Aloha Notes: My career as a School Psychologist in Hawaii

SELF STIMULATING BEHAVIORS AT SCHOOL.  Underwear Matters.  Trust me on this.  Over the past couple years, I have had numerous teachers shyly approach me for consultation, looking for strategies on for their students who are engaging in "self-stimulation" during class, at school, and even on field-trips. In one case, just finding the appropriate pair of underwear solved the problem. Basketball shorts and no underwear was not working out so well... but once discussed, it was a trail and error and a simple fix.  Many times, the teachers biggest concern is how to discuss the problem with the parent. Sometimes the behavior is suspected but not as obvious... But it is always better to have a conversation with the parent as soon as possible. To ignore the issue can be extremely problematic and can create habits that later will be difficult to break.  I think it is important to be mindful of parents cultures when bringing up the topic with them. Initially, it'...

An  Initial Line of Inquiry (ILI)  is used to collect information for a  Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)   I've had many parents request an online or electronic version of the questionnaire that I send home for a behavior assessment. Here you go ! Every behavior has a purpose or function for it, usually to either get something or avoid something.  Examples: You begin to talk on the phone and your child starts calling you over and over.  The function of this behavior would be to get your attention.  Or a student repeatedly disrupts the class when the teacher asks them to take out their math books.  He is then reprimanded and sent out of the room.  The function of this behavior could be to avoid the classwork. So, a functional behavior assessment or FBA is a series of structured questions designed to discover the reasons behind certain target behaviors (usually undesirable ones) and develop a behavior pl...