Accommodations for Aggressive Youth

within School Settings

Abran Rodriguez, MS, CSC

A couple things… (1)

Children who are angry and aggressive need support and coaching to help them manage their behaviour and responses in the classroom, on the playground, with friends, and at home.

Although many children have occasional outbursts of anger and aggression, the children who consistently have difficulty controlling their emotions and behaviours are the ones who need support in developing social skills.

Many teachers have at least one child in their classroom whose behaviours are so concerning that they need professional intervention.

A couple things…(2)

When we think about children's anger and aggression, we need to consider the stage of development as well as other factors such as gender, cultural background, and family and community circumstances.

As children develop social skills, they are less likely to use aggression to solve problems, and the type of aggression they do use becomes more sophisticated.

In early childhood, children frequently rely on physical aggression, but as they mature, they begin to use more verbal aggression and social aggression (which hurts another person's reputation and friendships).

A couple things… (3)

Children's development depends on their personal characteristics that can either smooth the way or make it difficult for them to learn from their experiences.

Development also depends on the abilities and skills of parents, daycare staff, and teachers to provide daily lessons in social and emotional learning.

Most children are able to benefit from these lessons. They are on a timely and positive developmental path.

A couple things … (4)

When children's behaviours are typical of a younger age, this is a sign that they require additional support to catch up to their classmates in social and regulation skills (skills for managing their own behaviour).

We need to be particularly concerned for those children who for some reason have not had adequate experiences and support to develop the social skills and regulation required for healthy relationships and successful school adjustment.

Gender

Teachers need to consider the behaviours of boys and girls through somewhat different lenses in order to determine which boys and girls are on a timely and healthy developmental path and which children are lagging behind.

We know that boys and girls tend show their anger and aggression in different ways as a result of both their biological makeup, as well as their different socialization experiences.

Gender

Boys are generally more physically aggressive than girls, making their anger and aggression more obvious to adults. Girls tend to develop social and language skills a bit earlier than boys.

Girls, therefore, are earlier than boys in moving from physical aggression to more indirect or social forms of aggression (e.g., exclusion, gossip, non-verbal gestures, cyber bullying), which are less easy to detect, but still as hurtful and distressing.

Identifying Risk of Serious Problems These children can be identified by asking four questions:

How often do the problem behaviors occur? How long has the child been showing these behaviour problems? In how many settings does the child experience these problems? How severe are the child's problems?

Levels of Intervention

Children who have different levels of difficulties controlling their anger and aggression require different types of intervention.

The majority of children who seldom have problems expressing their anger in constructive ways and finding positive ways to resolve conflicts can benefit from the universal and whole school programs designed to promote social and emotional learning.

Children who have occasional and moderate levels of problems controlling their anger and aggression will also benefit from the universal and whole school programs, but they may need additional focused support and coaching to express their feelings more constructively and resolve problems without being aggressive.

Aggressive/Bullying BehaviorThe students may…

Verbally or physically harass others, causing them to report incidents to adult

Engage in bullying activity, intimidation, threats Be observed hitting, kicking, and repeatedly pushing others Demonstrate Intense anger Frequently lose temper or have blow-ups

The students may…

Extreme irritability Extreme impulsiveness Become easily frustrated Hurt or interact roughly with others during play, recess, or free time Name call

The students may…

Instigate and be involved in frequent conflicts, arguments, and fights Value being seen as tough and one to be feared or avoided Frequently be told on for conflicts, hurting others, etc, and deny any

part Not demonstrate guilt, remorse, or concern for others’ safety and

well-being

Before you start, a few important points:

Try multiple interventions Each intervention should be tried for a minimum of 4 weeks, &

more than 1 intervention may be implemented at the same time Collect and track specific data on each intervention tried & its

effect If your data indicates no progress after a minimum of 6 months, you

may consider moving to other interventions

Tier 1 Interventions

Take away unstructured or free time Talk one on one with student Teach conflict resolution skills Teach coping skills Teach relationship skills Teach relaxation techniques Teach social skill

Tier 2 Interventions

Alternatives To Suspension Behavior Contract Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) Structured Breaks Check In Check Out (CICO) Daily Behavior Form Forced Choice Reinforcement Survey

Behavior Contracts

Provides students with more one on one help, support, and intervention

Holds students accountable Provides structure, routine, consistency, and organization Promotes self responsibility

Behavior Contracts

Utilize a daily behavior form, chart, or report card Decide on the main problem behaviors and put these on the chart Explain the procedure with the student Rate the student for each period, hour, etc in the areas you

decide to put on the form or chart Send a copy of the chart or form home for the parent to sign

and review with the student, either daily or weekly Review the student’s daily behavior and marks with them in a

productive manner, discussing how they felt they did, why, and what to change or do differently the next day, etc.

Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP)

Provides more intensive intervention and monitoring Increases support around student Provides an individualized plan for success Addresses specific issues in a specific manner Involves teachers, support staff, the student, and parents actively Helps teachers to address behaviors and issues consistently across

subjects, rooms, sessions, etc

Check In Check Out (CICO)

Improves student accountability Increases structure Improves student behavior and academics when other interventions have failed Provides feedback and adult support on a daily basis Improves and establishes daily home/school communication and collaboration Improves student organization, motivation, incentive, and reward Helps students to self monitor and correct Internalizes success and accomplishment of goals Students get involved and excited about the program, enjoying the structure,

support, and incentives of the intervention Leads to maintenance free responsible behaviors, habits, and effort

Check In Check Out (CICO)

The program consists of students daily checking in with an adult at the start of school to retrieve a goal sheet and encouragement, teachers provide feedback on the sheet throughout the day, students check out at the end of the day with an adult, and the student takes the sheet home to be signed, returning it the following morning at check in

Resources

PBIS WORLDhttp://www.pbisworld.com/

Positive Behavioral Intervention & Supports

References

Lane, K. L., Oakes, W. P., Harris, P. J., Menzies, H. M., Cox, M. L., & Lambert, W. (2012) Initial evidence for there liability and validity of the Student Risk Screening Scale for Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors at the elementary level. Behavioral Disorders, 37, 99

PBIS World

Abran Rodriguez361-449-0666

Abran.Rodriguez@ccisd,us