Cross Country Educatoin has outlined strategies to support you in guiding your students away from avoidance-driven behaviors and have organized them in the following way: strategies for before the refusal, during the refusal, and after the refusal. 

<p>If you’ve never had a student refuse to participate in an activity, attempt a task, complete an assignment, or work with a peer, consider yourself to be the incredibly lucky outlier. Most educational professionals encounter student refusal on a regular, if not daily, basis. Since all students have free will, we have no choice but to do our best to influence their decisions and steer them toward the right course of action. While this is often easier said than done, we have outlined some strategies to support you in guiding your students away from avoidance-driven behaviors and have organized them in the following way: strategies for before the refusal, during the refusal, and after the refusal.  </p>


<h2>Before: Choice Can be Preventative</h2>
<p>In the midst of a refusal, it’s important to recognize that the student is exercising control. They don’t have much control over their school day. The research shows that “<a href="https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/bi2-elem/cresource/q1/p07/" target="_blank">incorporating instructional choice leads to improvements in student engagement.</a>”¹ But if you give them choices prior to refusal this can potentially be a preventative measure. It’s crucial that you provide close ended options rather than open ended ones. For example: “would you like to sit in seat A or seat B” rather than “where do you want to sit”? </p>

<h2>During: Know the Why Behind the No</h2>
<p> If your student is refusing to do an educator prescribed action there’s a reason for that refusal. It could be that the task or activity is difficult, confusing, embarrassing, or even boring. The student might also be trying to avoid or escape the action due to something they are going through physically or emotionally such as feeling sick, tired, anxious, depressed etc. Escape behavior can be very serious as “<a href="https://vtss-ric.vcu.edu/media/vtss-ric/documents/cop/advanced-tiers/Function-Based-Treatments-for-Escape-Maintained-Problem-Behavior.pdf" target="_blank">a review of functional analysis outcomes found that 35% of self‑injurious behaviors were maintained by escape</a>”.² Therefore, it’s of the utmost importance to check in with your student 1:1 to see what it is that’s causing them to want to refuse to participate. 
</p>

<h3>Student-Selected Reinforcers</h3>
<p> Once you have clarified why the student is avoiding an action it’s time to right the ship. As educators we must help motivate students to complete countless actions that they simply aren’t interested in doing. While most educators know about utilizing reinforcers, many often don’t think to have students create and choose what they’ll be working towards. </p>

<h3>Coping Skills Over Compliance</h3> 
<p> While it’s evident that educators want students to comply with directions we also want them to be calm and ready for academic rigor. We cannot have that if a student is escalated. So if, and when, a student refuses, remind them of previously taught coping strategies and <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/teaching-self-regulation-skills-to-students-with-maladaptive-behaviors" target="_blank">if you’re uncertain as to where to start we have just the resource for you.</a>³</p>


<h2>After: Connect and Move Forward</h3>
<p> Once the student has completed the task at hand and is calm, empathize with them. Connect by sharing that there are times when you have to work even when you’d rather not. Additionally, review the <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/teaching-self-regulation-skills-to-students-with-maladaptive-behaviors" target="_blank">coping strategies</a> and ways they can ask for help in the future. Give them options to avoid refusal moving forward.  </p>


<p> Ultimately, students will always have the option to refuse to partake in an activity or assignment. Our goal as educators is to influence their behavior into remaining calm and choosing to opt-in. The more you know about your students and the more autonomy they have over their day the more likely they are to join in. </p>


<p> Interested in learning more about working with Cross Country Education? Let us know <a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/education/talent-professions?utm_source=Website&&utm_campaign=BLOG" target="_blank">here</a>! </p>


<h3>References:</h3>

<p> 1. <strong>Vanderbilt IRIS Center – Choice Making Module</strong></br>
IRIS Center. Addressing Challenging Behaviors (Part 2, Elementary): Behavioral Strategies – Page 7: Choice Making.
<a href="https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/bi2-elem/cresource/q1/p07/" target="_blank">https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/bi2-elem/cresource/q1/p07/</a></p>

<p> 2.<strong>Function‑Based Treatments for Escape‑Maintained Behavior</strong></br>
Virginia Tiered Systems of Supports – Research & Implementation Center (VTSS‑RIC). Function‑Based Treatments for Escape‑Maintained Problem Behavior.
<a href="https://vtss-ric.vcu.edu/media/vtss-ric/documents/cop/advanced-tiers/Function-Based-Treatments-for-Escape-Maintained-Problem-Behavior.pdf" target="_blank">https://vtss-ric.vcu.edu/media/vtss-ric/documents/cop/advanced-tiers/Function-Based-Treatments-for-Escape-Maintained-Problem-Behavior.pdf</a></p>

<p> 3. <strong>Teaching Self‑Regulation Skills to Students With Maladaptive Behaviors</strong></br>
Cross Country Education. Teaching Self‑Regulation Skills to Students With Maladaptive Behaviors.<a href="https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/teaching-self-regulation-skills-to-students-with-maladaptive-behaviors">
https://www.crosscountry.com/blog/teaching-self-regulation-skills-to-students-with-maladaptive-behaviors
</a>
</p>






How to Respond to Student Refusal

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