Functional Assessments and Intervention Strategies Essay Example for Free

Functional Assessments and Intervention Strategies Essay Dewolfe (1997) discusses the relevant points on the book written by Reichle and Wacker (1997) about the effective approaches in terms of assessing challenging behaviors; and what are the intervention strategies that could be employed in order to decrease the risks for the development of a challenging behavior. According to Reichle and Wacker (1997), the most effective venue for the assessment of challenging behavior could be conducted in natural environments such as home, school and local community (para 2). Also, another key factor that must be kept in mind with regards to changing childrens challenging behavior is the idea that when one wants to change a behavior of a particular child, it necessarily follows, that the behavior of those people around her should also be changed. Effective interventions are also very relevant most specially the rate, quality and the effort that is given on the reinforcement (para 3). Reichle and Wacker (1997) also emphasized that Communications Based Interventions are the best approach in terms of dealing with challenging behavior (para 4). Such a type of intervention should be followed by a functional assessment that should be able to understand the child very well. In effect of this, what will one have is a communication based approach that perfectly matches the need of the child. The facilitation of an intervention program has been emphasized by Reichle and Wacker (1997) has to be conducted in natural settings. As such, the traditional notion that interventions should be normally done in clinics are no longer that patronized. Discussion The rate in which challenging behavior has been increasing now a days is understandable. On the advent of the 21st century where everything is in set to be in fast paced, most parents tend to forgot their responsibility to their children. On the first part of this paper, the author was able to enumerate the different causes and various risk factors of challenging behavior. In a nutshell, one could see that majority of the causes stem out because the mother fails to take care of her child during the prenatal stage and even during the early years of the child. Fox, Dunlap and Powell (2002) emphasized the necessity of early intervention during childhood in order to prevent the development of challenging behavior. In addition with this, the perception that problematic behaviors among toddlers and preschool-age children should not be dismissed as mere effects of his or her development stage. Rather, parents should be vigilant to see the patterns and the rate in which challenging behaviors occur and significantly think of a plan in order to address such a problem. The case of June is a good example on how a child develops challenging behavior during her life. June is perceived to be raised in a broken family. It could be implied that the source of family income is solely shouldered by her mother, hence leaving her and her siblings with small amount of time. In addition with this, the fact that June has two other siblings that her mother have to take care and worry about, further decreases the chance that June could be given appropriate attention and guidance. It is clear from the history of June and her other siblings that they somehow share the same patterns of behavior. Although the author could not completely distinguish if such is the result of how they are reared or maybe how did their mother take care of herself during pregnancy; but it could be seen that such a pattern of behavior is clearly evident to be existing within her family circle. The manner in which June was assessed, intervened and treated in her school could be seen as one of the most effective steps in which one could deal with challenging behavior. The team used a Communications Based Intervention (Reichle and Wacker (1997) in order to deal with the problem. One could recall that the manner in which the teacher talked to June allowed her to express her feelings and also allowed her to tell stories that upset her within the family and also within the school. In addition with this, the assessments that were made to June are done in a natural environment, such as her school. It could be recalled that various attempts are also made by Junes residential and community program placements, but such proves to be null. As such, the author perceived that the assessment at the school, wherein June spends mostly her time is a very effective approach because not only that she will be able to properly relate with her peers, such an approach will also pave the way for more understanding and willingness to support among her teachers. Reicle and Wacker (1997) emphasized the need of other people to also change their behaviors if they wanted to help a child with challenging behavior. It could be significantly noted that Laursen (2005) claimed that the team that is taking care and assisting June has also made an effort to make her educators understand the depth of her problem and how their support could help her to overcome her challenging behavior. In relation with this, the author wanted to introduce the notion of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) of Fox, Dunlap and Powell (2002) in order to change challenging behaviors among children. The PBS is tailored to meet the specific needs of the child and also takes into careful consideration all of the contexts in which problems with regard to challenging behaviors emerge. The model devised by Dunlap and Fox (1999) as cited from Fox, Dunlap and Powell (2002) creates an Individualized Support Program (ISP) that seeks to help the family and the childs care givers in order to change his or her difficult behavior. The ISP model revolves on two major steps which is the functional assessment and the person centered planning. The functional assessment focuses on accumulating detailed information about the childs behavior, activities, and other contexts that could be helpful for the family, taking into consideration the cause and effects of a particular behavior. Consequently, the person-centered planning centers on the expression of the childs dreams and other challenges that the child perceived to have within his or her family. After such, a behavior support plan will be created which is perfectly in accordance to the specific needs of the child.

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La’Shya Bradford November 10, 2013 Eng 102-H1 Dr Amy Carmines Double Standards â€Å"I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.† – Muhammad Ali African American women in the workforce have been seen as the lowest percentage in many companies. Corporate America is the toughest for women of color, due to the culture of companies and the value of women to many leaders of these companies. Today I will specifically be talking about Pepsi Corporation and how they could help turn this stereotype around and open the doors to many more African American women. The Pepsi corporation should expand their corporate leaders by increasing the African American women population as an attempt to diversify and highlight to many the value of women of color in corporate America. The history of women has been defined as lower positions of life for ages. Having to take the back seat to male figures has been the way of life for women in general. Since before we could even think back Greeks had the same view of women as we did and still do to some extent. For instance, let's refer to Greek mythology such as The Odyssey. Penelope is the wife of Odysseus and the mother of Telemachus And even though she is queen of Ithaca she has to play the back seat to all men. Even her own son whom she lives with and by his rules due to the absences of her husband and her son age approaching a mans. On page 89 in Homer: The Odyssey Telemachus demonstrates his authority. He says â€Å"So mother, go back to your quarters. Tend to your own task, the distaff and the look, and keep the women working hard as well. As for giving orders, men will see that, but ... ...effective organizational knowledge.. Bring solutions by offering lighter, more diverse ways to help better understand customers. Take steps to ensure that staff is attempting to share useful knowledge that’s relatable and nurturing to the customers. Pay attention to what your employees learn from customers. The Pepsi corporation should expand its corporate leadership by increasing the African American women population as an attempt to diversify and highlight to many about the value of women of color in corporate America. This will help them take away from this stereotype of African American women in the workplace and the value of women in general. This routine can also help Pepsi stay true to its company culture as one of the first companies to open doors for African Americans and the women's community. Their position values will be more respected and recognized.

Shark Fins

Should we eat sharks’ fins? Shark’s fin soup is a delicacy which is enjoyed by many people around the world, especially the Chinese as they believe that it symbolizes wealth, honour and respect. However, the practice of cutting off sharks’ fins alive and then throwing them back into the sea had caused increasing awareness and ire of animal rights and environment advocates. Statistics have estimated that one hundred million sharks are killed every year, not considering the fact that these numbers are still increasing.In my personal viewpoint, I feel that sharks’ fins should not be consumed due to ethical, environmental and health issues. It is immorally incorrect to cut off sharks’ fins alive and then throwing them back into the sea. By doing so, we are inflicting excruciating pain and suffering to the sharks. Science research has shown that there is actually in fact no great biological divide between humans and animals. Darwin demonstrated how anima ls and humans are clearly linked through evolutionary continuity and recent research has even shown that similar nervous systems as humans and respond to pain like we do.It is highly inhumane and cruel to slaughter sharks in such a way that they have to experience so much agony just for the sake of our desires and craves. There is no reason for the very fact of humanity’s superiority over other animals means we have the reason to exploit other species. It is only reasonable for us to leave sharks alone when they have not caused much harm to us in any way. Since it is incorrect for us to kill sharks, we should deter ourselves from craving for sharks’ fins.Additionally, by killing such a great number of sharks would lead to environmental issues. One of the impacts would be the imminent extinction of the shark species. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, 143 shark species which is over 55 percent of the shark species are facing a high risk of extinction either now or in the near future. It has also been discovered that excessive fishing has caused a 90 percent decline in shark populations across the world’s oceans and up to 99 percent along the United States east coast.Another impact would be an imbalance in the ecological system. In the natural world, all elements of an ecosystem are interconnected and depend on each other in one way or another. Sharks, being the top predator, act as caretakers of the environment, picking off the smaller and weaker species, but helping to ensure healthy populations and a balanced ecosystem. Hence, if the shark population is wiped out from the eco system, it will have a devastating impact on other species within the marine environment.Some of these species are valuable sources of food, and economic gains. Therefore, environmental concern is one of the most crucial reasons why we should not consume sharks’ fins. Besides being morally wrong and creating harm to the enviro nment, eating shark fin has been proven to be harmful to our bodies. Some people have claimed health benefits of sharks’ fin soup. However, these claims are unfounded. Instead, in fact, sharks contain a high level of mercury which would cause damage to the human central nervous system and birth defects in infants.The United States Environmental Protection Agency caution consumers that sharks, with their long life spans of fifty plus years, absorb and store significant amounts of mercury in their fins often at high level. Additionally, it is discovered that sharks’ fins are often treated with hydrogen peroxide so as to make their colours more appealing to consumers. Moreover, there have been several cases in which business companies sell fake shark’s fins for the benefit of economic gains. The China Daily in Beijing and Japanese language Hong Kong Post have reported on phony fins sold as pure sharks’ fins sold through Asia and North America.Generally, most of these cases involve bogus fins made from a variety of ingredients before being bleached white with highly corrosive chemicals. The consumption of these bogus fins is definitely harmful to health. Given the adverse effects on human health, sharks’ fins should hence not be eaten. In conclusion, sharks’ fins should not be consumed due to the several negative impacts it will bring to the environment and our health, even to the extent of sacrificing our moral values.

Water - Wine - Milk - Beer Chemistry Demonstration

Chemistry demonstrations in which solutions appear to magically change color leave a lasting impression on students and help instill an interest in science. Heres a color change demo in which a solution seems to change from water to wine to milk to beer simply be being poured into the appropriate beverage glass. Difficulty: Average Time Required: Prepare the solutions in advance; demo time is up to you Heres How: First, prepare the glassware, since this demonstration relies on the presence of chemicals added to the glasses before the water is added.For the water glass: Fill the glass about 3/4 full of distilled water. Add 20-25 ml of saturated sodium bicarbonate with 20% sodium carbonate solution. The solution should have a pH 9.Place a few drops of phenolphthalein indicator in the bottom of the wine glass.Pour ~10 ml saturated barium chloride solution into the bottom of the milk glass.Place a very small number of crystals of sodium dichromate into the beer mug. Up to this point, the set-up can be performed in advance of the demonstration. Just prior to performing the demo, add 5 ml concentrated HCl to the beer mug.To perform the demonstration, simply pour the solution from the water glass into the wine glass. Pour the resulting solution into the milk glass. This solution is finally poured into the beer mug. Tips: Use goggles, gloves, and proper safety precautions when making the solutions and handling the chemicals. In particular, use caution with the conc. HCl, which can cause a serious acid burn.Avoid accidents! If you are using real drinking glasses, please reserve this glassware solely for this demonstration and take care that the prepared glassware is kept away from children/pets/etc. As always, label your glassware, too. What You Need: distilled water saturated sodium bicarbonate; 20% sodium carbonate ph9phenolphthalein indicatorsaturated barium chloride solution (aqueous)crystals of sodium dichromateconcentrated hydrochloric acidwater glasswine glassmilk glassbeer mug