Background: Training support staff in dealing with challenging behaviour in clients with intellectual disabilities (ID) is needed. The goal of this study is to determine which elements need to be incorporated in a training on staff interactions with these clients, building upon a framework and an interpersonal model. As in functional analysis,…

In research on parental involvement and teacher professionalization, counseling parents on the support of their children's learning processes is considered to be an increasingly important competence area of teachers. However, to date little research has been conducted on the development of appropriate approaches to the assessment of teachers'…

Routine life stressors can trigger anger and violence with children who have poor emotional regulation. This article describes "Response Ability Pathways" (RAP) strategies that equip youth in managing these daily challenges. The strategies require establishing steps to gain the young persons trust and providing alternative methods to…

Behavioral problems such as disinhibition, irritability, restlessness, distractibility, and aggression are common after acquired brain injury (ABI). The persistence and severity of these problems impair the brain-injured individual's reintegration into family, school, and community life. Since the early 1980s, behavior analysis and therapy have…

The Developmental Audit[R] is a comprehensive means of assessment and treatment planning that identifies the coping strategies underlying a youth's maladaptive and self-defeating behavior. This is a strength-based assessment that engages youth in conflict in the process of generating solutions rather than focusing on deficits. This process…

This article considers the perseverative and passive behavior patterns common in children with intellectual disabilities and often the focus of educational interventions. It suggests that, instead of always being an impediment to progress, these behaviors may sometimes be appropriate and adaptive responses of a slow mind to coping in a world that…

Professionals and parents need effective systems of teamwork for planning restorative outcomes with troubled children and youth. This article taps the resilient problem-solving process C*L*E*A*R, which is drawn from the Response Ability Pathways (RAP) curriculum. Participants examine the timeline of Challenges, Logic, Emotions, Actions, and…

Participants displaying high versus low levels of experiential avoidance as assessed by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (Hayes, Strosahl, et al., 2004) were compared in their reactions to and efforts to cope with pain induced by the cold pressor task. As expected, high avoidant participants were less tolerant of pain and more likely to…

While many individuals with challenging behaviors now enjoy the benefits of inclusion and self-determination, large numbers of their peers remain in segregated, restrictive settings and continue to be subjected to coercive intervention plans that include aversives, (nonemergency) restraint, and seclusion as "treatment." A rising tide of…

Approximately 400,000 preschool children have a major neurodevelopmental disorder impacting on mobility, cognitive-adaptive, or communicative skills. As many as 1 in 3 children live at psychosocial disadvantage because of poverty, parental mental illness or substance misuse, or low parental educational (i.e. less than high school). In the past…