Maintaining Safety and Promoting Student Dignity: Recommendations for Developing Crisis Response Plans for Students Who Exhibit Escalated Behaviors

Abstract

This article is intended to provide educators with recommendations for maintaining safety and protecting student dignity when writing and implementing crisis response plans. These recommendations include reducing student agitation by recognizing and responding to early signs of escalated student behaviors, embedding choice-making opportunities, and using verbal de-escalation strategies in school settings. Each recommendation is described in practical detail using case study vignettes about students who engage in escalated behaviors.

Keywords

applied behavior analysis behavior(s)crisis prevention inclusion/integration interventions school/classroom

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

American Psychological Association. (2015). Trauma. https://www.apa.org/topics/trauma

Baer

D. M.

Wolf

M. M.

Risley

T. R.

(1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91–97. https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1968.1-91

Barnett

J. H.

Frankel

A. J.

Fisher

K. W.

(2018). Systematic review of evidence-based interventions in science for students with autism spectrum disorders. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 53(2), 128–145.

Beaudoin

Moore

(2018). Living without restraint: One parent’s reflections and recommendations for supporting at-risk individuals with developmental disabilities. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 56(3), 155–164. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-56.3.155

Bland

K. D.

Gershwin

(2023). Understanding trauma: A primer for developing a trauma-focused lens in schools. Beyond Behavior, 32(3), 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1177/10742956231200894

Cavanaugh

(2016). Trauma-informed classrooms and schools. Beyond Behavior, 25(2), 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/107429561602500206

Colvin

Scott

T. M.

(2015). Managing the cycle of acting-out behavior in the classroom (2nd ed.). Sage.

Cooper

Heron

Heward

(2020). Applied behavior analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson Education Limited.

Couvillon

M. A.

Kane

E. J.

Peterson

R. L.

Ryan

J. B.

Scheuermann

(2019). Policy and program considerations for choosing crisis intervention programs. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 30(1), 35–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044207318793158

10.

Crisis Prevention Institute. (2023). Resource guide: Top 10 de-escalation tips for educators. https://institute.crisisprevention.com/De-Escalation-Tips.html/?code=BLIT01DT&src=Blog

11.

Drifke

M. A.

Tiger

J. H.

Gifford

M. R.

(2019). Shifting preferences for choice-making opportunities through histories of differential reinforcer quality. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 52(1), 227–239. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.515

12.

Flower

McKenna

J. W.

Bunuan

R. L.

Muething

C. S.

Vega

Jr. (2014). Effects of the good behavior game on challenging behaviors in school settings. Review of Educational Research, 84(4), 546–571. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654314536781

13.

Han

(2021). Fostering students’ autonomy and engagement in EFL classroom through proximal classroom factors: Autonomy-supportive behaviors and student-teacher relationships. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 767079. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.767079

14.

Howell

Dounavi

Storey

(2019). To choose or not to choose? A systematic literature review considering the effects of antecedent and consequence choice upon on-task and problem behaviour. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 6(1), 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-018-00154-7

15.

Jolivette

Ennis

R. P.

Swoszowski

N. C.

(2017). Educator “what-ifs”: The feasibility of choice making in the classroom. Beyond Behavior, 26(2), 74–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074295617713977

16.

Keesler

J. M.

(2020). Trauma-specific treatment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A review of the literature from 2008 to 2018. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 17(4), 332–345. https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12347

17.

Kestner

K. M.

Finch

K. R.

Kolb

R. L.

(2023). Systematic review of procedures and outcomes of choice-based interventions with children. Education & Treatment of Children, 46(1), 77–106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43494-023-00088-8

18.

Koegel

Matos-Freden

Lang

Koegel

(2012). Interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders in inclusive school settings. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 19(3), 401–412.

19.

Lee

E. O.

Anson

L. E.

Tindol

K. V.

Chirimwami

(2023). How mindfulness strategies can support social and emotional learning skill development for elementary grade students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Beyond Behavior, 32(1), 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/10742956221145198

20.

Martel

Cavanaugh

(2016). Preventing and responding to student escalation: Combining de-escalation strategies and function-based support. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, Winter, 31–43.

21.

Mavandadi

Bieling

P. J.

Madsen

(2016). Effective ingredients of verbal de-escalation: Validating an English modified version of the “de-escalating aggressive behavior scale.” Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 23, 357–368. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12310

22.

Mendelson

Tandon

S. D.

O’Brennan

Leaf

P. J.

Ialongo

N. S.

(2015). Brief report: Moving prevention into schools: The impact of a trauma-informed school-based intervention. Journal of Adolescence, 43(1), 142–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.05.017

23.

O’Neill

R. E.

Albin

R. W.

Storey

Horner

R. H.

(2014). Functional assessment and program development for problem behavior: A practical handbook. Brooks/Cole Publishing.

24.

Peterson

Kern

Mathur

S. R.

Albrecht

(2020). CCBD’s position summary on the use of physical restraint procedures in educational settings. Behavioral Disorders, 46(1), 54–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0198742920933580

25.

Rafferty

L. A.

Raimondi

(2009). Understanding and preventing runaway behavior: Indicators and strategies for teachers. Beyond Behavior, 18(3), 19–25.

26.

Rajaraman

Austin

J. L.

Gover

H. C.

Cammilleri

A. P.

Donnelly

D. R.

Hanley

G. P.

(2022). Toward trauma-informed applications of behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55(1), 40–61. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.881

27.

Rajaraman

Hanley

G. P.

Gover

H. C.

Staubitz

J. L.

Staubitz

J. E.

Simcoe

K. M.

Metras

(2022). Minimizing escalation by treating dangerous problem behavior within an enhanced choice model. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15(1), 219–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00548-2

28.

Scaletta

Hughes

M. T.

(2022). Administrators’ perception of their role in school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports implementation. Journal of School Leadership, 32(3), 267–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052684620972062

29.

Simpson

J. N.

Hopkins

Eakle

C. D.

Rose

C. A.

(2020). Implement today! Behavior management strategies to increase engagement and reduce challenging behaviors in the classroom. Beyond Behavior, 29(2), 119–128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074295620909448

30.

Trader

Stonemeier

Berg

Knowles

Massar

Monzalve

Pinkelman

Nese

Ruppert

Horner

(2017). Promoting inclusion through evidence-based alternatives to restraint and seclusion. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 42(2), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796917698830

31.

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. (2019). Beyond suspensions: Examining school discipline policies and connections to the school-to-prison pipeline for students of color with disabilities. https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2019/07-23-Beyond-Suspensions.pdf

32.

Walker

V. L.

Pinkelman

S. E.

(2018). Minimizing restraint and seclusion in schools: A response to Beaudoin and Moore. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 56(3), 165–170. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-56.3.165

33.

West

S. C.

(2009). Strategies for crisis interventions and prevention-revised as a current proposal in care and individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviors. International Journal of Special Education, 24, 1–7.

34.

What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. (2023, May). Good behavior game. https://whatworks.ed.gov