Behavior Support Coaching for a Paraprofessional Working With First-Grade Students Exhibiting Disruptive Behavior Problems in an Urban High-Poverty Elementary School

Abstract

Despite receiving little to no training in behavior management, paraprofessionals often support young students with or at risk of disruptive behavior disorders in elementary schools. The Behavior Support Coaching for Paraprofessionals (BSC-P) is a new evidence-based data-driven approach for enhancing paraprofessionals’ skills in identifying behavior needs, setting goals, and selecting and implementing evidence-based interventions for improving student disruptive behaviors. The current case study presents the application of the BSC-P (eight sessions over 3 months) with a paraprofessional and teacher who support two first-grade students exhibiting disruptive behaviors in an urban high-poverty elementary school. Implemented evidence-based interventions include say, show, check, a token economy, and antecedent modification. Findings revealed increased paraprofessional intervention fidelity, improved student classroom engagement (effect sizes of 3.77 and 2.10), and decreased student inappropriate verbal and physical behavior (effect sizes of 1.34 and 1.88, respectively).