PLEASE NOTE:
Due to the blizzard this program has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 23, 2013.
Jessica
Minahan, M.Ed, BCBA, instructor
This program
will teach participants about interventions educators can use in the classroom
to help students (in preschool through Grade 8) who have anxiety or
oppositional behavior and can be explosive. Frequently, teachers respond with
punishment- and reward-based consequences rather than understanding students’
challenges and teaching them strategies to learn to cope. Although clinicians
are often asked only to diagnose and treat a child who is struggling in school,
it is critical for them to be able to advocate for their patients in the school
setting and to help educators work with these students by improving the school
environment and changing their responses to behavior. Participants will learn to suggest
improvements to existing behavior plans that focus on preventive strategies,
such as antecedent management, self-monitoring systems and alternative
responses to behavior. These interventions can allow students to improve their
behavior by acquiring the necessary skills to make academic progress.
Ms. Minahan,
a behavior analyst and special educator, will use case studies to teach
participants concrete skills to help support these students in school. Given a
case example, participants will explain how they would respond. They will
review a suggested behavior plan (typical in schools) and learn how to evaluate
its contents and see why it may not be working and may actually be reinforcing
the student’s disruptive behavior. After learning about the concepts of
antecedent management and functional hypotheses and discussing anticipated
behavior and common problem areas, they will be given “ABC data” (antecedent-behavior-consequences)
on the student’s behavior. They will learn to evaluate this information and to
identify patterns of behavior that may emerge, and will work with Ms. Minahan
to create an improved behavior plan for the student, covering
a wide range of concrete interventions that teachers can apply immediately.
Additional handouts will cover information on
students’ legal rights in special education, how to collect behavior data,
suggestions of alternative strategies, self-monitoring sheets and
recommendations for important components to include in individualized Education
Programs (IEPs) for these students.
Upon completion of the program the student will be able to:
·
Describe
why traditional behavior plans of reward and consequences often do not work for
students with challenges such as anxiety and oppositional behavior.
·
Collaborate
with parents and educators to offer concrete suggestions to help these
students.
·
Explain
the legal protections for students with severe emotional disturbance in school
and make suggestions to help them access necessary assessments, accommodations
and interventions.
Program Code: BC40
4 CE Credits
Location: at MSPP, Newton
Jessica Minahan, M.Ed, BCBA, is a board-certified behavior analyst and
special educator in the Newton, Massachusetts public school system. She is the co-author The Behavior
Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging
Students,
written with Nancy Rappaport, M.D.