A story about positive behavior support (PBS) by Stephanie Hoey, reporter for NBCConnecticut, was picked up by MSNBC. The story features an elementary school in Connecticut as an illustration of PBS and provides a brief-but-credible glimpse into use of the components of PBS. The local angles for the coverage are the school and the work of George Sugai, of the University of Connecticut, in developing and disseminating PBS methods.
A UConn education professor developed a teaching approach now used widely at schools across the country. Dr. George Sugai’s system is called Postivial Behavior Support or PBS.
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Professor Sugai co-directs a national PBS Center funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Currently, the center works with about 9,000 schools across the country. But he estimates about four or five times that number of schools use this approach.
Link to Ms. Hoey’s story or go here to watch the video. To learn more about PBS, visit the US National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports and find contacts who know about PBS in other US states.
Saul Axelrod, who has conducted lots of research about implementing and refining procedures for managing behavior in classrooms, presented a workshop on “Classroom Management Problems and Procedures for Solving Them” at the National Autism Conference in 2007. It’s available as free video.
This is good fundamental presentation. Download it. Watch it. Recommend it to others. Flash of the electrons to Regina at the PT site for reminding me of this. http://wpsu.org/ondemand/streams/Session_7108022.html
Over on CNN Linda Saether is a story about Rick Schroeder of Autism Partnership applying behavior analytic teaching principles to help Marissa Bilson and her family manage behavior problems. Marissa—an early adolescent who has Autism—screams while jumping up and down, bites herself, takes things that do not belong to her, and behaves ritualistically.
Although Ms. Saether does not report on the research basis for it and actually undercuts it’s effectiveness (ABA is “one kind of approach,” “there are a variety of programs out there,” etc.), the story illustrates the value of the clear rules that are consistently implemented. I’ll be using this one in class.
Here’s the link. Learn more about Autism Partnership. Note that Harold Doherty of Facing Autism in New Brunswick has covered this story, too.
Over on Precision Teaching Rick Kubina has added another podcast to his published collection: It’s an interview with Hank Pennypacker (from 31 January 2009). Professor Pennypacker has been teaching about the appropriate analysis of behavior for many years, influencing many folks in positive ways. When you take the opportunity to jump over to Precision Teaching and look at the list of interviews, you may want to snag others, too.
