This strategy can reduce the non-compliance and
acting-out of students who react negatively to being told that they cannot
engage in a preferred activity or access a desired item.
Type: Student Strategy
Procedure:
First, the teacher creates a list of those
activities or items preferred by the student that can actually be provided.
Then, whenever the student requests an unavailable activity or item, the teacher structures the 'no' statement as
follows:
(1) The teacher states that the student cannot engage in the requested
activity or have the desired item;
(2) The teacher provides the student with an
explanation for why the preferred activity or item is not available;
(3) The
teacher offers the student an alternative preferred activity or item in place
of that originally requested.
Here is a sample teacher 'no' statement with
preferred alternative: "Roger, you cannot listen to your music now because
student music players are not allowed in class. However, you can take a
five-minute break to play the Math Blasters computer game that you like."
Source: http://www.interventioncentral.org/tools/behavior-intervention-planner
Research Citation: Mace, F. C., Pratt, J. L., Prager, K. L., &
Pritchard, D. (2011). An evaluation of three methods of saying "no"
to avoid an escalating response class hierarchy. Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis, 44, 83-94.