Index of Videos

Topic: Behavior

Chris Lyons: Dignity of Risk
Chris Lyons said that at the core of our human dignity is our ability to enjoy our successes by having the ability to own our own failures. That yin and yang of human nature allows us to truly be a person.

Changes – Behavior Modification for People with Developmental Disabilities
This 1996 film follows changing the behavior modification policies at Minnesota's Faribault State School and Hospital.

How Are You? The Nature of Mental Health and Mental Illness
1960s-era animation describes how mental health helps overcome common ailments like worries, irritations, and blue moods before they become too difficult to handle.

Positive Behavior Supports

Positive Behavior Supports, defined as focusing on preventing challenging behavior by emphasizing new skills and quality of life, are explored in interviews with several renowned leaders in the field.

Herb Lovett: Learning Social Norms
In this interview from the 1980s, Herb Lovett said there are no behavior models when a person lives in a segregated environment.

Herb Lovett: Positive Behavior Supports
In 1987, scholar and advocate Herb Lovett shared his views about using positive behavior supports. It's a way to teach social and cognitive skills, and to empower people to feel more confident.

Derrick Dufresne: Listening
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said that oftentimes, failure to change someone's behavior occurs because we're not listening to them and taking their environment into consideration.

Derrick Dufresne: Look for Underlying Pain That May Cause Behavioral Issues
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said we have to get behind the external expression of a person's behavior and ask some fundamental questions about their physical and emotional health.

Derrick Dufresne: Change the Environment to Change Behaviors
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said if you put people in environments they like, doing things that they want to do, they're less likely to do hurtful or harmful things to themselves or to you.

Derrick Dufresne: Positive Behavior Supports
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said positive behavior supports are grounded in behavior being part of life rather than a segmented thing to take down off a shelf, exhibit, then put back on the shelf.

Derrick Dufresne: Lord of the Flies and Its Application to Behavioral Issues
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said institutions, where people are put together with an external set of rules, becomes a parallel universe for people with disabilities and a parallel universe for staff.

Derrick Dufresne: Look for Other Issues Behind Behavior
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne told of a mom's behavioral treatment program for her grabby son was to get staff to wear different clothes. It's an example of asking, "What else is going on?"

Derrick Dufresne: Trust and Relationships
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said people aren't behavioral beings or social beings. They're human beings. You can't work with someone unless you develop a relationship, based on trust.

Derrick Dufresne: Segregation by Label
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said if a person who bites and a person who spits are roommates, the one who bites is going to learn to spit and the one who spits is going to learn to bite.

Derrick Dufresne: Roommate Matching
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said we tend group people together because of their diagnosis, rather than taking the time to find out if they like each other or have any common interests.

Derrick Dufresne: Positive Approaches
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said that when positive approaches ("We will never hurt or restrain somebody") were introduced, some in the field still felt that "outliers still need that."

Derrick Dufresne: Use of Food and Tokens as Reinforcers
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said using tokens as rewards led to behaviors about wanting the reward immediately, which led to rewards being taken away, leading to frustrations and anger.

Derrick Dufresne: The Escalation of Negatives
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said after negative reinforcement was used (i.e., Tabasco sauce sprayed in someone's eyes to keep them from hitting), it was impossible to bond with that person.

Derrick Dufresne: Early Work History in Northern Virginia
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne recalled that reinforcers were widely used in his early training, but very little was mentioned about positive behavior supports.

Derrick Dufresne: Staff Can Be Negative Reinforcers
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said he learned early in his career that if staff was using ever-increasing levels of negative reinforcers, staff members themselves became negative reinforcers.

Derrick Dufresne: The Early History of Behavioral Approaches
In 2012, inclusion specialist Derrick Dufresne said a breakthrough in positive behavior supports occurred when professionals said, "We need to look at the fact that behavior is attached to a person."

Mike Mayer: What are some things to check if a person is having a behavior issue?
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said if a person is having behavior issues, look at what things make them happy, what needs are unmet, and pay attention to the things that are important in their lives.

Mike Mayer: Do you have some advice about behavior issues and first steps that may be taken?
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said the first steps to understand behavior are to spend time getting to know the person, and conduct a thorough checkup of the person's physical and mental condition.

Mike Mayer: Resources for more information, best practice sites, or experts in the field.
In 2013, Mike Mayer recommended DD Councils and the Association for Positive Behavior Supports for best practices regarding transition. And "having more letters behind a name doesn't mean they're better."

Mike Mayer: What does "behavior is communication" mean and what are some examples?
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said yes, behavior is communication, but it may not be communicating accurately. We have to figure out if our translation of that behavior makes sense.

Mike Mayer: What do you see as the future of behavior supports?
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said the future of positive behavior supports will use technologies for assessments to figure out what people are saying and to help people communicate to us.

Mike Mayer: Are seclusion and restraint still considered helpful for changing behavior?
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said seclusion and restraint have been used as excuses for our inability to listen carefully or to be responsive to the needs of individuals who caused us concerns.

Mike Mayer: What are other out of date practices that still exist in this country?
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said the single biggest out-of-date practice by professionals is pseudo parenting. It shouldn't be, "No, you can't do that." It should be, "How can I help you do that?"

Mike Mayer: What are national trends across the U.S. in the first part of the 21st Century?
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said many states won't allow punishment of any kind in their systems; and the only restraint permissible is an unplanned hands-on in an imminent emergency.

Mike Mayer: What is trauma informed care and why does it matter?
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said trauma-informed care is needed when a person has had repeated traumas like abuse or restraint, and as a result has developed patterns of how to feel or behave.

Mike Mayer: How do positive behavior supports differ from behavior management approaches?
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said positive behavioral supports means spending time to understand the person; instead of modifying his behavior, you focus on the reason for the behavior.

Mike Mayer: Tell us about yourself, your education, your background and your current work
In 2013, transition consultant Mike Mayer said he became interested in the field while figuring out how to help his sister when he was a teenager. Nobody knew any answers of what to do to help her.

METO Settlement

Steve Larson: Alternative Approaches to Behavior Issues
In 2012 Steve Larson, of The Arc of Minnesota, described the need to plan for each individual at a facility, with support for them in community living, to help prevent situations that create violence or outbursts.