A seven-year old girl named Lorelei enjoys playing soccer, swimming, and baking

Question

A seven-year old girl named Lorelei enjoys playing soccer, swimming, and baking with her mother. She is very talkative and outgoing once she is with her close friends or family members, but she can become quite nervous when around new people and may be quiet and more reserved in those situations. Lorelei usually does very well in school. She is above grade level in reading, but says she dislikes writing. Recently, Lorelei has been coming home from school with her class work unfinished and has been "talking back" to her parents. This is unusual behavior for Lorelei and her parents don't know how to respond. Otherwise, Lorelei continues to be helpful around the house and seems to enjoy playing with her new 5-month old brother, James. Lorelei's teacher requested a parent-teacher conference, as Lorelei has been acting up in class as well. The teacher said that Lorelei is usually a good listener and very attentive in class. However Lorelei has been increasingly disruptive the past few months. Recently, every time a student asks to go to the restroom Lorelei asks to go to the restroom as well. The teacher also noticed that Lorelei gets up from her desk a few times each hour to grob a tissue to blow her nose and just generally appears to be easily distracted. She will wander around the classroom looking for books or games, usually at a time when students have just been asked to sit at their desk to complete their homework or in-class assignments. Since she doesn't follow the teacher's instructions, Lorelei does not finish her class work during the time allotted. Lorele's parents were shocked to hear about her behaviors in class, as this has never been an issue before Ins ght into Psych-Module 4 V3.2018 Scenario Questions: Identify ssues at school and at home that may be affecting Lorelei's recent behavior. As a behavioral therapist, what kinds of questions would you ask Lorelei's mother and her teacher to help better assess the situation at home and at school? 1. 2. In behavior modification theory, a "target behavior is a specific behavior or action you would like to change or modify. For example, if a child is constantly throwing tantrums and hitting then the target behavior might be hitting, It is important to be specific in addressing target behaviors so that therapists can be successful in correcting the behaviors that need to be changed. With this in mind, what are the target behaviors you might want to address with Lorelei? In other words, what is Lorelei specifically doing that is interfering with her success at home and/or at school? With every target behavior, identify a desired behavior that would be more appropriate (e-g, tell the child that instead of hitting they should stop, breathe, tell the teacher they are frustrated and step away until they can calm down).

Explanation / Answer

1. Issues along the lines of peer group and chances of bullying must be explored in this case. Even at home, her relationship with her family members including her parents and sibling must be explored in greater depth through interaction with the parents, especially the mother. It is assumed that the family dynamics can be accurately and effectively explored by a therapist through using specific techniques. The child needs to understood in comprehensive detail through an ecological perspective, i.e. the different settings in which the child operates, for instance, the immediate family, neighborhood, school, religious setting, socio-cultural background, nationality, etc.

2. In her case, the target behaviors that must be attempted to modify are 'talking back' to her parents and throwing tantrums. Also her 'acting out' and disruptive behaviors in class such as excusing herself from classroom when another student is doing so, needs to be addressed. For this, the more suitable or appropriate forms of behavior would be stepping aside, breathing, holding her urge to engage in disruptive behavior and instead channelizing her energy into something constructive during that period. That could something like drawing or any other desirable activity to her which she tends to enjoy. In order to provide her with rewards for desirable behavior token economy system could be adopted at home and in school.

3. Punishment and reinforcement both could be used simultaneously in order to effectively modify her behavior. For this the behavior modification first needs to comprise of all the specific behavior patterns that need to be altered, for instance acting out in class, disruptive behavior, lack of interest in writing, wandering around the classroom and being distracted. All these specific behaviors can be addressed through creating a plan in order to target these and replace them with more desirable behaviors. Every time that behavior is performed, the child is reinforced through a reward system, and every time and undesirable behavior re-occurs, punishment which is mutually established by the therapist and the child will be applied, in order to discourage the same. Both the therapist and the child need to be working as a team to defy the undesirable behaviors and instead inculcate desirable ones.

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