Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Behavior As Communication
I presume that anyone reading this already understands the concept that all behaviors are a form of communication. The person who is striking out at you may just be saying, “No thank you, I don’t care to do that right now.” The person who is laughing and smiling may be saying, “Back up, I’m in a bi-polar swing. I’ve got a foot and I know how to use it!”
Our job, then, is to figure out what the person is communicating with their behavior. For a verbal person, that may be teaching them to be able to label their own behavior. Wouldn’t it be nice if a consumer could tell you that they are “mad” or that they are “frustrated.” It sure would make a difference how we would react to them. For the non-verbal person, wouldn’t it be nice if they could use sign language or an adaptive sign when they needed to use the restroom instead of throwing a water bottle at you.
How do we figure it out? Solid data collection helps. ABC assessments and motivational assessments and just good old “paying attention to the consumer” often give us the information we need. The problem with you labeling their behavior instead of teaching them to do it is that we may get it wrong, but since we’re pretty sure we got it, we stop looking for any other reason. I worked with a man whom staff had labeled as “angry.” It turned out that when he became assaultive, he was uncomfortable because he had to pass gas, and even though he was verbal, he was embarrassed to tell any one what was wrong. His way of dealing with the discomfort was to yell and turn over tables, etc. so that we would clear the room and then he could pass his gas. He wasn’t “mad” about anything. Once we knew what he was communicating, we could work with the behavior.
How do you teach a person to recognize and label their feelings? May I suggest the SNAP Curriculum? - you knew I was going to do that, didn’t you. In the Emotions section, there are individual curriculum for Recognizing Emotions (complete with flash cards) and Dealing With Emotions. Is this the absolute answer for all consumers? Of course not. The curriculum is a tool to use along with whatever other tools you already have. But one of the strongest tools we have is a consistent message to the consumer from all staff, all the time, and the SNAP Curriculum helps you do just that.
Our job, then, is to figure out what the person is communicating with their behavior. For a verbal person, that may be teaching them to be able to label their own behavior. Wouldn’t it be nice if a consumer could tell you that they are “mad” or that they are “frustrated.” It sure would make a difference how we would react to them. For the non-verbal person, wouldn’t it be nice if they could use sign language or an adaptive sign when they needed to use the restroom instead of throwing a water bottle at you.
How do we figure it out? Solid data collection helps. ABC assessments and motivational assessments and just good old “paying attention to the consumer” often give us the information we need. The problem with you labeling their behavior instead of teaching them to do it is that we may get it wrong, but since we’re pretty sure we got it, we stop looking for any other reason. I worked with a man whom staff had labeled as “angry.” It turned out that when he became assaultive, he was uncomfortable because he had to pass gas, and even though he was verbal, he was embarrassed to tell any one what was wrong. His way of dealing with the discomfort was to yell and turn over tables, etc. so that we would clear the room and then he could pass his gas. He wasn’t “mad” about anything. Once we knew what he was communicating, we could work with the behavior.
How do you teach a person to recognize and label their feelings? May I suggest the SNAP Curriculum? - you knew I was going to do that, didn’t you. In the Emotions section, there are individual curriculum for Recognizing Emotions (complete with flash cards) and Dealing With Emotions. Is this the absolute answer for all consumers? Of course not. The curriculum is a tool to use along with whatever other tools you already have. But one of the strongest tools we have is a consistent message to the consumer from all staff, all the time, and the SNAP Curriculum helps you do just that.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
"Getting" It Intellectually
I have had staff in the past question whether or not it is worth their time to review curriculum material with “low functioning” consumers – you know, the non-verbal person with a lower IQ who mostly just sits in a chair, not really participating in activities, just kind of watching what is going on.
The question is whether or not they are going to “get” the material intellectually.
And the answer is… I don’t know.
But why not give them the chance to decide that for themselves. Why don’t we assume that they do get it… or that they at least get some of it. The SNAP Curriculum isn’t designed to be used as a lecture series - I’d fall asleep myself if someone just sat and read it to me.
The material can be used as a review in the morning before you go out, while you are sitting waiting for the transit bus to show up, but mostly it is designed to be used casually while out in the community and you come across a “teaching moment.” If a consumer in your group is working on a stealing behavior, then review the Stealing curriculum while you are sitting on a bench before going in a store. Talk to your whole group. Just hold a casual conversation using what you can remember of the written material. Add your own life experience, but always use the base information provided. That way, the consumers are getting a consistent message. Reviewing is good, practice is better.
Never exclude someone from hearing any information just because you think they might not “get it.”
If you are working with a consumer 1:1 and they have a behavior of bolting away from you, then while you are walking, review the Personal Safety curriculum so they hear why it may not be safe to take off running across the street. Do this whether you believe they are “getting” it or not. The program isn’t about you. Always assume that they are hearing some part of what you are saying. And always be consistent with what you are saying to them. The really important part here is to actually practice what you are talking about. No, they are not going to “get” it if you don’t practice the skill in a natural environment.
That’s the nice thing about the SNAP Curriculum. Even if you are on vacation and another staff is working with the consumer, they are still hearing the same consistent base information – and the material can be presented in short pieces while in natural settings.
Is the consumer “getting “ it? I don’t know. Is their behavior changing over time? Yes? Then, maybe so. Let’s use every tool we have to assist them.
The question is whether or not they are going to “get” the material intellectually.
And the answer is… I don’t know.
But why not give them the chance to decide that for themselves. Why don’t we assume that they do get it… or that they at least get some of it. The SNAP Curriculum isn’t designed to be used as a lecture series - I’d fall asleep myself if someone just sat and read it to me.
The material can be used as a review in the morning before you go out, while you are sitting waiting for the transit bus to show up, but mostly it is designed to be used casually while out in the community and you come across a “teaching moment.” If a consumer in your group is working on a stealing behavior, then review the Stealing curriculum while you are sitting on a bench before going in a store. Talk to your whole group. Just hold a casual conversation using what you can remember of the written material. Add your own life experience, but always use the base information provided. That way, the consumers are getting a consistent message. Reviewing is good, practice is better.
Never exclude someone from hearing any information just because you think they might not “get it.”
If you are working with a consumer 1:1 and they have a behavior of bolting away from you, then while you are walking, review the Personal Safety curriculum so they hear why it may not be safe to take off running across the street. Do this whether you believe they are “getting” it or not. The program isn’t about you. Always assume that they are hearing some part of what you are saying. And always be consistent with what you are saying to them. The really important part here is to actually practice what you are talking about. No, they are not going to “get” it if you don’t practice the skill in a natural environment.
That’s the nice thing about the SNAP Curriculum. Even if you are on vacation and another staff is working with the consumer, they are still hearing the same consistent base information – and the material can be presented in short pieces while in natural settings.
Is the consumer “getting “ it? I don’t know. Is their behavior changing over time? Yes? Then, maybe so. Let’s use every tool we have to assist them.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Age Appropriate?
We often see community members talk to and treat our adult consumers like children. Unfortunately, sometimes we see our staff members doing the same thing. And it kills me to see a parent do it. I am often asked, “What’s wrong with that? The consumer likes it.”
Are you seriously asking me why it is wrong to treat a 50-year-old man like a 5-year-old child? We are living with a generation of adults with developmental disabilities who have been treated as children their whole lives. These adults now don’t even have the perception of themselves as adults. Where is any motivation for them to act as adults? If we have few expectations for them, how can we be surprised when they “live up to” the expectations we do have? If the general public sees us treating them as children in the community, why shouldn’t they do the same? We are modeling behavior when we are in the community with consumers.
When one of your adult friends falls down, do you run over and say, “Oh, you fell down. Did you get a boo-boo?”
Never assume that an adult with a developmental disability prefers toys and games unless they have been presented with an array of age appropriate options and have been rewarded for their acceptance (reinforcement). Would the 50-year-old man who carries a teddy bear feel comfortable carrying a backpack? Is it the bear or just the comfort of holding “something?” When community members see him carrying a teddy bear, what are they to think… “Oh, look at the retarded boy with his bear. Isn’t it nice that he has staff people to care for him.” That community member just dug the hole a little deeper for the consumer.
Please, just because a person acts out a behavior at a 5-year-old developmental level doesn’t mean that they are 5 years old. It means that they haven’t been taught the communication skills to act any differently. How do we teach a person about respect if we don’t respect them? Our job is to teach them the skills to act out their behavior in a socially acceptable manner more appropriate for their actual age (replacement behavior).
Always remember that our job is not to stop “bad” behaviors, but to teach replacement behaviors. Those replacement behaviors should be age appropriate.
OK, this is all well and good to say, but how do we teach people age appropriate skills? That’s why we created the SNAP Curriculum. It was specifically designed to show new or inexperienced staff people how to address issues in an age appropriate manner for adults. There is lots of curriculum out there written for children, but no so much for adults. Let’s address adult issues in an age appropriate forum and an age appropriate manner and I guarantee that you will be surprised at the results.
Are you seriously asking me why it is wrong to treat a 50-year-old man like a 5-year-old child? We are living with a generation of adults with developmental disabilities who have been treated as children their whole lives. These adults now don’t even have the perception of themselves as adults. Where is any motivation for them to act as adults? If we have few expectations for them, how can we be surprised when they “live up to” the expectations we do have? If the general public sees us treating them as children in the community, why shouldn’t they do the same? We are modeling behavior when we are in the community with consumers.
When one of your adult friends falls down, do you run over and say, “Oh, you fell down. Did you get a boo-boo?”
Never assume that an adult with a developmental disability prefers toys and games unless they have been presented with an array of age appropriate options and have been rewarded for their acceptance (reinforcement). Would the 50-year-old man who carries a teddy bear feel comfortable carrying a backpack? Is it the bear or just the comfort of holding “something?” When community members see him carrying a teddy bear, what are they to think… “Oh, look at the retarded boy with his bear. Isn’t it nice that he has staff people to care for him.” That community member just dug the hole a little deeper for the consumer.
Please, just because a person acts out a behavior at a 5-year-old developmental level doesn’t mean that they are 5 years old. It means that they haven’t been taught the communication skills to act any differently. How do we teach a person about respect if we don’t respect them? Our job is to teach them the skills to act out their behavior in a socially acceptable manner more appropriate for their actual age (replacement behavior).
Always remember that our job is not to stop “bad” behaviors, but to teach replacement behaviors. Those replacement behaviors should be age appropriate.
OK, this is all well and good to say, but how do we teach people age appropriate skills? That’s why we created the SNAP Curriculum. It was specifically designed to show new or inexperienced staff people how to address issues in an age appropriate manner for adults. There is lots of curriculum out there written for children, but no so much for adults. Let’s address adult issues in an age appropriate forum and an age appropriate manner and I guarantee that you will be surprised at the results.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Staff Turnover
For some reason, the people who control the purse strings have decided that working with adults with developmental disabilities is an “entry level” job. Oh, really? At our agency, this “entry level” job entails not only things like being responsible for the safety of adults with no street safety skills in the community, but also identifying their current skill level, identifying the needed skills, identifying how the individual learns new tasks, and communicating with (in some cases non-verbal, non-responsive) individuals in a way to make them understand the new task you are trying to teach.
Shoot, who can’t do that? Well, believe it or not, most of the 20 year old high school graduates with no job experience applicants we hire, who are willing to work for just over minimum wage, don’t come prepared with those skills. Apparently our high schools are not teaching college level psychology. And even many of the college grads don’t have any actual experience working with consumers… but they’ve read about them in books.
Oh, and it was pointed out to me that everyone may not know what a “consumer” is. Substitute the word “client” or “participant” or whatever label you are using where you live. There is someone, somewhere, with a great government job (making way over minimum wage, I’ll bet) whose entire responsibility is to think up labels so that we don’t have to label people. But I digress.
I know for a fact that our agency is not the only one with staff turnover problems. I heard someone from Canada once say that he didn’t know how it is in the U.S., but in Canada, staff turnover is on Thursdays.
Money is a problem. State funding with no rate increases in what, 13 years in California, has an effect on recruitment and retention of staff. Have you tried living on minimum wage lately? But you know what? Money may not be the only problem.
Why is staff turnover such a problem? I can think of a couple of reasons, but consistency in training for consumers is the biggest. How are consumers supposed to learn new skills if new staff are constantly coming in, unsure of their own skills, much less unsure of what the consumer has already been told. Does the consumer start from scratch every time a new staff person comes in? And we won’t even talk about teaching stranger awareness. Many consumers consider a stranger as a staff person they haven’t met yet.
So what do we do? I can’t solve your money problems, but I can tell you about the SNAP Curriculum. This curriculum was designed with new, inexperienced staff, and consumer needs in mind. There are over 200 individual curriculum for staff to look over and to facilitate discussion with consumers about. No longer will you have to worry about what the last staff may have told Bob about reading body language or dealing with rejection. It’s already written down for you. All staff can actually think about their consumers and look through the curriculum to find information that may assist them in teaching new skills… or to even identify topics that we all take for granted, but consumers don’t.
The curriculum can shorten the staff learning curve by several weeks also, which may help staff retention. Staff tend to stay longer if they feel that they have the tools needed to do their job. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to be new and told to talk to Bob about identifying emotions, and sat, wondering just what am I supposed to say? Smile, Bob. Let’s draw another picture while I try to think of something. No amount of wages can fix that. Giving me the tools to do my job can.
Making staff’s job easier to learn may well postpone that decision to go to McDonald’s to make more money.
Shoot, who can’t do that? Well, believe it or not, most of the 20 year old high school graduates with no job experience applicants we hire, who are willing to work for just over minimum wage, don’t come prepared with those skills. Apparently our high schools are not teaching college level psychology. And even many of the college grads don’t have any actual experience working with consumers… but they’ve read about them in books.
Oh, and it was pointed out to me that everyone may not know what a “consumer” is. Substitute the word “client” or “participant” or whatever label you are using where you live. There is someone, somewhere, with a great government job (making way over minimum wage, I’ll bet) whose entire responsibility is to think up labels so that we don’t have to label people. But I digress.
I know for a fact that our agency is not the only one with staff turnover problems. I heard someone from Canada once say that he didn’t know how it is in the U.S., but in Canada, staff turnover is on Thursdays.
Money is a problem. State funding with no rate increases in what, 13 years in California, has an effect on recruitment and retention of staff. Have you tried living on minimum wage lately? But you know what? Money may not be the only problem.
Why is staff turnover such a problem? I can think of a couple of reasons, but consistency in training for consumers is the biggest. How are consumers supposed to learn new skills if new staff are constantly coming in, unsure of their own skills, much less unsure of what the consumer has already been told. Does the consumer start from scratch every time a new staff person comes in? And we won’t even talk about teaching stranger awareness. Many consumers consider a stranger as a staff person they haven’t met yet.
So what do we do? I can’t solve your money problems, but I can tell you about the SNAP Curriculum. This curriculum was designed with new, inexperienced staff, and consumer needs in mind. There are over 200 individual curriculum for staff to look over and to facilitate discussion with consumers about. No longer will you have to worry about what the last staff may have told Bob about reading body language or dealing with rejection. It’s already written down for you. All staff can actually think about their consumers and look through the curriculum to find information that may assist them in teaching new skills… or to even identify topics that we all take for granted, but consumers don’t.
The curriculum can shorten the staff learning curve by several weeks also, which may help staff retention. Staff tend to stay longer if they feel that they have the tools needed to do their job. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to be new and told to talk to Bob about identifying emotions, and sat, wondering just what am I supposed to say? Smile, Bob. Let’s draw another picture while I try to think of something. No amount of wages can fix that. Giving me the tools to do my job can.
Making staff’s job easier to learn may well postpone that decision to go to McDonald’s to make more money.
