2015-2016 Regional Forum
presented by:
and the
Regional Special Education Technical Assistance Support Center
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Table of Contents for Handout Packet
Table of Contents for Flash Drive Materials……...……………………………………………....3
Brief Self -Assessment …………………………………………………………………….….…..5
Quick Reflection…..…...…...………………………….………...……………….……………... .6
The Conflict Cycle………..……………………..………………………………………………..7
The Breakfast Club…………………………..……………………………………………………8
The Basic Behavior Escalation Model……………………………………………………….……9
Claudia’s Story………………………………………………………………….……………… .10
Claudia’s Stages and Strategies…………………………………………………….….…….…..11
Life Space Crisis Interview…………………………………………………………….……… ..12
Claudia’s Life Space Crisis Interview…………………………………………………………...13
Outcomes of Claudia’s Life Space Crisis Interview.………………………..…………………. .18
Relationship Building with a Challenging Youth………………………………………………..19
Stages and Strategies Outline…………………………………………………………………….20
Role Play…………………………………………………………………………………………21
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Table of Contents for Flash Drive Materials
**Listed in Alphabetical Order**
PowerPoints
a)Conflict Resolution and Active Listening (CBLE)
b)Integrating Restorative Practices into Multi-Tiered System of Support (Vezzuto)
c)Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI): Integrating Evidence-based Practices to Improve Outcomes for Students with, or At Risk of Developing Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities (Walker)
d)Life Space Crisis Intervention: New Direction for Chronic Self-Defeating Behaviors (Long, FrescerBrendtro)
e)Preventing and De-escalating Conflict and Aggressive Behavior (Rozalski, Peterson, & Ryan)
f)Restorative Practices and PBIS (Petersen & Simon)
g)Restorative Practices: Fostering Healthy Relationships & Promoting Positive Discipline in Schools: A Guide for Educators (Restorative Practices Working Group)
h)School Based Practices for Students with Intensive Needs (Muscott)
i)The Conflict Cycle (Nick Long & Behavior Advisor)
Research Articles
a)A Brief History of Life Space Interviewing (Long & Fagen, 1980)
b)Building Relationships with Challenging Children (Hall & Hall, 2003)
c)How to Spell Success for Secondary Students Labeled EBD: How Students Define Effective Teachers (Owens & Dieker, 2003)
d)Improving the Way We Think About Students with Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders (Regan, 2009)
e)Intensifying Intervention (Ludlow, 2014)
f)Intensive Behavioral Intervention (Wheby & Kern, 2014)
g)Integrating PBIS and Restorative Discipline (Sprague, 2014)
h)Introduction to Data Based Individualization (Danielson & Rosenquist, 2014)
i)Life Space Crisis Intervention (Frecser & Long, n.d.)
j)Making it Happen: Building Positive Relationships with Children (Durden, 2011)
k)PBIS and Restorative Measures: Compatibility and Collaboration (Minnesota Department of Education, n.d.)
l)Prove Them Wrong: Being there for Secondary Students with an Emotional or Behavioral Disability (Solar, 2011)
m)The Conflict Cycle (Long, 1979)
n)Using Data to Intensify Behavioral Interventions for Individual Students (Kern & Wheby, 2014)
o)Violence Begets Violence: Breaking Conflict Cycles (Brendtro & Long, 1994)
Workbooks & Guides
a)Building Relationships as a Foundation for Learning
b)Circle Keeper's Handbook
c)Fix School Discipline: How We Can Fix School Discipline Workbook
d)I Can't Hold It in Forever: Connecting with a Youth in Pain
e)Peace Power Tools: Peace Restorative Circles
f)Proactive Supports for Students with Challenging Behaviors
g)She Had It Coming: A Reality Rub Reclaiming Intervention
h)Teaching Restorative Practices in Classroom Circles
i)The School Discipline Consensus Report: Strategies From the Field to Keep Students Engaged in School and Out of the Juvenile Justice System
A Brief Self- Assessment
Have you worked directly with students who exhibited extremely troubled and troubling behavior in the school?
Has such a student’s resistance to your intervention attempts ever made you feel helpless and hopeless?
Have you ever felt judged by others because you were unable to effect the desired change in a student’s troubling behavior?
Has the student’s persistent troubling behavior ever created stress and/or conflict between you and your colleagues?
Have you ever found yourself saying to yourself “it’s not my fault --- if only so and so would do thus and such”?
Have you ever convinced yourself that a certain student’s needs exceed what your program can offer and that their needs would best be met elsewhere ….. in some other program ……….. preferably far away?
Quick Reflection
•Think of one student who presented you with especially challenging behavior and with whom you struggled and were less than successful in the end
•What would you have needed to be more successful?
•What strengths do you have that you brought to bear on the situation?
The Conflict Cycle
- A stressful incident occurs (i.e., frustration, failure) which ACTIVATES a troubled student’s irrational beliefs (i.e., "Nothing good ever happens to me!" "Adults are unfair.").
- These negative thoughts determine and trigger his feelings.
- His feelings and not his rational forces DRIVE his inappropriate behavior.
- His inappropriate behaviors (yelling, threatening, sarcasm, refusing to speak) INCITE adults.
- Adults not only pick up the student’s feelings, but also they frequently MIRROR his behaviors (yell back, threaten, etc.)
- This negative adult REACTION increases the student’s stress escalating the conflict into a self-defeating power struggle.
- Although the student may lose the battle (i.e., he is punished), he wins the war! His SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY (i.e. irrational belief) is REINFORCED and therefore, he has no motivation to change or alter his beliefs or his inappropriate behaviors.
“The Breakfast Club”
What is the stressful incident or trigger for this incident?
What is the student’s feeling?
What is the student’s observable behavior?
What is the adult’s reaction?
What happens as a result of this conflict playing out?
Effect on student?
Effect on teacher?
Effect on other students that are present?
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Claudia
Claudia walked into the school building with a scowl on her face. It was quite obvious that she had not showered or changed her clothing from the previous day. She entered the breakfast room and sat in the far left corner, alone. As she got up to get her breakfast, she shouted at Diane. “Leave me the f@#!alone!” As she walked back to her seat with her breakfast, she suddenly stopped and threw her breakfast tray at Diane, hitting her in the leg with her food. Diane jumped out of her chair, ran over to Claudia, and struck her in the face with her fist. The fight escalated and it took three staff members to separate them. A teacher observed the fight and asked Claudia to come to her office. She reluctantly came but yelled the whole way, “Who the f@#!does she think she is? I’m going get that b@#*$! Why’d she smack me upside my head? Wait till I get her outside! You’ll see which one of us starts crying!” The teacher took Claudia to her office and asked her to have a seat. Claudia complied and the teacher asked Claudia if she was hurt. Claudia stated she was not. After sitting quietly for several minutes, Claudia began to cry.
Stage / Claudia / StrategiesCalm
Trigger
Agitation
Acceleration
Peak
De-Escalation
Questions/Steps to Use:
- What actions did you engage in? (name the behavior)
- Why did you decide to act that way? (capture student’s need)
- What else could you have done that would
- Meet your need
- Be acceptable
- Obtain agreement on what the student will do next time
- Be ready to reinforce occurrences of alternative responses at first opportunity
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Claudia’s Life Space Crisis Interview
After she was done, I asked her if she could calmly tell me about the incident. She said she didn’t know. I gave her a few minutes to think about it. All of a sudden, she tried to blurt out all sorts of things that were not making any sense to me. After she got it out, I asked her if we could go over all the issues again, one by one, since I wanted to get it straight. I told her how pleased I was she could share her concerns with me.
TIME LINE
After her initial outburst of words, I asked her how she was feeling when she came into school today. Having some knowledge of Claudia’s homelife, I felt that this was a good place to begin. I asked her if she felt happy, sad, worried, upset, etc. She shouted, “Okay!” I continued to probe, and she told me she was tired. “I want to be left alone!”
I responded by saying, “Let me understand what happened so far. You came into school feeling okay. But, you are also tired and want to be left alone. Do I have it right, so far?”
Claudia shook her head in agreement. I said, “Okay, now let’s get to the breakfast room. You walked in quietly, and where did you sit?”
Claudia said, “I sat in the corner, away from everyone.”
I affirmed that was a good decision, since she was tired and wanted to be alone. I again asked her if she was sure she felt “Okay” when she came into school.
She said, “Yeah! I’m okay, but I was a little mad!”
I responded by saying, “Wait a minute. Let me make sure that I understand what we’ve been talking about. You came into school feeling okay, tired, wanted to be left alone; and now you’re saying that you were a little mad. Did I get it right?”
“Yeah!”
I then said, “I give you a lot of credit for coming to school feeling the way you did. Most students would have skipped school when they are feeling so tired and mad. I don’t know if I’d be able to do what you’ve done. You should be proud of yourself. I’m proud of you!”
After this comment, Claudia completely calmed down and began to get very involved in the LSCI.
RD is the teacher conducting the Life Space Crisis Interview
A RED FLAG INTERVENTION
RD: Tell me about your event last night.
Claudia: It was all right. (Body language showed some tension.)
RD: Did you sleep well?
Claudia: Yeah.
RD: What time do you get up in the mornings?
Claudia: I don’t know, about 7:00.
RD: That’s good. I get up early too.
Claudia: Today I got up at 6:00.
RD: Tell me why you got up so early this morning? No wonder you’re so tired!
Claudia: I had to wake my father up at 6:00.
RD: Doesn’t he have an alarm clock?
Claudia: No! He doesn’t have shit!
RD: So, he didn’t have an alarm clock so you had the responsibility of waking him up. Do you have to do this often?
Claudia: No.
RD: So, did you wake him up on time?
Claudia: (with tears in her eyes) Yeah!
RD: What did he say or do when you woke him up?
Claudia: He yelled at me.
RD: Here you are doing a favor for your father and he yells at you for waking him up. I’d also be mad. Tell me, what did he say? How loud did he yell? How did you feel?
Claudia: I hope he dies! He’s a real bitch!
RD: So you were real upset with him. What did he actually say to you?
Claudia: (tears are coming down her face) He called me a bitch and a whore.
RD: That must really have made you feel sad! Is that all he said?
Claudia: No, he asked me I woke him up?
RD: Did you tell him that he asked you to wake him last night?
Claudia: Yeah. He told me to drop dead and that I’m a filthy bitch.
RD: Anything else? Was he drinking last night?
Claudia: Yes, he was. He said I was an idiot, I can’t get anything right, and that I’m no good!
RD: So you carried out your responsibilities and got him up on time, and he says you can’t get anything right! Do you believe him?
Claudia: He’s a f______ing bastard!
RD: You are really angry at him! Would you like to go and wash your face and freshen up a little?
Claudia: Yeah. He told me to drop dead and that I’m a filthy bitch.
RD: You are really angry at him! Would you like to go and wash your face and freshen up a little?
Claudia: Would you come with me? (a positive sign)
RD: Certainly!
Claudia: Am I gonna get suspended for throwing the food?
RD: Let’s finish with one issue at a time before we solve the next one. What did you do when your father stopped yelling at you?
Claudia: I went to the bathroom and got dressed and left.
RD: So, when you got to school you weren’t really feeling okay, and I don’t blame you, you were really mad and wanted to be left alone.
Claudia: Yeah, I guess.
RD: Now, let’s go back to the breakfast room. Someone started to bother you by calling to you, remember that.
Claudia: Yeah.
RD: Do you remember what you said?
Claudia: Yeah! I said, “Leave me the “f_____ alone!”
RD: When you heard your name being called, did you know that it was Diane?
Claudia: No.
RD: If you had known it was Diane, do you think that you would have thrown your food at her?
Claudia: Yeah! I wanted to be left alone!
RD: What I’m hearing is that you would have acted in the same manner no matter who it was.
Claudia: Yeah!
RD: Have any of us or Diane done anything to you this morning to get you mad at us?
Claudia: You all bother me!
RD: What Diane did to bother you was to try to get your attention, right?
Claudia: Right!
RD: Did Diane know that you were very upset with your father this morning?
Claudia: No.
RD: Then she didn’t try to upset you on purpose.
Claudia: No.
RD: Since she is one of your friends, maybe she wanted to help, since you looked upset.
Claudia: Yeah.
RD: Can you tell me who you really are mad at?
Claudia: My father -- but, he always yells stuff like that at me!
RD: So you were really upset with your Dad, but you took it out on…
Claudia: Diane.
RD: Yes you did. But does Diane deserve it?
Claudia: No.
RD: But, she got your anger. You gave it to her when you were upset at your …
Claudia: Father.
RD: Claudia, do you think this is a pattern you use when you are upset?
Claudia: I don’t know. (her body language indicates she is felling anxious about her answer)
RD: Do you think it was true today?
Claudia: Yes.
RD: Did this fight with Diane solve anything, or did it make your life worse?
Claudia: It made my life worse. Now Diane is mad at me.
RD: That’s another problem which you will need to solve. But if you get upset at home again, and come to school angry, what can you do to avoid creating more difficulty for yourself?
Claudia: I can talk to someone at school about it.
RD: I know you have talked to Mr. Gallagher (her teacher) in the past. The two of you seem to get along. What if I arrange a meeting with him so he will understand how difficult your life can get? Now, I know it is not easy to talk to someone, but we need to be good to ourselves and not beat ourselves up when we are feeling sad and angry. You have had enough psychological pain your life.
Claudia: I will try.
RD: Shall we practice? I’ll be you and you be Mr. Gallaher. (I thought this process was very helpful to Claudia.)
RETURN TO CLASS
Claudia and I discussed what she would do if someone began to “bother” her in class.
Claudia: I won’t bother with them.
RD: Yes, but that might be hard to do. What then?
Claudia: Tell the teacher or ignore them.
RD: Very good, but what if they continue to bother you?
Claudia: Leave the room and go to the Dean’s office.
RD: What if the teacher will not excuse you from class?
Claudia: I’d tell her I’d rather get into trouble for leaving the classroom without a pass than for fighting.
RD: That’s terrific! I’m really proud of you! Ready to go to class?
Claudia: Yeah
After talking with Claudia, the teacher touches based with all of the other teachers Claudia sees throughout the day.
Outcomes of Claudia’s Life Space Crisis Interview
•What were the emotions that Claudia drained off?
•What were the major events of the timeline?
•What is the central issue triggering this event?
•What major insights does Claudia discover?
•What is the new skill is Claudia going to utilize?
•How does the teacher help her to transfer the training?
Relationship Building with a Challenging Youth
Brainstorm five unique ways to engage a youth you know who struggles with challenging behavior. Select three for implementation.
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2.
3.
4.
5.
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Stage / What does the student’s behavior look like? / What strategies could be utilized to work with this student?Calm
Trigger
Agitation
Acceleration
Peak
De-Escalation
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Role Play
Think of a past situation involving your student with challenging behavior. Utilize the guiding questions to script a conversation between yourself and the student. Practice the conversation with a partner.
1.What actions did you engage in? (name the behavior)
2.Why did you decide to act that way? (capture student’s need)
3.What else could you have done that would (replacement behavior)
a.Meet your need
b.Be acceptable
4.Obtain agreement on what the student will do next time (motiviation/clarity)
5.Be ready to reinforce occurrences of alternative responses at first opportunity
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