PSYCHOLOGICAL & BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS (YOUTH & TEENS)

1. PSYCHOLOGICAL & BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS (YOUTH & TEENS) KNR 270

2. Psychological Disorders • Seeing more children with more severe problems • All the disabilities discussed in Mental Illness (+ reactive attachment disorder, etc.) • Labeled earlier • Discharged from institutions back home • Seek recreation services in the community as well as in special recreation services

3. Behavioral Disorders • Learning problems not attributed to intellectual, sensory, or health problems • Difficulty in relating appropriately to peers, siblings, parents & others • Difficulty responding to academic and social tasks • Excessive behaviors • Lack of coping behaviors

4. Types of Negative Behavior • Noncompliance • Attention getting behaviors • Inappropriate physical contact • Physical aggression • Others

5. Oppositional Defiant Disorder • Enduring pattern of uncooperative, defiant, hostile behavior toward authority figures • Behaviors are more frequent & intense than unaffected peers • Cause problems in social, academic, work, recreation • Often with other disabilities (e.g., AD/HD, LD, addiction, anti-social personality) • Genetic & environmental causes

6. Oppositional Defiant Disorder • Behaviors for 6 mos. 4 or more: • Losing temper • Arguing with adults • Actively defying or refusing to carry out rules or requests of adults • Deliberately doing things to annoy others • Blaming others for own mistakes or misbehavior • Being touchy or easily annoyed by others • Being angry and resentful • Being spiteful or vindictive

7. Conduct Disorder • Pattern of repetitive behavior where rights of others or social norms are violated • Childhood-onset: 1 criteria before 10 y/o • Adolescent-onset: no criteria evident prior to 10 • Causes: Child abuse, brought up in chaotic environments

8. Conduct Disorder • 3 or more of the following criteria in the past 12 months with at least 1 criteria present in past 6 months

9. Conduct Disorder • Aggression to people & animals • Often bullies, threatens, or intimidates others • Often initiates physical fights • Has used a weapon that can cause serious physical harm to others • Has been physically cruel to people • Has been physically cruel to animals • Has stolen while confronting a victim • Has forced someone into sexual activity

10. Conduct Disorder • Destruction of property • Deliberately engaged in fire setting with intention of causing serious damage • Deliberately destroyed others’ property (other than by fire setting)

11. Conduct Disorder • Deceitfulness or theft • Has broken into someone else’s house, building, or car • Often lies to obtain goods or favors or to avoid obligations (“cons” others) • Has stolen items of nontrivial value without confronting a victim (e.g., shoplifting, but without breaking and entering; forgery)

12. Conduct Disorder • Serious violations of rules • Often stays out at night despite parental prohibitions, beginning before age 13 • Has run away from home overnight at lease twice while living in parental or parental surrogate home (or once without returning for a lengthy period) • Often truant from school, beginning before age 13

13. ADA • Must make accommodations just like we do for physical disabilities • If we don’t, we discriminate • If we have a plan and we don’t follow it, we discriminate • Safety is still an issue

14. Abuse • Abuse: Act of commission or inflicting injury or allowing injury to result • Physical: Intentional physical injury • Sexual: Involves child in sexual act or situation for sexual gratification or financial gain • Emotional: Makes child to feel bad about himself, adult ignores child’s emotional needs • Almost always present with other forms of abuse

15. Neglect • Act of omission • Failure to act on behalf of a child • Failure to provide for a child’s basic needs • Food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, supervision

16. Mandatory Reporter • If you provide services to children, you are a mandatory reporter • Child Abuse Hotline • 800-25A-BUSE • Reasonable cause of abuse/neglect • If in doubt, call • You can also be reported

17. Prevention • Screening & background checks • Education & training of staff • Pledge of moral character • Policies & procedures • Kids not sit on lap • Don’t be alone in a room or restroom or vehicle

18. Prevention • Positively stated rules & expectations • Post rules • Involve youth in setting rules (5) • Provide clear examples • Teach expected behaviors • Social skills, anger management, peer mediation, count to 10, deep breaths, quiet space • Encourage expected behaviors • Focus on increasing appropriate behaviors • Give specific feedback • Increase involvement & making choices

19. Prevention • Discourage problem behaviors • Structure program • Daily schedule • Enforce rules • Give understandable definitions of infractions • Tolerate some behaviors (pick your battles) • Redirect to different tasks • Use nonverbal cues • Give consequences related to behavior • Provide empathy/listen

20. Prevention • Be a role model • Attention is paid to what you do vs. say • Use peer role models • Recognize good behaviors • Normally we comment on bad • For every correction, give 4 positive comments • Catch doing something good • Provide opportunities for success

21. Prevention • Keep things active • Have fun • Do things they like to do • Get them involved • Decrease line up time • Outdoor programs/adventure/challenge courses • Redirect • Give something else to do • Analyze/decrease time outs

22. Prevention • Know your clients • What sets them off • What they respond to • Know yourself • Stay calm • Know your triggers • Voice control – speak softly • Take a step back • Keep hands at side • Sit down if possible

23. Prevention • Have an individualized behavior plan • Behavior contracts • Sticker charts • Reinforcers (e.g., praise, attention, choice of activities, tangible reward) • Talk with parents/teachers • Obtain specific training • Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) • Talk down vs. take down • Contact a CTRS or your SRA