Are you looking for strategies to teach students to exhibit appropriate behaviors related to bodily functions? If so, keep reading.
1. Praise the student for demonstrating appropriate behavior related to bodily functions: (a) give the student a concrete reward (e.g., privileges such as leading the line, handing out learning materials, 10 minutes of free time, etc.) or (b) give the student an informal reward (e.g., praise, handshake, smile, etc.).
2. Converse with the student to explain (a) what they are doing wrong (e.g., urinating on floor, masturbating, etc.) and (b) what they must be doing (e.g., demonstrating appropriate social behavior).
3. Praise those students in the classroom who demonstrate appropriate social behavior.
4. Praise the student for demonstrating appropriate social behavior based on the duration of time they can be successful. As the student shows success, slowly increase the duration of time required for reinforcement.
5. Draft an agreement with the student stipulating what behavior is required (e.g., talking about topics that are appropriate for social situations) and what reinforcements will be made available when the terms of the agreement have been met.
6. Connect with parents (e.g., notes home, phone calls, etc.) to disseminate information about the student’s progress. The parents may reinforce the student at home for demonstrating appropriate social behavior at school.
7. Connect with parents, agencies, or appropriate parties to tell them about the problem, identify the cause of the problem, and discuss potential solutions to the problem.
8. Assess the appropriateness of the task to ascertain (a) if the task is too easy, (b) if the task is too complicated, and (c) if the duration of time scheduled to finish the task is sufficient.
9. Talk with the student about appropriate social behavior and make sure they know that behaviors are appropriate for public places and which are not.
10. Give sufficient supervision throughout the school environment to prevent the student from talking about bodily functions, masturbating, etc.
11. Make sure that the student is not inadvertently reinforced for participating in unacceptable behavior related to bodily functions (e.g., deal with the problem privately; avoid reacting in a shocked, disgusted, or angry manner, etc.).
12. Make sure that logical consequences follow the student’s unacceptable behavior related to bodily functions (e.g., others will not want to interact with the student; require the student to clean up urine, feces, etc.).
13. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
14. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.
15. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.
16. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.
