Children in the United States tend to experience a decline in positive self-concept during their adolescent years. This decline often begins around age 12 for girls and around age 14 for boys. For some, the decline can become severe in early adolescence before generally recovering in the mid-teen years. Having a negative self-concept during…

This article describes the journey toward evidence-based transport and implementation in usual care settings of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for youth with drug abuse and behavioral problems (Henggeler, Schoenwald, Borduin, Rowland, & Cunningham, 1998). Research and experience informing the design of the MST transport strategy, progress in…

This article illustrates how effective a threat assessment program like the Mid-Valley Student Threat Assessment (STAT) program can be in dealing with violent and threatening students. STAT is a a regional system that draws together resources from schools, mental health agencies, law enforcement bureaus, and other youth-serving organizations in…

As an off-campus-based professor and student teaching coordinator, the author's role is to place a group of student teachers, observe them in their student teaching assignments, and teach their seminar class, which meets once a week in the late afternoon. An aggressively immature student teacher severely tested the patience of the author and his…

All teenagers take risks as a normal part of growing up. Risk-taking is the tool an adolescent uses to define and develop his or her identity, and healthy risk-taking is a valuable experience. Healthy adolescent risk-taking behaviors which tend to have a positive impact on an adolescent's development can include participation in sports, the…

Student meltdowns can be a frequent source of discouragement for teachers. Mild to moderate verbal outbursts, anger, defacing instructional materials, and withdrawal can cause the most seasoned teacher to wonder if there is a way to help students constructively deal with their frustrations without losing control. There can be situations in which a…

Slow learners, such as students with borderline intellectual functioning, represent one of the most challenging student populations for administrators and teachers. Standard systems and supports are often ineffective--even counterproductive--because they fail to meet students' specific learning needs and instead create a cycle of failure. This…

The development of experimental functional analysis and more recently functional analysis checklists have become common technologies for evaluating antecedent events and the consequences of problematic behaviors. Children and developmentally disabled persons across the life span with challenging behaviors have been the primary focus of this…

The AISD Student Substance Use and Safety Survey, administered annually to a random, representative sample of AISD students, provides self-report data on student knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to substance use and school safety issues. This report summarizes results for school year 2011-2012 compared with previous years.

How does one build connections with students who do not feel they are part of the school community? Penn-Trafford High School in Harrison City, Pennsylvania, always seemed to have a number of students who felt no connection to the school or their classmates. They skipped class or didn't participate when they did attend. They were prime candidates…

Positive behavior interventions and Supports (PBIS) programs are being introduced in school districts throughout Illinois and the rest of the United States, resulting in decreased behavioral incidents and increased academic achievement. Programs for students who are deaf or hard of hearing benefit from implementation of this type of…

Historically, behavior management in treatment settings has focused on external controls such as points, tokens, and level systems. This article describes one program's transformation where troubled youth develop internal controls and become active participants in their own change. The authors describe their program's journey to help troubled and…

This article describes the journey that a family and community took to prepare Leon, a young man with autism, for his Bar Mitzvah. A positive behavior support (PBS) intervention was used to prepare Leon for this symbolic rite of passage into the Jewish culture. He had specific problem behaviors that needed to be addressed for him to participate in…

The quest for understanding the dynamics of language and the related sociocultural aspects of students with autism continues to be a challenge. Today, the term "autism" refers to a set of descriptions that profile a wide range of children who have impairments in their abilities to initiate and sustain healthy, normal social relationships…

Strong social skills are vital for successful functioning in life. Social skills can affect academic success, peer relationships, family relationships, employment, and extracurricular and leisure activities. Children and adolescents who display academic, social, and behavioral deficits are at risk for both short-term and long-term negative social…