe. Finally, if Ike is at risk of harming himself or others a teacher will restrain him
while another trusted adult calls Ike’s parents. To begin the recovery phase, the teacher
will have several tools to use. These include allowing Ike to take a break, allowing Ike to
play a card game (especially his favorite Uno), reviewing rules and instructions with Ike
before re-entering the classroom, and providing continuous positive feedback for Ike
throughout class.

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 Summary of Student Support Team Meetings

 SST #1: Our multidisciplinary team met on 9/27/18 to discuss the student’s behaviors.
As a team, we identified different roles each person would take during the meeting
including: recorder, presenter, facilitator, time-keeper, and observer. During the meeting
we identified three problem behaviors, which included eloping, hands-on, and shouting
out. The intervention we decided upon during the meeting was a flexible seating tool and
a behavior chart. I will use a schedule analysis to track the student’s behavior over the
next three weeks.

 SST #2: Our multidisciplinary team met on 10/18/2018 to discuss the student’s progress,
behavior, and other elements of home and school life. To begin the meeting, we
reviewed the information that was discussed in the previous SST meeting. This
information included the three problem behaviors – eloping, hands-on, and shouting out –
and that his areas of growth are primarily behavioral. Our team then looked at the
student’s environment and how this could be improved if needed.

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Within the classroom we found there was a good amount of classroom space and active
engagement. Also, there were fair established procedures and routines, supervision and
monitoring, and a class-wide positive behavior support system. After looking at the student’s
classroom environment we analyzed his quality of life in and out of the classroom.

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We then discussed which elements of these quality of life shortcomings could be addressed in a
PBIS plan. We determined that instructors need to ensure they have a consistent dialogue with
parents, so everyone is aware of Joey’s progress and understands how to support Joey. Also, we
determined that adults at school could be more supportive by checking in with him more often to
ensure that his supports are effective.

We then discussed Joey’s academic strengths and liabilities, his communication, and his medical,
health, and sensory concerns. Joey’s academic strengths include his fine motor skills,
engagement in group lessons, and his consistent positive attitude. Joey’s academic liabilities
include getting out of his seat often, shouting out during whole-group instruction, and wanting
attention from the teacher. In regards to communication, Joey speaks to communicate, but does
regularly have sessions with the speech pathologist in order to improve his enunciation. We
noticed that when Joey has trouble communicating with his peers or teachers about what he

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wants and needs, negative behaviors often occur. Joey does not have any serious medical,
health, or sensory concerns.

We then discussed which behaviors would be targeted for intervention, preliminary hunches
about the behaviors, which intervention would be used, and how this intervention would be
tracked. We determined that in completing these behaviors Joey wanted attention. The first
behavior we targeted was eloping. We determined to give Joey weighted pillows in the shape of
bear arms to hug him while he sits at his chair to prevent him from eloping. We determined that
in addition to wanting attention another purpose of this behavior could be to exert energy. Also,
we targeted hands on behavior. Joey was given a social story to read before going to lunch,
which reminded him to keep his hands and feet to himself. These interventions would be tracked
with an interval data collection sheet.

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 SST #3: Our multidisciplinary team met on 11/18/2018 to discuss and create hypothesis
statements about the student’s behavior and a plan moving forward. We first looked at
the interval data collection sheet with data from three weeks of using the interventions.

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We then discussed the duration and frequency of the behaviors.

We then completed an ABC chart to further discuss the causes of the behaviors and their
purpose.

We then discussed which behavior supports would be implemented to help Joey. We decided to
use a book of pictures to help Joey learn how to behave in the classroom. These pictures also
provided Joey with alternative behaviors to use when he feels like eloping, shouting out or
putting hands on other students.

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 At the end of the meeting we determined that it would be best to track progress by using
interval tracking again.

 SST #4

Our multidisciplinary team met on 12/6/2018 to discuss the student’s behavior and create a
positive behavior support plan for a student. We completed this for a student named Ike. His
areas of concern included leaving the room without permission, disrupting the lesson, and not
listening to adults at school. Then, we made hypotheses concerning these behaviors based on
previous SST meetings and data collected.
 Student will leave the room without permission when student is disengaged. Ike seems to leave
when he is bored or when he just wants to leave the classroom
 When the student interacts with his dad or has a weekend with his dad, the student seems to
become more frustrated. Ike needs more redirection and behavioral issues after he has spent the
time with his dad. Ike needs more break time and more time to relax after a weekend spent with
his dad.
 Ike is likely to refuse participation be disruptive when there is much group instruction, when he is
bored, or when he wants attention from his peers.

We then discussed goals for increasing desired behaviors and decreasing negative behaviors.

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Next, we discussed how we as educators can alter the antecedents so that Ike does not engage in
negative behaviors. The goal of this was to determine how we could change in order to allow Ike
to be more successful in his learning environment.

Finally, we used the Step 4 worksheet to plan how to ensure that these changes will be
implemented and tracked. We made sure that every member of the team had adequate
information about this plan and had the resources to implement it. Also, we made sure that Ike
was able to communicate with all team members about this plan.

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 Critical Reflection on Process
 What went well?

Throughout this process, I have had a positive relationship with Joey. He has trusted me since
very early in the semester, so I was able to track behaviors and implement interventions easily.
He did not ever argue with me about an intervention. This relationship made this process run
more smoothly. In addition, I had great relationships with my cooperating teacher and Joey’s
homeroom teacher. They trusted my judgment to implement various behavior interventions, and
always answered any questions I had throughout the process. I felt as though I could go to them
at any time, and I greatly appreciated having this support system.

 What do I need to do to ensure things go better next time?

Next time, I would work on communication with the child’s family. Since I was only in the
classroom two days a week, I felt nervous asking Joey’s parents for an interview during the
beginning of my placement. Therefore, I asked my cooperating teacher and Joey’s homeroom
teacher numerous questions about Joey’s family life and parents before talking to Joey’s parents
myself. In the future, I will be more confident in my abilities to communicate with parents and
doubt myself less. I know I can effectively collaborate with parents and families, so I need to be
more direct and confident in my abilities. In addition, I wish that I had been able to track Joey’s
behaviors five days a week to get better data. With practicum placements, I was only able to
track Joey twice a week, and my group members filled the gaps of some other days. However, I
think more data would have made this report more thorough and valid. Next time, I will make
sure to collect more data when implementing behavior interventions.

 How will this impact my teaching?

Completing this Holistic Behavior Analysis Report has made me more aware of all students who
need behavior interventions within a classroom. Numerous students within Joey’s classroom
needed various behavior interventions, such as behavior charts, which I helped support
throughout the semester. The homeroom teacher felt overwhelmed with the amount of students
who needed these supports, so she did not always properly provide students with these
interventions. However, as an education specialist practicum student I made sure to support all
learners within the classroom, and will continue to do this as effectively as I can in the future.
Homeroom teachers have a multitude of students within their classroom, so it is understandable
that they can feel overwhelmed at times, but I must make sure that this does not mean that
students do not receive the proper supports they need to succeed. Also, as an education specialist
I must be sure to confidently use my voice in SST meetings. Each member of the team provides
a unique insight due to their background, so it is vital that each person shares his/her opinions
when making decisions. As an education specialist, I will have immense knowledge on special
education interventions and my students, so I will be sure to speak up and be heard during these
meetings.

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