Students Prior Performance Student A is a seven-year old girl who qualifies for special education services under the

category of intellectual disability. She is only in first grade as she was retained in kindergarten twice. Her least restrictive environment is in a general education classroom, as she does not disrupt other students learning. However, she spends thirty minutes each day in a resource room where she benefits from small group intervention. The student is generally well behaved and compliant when given direct instructions. Her main behavior problem is her lack of attention. She is easily stimulated and thus distracted in class. When that happens, she has difficulty regaining focus and picking back up on her assignments. Student As general educator expressed her concern about the lack of focus and explained that she somewhat counteracts it by seating A near her during whole group lessons. Despite the strategically assigned seating, she frequently finds herself tapping A on the shoulder or saying her name quietly to remind her to remain on task. Though the students behavior is well managed during whole group lessons, distraction again becomes an issue during literacy centers and carpet time. During centers, the student did not distract other students but did not focus herself either. Student A is not blatantly defiant and her actions do not harm herself or others. Her distraction impacts her only in the scholastic arena, but it is a near constant battle.

Brainstorming Process In defining Student As major behavior problems, two categories become apparent. She is, firstly, easily distracted and, secondly, spends too long regaining focus. Here, easily distracted is described as looking away from a given task within one minute of being left alone with it. Failing to respond to name calling and physical prompts for more than fifteen seconds constitutes spending too long regaining focus. With Student A, these occurrences go hand in hand. To solve one problem would require fixing the other as well. In As general classroom, she is expected to participate in small group literacy centers and lessons along with her peers. During observation, she was instructed to write her spelling words on an individual dry-erase board. Instead, she instead drew pictures for the entirety of the allotted time. During carpet time, Student A sat in a back corner away from the teacher and seemed distant and contemplative. Though the teacher practiced techniques to engage the class in the story she read, Student A did not show evidence of attentiveness. In the resource room, it is easier for Student A to stay focused. The small size seems to make her comfortable and allows the teacher to give her more individualized attention. However, she still becomes distracted when given tasks to complete individually. She begins each task with vigor and seeming dedication, especially with personalized attention

prompting her so she does not have to remember multiple instructions at a time. However, when she is left to work individually without prompting for more than a couple minutes, she quietly distracts herself. The distraction appears the same as when in the general classroom. She seems distant, looking off in another direction and failing to respond to the attempts of others to focus her attention. As expected, she completes about one of every five written assignments because she cannot maintain focus long enough to process and follow the instructions. Instinct says the behaviors function is escape. However, she seems as though she wants to be engaged but lacks the capacity to remain as such for long. Thus, the behavior could serve as a defense mechanism. The student fears doing poorly on assignments, so she subconsciously distracts herself to avoid finishing them. She needs positive, not negative, reinforcement and continuous encouragement. Her correct responses should be celebrated and incorrect ones redirected in a way that makes the student feel safe. Until praise alters her problem behavior, her teachers need a way to control it. Neither hearing her name nor physical prompts can quickly return her focus to given tasks, so an effective solution must be found. The list of desired behavior changes is long, but each is necessary to the student completing the majority of assignments and thus learning and increasing her achievement.

Implementation The first category of desired changes was to prevent the student from zoning out in the first place. The method to do so was to reduce the number of stimulants in Student As sensory field. As a decrease of visual stimulants, a privacy folder was placed on the table between Student A and her peers. To decrease auditory stimulation, all students were instructed to raise their hands if they wanted help rather than announcing questions aloud. The Promethean Board was powered off during individual work and other people in the room were asked to remain still as much as possible until a more active part of the lesson. The second category of desired changes was to regain the students focus quickly and effectively when she did zone out. Because hearing her name or being touched did not bother the student, other senses were appealed to. She seems to be a visual learner, so the other teachers and I sought her attention by interrupting the flow of visual information. Either a book or hand would move through her gaze or a person would physically walk in front of her and then point toward her assigned task. If appealing to her visually were not effective, methods using other senses would be tested.

Results and Effectiveness Fortunately, the planned interventions were effective. The most effective adaptation in preventing Student A from getting distracted was placing a privacy folder around her given tasks. It was only used when A was expected to work independently on an assignment. It decreased the amount of visual stimulation and made it easier for A to maintain focus on what she was intended to work on. Asking all of the students to raise their hands if they wanted help made the class run more smoothly. It will also maintain consistency in the rules the students are expected to follow throughout the school. Naturally, turning off the Promethean Board when it was no being used prevented Student A and the other children from looking at it when they were to work on other things. When Student A did look away from given tasks, someone would attempt to disrupt her stare. The easiest and least distracting method was to walk in front of her to gain her attention and then point to her assignment to redirect that attention. The first portion of the strategy was effective in gaining the students attention. However, she did not always follow attempts to redirect that attention. With all of the above strategies implemented, Student A finishes the majority of her assignments. She completes at least one written assignment per lesson, a true sign of progress and a step toward increased learning.