Middle & High School Students with Emotional Disabilities

1. Middle & High School Students with Emotional Disabilities Greta Francis, Ph.D., ABPP Bradley Schools Alpert Medical School of Brown University

2. Emotional Disabilities in School • 8% of students served by IDEA have emotional disabilities • Behavioral dysregulation • Peer problems • Depression • Anxiety

3. Examples • 7th grade boy with depression & irritability • 10th grade girl with extreme anxiety

4. Social Emotional Learning • Teaching of social behavior appropriate for the time and setting • How to get along with others • How to get help when you need it • How to cope with distress

5. The Classroom Environment • Modeling of tolerance and acceptance • Differences are expected and accepted • Every student has a role • Staff teach and lead by example • Climate is positive

6. Tolerance • Be mindful of cultural/family differences • The best way to learn is to jump right in and learn through trial and error VERSUS The best way to learn is to watch and listen so don’t do anything until you are sure you will do it correctly. • How might these beliefs influence the behavior of our 7th grader & our 10th grader?

7. Teaching Tolerance • Communicating clearly that differences are ok and enriching • Giving opportunities for students to interact with people from diverse backgrounds • Responding in a “teaching way” if an insensitive comment is made

8. Classroom Strategies… • A goal is predictability • Positive consequences outweigh the negative • Clear rules and expectations • Consistent application of rules

9. …Classroom Strategies • Allowance for flexibility and choice • Appropriate behaviors are taught, prompted, and reinforced • Reinforce the small steps

10. Tackling Academic Work • Break tasks into manageable chunks • Set small goals and reinforce progress • Allow alternate ways of communication, if appropriate • Allow students to participate in their own way, if appropriate

11. Environmental Adaptations • Seating • Proximity to staff • Proximity to peers • Level of distraction in the room

12. Ideas for our 7th grader • He has become increasingly irritable • He has become increasingly withdrawn • His grades are declining • He has been sleeping in class

13. Ideas for our 10th grader • She is absent 1-2 times per week, often on Mondays or when public speaking is required • She goes to the nurse a lot • She doesn’t initiate interactions with peers • She becomes very anxious if a teacher calls on her

14. SEL for all students • Teach affect recognition • Teach relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behavior • Teaching problem-solving skills • Teaching coping skills

15. Affect recognition • Develop a language to use to label feelings • Develop an understanding of how the student expresses feelings to others • Recognize that different people may have different feelings in the same situation • How could we teach this to our 7th grader & our 10th grader?

17. Coping • Managing distress • Many strategies can be used • Relaxation • Self-talk • Fidgets • Teaching, modeling, prompting, and reinforcement • How could we teach this to our 7th grader & our 10th grader?

18. Assertion • Expressing an opinion or asking for something in a clear & respectful way • Aggressive: I want this or I’m going to explode • Passive: I’ll wait to see if anyone notices that I need this • Assertive: Telling someone what I need

19. Our 7th grader • Is getting frustrated because he can’t understand his science lesson • Aggressive: Says “I’m not doing this f*#%ing assignment” • Passive: Puts his head on his desk and goes to sleep • Assertive: Tells the teacher that he is getting frustrated & asks to take a brief break

20. Our 10th grader • Is getting panicky & tearful because the literature teacher just said that every student has to read aloud today • Aggressive: Unlikely to happen • Passive: Hopes that someone notices that she is crying • Assertive: Asks to talk with the teacher privately & explains how she feels

21. Problem Solving

22. Problem Solving

23. Example… • What is the problem? • Bob asked to copy my algebra homework and I don’t want to give it to him. • What are all the possible solutions? • Give Bob the homework; tell Bob I’m can’t give him the homework avoid Bob and hope he forgets about it; tell the teacher that Bob is cheating

24. …Example… • What will happen if I do those things? • If I give Bob the homework, then I’ll be cheating too • If I try to avoid Bob, he might keep asking me anyway • If I tell Bob I can’t give him my homework, he might get mad • If I tell the teacher, Bob will get mad and be in trouble • Pick a solution and try it out • I’m going to avoid Bob & hope he stops asking

25. …Example • How did I do? • It ended up working out ok because I only had to avoid Bob for 1 night. • This may come up again so I may end up having to tell Bob that I’m not giving him my homework. He might get mad but we’ve been friends for a long time so I think he’ll get over it.

26. Managing distress • Catch signs of upset/distress early • Intervene proactively • Change task/expectation temporarily • Listen & prompt coping • Ignore & redirect • If a meltdown happens, don’t take the student’s negative comments personally

27. Social Influence • Direct • Indirect • Problem-solving • Likeability

28. Direct • Rules • Consequences • Direction • Structure

29. Indirect • Tone of voice • Giving choices • Letting students make decisions • Proximity control

30. Problem-solving • Active listening • Allowing students to express their feelings • Identifying problems and generating solutions • Being seen as someone who will help

31. Likeability • Personal charisma • Getting to know students • Doing fun things with students • Remembering things like birthdays, interests

32. Student has done only 5 of 7 assigned math problems… • Direct: Staff says “finish up those last 2 problems” • Indirect: Staff walks over to the student and says “wow, you are almost done, only 2 left”

33. …Student has done only 5 of 7 assigned math problems • Problem-solving: Staff says “it looks like you might be stuck so lets figure out a way to finish” • Likeability: Staff smiles and says “you promised me you’d finish your math today”

34. Developing Social Influence Skills

35. Self Assessment

36. Imbalance at Start of School Year

37. Better Balance for the Start of School Year

38. Goal • Use social influence as a tool • Use different kinds of social influence in different situations • Use different kinds of social influence with different students

39. Frustrating Student Behaviors • Those behaviors that push buttons • Those behaviors that can lead to power struggles between the student and staff • Those behaviors that prompt emotional responses from staff • Staff can benefit by becoming aware of their own buttons & using strategies to cope

40. Common Traps • Passionate discipline • Life in prison • Too general • Cure all • Lecturing • Negative focus • Wishing

41. Passionate Discipline

42. Life in Prison

43. Too General

44. Cure All

45. Lecturing

46. Negative Focus

47. Wishing

48. Teamwork • Good teamwork among staff is a key to a helping students succeed in school • Get comfortable giving/receiving feedback from one another • Communicate regularly with one another • Plan and set goals collaboratively • Keep track of progress on those goals • Be nimble!

49. Thanks!

50. Selected Reference • Alderman, G.L. & Craver, J.R. (August, 1998). Difficult to manage students: A model for school consultation & inservice. Workshop presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.