I recently had a student who had a difficult time at recess while I was on sick leave. The situation was unsafe and left a lot of the staff frustrated. I sat down with our building principal and one of my colleagues to develop a plan for my friend. The plan is pretty elaborate and specific to his needs but I do feel that sharing out ideas for other special educators who may be in the same position will be helpful. I compiled 5 of my favorite tips for managing recess behaviors:
Data Collection
Data is so important. You need data to determine the function of the behavior, and therefore establish appropriate interventions. In my case, my data was important because my student was exhibiting behaviors at recess; a time when there are absolutely zero demands placed on him. When he can choose to do whatever he wants!
So, the first thing I did was grab my data. I had been taking data for a few weeks before the incident because my friend was exhibiting some defiant behaviors towards other adults (other than myself). He was refusing to listen to any adult in the school--- but myself. So I started my ABC chart and started collecting away.
My data showed me that my friend was doing the exact opposite of what was being asked of him. I realized that when people were re-directing him, they were using a strong intonation and giving him a "demand". "Sit down" would cause him to purposely NOT sit down, the demand "line up" would cause him to run the other way.
Structure the Un-structured Recess
As a special education teacher, I know that structure is so important. My classroom is structured and consistent. Typically, recess is a student's favorite part of their day but for special education students, this can be one of the most difficult parts of their day due to the lack of structure.
I created a visual support system that gave him options of different parts of the playground. This gave him control of which areas he would like to play on. I also had a student in the past that I did this for and we had to limit his choices due to physical limitations. We also used a time-timer to help him with transitioning.
For the particular student that I am working with now, this student chooses what area he is going to play in. We have divided his recess into segments, and the para that is working with him will go up to him at the end of a segment, and ask if he wants to switch or stay. He will choose, and then we continue this until recess is over.
Front Loading Expectations
I created a visual support lanyard for myself and my para to go over with him before going out to recess. We go through the lanyard and discuss how he can earn his check marks. I decided to keep the rules to four simple, all encompassing rules so that we weren't overwhelming him with too many directions. I also took him around the perimeter of the playground and we discussed what staying on the playground meant and where he was safe to play.
After we go over the lanyard we have him choose a tangible reward. I decided not to use icons for his reward and actually tape the object to the visual support board. He helps me tape it to the board and I feel this is giving him a sense of control over the situation.
Provide Visual Supports
I made a token board with visual supports to match the lanyard. After going over the lanyard and front loading the expectations, we have the student choose what he is working for before he goes outside. I have been taping the actual item to the board instead of providing a picture icon to match. Having this concrete item taped to the board is a constant reminder during recess what he is working for. My para carries it with her at recess. She also wears the lanyard. When my friend needs re-directed, she walks up and points to the board and/or her lanyard to the specific rule he needs to be reminded of. This has been working so much better!
Earning the Reward
Once he has done his job, my para goes over the token board and gives him his checks. If he gets all four, he earns his reward and it is given to him immediately. He is allowed to eat it then, save it for lunch, or save it for later. We wanted him to have control over when he gets his reward.
Planned Distraction
We gave my friend a job to distract him from one of his biggest issues, lining up. My friend is now responsible for opening the door with a key fob to let the recess monitor ring the bell to line up the other students. This gives him sense of control and importance. He loves it. He is actually running to the door to get the key fob instead of running off the playground :)
Those are my best tips on dealing with recess behaviors! It's so hard when you, as the teacher, are not outside to execute your plan. That's why having clear expectations for not only the student and staff is imperative for success! What tips do you have for recess behavior? Share in a comment below!
I have also included some other tips we are using in our plan for my friend who is having difficulty with demands:
Changing our Directives
When my data showed me that demands like "line up" and "sit down" were causing him to do opposite, I had to talk to my para's about re-phrasing how we are giving him instructions. Instead of saying "Sit down!", we are going to say "Come on over, it's time for reading" or if it's time for him to line up for a transition instead of saying "line up!" we are saying "It's time for us to go to lunch, let's get in line". This has been so hard for them. We have been working on this for a week, and it's still a work in progress, but he is responding so much better to the para's. This is not to say that when he is unsafe, or could harm others that we aren't going to use a strict, loud demand. This is just changing the way we are talking to him during daily instruction, transition, and directives.
Getting Other Staff in on the Plan
In order to ensure that my para was the one in control at recess, we had to discuss with the building staff what my data showed, and that having four to five adults giving my student demands was not an ideal situation. Instead, I asked them to stand near for support but to let my para manage the situation. Should she need assistance, staff would be near, but she would be the one and only person giving him instructions and directions.
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