• Home
  • About
  • FREE Resource Library
  • Blog
  • Complete List of Products
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • My Downloads
    • My Cart
    • Checkout
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram

Special Needs for Special Kids

Providing you tools to save time and build confidence teaching students with the most significant disabilities

December 7, 2020

Attention Seeking Behavior: Strategies for the classroom

Attention seeking behavior is a common behavior problem in the classroom as well as at home. Especially in the classroom, we get so busy that often the only way a student can get us to stop and listen to them is by using attention seeking behaviors. And, as with most common behaviors, they are quite effective. Below are some strategies and a free activity you can use in your classroom today to help minimize attention seeking behaviors.

Is it attention seeking behavior?

First, let’s figure out how you know it is attention seeking behavior rather than one of the other functions we have talked about.  There is an easy experiment you can run that will give you the answer.

1.  Identify a specific behavior

2.  Ask someone to track how many times that behavior occurs during a normal hour of your classroom routine.

3.  Depending on the frequency, spend 5-10 minutes intentionally giving that student an excessive amount of attention.  Does the targeted behavior occur during that time?  Is it at the same, increased, or decreased frequency?

4.  Repeat step 3 but plan to purposefully ignore (as much as is safe to do) the targeted behavior.  Does the behavior occur during that time?  Is it at the same, increased, or decreased frequency?

So, as you can probably guess, if the behavior goes away or decreases in step 3 and/or increases in step 4 then you have an attention seeking behavior.

Now that you know what you are dealing with, there is a great 3-pronged strategy to deal with attention seeking behavior.  As with all behaviors and behavior plans, this is not a quick fix and will take some intentional planning and collaboration with other adults to make it work.  But it is effective in the long run.

Step 1: Ignoring the attention seeking behavior

This may seem obvious and easy, but we all know how truly difficult it can be.  It also can be, at times, dangerous.  The problem arises that as we ignore the behavior, that typically gets attention, there will ABSOLUTELY be an extinction burst.  The student will try harder, louder, and bolder ways to get your attention.  So, have a plan. 

Will you simply ignore, walk away, from the attention seeking behavior?  Will you give a subtle hand signal or visual cue that the student’s behavior is not acceptable?  Make sure you think about it ahead of time and then share that plan with all the adults who will be working with that student.

If you know you may need to physically intervene, do so in a way that provides as little attention as possible.  Gently guide the student to a safer location.  Do not speak and try to make little or no eye contact.  Hopefully, you will be able to totally ignore the behavior, but in a classroom setting with other students present, we often must take into account the safety of others.

Step 2: Giving random and intermittent positive reinforcement 

Again, this will take some planning ahead of time.  Decide as a team what that positive reinforcement will look like.  Will you give the student a high five, a sticker, a token for their token board, or even a break to enjoy a favorite activity.  Provided you know the student well, pick something that is truly reinforcing to the student.  

Decide how frequently you will deliver this random reinforcement.  It needs to be at least as frequent or more frequent than the attention seeking behavior typically occurs.  That means you will need some initial data before you start.  Make sure you vary the location and time you deliver this random positive reinforcement.

Step 3: Teaching a replacement behavior

At the same time you are doing steps 1 and 2 above, you want to be teaching your student how to appropriately request your attention.  Is it raising your hand, and then waiting to be called on?  Is it turning a card from green to red on their desk to indicate help is needed.  As with all interventions, this needs to be specifically taught.  Consider adding a social story and other visual cues to remind the student when and how to use this new behavior.  

Download this free sorting activity on getting the teacher’s attention by clicking the button below.

Ways to get teacher attention sorting activity

What if it doesn’t work?

Sometimes, it may feel like, despite your best attempts, the attention seeking behavior is not going away, or may even feel like it is increasing.  If that is the case, consider the following.

1.  Are you giving random positive reinforcement frequent enough?  Consider increasing how often you are delivering random praise.  In addition, make sure it is intermittent.  It should not be so predictable (ie every 10 minutes), that the student is anticipating when it will occur.

2.  Is the random positive reinforcement you are delivering truly reinforcing to that student?  Sometimes, what we think should be enjoyable and “appropriate” to the student, especially given the classroom setting, is not always received that way by the student.  Some students love a high-five, some students love access to a stress ball, and some students just want your undivided attention for a moment.  Ask other adults for their opinion.  Do they think the student enjoys the reinforcement you are delivering?  If you are not sure, then switch it up and try something new.

3.  Ask yourself if you are truly ignoring the attention seeking behavior.  Again, other’s observations can be quite helpful here.  You may not even realize how you are positively reinforcing the attention seeking behavior.  Of course, none of us are perfect.  There will be times you may lose your patience and feed back into that cycle.  That is okay, just recognize it and do better next time.  Just realize, it can be just a look, a sigh, or a gesture that we make in frustration that is all that student need to feed that appetite for attention.


I hope this series on behavior has been helpful.  I have had a lot of questions and specific scenarios.  Every classroom and every student are different.  It is difficult to write one post that covers even half of the situations.  Is the scripting a student does a self-calming strategy, an attempt get out of work or escape the current stimuli and go inward or is it an attention seeking behavior.  It is never an easy answer.  But you know you finally got it right when the behavior starts to decrease.  And remember, every time a behavioral intervention fails you have more information you can use to come up with a more effective intervention. 

Be sure to check out the other posts in this series:

  • Interventions for escape behaviors
  • Denied Access: A common behavior problem

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous
Next

SHOP

Check out my resources

SHOP NOW

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Hi!

I'm Christa Joy

My mission is to give parents and teachers the tools they need in order to feel effective and confident teaching even the most challenging of students.
Read More

Join our Newsletter

Sign up for access to the free library!

New on the Blog

kids exercising in school

How to get kids exercising in school

Why consistency is key in a special education classroom

5 great activities for read alouds in a special education classroom

My Shop

Complete curriculum units in math, ELA, science, social studies as well as social story units for students Pre-K through high school.

SHOP NOW

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Join our Newsletter

Sign up for access to the free library!

How do we go about getting our students to go abou How do we go about getting our students to go about exercising in school in a safe, effective, and fun way? Here are some tools and strategies to get you and your students moving more. Head over to read more and get your free exercise inventory: https://specialneedsforspecialkids.org/2021/04/12/how-to-get-kids-exercising-in-school/ #specialneedsforspecialkids #exercisinginschool #healthykids
🦋I sent out this free worksheet this morning. 🦋I sent out this free worksheet this morning. Did you get it? If not, you can still download it over on YouTube (Special Needs for Special Kids) or by clicking the link in my bio. . 📚There is also this Butterfly life cycle book you can download in my Free Resource Library. . Get the worksheet here: https://bit.ly/3wyY0TI #specialneedsforspecialkids #freeworksheetwednesday #butterflylifecycle
🌎 Just in time!! This free download is for Eart 🌎 Just in time!! This free download is for Earth Day which is April 22. There are 2 pattern worksheets (ABAB and ABC). Both are in color and black and white. And OF COURSE, there is a link to a digital version as well which comes differentiated for you. 😲 . Make sure to hit the paper airplane and share this free resource with your favorite teachers!! Download it by heading here or click the link in my bio: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-Day-Freebie-for-Special-Education-with-google-slides-Distance-Learning-6753375 #specialneedsforspecialkids #earthday2021 #distancelearning
Oh boy, when you are just starting out and have yo Oh boy, when you are just starting out and have your own classroom for the first time it is hard to know where to focus your attention. There is SO MUCH to implement and regulations to follow that it can feel completely overwhelming. It can be almost paralyzing. . But, I found if I could just pick one thing I knew I wanted to implement EVERY SINGLE DAY and focus on that for a bit, it really made the rest of the day go so much smoother. . I have found the same to be true in my personal life, caring for my adult son who has autism and other issues. Consistency has been so necessary. . But we cannot be consistent with EVERYTHING, so picking that one activity or time of the day to start with is key. Read more about how to do that, and what a huge difference this small commitment can make in how your classroom runs. https://specialneedsforspecialkids.org/2021/03/29/why-consistency-is-key-in-a-special-education-classroom/ #specialneedsforspecialkids #classroommanagement #consistencyiskey
Did you miss your free worksheet this morning? No Did you miss your free worksheet this morning? No worries, you can still download it right here or click the link in my bio: https://bit.ly/39tWPv3 . Includes a link to the digital version and information on how to sign up to get more free worksheets. #specialneedsforspecialkids #freeworksheetwednesday #distancelearning
Please don't think just because you teach in a spe Please don't think just because you teach in a special education setting your student cannot enjoy and participate in activities built around a novel. I PROMISE your students can do these activities (even if they don't understand the entire story.) . If you have more advanced students, then you may want to actually assess how well they understand what you just read. For that reason, I just added comprehension questions to this novel unit!! It is one of my most popular ones, so I know there are a lot of you out there who have been waiting patiently for me to get to it. . There are 5 questions for each chapter. It still has 32 activities as well (one or more for each chapter!!). Redownload or check out this childhood favorite!! Go here https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Witches-Novel-Study-for-Special-Education-with-comprehension-questions-4645259 Or click the link in my bio to head over. #specialneedsforspecialkids #thewitches #specialedteacher
If you missed it this morning.... . This was the f If you missed it this morning.... . This was the free worksheet that went out to everyone who signed up. But it isn't too late. Just click the link in my profile to download it or go here: https://bit.ly/2Qo85lU . The download includes a link to the digital version!! #specialneedsforspecialkids #freeworksheetwednesday #springpoem
Looking for an activity for St. Patrick's day that Looking for an activity for St. Patrick's day that is FREE? . You can have this writing prompt delivered to your inbox tomorrow morning at 6:00 am if you are part of my Free Worksheet Wednesday Group. . Want in? You will get a free worksheet every Wednesday morning that is both print AND digital specifically geared for students in a special education setting. . Send me a DM to get signed up or let me know in the comments you want in!!#specialneedsforspecialkids #freeworksheetwednesday #stpatricksdayactivities
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 · Special Needs for Special Kids · Hello You Designs