Sometimes children are stressed about seemingly small events that escalate into problem behavior. In this article, an insightful teacher discusses restoration of emotional balance by mobilizing positive support from both school and family using A Response Ability Pathways (RAP) intervention. The RAP techniques and how they can be used are…

Bullying often persists in spite of formal programs targeting this problem. Supportive school and classroom communities enlist brave peers in consoling, encouraging, and befriending victims, which removes the status that fuels bullies. For the past 18 years, this author has worked in multiple children's agencies and schools, studying bullying…

One would like to believe that advances in science have resulted in improved outcomes for troubled youth. Trends in treatment have changed dramatically in two decades. Technology to understand the brain and its functions are highly advanced. But the United States is now medicating youth more than any other country. There is growing concern about…

Unresolved issues from home often spill over into behavior problems at school. This article discusses the five-minute RAP techniques: (1) connect; (2) clarify; and (3) restore. The authors present a case study wherein this brief restorative intervention had been a successful alternative to punishment and exclusion.

This article introduces a unique team approach to planning and positive behavior support. The young person becomes a key participant in solving problems and setting goals for growth. The CLEAR Team Problem Solving model shifts the focus from deficits to strengths and solutions. The goal is to identify how a child's private logic and interpersonal…

The Behavior Intervention Support Team (BIST) is a proactive school-wide behavior management plan for all students, emphasizing schools partnering with students and parents through caring relationships and high expectations. The BIST program is well-grounded in behavioral theory and combines strength-based and resiliency principles within the…

A growing body of research shows that many seriously troubled children and adolescents are reacting to adverse life experiences. Yet traditional diagnostic labels are based on checklists of surface symptoms. Distracted by disruptive behavior, the common response is to medicate, punish, or exclude rather than respond to needs of youth who have…

This story gives a brief overview of the possibilities and opportunities of the Symptom Estrangement Reclaiming Intervention. It is the history of a three-year effort with a child caught in this self-defeating pattern of behaviour.

Understanding the differences between behavior management and behavior change helps adults identify the differences between the two and teaches them what they can do to be effective in the use of both. This article introduces Positive Behavior Facilitation (PBF) Tool #3 which aims to support adults in understanding the differences between behavior…

Despite the numerous, disparate, and often unfair demands placed upon educators to be all things to all students, they need to be prepared to teach better behavior every day. Perhaps of even greater importance is finding ways of becoming tougher in not giving up on them when they say and do things that are annoying, obnoxious, and inappropriate so…

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…

Discipline strategies must incorporate the learning and behavior of each child with the desired outcomes if they are to correct maladaptive behaviors. Suspension should be based on the student's best educational interests; conducted in a manner that teaches the student more appropriate behaviors; supported by empirical research; and used as a last…

Youth who present anti-social behavior need powerful interventions that strengthen empathy, counter negative peer influence, and challenge thinking errors. This article recaps some key points about EQUIP, a Positive Peer Culture (PPC)-based cognitive behavioral intervention program for behaviorally at-risk youth, and notes how the program has…

All too often, one behavioral intervention is used universally to handle a variety of problem behaviors, regardless of the function of the misbehavior. This article describes how a functional assessment of behavior can be used to identify the purpose of misbehaviors and plan effective behavioral interventions. (Author)

Schools are confronted with students who present serious behavior problems that were once only seen in secure settings. In order to be effective with these students, staff members need to acquire skills for managing crises. Article suggests that staff members put students first; use many tools for cultivating strengths; and learn from young…