An Intrinsic Case Study Examining Strategies Used by Stakeholders to Handle Inappropriate Behaviors and Teach Self-Regulation to Elementary Students with Moderate to Profound Exceptionalities

The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to discover strategies stakeholders use to handle inappropriate behaviors and teach self-regulation to elementary students with moderate to profound exceptionalities. The theory guiding this study was Bandura’s social cognitive theory, which emphasizes self-regulation. The social cognitive theory applies to this study because teaching students how to overcome behavioral impulses facilitates learning. The relationship between self-regulation and the focus of this study was to expose the different techniques for handling inappropriate behaviors and instilling self-discipline and coping skills in elementary-aged children with moderate to profound exceptionalities. This study included 13 stakeholders: three parents and two grandmothers; one parent and the grandmothers also served as special education staff; four others were special education staff, and the remaining four provided support services. Data collection methods included interviews, focus groups, and letter writing. The settings were the home or other convenient locations or a school environment where the stakeholders worked with elementary-aged students with moderate to profound exceptionalities. The data were analyzed through pre-coding, coding, and re-coding of themes and patterns found in the data. This analysis yielded seven major themes, each comprising three or four subthemes. The major themes included behavior as communication, relationships, boundaries and expectations, environmental challenges, teaching to cope, self-inspection, and influencing behavior. By using strategies tailored to the student, along with patience, understanding, and love, children with moderate to profound exceptionalities can learn self-regulation and coping skills, although this may occur at a slower pace than those without exceptionalities.