DISCLAIMER: We are Think:Kids certified trainers using this material in collaboration with Think:Kids. These slides were developed by Think:Kids and are

Collaborative Problem Solving &

PBIS

Hallie Carpenter & Heather JohnsonFebruary 28, 2014

DISCLAIMER: We are Think:Kids certified trainers using this material in collaboration with Think:Kids. These slides were developed by Think:Kids and are the property of Massachusetts General Hospital

When we are finished today, you should:

Understand the foundational philosophy of Collaborative Problem Solving and how it differs from traditional wisdom

Understand the concepts of Assessment (redefining the Functional Behavioral Assessment & Behavior Support Plan) through the CPS Lens◦ Problems to be solved◦ Skills to be trained

Be able to identify where and how this philosophy and assessment fit within the framework of PBIS philosophy and systems

Understand why CPS as an intervention addresses the needs of our “red zone” populations

Understand some key concepts to implementation of CPS within a PBIS district

Workshop Learning Goals

…if they can’t, something is getting in the way.

We need to figure out whatso we can help.

Kids do well if they can...

Your understanding of a problem determines your

solution ...

The most common over-simplified understanding:

Conventional Wisdom

Because of poor (passive, permissive, inconsistent) parenting, kids learn to use challenging behavior to get things (e.g., attention) or escape / avoid things (e.g., work).

The most common over-simplified solution:

Logical Solution

Motivate compliant behavior through intensive, consistent programs of rewards, punishments and ignoring.

List of Target Behaviors (priority is compliance)

Menu of Rewards and Punishments (differential reinforcement)

Currency System

Specific Components of Operant Approach

Can facilitate extrinsic motivation (to perform behaviors one is already capable of consistently performing). But …

◦ If a child does not yet have the skills to behave adaptively, adding incentives is unlikely to accomplish the mission

◦ Motivational programs make the possible more possible, but they don’t make the impossible possible

◦ Motivational programs have side-effects: The more extrinsic motivation is applied, the less intrinsic

motivation the child develops The more you motivate someone to do something, the more

you teach them that they aren’t trying hard enough

◦ It is highly likely that the child is already motivated (not to be miserable)

◦ What does motivate people intrinsically? a sense of mastery, autonomy and purpose

Limits of Operant Strategies

What Operant Strategies Can Do: - teach basic lessons / information- facilitate extrinsic motivation

What Operant Strategies Can’t Do: - help kids stay regulated (they activate the stress response)- facilitate intrinsic motivation (they actually de-motivate kids)

Limits of Operant Strategies

80%- 90% of Children

10-15%

1-5%

Positive Behavior Interventions &

SupportsWhere does CPS fit?

SUPPORT

Few

Some

All

Primary Prevention:Nurturing & Positive

Relationships***

Supportive Environments

***All students, staff,

settings

Secondary Prevention:

Social & Emotional Teaching Strategies

***Specialized Group

Systems***

Students with At-Risk Behavior

Tertiary Prevention:Intensive

Individualized Interventions

***Students with

High-Risk Behavior

PBIS provides a great structure… For teaching expectations clearly For providing consistent acknowledgement

to students for efforts (which most students respond very well to).

For reminding staff of the importance of maintaining a positive school climate and increasing the repetitions of positive staff/student interactions

For informing system wide decisions based on data (ie. Informed and thoughtful decisions)

Some people might say we are teaching skills at the Universal Level…

CPS would say we are teaching expectations, not skills at this level

Skills in the CPS Model refer to crucial cognitive thinking skills that originate in the neural networks of the brain.

Kids who have the skills to learn from clearly taught and reinforced expectations, will do so. Kids who are lagging in development in these areas will not be able to. This is where our traditional interventions are falling short for some red zone students.

Define “skill”…

What happens with the students who do not respond to the PBIS structures?

Tier 3 interventions = individualized, more intensive

Definition of Maladaptive Behavior◦ PBIS (gain or avoid) may be true but over

simplified for some Tier 3 youth◦ CPS = lagging skills

Where do the two diverge?

Both strive to provide a positive, compassionate and constructive school climate.

Both are foundationally based on improving the quality of relationship between student and staff

Both seek to help students develop the ability to experience more success in the school enviornment

What do they have in common?

Chronically challenging kids lack skill not will!

Research in neurosciences: these kids are delayed in the development of crucial thinking skills - in areas like flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem-solving -- or have significant difficulty applying these skills when they are most needed

Unconventional Wisdom:It’s a Learning Disability

Lagging skills alone do not cause challenging behavior

Challenging behaviors occur when someone is presented with a situation in which they lack the skills to handle well

It takes two to tango: the pairing of a skills deficit and a problem that those skills would be required to solve

Definition of Challenging Behavior

Incompatibility Episodes… Challenging episodes

occur when the cognitive demands being placed upon a person outstrip the person’s capacity to respond adaptively.

The Clash of the Two Forces = Unsolved Problems

Lagging Skills Demands of Environment

Unsolved Problems

Ross W. Greene, PhD

Because research has shown that challenging behavior is the byproduct of a learning disability of sorts, the emphasis should be entirely different…

◦ Assessment “raw material”: thinking skills and problems to be solved (ie, unmet expectations, precipitants), not behavior and aftermath

◦ Goals of intervention: teaching thinking skills and solving problems while building relationship, attunement and co-regulation, not teaching adults to be more effective at imposing their will and ensuring that kids have the incentive to comply

Implications

ASSESSMENT

Goal of assessment is to create two lists:1. Problems to be solved / unmet

expectations (over what is the child challenging?)

The more specific the problem to be solved, the easier it will be to: Help figure out which lagging skills explain the

problem Start a problem solving discussion

2. Skills to be trained (why is the child challenging?)

Don’t obsess. Just hypothesize for now to promote a more compassionate view and a collaborative alliance

Assessment

Assessment

Behavior

Problems to be Solved Unmet Expectations

Skills to be Developed

Challenging behavior does not occur out of the blue!

◦ Situational analysis: identify the situations in which the child tends to have the most difficulty Get specific Observable behavior is not “problem to be

solved”◦ Also known as: precipitants, antecedents,

contexts, demands, unmet expectations, setting events, triggers, issues Examples at school: circle time, recess, gym,

lunch, riding on the bus, getting down to work, staying on task, writing, etc.

Assessment: Problems to be Solved

Challenging behavior is linked with deficits in the following areas of thinking skill:◦Executive skills◦Language processing skills◦Emotion regulation skills◦Cognitive flexibility skills◦Social thinking skills

Refer to the Thinking Skills Reference Sheet

Research on Skills Deficits

Focusing on the lagging skills helps adults get on the same page to:• understand maladaptive behavior is a form of

learning disability and not intentional, goal-oriented, manipulative, or attention-seeking

• identify specific skills that need to be trained• understand why incentive programs haven’t

made things better – and won’t• understand why they need a different

approach• steer clear of dead-end explanations

Why the Emphasis on Skills?

McMinnville School District Example

Functional Behavior Assessment

&Behavior Support Plan

You can’t solve a behavior.

But you can solve a problem leading to a

behavior.

Maladaptive Behavior vs. Problem to be Solved?

When the development of the brain is delayed in certain areas, what transpire are Lagging Skills.

CPS as an intervention helps us identify where a child’s skills are, in what situations they are having a hard time applying those skills, and then how to build the skills.

CPS as an intervention helps build new neural pathways in the brain through a relational, repetitive and regulatory process.

The Brain and CPS

Establishing (teaching) clear and realistic expectations is always important – this is something that PBIS is terrific at… ◦ It is hard for a child to meet an

expectation that they aren’t aware of!If your expectations are being met, you’re

happy!If your expectations aren’t being met, you’ve

got a problem and you need a plan◦ First step is knowing what your options

are and what each option accomplishes (or doesn’t!)

Expectations

1. Pursue high priority expectations2. Reduce challenging behavior3. Solve chronic problems so they don’t

keep coming up4. Build skills, confidence (ie, intrinsic

motivation) and regulation5. Create (or restore) a helping relationship

Goals of Intervention

Plan A: Impose adult will

Plan B: Solve the problem collaboratively

Plan C: Drop it (for now, at least)

Three Plans(Your Options for responding to Problems/Unmet Expectations)

Plan A: Impose adult will

What goals ARE being pursued:◦Pursuing expectations

What goals are NOT being pursued:◦Reducing challenging behavior◦Solving problems so they don’t keep

coming up◦Building skills, confidence, attunement◦Creating (or restore) a helping

relationship

Three Plans

Plan C: Drop it (for now, at least)Being strategic – not giving in What goals ARE being pursued:

◦Reducing challenging behavior

What goals are NOT being pursued:◦Pursuing expectations◦Solving problems so they don’t keep coming

up◦Building skills, confidence, attunement◦Creating (or restore) a helping relationship

Three Plans

Plan B: Work towards solving the problem in a mutually satisfactory and realistic manner

What goals ARE being pursued:◦Pursuing expectations◦Reducing challenging behavior◦Solving problems so they don’t keep

coming up◦Building skills, confidence, attunement◦Creating (or restore) a helping

relationship

Three Plans

Goals Achieved by the Three Plans

GOALS PLAN A PLAN C PLAN BTry to get your expectation met X XReduce challenging behavior

X X

Build skills, confidence, attunement

X

Solve problems XBuild relationship X

The Plans aren’t needed unless you have an unmet expectation

Setting an expectation is not the same as imposing your will when your expectation isn’t met

Plan B is not “picking your battles” or the average of Plans A and C

Plan B is not a “technique” Plan B takes much less time than Plan A

Clearing up Misconceptions

“Any problem/unmet expectation that can be handled using Plan

A can also be handled using Plan

B.”

Important Reminder:

EMERGENCY B Takes place in the midst of challenging

behavior occurring (yet again): crisis management/de-escalation

PROACTIVE BTakes place well before challenging behavior

recurs: (crisis prevention)A prepared adult and a calm child are more

likely to understand and solve problems

Plan B Timing

1. EMPATHY: Clarify child concern

2. SHARE adult concern3. COLLABORATE: Brainstorm,

assess and choose solution

Plan B Ingredients

THE GOAL: Gather information to understand the kid’s specific concern or perspective about the problem or issue

Empathy: Clarify Child Concern

THE SCRIPT: Start with a neutral observation like …

◦ “I’ve noticed that…” ◦ “It seems like…”◦ “It looks as if …”

Followed by an inquiry:◦ “What’s up?”


THE TOOLS: Detective work to clarify concerns requires probing and drilling down using a combination of 4 tools:

◦ clarifying questions◦ educated guessing◦ reflective listening *◦ reassurance *


* calming tools

How do you know when you are READY TO MOVE ON?◦ Do you have a clear

understanding of the child’s concern or perspective?

◦ Can you envision some possible alternative solutions?

◦ Have you learned something new?





Plan B Ingredients

THE GOAL: To make sure the adult’s concern /

perspective is on the table

Share Adult Concern

THE SCRIPT: Express your concern by saying something like:

◦ “And the thing is”◦ “And my concern is”◦ “And what’s important to me is”

Share Adult Concern

THE TOOLS: clarify your concerns / perspective before initiating the conversation. What specifically are you concerned about:

◦ Health?◦ Safety?◦ Learning?◦ Impact of behavior on others?

Share Adult Concern

How do you know when you are READY TO MOVE ON?◦ You have two sets of concerns /

perspectives on table◦ Two sets of solutions = a power

struggle (“dueling solutions”)

Share Adult Concern




Plan B Ingredients

THE GOAL: to brainstorm solutions together so as to address both concerns, assess them and choose one to try

Collaborate: Brainstorm, Assess, Choose

THE SCRIPT: recap the concerns so as to summarize the problem to be solved: “I wonder if there’s a way that” or “I bet we can think of something so that … (insert both concerns). Do you have any ideas?”


THE TOOLS: Think it through together with these questions:

◦ Does it work for you? ◦ Does it work for me/us? ◦ Is it doable / realistic (think

skills!)?◦ If we do it, will it bring up any

additional concerns?◦ When can we talk again to see how

it worked?


How do you know when you are READY TO MOVE ON?- When you have a mutually

satisfactory and realistic solution

- And a follow-up plan to enact the solution and revisit the problem if the solution doesn’t work


Plan B ExampleVideo

Collaborative Problem Solving is skills training! Skills are taught most effectively through a

natural and relational process: 1. The Empathy step trains identifying, clarifying and

expressing concerns, separating affect2. Sharing adult concern trains taking another’s

perspective, recognizing impact on others and how one comes across, empathy

3. The Collaboration step trains generation of solutions, anticipating and considering likely outcomes, moving off of original idea

The entire process naturally trains organized, reflective, flexible thinking and problem solving

Skills Taught while Problems Solving

• Regardless of therapeutic modality, the best predictor of success in helping people change is the relationship between helper and helpee

• Helping is messy and takes time

• Helping is a working alliance, a two-way collaborative process, a two-person team effort

• Helping is not something you do to kids; rather, it is a process that adults and kids work through together

A Helping Relationship – Key to both PBIS & CPS Philosophies…

Effective implementation of an Evidence Based Practice

requires changing behavior of staff and climate, culture and

structures of the organization.

That’s all!

Implementation in Systems

Multi-year plan Assessment of need in district Allocation of resources Administrator Support Adequate training for staff and ongoing

coaching Philosophical shift essential to success

McMinnville School District Implementation Journey

www.thinkkids.org

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Documents

DISCLAIMER: We are Think:Kids certified trainers using this material in collaboration with Think:Kids. These slides were developed by Think:Kids and are