Leading and Caring for Children

Initiate a Program

It will take some time to brainstorm all the possible strategies before deciding what to do.

Now we examine what choices we have in changing the A-B-C pattern. Once we have the entire menu spread before us, we can decide what to try.

The Change the Consequences page presents a menu of the six alternatives I have found for a new consequence to replace the current consequences in the A-B-C pattern. From my own trials and tribulations I have much I want to say about the way each is implemented effectively. Each alternative has its own page, which makes navigation a challenge. Each page has link at the bottom, just as this one does, which takes you through the sequence of the six possibilities.

The Pick a New Good Behavior to Reward page offers only two choices, generating a list of possibilities for each category. The operational principle: Behaviors followed by pleasant consequences are more likely to happen again. There are few statements about sentient beings that are provably true — this is one of them.

The Change the Antecedents page may surprise you when you grasp the power of constructing a space where the behavior problem simply disappears within a short time. This seems to be an art form.

The Continue to Measure page re-introduces the true stories of the three example children of the A-B-C Pattern page.  Three pages open through this portal showing the entire protocol on three children in decreasing ages, 5, 4, 2.5 — SandyJeremyCharlie.

It all pulls together with the Management Protocol Form PDF , which thousands have found helpful in thinking all of this through with families, staff, and administrators.

Finally, the Using Rewards Effectively page brings up that most misunderstood of ideas: rewards. Alfie Kohn, the master thinker about the misuse of rewards, may or may not agree with my take on this. I base how I think, not on academic research or theory, but on my experiences with hundreds of children. The trick is to never fix a reward in place. All along the child’s path to develop more productive choices the rewards the facilitator arranges change, too. Yes, one can be punished by rewards, but not if they fade out so fast one never gets hooked.

 



Navigation Links

EXAMINE THE BEHAVIOR

  1. Specify the behavior exactly
  2. Take a before measure
  3. Identify the A-B-C pattern

INITIATE A PROGRAM

  1. Change the consequences
  2. Pick a new behavior to reward
  3. Change the antecedents
  4. Continue to measure

Examples of SandyJeremy, and Charlie

Next Change Consequences