Self-Monitoring

Description of the Strategy

Self-monitoring is an assessment and intervention technique that has been widely used over the past several decades in the treatment of children. Self-monitoring, [Page 1024]along with self-evaluation and self-reinforcement, is considered one form of self-control or self-regulation. Self-monitoring can be defined as a child's assessment of whether or not a target behavior occurred, followed by a self-recording of the event. In effect, the child must observe occurrences of his or her own behavior and then record the occurrences of the behavior upon a self-monitoring device. Self-monitoring is characterized by frequent data collection, typically in the form of self-graphing or the completion of checklists. It is a desirable assessment and intervention technique because it is considerably less intrusive than other approaches, and it enables the child to participate actively in the treatment process. As such, the child can then take some responsibility in the resulting changes in behavior.

Self-monitoring can take several forms, the most common of which requires that the child record data on a checklist immediately after the target response has been emitted. For example, following the completion of a math problem, a student could be required to refer to a checklist of reminders. After placing a plus or a minus next to each reminder, the student might then be required to correct those steps for which a minus was scored. Another approach is for the child to self-record following some time interval during which the target response could have occurred, such as at the conclusion of a class period. A teacher or parent might also arrange for the presentation of auditory stimuli at random intervals that signal the child to observe his or her own behavior and self-record. For example, a student might be required to ask the question, “Was I paying attention?” each time a tone is emitted from a tape recorder. The student could then be required to place a check in a “yes” or “no” column after each tone on a piece of paper. Other devices such as handheld computers or daily diaries can also be used to self-record. It is most desirable for the child to selfrecord immediately following the emission of the target response rather than relying upon his or her retrospective recall.

Self-monitoring is a frequently used assessment technique in the field of behavioral medicine, where it has been applied to a number of pediatric problems, including diabetes, enuresis or bed-wetting, fingernail biting, thumb sucking, trichotillomania or hair pulling, and obesity. As an assessment technique, self-monitoring can be used to teach children to identify the status of their medication. A child who is able to monitor the effects of medication can inform parents, teachers, and pediatricians of the time course over which their medication ceases to work, as well as of any adverse side effects. The advantages of self-monitoring as an assessment technique include the fact that parents and teachers do not have to rely exclusively upon their own observations of the target behavior. Specific information can also be obtained that cannot be readily obtained from other traditional assessment methods, such as covert emotions and precipitating conditions. Thus, it may be more feasible to have the child collect data on his or her own behavior, particularly when the target behaviors are personal for the child (such as bedwetting) or are covert responses that cannot be readily observed by others (such as depressive thoughts).

...