Getting Attention: There is a Right Way and a Wrong Way

We examined the effects of several interventions on the classroom behavior of a first grade, male student. The purpose of this study is to determine the function of this child’s behavior, link it to home situations, and to reverse the child’s behavior to create a better classroom environment for this student and all other peers in this first grade classroom. To determine the function of inappropriate attention-seeking behaviors, it was important to link inappropriate behaviors occurring in the classroom to the weeks the student was in different home situations. Then by determining the function of the male student’s inappropriate behaviors, we could work to replace those inappropriate behaviors with more appropriate attention and attention-seeking behaviors. The student behavior changes required several intervention strategies in order to reduce the inappropriate behavior. The results were analyzed and reported to the teacher, the parents, and in this case study.