This brief provides an overview of how to identify and determine why a student may be avoiding or refusing to attend school, and ways that schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) teams can help to assess and address school refusal. We will introduce a research-based framework to engage in problem-solving to better support…

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,…

The author considers the application of transactional analysis (TA) in the field of education. Initially, the focus is on the use of TA in reducing conflict in the classroom and staffroom before offering observations about its broader relevance to contemporary UK schooling. Concepts covered include the egostate model of personality, functional…

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…

Objective: Rage attacks have been documented in youth with varied psychiatric disorders, but few data have been reported on the clinical characteristics and correlates of rage attacks among children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Method: Participants were 86 children (ages 6-16 years) with a primary diagnosis of OCD. Patients and their…

Tic disorders have traditionally been conceptualized as neurobiological conditions and consequently within the purview of neurologists. In the last few decades, however, a number of psychosocial treatments have been developed and tested. To date, a behavioral treatment called Habit Reversal Training (HRT) has garnered the most empirical support as…

Psychological interventions for migraines typically include biofeedback training, stress-management training, or relaxation training and are implemented without consideration of environmental variables that might maintain migraines or complaints of migraines. An adolescent with daily reports of migraines that negatively impacted school attendance…

Children's psychosocial rehabilitation (CPSR) is a promising but under-evaluated home- and community-based treatment for children with serious emotional disturbance (SED). CPSR addresses the functional impairments of children with SED through an asset-based, skill-building approach that involves multiple systems in the child's life. The present…

This article reports on a randomized controlled trial of the First Step to Success early intervention that was conducted over a 4-year period in Albuquerque Public Schools. First Step is a selected intervention for students in Grades 1 through 3 with externalizing behavior problems, and it addresses secondary prevention goals and objectives. It…

Teaching feelings to deaf children is only one need that teachers must keep in mind as they prepare for a new school year. However, teachers should put as much forethought into classroom management as they do into their curriculum. According to Wong and Wong (1998), the most important factor in student learning is classroom management. In other…

The authors report outcomes for 4,777 youth served by the public mental health system in Michigan who had problems in school, at home, in interpersonal relationships, or in modulating their mood. Cluster analysis identified five subgroups: Pervasive Problems with Mood Disturbance (i.e., severe or moderate impairment in school, at home, in behavior…

Stuttering characteristics, assessment, and treatment principles present challenges to assessment and treatment that can be addressed with virtual reality (VR) technology. This article describes how VR can be used to assist clinicians in meeting some of these challenges with adults who stutter. A review of current VR research at the Stuttering…

Positive behavior support (PBS) represents an empirically driven concern with quality of life (QOL), support through systems change, and linkage to multiple behavioral, social, and biomedical sciences. The major impediments to QOL are problem behavior, skill deficits, and dysfunctional systems. A model for addressing dysfunctional systems is…

A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) is mandated when schools deal with students presenting problems that lead to suspension or exclusion. The authors present a strength-based model for FBAs developed in a New York school for students with emotional and behavior problems. The Circle of Courage needs for Belonging, Mastery, Independence, and…

School refusal behavior is a common problem seen by mental health professionals and by educators but little consensus is available as to its classification, assessment, and treatment. This study assessed 143 youth with primary school refusal behavior and their parents to examine diagnoses that are most commonly associated with proposed functions…