SPECIAL FOCUS
BY TRACEY CRAWFORD
Employees at park and recreation agencies
have added a new skill to their inventory:
"behavior management." It's a means of
controlling behavior so that the participant
conforms to the rules of conduct applied
by a park district in a recreation setting.
Behavior management techniques provide
the tools for recreation staff to assist
participants in achieving program objectives by increasing positive behavior and
decreasing negative behavior.
A successful behavior management
effort includes four key steps: analyzing all
steps and possible experiences of your
programs; preparing your staff; identifying
the targeted behaviors; and creating a
behavior plan. The ultimate goal is to help
individuals of all abilities actively, successfully, and safely participate in your
recreation programs.
STEP 1: Analyze the Activity
First, analyze all the steps and experiences of your program before it begins.
Identify aspects of your program from start
to finish. Take a look at environmental
influences that may affect an individual's
behavior such as the weather, the facility or
space, program structure and transitions.
Program analysis starts from the
moment the participants arrive at the
program. The moment their parents or
caregivers say "good-bye" and send them
into your pre-school classrooms. The
moment the bus pulls up in front of your
recreation facility and the participants
unload, enter your building, and eventually find their way to your after-school
program located upstairs.
Program analysis also includes the actual
activity in your program. For example, let's
look at the game of kickball. Assume there
are 18 participants in an after-school
program. Your staff has divided the kids
into two teams of nine.
How many participants play kickball?
How many people actively play kickball?
The answer is two: the pitcher and the
kicker.
So, what are the rest of the players doing
while 7-year-old Johnny takes at least three
attempts to kick the ball (excluding the
possible foul balls) before he gets one in
play and runs to first base?
Can you make an activity like kickball
more participatory? Yes!
How? Following are several quick and
simple ways to provide structure in a
program.
• Plan age-appropriate activities that
involve everyone for the entire time period.
For example, have the outfield team switch
positions every other kicker, or turn the
players waiting to kick into score keepers,
or have the waiting players become
cheerleaders.
• Do not assume all individuals have the
same skills or ability to listen and actively
participate through the entire activity. The
Americans with Disabilities Act has
provided individuals the opportunity to
participate in recreation programs in your
agencies. Be proactive and plan for all
ability levels to participate in your programs.
• Keep in mind that large spaces may be
overwhelming to many young participants.
Gymnasiums echo and have fluorescent
lighting, which tends to send most
participants into sensory overload!
• Check all equipment to see if it is in
working order, and have supplies ready
ahead of time.
• Provide structure and a schedule for
the programs that are longer than two
hours and involve several different
activities during that time frame. Use a
poster board to list the schedule for the
day. Display the poster in a visible spot for
everyone to see. Review the schedule at the
beginning of your program and refer to it
throughout. Add pictures to accommodate
any participants who are unable to read.
Do not hesitate to change your schedule
by crossing out activities and adding new
ones. The purpose of the schedule is to
give everyone a sense of comfort in
knowing what is happening next. It gives
individuals who may have difficulties
transitioning from one activity to another
advanced time to prepare for the expectations or transitions for the day. It is not
meant to be a minute-by-minute breakdown of your program.
• Avoid downtimes and delays whenever
possible. Research and anecdotal evidence
show that when kids wait, problems arise.
• Unacceptable behaviors will often
occur when participants have not been
given the chance to let out excess energy
before they are expected to sit for a period
July/August 1999 / 37
SPECIAL FOCUS
of time. A solution might be to give them
some activity choices during that time.
Limit the choices to two.
Program analysis also includes breaking
down your program activities into time
intervals. Take a few minutes to do this on
paper. Then, look at your program and
answer the following questions:
• Do you have a good balance of active
and more physical activities, as well as the
passive activities requiring more fine motor
movements such as arts and crafts?
• Have you thought about how you plan
to transition the group from one activity to
another?
• What are your transition signals? Are
they consistent? Is there too much free
time?
STEP 2: Prepare Staff
Talk to your staff about precipitating
factors, or the outside forces that affect the
participants in programs and causes them
to act out. It is important to understand
that these are factors that are beyond the
control of your staff. They can be things
like divorce, lack of sleep, missed medication, or an argument with a friend or
relative that occurred prior to the program.
We must deal with behaviors in our
programs which may be caused by outside
forces.
Get to know all of your staff and how
they relate to each other and the participants in your programs. Personal attitudes
of employees can effect the behaviors of
the participants in your programs. How is
your staff dealing with the program and
the participants as a team?
STEP 3: Identify Targeted Behaviors
A participant's inability to respond or
react appropriately to situations and
feelings may lead to difficult behaviors. A
"targeted" behavior is the behavior that
cannot be tolerated in the program.
This behavior identification process is
actually an assessment. It is best performed
by a therapeutic recreation specialist or
someone trained in behavior and disability.
It is also important to identify behavior
which may be a result of the disability
itself. For example, shouting at someone as
a result of Tourette Syndrome is not
necessarily a behavior that can be changed.
Or, pushing or hitting someone may be an
act of frustration because of an inability to
communicate for someone with a condition like autism.
When trying to pinpoint targeted
behaviors, look for reoccurring behaviors.
These behaviors are harmful to the
participant, others, or property.
It is especially important to identify
behavior which causes physical harm to
others. Some examples of prime targeted
behaviors include striking others, throwing
objects at others, kicking or biting others.
Examples of secondary targeted behaviors
include cursing or spitting at others, and
disruptive behavior. Targeted behaviors can
not be easily ignored or redirected and will
require a behavior plan to decrease the
inappropriate behaviors and increase the
more appropriate ways to communicate a
need.
It makes more sense to use your limited
resources on behaviors that pose a risk of
harm to others. Don't spend time on
shouting when that participant is also
striking others. Deal with behaviors that
can hurt someone first.
STEP 4: The Plan
Next, create a plan to manage the
targeted behaviors. Creating a behavior
plan is a simple process that works best
with a team approach. It is important to
keep the lines of communication open
between the staff, the participant and the
caregiver/parent. Always inform the
caregiver about incidents that occur during
the programs.
When and if the behavior escalates to a
targeted behavior, ask the parent or
caregiver to come to a team meeting. Ask
if there are any other individuals that they
would recommend coming to the team
meeting. Explain that a team meeting is
merely a way to brainstorm practical
solutions to manage the behaviors being
displayed by the participant. The program
leader, the recreation supervisor, and any
other staff who work with the participant
in the program should attend the meeting.
A word about confidentiality here. The
staff who work with the participant are the
only ones who need to know about this
behavior plan. SRA directors, park district
directors, commissioners, and other
employees who do not work with the
participant have no right to knowledge
about the participant or the plan. Keeping
this information on a "need-to-know" basis
is essential to effective use of the plan and
to trust-building with the family and
participant.
The first step in creating a behavior plan
is to identify and document the behaviors.
Sit down and write out the incident. Next,
with your team discuss and answer the
following questions: What is the targeted
behavior? When is the targeted behavior
exhibited? Is it before, during or following
an activity? Did the behavior occur during
a transition time or right when the
individual arrived? Why is the behavior
occurring? What was the participant trying
to communicate? What is the purpose,
needs or wants of the participant?
Plans can be very effective when
supported by thorough training of
employees. Plans can also diminish
negative or targeted behaviors. Many plans
require consistent staff to implement,
which may mean a one-to-one assignment.
However, many plans are simple enough to
implement that existing employees can
handle this duty.
Plans should call for evaluation, too.
When targeted behavior stops and starts
again, reexamine the plan. See if circumstances have changed or if the activity is
different. When a plan fails to stop
targeted behaviors, act in the best interest
of your participants. But, be prepared to
readmit a participant once he or she can
prove that behavior can be controlled.
Conclusion
Generally, participants "act out" for
three reasons. First, they have a lack of
understanding of the activity and require a
detailed explanation of the activity and
what is expected of them. Second, they do
not have the skills to do the activity and
need some program adaptations. Third,
they have a lack of interest in the activity
and may need to move to another activity
or have some quiet time.
A behavior plan is an important tool,
and it must be effective and comprehensive. For training and more information,
contact your SRA.
TRACEY CRAWFORD
38 / Illinois Parks and RecreationBehavior Management
SRA professionals are trained to help agencies work with
program participants who exhibit difficult behaviors
is the superintendent of recreation for the Northern Suburban
Special Recreation Association (NSSRA).