A Tough Time for Tom

A Case Study

Written by Marc Iacobellis(Southern CT

State University)

Tom is an eight-year old boy in an after school

program. Two aides have worked with him in the

past two years (one of whom he refers to

frequently). He is bright, imaginative and has the

ability to participate in activities with the other

children in the program. Tom's desire for

friendship is expressed through aggressive

behavior towards the other children. This behavior

prevents the other children fromwanting to play

with Tom.

Tom's goals in this program are to have him

interact positivelywith the other children on a daily

basis and finish assigned homeworkbefore going

home. Tom is contracted to complete his homework

while atthe after school program.Before I met Tom

I was briefed by the school principal, socialworker

and music teacher. They said, " Tom is a good boy,

but he triesto run the show." I was told to be firm

in giving direction andconsistent in my expectations

of Tom.When I began working with Tom he was

willing to do his homework.We would do the

homework in the beginning of the program while

he wasstill focused.

I am with Tom during recess and have observed his

independentnature and active imagination which

seems to allow him to be part of agroup or not. One

day, after recess in which Tom played kick ball

withhis classmates, he lagged behind when it was

time to come in and lookedinto the wooded area

surrounding the playground.As he stopped behind

the others he put his finger to his mouth

andexcitedly said, "Shshsh..., what's that?

(Referring to something unseenin the woods) It's

probably a huge snake! You know pythons can

swallowpigs in one gulp. Let's go see!"

I told Tom he could explore his curiosity without

going into thewoods. He reminded me his other

aides would let him go into the woods.I told Tom

we could come back outside after his work was

done. Tomcontinued to resist my direction to come

in and lay on the ground. Ipicked him up from

under his arms and he made his body limp. I put

himdown and said, " Tom what's going on? " He

responded, "my other aideswould let me stay

outside!" I gave him the option of either coming

inthe front of the school as fast as he could.Once

inside, Sam the after school coordinator asked if

everythingwas okay. I said Tom did not want to

come inside. She looked at me,shook her head and

said, "I can't believe he's doing this already."

Iasked Sam if we could try a different approach to

Tom's routine."Rather than a strict schedule of

homework, recess, homework. What ifTom played

with the other children during the first part of

theafternoon, then went to recess and ended the

afternoon finishinghomework." Sam agreed.

Tom's mom finally came to pick up her son. She

asked how his daywas and I told of Tom's rough

start and his unwillingness to come inwith the

group and complete his homework. She closed her

eyes and shookher head. "Well, Tom really does

like to spend as much time outside aspossible.

When we get home he only has a half hour before

he has toread and he can finish his homework

then." After Tom left with his momSam approached

me and asked, "What did she say?" I related to her

hismother's response to our conversation. She let

out a sigh while pushingthe hair back from her

forehead in frustration saying, "What kind

ofmessage is this sending to Tom. I realize she is a

single-working momand I really feel for her, but

how is this consistent with ourexpectations of Tom

in the program."

Tom's days were inconsistent when working with

me. Some days wewould work well together, other

days he was unreachable and would testme by

justifying why he didn't have to follow the rules of

the program."Battling" Tom on the issue of

following rules is necessary when his,thechildren

and the staff's safety are of concern.

"Tom is not having a very good day. He was in a

fight earlier andis not listening to directions" said

Sam as she greeted me. I couldtell by the tone of

her voice that she had reached her level with Tom.I

glanced over Sam's shoulder; Tom was playing

blocks with John who isone of the younger

children in the program, and the only one whom

Tomseems to have taken under his wing. I walked

over to Tom getting downto his eye level and said

hello. He looked up at me with eyes filledwith

anger and said, "shut up and leave me alone!" My

response, "Iunderstand you're angry, but it makes

it hard for me to help you whenyou're disrespectful

to me. It doesn't feel very good." "I'm sorry"said

Tom.

During recess Tom did not join the others in a game

of kick ball,but chose to use the swings. He swung

until leaping out, as children do,when they've

swung as high as they could go. Tom then decided

to jointhe others in the game and convinced the

pitcher to let him pitch.After two quick outs it was

time to go in for the afternoon meeting

andhomework. Tom did go with the group, but

refused to do his homework.One afternoon, while

walking into the after school program I noticedTom

was in the hallway laying on the carpet. Sam was

trying to get himoff the floor using verbal direction.

This did not work and Jim, theprincipal, was

called. Tom seemed indifferent to the news. When

theprincipal told Tom to get off the floor Tom

scurried along the carpetedhallway on his back. Jim

turned to me, rolled his eyes and said, "Tomwe are

not impressed. Do you want me to call your mom?"

Tom continuedto swim down the hallway until he

met Mr. G. (the custodian) who in afirm tone said,

"Get off my floor!" Tom did, only to run to the

nearestexit leading to the black-top.

Tom's avoidance tactics were wearing the staff

thin. I asked himwhy he was not listening to those

who were trying to help him. Hisresponse was,

"Shut-up your face!" I said, "Tom did I do

something tomake you angry?" Tom angrily

responded, "you are not like the otheraides who

worked with me before! They let me do anything I

wanted! Wealways went outside!"

"Tom I understand I'm not like the other aides, but

you can stillhave time for yourself if we first follow

the rules of the program."Tom said, "Just five

minutes and then I'll go in." I agreed.Five minutes

elapsed, " Tom lets go in now and be part of

thegroup." Tom refused to go in. He ran from me

and stood still at theedge of the jungle-gym. I told

him "You will not be disrespectful tome." He

responded by throwing sand in my face. I picked

him up andtried to carry him inside. He dug his

hands in the dirt and refused togive in. I let go and

backed off not wanting to escalate an alreadytense

situation. As soon as it had started the sand storm

had ended,and Tom was off the jungle-gym and

into the school where he could find aplace to hide

from me.

I found Tom in one of the rooms with a jump-rope

and ball in hishand saying," Come-on lets play" (as

if all had been forgotten). Isaid, " Tom you need to

put those things down now and get back to

themeeting room." He responded by swinging the

rope at me. I backed offbut Tom would not. He

was testing me to see how far he could push

me.My reflexes were sharp and I grabbed the rope,

but quickly let go toprevent a struggle. He kept

swinging the rope and I restrained his armswith my

hands the best I could while avoiding his attempts

to kick andbite me. Tom's mom conveniently

showed-up just after this behavior hadended. It's a

mystery to me how violent storms give way to

calmness.I told his mom of our afternoon and she

had Tom apologize. Shealso reminded Tom that he

needed to listen to me when I give him adirection.

Tom responded with a nod. As she left she

reminded me thatTom's behavior will be better

tomorrow.

After relating this incident to Sam, I was told to

document it. "What happens when Tom does this?"

I asked. Sam shook her head and said,"I'll call my

boss and let her know how Tom's behavior

hasdeteriorated."

Next Day:Sam: "I called my boss. She said Tom is

having a hard-time because itrecently was his

birthday, and most of the people he invited did

notshow. She sees Tom as really doing okay and

that this behavior is onlytemporary. She also said

Tom's behavior is better than it was lastyear."

Sam said to continue documenting all behavior of

the incident andthis will give her boss a clear

picture of Tom's recent behavior.Tom's behavior in

the following weeks deteriorated and my

anklesbecame more swollen. Similar incidents of

aggressive behavior weredirected towards the

children and staff. Tom was suspended from

theprogram for one day due to the number of

incidents.

Since working with Tom, I have been fortunate to

have received advice from educators who work

with troubled children. They have said that all

behavior has communicative intent. These

behaviors are "cries" for attention which need to be

addressed. Toward any kind of negative behavior

there is an instinctual negative response towards the

behavior. Rather than responding negatively to the

behavior, "Positive Intervention" is seen as the

more successful approach. For example, rather than

taking the defensive and telling Tom not to do

something when his behavior is inappropriate, I

now would ask him,"What are you trying to tell

me." This course of action breaks down the walls

of negativity so positive communication can take

place.

Another step towards the proper behavior is

documentation which I have started with Tom. The

documentation period necessary for changes in

behavior to take place is twenty-one days. The type

of documentation I am using is the "ABC Analysis"

(A: Antecedent, B: Behavior, C: Consequence).

This documentation focuses on behavior, by which

the improper behavior is stated and the proper

behavior taught. For example, Tom has found it

necessary to kick his opponents during a kick ball

game. Each time Tom kicks his opponents during

kick ball he sits out of the game or misses a game

completely. The documentation period with Tom is

two-weeks into the twenty-one day breaking point

for behavioral change. Although Tom is still

aggressive during team sports, he has stopped

kicking other players. Currently, a meeting is

planned for early next week to decide thebest

course of action for Tom. In this meeting,

consultants will decide whether to put Tom in a

pull-out program, in which Tom spends more time

one to one with his aide and less time with the other

children, or place Tom in a self-contained

classroom separate from regular education.Case

Questions for A Tough Time for Tom

Issues:

1. How is Tom's behavior affecting the way the

other children feelabout wanting to play with Tom?

2. How have Tom's aides in the past enabled him

to carry on thisbehavior?

3. How is Tom's behavior a threat to the other

children and staff?

4. Why may Tom be angry with his current aide?

5. How does Tom's mom react to his behavior?

Perspectives:

1. Why does Sam feel frustrated with the way

Tom's behavior is handled?

2. Why wasn't the aide initially given enough

information tosuccessfully work with Tom?

3. How do you think Sam's boss views the

situation?

4. Do you think Tom's mom is supporting the

goals of the program?

Knowledge:

1. What do you know about single-parent families

affecting a child'sbehavior?

2. How might the goals of the program be changed

to better help Tom?

3. What is Tom trying to tell us through his

behavior?

4. How might the other children be able to help

Tom?

5. Would more (one on one) free-time be beneficial

for Tom?

6. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

states for the child to be placed in the least

restrictive environment. Where do we draw the line

recognizing an environment which is potentially

dangerous to other children?

Actions:

1. Should a case such as Tom's been followed

more closely by the school?

2. If you were Tom's aide, how would you have

handled this situationwhile still following the goals

of the program?

3. Do you feel Tom should remain in the after

school program?