Hi, my name is Dana Howell. I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and the face behind BIAS. Throughout my career, I have engaged in various roles within the educational system, ranging from speech-language pathology assistant to special education teacher. My company, Behavioral Interventions And Solutions (BIAS) was created after noticing the lack of behavioral and visual resources that are specifically designed with parents in mind. My goal is to empower parents by providing them with affordable and easy to use tools for increasing independence and managing challenging behaviors.
Behavioral Interventions and Solutions
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Unstructured time can be hard for some kids, especially those with weak self-management skills. ![]()
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Parents, has this ever happened to you?...![]()
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...You send your child to another room to start their homework, and when you check in ten minutes later, you find them playing a game on their tablet. ![]()
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Or maybe you are a classroom teacher trying to manage the needs of 25 kindergarten students while simultaneously teaching a differentiated lesson for a small group. ![]()
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Without an organized plan, structured routines, and independent skills, chaos is bound to occur. ![]()
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Instead, set yourself up for success with these three easy tips!
“But I'm so bored!” ![]()
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As summer starts to get underway, so do the cries of boredom. Summertime activities don’t have to be complicated or expensive. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of creative thinking, and you can turn your backyard into a beach, drive-in movie theater, or ice cream shop. ![]()
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Summer can be hard because there is a lot of time to structure. Chunk out your day into two or three sections (surrounding meals) and plan an activity or two for each part of the day.![]()
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The best part is checklists (or a bucket list) are a great way to provide structure, offer choice making opportunities and teach independence. ![]()
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Having trouble coming up with ideas? Ask your kids what things they’ve been looking forward to doing, then make a list or print this freebie (link in the comments ⬇️) to jumpstart the summer fun!
Have you ever printed on sticky notes before? Let me tell you; it is LIFE CHANGING. Just pop the sticky notes onto a template to ensure they are aligned, and then send it back through the printer allowing the image to transfer directly to the post-it instead of the printed page. ![]()
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Why am I telling you this? Well, I decided to wrap up teacher appreciation week with a FREE printable to help you give your students (or children) behavior-specific praise. ![]()
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Did you know that behavior-specific praise happens to be one of the CHEAPEST and MOST EFFECTIVE strategies in your positive reinforcement toolbox? Do you find that saying "good job" all the time feels dull and insincere? All you need are three key components (child's name + positive statement + observed behavior = behavior-specific praise). These easy-to-use sticky notes can help you step up your praise game!![]()
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I have a few more sticky note printables in the works (think easy data collection and checklists). What other types of templates would you want to see on a post-it note?![]()
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Visit my blog for more information and to grab the link to the FREE Behavior-Specific Praise Sticky Note Printable.
My Top Three Ways to Deliver Effective Behavior-Specific Praise – BIAS
biasbehavioral.com
Did you know that behavior-specific praise happens to be one of the CHEAPEST and MOST EFFECTIVE strategies in your toolbox?
Yesterday, I shared a graphic about the importance of increasing the delivery of positive praise using the 4:1 ratio. ![]()
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You may be thinking, "Yeah, that sounds great (in theory), but HOW do I actually implement this strategy?"![]()
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As it turns out, plans, visuals, and data collection work for adults too. One of the best ways to know if you are doing too much or too little of something is through a self-monitoring system. ![]()
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Begin by making a plan. Think of positive alternative behaviors that you want to listen or look for, such as using an inside voice in place of yelling. ![]()
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Then, decide on a time frame. It is difficult to remember to be looking for those positive alternative behaviors throughout the course of an entire day. Instead, start small. Pick a window of time where you can give your undivided attention to providing positive praise. ![]()
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Self-monitor your own behavior by tracking the number of praise vs. corrective statements you make during the given time frame. I like using color-coded rubber bands as a visual prompt.![]()
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Finally, pair the praise with a tangible item (if applicable.) ![]()
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Challenge yourself to use the 4:1 ratio for an hour tomorrow and see how positively reinforcing it is for YOU and YOUR CHILD.
Do you use the 4:1 (or 5:1) ratio when giving positive praise?![]()
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The idea behind this method is that to effectively change behavior, you should provide praise four times more frequently than a correction. ![]()
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On an average day, children encounter at least one hundred behavior-based instructions. ![]()
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Put that away.![]()
Come over here.![]()
Make sure you finish _____.![]()
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Adults tend to notice a child's "incorrect" behavior more often than desired behavior, which results in providing a higher rate of corrections. ![]()
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After a long hard day, it can be difficult to see the positive. Work on filling one "positive praise balloon" at a time, slowly building the collection to epic proportions. The bigger the bunch, the smaller the impact if one or two balloons POP along the way.
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