• What is challenging behaviour?

• What behaviours challenge you and why?

• Investigate biological risk factors including temperament, substance abuse and developmental delays.

• Investigate environmental risk factors including violence, trauma, cultural dissonance and childcare itself.

• The concept of fairness

• The physical environment and behavior

• Looking at the program, schedule and transitions and their impact on behavior.

• Creating a positive social context.

• Developing positive relations with the student and his/her family.

• Responding to challenging behaviour: What works, what doesn’t work? Why?

The premise of the linked strategies of Functional Assessment and Positive Behavior Support is that every challenging behavior can be thought of as a child’s solution to a problem and a form of communication. This workshop will help educators learn how to use these strategies to help them to understand where the behavior is coming from, why it is happening at a particular time in a particular place, the logic behind it, and function (or functions) it serves for the child. Even if the behavior is unacceptable, the function seldom is.

• The impact of aversive punishment

• Behavior as a form of communication

• What is Positive Behavior Support (PBS)?

• The Process of Positive Behavior Support

  • Step 1: Convene a team and identify goals of intervention

  • Step 2: Gather information (functional assessment)
                A-B-C Analysis of behavior
                Possible functions of behavior
                Collecting data

  • Step 3: Develop hypotheses
               Developing an hypothesis statement

  • Step 4: Design behaviour support plans
                Prevention strategies
                Replacement skills
                Responses

  • Step 5: Implement, monitor, and evaluate outcomes
                Review

Day 2 (Part 2): WEVAS Working Effectively with Violent and Aggressive States
Even to the experienced teacher, challenging behavior sometimes seems to come out of nowhere. WEVAS helps you to recognize warning signs, see things from the child’s perspective, and match your response to the child’s needs.

• What is WEVAS?

• Calibration – Knowing the child

• The Anxious State

  • Recognizing the anxious state

  • Using Open Communication

  • Non verbal communication

• The Agitated State

  • Saving face

  • Planned responses: The child’s and the educator’s

  • Educational issue

    • The teaching Response

  • Influence issue

    •  The Interrupt

    • The Option Statement

•  The Aggressive State

  • The centered response

  • Non verbal communication

  • The L-Stance

  • The de-escalation dance:

    • Defuse

    • Detect

    • Direct  

• The Assaultive State

  • Self protection

  • System Response

• The Open State

  • De-briefing

  • Verbal and non-verbal communication

Bullying is a problem that touches most children and youth at some point in their school years. Children are commonly understood to be involved in bullying as those who bully others, are victimized, or serve as the passive or participatory audience for this destructive play for power. This workshop will view the problem of bullying problem through a different lens for a more effective way of addressing the issue.

• Understand the difference between bullying and other aggressive behaviours

• Understand the children who:

  • bully

  • are the targets of bullying

  • the bystanders’ roles

• Learn ways to prevent bullying

• Learn ways to teach children about bullying

• Learn ways to respond to bullying

  • When you see it

  • When you don’t see it

• Alternatives to a zero tolerance policy