Best practices on how to handle classroom behavior problems of children with intellectual disabilities: What we learned from our mentors

Inclusion of children with special needs into regular classrooms has been practiced in several schools in the Philippines recently. One of the problems of teachers in regular education regarding this is how to handle behavior problems of children with special needs in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to explore the best practices special education teachers use in classroom behavior management which may help regular education teachers. Method: The informants consisted of 25 pre-service education trainees. They described the various behavior problems they encountered among their students with intellectual disabilities and other special needs during their practicum service and the most effective behavior intervention techniques they learned from their mentors in special education on how to handle them. Results: Findings reveal the most common behavior problems manifested among 65 children with special needs in eight public school in Metro Manila. This included violent behaviors, refusal to participate in class activities, tantrums, and constant walking or running around during class. Conclusions: The most effective intervention practices were done either before, during or after the disruptive behaviors occur. This included attending to seating arrangement, removing distractions, establishing rules of conduct, realizing consequences, cooperative learning, explaining, showing care, the use of humor, and many more. It was suggested that it was best to prevent the disruptions from occuring in the first place