Special needs: Bevavioral-Emotional Disorders

I do...but are we speaking parents only that you wish to speak with?


You have my email, I think? It hasn't changed...or we can IM if you DO wish to speak to me.


But...I warn you....I have VIEWS.

I'm certified to teach kids who've been identified as having behavioral or emotional issues k-12, but have more actual work experience in grades 9-12 and enjoy that age more than K-6, although I have worked with younger children pretty extensively in the past.

If you have specific questions - I'd be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.

I don't have experience parenting this type of child- although even though my kids haven't been labeled, sometimes I wonder.... (just kidding- they're both teen-agers, so it's hard to tell the difference sometimes ).

Dlowan and Aiden, I am more interested in those who work with these children than their families. While I think families are very important keys to helping these kids, I need theory and practice.

More details. I am to apply multicultural theory to classrooms with kids who have behavioral disorders in them. First I need to fine tune my working definition of behavioral disorder. I'll need to get a grip on what kids of curriculum, classroom practice and lesson plans will work better for these kids. I will be trending towards specifics too much and need to stay generalized. It is only a 6-8 page paper (double-spaced at that!).

I've found some online sources writen by psychs, educators and medicos as well as some which seem family-based. I have found some research papers. I think that talking with people who have had experience can only help me to further understand.

(I just saw my title typo!)

littlek I have some experience working with kids who have emotional and behavioral disorders. I might be able to help a little. If you'd like, PM me your email address. I'd happy to help you as much as I can.

I guess I need to refine my thinking a bit more.

You pretty much know my story but if I can help let me know.

Hmmmm.....Mo..... maybe.....

Too tired to think critically right now. I will try to read some articles before bed.

So littlek - do you need to design a specific lesson plan that implements strategies that one would use when teaching a child with these issues around multiculturalism as your subject, or are you teaching a lesson in a content area being sensitive to multiculturalism in the classroom?

Is it a self-contained classroom (for kids with severe behavioral issues) or is it a regular classroom with mainstreamed special needs kids?

If you're writing a paper and can create a hypothetical classroom - it'd probably be easier to use a self-contained classroom as your model - at least that's what I'd do - as you can focus more on the similar issues of the students you're targeting - which are issues they can all understand, (because they live them everyday) that you can then use to help them understand the concept of multiculturalism by seguing from differences in personality - behavior - life circumstances, etc. into differences in languages, cultures, races, etc.
How it feels to be different, how it feels to be with people who are like you, how it feels to be the only different one with people who are unlike you - etc.

For younger kids, especially, it's good to use a lot of visual aids. Ask a lot of questions so they can relate their experiences so you have a baseline in terms of what their understanding is- so you'll know where to start. It's also good to involve them in the planning of whatever exercise you decide to do so they feel vested in the activity- if it's something they're interested in it'll be much more successful.

For these kids it's important to make it a multi-sensory activity, they like having all their senses stimulated - (unless they're autistic and then you have to be careful about overstimulation). I'd avoid a sit down pencil and paper exercise and do something more hands-on. A lot of these children also have written language disabilities and are easily frustrated and/or bored by or oppositionally resistant to writing. If it's a writing exercise - focus on the creating - maybe writing a story as a group with you acting as the scribe. But the more hands-on you can make any learning activity - the better.

You need to be sensitive to the issue of short attention spans. Keep things moving.

I had a self-contained classroom one year with eight kids, all male, from four different countries. We had an international day at the beginning of the year in which everyone shared a dish from their culture. (With something like this - you need to be sensitive to who may or may not be able to contribute and help the child who doesn't have someone to help him cook or can't afford ingredients contribute something important - the cafeteria ladies in the school were always a big help here). Anyway - it was a big success - everyone was so proud of what they contributed - everyone learned a lot about everyone's life outside of school - and it formed a real sense of community in the classroom which helped the kids bond right from the beginning. It's good to help these kids feel that they fit in somewhere - and their classroom can become a little haven for them - as interacting in the rest of the school is often stressful and difficult for them.

Cooking is always good with kids that age. You can work in math concepts - measuring, counting, etc, reading the recipes - and in terms of multiculturalism - you can focus on ingredients. How each different ingredient is important - how the recipe would fail or wouldn't be the same if you didn't have a specific ingredient, etc. etc.

Anything creative is good - these kids are often incredibly creative- they don't tend to be rigid, "think inside the box" kind of thinkers. I was always astounded at how they would shine when they were allowed to put their pencils down.

Aidan - sorry I was still not specific enough.

The multicultural course I am taking includes all groups and individuals who fall outside the dominant group. Any ethnic or racial minority, any sexual orientation outside hetero, females, people with any sort of disability or behavioral disorder, etc.

The classroom I am going with is an inclusion classroom, the kids with behavioral issues are inside the classroom with poeers without such issues. The reason is that I work in such a classroom for part of my week.

The lesson plans should be designed to:
-include the kids with behavioral issues (plans that teach to all kids in the classroom at once)
-teach to those kids (how to teach to someone with these issues)
-help teach his or her peers about behavioral issues (in a less obvious way)
-help address the issues (behavioral training)

A lot of good points - thanks! No kitchen available, but hands-on activities would be good. What the hell am I talking about? These are lesson plans for a fictional classroom - there can be a kitchen!

We did an activity once in a workshop that addressed differences (of whatever kind) and focused on how it felt to be the "different one"-if I remember correctly it was geared around sexual orientation- the students at the highschool who were gay/lesbian/or transgender put it on for the teachers. Anyway - I thought it was really clever, and it could work for any sort of difference.

You have strips of paper in a hat . You put two of each with the same name of an animal or color. And then you have one that has something different from everyone elses. Each person takes his strip of paper and asks questions (except something blatant like - "are you a horse?)of the other people until he or she finds his matching "partner", based on shared characteristics. Of course at the end, you have one person who is left standing alone, having found noone with whom they shared something in common. You then talk about how it felt before you found someone like you, how you felt when you found that there was someone else like you in the room - and how the person who had noone like them might feel.

I'd adapt it for the classroom in which there were emotionally and behaviorally challenged kids though. I'd hand out the strips myself - saving the odd one for one of the more confident - kind-intelligent kids who will be emotionally sensitive in his or her answer about how it felt to be the different one and who would not be traumatized in any way by being the odd man out for this activity - in other words someone who got it and would take it seriously, but had enough self-esteem so they'd not be adversely affected by it in the long run. It's kind of a good introduction to differences and how it might feel to be different in any way in a society-but it doesn't blatantly target any difference so noone feels embarrassed about how they might be different.

In the schools I worked in, if I planned the activities for down times in the cafeteria - we were allowed to use the kitchen, but I've always worked with smaller groups - it'd be hard to do with a class of twenty or thirty kids. Also, if you're in a highschool or vocational school you can always use the home-ec rooms. If you don't have a kitchen, you can always do stuff like tossed salads, fruit salads, microwaveable things. It takes some creative thinking - but little kids (and big kids) love cooking and eating and feeling like they made something while they're learning.

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and implementing regulations specifically address these issues. You have to be careful about confidentiality issues, e.g., talking to the disabled student's classmates about the disabled student's disability. Hopefully, you will develop a plan that complies with the law!

Here is a source for great information:

http://www.nichcy.org/index.html

This site used to have an excellent training package for educators. Unfortunately, they have taken it down due to some changes in the law and they haven't replaced it yet with an updated version. Nevertheless, there are many great resources still available concerning children with emotional and behavioral disorders:

http://research.nichcy.org/subject.asp?SubID=x2x


Here's more information specifically on your topic of inclusion:



http://www.nichcy.org/faqs2.htm#6

More resources:

http://www.nichcy.org/resources/behavschool.asp

Using Positive Methods for Change in the Classroom
Don't miss this quick training on behavior problems in school.
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/behaviorprob_qt
You'll love the brief overviews on topics such as, "Behavior Problems. What's a School to do?" Check out the fact sheets on behaviors like Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD), and Conduct Disorder. You'll also find tools and handouts, model programs, and additional resources.


Teachers! Arm yourself with this knowledge and stop problem behaviors before they start!
http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/rhythms.pdf
This 65-page guide helps teachers anticipate common problems throughout the year and plan prevention and early intervention to minimize them. Suggestions provided on a monthly basis.


Play at being good: The good behavior game.
www.colorado.edu/cspv/publications/factsheets/blueprints/FS-BPP01.html
This is one fun way to involve the whole class in supporting positive behavior. Especially good for elementary students demonstrating early high-risk behavior.


Time-outs.
www.state.ky.us/agencies/behave/bi/toeffuse.pdf
This 7-page guide helps teachers, educators and other practitioners implement time-out procedures appropriately and effectively.


Discipline: What works, what doesn't.
www.naspcenter.org/factsheets/effdiscip_fs.html
This guide discusses the failure of punitive disciplinary practices and promotes supportive discipline strategies. It provides great tips on research-based approaches to positive behavior change.


Dodging the power-struggle trap: Ideas for teachers.
www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/interventions/behavior/behtrap.shtml
A conflict requires two people. If a teacher remains cool and calm, a conflict can often be avoided. This guide offers practical advice for disengaging, interrupting, and deescalating problem behavior, and gives specific examples of how to react in different scenarios.


Tips for classroom management.
www.pbis.org/English/Classroom_Support.htm
Here you'll find ideas for developing classroom systems of positive behavioral support. These are tried and true management practices that have proven effective over years of use.


A LOT on classroom management.
http://classroommanagement.edreform.net/
The Classroom Management portal at Education Reform Networks points to exemplary, free, and fee-based digital content on research-based classroom management practices that can help administrators, policy makers, and educators plan for and implement programs that result in effective learning and teaching. The materials are organized into the following categories: rules and procedures, disciplinary interventions, teacher-student relationships, mindfulness and alertness, student self-management, and getting off to a good start.


Teach your students to manage their own behavior.
www.fape.org/pubs/fape-20.pdf
This one-page overview covers classroom-wide behavior strategy.


More on teaching children to manage their own behavior.
http://csefel.uiuc.edu/briefs/wwb7.html
What Works briefs from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning summarize effective practices for supporting children's social-emotional development and preventing challenging behaviors. This 4-pager describes practical strategies for helping children learn to manage their own behavior and provides references to more information. A Spanish version is available at: http://csefel.uiuc.edu/briefs/wwb7-sp.html


And yet more.
http://classroommanagement.edreform.net/portal/classroommanagement/
studentselfmanagement
The Classroom Management portal at Education Reform Networks includes a subsection on student self-management, which will lead you to exemplary, free, and fee-based digital content on research-based student self-management practices in these categories: cognitive strategies for self-control, record keeping and rewards, the classroom meeting, written self-reflections, and written statements of beliefs.


What about early childhood settings and the social development of young children with their peers?
www.evidencebasedpractices.org/bridges/bridges_vol1_no5.pdf
This research synthesis from the Research and Training Center (RTC) on Early Childhood Development will tell early childhood practitioners what types of toys and play materials are most associated with young children's social play with peers.



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Behavior and Specific Disabilities
Creating a behavior plan? Need some ideas?
www.albany.edu/psy/autism/pbsplan.html
Check out this sample behavioral support plan template. It is clearly written, well thought out, and easy to follow.


Watch out for these behavior plan pitfalls!
www.schoolbehavior.com/Files/pitfalls.PDF
This 3-page guide gives descriptions of 12 common mistakes in implementing behavior plans, then offers solutions.


Do you have a moody student?
www.schoolbehavior.com/Files/tips_mood.pdf
Read about accommodations for medication side-effects, sleep disturbances, impaired concentration, focus, and memory, testing, homework and more.


Behavior and students with AD/HD.
www.chadd.org/fs/fs9.htm
If you have a student with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), you'll find a lot of useful info at CHADD (Children and Adults with AD/HD), especially the fact sheet above on managing and modifying behavior.


Behavior and students with learning disabilities.
www.ldonline.org/article/6030
This article, available at LDOnline, comes from the book published by Paul H. Brookes entitled Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors: A Guide to Intervention and Classroom Management.


Working with students with ODD/Conduct Disorder?
www.beachcenter.org/stories/default.asp?
intResourceID=76&act=detail&tip=true&type=category&id=3
This site provides real-life stories and tip lists for encouraging cooperation from students with ODD and Conduct Disorders.


Students with autism.
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BehavioralandCommunicationApproaches
From the Autism Society of America, learn more about "Behavioral and Communication Approaches" for children with autism.


What's the research say about pivotal response training (PRT) for young children with autism?
www.evidencebasedpractices.org/bridges/bridges_vol2_no4.pdf
This research synthesis focused on the effectiveness of Pivotal Response Training (PRT) as a behavioral intervention for young children with disabilities.


Students with autism, MR, or other developmental disabilities.
www.dddcec.org/publications.htm
Try Within Our Reach: Behavior Prevention and Intervention Strategies for Learners with Mental Retardation and Autism. This first book in the DDD Prism Series provides practical ways to resolve behavioral concerns of students with mental retardation, autism, and other developmental disabilities and focuses on responding to the communicative intent of various behavior problems. (Product #D5250, $11.95/CEC Members $9.00.) To order, call toll-free 1.888.232.7733.


Down syndrome and behavior.
www.ndsccenter.org/aboutUs/ps_behaviors.asp
This "Position Statement On the Management Of Challenging Behaviors" from the National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) identifies key features consistent with quality programs for the individuals with Down syndrome. Presented as guidelines, the statement is derived from several sources: (a) the research literature on behavior management,(b) model programs that implement state-of-the-art procedures and deliver effective services for people with disabilities, and (c) values about the rights of individuals with disabilities and their place in society.


More behavior observations and guidelines on Down syndrome.
http://www.ndss.org/content.cfm?fuseaction=InfoRes.Devarticle&article=210
The Behavior Guidelines at the link above come from the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) and are, in essence, a bulleted, easy-to-read list divided into three sections (preschool, school age, and adults). For each section, three types of information are presented: common concerns, information needs, and recommendations.

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What's the Law Require of Schools?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has well-specified requirements of how schools must address behavior issues with respect to students with disabilities. Find out more about those requirements via the resources we've listed below.
Start at NICHCY.
www.nichcy.org/idealist.htm
The link above leads you to what we call the "vetted" list---meaning, publications reviewed and approved by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) on the IDEA and its regulations. Click on "Behavior/Discipline/Safe Schools," and you'll jump to a description of what's been changed in IDEA's behavior/discipline provisions as a result of its reauthorization in 2004. (If you want to know about IDEA 1997 provisions on discipline and behavior, visit the "vetted" list for the 1997 amendments to the law, at: www.nichcy.org/idea1997list.htm


Disciplining students with disabilities: A very thorough overview from NASP.
www.nasponline.org/publications/cq262discipline.html
Visit all the bases in this article from the National Association of School Psychologists: positive learning environments, the IEP as a vehicle to manage behavior problems, addressing and preventing challenging behaviors, weapons and drugs, and an explanation of what IDEA requires schools to do.


What are the school's obligations?
www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/ltrs/behavior_obligate.htm
Wrightslaw answers questions from school personnel about obligations to "students who may be dangerous to us."


Discipline: Suspensions, expulsions, and IEPs.
www.wrightslaw.com/info/discipl.suspend.crabtree.htm
Parent attorney Bob Crabtree describes the school's responsibilities under IDEA, including provision of FAPE, alternative educational placements, functional behavioral assessments, and behavior intervention plans.

I majored in Spec. Ed. with emphasis on Behavior Disorders, but that was back when it was first being developed as a classification. My advisor in college was Dr. McCarney, who was instrumental in developing the BES, so I had good training.

However, that was 20 years ago. I'm sure things have changed some although the BES is still used.

I would think any teaching plan that includes mainstreamed BD kids would only need modification in length of the lesson and would include plenty of positive reinforcement for the BD student, and perhaps the pairing of that student with a mentor student for the activity.

I wish aiden was Mo's teacher.

<sigh>

By the way, Mo and I cook together all the time. He calls it science class.

Debra - it'll take me all night to get through all that! Is this your field of law? Thank you! I am not even supposed to let the kid I work with know I'm there to work with him (he knows anyway). So frustrating!

Aidan, I am just an aid, sort of, in class. But, for the purpose of this paper, I can assume there will be a kitchen available. I like the idea of the odd-man-out game. But, I'm not sure that 1st graders would get it. Maybe not even 3rd. Maybe I could tailor it.

Squinney - have you ever thought about getting back into it?

Thanks Boomerang - what a nice thing to say. It's mainly because I learned through trial (and a lot of error) how much more successful and fun for everyone (including me) active, creative lessons are for these kids instead of sitting at a desk - trying to pound square pegs into round holes. It's more work at the beginning (set-up) but it's so much more fun and rewarding in the long run.

I thought about the age thing too littlek. And you're right - the younger end of the k-6 spectrum might be just a little too young for what is kind of a harsh lesson- although in real life - some of them are already learning it by experience. But I agree with you- it's not something I'd want to see a five or six year old go through even for a minute- even with the best intentions of the adults involved-they're not able to view it in the abstract as separate from themselves.

I agree with Squinney - if you can pair the kids with behavioral issues with the right child for any activity- it's always helpful. I think the most important thing is to create an atmosphere of acceptance in the classroom- and getting to know each other as people (outside of who they are in school)- so that these kids are not just the "bad" kids who can't behave in the classroom is the most important thing. And there's any number of ways to achieve that.

Another thing we did that was really fun was bring in pictures of ourselves as babies (even me). We put them up and everyone had to guess which baby grew up to be which child. Whooever got the most right - got some little prize - but it facitilitated conversation about who we were, what our lives were like, etc- again created a real atmosphere of caring about each other as people- instead of just students competing in school. These kids made me keep that bulletin board up all year- they didn't want those pictures taken down (and these were l5-l9 year old pretty hardened young men). You can learn so much from these kids. Good luck.