Patterns of Quality
Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.
Comments:

My understanding of Quality: The learner may be able to complete a task or demonstrate a skill; however the completed project is not readily recognized or understood by others. To understand the response the evaluator would need to take extra time in observing, questioning, or studying etc. to make sense of the response. The learner’s quality of work does not demonstrate his knowledge in a way that is recognizable to others.

Patterns of Latency
Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.
Comments:

My understanding of latency – is the amount of time that the learner takes to respond reasonable? If the learner is able to respond appropriately within a reasonable amount of time they understand that task or question, if they respond quickly and are not able to complete the task reliably or fully, they are on their way to understanding or have holes in their learning. If the learner does not respond, looks away, or is unable to demonstrate task the learner is struggling and does not understand the task.

Patterns of Assistance
Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.
Comments:

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors
An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.
Comments:

My understanding of Interfering Behaviors are those behaviors that prohibit the learner from participating in learning or task completion. The behaviors may be conscious or unconscious to the learner. They may be easily seen or heard or hardly noticeable to the observer. In order for the task to be completed the learner needs move beyond these behaviors, possibly with the offer a reward (intrinsic or extrinsic).

Patterns of Unexpected Performance
Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance.
Comments:

To me Unexpected Performance is being able to do something without someone teaching you how, explaining it to you or you having seen a picture of it before. I would think an example would be like a child able to add numbers without having practice with the skill or being able to read long words with only beginning decoding skills.

I think a Pattern of Exposure should be added to the list. Many of our students are lacking the exposure or the skills the need to access prior knowledge they need to be successful. It does not require that the student be referred for SPED services but does require some support. Patterns of Exposure limit a child’s ability to access the same information as their grade level peers.

Part II: Example of at Least One Pattern
(Remember, you only need to complete one, but feel free to complete as many as you like.)

Patterns of Quality
List Patterns of Quality:
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean?
Quality of behavior are the “toos”. Too difficult to understand. Too hard to read. Too much or not enough. The lack of effective delivery of a skill or production of a product.

What does it tell you about yourself? Quality: when I am nervous I tend to speak quickly which often make it difficult for others to understand what I am saying. This speed affects the quality of the conversation or the information that I am trying to share. I feel that my emotions impact my ability to be effective; as does my interest level and patience for a task.

What are the implications? Implications for Quality: When evaluating a learners task or response, if they are not understood a leader might feel that the learner is not capable of completing the task and reteach or recommend extra supports for the learner.

Patterns of Latency
List Patterns of Latency:
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? These patterns suggest that the amount of time it takes an individual to respond is related to the mastery level of the respondent or the lack of understanding.

What does it tell you about yourself? It took me several rereadings of this assignment to understand the tasks, then several readings of the patterns to understand them. This time that it took me to respond to the task I feel demonstrated a pattern of latency as I was not quickly able to respond to the task at hand. Latency is not a pattern that I struggle with in topics that I am familiar with. I find that I often answer to quickly when peers ask me for favors (I hear the task, understand how to do it, but then later struggle with the consequences of the favor). I struggle with patterns of latency when I am unfamiliar with topics or when I don’t want to discuss something. One would suggest I need support and the other enlists avoidance techniques. When I don’t understand a task it tasks me longer to process and come to a conclusion.

What are the implications? Implications of Latency would suggest that if the response is slow in coming or not accurate or doesn’t come at all that the learner requires support.

Patterns of Assistance
List Patterns of Assistance:
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors
List Patterns of Interfering Behavior:
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? The behavior pattern would suggest that the behavior is creating an obstacle to the student learning. The struggle in learning is not a result of a lack of ability but rather a lack of emotional or physical control to complete a task that may be not preferred.

What does it tell you about yourself? Interfering Behaviors: The weather is nice and school is out for summer, I don’t REALLY want to get on my computer to work on anything, So I think I’ll do it later. I need to do this now. The day is young. Tomorrow… tomorrow I’ll do it. These are all examples of my avoidance or interfering behaviors. I don’t ever become verbally or physically aggressive in order to avoid a task. I may offer a several excuses or create other tasks which interferes with my ability to complete tasks . Tells me I’m a procrastinator.

What are the implications? Implications of Interfering Behaviors: Often the task is not completed and the learning did not occur. If the task was completed was the chances of long term learning were probably diminished because the focus was on the behaviors not the task. Interring behaviors can be frightening to those around the learner or painful. The behaviors may be exhausting to the learner and demand energy that is no longer available for learning. Interfering behaviors interfere…

Patterns of Unexpected Performance
List Patterns of Unexpected Performance:
These are behaviors or skills that occur without prior experience or teaching. They may be a result of some exposure or interest.
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? These patterns occur out of the blue. The pattern may be regularly occurring or fleeting. The pattern may be demonstrated as a strength or a weakness or impacting behavior.

What does it tell you about yourself? I’m struggling to see Unexpected performance in myself. When I think of things I haven’t done before and the end result is good, I can then make links to the end result.

What are the implications?
An implication of an Unexpected Performance might suggest that a learner is challenged to with more complex tasks while they are lacking the foundational skills for the tasks. I might even predict that over time other learners would develop these skills and the learners who were experiencing these unexpected performances would possibly be struggling with the depth of the skill or no longer considered advanced.

Part I:
Patterns of Quality
Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.
Comments:
To me, patterns of quality positively correlates with students cognitive functioning and high order thinking, such as recall, memorization, processing speed, comprehension and application. It is a very broad and complex concept that I find difficult to define and measure. I will need clear criteria and rubrics how to measure it and how to measure patterns of quality and what the desired outcome is expected.

 
Patterns of Latency
Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior. 
Comments:
 I believe that latency is a very important concept that should be considered during instructions and assessments. There are individual and cultural differences that impact learning in terms of response time. For example, when working with Alaska Native students, I learned that in their culture they are comfortable with silence and taking time before they provide verbal response to questions. Their patterns of latency should be accommodated by providing the wait time for responses to questions and prompts.

Patterns of Assistance
Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.
Comments:
¥ My understanding of assistance relates to Vygotsky’s scaffolding concept, the degree of assistance provided to a child to help them perform a task.
¥ It is very important to give help but not more than is needed to promote learning. Eventually, the goal is to fade assistance as we want them to be independent learners.
¥ The pattern of assistance should be thoughtfully planned and delivered. It may vary based on students’ performance and needs (Tier 1 vs Tier 2 vs Tier 3).

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors
An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning. 
Comments:

For me, an interfering behavior can be defined as a child’s adaptive learned responses in relationship to the learning environment. It is a learned behavior that has a function. For example, every time the child gets frustrated with a difficult task, he throws things and rips off the worksheet. As a result, he is sent to the office. This child has had a history of repeated aggressive response and these behaviors were reinforced by removing him from challenging tasks. These responses became a learned behavior that ‘wired in the brain’. Next step should be teaching the student other ways to asks for help, as well as self-regulation skills and reinforce appropriate responses.
  
Part II:
Patterns of Latency apply to me as learner. I do know that I need more time than other people to process new information. For this assignment, I had to reread directions several times to understand what the expectations are. On the one hand, I do struggle with patterns of latency, possibly because of the language barrier as English is not my native language. I am a native Russian and Ukrainian speaker. On the other hand, it is probably a part of my personality and temperament. I am usually a reserved person, not impulsive and not quick to respond. I like to take my time to think about things to make thoughtful decisions. In my daily life and professional activities, there are situations when taking time to respond during difficult and emotional meetings help me be a better listener and be able to have time to think about possible solutions while letting other people talk and express concerns.

Hi Dawn,
You make me feel better when you talk about the patterns of latency and that it took you several rereadings of this assignment to understand the tasks, then several readings of the patterns to understand them. I do recognize this pattern within my learning repertoire. I think it is very important to learn about our own learning styles, strengths and weaknesses. It help us understand our students better and relate to their struggles.

Hi Olena,

I appreciated your definitions and comments on the patterns of behavior. They helped me to better understand and further develop my understanding of them and how they impact and effect an individuals learning. I agree with your statement on latency. I feel it is overlooked in students who are performing in our classrooms. I remind my peers often that we need t give students an opportunity to respond, not just in academic settings, but also when dealing with behavior. Some students need to take longer to process the information and allow for clearer choices to be made or time to organize their thoughts. I appreciate you comment about being reserved and quickly responding. I agree that taking your time to respond during difficult times is a better method than quickly jumping back into the conversation. It is a difficult thing for many to do, to sit in silence while thinking.

Module 4.3 Assignment

Part I: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns

Patterns of Quality

Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.

Comments:
My understanding of this type of pattern is that we should not only look at a student’s abilities and needs, but also at what might be considered the level that they have achieved within the skill. If their quality is not where we would like it to be we examine why that is. Since every child develops at a different rate, the quality with which they perform the task may be acceptable or may indicate a lower level of the characteristics in the way they demonstrate that skills. If the child is not performing the skills with desired qualities, it may indicate a cause for stalled learning. It do find quality to be a difficult concept as it seems to a less precise feature to measure that those that would traditionally be used to make a goal IEP worthy, such as level of accuracy. If accuracy is considered a part of the quality pattern then it is more understandable to me.

Patterns of Latency

Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.

Comments:
This pattern is one that I seem to be more aware of tracking than I am with quality. Pauses in response time. Most children that I work with seem to have their own requirements for wait time they require processing a request or direction. Taking the time to observe this process time and to identify the needed level, allows us to be realistic in our expectations on students. Rather than to repeat a direction or question, providing them with opportunity to process and respond allows them to have success in meeting expectations. As one of our extra handouts for this module says, “we have little control over making development happen faster.” If we accept the need for each child to process at its own rate, we are overcoming a potential barrier in all skill development

Patterns of Assistance

Patterns of Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.

Comments:
Level of assistance is definitely a pattern requiring educator awareness. When we are first introducing a step in skill development, the child will need a higher level of support from us. However, if we maintain that same high degree of assistance, we are interring with the child’s full skill development. Since multiple staff may be working with the student on the same learning, it is important that the level of support from staff be clearly stated by the teacher and that progress be monitored using a consistent amount of assistance.

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors

An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.

Comments:
Behavior patterns are frequently a concern for educators. I feel that if we track unwanted behaviors using an Antecedent/Behavior/Consequence format, we gather valuable information into what is happening and why. I believe that regardless of whether the behavior is by choice or unconscious we still face challenges that interfere with the child’s learning and often with the learning environment for other students as well.

Part II: Patterns in My Own Skills
I would select the pattern of Quality as the area that most frequently tries to interfere with my actions at work. When multiple high priority needs occur, it is difficult for me to focus on just one at a time. This happens even though I know that my quality deteriorates when I mix my focus. The variables for me are most noticeable on days when, as an itinerant staff person, I have scheduled time with specific children and programs but the other demands of my job do not diminish. However, it is my choice to lose focus of one priority while drifting to another. These decisions do result in a pattern that diminishes my quality of job performance. To improve quality I need to make a list of my current priorities and then pick one to complete at a time. This requires much self-control.

Step 1&2: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns
Patterns of Quality: Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.
Comments: I can observe patterns of quality through all types of play. Looking at skill acquisition from emerging to accomplished, I need to determine what is happening. Is that child is stuck at a certain level of quality (scribbling with a fisted grip) a d not able to move forward because there is a physical concern? Or doe it mean that the child has had less opportunities to practice the skill and/or may simply need some targeted instruction.

Patterns of Latency: Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior. 
Comments: When I consider latency, I find myself considering executive functioning and processing. I see so much hurrying of children to stay on schedule and complete tasks that in the hurried endeavor many learning opportunities are actually missed. Children are also not given the time to respond to requests or answer questions when they are just beginning to acquire new concepts and understandings. I had several students last year with this struggle and at IEP meetings I often emphasized “wait time” (meaning counting to at least 5 in a teacher’s head) before jumping in to assist, correct, or move on. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the impulsive learners who rush ahead and do not take the time they really need to process and gain understanding of an outcome.

Patterns of Assistance: Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.
Comments: We all need assistance from time to time. But the child whose performance routinely stalls (latency?) or who’s quality is consistently limited (again the overlap) over time, without assistance, raises concerns. The confusion that I find when considering this pattern is with the idea of “learned helplessness” or “attention seeking” behaviors that seek out assistance. It can be difficult to understand the observable behavior in terms of a child demonstrating a need for assistance as a form of communication – which generally leads me to think that the child is experiencing some type of stressors that need to be identified.
 
Patterns of Interfering Behaviors: An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however, many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning. 
Comments: This one is complex!! And again – I see overlaps with the others. A struggling student would refuse to participate in tasks that involved drawing or writing because his perception of his own work caused him frustration – not as “perfect” as he wanted it to be – so he would tear up his work or refuse to participate . . .when the thing he needed most were more learning opportunities. Granted – there were other issues at play in this classroom (expectations were too high with too much “table work”. He certainly did a good job of letting the teacher know his feelings about her practice 😉

Patterns of Unexpected Performance: Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance. 
Comments: In considering unexpected performance I think that most children exhibit this from time to time based on their strengths and abilities. But the patterns that I find notable range greatly. An example: that a child who cannot socially communicate with others or demonstrate understanding of a story is able to read written words or sentences that are beyond his age expectations.

Part II: Example of at Least One Pattern  
I self-identify my learning as having components of latency and quality patterns. I am first and foremost a visual learner. But that modality alone is not always sufficient to embed knew knowledge into my aging brain :). I also find the need for additional auditory learning experiences – as well as time to discuss and find practical applications. This is particularly true in overcoming the patterns I exhibit – in how quickly (latency) I acquire new concepts and in my attention to detail (quality). As I move through the second half of my fifth decade – my needs in these areas are intensified (and sometimes need to be amplified). I often need to see and hear something more than once. I also need to find multiple avenues of processing new information by finding applications to situations that are relevant and meaningful in the work that I am actually doing with teachers and children. When I have these opportunities, my learning patterns do not create a barrier to or inhibit me from moving forward in my development as a learner.

Daniel –
Thank you for your honest assessment of quality as a difficult pattern to deal with. I also work as an itinerant teacher and understand how challenging it can be to maintain quality in the midst of constant change. I like your comment about making lists – and when I remember to do that – I too am more likely to give quality work to all of the children and adults seeking my attention. The mindfulness “movement” also helps me to focus on the moment at hand so that I give it my full attention and hopefully my best work. But even so – distractions and multiple demands may tear and the edges of my mind. I encourage you as I do myself, to keep at it and know that we are working to make the difference in the life of one child at a time!
-Melinda

Part I: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns
Patterns of Quality
Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.
Comments:
What I understand patterns of quality to be are the results that differ from the norm. These results can be too slow, too fast, too messy, too incorrect, too loud, etc. I think patterns of quality don’t necessarily have to be bad. I think that students can show patterns of excellent quality, standard quality, and below standard quality.
What I don’t understand about the patterns of quality is how they may hinder the understanding of others. Is this talking about a student who is yelling in class may hinder the lesson for other students? Or is it that if another student did it the same way, it would hinder the understanding?

Patterns of Latency
Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.
Comments:
What I understand about latency is that it is the amount of time it take someone to respond to a stimulus. This stimulus is often a verbal or visual prompt in the school setting. Latency becomes a concern when a student takes longer than expected to respond to a prompt and therefore needing more reminders. It can also be responding to a prompt on impulsivity. This student needs to learn how to think before they act and slow down.

Patterns of Assistance
Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.
Comments:
What I understand about patterns of assistance is how much help someone needs from another person or environment to complete a task. This is important in an educational setting because we want to increase the independence of our students. I have seen many students who show signs of “learned helplessness.” This is when a student has learned that another person will intervene and help them before they even try. We want to look for patterns of assistance to see where we can teach a student to become more independent.

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors
An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.
Comments:
What I understand as interfering behaviors are ones that occur that make the desired behavior unachievable. For example, if a child is asked to sit quietly, but is humming to himself, the humming is interfering with him sitting quietly. I think looking for patterns of interfering behaviors is important in school because we can teach to that behavior. We can teach an interfering behavior to the interfering behavior. If the student screams every time a paper is put in front of them, we can teach the child to ask for a break instead. Asking for a break interferes with the screaming.

Patterns of Unexpected Performance
Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance.
Comments:
What I understand of patterns of unexpected performance is that the student is inconsistent in his performance. Patterns of unexpected performance may show a child performing above what you would expect in a certain area, but be missing some of the basic skills when asked to do them. Another example may be a student who can follow 3-step directions in one setting, but only single step prompts in another. We want to look for the barriers that are getting in the way of the expected performance of the child, so we need to see and look for the patterns of unexpected performance.

Part II: Example of at Least One Pattern
Patterns of Latency
List Patterns of Latency:
-Starting an assignment after a delayed amount of time that was planned
-cleaning the house instead of starting an assignment
-writing lesson plans instead of working on finalizing an IEP
-Finding a colleague to collaborate with (talk to/waste time) instead of analyzing data
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?
I think that these patterns that I listed mean that I have a severe case of procrastination. I know that I like to complete tasks, but it takes me a while to get them started. I like to think about my tasks before starting them and then complete them in one sitting. I sometimes get anxiety when I don’t know what is exactly expected of me in a task or I think it is overwhelming, so I put it off until there is pressure to get it done. The implications that I have learned about myself is that I need to make lists and check things off my list. If I have a mental list, I will procrastinate and dawdle. If I have a physically written list, I am more likely to sit down and check items off the list. Another implication is scheduling when I will get the tasks done. I will also schedule in breaks or allow myself a break after completing each task.

Part I: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns
Patterns of Quality
Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.

Comments:

To me, detecting a concern with a pattern of quality means that the student can perhaps perform the task, but not to the degree that is required for mastery. Because the skill is not truly mastered (or maybe mastered incorrectly) it will limit the student’s acquisition of later skills that are built upon this skill. For example, a student who struggles with social skills and peer interactions may learn to converse with others. They may make eye-to-eye contact and go through the motions of holding a back and forth conversation. But if there is a concern in the quality of their conversational skills, they may speak too quickly, too loudly, not with enough intonation, perhaps they perseverate on one topic or struggle to be able to take other people’s perspectives into account. All of these issues reflect concerns with the quality of the student’s social conversational skills and can limit the student’s interactions and participation with others, thus limiting the development of other social skills.

Patterns of Latency
Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.

Comments:

Latency is the amount of time that it takes a person to respond to a stimulus. I think that concerns with latency are an area that is highly variable and dependent on many external factors and it can often be difficult to determine whether these concerns stem from a disability or from environmental factors, such as culture.
I tend to be more concerned with a pattern in which the student responds too quickly or impulsively to a demand because it can result in poor quality of work and decreased focus when learning new skills. I am less concerned with a pattern of latency in which the student requires extra time to process and respond to information. With a few exceptions (such as reading fluency- which is important for comprehension), slower response times do not tend to impact the student’s ability to understand information or perform a task well. Furthermore, especially in Alaska, longer response times are often driven by cultural expectations and norms and have no correlation with disability.

Patterns of Assistance
Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.

Comments:

A pattern of assistance could also be thought of as a concerning pattern detected with a student’s independence. This would be when a student cannot (or will not) perform a task (such as eating with a fork, reading, dressing, toileting, transitioning, writing, etc.) independently, though they have been given ample time and scaffolding for it to be reasonable to expected independence with the skill. Detecting this sort of pattern (or any of these patterns) helps the team to focus their attentions on how to collect further data, but detection of the pattern alone does not give a clear indication of why the student is struggling, as the causes can be numerous. For example if the student has difficulties with independent toileting, possible causes are:
Environmental factors: Learned helplessness: the student refuses to wipe independently because they have not been forced to and they don’t want to.
A different rate of development (still within the norm for the student’s age): Student is 3 and just isn’t ready yet.
Developmental delay (Student cannot perform the task because they have not mastered the cognitive skills required to perform the task): Student is 6 and still not ready.
Disability with fine or gross motor skills: student has difficulty with balance or physically getting to/on the toilet in time.
Adaptive skills delay: Student struggles to transition and does not stop playing in time to make it to toilet.
Anxiety or other social/emotional needs: Student cannot perform the task because they have so much internal anxiety that they cannot focus on it or do not want to try it. (ex: Student is overwhelmed by other factors and cannot focus on performing a skill that is not yet automatic; fear of bathroom, toilet or noise that toilet makes; student it the victim of abuse.)
Medical need: Student cannot physically detect the need.

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors
An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.

Comments:

A pattern of interfering behaviors would be when a student responds to an expectation by performing an alternate activity. For example, a student is expected to clean up, but they keep playing or completely melt down; a student is expected to start reading, but they sharpen pencils, clean their desk, get a drink of water, go to the bathroom- anything so that they don’t have to read; a student is expected to participate in a physical activity, but lacks self-confidence due to poor coordination and decides to sit on the sidelines instead; a student is expected to share a toy, but instead they throw, scream, and bite. Sometimes these alternate behaviors are learned, and thus, within the student’s control and sometimes they are not. Sometimes they are due to a disability, and sometimes they are not.

Patterns of Unexpected Performance
Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance.

Comments:

As I understand it, these are patterns of behavior that simply do not follow the “normal” developmental progression of skill mastery. They may master difficult skills seemingly without being taught. They may master skills in an unexplained or unusual order. Or they may master advanced skills at the same time as the prerequisite skills on which they depend. An example would be a child who learns to walk and crawl at about the same time; a student who learns to write letters and words before learning to draw representational pictures; a student who has ridden a bike for two years, but cannot swing his arms in an alternating pattern while running; a student who is a master at building with tiny Legos, but does not have the fine motor skills to eat with a fork or cut with scissors; a student who very consistently writes and eats with his left hand, but switches to his right when throwing a ball. Though these do not necessarily indicate an “IEP worthy” concern or even a disability, this sort of pattern could cause frustration later in life if prerequisite skills are not mastered by the time that the student is expected or wants to perform higher-level tasks. I do not see this pattern as frequently as any of the others. Interestingly, all of the examples that I gave were observed in the same student.

Part II: Identified Pattern of My Learning

Patterns of Latency

List Patterns of Latency: The pattern of latency that I can identify in myself is the fact that I tend to be relatively slow and deliberate in what I do. I think I read and comprehend text just a little bit slower than many- especially if the subject is unfamiliar or uninteresting. I eat slowly. I complete work tasks, schoolwork, and produce artwork methodically. I think before I speak or act. I have never been highly impulsive and I find that rushing often produces unnecessary errors. However, I don’t feel I have never been slow to a degree that could be considered a hindrance or a disability and I think that it is just a personality trait. This trait has some benefits as well: I am a detail-oriented person. I value quality over quantity and I never like to attach my name to a piece of work that I feel is shoddy. I tend to be patient and a good listener. Thinking before I speak and act reduces the number of poor or dangerous decisions that I have made (even as a teenager) and it helps maintain positive social relationships. To account for this trait, I just know that I need to allow enough time to complete tasks because when I procrastinate (an interfering behavior that I admit that I do) the resulting “all-nighters” can be exhausting.

Mark Dinelt 5/9/2019

Part I: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns

Patterns of Quality
Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.
Comments: To me Quality refers to how good an action is done. Like a Performance, you want it to done “just right”. Many things can go wrong a little wrong or be a bit off and stil be acceptable, for many skills. Others need to be “just so” to work properly or safely.

Patterns of Latency
Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.
Comments: Latency can be a very important issue or a minor annoyance. Sometimes an action has to happen in a timely manner or it is just too late. People have moved on, someone else has completed the task or, if you wait too long, you might forget what you were asked to do. Of course, responding too quickly might mean that didn’t listen carefully and missed some of the directions so that the wrong action is taken or is done incompletely. Depending on the complexity of the task you may require more or less time to respond appropriately. You might even do something before the person making the request is ready.

Patterns of Assistance
Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.
Comments: I have noticed a particular pattern of assistance used for me when I am requesting help with my computer. Most often a helpful person will come over, hit a few buttons and say, “There you go”. Sometimes that’s ok. But usually I prefer, if someone has the time, that they walk me through the process, slowly. When they quickly demonstrate, I can’t follow or remember what they have done so it doesn’t help in the long run.
On the other hand, I have definitely had students who have learned to be “helpless” and can’t seem to do much on their own because someone always rescues them. I personally find this difficult to deal with because I have to be very conscious of waiting for them to help themselves and having the patience not to rush. Sometimes knowing how much they can actually do, given the opportunity, can be tricky to guess, also.

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors
An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.
Comments: I have experienced this when facing what seems to be a very challenging task, either physically or mentally and which may be expected to take a long time, even if I could do it. At times like these, it seems everything is a distraction to me and I find myself doing a great variety of tasks, some useful, some not, and making little progress on the actual task at hand. I have had a few students who exhibit a great number of interfering behaviors and, apparently, random behaviors, some hurtful or dangerous, with no apparent useful function (from my point of view) for the student. How to get someone like that engaged in some activity that will provide them with some benefit is a great challenge.

Patterns of Unexpected Performance
Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance.
Comments:

Part II: Example of at Least One Pattern
(Remember, you only need to complete one, but feel free to complete as many as you like.)

Patterns of Quality
List Patterns of Quality: I enjoy writing papers for classes. I have enjoyed writing on topics chosen for me or freestyle. I always did well in my Language Arts classes and continued to enjoy producing papers for my college classes. I don’t think I write as good as I used to, partly because I am older and don’t care to put as much thought into my writing and partly because writing skills have declined since the advent of the internet and texting. In a practical way, this has translated to fairly good communication skills with my parents and doing the necessary writing for my school work, especially the writing of IEP’s. I often do not do as well as I would like due to the time constraints of getting all of the work done in a timely manner.
I tend to be shy or slow to get to know people. I do much better with my students. But with other adults, I often come off as abrupt and not very communicative. I like to share things slowly over time, as natural situations develop and allow for more intimate interactions.
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications? When people just see my writing, they see someone competent and able to express themselves well. When they meet me personally, they may be unsure about my abilities and it may take some time before I can show the quality of my work.

Patterns of Latency
List Patterns of Latency: For me, the biggest issue of latency is how I get to know people, which is usually very slowly. This is not true with most children that I work with. I am very comfortable with children and tend to be able to establish a good report with my students fairly quickly.
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications? I am usually able to demonstrate my skills in the classroom fairly quickly which helps supervisory staff and the people I work with directly evaluate me in a more positive light.

Patterns of Assistance
List Patterns of Assistance:
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors
List Patterns of Interfering Behavior:
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?

Patterns of Unexpected Performance
List Patterns of Unexpected Performance:
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?

STEP 4- Respond to at least one colleague’s posting.
I especially liked Olena’s observation on Latency in relation to Native Alaskan students. Coming from a “”hunting culture”, listening and observation are critical skills and may make “them” seem “slow” when observed by non-Natives.
I defiinitely related to the “interfering” behaviors mentioned by Dawn and cited by Andrea as “Latency”, which I believe is how I looked at it. Definitely some overlap but important to keep in mind, in any case.
I also related to Olena’s need to think about things before making a thoughtful reply and response in meetings. My thoughtfulness may help me develop good responses but not always in a timely manner, under the circumstances.
I appreciated Namomi’s observations about not being quick to identify students as qualifying for Special Services. I was also slow in Math growing up but really just needed more practice as I now have excellent, basic math skills. I also did well in Geometry, where memory was important, as I was very good at memorizing theorems which helped me earn my first A in math.

Part I: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns

Patterns of Quality
Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.

Comments:
• Doesn’t have to be a new skill or a concurrent skill, the student may be struggling but doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s an IEP worthy need
• Quality of performance – how much do they know – what are they missing?
• As a teacher, we can reflect of why their quality is not at the desired level. What new strategies can be implemented? Does a modification/accommodation need to be adjusted or added? Does the skill need more targeted instruction? Are they missing a pre-requisite skill? Does something need scaffolded or differentiated?
• Can be observed throughout different play areas within the classroom – helps the teacher figure out the “why” and the “too” too fast, too slow, too loud, too quiet

Patterns of Latency

Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern; however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior. 

Comments:
• Latency to me is the time it takes for a student to respond…respond to a prompt, a cue, a request, or a direction
• The amount of prompts, cues, requests, or number of directions can become a concern if the child isn’t able to perform the task independently – the child may need to slow down or the teaching strategy may need to change
• Often, preschool students have an accommodation for ample wait time after a question has been asked. Many teachers like to keep asking the question over and over without ever giving the child time to answer the question. I often tell families less is more… use less words and give them time to think of an answer and then time to formulate the words.

Patterns of Assistance

Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.

Comments:
• To me pattern of assistance is how much help a child needs from the teacher, teacher assistant, related service provider, peer, or parent to complete a task, a direction, a desired outcome
• This pattern is important as it helps students develop and learn independence
• Often, without even knowing it, adults at times prevent students from being independent. At times in the classroom, it’s easier and quicker to help the student put on their snow gear, then to let the student put on their snow gear by themselves. It’s quicker to help with pants down and pants up then letting the child attempt it by themselves. For these two examples, a visual schedule may help the child be independent and take the responsibility off the adult.
• Once a teacher recognizes this pattern, they can reflect on what changes can be made in order to help give the independence back to the child or how to help them become more independent

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors

An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning. 

Comments:
• To me patterns of interfering behaviors is often a child trying to communicate, even if it’s inappropriate
• As a teacher, it’s important to consider the “why” behind the interfering behavior “Why is the child screaming during handwriting?” “Why does the child run away during circle time?” “Why does the flop each time they are prompted to use the bathroom?”
• Once we can figure out the “why” we can hopefully lesson the interfering behavior with a better teaching strategy, better accommodation/modification, or a planned teaching moment
• Sometimes, I feel like the “why” can be teacher related such as everyday you ask a student to use the bathroom during the start of play time… the student flops and screams everyday. Maybe the “why” is because playtime just started and the student is completely wrapped up in their play. By giving the command at a different time with appropriate warning and a visual my lesson the unwanted behavior

Patterns of Unexpected Performance 

Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance. 

Comments:
• To me patterns of unexpected performance is “splinter skills” which means they have some high skills and some low skills in a specific developmental area but are missing some stepping stones between the low and high skill
• Often students need target interventions to help develop these inconsistent skills
• What barriers are in the way causing these skills to be splintered? How can we remove the barriers? Is a different developmental area affecting these skills from being learned?
  
Part II: Example of at Least One Pattern

To me, I relate well to patterns of assistance. As a special education teacher who travels between general education preschool classrooms, I often find myself jumping in to help students who are struggling instead of taking a step back and giving them time to complete the task by themselves. I have to remind myself to give them the extra 1 or 2 minutes to struggle and wait for them to ask for help before offering a prompt, cue, or visual. I’m a problem solver and like to help others….but at times it hinders others too. Sometimes that student needs to fail or struggle in order to learn the task. As a college to others, I am also really bad at saying “no” even when I need to. I like to help others or to give support. I often find myself asking myself “why am I helping with this?” as I often get stuck enabling others from doing a task that they can do by themselves. I have to remind myself that it’s okay to say “no” or offer minimal support so others do not walk all over me. I also have to remind myself that it’s okay if other’s offer support… it doesn’t always have to be me as it can at times make my plate too full.

Peer Response to Olena:

I’ve had the pleasure of working with you for a few years now and absolutely love completing ESER/IEP meetings with you. I think being able to speak three different languages gives you a different compassion in our assessment meetings to where you can read parents body languages and answer tough questions with compassion, ease, and love. As parents ask tough questions or we consider an eligibility category parents may have not realized was an option, you’ve always presented it with ease and taken the time to answer all questions or concerns. At times, patterns of latency may seem like a fault to you but it’s also a strength!

Response to Daniel Kaasa:

I agree with you observation regarding behavior patterns. I think it is very important that educators use a format such as the ABC format to document and take data on the challenging behavior in order to develop a plan to address it. Aggressive behaviors, avoidance behaviors, etc. interfere with a student’s learning and therefore needs to be addressed.

I can also relate to your comments in regards to Patterns of Quality in yourself. I also tend to have too many tasks to accomplish at once which can lead me to make mistakes or become overwhelmed. I have learned to virtually shake myself, take a breath and focus on one thing at a time.

Step 2: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns

Patterns of Quality
Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish the desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.

Comments:
My understanding of Patterns of Quality is that children can do something either too much or not enough. For instance, I know a child who gets too excited when there is a lot of activity in the classroom. He begins to talk too loudly. He moves too quickly. He bumps into objects and people. None of his actions are intended to hurt anyone. He just can’t seem to control himself and typically an adult has to help him regulate by giving him a big hug or gently talking with him while rubbing his arms.

Patterns of Latency

Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.

Comments:
When I think of Patterns of Latency I think of children (and adults) who either respond much too quickly to a question or prompt or respond extremely slowly. I have had students who respond to a question before I have even stated the entire question (and frequently incorrectly). I have also worked with students who don’t provide any indication that they are even considering responding to a question or prompt. Their delayed response may very well have to do with an inability to perform the task, a way to avoid the task or an inability to understand what is being asked/requested.

I have had many years of experience working with English language learners. In many instances, a response is delayed because the child/adult needs to process the information/question in their first language and then translate it into English in order to provide a response. This is not a disability, even though I’ve encountered many people who seem to think it is.

Patterns of Assistance

Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.

Comments:
When I think of Patterns of Assistance I think of “learned helplessness”. As an educator, I have to be very careful to make sure that I’m not providing a student with so much assistance that s/he comes to expect it and is unwilling to try a skill on his/her own or with a fading of assistance.

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors

An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept or skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.

Comments:

I think it’s important to look for Patterns of Interfering Behaviors in order to determine when they occur, under what circumstances, with whom, etc. so that the team can then come up with a plan to reduce the behavior. I particularly think of aggressive behaviors that appear to be purposeful (to avoid a situation or manipulate a situation). In the case of the student, I am thinking of, this behavior is most definitely interfering with his learning.

Patterns of Unexpected Performance

Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance.

Comments:

My understanding of Patterns of Unexpected Performance is that students demonstrate inconsistent skill development. I hear math teachers talk a lot about students who have gaps in their learning. I have noticed this on occasion when completing math achievement tests. Sometimes students will do poorly on basic computation but do well in problem-solving because they can find alternate ways to solve the problem.

Step 3: Complete at least one of the patterns by considering your own skills and abilities. Completing a pattern means listing the patterns and considerations. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WRITE AN EXAMPLE FOR EACH TYPE OF PATTERN.

Patterns of Quality
List Patterns of Quality: work too quickly, multi-task, try to accomplish too many things in too short a time frame.

Pattern Considerations: I often cut my time too short and then rush to complete something. I noticed this the other day when I was getting ready for a baby shower. I was trying to put together the decorations and I was rushing. My fingers kept fumbling and I couldn’t seem to accomplish anything. I finally made myself stop, take a breath, and then continue at a slower more reasonable pace. Everything was completed in a timely fashion without the added stress of rushing.

I am also a multi-tasker, often having two computers and a phone that I’m attending at the same time. It is inefficient (and I know it) but I feel compelled to carry on. Sometimes I just have to pull myself aside and say “ENOUGH”. When I do focus on one task at a time, I typically get so much more done.

Part I: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns

Patterns of Quality

Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.

Comments
For me patterns of quality is how well done a task or skill is demonstrated. I think of the idea of quality over quantity, a child may be able to do several tasks quickly but the quality of the tasks may keep them from being adequate or functional.

Patterns of Latency

Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.

Comments:

I think Latency for some people can become the biggest pattern to interfere with education and progress. If something takes to long you might miss the next activity or be late for the transition which can cause stress and for some meltdown behavior. It can also make it difficult to complete a task as directions may be missed as they are trying to complete the first part.

Patterns of Assistance

Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.

Comments:
Patterns of assistance to me is when a child/caregiver relationship has formed where the child waits before acting to see if the caregiver will provide or do for them, or the caregiver won’t require them to “up the anty” to get something. Like pushing a child to say a word to request an item instead of pointing only. I see this often with large families. The youngest child will often have a sibling that will speak for the child or gather items for them. During evaluations we have to plan to have families leave the room for a few minutes to see if the child will perform tasks without assistance. I find this pattern difficult to address with parents as it can make them feel like they are bad parents or they can become defensive. However I find it extremely important to discuss as many times a negative pattern of assistance can form, we call it learned helplessness. One example of assistance that I observed during the beginning of a class was a parent hand feeding her child a cereal bar while he played. The particular child had all the skills and abilities necessary to feed himself, but if asked to stop playing he would have fit like behaviors. The mother thought by avoiding the fit she was helping him do better in school, but when it was time for him to sit for snack later in the day he would struggle with sitting and feeding himself since he did not have any practice. This pattern of assistance spanned through most of his daily living skills and he struggled with putting on his clothes, bathroom routines, washing hands, blowing his nose, etc because of the level of assistance his mother provided him.

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors

An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.

Comments:
We talk often how behavior is communication and when we assess a students behaviors/patterns we try to see the purpose, are they avoiding, getting out of, or getting more of something due to the behavior. Then we have to continue to look and see what the cause is, is it due to language delays, sensory needs, a motor planning issue, etc. I find once these behaviors become a pattern it is very difficult to redirect or introduce new skills.

Patterns of Unexpected Performance

Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance.

Comments:
I see this often in my preschool evaluations. We will have a student that is significantly delayed in language but can put together a difficult puzzle or have high social skills. We may also see this when a student has strong social skills but cannot engage in structured activities. I think this can often lead to frustrations for teachers as we think a child should be able to do something because of a higher skill but are not able to, or can one day and not the next. Typically the team will need to dig deeper to understand what is causing the pattern of unexpected performance, it could be as simple as what the child was exposed to and what the family has made a priority, or it could be something that needs more attention such as a motor planning issue or attention issues.

Part II: Example of at Least One Pattern

(Remember, you only need to complete one, but feel free to complete as many as you like.)

Patterns of Quality

List Patterns of Quality: I will often rush through house projects to get them done and ignore the “finish work” as I find it tedious and don’t enjoy doing it. It’s not that I don’t have the skills, but I don’t want to spend the time doing it.

Pattern Considerations: I will often be upset with the end result, and I avoid starting certain projects as I know I won’t do what I should to complete it. I know that I enjoy completing larger projects that don’t require a finished look because of this. The biggest implication is the to do list gets longer and I feel frustrated.

Peer response to LueEmma-
I connected with your example of pattern of assistance, I to struggle with this in my classroom and with helping my staff members find the line between assistance and allowing a student to struggle/push through. I have an adopted a “show me what you tried and then I will help you” response for my students with higher communication skills but when working with students that have significant delays in communication it is difficult to restrict the assistance without the child moving into an overloaded state.

Part I: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns

Patterns of Quality

Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.

Comments:
I play the piano. When I think about quality in terms of playing, I think about all the different ways to make a piece sound beautiful. There is volume, phrasing, finger to key touch, petal use, pausing, expression and more. Two people could play all the right notes but still have very different levels of Quality. Then I think about this in terms of learning a skill. There are so many subtleties of being able to do a skill well. Is it easy to do? Can you do it across environments/tasks? Can you teach it to others? Can you do it quickly? A child may be able to do a skill however, the quality of the performance of that skill will look very different from others. Quality is a continuum that is always shifting as a person practices said skill.

Patterns of Latency

Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.

Comments:
* When I think of letency, I think of processing time.
* I look for attentional issues.
* I look for possible seizure activity
* I look for word finding difficulties
* I look for receptive communication difficulties
* I look at personality (shy?)

Patterns of Assistance

Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.

Comments:
When I think about assistance, I think about how much support a person needs to get a task done. I think of the continuum of maximum assist where you walk the child through the task entirely all the way to no assist where the child completes the task without any assistance (the skill is mastered). When thinking about assistance I give to my kiddos’ in therapy I think about hand over hand, modeling, proximity, verbal assistance, gestural assistance, pictorial assistance, I also think about assistance in time management, attention and focus. I think about the continuum of assistance that I work on with each skill going from what is needed then fading quickly to not make a child dependent on that level of assistance. I will often write within objectives levels of assistance for one skill to work on increasing independence.

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors

An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.

Comments:
This is an area that is really being highlighted in our schools right now. Out district is looking at what types of traumas our children are facing and then what type of interventions are necessary to help a child learn through said traumas. We are considered a Trauma Informed school. Trauma affects learning in so many ways where triggers can happen without even knowing and our kiddos go into flight or fight response where learning is put on hold.
When I have a kiddo that is struggling these interfering behaviors are one of the first things I look for.
I consider setting events, sensory issues, attention issues, vision, hearing etc.

Patterns of Unexpected Performance

Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance.

Comments:
* I often call this a scattering of skills.
* I look for Receptive greater than Expressive
* I look for what is missed and Why
* Is there an underlying diagnosis causing the missing skills? For example, with those children Diagnosed with Autism, I know that eye contact and joint reference may be missing even when verbal abilities are higher.
* To me, the unexplained missing of skills can be more worrisome than someone who is developing along a track but is perhaps slower than their peers.

Part II: Example of at Least One Pattern

(Remember, you only need to complete one, but feel free to complete as many as you like.)

Patterns of Quality

List Patterns of Quality:

Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?

I’ll address my Quality of Data Collection. It has been something that I have been working on for a very long time. I usually use data sheets and sticky notes to collect data however, finding the time to look at the data collected to asses next steps can be a struggle. I would say the quality shifts from month to month depending on how close a kiddo is to their IEP as well as how close we are to the progress notes. This is an area that I am working on. Quality of time, energy and reflection for each child could improve. Increasing the use of the data collected would increase the level of awareness in the child’s progress and the speed of delivery in modifications.

Patterns of Latency

List Patterns of Latency:

Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?

Patterns of Assistance

List Patterns of Assistance:

Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors

List Patterns of Interfering Behavior:

Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?

Patterns of Unexpected Performance

List Patterns of Unexpected Performance:

Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?

I must admit that it feels a bit voyeuristic to read what others write about their own personal patterns and perceived levels of mastery in different areas. I appreciated your willingness to share your struggles. It helps me realized that if we as pretty typical adults can still struggle in these areas, how much more do our children struggle when faced with learning difficulties. Thank you for your thoughts.

Part I: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns

Patterns of Quality
Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.
Comments:
My understanding of patterns of quality is that when an individual is performing a task, it is done in such a way that may be difficult or confusing for others to understand. It may also lessen the correctness of a task or performance. The task may not necessarily be incorrect; however, it may change or lessen the accuracy of the outcome. I tend to over analyze concepts and tasks, which can sometimes confuse what I am trying to convey.

Patterns of Latency
Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern; however, they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.
Comments:
I would describe patterns of latency as the length of time it would take for an individual to perform a task after it was given or requested. When a teacher gives students instruction to start reading and it took the student around five minutes to open a book. We measure the time to start the task and, in this case, 5 minutes. Some children may take longer to respond than others and we are trained to give them time to think. Patterns of latency can become a problem if it adversely impacts the students learning.

Patterns of Assistance
Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.
Comments:
My understanding of the pattern of assistance is when an individual will need the help of other individuals in performing some of the tasks or skills that are expected. Assistance can range from minimal to maximum, depending on the need. A young child with a physical disability may need more assistance in going up the stairs as opposed to a child without physical disability. Assistance can come from the teacher, a paraprofessional, or a peer.
Patterns of Interfering Behaviors
An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however, many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.
Comments:
Patterns of interfering behaviors is when a child behaves a certain way instead of the expected behavior. These behaviors and reasons for them can vary, depending on the child. Some of these behaviors are done on purpose and some may be due to an underlying cause. Some of these behaviors can interfere with the child’s learning and/or the learning of others.

Part II: Example of at Least One Pattern
I can relate well to the patterns of latency. I have to read information, assignments, or instructions more than once before I take action. English is my second language and I contribute my issues with latency to the language barrier. I am able to follow and respond immediately when I am in a conversation or when someone is giving me instructions orally. I do however take a much longer time gathering all my thoughts together in a timely fashion when I have to write. When working on an IEP, I take a lot of time going through the process, especially when writing the present levels and the goals and objectives sections. Another reason why it takes me longer to act on a task is that I want to do a good and thorough job. The implications of this pattern for me is that I have to work extra hard to get through to a task and do the job to my satisfaction.

Hi Olena. I can relate to you in terms of the challenges that you experience due to language. I too am a second language learner. Even after 35 years of living in this country, understanding and responding to written and sometimes oral tasks do not happen as fast as I would have liked. I have to read assignments and other written tasks several times to fully comprehend it.

Part I: Comments Regarding Types of Patterns

Patterns of Quality

Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.

Comments:
I think that patterns of quality can be largely up for interpretation based on who is performing the data collection. What one might say is quality, someone else might think not. I think this an important area to think about in ourselves if we are trying to guage the quality of things. I do think this is an area that having multiple perspectives and conversations and collaborations is very helpful for.

Patterns of Latency

Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.

Comments:
Latency is how long it takes for something to happen after a prompt in given. I have had many children who have a very long wait time before they will react. It is not always a problem, and needs to be recognized when it causes a problem and when it does not.

Patterns of Assistance

Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.

Comments:

I think it should be noted that sometimes children have learned a need of assistance that they don’t actually need. They might have learned to ask for help, instead of trying things themselves. They might be prompt dependent and that might be more of an issue for the people giving prompts than the child themselves.

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors

An interfering behavior is one that a child demonstrates instead of the desired or expected concept of skills. Not all interfering behaviors are aggressive or purposeful; however many times they are (e.g., hitting, biting, throwing). At times, behaviors can interfere given that the child (by choice or otherwise) is not able to maintain or establish attention, walks away from interactions or tasks, or even outright refusal to participate. Sometimes these are unconscious (sensory/biological); so this pattern has less to do with challenging behavior and more to do with a barrier to learning.

Comments:

I think it is so important to consider this idea of taking down a barrier to learning instead of “fixing bad behavior”. No child wants to be bad, they have learned maladaptive ways to get their needs met. And sometimes, as noted above, these needs have to do with senosory issues that are not always obvious to everyone else aroudn them.

Patterns of Unexpected Performance

Patterns of unexpected performance represent instances where the child’s performance would not have been anticipated or expected according to typical development. For example, a child was demonstrating a later skill before demonstrating an earlier skill, or was emerging across early and later skills simultaneously. This pattern may also represent situations where children have a tendency to demonstrate inconsistent performance, to the extent that they may excel or struggle on the same skill without a clear explanation for the difference in performance.

Comments:
Some people might call this splinter skills, and they can take people off guard sometimes. People might think the child is a genius in some areas and really far behind in others. I think it is so important to look at what are the barriers to learning and what is the child missing and how can we get them there, instead of comparing the child to other more typical ways of development.

Part II: Example of at Least One Pattern

(Remember, you only need to complete one, but feel free to complete as many as you like.)

Patterns of Quality

List Patterns of Quality:

Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?
I value doing things well and if I feel like my quality of work is lagging, I do not find value in it and find myself wanting to get away from it. I do not like feeling like a failure or that I am not competent. So, when I start feeling this way, it is important for me to dig in and try to learn and not give in because this is when I am actually learning and it is not just coming naturally. I need to embrace these periods of growth and not shun them.

Patterns of Quality
My understanding/revision: Patterns of quality are behaviors that interfere with mastery/excellence. These patterns emerge in different ways. Examples of this pattern may be too much, too little, too fast, too slow, too loud, too soft. The educator is looking for behaviors that interfere in the quality of a student’s performance.
My example: A skill that I can technically do, but that isn’t necessarily done with complete accuracy is to conduct a functional behavior assessment. Identifying meaningful measurement criteria can be a struggle. Finding the time away from teaching to observe the student in need is always a challenge. Finding the antecedent and the consequence are often challenging. I rely on others to help collect data. As a learner I can be too rushed (not enough time). The support I need is to receive time away from my classes to observe the student in need over repeated occasions, collaborate with the child’s teacher, and reflect with professional colleagues about possible causes or motivations behind the behavior.
What do the identified patterns mean? I think the patterns mean that I have the general skill to complete the task of an FBA, but the quality of my product is negatively impacted when I don’t have the time to adequately collect sufficient data.
What does it tell you about yourself? I need to find ways to adequately observe students and collect data.
What are the implications? A thorough FBA is essential to the development of a meaningful and impactful behavior intervention plan. The implications of a poor-quality FBA and an under-developed (or mis-guided) behavior plan.
Patterns of Latency
My understanding/revision: Patterns of latency are behaviors that delay or conceal a learned skill. Patterns of latency are defined by how quickly a child does or does not respond.

My example: I need some think time when I solve mental math problems. When I am collaborating with a group to solve a problem, I stop thinking when others shout out their answer.

Patterns of Assistance
My understanding/revision: Patterns of assistance are behaviors that overly-rely on help. All learners need assistance at the beginning of a new skill. Some learners rely on this assistance past the time of typical development. When a student relies upon assistance from the environment, peers, and/or adults, in order to perform a task over time, concern may develop. The educational team will examine why a student waits for assistance when it is thought they can function independently.

My example: I should probably know how to change a tire at this point in my life, but I rely on my husband to do it, because it is an unpleasant task that I would rather avoid.

Patterns of Interfering Behaviors
My understanding/revision: Patterns of interfering behaviors are behaviors that prevent the completion of a process or activity. When developmental learning becomes stalled, the education team analyzes potential interfering behaviors. We ask ourselves what is the key behavior that interferes with this child’s ability to learn? For some students, anxiety, confusion, slow processing speed, stress, trauma, the inability to read, or adverse childhood experiences will interfere with their ability to learn.
Patterns of Unexpected Performance
My understanding/revision: Patterns of unexpected performance are behaviors/skills that weren’t predicted. When a student does something unexpected, or their learning is out of sequence, the education team may look for patterns to explain “Why?” Some students have splinter skills, or perform better in particular environments, or are really strong with certain skills but really weak in related areas.

Patterns of Quality
Quality is defined as a demonstration of a concept or skill in a way that, while allowing the child to accomplish a desired task, is done in such a way that it may hinder understanding of others, the accuracy of the performance, and/or may get in the way. Examples of quality include, issues around intelligibility, application of too much or not enough force, moving too quickly or too slowly, talking too loudly or softly etc. Patterns of quality don’t automatically suggest a concern; rather, they are an important consideration if they are interfering with interactions, physical health, and/or acquisition of future concepts and skills.

Comments: I’m still a little confused about the whole issue of patterns. I assume it means that the child is exhibiting these patterns; and the patterns affect the child and/or others negatively. If that is the case, then I think patterns are crucial to understanding data. Trends or patterns are much more beneficial than single points of data. I like the word “too” to describe patterns of quality because it triggers my brain to pay to recognize a quality. The patterns of quality that I often find hard to provide measurable data for are too loud/soft, too anxious, too helpful.
Patterns of Latency
Latency, as it relates to learning or development, is defined as the amount of time it takes for someone to act or “do” after a request or prompt. In other words, how quickly does a child respond? Examples of latency include issues around time to task or verbal responses to questions or prompts, and also include concerns around impulsivity. Patterns of latency may not always be a concern, however they are important to consider if they are negatively impacting learning, development, health, communication, and/or behavior.
Comments: I find latency patterns especially hard to define and put into objective terms for others. Time to task and processing times betweens answering questions or following directions are very common barriers I run across. Patterns of latency are important to recognize because they can cause frustration to others who don’t understand the pattern. It is often hard for the student to demonstrate what they can or cannot do but that doesn’t necessarily warrant an IEP.

Patterns of Assistance
Assistance is when an adult, a peer/sibling, or the environment performs part of the concept or skills under consideration. Assistance alone does not warrant concern or a higher tier of instruction (i.e., assistance might be expected based on what is known about developmental expectations); however, when a pattern of needing assistance (e.g., required under predictable circumstances/situations beyond what would be expected of a novice learner, for the child’s age/present level of ability/developmental readiness, culture, and/or prior exposure) emerges, a concern is noted.
Comments:
Assistance is when a peer or staff member assists the child in doing a skill on a regular basis. I would call this enabling vs. empowerment. Most of the time the intention of the other person is to help. Oftentimes the student is more than willing to accept the help. Once the pattern is recognized, it is important to decrease the unnecessary assistance to determine what the real needs are.
Patterns of Latency
List Patterns of Latency: time to task, longer verbal responses to questions, and impulsivity
Pattern Considerations: What do the identified patterns mean? What does it tell you about yourself? What are the implications?
I think within myself, the patterns of latency indicate a tendency of avoidance. I see this pattern especially in procrastination (time to task). For example, I have had six months, give or take, to complete this class. I have left it until the last week to complete it. I swore it wasn’t going to be like this, but it is. I also procrastinate in other areas. I sleep in until I absolutely have to get up. I don’t respond to difficult situations or tasks (verbal response) until I can’t avoid it any longer. I think this is different than a pattern of latency in kids because oftentimes, they have legitimate reasons like processing speed. But I think there are definitely times when they are showing patterns of avoidance also.