What Every Decision-maker Should Know about a Complete Behavior Management System

If your behavior management system works so well, why is your time wasted with problem behavior??Listen, if you want to drastically reduce behavioral issues, including those that are intense and require restraint, stick with me as I provide you with specific criteria for a behavior management system and what every decision-maker should know.?

There are many schools that must deal with increasingly dangerous behavior like physical aggression and even self-injurious behavior. In an earnest attempt to address these mounting issues, they seek out help with crisis management. However, they receive training from companies with a program that primarily focuses on techniques like de-escalation and restraint.

While these are certainly both critical components to managing intense and dangerous behavior, they do not represent a complete behavior management system. In fact, de-escalation and restraint should actually comprise the smallest part of the system.?Unfortunately, as a result of the narrow focus on de-escalation and restraint, dangerous behaviors occur again, and again, AND AGAIN! This leads to frustration, low morale, injury, litigation, and staff and faculty turnover; in addition, it negatively impacts relationships between the professionals and the learners and ultimately impedes the education or treatment of the individual as well as other individuals in the building.

Educators, staff, parents, and guardians desire a crisis management system that doesn’t just band-aid the situation but actually reduces the frequency and severity of dangerous behaviors and the associated issues. One that simultaneously serves to maintain relationships in a way that teaches and helps, not hurts, the educational processes.?Every school that deals with intense and dangerous behaviors should have a complete crisis management system AND fully adopt it into operations.

A complete crisis management system, grounded in behavior science, is critical for reducing dangerous behavior. Behavior science is necessary because systems are made up of a number of processes, processes made up of procedures, and procedures are ultimately made up of behaviors. A complete crisis management system has to have procedures that address ALL the components of the Cycle of Crisis. This means having procedures that effectively support the individual during stable functioning, pre-Crisis, the actual crisis, and post-crisis interactions. However, most schools are not equipped with systems or behavioral science because they are focused too much on putting out "behavioral fires" by responding with de-escalation and crisis intervention. Therefore, too little on prevention and seamless reintegration of the student back into the educational environment.

This is like sending a young child to the doctor’s office for issues associated with being overweight but failing to create an environment at home that provides regular opportunities for healthy eating and exercise. All the while simultaneously failing to educate them on the importance of eating well and working out. Oh, and then the doctor makes diet and exercise prescriptions that are not backed by rigorous research! So let’s look at the crisis cycle and its critical components as outlined by PCM.

The Cycle of Crisis identifies characteristics of an individual’s functioning before, during, and after a crisis as presented on the horizontal axis labeled “TIME.” It is this unique combination of an individual’s behavioral state, physiological state, thinking, and emotion (noted underneath the bell curve) that determines an individual's level of functioning. By understanding the individual’s functioning as represented by the vertical access, it is possible to determine the most appropriate way to interact with and to assist the individual. In this graphic, you will also note:

On the left side, an individual’s level of functioning moves from adaptive to maladaptive behavior, which is characterized by the circles that include stable functioning, levels of pre-crisis, crisis, and levels of post-crisis. Each circle, different in size, represents the relative number of management responses available at particular levels of the Cycle of Crisis. Each section of the curve, identified as Prevention, De-escalation, Crisis Intervention, and Reintegration, represents the type of management response that should be provided to an individual based on their level of functioning.

In short, the cycle of crisis graphic represents the complete and precise set of evidence-based responses based on the needs of each individual that further separates PCM from every other crisis management system in the world. Having a crisis management that has a limited set of tools and begins with de-escalation is like a mechanic who offers their services but has a toolbox with only a wrench and screwdriver in it. And to add insult to injury, they only work on cars when they are breaking down instead of providing services like oil changes and tune-ups that regularly maintain them. It just doesn’t make sense!

Knowing what to do and when to do it is critical to successful crisis management, but it’s not the final step. It’s also about the process of embedding and maintaining an effective crisis management system within your school or facility. You can’t just send people to a crisis intervention course and expect they will be prepared to meet the needs of the students or clients just because they walk away with a card or certificate that says they’ve been trained.?Be sure to check our follow-up video that will focus on moving your crisis management system from getting it to work to making it stick.

Find out More!

PCM has dozens of strategies for practitioners to choose from so they can respond in precisely the right way to safely de-escalate an individual to effectively avoid crises.??To find out more about how you can bring the Safest, Most Effective and Humane Crisis Management Solution in the world to your school or facility, check out?PCMA.com?or contact Drew Carter by email [email protected].??????

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About the Author

Specializing in human performance, coaching, and organizational leadership, Dr. Paul "Paulie" Gavoni is a behavior scientist and educator who has worked across education and human services for almost three decades. In this capacity, he has served the needs of children and adults through various positions, including COO, Vice President, Director of School Improvement, Leadership Director, Professor, Assistant Principal, School Turnaround Manager, Clinical Coordinator, Therapist, District Behavior Analyst, and Director of Progam Development and Public Relations at?PCMA. Dr. Gavoni is passionate about applying Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), or the science of human behavior, to make a positive difference in establishing safe, productive, and engaging environments that bring out the best in faculty and staff so they can bring out the best in the learners they serve. He is an active board member of the?Opioid Awareness Foundation?and?World Behavior Analysis Day Alliance.

Known for his authenticity and practical approaches, Dr. Gavoni is the host of the Top 1.5% globally ranked?Crisis in Education Podcast?and a sought-out speaker at various Educational and Behavior Analytic Conferences Internationally. He a the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling co-author of The Scientific Laws of Life & Leadership: Behavioral Karma; Quick Wins! Accelerating School Transformation through Science, Engagement, and Leadership; Deliberate Coaching: A Toolbox for Accelerating Teacher Performance; and MMA Science: A Training, Coaching, and Belt Ranking Guide. Dr. Gavoni is proud to introduce OBM and Applied Behavior Analysis to worldwide audiences through his numerous publications and his work with PCMA to create productive, safe, and positive cultures.

Beyond his work in education and human services, Dr. Gavoni is also a former Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion and a highly respected striking coach in combat sports. Coach “Paulie Gloves,” as he is known in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) community, has trained world champions and UFC vets using technologies rooted in the behavioral sciences. Coach Paulie has been featured in the books?Beast: Blood, Struggle, and Dreams a the Heart of Mixed Martial Arts, A Fighter’s Way, and the featured article Ring to Cage:?How four former boxers help mold MMA’s finest. He is also an author who has written extensively for various online magazines such as Scifighting, Last Word on Sports, and Bloody Elbow, where his?Fight Science series?continues to bring behavioral science to MMA. Finally, Paulie was also a featured fighter in FX’s highest-rated show at the time, The Toughman, and as an MMA coach in the Lifetime reality series?Leave it to Geege.