Behavior Intervention Plan

Amy Zimmermann
St. Bonaventure University

LITERATURE REVIEW:
The way adolescents sleep significantly affects their cognitive functioning, behavior, and
emotions. Because teenage years are a time of important physical, cognitive, emotional, and
social change, sleep is a primary aspect of adolescent development
Adolescents usually obtain much less sleep than school-age children, from 10 hours
during middle childhood to less than 7.5-8 hours by age 16. A consistent finding in the research
of this topic is that teenagers like to stay up late. One survey found that 60% of the eleventh and
twelfth graders "enjoy staying up late." Another large survey study found that 45% of tenth to
twelfth graders go to bed after midnight on school nights, and 90% go to bed later than midnight
on weekends (Wolfson & Carskadon, 1998).
A distinction can be made between sleep disorders and sleep problems. If a parent or
guardian suspects that their child may have a sleep disorder, testing can be done. Parental
questionnaires, student surveys, sleep diaries, and objective measurements such as
polysomnography, actigraphy, and the Multiple Sleep Latency Test are all used to diagnose sleep
disorders. Once diagnosed, children may receive interventions such as behavioral management,
nutritional supplements, change in diet, and medications. Many children though, fall short of the
clinical range and interventions become the responsibility of the parent (Buckhalt, 2013).
Sleep disorders and problems affect the cognitive functioning of all children. For
children with disabilities who have a difficult time learning to begin with, a lack of sleep can be
detrimental to academic performance and have a huge impact on their social, emotional, and
behavioral functioning. According to a wide body of research, a substantial proportion of
children who have learning problems do have sleep problems. The most common disabilities
associated with sleep disorders and problems are intellectual disability (ID), ADHD, and ASD
(Buckhalt, 2013).
In one large survey, students reported that less total sleep time was associated with
daytime fatigue, inability to concentrate in school, and a tendency to doze off in class. Persistent
sleep problems have also been associated with learning difficulties throughout the school years.
Students with short school-night sleep reported increased levels of depressed mood, daytime
sleepiness, and problematic sleep behaviors in comparison to longer sleepers (Wolfson &
Carskadon, 1998).

Explanations for the lack of sleep include early school start times, late afternoon/evening
jobs and activities, academic and social pressures, and a physiological sleep requirement that
does not decrease with puberty. Low SES is also associated with sleep problems (Buckhalt,
2013).
Wolfson and Carskadon (1998), hypothesize that if adolescents had the opportunity to
obtain more sleep each night, they would experience fewer fluctuations in daily mood and fewer
behavioral difficulties. Participation in academic subjects would increase as would student
grades.
Addressing sleep problems and disorders is a challenging task for teachers. Because
sleep occurs at home, there is often little teachers can do to influence sleep behaviors. Sleep
education has been employed by researchers to determine its effect on the sleeping pattern of
students. In one study, a group of adolescent students participated in a randomized control piolet
study to determine the effects of sleep education on sleep duration. All participants were given a
sleep survey prior to any intervention. Sleep habits for both groups were recorded for fifteen
weeks. During that time, students were required to keep a sleep diary. They were to record
time to bed, lights out, time fell asleep, and time awake. Time fell asleep and wake
time were used to calculate average daily sleep hours per night. For the first five weeks of the
fifteen week study, an intervention group was provided with five sessions (one per week) of
sleep education.
Results from the study indicated prolonged sleep duration for the intervention group, but
it occurred over weekends. Some participants reported the program to be difficult to understand,
boring, and not entertaining. Students required constant reminders to complete their sleep
diaries.

Finding a teacher to participate was difficult as was training. Time constraints, existing

curriculum delivery requirements, and limited staff were also problems (Kira, Maddison, Hull,
Blunden, & Olds, 2014).
It is widely accepted that sleep problems negatively impact the behaviors and cognitive
function of students. If problems are addressed, students may see a decrease in problem
behaviors and an increase in academic performance. Interventions are difficult for teachers to
carry-out as sleep is an at-home function.

DISCUSSION:
The articles cited above were useful in providing background information on typical
sleep habits of teenagers and how those habits may affect daytime functioning. The student with
whom Im working fits into a large population of teenagers who do not get enough sleep, dont
have healthy sleeping habits, and follow an irregular sleep pattern. As predicted, poor sleep
effects academic performance as well as behavior and mood. Lack of sleep is obviously
effecting the target students daytime functioning. It is negatively impacting his academic
performance, social skills, behaviors, and mood. He student spends much of his time in the
classroom with his head down on his desk and his eyes closed. If he is asked to pick his head up,
he will do so, but responds to verbal prompting with groans, growls, a raised voice, and short
answers.
The student does have a disability. He is diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorder
and intellectual disability. I am unaware and unqualified to speculate on whether he may have a
sleep disorder or problem. Intellectual disability, ASD, and ADHD are the most common
disorders to be associated with sleep disorders. He also comes from a low SES home. Smaller
homes, poor ventilation and heating, more noise pollution, exposure to secondhand smoke, and
poor parental enforcement of bedtimes are often components of lower SES and have all been
suggested as factors of poor sleep in children.
The authors provided limited suggestions on how to help children with sleep problems.
Suggestions that were offered are either unrealistic for me to try with this student or proven
ineffective to begin with.
INTRODUCTION:
John is a 17 year old student at the Ere 1 Boces Work Readiness Program at Maryvale
High School in Cheektowaga, NY. The program is designed for students with disabilities whose
instructional needs cannot be appropriately served by their local school district. Erie 1 BOCES
Work Readiness program at Maryvale offers 40 special education students a center-based
program focused on work readiness skills. The students, in grades 9-12, travel to Maryvale from
their home school districts. The goal of the Work Readiness program is to allow students to
practice job skills that interest them to ultimately seek out and maintain employment post high
school.

Johns classroom consists of eight students, a special education teacher, a classroom aide,
two personal aides, and one personal nurse. John does not have a personal aide or a nurse. The
students in his class range from 17-21 years of age. All students have identified disabilities and
all have an IEP.
The school day is from 8:30 to 3:30. Academic instruction and practice totals 1.5 hours
per school day. John works in the community two days a week for a total of 4.5 hours. On days
that John does not work, he attends a pre-vocational class for .75 hours a day.
DEFINITION OF BEHAVIOR:
Target Behavior - The student does not pay attention in class.
Operational Definition - The student tucks his knees in his shirt, puts his head down, closes his
eyes, and becomes unresponsive.
STAFF INTERVIEW:
An interview was conducted with a classroom aide who has known the students for several years.
Johns teacher is on maternity leave and unable to answer questions at the time of this
intervention plan.
The target behavior of this project is the student does not pay attention in class. According to the
interview with the classroom aide, this has long been a problem. John chooses not to participate
if the task doesnt interest him. When he enters the classroom and sits down, he immediately
tucks his knees in his shirt, puts his head down, closes his eyes, and becomes unresponsive.
However, when he is in gym, art, music, or pre-vocational John is engaged. The classroom aide
feel that he is disinterested in school, does not have an enforced bedtime, and has gotten into a
pattern of this behavior in the classroom. Aside from the target behavior, John is helpful, kind,
and capable. He responds well to verbal and visual positive reinforcement. John participates in
thera-play biweekly with a psychologist. This is a time that the whole class sits at a round table
and practices social skills.
STUDENT INTERVIEW:
John was willing to participate in the interview, but seemed to be under the impression that he
was in some kind of trouble. He stated that he liked school. Gym, music, lunch, and non-

academic activities were his favorite things to do. When asked what he likes least about school,
John was unable or unwilling to provide an answer. He kept restating thisngs that he liked about
school. He knew a lot of rules to follow that were specific to his own behavior. No grunting
No getting mad. Dont talk about guns. He said that he does get in trouble at school. When
asked why, he said because he didnt do a good job at the community center. He had recently
been removed from the community because of problem behaviors. The student was asked
specifically about the target behavior. John said he sleeps because He just needs to relax.
BASELINE DATA:
A Duration Recording Form and Behavior Rating Scale (Teacher) were used. The Duration
Recording for was chosen because the length of time is a measurable factor in the problem
behavior. Results from Behavior Rating Scale can help identify possible antecedents,
consequences, reinforcers, or possible functions of the behavior.
John spend most of the class engaging in the target behavior. 26 out 0f 35 minutes. He was
asked to pick up his a head a few times to answer questions, which he responded positively to,
but no interventions were given otherwise.
It is commonly accepted by the aide sin the classroom and by his principal that the student is
very tired. He does not follow a typical sleep schedule and no bedtime is enforced at home. He
has also been allowed to engage in the target behavior on a regular basis. His regular classroom
teacher does not generally intervene when he is resting at his desk.
Please see appendix B for baseline data forms.
ANALYSIS and FUNCTION:
The function of the behavior is twofold. John wants to get sleep, but engages in the target
behavior during academic lessons.
REFLECTION:
John spends much of his time during academic periods disengaged. Hell pick his head up after
several requests, only to answer a question and put it back down. If an adult is not enforcing
positive behavior, he will engage in the target behavior. I do truly feel that the student is tired.
He is not getting the sleep he needs at home, his sleep pattern is atypical, and its affecting his

behavior at school. With that being said, John is choosing to rest during academic periods as
opposed to non-academic periods.
INTERVENTION :
As stated in the literature review, interventions to address sleep problems are a difficult
undertaking for teachers. Therefore strategies in this section will address the target behavior and
its operational definition, but may not address the function which is: John needs more sleep.
Preventative actions Teacher expectations will be altered for the student to improve the chances
that he will make positive choices and not resort to the inappropriate behavior. This will be
accomplished by:

Clearly stating expectations. (When I am teaching, your feet need to stay on the group
and your head needs to stay up. When we are speaking to each other, you need to be

looking at me.)
Proving a visual checklist. The student is expected to keep his head up and participate
during three separate academic periods. After each period, he record his behavior by use
of a highlighter. This will be brought to the office at the end of the week.

Response strategies If, in spite of the preventative actions above, the undesirable behavior
reoccurs, the student will lose out on privileges.

Short term: If the student receives less than 2/3 positive marks on his behavior chart in
one day, he will not be able to participate in a favored activity at the end on the day (iPad,

Legos)
Long term: If the students receives less than 10/15 positive marks on his behavior chart
for the week, he will not return to work in the community after Spring break. He will be
required to stay in the classroom and attempt a better report for the next week.

INTERVENTION DATA:
Please see appendix C.

REFLECTION:
I feel great about the intervention. The student is responding well. When I collected
baseline data, the student was engaging in the target behavior for 26 out of 35 minutes during
academic instruction. As I continue to carry out the intervention, John is engaging in the target
behavior for only 2-4 minutes out of a 35 minutes academic lesson. As stated previously, the
function of the behavior is not being addressed through this intervention. It is not feasible to
carry out this type of intervention in Johns home. And he does rest during breaks and lunch
now.
By providing John with clearly communicated expectations, a visual chart on his desk,
positive reinforcement, and feedback from the building principal, his target behavior has
decreased during academic lessons dramatically. It is an excellent fit for the student as it has
been tailored to fit his unique learning style, interest, and personality. I would not modify this
intervention. It is not time consuming and has shown positive results.

References
Buckhalt, J. A. (2013). Sleep and cognitive functioning in children with disabilities. Council for
Exceptional Children, 79(4), 391-405.
Kira, G., Maddison, R., Hull, M., Blunden, S., & Olds, T. (2014). Sleep education improves the
sleep duration of adolescents: A randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Clinical
Sleep Medicine, 10(7), 787-792. doi:10.5664/jcsm.3874
Shepherd, T. L., & Linn, D. (2014). Behavior and classroom management in the multicultural
classroom: Proactive, active, and reactive strategies. Los Angeles: Sage.
Wolfson, A. R., & Carskadon, M. A. (1998). Sleep schedules and daytime functioning in
adolescents.Child Development, 69(4), 875. doi:10.2307/1132351

APPENDICES
(A.1) CLASSROOM AIDE INTERVIEW
QUESTION
When is John successful during the school
day?

What is working?
What areas of difficulty does the student have
During which activities do these occur?
Does the student currently receive any other
support in the school?
Why do you think the student is experiencing
difficulty?
What would be a priority for you with this
student at this point in school?

(A.2) STUDENT INTERVIEW

AIDE RESPONSE
Hes successful when helping others. He looks
out for people, hell move chairs out of the
way, hold doors, help carry lunches. He
participates well in gym when hes on. He
usually does a good job in pre-voc. He liked
art, but we dont do it anymore.
Positive reinforcement. Verbal and printouts.
Hounding him does not work.
Staying awake, sitting properly.
Sitting, classwork, lectures.
He receives support from a psychologist in a
group setting.
Maybe sensory issues for sitting. I dont think
mom enforces bedtime at home. He stays up
all night. Hes disinterested in school.
Get a job after high school. Stay on task
without losing interest, misbehaving, or
spitting.

QUESTION
What do you think of school?
What do you like best?

STUDENT RESPONSE
I like it. I like to go to gym.
Lunch. PBJ. I like going to the auditorium. I

Least?
What are there rules in the classroom?

like music.
Student did not provide an answer.
Dont talk about guns. No running. No getting
mad. Listen to directions. No grunting.

What do you think of them?

Dont get frustrated.

I dont know.

Do you get into trouble sometimes?

Why do you think?

Yeah.
Not do a good job at the community center.
Say no thanks.

Is work easy or hard for you?

What would make you like school better?
Do adults notice when you do a good job?

Easy
More music. Go outside for a walk.
Do a good job at pre-voc.

Why do you sleep in school?

Just got to relax.

(B.1) DURATION RECORDING FORM PRE-INTERVENTION

(B.2) BEHAVIOR RATING SCALE

(C.2) DURATION RECORDING FORM POST-INTERVENTION 1

(C.1) DURATION RECORDING FORM POST-INTERVENTION 2