“Working with Young Children with Challenging Behavior and their Families”
This section contains training modules and manuals designed for staff development, in-service events. It is also a source of information for teachers of young children and home visitors working with children and/or their families and includes compendiums of screening and assessment information. The final section includes prevention and promotion home visiting models for high risk or at risk families whose children may later experience delays in social and emotional development or challenging behavior.
Working with Children
The “Teaching Tools” are intended to assist teachers in problem-solving a plan to support young children who are having challenging behavior. The User's Manual will explain how to use the tools and all of the technical information you will need to access the hyperlinked visual supports and materials. Also included within the Teaching Tools is the Routine Based Support Guide. The Guide and is a document that accompanies all of the tools and is organized in routines and activities that typically occur in early childhood programs. It will assist teachers in support plan development.
4 training modules developed by the Center on Social and Emotional Foundations for Early learning for use by TA providers to train staff in early cared and education programs. The content of the modules is consistent with evidence-based practices identified through a thorough review of the literature. 1. Promoting Children’s Success: Building Relationships and Creating Supportive Environments, 2. Social and Emotional Teaching Strategies, 3. Individualized Intensive Intervention: Determining the Meaning of Challenging Behavior, and Developing a Behaviors Support Plan, 4. Leadership Strategies of Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Development and Addressing Challenging Behavior.
Positive Beginnings-Supporting young Children with Challenging Behavior is a series of on-line training modules (can be ordered on CD) developed at Florida State University. Modules include: 1. Social and Communication Development, 2. Determining the meaning of Challenging Behavior, 3. Positive Behavior Interventions and Support, .4.Teaming to Build a Behavior Support Plan, 5. Intervention in Everyday Settings, Supporting Families
The single best way to address challenging behavior in young children today is to take steps to make sure they don’t occur. This brief outlines practical recommendation for effective classroom environments.
The DEC’s position paper on identification and intervention with young children with challenging behavior. Paper includes DEC recommended practices.
Positive Behavior Support is a process for understanding and resolving the problem behavior of children that is based on values and empirical research. It offers an approach for developing an understanding of why the child engages in problem behavior and strategies for preventing the occurrence of problem behavior while teaching the child new skills. Each of the steps are explained including 1. Building a Behavior Support Team, 2.Person Centered Planning, 3.Functional Behavior Assessment, 4. Hypothesis Development, 5.Behavior Support Plan and 6.Monitoring Outcomes. Research and case studies are also available at this link.
“School wide Positive Behavior Supports” from the University of Oregon- Implementer’s Blueprint and self assessment.
Introductory article for parents and teachers from ARC about the meaning of “Positive Behavior Support”
Puckett Institutes Research and Training Center on Early Childhood Development study on the use of the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy with preschool age children identified as showing Disruptive Behavior. Gives characteristics of PCIT and discussed strategies in working with children.
Puckett Institute’s “Bridges” documents on strengthening parent-child relationships.
Head Start- Several publications available including:
Practical suggestions for teachers in dealing with challenging behavior in preschoolers.
Classroom management strategies for Special needs children.
Screening and Assessment of Social Emotional Development, Mental Health and Challenging Behavior
Checklist developed by “Bright Futures” for providers and families on when to seek help for potential problems in social emotional development ( ages birth to 1 and ages 1-4years.)
A tool for providers to use and keep current with information they need about community referrals for children with potential social and emotion al problems
The "Compendium of Screening Tools for Early Childhood Social-Emotional Development" is a resource which includes descriptions of screening and assessment tools, characteristics of the tools, and lessons from the field.
Compendium for early childhood assessments including screening and evaluation instruments in many areas of child development. Some of these instruments include social and emotional development, adaptive development, temperament and behavior.
Working with families
“Supporting Families in Crisis- training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community”
Modules designed for home visitors working in “at Risk or High Risk family home. Chapters include: 1.Preventing Family crisis, 2. Addressing Family Crisis, 3. Responding to Crisis and 4. Dealing with potential Dangerous Situations.
Two page brief for home visitors working with families of infants and toddlers. The brief includes a set of recommended practices.
“The Importance of Fathers in Young Children’s Development”. This is a manual designed for Child Protection Services (CPS) caseworkers to help them understand the importance of and to effectively engage fathers in the responsibilities of assisting their children to be safe, healthy . It contains useful information for all home visitors wanting to engage fathers.
Promotion or Prevention Home Visiting Programs:
Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded comprehensive child development programs which serve children from birth to age 5, pregnant women, and their families. They are child-focused programs and have the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families.(EHS) has a triple mission. It promotes healthy prenatal outcomes, enhances the development of infants and toddlers, and promotes healthy family functioning.
Healthy Families America helps enhance the relationship between the parent and the child. Focus is on helping parents “ feel good about themselves and have confidence so that they see that they have what it takes to raise their baby."
Healthy Start program offers models for the reduction of infant mortality, low birthweight and racial disparities in perinatal outcomes. This federally funded model emphasizes both the importance of community-based approaches to solving these problems, and the need to develop comprehensive, holistic interventions that include health, social and economic services. The National Healthy Start Association (NHSA), provides TA and support to its members including most of the 96 federally funded Healthy Start projects in the United States,
Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a parent involvement, school readiness program that helps parents prepare their three, four, and five year old children for success in school and beyond. The parent is provided with a set of carefully developed curriculum, books and materials designed to strengthen their children’s cognitive skills, early literacy skills, social/emotional and physical development.
Nurse-Family Partnership is an evidence-based nurse home visitation program that improves the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of low-income, first-time parents and their children. The Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office, located in Denver, Coloradois a nonprofit organization that provides service to communities in implementingand sustaining this program across the country. Projected outcomes for communities who have this program are: “Mothers will have healthier pregnancies, Child health and development will be improved,and Mothers will become more self-sufficient”.
“Parents as Teachers” (PAT) provides parents with child development knowledge and parenting support and information. The National Center drives that mission, through four program areas: “Born to Learn”, Professional Development, “Meld” and Advocacy. All of these program areas work through a strong network of state leaders and partners. PAT programs are located in all 50 states.
The Parent-Child Home Program is a research-based and research-validated early childhood literacy and school readiness program. The Program successfully strengthens families and prepares children for academic success through intensive home visiting. Since 1965, this innovative program has emphasized the importance of quality parent-child verbal interaction to promote the cognitive and social-emotional development that children need in order to enter school with the tools they need to become successful students.
Benefits of Home Visiting Programs
Home visiting is a long-standing, well-known prevention strategy used by states and communities to improve the health and well-being of women, children, and families, particularly those who are at risk. Early investments in home visiting programs have been shown to reduce costs due to foster care placements, hospitalizations and emergency room visits, unintended pregnancies, and other more costly interventions. Recent research in early brain development and increased federal program flexibility provide states with new opportunities to reexamine home visiting goals, expected outcomes, and investments.
Family evaluation of value of home visiting programs
Children Youth and Families Education and Research Network- “Evaluating Home Visiting Programs: A Focus on Parenting and Family Strengths Outcomes