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An Analysis of Anger in Adolescent Girls Who Practice the Martial Arts

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An Analysis of Anger in Adolescent Girls Who Practice the Martial Arts

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3228377/

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Abstract

The effect of martial arts on adolescents' behavior, especially aggression, is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess and compare anger ratings among adolescent girl athletes of different martial arts. 291 female adolescents between the ages of 11 and 19 were assessed according to the Adolescent Anger Rating Scale designed by DM Burney. In the case group, the martial arts practiced were either judo ( n = 70) or karate ( n = 66), while the control group was composed of swimmers ( n = 59) and nonathletes ( n = 96). Total anger scores showed statistically significant differences between the groups ( P = 0.001) decreasing from girls who practiced judo to nonathletes, karate, and swimmers. Instrumental and reactive anger subscales also showed significant differences between the groups, but this difference was not found for anger control. As a conclusion, the anger rate did not differ between judoka and nonathletes, but that both of these groups received higher scores in total anger than karateka and swimmers.

1. Introduction

The practice of martial arts has grown significantly in recent decades. Every year official competitions of these sports are held regularly, and the number of participants is increasing. This trend has led to increased participation by both male and female adolescents in these sports. Karate and judo are among the more popular of the martial arts, especially in Eastern countries.

The word "karate" means "empty hand"; it is one of the old Japanese martial arts that has gradually become a combat sport. Karate practice can be divided into three parts: kihon, kata, and kumite. "Kihon" are basic techniques, "kata" are set combinations of techniques which are practiced with an imaginary opponent, and "kumite" is sparring with an opponent which involves the use of controlled kicks and punches [ 1].

The word "judo" means "the gentle way" and its origin, like karata, comes from Japan. Accordingly, its philosophy is to teach the individual to deal with problems in a gentle way and is meant to contribute not only to physical development but also to psychological maturity [ 2].

Because of the clashing nature of these kinds of sports, there have always been questions regarding their effect on adolescents' behavior. Some of these questions concern how they may affect the rate of aggression among adolescents. Questions like "can exercise lead to an increase or decrease in adolescents' aggression?", and "which kind of sport has a negative and which has a positive effect on athletes' aggression?", "are aggressive individuals more inclined to a special kind of sport?" [ 3, 4] need to be answered. Prior studies have not offered a definitive answer to these questions and the subject remains controversial, although not one study is able to answer them.

Aggression is a forceful, goal-directed action that may be verbal or physical and is the motor counterpart of the affect of rage, anger, or hostility [ 5]. Although participation in sports has many positive aspects, championship tournaments usually involve aggressive behavior [ 6]. Aggression can be divided into two types, hostile and instrumental. The goal of hostile or reactive aggression, which is motivated by anger, is to inflict injury or psychological harm on someone else without a further goal. By contrast, in instrumental aggression the goal is to injure an opponent in order to increase one's chances of victory [ 6, 7]. Primary studies of aggression in athletes who practice high physical contact sports, that is, football players, judokas, or wrestlers were more aggressive, in both sports and in their daily lives, than athletes who practiced low or medium contact sports [ 3]. Following this theory, complementary studies were carried out in different sports, in which the results showed that in martial arts the aggressiveness levels decrease with the duration of practice in martial arts [ 4, 8]. Some researchers have proposed martial arts as a way of the acquisition of emotional and behavioral self-control [ 4, 8], while others have proposed that karate or judo training would not lead to a decrease in aggression [ 9- 11]. The small sample size of previous studies justifies the need for more research in this regard. On the other hand, the question of whether aggressive individuals are more inclined to participate in these kinds of sports or martial arts, and the effect that such a confusion factor may have on aggressiveness levels among athlete, has increased the ambiguity of previous studies [ 3].

Some studies have shown no difference in the aggression scores of children beginning karate training compared to the control group, but a higher anger score in children beginning judo training has been found [ 3]. An absence of differences in aggression scores between children who participate in karate compared to a control group [ 11] and a significant increase of aggression among children studying judo [ 12] have also been reported. The results suggested that kata or meditation training can lead to a reduction of aggression among karate athletes [ 10].

There are a limited number of research studies concerning aggression and anger among young martial arts athletes that involve male adolescents and youth. Since the number of girls who train in martial arts is increasing, further studies on the effect of martial arts training on the aggression and anger of teenage girl athletes are essential. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the anger level of teenage girl athletes studying two different forms of martial arts and to compare their scores to those of swimmers and nonathlete teenagers.

2. Methods and Subjects

2.1. Participants

This case control study was conducted on 291, 11- to 19-year-old adolescent athletes in karate and judo, in Tehran, Iran in 2008. The report of boy athletes was accepted for publication in previous report [ 13], and in this paper, we report the finding of our study in girl athletes. The inclusion criteria included being a member of a youth sports club and engaging in regular, weekly practice of judo or karate. The studied clubs were selected randomly through cluster sampling from all registered sport clubs of Tehran city. Then, all members of each selected club were entered into the study by census method. In case of lack of individual consent to participate in the study or incomplete filling of the questionnaire (more than 25% of the questions unanswered), the subject was excluded from the study.

Adolescent swimmer athletes and nonathlete teenagers of public schools in the mentioned age ranges were considered as the control group.

2.2. Measures

The "Adolescent Anger Rating Scale" (AARS) questionnaire was designed by DM Burney to measure distinct types of anger [ 14]. In the AARS, there are subscales: instrumental anger (a negative emotion that triggers a delayed response resulting in a desired and planned goal of revenge and/or retaliation), reactive anger (an immediate angry response to a perceived negative, threatening, or fear-provoking event), and anger control (a method used to respond to reactive and/or instrumental stimulations). Instrumental anger scores range from 20 to 80, and reactive anger scores range from 8 to 32. Higher instrumental or reactive anger scores reflect greater endorsements of instrumental and reactive anger, respectively. Anger control scores range from 13 to 52, and higher scores reflect greater endorsements of anger control [ 14, 15]. The validity and reliability of the AARS tool has been reported by Burney and Kromrey [ 15].

After a general explanation to the adolescent and her parent, the questionnaire was completed by the adolescent herself. Demographic data of participants (age, number of brothers and sisters, number of friends, times expelled from school, friends' behavior, and playing another sport) was obtained at the end of the questionnaire. In the athlete group, the questions asked included how many years the sport had been practiced, hours of training per week, and whether the sport was practiced year round or during particular seasons.

The Research Ethics Committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences approved the study.

2.3. Analysis

SPSS software (version 13) was used for data analysis. Quantitative variables including age, number of brothers and sisters, and the score of each anger subscale were presented according to their means (standard deviation, SD). For comparison of quantitative variables, including anger score, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used, while for categorical variables the chi-squared or the Fisher exact tests were used. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the probability of any confounding effect of the number of years of participation in the sport, the number of hours of training a week, and age. For adjustment of multiple comparisons, Bonferroni test was employed. P values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

3. Results

From the total of 294 questionnaires collected, three individuals were excluded due to the incompleteness of their responses to the questionnaire. Therefore, 291 questionnaires were analyzed. Mean (±SD) age of all participants was 15.49 (±1.93) years. Mean age of swimmers was less than that of other groups. The average (±SD) number of brothers and sisters of the participants was 2 (±1.75). Demographic data of the participants and their sportive past records are shown in Table 1 .

Table 1

Groups

Age (year)

Experience in sport activity (year)

Training a week (hour)

Mean (SD)

Mean (SD)

Mean (SD)

Although the number of dropouts from school was higher among the judoka than among other trainers, the difference was not statistically significant ( P = 0.4).

The number of years of participation in the sport and the number of hours of training per week did not have a confounding effect on the results of the study. However, age was identified as a confounding variable. In order to make the anger scores of adolescents with different ages comparable, raw scores for total anger scale and all anger subscale were converted to T scores by tables available in the Adolescent Anger Rating Scale Professional Manual [ 14].

Mean (±SD) total anger rate was highest among children who participated in judo, 50.64 (±8.33), and was lowest among swimmers, 44.49 (±6.96). This rate was significantly different between the different groups; P < 0.001. Table 2 shows average T score of adolescents' anger scale and subscales in participants of different groups. As shown, instrumental and reactive anger subscales were also significantly different between groups, while anger control scores did not differ in a statistically significant way.

Table 2

Groups

Instrumental anger

Reactive anger

Anger control

Total anger

Mean (SD)

Mean (SD)

Mean (SD)

Mean (SD)

P value

0.007

0.007

0.007

<0.001

With regards to total anger scale, the difference was significant between judokas and swimmers ( P < 0.001) and also between nonathletes and swimmers ( P < 0.001). In the instrumental anger subscale, the difference was significant only between nonathletes and swimmers ( P = 0.049). In the reactive anger subscale, the difference was significant only between nonathletes and swimmers ( P = 0.01). In the anger control subscale, the difference was significant between judoka and swimmers ( P = 0.008) and also between nonathletes and swimmers ( P = 0.022). The effect sizes are shown in Table 3 .

Table 3

Sport

Instrumental anger
Mean difference

Reactive anger
Mean difference

Anger control
Mean difference

Total anger
Mean difference

[95% confidence interval]

[95% confidence interval]

[95% confidence interval]

[95% confidence interval]

4. Discussion

The purpose of this study was to assess the anger rate among teenage girl martial arts athletes and to compare it to that of nonathletes and athletes of other sports. The results obtained showed that anger rates were higher among judoka and lower among swimmers in comparison to the other groups.

Although aggression in sport is mostly instrumental, this does not make it acceptable for sportsmen to be aggressive [ 6, 7]. A number of explanations for aggression among athletes have been identified such as prior aggression or provocation from the opponent. Athletes can also be highly ego-oriented, may have a low level of moral development, or may want to show off how tough they are. They may also see it as a part of their role or may feel group pressure to be aggressive. In addition, the more frequently teams compete with each other, the more likely they are to be aggressive in response to peer pressure [ 7, 16].

4.1. Anger and Judo

The results of our study showed that the rate of anger among judoka was higher than among other groups. In the Reynes and Lorant study [ 3], anger scores in 8-year-old boys who, were beginning judo training, were higher than among their peers. The study proposed the possibility that there may be a difference in aggressiveness between the various martial arts. In their study, there was no significant difference between girls and boys [ 3]. In another study by these same researchers, carried out after one year of judo training, it was shown that judoka had significantly higher scores in total aggression, verbal aggression, and anger than the control group, indicating that differences were not based on differences among initial anger scores [ 9]. After a 2-year follow-up, they reported that judo training seemed to have a negative effect on anger scores [ 10].

In the present study, although total anger scores among judoka were higher than among other groups, the difference was significant only in comparison to the swimmers. When comparing subscale scores, judoka received significantly lower scores of anger control than swimmers, while their instrumental anger scores were significantly higher. Aggression among students is constantly found to be one of the most common reasons for suspension [ 17, 18]. On the other hand, being suspended or expelled from school is a risk factor for violence and aggression [ 19]. In the present study, adolescents who trained in judo reported higher rates of suspension from school. However, comparison to other participants in the study yielded nonsignificant differences.

4.2. Anger and Karate

In our study, no significant difference in anger scale scores and subscale scores was found between karateka and other groups of athletes and nonathletes. Murray et al. [ 12], studying aggression in 661 students who participated in a broad range of physical activities, reported that aggression scores were significantly higher among students who participated in aggressive sports, including karate, than among those who engaged in less aggressive ones. But the findings of our study in this field are in agreement with the observations of the Reynes and Lorant. They reported the absence of a significant difference in aggression scores of 8-year-old boys at the beginning of karate training when compared to their peers [ 3]. In their followup, after one year of traditional judo training, it was shown that judoka became more aggressive while after one year of karate training no significant change of aggressiveness was found [ 9, 11]. After two years of martial arts training, Reynes and Lorant reported that karate had no effect on aggressiveness while judo had a negative effect on anger scores [ 10]. The authors suggested that the significant difference in anger scores after 2 years of training in karate or judo could be due to different training programs. For instance, they pointed out the increased prominence of kata and meditation in karate with respect to judo and where kata and meditation were either absent or downplayed leading to increased difficulty in acquiring self-control [ 10]. However, it does not seem that kata and meditation were associated with measured physical aggression scores [ 10]. A significant difference of anger scores was not found between judo and karate groups in our study.

4.3. The Effect of Age on Athlete Adolescent Aggression Rate

In our study, the mean age of swimmers was less than that of other groups. This is due to the fact that swimming is perceived to be more appropriate for younger children than martial arts, which are viewed by parents as for older children. As a result, and due to the possibility of indirect effects of psychological characteristics of puberty, age was evaluated as a confounding variable.

Studies carried out to measure aggression in early, mid-, and late adolescence have shown a curvilinear (developmental) pattern. The highest rates of aggression have been associated to mid-adolescence group (14 years olds), while the lowest rates are found among the older adolescents group (17 years old) [ 20, 21]. Possible explanation for increased aggression in midadolescence was included the endocrinologic changes of puberty as well as cognitive processes such as inadequate development of problem-solving skills. Studies have shown a weak relationship between aggression and estrogen in female adolescents or between aggression and testosterone or its binding globulin in males [ 20, 22]. In this study the mean age of swimmers was also compatible with the peak age of aggression (midadolescence). Hence, a higher aggression rate was expected in this group. On the other hand, with regard to the average age of judoka, which was closer to late adolescence, lower aggression rate was expected. However, total and instrumental anger rates did not decrease along with age increase among judoka, but in fact the anger rates increased, presumably in relation to the type of sport. In other words, the findings of our study are consistent with the possibility that judo training increases anger rate while swimming decreas it.

If we consider the limited prior studies that exist on martial arts and aggression adolescents, one of the strong points of our study is the proper sample size, allowing us to compare different sports. In contrast, one of the weak points was the impossibility to reach a "definite" conclusion. Cohort studies in this field are recommended. A further limitation was the subjective nature of our data collection, which relied on a self-report questionnaire.

The results of this study found that the anger scores of girls who engaged in judo were higher than among other groups and was statistically significant in comparison to the groups of swimmers. In order to factor in the possibility that psychological traits associated with puberty could indirectly affect the results, anger scores were adjusted by age according to the T-score tables provided by the questionnaire manual [ 14]. When comparing anger subscales between the different groups, both instrumental and reactive anger scores turned out to vary significantly. In the instrumental anger subscale, the mean score of judo practitioners was higher than the mean score of swimmers, while the mean reactive anger was significantly lower in the group of nonathletes.

Evaluation of anger gives us useful information about the motor counterpart of it, that is, aggression. In order to reach definite results about the relationship between different kinds of sports and anger, and to see if a special kind of sport can be prescribed for adolescents who get high anger scores, more research, especially longitudinal is needed.

The other field of research is examining the impact of playing combat videogames on children and adolescents. It is reported that violent video games or television violence exposure does not predict aggressiveness in youth [ 23- 25]. It seems to be the same about training martial arts in real life.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Sports Medicine Research Center and Vice-Chancellor for Research of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Grant no. 4641-53-4-85). Analysis and interpretation of the questionnaires in the field of anger was done by the Institute for Cognitive Science Studies. The authors are thankful to these centers for their cooperation and Dr M. Rostami for editing the paper. The authors would also like to thank Tehran Province Karate Collegium and Tehran Province Judo Collegium for their cooperation as well as the teenagers who participated in the study.

References

13. Lotfian S, Ziaee V, Amini H, Mansournia MA. Aggression rates in adolescent boy athletes: a comparison among judo, karate, and swimming and non athletes. [[ The Iranian Journal of Pediatrics. In press. PMC free article] [ PubMed] Google Scholar]

Articles from International Journal of Pediatrics are provided here courtesy of Hindawi Limited

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An Analysis of Anger in Adolescent Girls Who Practice the Martial Arts

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The effect of martial arts on adolescents' behavior, especially aggression, is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess and compare anger ratings among adolescent girl athletes of different martial arts. 291 female adolescents between the ages of 11 and 19 were assessed according to the Adolescent Anger Rating Scale designed by DM Burney.

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The Effect of Martial Arts Training on Cognitive and Psychological Functions in At-Risk Youths

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The Effect of Martial Arts Training on Cognitive and Psychological Functions in At-Risk Youths

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8570107/

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Abstract

The current study assessed whether an extended program of martial arts training was a viable intervention for at-risk youths in improving cognitive and psychological functions. Adolescent boys attending specialized education facilities for at-risk youths took part in regular sport lessons or martial arts practice twice a week for 6 months. Hormonal reactivity was assessed during initial training, and measures of psychological (aggression, self-esteem) and cognitive (inhibition, flexibility, speed of processing, and attention) functions were assessed before and immediately following the intervention. Participants in the martial arts training demonstrated significant improvement in the domains of inhibition and shifting and speed of processing. Additionally, initial hormonal reactivity (oxytocin and cortisol) to the intervention predicted significant post-intervention change on several measures of cognitive and psychological functioning. Specifically, oxytocin reactivity predicted improvement in processing speed, as well as reduction of aggression, whereas cortisol reactivity predicted increases in self-esteem. This pioneering, ecologically valid study demonstrates the initial efficacy of this enjoyable, readily available, group intervention for at-risk boys and suggests potential mechanisms that may mediate the process of change.

Keywords: martial arts, oxytocin, cortisol, youth delinquency, executive functions

Introduction

A substantial body of literature suggests that a failure to complete education at a normative school setting is associated with important problematic behaviors in youths. Commonly found at the fringes of society, youths unable to function in normative educational settings are often characterized by high levels of externalizing behaviors, which lead to disruption in normal classroom settings and eventually exclusion to non-traditional educational settings ( 1). As a consequence, youths struggling to complete education at a normative school have been colloquially defined as at-risk ( 2). They are considered at risk of completely disconnecting from society and family structures and in turn at-risk of future criminality and delinquency ( 3).

Originally studied as an intervention for at-risk youth in 1986, martial arts were suggested to reduce delinquent personality tendencies ( 4). In the decades that followed, they have been suggested as an intervention to reduce aggression and are commonly offered with socially vulnerable youth and as supplementary youth programming ( 5). It has been theorized that martial arts reduce aggressive tendencies by enabling the participant to channel such energies into productive and self-enhancing activities ( 6), and that the development of self-control coupled with an enhanced awareness of self-boundaries may furthermore contribute to these observed psychological benefits ( 7). Indeed, common to all the recently reviewed studies demonstrating reductions in externalizing behaviors following martial arts practice were the capitalization of training on complex, repetitive movements, self-controlled behavior, and interpersonal respect ( 8). Although these are all plausible explanations for the suggestion that martial arts practice reduces aggression, they have little empirical backing, and no studies have evaluated potential pathways of change. Just as the enhanced boundaries, respect, and self-awareness have been linked to reductions in aggression, so too have they been associated with the observed increases in self-esteem ( 9). Martial arts have furthermore been proposed to be beneficial for character building, and self-esteem enhancing programs are common, with little research backing such claims ( 10). Despite their widespread use, and even the suggestion of inclusion in the criminal justice service ( 11), there is scant evidence on their efficacy with at-risk youths.

Forming the foundation for the current study, a recent meta-analysis demonstrated the potential for martial arts to reduce aggressive behaviors ( 8). Despite the promising findings, only twelve studies were relevant for inclusion, and just one studied aggression in at-risk youths ( 12). While aggressive behaviors are the most widely studied effects of martial arts, recent studies suggest that martial arts may also improve cognitive function, primarily executive functions ( 13, 14), which have been repeatedly associated with delinquency, criminality, and at-risk youths ( 15).

It has been hypothesized that the improvement in cognitive functions following martial arts may be due to the repeated usage and targeting of specific executive functions, primarily self-control and inhibition ( 16). Combining this specific targeting with aerobic activity may also increase the efficacy of executive function improvement ( 17). It appears that in populations with ADHD, sports interventions, which directly challenge executive functions, induce the greatest cognitive improvement, more so than even ADHD-specific psychological interventions ( 18). Martial arts require participants to monitor their behavior, initiate attacking or defensive moves while preventing themselves and their opponent from injury and consistently modify their moves based on the partner's response or attack. Unfortunately, the effect of martial arts on executive functions has not been evaluated in at-risk populations.

The current study was part of a wider study which addressed the lack of research into the mechanisms of change during martial arts practice. Mechanisms of change studied included the effect of martial arts practice on hormone production throughout a practice session. Given the dyadic and bonding nature of martial arts, it was suggested that the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT), which is associated with social affiliative responses ( 19) may respond to martial arts practice. Various physical activities have induced OT responses ( 20, 21), but as martial arts combine close social activities, interpersonal contact, and physical activity, it was suggested that they may be particularly conducive to an OT response. Additionally, the glucocorticoid hormone cortisol (CT), which is particularly reactive to stress, was also predicted to increase throughout the practice session, although studies measuring CT reported conflicting responses to physical activity, in general, and martial arts, in particular ( 22).

The hormonal changes during martial arts practice were studied in low-risk, martial arts hobbyists ( 23) and at-risk youths ( 24). Salivary OT was found to increase regardless of martial arts experience. This increase in OT was specifically relevant to the at-risk youth sample, as the increase persisted following cessation of practice, leading the authors to question whether martial arts may have differential effects for at-risk and low-risk youths ( 24).

Following these findings, the current exploratory study was designed to further explore the effects of martial arts on cognitive and psychological functions in at-risk youths. Specifically, we sought to evaluate whether martial arts training would have an effect on measures typically associated with executive functions, including behavioral inhibition and set shifting, speed of processing, sustained attention, and flexibility and problem solving, as well as on self-report psychological measures of aggression and self-esteem. Furthermore, given the aforementioned findings on the impact of martial arts on salivary OT ( 24), we also examined whether hormonal changes (OT and CT) witnessed following an early training session, would influence the outcome of long-term martial arts practice. To this end, at-risk youths who provided saliva samples during an initial martial arts session were tested following 6-months of martial arts training on cognitive and psychological outcome measures, thus enabling to examine the effect of the hormonal change on predicted outcomes from martial arts practice. Given the predominantly positive effects of martial arts on behavioral and cognitive outcomes it was predicted that martial arts would improve aggression, cognitive and self-esteem measures, even in at-risk youths, but that these may be impacted by initial hormonal response.

Methods

Participants

Forty-nine boys were recruited from two schools for at-risk youths, located in low socioeconomic areas, including San Martin in Jerusalem and Ramle. Initial contact was made with the school principal, who, after authorizing the project, facilitated the communication with the head teachers. The head teachers of each classroom coordinated presentations of the study to students by the researchers during class and were instrumental in integrating the martial arts program into the general curriculum (after receiving approvals from the relevant ethics committees and parental consent, as described below). Teachers were not involved in any of the intervention procedures or data collection. All participants had specific educational needs (ranging from disruptive behaviors to non-attendance at previous educational establishments due to behavioral issues) but were all in regular high-school matriculation classes with additional classes for students with significant learning disabilities. These schools are considered as "last-resort" attempt to keep enrolled students in the general education system.

Only boys were included in the study to avoid potential selection bias, given the substantial over-representation of boys, reflecting the nature of these educational systems in dealing with severe externalizing behavioral problems. The boys ranged in age from 14 to 17.7 years ( M = 15.6, SD = 0.81). Six participants had a formal ADHD diagnosis and were prescribed Ritalin, and nine participants at least one parent attended university (For demographic characteristics see Table 1 ).

Table 1

Martial Arts

Controls

Statistic

p

(n = 24)

(n = 25)

Age

15.8 (0.78)

15.4 (0.78)

t = −1.97

0.06

M ( SD)

Extracurricular physical
activity

4.05 (1.36)

3.41 (1.33)

t = −1.54

0.13

M ( SD)

ADHD diagnosis

9.5%

21.1%

χ² = 1.04

0.31

At least one parent attended university

14.3%

31.6%

χ² = 1.71

0.19

Cognitive and Psychological Measures

Data were collected at two time points: at baseline and post-training. Baseline data were collected during the first weeks of the school year, 1-4 weeks prior to the intervention, using iPads pre-installed with the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB; ( 25) and questionnaires directly inputted into the Qualtrics research and production software. Post-training data were collected in the same manner during the 2 weeks following the intervention. Data were anonymized by assigning participants random unique codes, and only the lead researcher had access to full coding information. All research assistants were trained in the testing procedures by the lead researcher.

CANTAB Cognitive Assessment Software

Participants were tested using the CANTAB ( 25) executive function battery, which included the Multitasking Test (MTT; testing multitasking and stroop-like interference of incongruent information), Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVP; a measure of processing speed), and One Touch Stockings of Cambridge (OTS; similar to the popular Tower of Hanoi test). The following primary key measures of executive functions were included in the analyses: inhibition and shifting rate (the difference between the median latency of response during assessed trials in which multiple rules are used vs. assessed trials in which only a single rule is used on the MTT), speed of processing (median response latency on the RVP), sustained attention (sensitivity to target sequence on the RVP), and flexibility and problem solving (problems solved on the OTS at first attempt). Mean change scores were calculated by subtracting time 2 scores from time 1 scores.

Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale

The RSES ( 26) is one of the most widely used measure of self-esteem ( 27) and has been used frequently with adolescents, often showing correlation with other measures of life satisfaction during and following the adolescent period ( 28). It has demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach α across cross-cultural studies averages 0.81) ( 26). The scale consists of 10 items, half of which are written in the positive and half in the negative (with scoring reversed). Scoring is between 0 and 30, with a normal range being between 15 and 25. All items are answered using a 4-point Likert scale format ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Higher scores indicated higher self-esteem, and a total raw score is used for analyses.

The Aggression Scale

This is a self-report questionnaire, ( 29) with very good internal consistency (Cronbach α averages 0.87). Participants are asked to rate how many times during the past week (0-6+) have they performed 11 types of aggressive behaviors, such as "I pushed other children" and "I threatened to hit or harm someone." The total raw score is used for analyses. The questionnaire was validated with adolescents and showed good construct validity with other measures of aggression including behavior records ( 29).

Saliva Sampling and Analysis

At first week of training, three saliva samples were collected: (1) baseline, (2) after the peak training intensity, (3) following a cool-down period [see ( 23)]. Saliva was collected by participants drooling into a clean 5 ml tube. Participants were told they can drink water immediately after each saliva transmission but avoid drinking until the next saliva sampling. Samples were stored at −20°C.

The concentration of OT was determined by Cayman-OT (Cayman Chemicals, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) ELISA kit (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). The kits were used for analyzing hormones in saliva. In order to prepare the sample for measurements, samples underwent three freeze-thaw cycles, with freeze at −80°C and thaw at 4°C to precipitate the mucus. The tubes were subsequently centrifuged at 1,500 g (4,000 rpm) for 30 min. The supernatant was transferred into a clean tube and stored at −20°C until assayed. Concentration of OT in these samples was determined in duplicates according to the manufacturer's kit instructions. The inter-assay coefficients of samples and controls were <18.7%, which is in the range reported by the manufacturer.

The concentration of CT was also determined by using a commercial ELISA kit (Salimetrics, USA). Measurements were performed according to the kit's instructions. In addition to the manufacturer's low and high controls (1,060 + 270, 9,700 + 2,430 pg/ml), three in-house controls were included in each plate (250, 880, 1,330 pg/ml) to correlate between plates measured in different periods. Concentration of CT was calculated according to relevant standard curves. The intra-assay coefficient of variance (CV %) of manufacturer and in-house controls is 7.54%. The inter-assay CV of samples is <16.11%.

Procedure

Participants were divided according to their school timetable by the head teachers into a martial arts training group ( N = 24) and a control group ( N = 25). Randomization was not possible, as only those who had free slots in their highly structured timetable were able to be included in the intervention group. The intervention was thus added to the school timetable in addition to other vocational classes (such as maintenance and carpentry) and those with free slots at the time of the martial arts classes were included in the intervention group. As can be seen in Table 1 , no significant differences between the control and experimental groups were found for age, ADHD diagnosis, parental education, and rate of extracurricular physical activity (all p's >0.05). Those in the martial arts training group received two 50-min martial arts classes per week included in their school schedule for a 6-month duration (November through April). The control group received the same number of standard PE classes (football, gym, and mixed sports). The standard PE classes were a mixture of sports and varied throughout the year. These classes were matched on time to the martial arts training but were not structured to target specific skills. The martial arts classes included standard elements of Karate, Judo and, Jujitsu and were taught by instructors experienced with at-risk youths in sports rooms equipped with mats to become dojos (practice spaces). The practice was considered traditional, soft-contact martial arts ( 30). All martial art forms were conducted in a traditional manner but were adapted to participants with special behavioral needs by maintaining all interactions non-competitive and easy-to-contact. All sessions included warm up, movement and technique practice, randori (high-intensity, free-style friendly tournament), and cool-down periods. Participants in the control group continued with their standard educational timetable, which included weekly physical education classes of varied sports.

Research assistants (undergraduate and graduate psychology students) were trained on the administration of all measures by the study primary investigator and were blind to group allocation when performing baseline and post-intervention assessments. Students were tested individually by the research assistants who accompanied each participant into an empty classroom and remained with them during testing, in order to answer questions and reduce the chance of random or negligent responding by the participants. All participants provided parental informed consent for their participation. The research was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Bar-Ilan University, the Israel Ministry of Education Ethics committee, and the Helsinki Ethics committee of Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, as required by the Ministry of Health.

Statistical Analysis

Analyses were conducted using jamovi statistical software ( 31). Due to group differences at baseline, change scores (differences between baseline and post-training) were calculated, and independent-samples t-tests were performed to analyze group differences. Hormonal reactivity (OT and CT) was calculated by subtracting baseline from peak-training values, as well as by using standard formulas ( 32) to compute the areas under the curve with respect to ground (AUC G) and with respect to increase (AUC I). Linear regression analyses were then performed to examine whether hormonal reactivity to the intervention predicted change on outcome measures. When cognitive measures did not contribute to the regression they were removed from final analysis. During the second week of training, class schedule was modified, resulting in scheduling conflicts with vocational courses. As a result, 6 students were reallocated between the experimental and control groups (2 in experimental and 4 in control), and 2 additional students in the control group had to stop training altogether. For 2 additional participants in the experimental group, there was a discrepancy between taking Ritalin during the baseline and post-training testing, excluding their cognitive data from the final analyses. The final sample for analyses consisted of 20 participants in the martial arts training group and 19 in the control group.

Results

Independent-samples t-tests were used to compare cognitive and psychological change scores (differences between baseline and post-training) between the martial arts and control groups. There were no significant differences between the martial arts experimental group and the control group on the key study variable of aggression or self-esteem. As can be seen in Table 2 , compared to controls, following the 6-months martial arts training, the martial arts experimental group demonstrated a greater improvement in multitasking during high cognitive load of inhibition and shifting rate, indicating an improvement in managing multiple sources of information and cognitive flexibility ( Figure 1 ). The martial arts experimental group also demonstrated a significant improvement in processing speed, indicating a significantly higher increase in the speed of processing complex information compared to controls ( Figure 2 ). None of the other cognitive measures or psychological variables assessed in the current study reached statistical significance following the intervention (see Table 2 ).

Table 2

Martial arts

Controls

t

P

Cohen's d

(n = 20)

(n = 19)

M (SD)

M (SD)

Inhibition
and shifting rate

−128.8 (139.3)

−3.34 (103.6)

3.18

0.003

1.02

Processing
speed

−74.2 (60.2)

−11.8 (53.6)

3.41

0.002

1.09

Sustained
attention

−0.009 (0.09)

0.02 (0.04)

1.07

0.29

0.37

Flexibility and problem Solving

−0.16 (3.48)

0.50 (3.68)

0.56

0.58

0.18

Self esteem

−0.22 (4.58)

0.45 (4.49)

0.47

0.64

0.15

Aggression

0.20 (2.57)

0.45 (5.28)

0.20

0.85

0.06

Based on our recent findings on hormonal reactivity during martial arts, we sought to examine whether initial OT and CT reactivity would predict outcome change scores in the group receiving martial arts training. OT and CT reactivity was indexed by subtracting baseline from peak-training values, as well as by AUC G and AUC I. To this end, linear regression analyses were conducted, with OT and CT reactivity used as predictors and cognitive and psychological change scores as criterion variables. Model coefficients and fit are presented in Table 3 .

Table 3

Criterion and predictor variables

Unstandardized coeff.

Stand coeff.

Overall model fit

B

SE

β

p

R

R2

Adj. R2

F (2, 20)

p

As can be seen in Table 3 , the first regression model was significant ( p < 0.001), explaining 47% of the adjusted variance. OT reactivity significantly predicted change in processing speed, such that higher hormonal reactivity was related to faster speed of processing ( p = 0.001, BF ₁₀ = 89.9). In the second regression analysis, analyzing predictors of change in self-esteem, the overall regression model was significant ( p = 0.02), explaining 30% of the adjusted variance. Overall CT response was found to be a significant predictor, such that higher response predicted increase in self-esteem ( p = 0.007, BF ₁₀ = 3.43). Finally, the third regression approached accepted significance ( p = 0.09), explaining 13% of the adjusted variance. OT reactivity was a significant predictor, such that greater OT response predicted greater reduction in aggression ( p = 0.03, BF ₁₀ = 1.60). Models predicting changes in inhibition and shifting rate, processing speed, and flexibility and problem solving by OT and CT reactivity were not found to be significant (see Table 3 ).

Discussion

The present exploratory study investigated the feasibility and efficacy of an extended martial arts training program which, differentiating from the recent single session studies ( 23, 24), integrated martial arts practice into the school schedule of at-risk youths. Compared to the sport-as-usual control group, a significant improvement was observed following the 6-month martial arts intervention on several measures of executive functions, including inhibition and shifting rate and speed of cognitive processing. Aggression and self-esteem remained unchanged in the experimental and control groups. Conversely, hormonal reactivity following the initial session of martial arts practice predicted reductions on measures of aggression and self-esteem, as well as an improvement in processing speed, following the intervention.

Martial arts were introduced to at-risk youths to assess whether changes witnessed in the few studies with low-risk youths, could be replicated in at-risk youths. The suggestion that martial arts may improve executive functions in normative youths has been quoted widely ( 16), although there is surprisingly little evidence backing up this finding. Introducing martial arts as an intervention with at-risk youths to improve executive functions showed promising, albeit preliminary, results. The current study was the first study to use computerized testing measures to test executive functions following martial arts training. Compared to a control group, the martial arts group improved significantly on key executive functions.

Our findings further reinforce a recent multi-site exercise program for children, which included martial arts ( 33) and a whole-school bi-weekly martial arts intervention ( 13). Both studies demonstrated significant improvements in participants' self-reported experiences of self-control following the intervention. It is recognized that sport interventions appear to enhance general cognitive abilities and in-class learning. However, programs that incorporate higher cognitive loads, target executive functions, and have some element of challenging group interaction appear to be the most effective at improving higher cognitive functions in the long-term ( 34). The results of the present study are consistent with these earlier studies, indicating that repetitive use and challenge in martial arts improve executive function performance even on tasks unrelated to martial arts practice.

The finding that inhibition, rather than flexibility or problem solving, is most enhanced by martial arts practice is in accordance with research into ADHD interventions, which consistently demonstrate inhibition as the most amenable executive function to training ( 18). It appears that inhibition, while being highly predictive of criminal risk ( 35), may also be most malleable with targeted interventions, as demonstrated by martial arts practice. Martial arts specifically challenge inhibitory skills in participants, with the character traits of restraint and self-control enhanced and refined during long-term martial arts practice ( 36). The current study is the first to demonstrate objective changes in inhibitory function through martial arts training.

The increase of self-control and inhibition during martial arts practice witnessed in this study may be potentially akin to the muscle strengthening effect seen in sports practice in general, such that the more the muscle is used, the more it improves ( 37). Namely, the more inhibition of behavior is trained, the greater it's responsivity even outside of the martial arts dojo. Furthermore, the observed improvement in speed of processing within the context of an inhibition challenging task, indicates that as this "muscle" is trained, it becomes faster as well as stronger. Our findings also reinforce the effect of prolonged training and translatability of behavioral self-control (as trained during the intervention) to cognitive inhibition computerized tasks ( 38). If, as Berkman et al. claim, behavioral, cognitive, and emotional inhibition all involve the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), then this "muscle" training should make all neural processes involving the rIFG faster. Consistently, the present study found improvement in speed of processing selectively within the domain of inhibition, rather than other cognitive domains, such as sustained attention, which likely utilize other areas of the frontoparietal network ( 39).

Although the cognitive findings reinforced predictions based on previous research with normative youth, the current study found no significant differences in aggression or self-esteem levels following the intervention. This finding was unexpected given the previous positive findings, especially in the field of aggression, a finding which had been replicated in multiple populations and formed the basis for the current study ( 8). Reducing aggression in at-risk youth is particularly difficult in boys, and this difficulty is evident in the challenge of personalizing standard psychological treatments to specific populations ( 40), as well as optimizing treatments that show potential for benefitting these populations ( 41). Reducing aggression when at a greater risk of repeated exposure is thus extremely challenging, more so, it appears, than with low-risk youth. It seems then that the rapid decreases in aggression reported following martial arts practice in low-risk youth may be more difficult to achieve among high-risk youth, and so the regular practice identified by Basiaga-Pasternak et al. ( 42) may be crucial here to reducing aggression.

Another element of martial arts practice, in addition to regularity, may be reactivity to martial arts practice. The finding that OT reactivity in the initial session was related to greater subsequent decrease in aggression scores and faster reaction times following the intervention may suggest the possibility that a potential threshold may exist, which once crossed, cognitive and behavioral changes may occur. It should be noted that to date, the incongruity in findings on the effect of martial arts on aggressive behavior, with some studies reporting martial arts practice to increase aggression and others to decrease aggression ( 8), has been attributed to differences between traditional vs. modern (aggression inducing) martial arts styles. However, it is also possible that these differences in findings may to some extent be influenced by hormonal reactivity to the martial arts practice. Thus, although the findings of this small sample are limited, the current study introduces a new potential variable to the study of martial arts that may differentiate between those who derive benefit from martial arts practice in reducing aggression and those who do not, or could even experience an increase in aggression levels.

Consistently, OT responsivity to social interventions have been related to greater responsivity to the enhancement of well-being following group singing ( 43) and greater improvement in perspective taking following conflict resolution programming ( 44). It has been theorized that increased OT reactivity may indicate true reciprocal interactions, as opposed to superficial participation ( 45), although this has not yet been examined in intervention research. Although conflicting results predominate the field of aggressive and conflict related behaviors, they mostly relate to administered OT, rather than naturally produced OT in response to an intervention ( 46). It appears that OT reactivity might indicate the level of potential benefit experienced following a social intervention and thus enhance the intervention's potential effect. Additional research is required to extrapolate the exact role of OT in promoting reactivity to a social intervention, as well as on individual and group characteristics that promote OT reactivity, such as touch, aerobic exercise, and individual personality traits.

Finally, increased CT levels throughout the training were found to predict increased self-esteem following the intervention. Dampened CT levels have been associated with at-risk youths ( 47), as well as the desire to perform high-risk behaviors ( 48). Thus, it is possible that the relationship between increased CT and self-esteem is related to increased ability to enjoy the martial arts intervention. As demonstrated in previous research, the more one enjoys participation in the sport, the greater the effect of the sport on increasing self-esteem ( 49). With respect to the current study, this would suggest that the greater CT response predicted the propensity to enjoy martial arts training, possibly leading to greater impact on self-esteem although this link appears to be tenuous. Self-esteem during adolescence is notoriously volitile ( 28), and its volatility may be even greater in the current high-risk population. Another intervention study for youth with ADHD ( 50) reported similar findings, indicating no improvement in self-esteem while improving cognitive functions, which is consistent with the aformentioned suggestion. As with the OT findings, the relationship with CT levels may indicate a minimal threshhold for martial arts participation, although pending a larger scale study, this idea should be presently regarded as a working hypothesis.

The current study was designed as exploratory, with measures selected based on the few prior studies conducted in this area using different populations. For these reasons, before a larger randomized control study could be designed, the current study was performed to examine whether outcomes could be replicated in at-risk youths and whether they were influenced by physiological reactivity to the intervention. Importantly, the study was conducted in as close to real-life conditions as possible and designed not as a clinical intervention, but rather an intervention requiring little clinical or psychological training. Indeed, the ecological validity of the setting was a major strength of the current study. Unfortunately, this design also entailed a number of practical challenges. Primarily, a major weakness of the study was the lack of randomization. In order to retain the school-based location and work with unstable settings and systems, we had to relinquish our requirement of randomization in order to comply with school scheduling. Given that there was little data to reinforce the hypotheses of a supposed benefit of martial arts training with at-risk youth, this was considered a prerequisite for a future RCT. There were a number of other difficulties encountered with this volatile population. Whereas, martial arts as a chosen afterschool activity in a normative population typically has eager participants, the participants in the current study had poor discipline. Additionally, the teachers had difficulty reinforcing punctuality and attention, and several classes were shortened or canceled due to participants' poor behavior. The volatility of the establishments studied was reflected in schedule changes and school absences. Thus, attendance for the martial arts intervention proved to be an unsatisfactory measurement, as classes were interrupted with youths walking out, arguing with teachers or other students, or emotionally responding to the volatility in the wider school environment. Given the novelty of the intervention in this setting, these elements were not accounted for in the assessment constructs, and future research in such settings would require an observatory measure for actual youth's participation in the intervention. Furthermore, given the difficulty to enlist parents and teachers into the evaluation protocol, we had to rely only on self-report measures of self-esteem and aggression. Finally, the relatively small sample used in the present study requires future replications to attain a higher statistical power and to potentially generalize the present pilot results to larger populations with important implications to the literature of at-risk individuals.

Despite the outlined difficulties, a number of qualitative observations not captured by our measures should be acknowledged. There were youths who attended most sessions, built strong relationships with the instructors, and were active participants in conversations held during the group on the use of skills and inhibition of detrimental urges outside of the group setting. These discussions demonstrated possible change in participant schemas and commitments, which could not be fully captured in questionnaire recordings. Future research should make an effort to assess these qualitative aspects to more fully capture these potentially meaningful effects. Adding such assessments would help capture both parental and youth experiences and potentially elucidate pathways of psychological change.

Bearing in mind the significant limitations of the current study coupled with the promising findings, which will hopefully pave the way for future research, the current study reinforces the suggestion that martial arts are a positive intervention for at-risk youth. Empirical studies and day-to-day practice with difficult populations often demonstrate wide variations in findings and, in turn, the treatments and interventions provided to similar populations vary widely ( 51). On the one hand, researchers attempt to dispel the common belief that nothing works with youth with severe behavioral problems ( 41), but on the other hand, supplementary interventions, such as martial arts, are touted as game changers (e.g., in the field of executive functions), with very little evidence to back up such claims ( 16). The current study has cautiously demonstrated that martial arts is indeed beneficial to at-risk youth and justifies its continued inclusion in a range of settings for both at-risk and normative youth. Furthermore, this study, together with the recent findings indicating the added benefit of martial arts in increasing OT for at-risk youth ( 24), suggest that greater hormonal increases may also indicate greater potential for behavioral and psychological benefits from this practice.

In conclusion, this study was the first to use objective neuropsychological measures of executive functions, demonstrating the potential utility of martial arts training in improving some cognitive functions, such as processing speed and inhibitory behaviors among at-risk youths. Despite the challenges that many alternative educational establishments experience on a day-to-day basis, the intervention was administered within the educational framework for which it was designed, thus enhancing its ecological validity. The current study further demonstrated the potential importance of hormonal reactivity as a mediating factor when measuring martial arts intervention efficacy. Given the dearth of rigorous and systematic research in the field of martial arts, we have described its feasibility and highlighted a number of inherent challenges, while pointing to potential findings, in the hope that this pioneering work would serve an impetuous for additional research in this area. Future research is needed to further validate and generalize the present findings in larger samples and different populations. Thus, awaiting further replications, this enjoyable, readily available, group intervention could potentially be used to improve cognitive and psychological functions in at-risk youths and, in turn, make a positive impact on their lives and the lives of their families.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics Statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the research was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Bar-Ilan University, the Israel Ministry of Education Ethics committee, and the Helsinki Ethics Committee of Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, as required by the Ministry of Health. Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants' legal guardian/next of kin.

Author Contributions

AH-G conducted the study and assisted with study conceptualization, data interpretation, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. BL assisted with data collection and interpretation and manuscript preparation. RF assisted with study conceptualization, data interpretation, and manuscript preparation. OZ-S assisted with data interpretation and manuscript preparation. YR conceptualized the study and assisted with data analyses, interpretation, and manuscript preparation. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Funding

This research was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology & Space, Israel (Grant #3-13631) to YR and RF.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

We thank the instructors and students for opening their dojos and participating in our research.

References

11. Meek R. A sporting chance: an indipendent Review of Sport in Youth and Adult Prisons. In: Ministry of Justice (2018). [ Google Scholar]

25. Cambridge Cognition . CANTAB® [Cognitive assessment software]. (2017). Cambridge Cognition. Available online at: www.cantab.com.

26. Rosenberg M. Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, (1965). 10.1515/9781400876136 [[ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

27. Blascovich J, Tomaka J. Measures of self-esteem. In: Robinson JP., Shaver PR, Wrightsman SL. editors. Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes: Measures of Social Psychological Attitudes Academic Press, San Diego, (2013). p. 115-23 10.1016/B978-0-12-590241-0.50008-3 [[ CrossRef] Google Scholar]

Articles from Frontiers in Pediatrics are provided here courtesy of Frontiers Media SA

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The Effect of Martial Arts Training on Cognitive and Psychological Functions in At-Risk Youths

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The current study assessed whether an extended program of martial arts training was a viable intervention for at-risk youths in improving cognitive and psychological functions. Adolescent boys attending specialized education facilities for at-risk youths took part in regular sport lessons or martial arts practice twice a week for 6 months.

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Reducing excessive anger in adolescents through a martial arts intervention

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Reducing excessive anger in adolescents through a martial arts intervention

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https://ct.counseling.org/2011/12/reducing-excessive-anger-in-adolescents-through-a-martial-arts-intervention/

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Picture the following scenario. You are a counselor with less than one year of experience. Recently, an employment opportunity opened up at a school to work with adolescents who have a variety of behavioral issues, including excessive anger. An interview is scheduled, a job offer extended. You eagerly accept.

The first day on the job, you are excited and full of energy, which seems to be a necessary characteristic for a counselor at this school because the clients are extremely energetic. Some are yelling, others are play fighting with one another, while several are running. In fact, one client stands out because he is running toward you. He gets closer, and just before he runs you over, he transforms his momentum into a cartwheel and does a backflip, narrowly missing you. He continues to run after he lands, laughing as he says, "I freaked the new counselor out."

Once you catch your breath, you continue to be amazed by the energy these clients exhibit. Then it crosses your mind just how energetic you were when you were growing up. As you imagine how difficult it must be for energetic clients to sit through an hour of traditional talk therapy, you begin to wonder: "What can I do to help this kind of client?"

In my role as a counselor, I have worked with highly energetic, excessively angry clients. Therefore, it was commonplace for me to encounter the scenario I just described. Through the years, I learned the importance of creativity in counseling and drawing on the strengths of clients. Many counselors struggle with clients who do not respond well to traditional counseling methods. In turn, these counselors may begin to doubt their abilities. They might feel they are doing their very best, but they are baffled by how to reach these clients. To work effectively with this population, counselors need to create a pro-social environment. A pro-social environment is one that promotes clients' strengths, wellness, empathetic confrontation and positive role modeling. Counselors must form this environment to communicate to clients what their strengths are in a caring, innovative and engaging way.

In addition to identifying these clients' strong points, counselors must introduce an intervention that is capable of grabbing - and retaining - the clients' attention. Traditionally, highly energetic and/or overly angry adolescents do not respond well to canon therapeutic methods. Through experience and research, I have developed a therapeutic martial arts model that allocates to counselors a strength-based modality for engaging these clients. The rationale is simple. With these clients, counselors want to employ a system demanding a high level of physical energy and integrate it with therapeutic principles. The hope is to produce a therapeutic pro-social environment that cultivates change in challenging clients.

Target population: The target population for this intervention is adolescent males or females ranging in age from 11 to 18 who are showing signs or symptoms of engaging in overly angry behaviors, including fighting or bullying.

Description of the intervention: The intervention I use is Capoeira, which is both a unique martial art and an effective form of creative self-expression that originated in Brazil. As described by the group Capoeira Brazil, Capoeira promotes diversity and tolerance, teaches discipline and respect, and assists in developing amazing fitness. Beyond being a form of martial arts, Capoeira is also a pro-social event filled with rich tradition and history.

In Capoeira, there is what is called the jogo, or game. The jogo begins with the students and/or Capoeira instructors playing music on instruments. Several instruments may be present, but the most prominent are the berimbau and not to hit each other. Once practitioners are fully engaged in the jogo, they undertake a series of agile, acrobatic and martial arts movements that create a unique corporal conversation. A story between the two players unfolds, with the music and lyrics dictating the theme and the practitioners developing the narrative.

Capoeira is challenging, but its practitioners can use it as a life tool to grow both physically and mentally. The Capoeira philosophy embodies not hurting the other player while in the jogo, participating fully, encouraging others in positive ways and attempting new alternatives. Learning new ways of behaving while in the jogo and developing perseverance to improve ability are especially encouraged.

Empirical studies have indicated the qualities that interventions must possess to be effective with angry adolescents, and Capoeira's characteristics align with these qualities. First, a pro-social environment must exist that promotes nonviolence (that is, not hurting the other player). Second, there must be a sense that positive risk-taking behaviors or attempts at new alternatives to normal behavioral patterns are encouraged. Third, there must be consistency and repetition in practicing new behaviors that truly lead to change.

Social cognitive theory (SCT) is the primary theory on which my therapeutic martial arts model is based. Empirical evidence documents the effect of modeling on the behavior of children, adolescents and adults, and modeling plays a large part in this intervention. For example, instructors, assistants and other personnel assume a large responsibility in their roles as leaders, teachers and role models. In addition, a bidirectional effect exists, with the environment affecting the clients (interpersonally and behaviorally) and the clients affecting the environment. The thinking of the participants slowly changes, and as it does, their emotions and behaviors soon follow suit. Research has shown that SCT can effectively change problematic, overly angry behaviors into something more positive.

Managing and delivering the intervention: Adapting a model from Stuart Twemlow and Frank Sacco, a clinical supervisor trained in clinical mental health counseling should provide all clinical oversight. An individual who is highly trained in Capoeira would provide the bulk of the intervention, including daily instruction and delivery of the intervention. For optimal functioning, however, clinical oversight is essential because the clinician provides additional follow-up and outreach to clients. The clinical supervisor needs to maintain ongoing involvement with the instructors, including providing consultation and supervision. Further duties entail the clinical supervisor understanding how to apply the intervention to adolescents (evaluation and counseling). One of the clinician's primary goals is to ensure that the intervention stays on track. This is not to say, however, that the clinician's role is limited simply to clinical oversight. One of the benefits of Capoeira is that it may help clients respond better to traditional therapeutic measures. Thus, therapy can conduct simultaneously with Capoeira or afterward, once the client is ready. By remaining heavily involved in the implementation of Capoeira, the clinician retains an idea of the clients' progression and can recommend or implement additional measures as needed.

Necessary resources: The resources needed for this intervention are very economical. Wide-open areas, including gyms, rec centers or church floors, are examples of locations that could house the intervention. Auxiliary components include crash mats and possibly a small trampoline. Of primary importance are monetary resources allocated to the purchase of berimbaus, drums, tambourines and chimes. Transportation costs are also a consideration. A salary for the Capoeira instructor, including a small stipend for any junior instructors deemed necessary for the project, may need to be established. In some instances, however, instructors may provide their services for free. Helping those less fortunate is a primary tenet of Capoeira. Many instructors adhere to these ideals and provide pro bono services to at-risk youth. Junior instructors may also work pro bono because they need to acquire a certain number of hours of teaching experience.

Necessary training: Instructors in therapeutic martial arts programs have multiple roles as semi-therapists, instructors and disciplinarians. The instructors must be firm while remaining aware of the inevitable lapses and/or shortcomings of adolescents. Training in basic mental health procedures should be provided to the instructors so they do not personalize comments made by the adolescents. Moreover, training assists instructors in not transposing their problems to issues faced by the adolescents. Instructors must be knowledgeable about transference and understand not to take reactions and behaviors of the adolescents personally. Instructors should also understand that these adolescents might sometimes treat them as objects on which to take out their frustrations. Finally, instructors must model behavior that assists in decreasing the adolescents' mistrust of adults and reducing their excessive anger. The clinical supervisor, who should be proficient in behavioral dynamics and clinical mental health counseling, provides administration of instructor training. As stated previously, a clinical supervisor is imperative to the operation of a therapeutic martial arts model.

Time frame: This intervention is designed to take place twice a week for a duration of two hours at each meeting (for a maximum of 16 hours per month and 192 hours per year). As for follow-up, maintain an open-door policy, encouraging parents, caregivers and participants alike to report back to the clinical supervisor and instructors. Reporting allows the clinical supervisor to see what clinical advantages the program provided and where improvements might need to be implemented. Additionally, reporting helps former clients maintain a connection to the program, and some of these clients may want to give back to the program by providing some form of human resources.

Martial arts can provide energetic, overly angry clients with an exciting, strength-based intervention to promote positive growth. Counselors may be able to utilize the intervention in this article either as an alternative or as an addendum to traditional counseling. With people who do not respond well to standard client-sitting-in-the-chair counseling, martial arts may represent a paradigm switch in how counselors conduct therapy.

"Knowledge Share" articles are based on sessions presented at past ACA Annual Conferences.

Isaac Burt is an assistant professor at Florida International University in the Department of Counselor Education, Leadership and Professional Studies. His research interests entail culturally sensitive treatments for marginalized adolescents, redefining anger management groups and increasing self-efficacy in disenfranchised youths. Contact him at Isaac.burt@fiu.edu.

Letters to the editor:
ct@counseling.org

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Reducing excessive anger in adolescents through a martial arts intervention - Counseling Today

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Picture the following scenario. You are a counselor with less than one year of experience. Recently, an employment opportunity opened up at a school to work with adolescents who have a variety of behavioral issues, including excessive anger. An interview is scheduled, a job offer extended. You eagerly accept.

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Boosting Social Skills in Autistic Kids With Drama

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Boosting Social Skills in Autistic Kids With Drama

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https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/06/boosting-social-skills-in-autistic-kids-with-drama/485027/

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Schools are exploring new ways to teach children the rules of informal interactions.

How do you join a conversation at a middle-school lunch table? What do you say when someone says hi to you in the hallway and you don't know her name? How do you delicately correct a member of your lab group in science without calling him stupid? Is it appropriate to tell your English teacher all about your deep and abiding interest in Pokémon characters?

A set of subtle and complicated social skills is embedded into the entire school experience, from the lunchroom to the classroom. While most children naturally learn how to take turns talking with their friends and stay on topic during classroom discussions, these skills do not come easily to kids on the autism spectrum. Social and communication deficits are one of the hallmarks of this condition.

Schools are exploring new ways to teach kids with high-functioning autism the rules of social interactions, especially since so many of those kids are now integrated in traditional school settings. Some schools, nonprofit organizations, private speech therapists, and parents provide direct instruction on social interaction using Michelle Garcia Winner's Social Thinking curriculum or create a "lunch-bunch" social group in the cafeteria. Another strategy is teaching those skills through the arts.

New research from Vanderbilt University suggests that drama classes are particularly useful for improving those skills. Blythe Corbett, an associate professor of psychiatry at Vanderbilt, in 2009 began teaching kids ages 7 through 18 with high-functioning autism about drama at her SENSE Theatre program. As a former professional writer and actor, she was already convinced that "acting is transformative." At her 10-session, 40-hour program, kids learn traditional drama exercises, like role-playing and improvisation. Paired with peer models -typically developing kids who are slightly older, exceptionally mature, and trained-these children sing, learn the lines to a play, and give a final performances for parents and the public.
"Improvisation exercises are useful because so many autistic kids rely on 'scripts' to navigate social situations."
"When you talk with a person with autism about something that is interesting to them, they can do it," Corbett said, explaining that kids with autism have difficulty with flexible and reciprocal conversations. "Their challenge is when you switch topics." They also have trouble recognizing faces and managing stress. All these problems can undermine their relationships with teachers, friends, and family, and, later, their ability to land a job. Corbett's camp is aimed at helping autistic children improve in these areas.

In a recent study, she compared kids in her program with those in a control group and found that participants in the drama class were better able to recognize faces, understand different perspectives, and regulate anxiety. Using brain-imaging technology, she found that the kids who completed the program had brain-frequency levels that were more similar to children without autism. The improved face memory may be explained in part because the students are directly engaging with peers. Because gathering social information is an integral part of acting, they are forced to focus on those cues and stimuli. They have to learn to be more flexible in their thinking and behavior, especially when asked to improvise. It challenges their concrete thinking style and stretches them.

Other experts have found similar benefits of drama therapy for children with autism. Researchers at the University of Kent found that children with autism could recognize more facial expressions after they participated in a drama program. Children who participated in the Social Competence Intervention Program, another drama-based intervention, improved their ability to play cooperatively, share, speak with respect, communicate while smiling, and say appropriate pleasantries, like please and thank you. There's even a program at Ohio State University in Columbus that utilizes Shakespeare's rhythm of iambic pentameter to help children feel safer when communicating, the outcomes of which aren't yet clear.

Interviews with leaders of two dramatic-arts therapy groups in my area in New Jersey also touted the benefits of these exercises. Anna Villa-Bager said her daughter with high-functioning autism was not permitted to participate in her public elementary school's after-school arts program. "I was devastated ... My background is in the professional world of singing and acting. For my daughter to not have that experience with peers was crazy." To help kids like her daughter, in 2007 she began MarbleJam Kids, an after-school group based in River Edge, New Jersey, that provides art, music, and movement therapy to about 120 kids on the autistic spectrum. (My son is currently enrolled in its dramatic-arts program and may participate in their film camp this summer.)

According to Villa-Bager, drama classes are a particularly effective method to teach social skills because they force autistic kids to face another person and respond to others' feelings in a fun and exciting way. Using role-playing exercises, the class-which is led by trained dramatic-arts therapists and often utilizes peer models-provides kids with a safe place to figure out the right responses to tricky situations that may have happened at school. Kids act out real-world situations in a stress- and judgment-free environment. Improvisation exercises are also useful because so many autistic kids otherwise rely on "scripts" to navigate social situations.

Like Villa-Bager, Karen Sheehy began a theater and dance program- Sharing the Arts in Ridgewood, New Jersey-when she couldn't find an appropriate program for her disabled daughter. Her daughter, Kaitlin, wanted to wear tutus and learn ballet moves like her sisters, but the dance programs for typical children were too challenging. Sharing the Arts, which Sheehy founded with another parent, welcomes kids with a variety of disabilities, including autism.

In addition to improving social skills, Sheehy said that programs like hers provide a place for marginalized and excluded kids-including children with all forms of disabilities-to shine and to make friends in the community. "Kaitlin always felt like she was in the audience," she said. "She was always looking at everyone else. Now she wants to be on Broadway. She loves being part of something." One of their students, a non-verbal boy in a wheelchair with a degenerative neurological disability, was able to participate in a play by feeding his lines into his adaptive-speaking device. His mom said that practicing for the play was the best part of his week.

Corbett, of Vanderbilt University, plans to expand her research to study a larger sample of students and to compare the benefits of drama therapy with other forms of therapy. Still, her initial findings, as well as the feedback of other parents and practitioners, point to its potential. Its simplicity means that it can be easily replicated in public schools.

Schools are adding social skills to their core curriculum for students for very practical reasons-if kids with high-functioning autism have the tools to be successful in the public-school system, districts save themselves the expense of placing those children in private schools. But the benefits of keeping kids in public schools and having them interact more productively with their classmates goes beyond dollars and cents. It also increases the neurological diversity in the school, which increases sensitivity and patience in all children.

As Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." If kids with high-functioning autism take his words to heart, maybe they'll be able to better navigate the tricky rules of social interactions that structure schools and life.

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Drama Classes May Boost Social Skills in Kids With Autism

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Schools are exploring new ways to teach children the rules of informal interactions. How do you join a conversation at a middle-school lunch table? What do you say when someone says hi to you in the hallway and you don't know her name?

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How Drama Therapy Helps Kids Build Social Skills

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How Drama Therapy Helps Kids Build Social Skills

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https://www.katielear.com/child-therapy-blog/2020/5/20/drama-therapy-kids-social-skills

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Imagine you're a sixth-grader on your first day of school. You walk into your classroom, and realize you don't know many other students. How do you strike up a conversation with the stranger sitting next to you? Will you be able to tell when they're getting bored, and you need to change topics? What if the teacher gives everyone a dreaded group assignment-how will you negotiate who does what work on the project? What if somebody disagrees with you?

In order to thrive in school, children have to learn more than just academics. There's a whole host of social and emotional skills that kids need in order to start conversations, make friends, and generally get along with other people. For kids who struggle with social anxiety or nonverbal learning, these skills may not come quite as easily or feel as natural as they do to other people. Sometimes kids I speak to feel hopeless about their ability to socialize: they think that social skills are either something you're born with or you're not.

The truth is, nobody is born with perfect social skills: we all have to learn them, and we can all get better with practice. Keep reading this post to learn how drama therapy can help kids boost their social skills in a fun, supportive environment.

Drama Therapy uses theater-based activities to help kids learn empathy, explore feelings, and work together as a team. Any activity that involves imagination and play can be fair game for a drama therapy session: children may write scripts, improvise scenes, or even play games like Dungeons and Dragons that are based on roleplay.

Drama Therapy helps a child get both their brain and body involved in the learning process. This can be especially helpful when it comes to learning social skills, since body language is such an important part of how we communicate with other people. It's one thing to sit with a therapist and talk about social skills, or to fill out a worksheet about how to make conversation. It's another thing to practice those skills in real-time, with other kids.

Drama Therapy allows children to experiment with eye contact, body language, and tone of voice and get immediate feedback about how others perceive them. It also gives kids practice in reading other people's tone, which is so important for building social skills. Most importantly, all this learning happens in a setting that is playful and fun, so mistakes don't feel as personal or overwhelming.

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How Drama Therapy Helps Kids Build Social Skills - Child Counseling in Davidson

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Imagine you're a sixth-grader on your first day of school. You walk into your classroom, and realize you don't know many other students. How do you strike up a conversation with the stranger sitting next to you? Will you be able to tell when they're getting bored, and you need to change topics?

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Using Theater to Teach Social Skills: Researchers Document Improvements for Children with Autism

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Using Theater to Teach Social Skills: Researchers Document Improvements for Children with Autism

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https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ999421

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Publication Date: 2012-May

Using Theater to Teach Social Skills: Researchers Document Improvements for Children with Autism

Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, v77 n9 p30-34 May 2012

The idea that theater fosters social cognition has long been championed by drama therapists and some psychologists, neuropsychologists, and special educators. But the research is only now emerging, and researchers suggest that the very nature of theater makes it an inherently useful tool for children on the spectrum. Children with autism struggle with social interaction, have difficulty with nonverbal and verbal communication, and often present with an inflexible thinking pattern. They have difficulty reading another person's perspective (also known as theory of mind) and with empathy and emotional regulation. All those skills are built into the theater process. This article discusses theater games that teachers can use.

Prakken Publications. 832 Phoenix Drive, P.O. Box 8623, Ann Arbor, MI 48108. Tel: 734-975-2800; Fax: 734-975-2787; Web site: http://www.eddigest.com/

Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive

Authoring Institution: N/A

Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A

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ERIC - EJ999421 - Using Theater to Teach Social Skills: Researchers Document Improvements for Children with Autism, Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 2012-May

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The idea that theater fosters social cognition has long been championed by drama therapists and some psychologists, neuropsychologists, and special educators. But the research is only now emerging, and researchers suggest that the very nature of theater makes it an inherently useful tool for children on the spectrum.

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Sociodramatic play (interacting with others)

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Sociodramatic play (interacting with others)

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https://www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/professionals/learning/ecliteracy/interactingwithothers/Pages/sociodramaticplay.aspx#link29

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​Sociodramatic play is where children act out imaginary situations and stories, become different characters, and pretend they are in different locations and times.

When imaginative/dramatic play is shared with others, this becomes sociodramatic play. It can involve the use of props, costumes, and scenery, but this isn't a requirement. It is possible for sociodramatic play to make use of nothing but children's imagination.

Sociodramatic play is the most advanced form of play, and constantly changes (is fluid and dynamic) according to the interests and ideas of children.

Sociodramatic play allows children to explore and create new worlds. The possibilities of children's sociodramatic play are endless. This teaching practice can be a powerful tool for learning language, as children take on roles/characters, act out various scenarios and stories, and solve problems using language and movement.

Sociodramatic play usually involves children:

developing roles

creating their own storylines

making up their own spoken lines (dialogue)

interacting with each other

directing each other in play.

(Dinham & Chalk, 2018)

Children use play to practice important language and social skills, including:

joining in

sharing and taking turns

ways of interacting through different relationships (parent/child, brother/sister, doctor/patient)

negotiating with each other about how the play will go.

(Dinham & Chalk, 2018)

Educators can take on many different roles during sociodramatic play. How involved educators are will depend on what the learning intention of the experience is, and how children are interacting.

Continuum of adult involvement

Onlooker:

appreciates ongoing drama

nods, smiles, and so forth.

Store manager:

gathers materials

makes props

constructs costumes

organises set

makes script suggestions.

Co-player:

assumes role

mediates dialogue

guide split

defines roles and responsibilities of characters.

Play leader:

Adapted from Enz (1995). Educators can be more or less involved in sociodramatic play, depending on the learning intentions. Also see Jones and Reynolds (2011).

The framework above links to the VEYLDF (2016) Practice Principle: Integrated Teaching and Learning Approaches, which draws distinctions between:

The VEYLDF emphasises that:

Integrated teaching and learning approaches involve adults drawing on and moving between the three approaches in an interweaving way.

Note: In the performing arts section, the use of drama for interacting with others is explored further.

General principles:

When setting up play experiences, think about what language concepts, words, sentences, stories, and discussions could be embedded.

Demonstrate to children how props, costumes, and spaces can be used in sociodramatic play.

Encourage children to imagine what a particular prop or costume could symbolise (e.g. using a block as a phone).

Think about what role you will play in the experience (e.g. the onlooker, stage manager, co-player, or play leader).

When using play as a teaching practice for interacting with others, there are a range of learning foci that educators can embed. See the experience plans for more information.

Some brief examples include:

Concept development and vocabulary

Conversation and social skills

Stories and narratives

Provide children with prompts, props, costumes and pictures to help stimulate re-enacting of stories from books or storytelling experiences.

Encourage children to create their own stories, including new characters and new actions/events.

Explanations and sharing information

Higher order language

Model and prompt children to come up with their own names for characters, places, and things during sociodramatic play. This shows children how they can use language creatively during their play.

For example: call the place you are visiting "wavy pavy land", make a new dish called "ice-cream bolognaise", meet a strange animal called a "squirrelly lizard", or create a flying boat called a "boat-a-fly".

Sociodramatic play is a way for children to develop social and language skills, by creating imaginary worlds, characters, and scenarios, which relate to the real world (Smilansky, 1968).

Children use play to re-create [the] world and model the social behaviour they see in it. In this way they can experience the world without risking the consequences. - Toye & Prendiville (2013, p. 11)

Like oral language, sociodramatic play is learnt through social interaction and modelling of play in context (Toye & Prendiville, 2013).

In line with Vygotsky's (1967) socio-cultural learning, play allows children to be supported by a more capable "player". For sociodramatic play, this means that older peers and educators can model more advanced play using elements of drama teaching. This will then allow children to learn collaboratively, and eventually be able to engage in more advanced sociodramatic play by themselves.

It is important for educators to model and extend upon children's play (Smilansky, 1968; Fleer, 2016), so that children are challenged to continue building upon their own independent play experiences.

Because play can take many forms as a teaching practice, it is difficult to measure its impact on language learning.

Some reviews of research indicate that play (in general) is associated with the development of language and literacy skills, but it is not always possible to say that play itself has caused these changes in development (Lillard et al., 2013).

In one study (Nicolopoulou, Cortina, Ilgaz, Cates, & de Sá, 2015), the researchers found that children who participated in a storytelling and sociodramatic play program had improved language, emergent literacy, play, and self-regulation abilities.

Myck-Wayne's (2010) study of dramatic play areas provided evidence that setting up these areas allows children to practise functional uses of language and literacy in context.

Also, in a review by Weisberg, Zosh and Hirsh-Pasek (2013) the following conclusions are made about the links between language and play:

play allows children to practice using symbols and understanding symbolic relationships (a key part of using language)

play encourages children to use more advanced language that is specific to certain scenarios or social roles

during play, there is a significant amount of language used by children, their peers, and adults, providing numerous opportunities for children to hear, practice, and learn language

play allows children to be in control and engaged in the interaction, and when adults follow this lead, children are likely to learn more language (compared to an adult-led experience).

Outcome 1: identity

Children feel safe, secure and supported

Children develop knowledgeable and confident self-identities

explore different identities and points of view in dramatic play

engage in and contribute to shared play experiences.

Outcome 2: community

Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active civic participation

cooperate with others and negotiate roles and relationships in play episodes and group experiences

build on their own social experiences to explore other ways of being

understand different ways of contributing through play and projects

are playful and respond positively to others, reaching out for company and friendship.

Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment

use play to investigate, project and explore new ideas.

Outcome 4: learning

Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity

use play to investigate, imagine and explore ideas

initiate and contribute to play experiences emerging from their own ideas.

Children transfer and adapt what they have learnt from one context to another

use the processes of play, reflection and investigation to problem-solve.

Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials

explore ideas and theories using imagination, creativity and play.

Outcome 5: communication

Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes

Children express ideas and make meaning using a range of media

Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work

use symbols in play to represent and make meaning

Children use information and communication technologies to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking

identify the uses of technologies in everyday life and use real or imaginary technologies as props in their play.

For age groups: early communicators (birth - 18 months); early language users (12 - 36 months).

For age groups: language and emergent literacy learners (30 - 60 months).

Dinham, J., & Chalk, B. (2018). It's arts play: Young children belonging, being and becoming through the arts. Sydney, Australia: Oxford University Press.

Enz, B. J. (1995) Adult roles in supporting children's literacy. In C. A. Kempers & A. L. Trefsger Miles (Eds.), Linking literacy and play (pp.18-22). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Fleer, M. (2013). Play in the early years. Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge University Press.

Fleer, M. (2016). Play in the early years (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Jones, E., & Reynolds, G. (2011). The play's the thing: Teachers' roles in children's play (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Lillard, A. S., Lerner, M. D., Hopkins, E. J., Dore, R. A., Smith, E. D., & Palmquist, C. M. (2013). The impact of pretend play on children's development: A review of the evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 139(1), 1-34.

Myck-Wayne, J. (2010). In defence of play: Beginning the dialogue about the power of play. Young Exceptional Children, 13(4), 14-23.

Nicolopoulou, A., Cortina, K. S., Ilgaz, H., Cates, C. B., & de Sá, A. B. (2015). Using a narrative- and play-based activity to promote low-income preschoolers' oral language, emergent literacy, and social competence. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 31, 147-162.

Smilansky, S. (1968). The effects of sociodramatic play on disadvantaged preschool children. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Toye, N., & Prendiville, F. (2013). Drama and traditional story for the early years. New York, NY: Routledge Falmer.

Victorian State Government Department of Education and Training (2016) Victorian early years learning and development framework (VEYLDF).

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (2016) Illustrative Maps from the VEYLDF to the Victorian Curriculum F-10.

Vygotsky, Lev S. (1967). Play and its role in the mental development of the child. Soviet Psychology, 5(3), 6-18.

Weisberg, D. S., Zosh, J. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2013). Talking it up: Play, language development, and the role of adult support. American Journal of Play, 6(1), 39-54.

Further reading:

Cremin, T., Flewitt, R., Mardell, B., & Swann, J. (2016). Storytelling in early childhood: enriching language, literacy and classroom culture. London and New York: Routledge.

Storytelling in Early Childhood is a captivating book which explores the multiple dimensions of storytelling and story acting and shows how they enrich language and literacy learning in the early years.

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Sociodramatic play (interacting with others)

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​Sociodramatic play is where children act out imaginary situations and stories, become different characters, and pretend they are in different locations and times. When imaginative/dramatic play is shared with others, this becomes sociodramatic play. It can involve the use of props, costumes, and scenery, but this isn't a requirement.

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Using Theater to Teach Children with Autism Social Skills 

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Using Theater to Teach Children with Autism Social Skills 

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https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4492&context=theses

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Lost and Found: Unlocking Collaboration and Compassion to Help Our Most Vulnerable, Misunderstood Students

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Lost and Found: Unlocking Collaboration and Compassion to Help Our Most Vulnerable, Misunderstood Students

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https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Found-Collaboration-Compassion-Misunderstood/dp/1119813573/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3FF04MGPASSHX&keywords=collaborative+and+proactive+solutions+ross+green&qid=1654701363&sprefix=collaborative+and+%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-1

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Dr. Ross Greene is the New York Times bestselling author of the influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Raising Human Beings, and Lost &amp; Found. He is the originator of the innovative, evidence-based treatment approach called Collaborative &amp; Proactive Solutions (CPS) described in these books. The CPS model provides a compassionate, accurate understanding of behavioral challenges and a non-punitive, non-adversarial approach for reducing challenging episodes, solving problems, teaching skills, improving communication, and repairing relationships. Dr. Greene also developed and executive produced the award-winning feature-length documentary The Kids We Lose, a film about the counterproductive, often inhumane ways in which kids with behavioral challenges are treated -- treatment that often pushes them into the pipeline to prison -- and the difficulties and frustrations often faced by their parents, educators, and other caregivers (learn more at www.thekidswelose.com).

Dr. Greene was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now founding director of the non-profit Lives in the Balance (www.livesinthebalance.org), which provides free, web-based resources on the CPS approach and advocates on behalf of kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges and their caregivers. He is also adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. The many research papers documenting the effectiveness of the CPS model can also be found on the Lives in the Balance website. Dr. Greene and his colleagues consult extensively to families, schools, inpatient psychiatry units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities, and lecture widely throughout the world (visit www.cpsconnection.com for a complete listing of learning and training options). He has been featured in a wide range of media, including The Oprah Show, Good Morning America, The Morning Show, National Public Radio, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Mother Jones magazine. He lives in Portland, Maine.

You can connect with Dr. Greene by using the contact form on any of the above websites.

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Lost and Found: Unlocking Collaboration and Compassion to Help Our Most Vulnerable, Misunderstood Students (and All the Rest) (J-B Ed: Reach and Teach)

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Lost and Found: Unlocking Collaboration and Compassion to Help Our Most Vulnerable, Misunderstood Students (and All the Rest) (J-B Ed: Reach and Teach): Greene, Ross W.: 9781119813576: Books: Amazon.com

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https://www.amazon.com/Explosive-Child-Sixth-Understanding-Chronically/dp/0063092468/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2NER3WNGZ959M&keywords=dr+ross+greene+books&qid=1654701286&sprefix=dr+ross+%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-3

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Now in a revised and updated 6th edition, the groundbreaking, research-based approach to understanding and parenting children who frequently exhibit severe fits of temper and other challenging behaviors, from a distinguished clinician and pioneer in the field.

What's an explosive child? A child who responds to routine problems with extreme frustration-crying, screaming, swearing, kicking, hitting, biting, spitting, destroying property, and worse. A child whose frequent, severe outbursts leave his or her parents feeling frustrated, scared, worried, and desperate for help. Most of these parents have tried everything-reasoning, explaining, punishing, sticker charts, therapy, medication-but to no avail. They can't figure out why their child acts the way he or she does; they wonder why the strategies that work for other kids don't work for theirs; and they don't know what to do instead.

Dr. Ross Greene, a distinguished clinician and pioneer in the treatment of kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, has worked with thousands of explosive children, and he has good news: these kids aren't attention-seeking, manipulative, or unmotivated, and their parents aren't passive, permissive pushovers. Rather, explosive kids are lacking some crucial skills in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem solving, and they require a different approach to parenting.

Throughout this compassionate, insightful, and practical book, Dr. Greene provides a new conceptual framework for understanding their difficulties, based on research in the neurosciences. He explains why traditional parenting and treatment often don't work with these children, and he describes what to do instead. Instead of relying on rewarding and punishing, Dr. Greene's Collaborative Problem Solving model promotes working with explosive children to solve the problems that precipitate explosive episodes, and teaching these kids the skills they lack.

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The Explosive Child [Greene, Ross] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Explosive Child

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The CBT Toolbox for Young Adults: 170 Tools for Coping with Stress, Building Healthy Habits & Navigating Adulthood 

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The CBT Toolbox for Young Adults: 170 Tools for Coping with Stress, Building Healthy Habits & Navigating Adulthood 

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https://www.amazon.com/CBT-Toolbox-Young-Adults-Navigating/dp/1683734718/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2NER3WNGZ959M&keywords=dr+ross+greene+books&qid=1654701216&sprefix=dr+ross+%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzSTZOS1dUNDBVUVBZJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzA2MjI2M0RXRVFJSDBLN1Q1QSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzA2NDEyMlFMRTBRWjhRMlRGUyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

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Dr. Lisa Weed Phifer is a trauma-informed social emotional specialist, school psychologist and author. Additionally, she holds certification as an Evergreen Certified Child & Adolescent CBT Clinician (CBT-CA), Certified Youth Mental Health Specialist (CYMHS), Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist (ASDCS). Dr. Phifer is the author of the newly released, the CBT Toolbox for Young Adults. She is also the lead author of the CBT Toolbox for Children and Adolescents, Trauma-Informed Social Emotional Toolbox, and the Parenting Toolbox.

Dr. Phifer has expertise in developing the social emotional capacities of children and empowering service providers to reframe challenging issues with a trauma informed approach. Her work has also been published in the School Mental Health Journal and both editions of the book Supporting and Educating Traumatized Students (Rossen, 2020). She has created and facilitated virtual professional training programs to increase educator’s awareness off trauma on social, emotional and educational growth.

Dr. Phifer holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Neuroscience and Psychology from Allegheny College, a Masters in Educational Psychology from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and earned her Doctorate of Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Family comes first. She enjoys time with her husband, daughter and golden doodle Midas. She is also involved in her daughter's school, chairing the PTA committee. Her other interests include singing in the car, football Sundays, baking with her daughter, spending time on Lake Erie in the summer and traveling.

Follow Dr. Phifer on Twitter @drweedphif

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The CBT Toolbox for Young Adults: 170 Tools for Coping with Stress, Building Healthy Habits & Navigating Adulthood

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The CBT Toolbox for Young Adults: 170 Tools for Coping with Stress, Building Healthy Habits & Navigating Adulthood [Lisa Weed Phifer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The CBT Toolbox for Young Adults: 170 Tools for Coping with Stress, Building Healthy Habits & Navigating Adulthood

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The Whole-Brain Child Workbook: Practical Exercises, Worksheets and Activitis to Nurture Developing Minds

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The Whole-Brain Child Workbook: Practical Exercises, Worksheets and Activitis to Nurture Developing Minds

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https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Brain-Child-Workbook-Worksheets-Activities/dp/1936128748/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2NER3WNGZ959M&keywords=dr+ross+greene+books&qid=1654701216&sprefix=dr+ross+%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzSTZOS1dUNDBVUVBZJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzA2MjI2M0RXRVFJSDBLN1Q1QSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTM2NTQ4MzhMQkJPUk1GTjI2OCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

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Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

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Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and completed his postgraduate medical education at UCLA with training in pediatrics and child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry. He is currently a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, founding co-director of UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, founding co-investigator at the UCLA Center for Culture, Brain and Development, and executive director of the Mindsight Institute, an educational center devoted to promoting insight, compassion, and empathy in individuals, families, institutions, and communities.

Dr. Siegel’s psychotherapy practice spans thirty years, and he has published extensively for the professional audience. He serves as the Founding Editor for the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology which includes over 70 textbooks. Dr. Siegel’s books include his five New York Times bestsellers: Aware: The science and practice of presence, Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain, Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human, and two books with Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.: The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline. His other books include: The Power of Showing Up and The Yes Brain (also with Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.), The Developing Mind, The Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology, Mindsight, The Mindful Brain, The Mindful Therapist, and Parenting from the Inside Out (with Mary Hartzell, M.Ed.). He has been invited to lecture for the King of Thailand, Pope John Paul II, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Google University, and TEDx.

For more information about his educational programs and resources, please visit: www.DrDanSiegel.com and www.mindsightinstitute.com.

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The Whole-Brain Child Workbook: Practical Exercises, Worksheets and Activitis to Nurture Developing Minds

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The Whole-Brain Child Workbook: Practical Exercises, Worksheets and Activitis to Nurture Developing Minds [Siegel, Daniel J, Payne Bryson, Tina] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Whole-Brain Child Workbook: Practical Exercises, Worksheets and Activitis to Nurture Developing Minds

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Growing Up Mindful: Essential Practices to Help Children, Teens, and Families Find Balance, Calm, and Resilience

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Growing Up Mindful: Essential Practices to Help Children, Teens, and Families Find Balance, Calm, and Resilience

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https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Mindful-Essential-Practices-Resilience/dp/1622035909/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAjwkYGVBhArEiwA4sZLuKFTCDK8AHzTNr3EYaHl4DYKb1O0m7knbRTb9yaDJNLb3kSYgzLOxhoC1WEQAvD_BwE&hvadid=241608835580&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9003993&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8868779066174185478&hvtargid=kwd-101587688970&hydadcr=15497_10339928&keywords=growing+up+mindful&qid=1654701182&sr=8-1

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Growing Up Mindful

* Tapping the power of the imagination, play, and creativity

* Body-based mindfulness and movement practices

* Creatively overcoming resistance and gaining kids' buy-in

* The mindful use of technology and social media

* Building the foundation through your own personal practice

* "Attending" and "Befriending"―two positive responses to stress

* Setting intentions and managing expectations of new practitioners

* Sharing mindfulness in a formal setting including schools and workplaces

* Extending our practice into the larger communities we share

"Seeds of mindfulness can be planted in anyone at any time―seeds that under the right conditions can burst and bloom into a life of compassion and connection," writes Dr. Willard. Growing Up Mindful invites you to "embark on something incredible and world-changing" as you join the growing community of adults bringing wonder, curiosity, and reflection back into childhood and adolescence.

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Growing Up Mindful: Essential Practices to Help Children, Teens, and Families Find Balance, Calm, and Resilience

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Growing Up Mindful: Essential Practices to Help Children, Teens, and Families Find Balance, Calm, and Resilience [Willard PsyD, Christopher] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Growing Up Mindful: Essential Practices to Help Children, Teens, and Families Find Balance, Calm, and Resilience

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Mindfulness Workbook for Kids: 60+ Activities to Encourage Calm, Focus, and Compassion (Health and Wellness Workbooks for Kids) 

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Mindfulness Workbook for Kids: 60+ Activities to Encourage Calm, Focus, and Compassion (Health and Wellness Workbooks for Kids) 

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https://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-Workbook-Kids-Activities-Compassion/dp/1638070547/ref=sr_1_22?crid=380UACS691FQ2&keywords=mindfulness&qid=1654701121&s=books&sprefix=mindfulness%2Cstripbooks%2C73&sr=1-22

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Mindfulness means focusing on the present moment, instead of letting your feelings get too big and overwhelming. It's a simple way to manage worries and feel more positive. The Mindfulness Workbook for Kids helps any kid be more mindful anytime, wherever they are. With activities like counting deep breaths or drawing a sky full of clouds, this book of mindfulness and meditation for kids teaches them ways to stay more relaxed and tackle challenges with confidence and curiosity.

All about mindfulness ―Explore the basics of mindfulness with exercises and explanations that are fun and easy for kids to understand.

Coping skills ―Kids will discover how mindfulness can help them identify their feelings, be kinder to others, and stay focused in the face of distractions.

Teaching and sharing ―Get any kid involved with exercises they can explore by themselves, in a group, or with a grown-up. They'll also read stories about how other mindful kids have used these tools to succeed.

Show little ones that mindfulness can make them feel more capable and optimistic with this mindfulness for kids workbook.

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Mindfulness Workbook for Kids: 60+ Activities to Encourage Calm, Focus, and Compassion (Health and Wellness Workbooks for Kids)

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Mindfulness Workbook for Kids: 60+ Activities to Encourage Calm, Focus, and Compassion (Health and Wellness Workbooks for Kids) [Hocheiser, Lara] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Mindfulness Workbook for Kids: 60+ Activities to Encourage Calm, Focus, and Compassion (Health and Wellness Workbooks for Kids)

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Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids

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Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids

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https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Body-Parenting-Managing-Behavior-Resilient/dp/0063061317/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2RZJ1V1G7I8OJ&keywords=brain+body+parenting&qid=1654701082&s=books&sprefix=brain+body+parenting%2Cstripbooks%2C68&sr=1-1

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From a leading child psychologist comes this groundbreaking new understanding of children's behavior, offering insight and strategies to support both parents and children.

Nominated for Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel H. Pink's Next Big Idea Club

Over her decades as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Mona Delahooke has routinely counseled distraught parents who struggle to manage their children's challenging, sometimes oppositional behaviors. These families are understandably focused on correcting or improving a child's lack of compliance, emotional outbursts, tantrums, and other "out of control" behavior. But, as she has shared with these families, a perspective shift is needed. Behavior, no matter how challenging, is not the problem but a symptom; a clue about what is happening in a child's unique physiologic makeup.

In Brain-Body Parenting , Dr. Delahooke offers a radical new approach to parenting based on her clinical experience as well as the most recent research in neuroscience and child psychology. Instead of a "top-down" approach to behavior that focuses on the thinking brain, she calls for a "bottom-up" approach that considers the essential role of the entire nervous system, which produces children's feelings and behaviors.

When we begin to understand the biology beneath the behavior, suggests Dr. Delahooke, we give our children the resources they need to grow and thrive-and we give ourselves the gift of a happier, more connected relationship with them. Brain-Body Parenting empowers parents with tools to help their children develop self-regulation skills while also encouraging parental self-care, which is crucial for parents to have the capacity to provide the essential "co-regulation" children need. When parents shift from trying to secure compliance to supporting connection and balance in the body and mind, they unlock a deeper understanding of their child, encouraging calmer behavior, more harmonious family dynamics, and increased resilience.

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Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids

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Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids [Delahooke, Mona] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Brain-Body Parenting: How to Stop Managing Behavior and Start Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids

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Navigating Autism: 9 Mindsets For Helping Kids on the Spectrum

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Navigating Autism: 9 Mindsets For Helping Kids on the Spectrum

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https://www.amazon.com/Navigating-Autism-Mindsets-Helping-Spectrum/dp/0393714845/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1EOC7GZ9AX7HI&keywords=navigating+autism&qid=1654701048&s=books&sprefix=navigating+autism%2Cstripbooks%2C70&sr=1-1

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Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

I am a Psychologist, currently devoting my time to writing. Even as a youngster I was hungry to know more about what made people "tick". I yearned to learn more about the world around us, and the private, inner world inside each of us. My life experiences and my work (both seeing clients and being a client myself) have only deepened my respect for the intricacy of our psychological and neurological selves.

As an author, my hope is to explore topics and lives in a way that spreads that curiosity to others.

I am greatly honored to have collaborated on numerous articles and book chapters, as well as 2 books with Dr. Temple Grandin: "Navigating Autism" (Norton, 2021), and "The Loving Push" (Future Horizons, 2016).

I also wrote the chapter "Internet and Gaming Addiction in Youth on the Autism Spectrum: A Particularly Vulnerable Population", for the book Internet Addiction in Children and Adolescents: Risk Factors, Treatment and Prevention, edited by Dr.Kimberly Young & Dr. Cristiano Nabuco de Abreu. (Springer, 2017.)

I contributed 2 chapters to the book "The Nine Degrees of Autism"​, (Rutledge, 2015), which describes the experiences of those diagnosed as adults. I wrote the chapter on diagnosis, and co-authored with Dr. Temple Grandin the final chapter.

For Autism Asperger's Digest, I wrote: "The Search for Autism Triggers: Two Different Chemicals Questioned at the University of California" (May-June 2015), and "Buying Video Games This Holiday Season - What You Need to Know to Guide Your Decision" November-January, 2016).

Beginning in 2016 I periodically contributed articles to Autism Parenting Magazine, starting with "Kids & Teens Need Stretching: An Interview on the topic with Dr. Temple Grandin" (June 2016).

I joined the panel of regular columnists for Autism Parenting Magazine in June, 2017.

I founded and have facilitated the LinkedIn group Autism Across the Lifespan since 2009, which now has over 6000 members who share resources and information.

I also facilitate the Facebook page www.facebook.com/Navigating Autism and The Loving Push

Previously, I was the founder of Fall Creek Counseling Associates, which I directed for 35 years prior to retiring in 2015. This private clinic had offices in the greater Sacramento, California area, and was an accredited training site for predoctoral psychology interns and postdoctoral fellows. While there I had the honor of both seeing clients and mentoring therapists in training.

My specialties have been:

Asperger's and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Child, teen, and adult psychotherapy.

Diagnostic evaluations.

Consultation and coaching to individuals, companies, and organizations.

Media liaison via speaking and writing.

While at Fall Creek, for many years I also wrote columns for several local publications, including "The Doctor Is In"​ in Senior Magazine, and "He Said, She Said"​ for Style Magazine.

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Navigating Autism: 9 Mindsets For Helping Kids on the Spectrum

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Navigating Autism: 9 Mindsets For Helping Kids on the Spectrum [Grandin, Temple, Moore, Debra] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Navigating Autism: 9 Mindsets For Helping Kids on the Spectrum

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Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them

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Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them

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https://www.amazon.com/Lost-School-Behavioral-Challenges-Falling/dp/1501101498/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18OBBLAAX5RQE&keywords=lost+at+school+by+ross+greene&qid=1654701010&s=books&sprefix=lost+at+school%2Cstripbooks%2C74&sr=1-1

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Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Dr. Ross Greene is the New York Times bestselling author of the influential books The Explosive Child, Lost at School, Raising Human Beings, and Lost &amp; Found. He is the originator of the innovative, evidence-based treatment approach called Collaborative &amp; Proactive Solutions (CPS) described in these books. The CPS model provides a compassionate, accurate understanding of behavioral challenges and a non-punitive, non-adversarial approach for reducing challenging episodes, solving problems, teaching skills, improving communication, and repairing relationships. Dr. Greene also developed and executive produced the award-winning feature-length documentary The Kids We Lose, a film about the counterproductive, often inhumane ways in which kids with behavioral challenges are treated -- treatment that often pushes them into the pipeline to prison -- and the difficulties and frustrations often faced by their parents, educators, and other caregivers (learn more at www.thekidswelose.com).

Dr. Greene was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School for over 20 years, and is now founding director of the non-profit Lives in the Balance (www.livesinthebalance.org), which provides free, web-based resources on the CPS approach and advocates on behalf of kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges and their caregivers. He is also adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech and adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia. The many research papers documenting the effectiveness of the CPS model can also be found on the Lives in the Balance website. Dr. Greene and his colleagues consult extensively to families, schools, inpatient psychiatry units, and residential and juvenile detention facilities, and lecture widely throughout the world (visit www.cpsconnection.com for a complete listing of learning and training options). He has been featured in a wide range of media, including The Oprah Show, Good Morning America, The Morning Show, National Public Radio, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Mother Jones magazine. He lives in Portland, Maine.

You can connect with Dr. Greene by using the contact form on any of the above websites.

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Lost at School [Ross W. Greene, Ph.D., Nick Podehl] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Lost at School

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Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice 

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Hacking School Discipline: 9 Ways to Create a Culture of Empathy and Responsibility Using Restorative Justice 

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https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-School-Discipline-Responsibility-Restorative/dp/1948212137

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IEP laws and Regulations for all 50 states

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IEP laws and Regulations for all 50 states

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https://adayinourshoes.com/idea-individuals-with-disabilities-education-act/?fbclid=IwAR2InvtendLKb55gecIm_tX5xbkBvPl30NgVnVqy0j_pR5jid85ZtZ-7M_I

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IDEA: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Several years ago, I was at a fundraiser. It was for an agency that assists disabled people. So, naturally, they had a few people who used the agency speak and give testimonials about how much this agency means to them.

I will never forget the story that this one elderly woman told. She raised an intellectually disabled child in the 1950s and 60s. In Pennsylvania, you have to enroll your child in school by age 8. But, since he was IDD, she was not enrolling him. However, she did not want to get arrested or anything for not enrolling him. So, she took him down to the local elementary school and met with the principal.

She said to him, "I just want you to know that he's 8, but I don't want to get in trouble, I'm not enrolling him because you don't have anything for him here." And the principal said, "Yes, you're right, we don't. But you won't get in trouble."

And that was it. They went home. And the child never received an education. It was all perfectly legal, normal and acceptable for the times.

As they say in the old cigarette commercials, we've come a long way baby. I'd argue that we haven't come far enough. But I think it helps to have perspective and history on the laws and statutes that govern IDEA.

IEP Laws and Regulations

If you find a dead link or a mistake, please email me.

8 Interesting Facts about IDEA

1. IDEA stands for the Individual with Disabilities Education Act and was first passed in 1975. Prior to IDEA being passed, it was perfectly acceptable and common practice to keep your disabled children at home. Schools were able to refuse to allow them in. I mention this only for perspective because I was in kindergarten in 1975. So just one generation earlier, my son may have been turned away by his local neighborhood school. It's very likely that I would have been encouraged to institutionalize him, but that's another blog post for another day!

2. It is to be revised or reauthorized every 10 years. So far that has happened in 1990 and 2004. Whether or not it gets redone is completely at the whim of our Congress and whether or not they make it a priority. In 2015, Congress passed ESSA, and that legislation then meshed with IDEA so that they would be compatible.

3. When it gets reauthorized, the work first begins in the Senate HELP committee. HELP stands for Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. If you have concerns, contact your Senator, especially if they are on the committee. The committee has several champions of people with disabilities on it. Including, Senator Casey from PA and Senator Hassan from NH, who has a son with CP.

4. IDEA has never been fully funded. When it was passed, school administrators everywhere balked at the concept of the extra costs. So, Congress agreed that it would pay up to 40% of the cost to educate an IEP student. So far, that has never happened. And in fact, Federal dollars toward Special Education have never even surpassed 20% of the cost. I have a booklet from the National Council on Disability at the end of this post with more details.

5. Each state also has its own set of Special Education Regulations. However, they cannot supersede the IDEA unless they favor the student. For example, IDEA states that students should be re-evaluated every 3 years. But, in Pennsylvania, students with IDD get a re-eval every 2 years, thus favoring the student. However, they could not pass a reg to make it every five years.

6. IDEA is an administrative statute. So yes, a law. However, not following an administrative statute is not the same as breaking a criminal law. It also means that your options for recourse, if the statutes are not followed, are less and not as 'meaty.' I only point this out because the word "illegal" gets used often in Special Ed, and is technically incorrect.

7. IDEA has an interesting history. Two states-Pennsylvania and DC (not a state, I know) were influential in getting IDEA established.
In the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC, 1971) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sided in favor of students with intellectual and learning disabilities in state-run institutions. PARC v. Penn called for students with disabilities to be placed in publicly funded school settings that met their individual educational needs, based on proper and thorough evaluation.
In the Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia case (1971), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia students classified as "exceptional" - including those with mental and learning disabilities and behavioral issues. This ruling made it unlawful for the D.C. Board of Education to deny these individuals access to publicly funded educational opportunities.

8. In 1972, when Congress set out to determine the needs of handicapped children, they counted 8 million children who would likely qualify for Special Education. Of that 8 million, only about half were having their needs met (by local Arc agencies, Easter Seals, and the like). Almost 2 million were at home, receiving no education at all! According to data from 2014, today the national average is that 13% of all students have an IEP.

I'm a self-professed history nerd, so I love reading about how it all has developed. It also helps me with advocacy and lobbying efforts.

Here is the booklet I promised from National Council on Disability.

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IEP Laws and Regulations for all 50 States | Spreadsheet with Links

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Several years ago, I was at a fundraiser. It was for an agency that assists disabled people. So, naturally, they had a few people who used the agency speak and give testimonials about how much this agency means to them. I will never forget the story that this one elderly woman told.

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Least Restrictive Placements, Think about THIS!

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Least Restrictive Placements, Think about THIS!

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https://www.masteriepcoach.com/blog/least-restrictive-placements-videopodcast?fbclid=IwAR0OKzy45Wsfdukvaim64frfrEza9BS4Fxai4wX94O740IvOPEWVKZGzwEU

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17:49

advocacy distance learning iep parenting podcast school special education special needs teacher Nov 05, 2020

It's time to stop assuming that the Least Restrictive Environment for one child is the Least Restrictive Environment for another. Too often we assume we know what will help a child build more independence, but we need to first flip our thinking about LRE!

Become a Special Education Insider: www.specialedinnercircle.com

Become a Master IEP Coach®: www.masterIEPcoach.com/info

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Google Podcasts

Write Better IEP Goals. Reduce IEP Conflict.

Learn More About Becoming a Master IEP Coach®

Let's Connect!

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Video Podcast: Least Restrictive Placements, Think about THIS!

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It's time to stop assuming that the Least Restrictive Environment for one child is the Least Restrictive Environment for another. Too often we assume we know what will help a child build more independence, but we need to first flip our thinking about LRE!

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How to Discipline a child with special needs:

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How to Discipline a child with special needs:

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https://adayinourshoes.com/discipline-disabled-child/?fbclid=IwAR0NSm3wdPz6z7DBe0VNnZWzvweovfOHVT_WdLl_igwHNg10d1IKEL7vX80

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Disciplining a Special Needs Child.

Several years ago, I was in Juvenile Court with a teen client. I was her IEP advocate, but on this day I was there for moral support. The grandmother had asked me to speak to the judge about her educational programming (or lack thereof, as it was). This teen had been dealt life's worst. Her parents were in and out of jail and rehab. They let their friends abuse and molest her. The worst of the worst, this girl lived it. And, like her parents, she made lots of bad choices.

It was like a cliché out of a movie. The 60-something, white-haired, male judge looked at this young, black female, wagged his finger and said, "Young lady, you need to make better choices."

When it was my turn to speak, I said, "Sir, with all due respect, you asked her to make better choices. That is like asking me to go build a house right now. I do not have the resources nor the tools in my tool kit to go build a house. She does not have the tools and resources to make better choices."

And I meant it. There is a contingency of people out there who think that advocates like me want our kids to just "get away with everything." But when you really look closely at the situation, you can see that what I said was truth.

Discipline, Schools, Prisons.

You've heard of the school to prison pipeline, right? I can tell you it is alive and well, all over the country. And there are extra seats reserved for kids with disabilities! Despite making up only about 20% of the population, kids with IEPs make up about 75% of the kids who are arrested or suspended from school.

Want our kids to get away with everything? Nothing could be farther from the truth. Most parents like me are painfully aware of our own mortality. I am hyper-aware that I will not be around forever. That I will not be here to shield my child when he makes bad choices, because he does not have the skill set to make the right choices. And as an adult who is developmentally delayed, society will be less patient with him. Our society is not kind to grown men who do not act like grown men.

But how do we do this? How do we hold children accountable for their behaviors when they have a disability? How do we find that balance, between offering supports yet not making excuses?

I remember six years ago, a mom from the "best" school district in Pennsylvania called me. Her kindergartner was suspended from school and the school was threatening to call police. Kin-der-gar-ten. It is no longer shocking for me to hear about 5 or 7-year-olds being arrested or at least handcuffed.

We have to take behaviors seriously, as the schools are fed up and don't have the resources and they are giving up on our kids. Society is giving up on them, we can't give up on them. Desirable behaviors must be taught early and consistently.

Disciplining a Disabled Child

1. Remember to think "can't" before "won't". Our kids take longer to learn everything. They may not learn things inherently from watching others. They have to be direct taught. They often do not have the skills to self-evaluate and self-correct, they have to be taught. So in those stressful moments, allow this to come to your mind-that you are doing this for the long term. And it may take a long time for your child to learn this.

2. Identify and document their complete skills set. You might need professional help for this, but your child needs a complete functional assessment. It would be cruel for me to punish Kevin for spilling food while he eats. His motor planning and OT skills are such that he still cannot eat without making some mess. If the skill is beyond your child's skill set, you teach the skill, not punish them for not having the skill.

3. Everyone must be on same page with skills. My husband and I disagree with some of Kevin's skill sets. But in order for consistency, we must agree on what he is going to be held accountable for. Any behaviorist will tell you, you must be consistent. This goes for your school team too. The IEP team must agree upon what skills the child possesses. Remember, they may not be able to apply all skills across all environments, so that must be noted. If your child has some skill discrepancies, then you should develop a plan so that they emerge in all environments. Of course our end goal is desirable behaviors across all environments!

4. Support your child's team if they are following the agreed upon plan. Our kids are able to use certain discipline procedures built into IDEA. But, if your child has a behavior plan and IEP that is being implemented and is being held accountable for behaviors within their skill set....then they need to be held accountable. Look, I know many of you are rolling your eyes at the thought of your child's IEP being implemented consistently...but c'mon, it is implemented, at least some of the time. While I'll be the first to admit there is room for improvement, not every IEP is completely ignored all day, every day. Communicate with your team. Let them know that you want to work with them, that you want your child to learn personal responsibility...but without a consistently implemented IEP, it's very difficult to do that. Anyway, my main point is....the whole Manifestation Determination process is not meant to be a "get out of jail free" card. And when it is used as such, it's not helping anyone.

5. Find what motivates your child. We all have behaviors that we change with positive reinforcement. When behavior change starts to be problematic is not allowing a child autonomy in decision making, ignoring their interoception, or expecting a skill set they do not have.

6. Don't Over Think It! Start small and start simple.

7. Remember that not everything they do is related to their disability. We forget this sometimes. Not every undesirable behavior that our kids do stems from their disability. Sometimes it is age appropriate, but undesirable behavior. Skills have to be learned by all kids, not just those with disabilities. What we have to extract out is if our child will be or should be expected to take longer to master this skill, and what supports they will need in mastery.

Final Thoughts

There are a lot of great books out there. Positive parenting, no yelling parenting, optimistic parenting, and many of the Ross Greene books. Take time to really understand your child. This might seem condescending advice, but I have worked with many families who really did not grasp some of the behaviors associated with the lack of a skill set.

It's important to really know what is going on inside your child's head, because it often is very different from ours. Be a good role model to your kids and talk about your own mistakes, even if they do not learn without direct teaching. We all make bad choices and mistakes, it's important that we learn from them.

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How to Discipline a Disabled Child~8 Tips for Success.

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Several years ago, I was in Juvenile Court with a teen client. I was her IEP advocate, but on this day I was there for moral support. The grandmother had asked me to speak to the judge about her educational programming (or lack thereof, as it was).

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Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint

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Recently Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, answered a question about the use of restraint and seclusion at the 5th Annual Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference. Unapologetic disrupter, Mathew Portell, asked the question.

Question: There are those that hold the belief that restraint and seclusion are necessary to maintain safety in the classroom. And by that, I don't mean, peace corners, or mindfulness rooms. I mean the cruel use of putting kids in a room, dysregulated and struggling to work it out on their own. The data seems to show that when hands-on approaches like physical restraint are used that we are more likely to see injuries to students, teachers, and staff. Many of the current approaches in our schools are failing the children who may have experienced trauma or are neurodiverse. How do we shift culture and training to support better approaches and how can the Department of Education lead that work?

Response: Thank you for the question and for the work you do. You know it's really important to look at it in two ways, right. There are technical things we can do, and then there's a value-related shift that we have to make in the profession.

We must recognize that when those restraints and seclusion events happen, it creates trauma.

I recall when I experienced as an educator for the last 20 years having to develop my own capacity for understanding better tools to address this. But it took me feeling that this was unacceptable, that this is not a good strategy when students are dysregulated, or we don't have an environment that's conducive to lessening events like that. So while at the federal level, I'll tell you, the Office of Civil Rights and Office Special Education is working on new guidance that promotes better practices. I think it's really important that we get reset on how we're doing business in our districts now with funding from the Emergency rescue plan. The emotional wellbeing component of it has been elevated by our Department. My expectations. My expectation is that we think carefully about how we're utilizing those funds to build the capacity of our districts, of our schools to not only provide good professional learning opportunities for our educators, and that includes central office leadership, building leadership, educators, parent educators, so that everybody in the school community has a better understanding of how to create trauma-informed form classrooms so that we're not resorting to resorting to restraint and seclusion.

Unfortunately, in many cases, it looks like it's used as a primary option. We have to change that mindset.

And that's why I mentioned the importance of professional learning and creating a culture like what Joe and I tried to do in Connecticut, create a culture where we look at that as a problem. We look at that as us creating more traumatic experiences. And then I think on the flip side of that, another thing we have to do is be open and honest about the data that shows where we're doing this and be honest about to whom we're doing it. My estimate is that students that require special education and students of color are receiving more of restraint and seclusion than other students. That's unacceptable. So you talk about being unapologetic; you talk about being disrupters. How do we provide professional learning on the front side of it, and how are we transparent and honest about the data on the back end of it to say we have an issue here and this is going to require change. At the Department of Education federally, we're lifting up practices that prevent that. We're lifting up data collection measures that look at this and look at it from different demographics and we're recognizing that this is a moment now in our country's history where trauma is higher than usual, and we cannot at the month March 2020, so we're really pushing leaders at all levels to really invest in trauma-informed approaches that address both the social and emotional wellbeing of our students as well as the academic.

Please note the text was transcribed from the video, so it is possible that transcription errors may have been made.

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Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, responds to a question about the use of restraint and seclusion

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Recently Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, answered a question about the use of restraint and seclusion at the 5th Annual Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference. Unapologetic disrupter, Mathew Portell, asked the question. Question: There are those that hold the belief that restraint and seclusion are necessary to maintain safety in the classroom.

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Building a Trauma-informed Restorative School: An interview with Joe Brummer

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Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint

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Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint - Building a Trauma-informed Restorative School: An interview with Joe Brummer | Facebook| By Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint

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Joe has been the victim of two separate violent anti-gay hate crimes and what began as a personal healing response to the trauma, he has transformed into...

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Handling Challenging Behaviors

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Mary Barbera - Handling Challenging Behaviors | Facebook| By Mary Barbera | It can be hard to be positive when your child is displaying behaviors that are challenging. But praising the behavior we want to see and staying positive...

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It can be hard to be positive when your child is displaying behaviors that are challenging. But praising the behavior we want to see and staying positive...

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So we need to move beyond ABA and behaviorism, but what should we do instead? A special presentation by Olivia Hauge.

Olivia is a licensed occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience supporting kids and their families in the private school sectors. She is also a licensed marriage and family therapist, supporting clients experiencing anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, sexual identity questions, life/career transitions, and aging. Olivia is also a mother of three, two with neuro-differences, and uniquely integrates her professional expertise and lived experiences with her clients. She is the co-division leader of the OT department at The Center for Connection in Pasadena, CA. She is also the co-director of The Center for Connection and Neurodiversity in Duarte, Ca, which is part of the flagship center in Pasadena. Olivia specializes in providing support to children, adults, and their families through a neurodevelopmental, relational, sensory integrative, anti-behavioral, playful approach. She, along with her colleagues, provides one-to-one therapy, parent consultations, paraprofessional training, in-services, and assessments. She is a regular speaker at professional conferences and universities integrating occupational therapy, marriage and family therapy, and the parent perspective.

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So we need to move beyond ABA and behaviorism, but what should we do instead? with Olivia Hauge - End Seclusion Podcast

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So we need to move beyond ABA and behaviorism, but what should we do instead? A special presentation by Olivia Hauge.Olivia is a licensed occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience supporting kids and their families in the private sch...

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NJACE: Quality of Life for Children with Disabilities

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NJACE: Quality of Life for Children with Disabilities

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What is your definition of a quality life? In this clip, Oswin Latimer, Autistic Consultant discusses the difference between goals mainly focused on skill aquisition vs. goals oriented to support the subjective experience and quality of life of an autistic person.

Watch the full webinar with Oswin on the relationship between behaviorism and the impact on attachment styles here: https://youtu.be/cZ_ao7u6sHM

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Where do Consequences come into Play? Dr. Greene

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Where do Consequences come into Play? Dr. Greene

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A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.

A seclusion room by any other name...is still a seclusion room.
Me. And Shakespeare.

Seclusion Rooms

Did you know..that out of all the (reported) incidents of restraint and seclusion, that 75% of them were kids with disabilities? Yes, true story. And, remember that kids with IEPs only make up about 15% of the student population. Yet they make up 75% of restraint and seclusion incidents? That's not right.

Today there is another expose article about restraint and seclusion (in the grid of related articles below). So, once again, it's all the chatter on social media. Among some of the things I've heard from parents are, "I have it on my IEP and I'd never allow my child in a seclusion room."

But here's the thing. You may not know. Because no one calls them seclusion rooms. Even though that's what they are.

Mind you, in many states, seclusion is still legal. And, if it's legal, why not own it? I mean, seriously. If this is your school district's philosophy-that using seclusion rooms work-then own it. Call it what it is. I mean, if you believe in the philosophy and think that it actually helps kids, why not shout it from the mountain top? Why are you hiding your seclusion room practices with fun names?

If your child has mentioned any of these to you, there's a good chance that he/she is being held in a seclusion room. Because schools never call them seclusion rooms.

Other Names for Seclusion Rooms

1. De-escalation room

2. Cool Down Room

3. Blue Room

4. Quiet Room

5. Safe room

6. Timeout room

7. Reflection Room

8. Calming Room/Calm Down Room

9. Special Room

10. Thinking Room

11. Behavior Room

12. Consequence Room

13. Solitude Room

14. Privacy Room

15. Sitting Room

16. Safe Space

17. Meditation Room

18. Mindfulness Room

19. Learning Room

20. Sensory Room/Sensory Cave (but please don't freak out if your child goes there with an OT or something and it's an actual sensory room that benefits your child)

21. Accountability Room

22. Contemplation Room

23. (color of paint) Room

24. Introspection Room

25. Study Room

26. The Peace Room (yes, really)

27. The Content Room

28. Protection Room

29. Safe Shelter

30. Caution Corner

31. The Trust Room (seriously?)

32. Personal Safety Room

33. Quiet Space

34. Quiet Corner

35. Silence Room

Yes, Kids have died in Seclusion Rooms.

The data is astounding. And the stories are horrific.

Sometimes it is against the law and sometimes seclusion rooms are perfectly legal. Unfortunately for kids, it varies by state. And, use varies by color, race and disability.

It seems no child is too young. Stories of kids as young as 3. I suppose it would be 2 if IDEA put them in schools at 2, but it doesn't.

This is a long and difficult read, but worth it if you can find the time. If this doesn't motivate you to get involved in lobbying for our kids, I don't know what will.

deaths-from-seclusion-rooms

What parents can do about Restraint and Seclusion.

I have a whole separate post about how to talk with your IEP team about Restraint and Seclusion.

If you want to learn how to contact your legislators, I also have a whole free course (self study) on that. Learn what your state allows and advocate for the change you wish to see.

Research PBIS and ask your school board to implement it.

Remember, kids do well when they can.

Fine Motor Skills-Games, crafts and coloring activities are a great way to use and practice a child's fine motor skills.

Speech and Language- Many parents seek out a language-rich environment for their child. Any activity can be an opportunity to use and repeat new words and language, mimicking sounds, new vocalizations and articulations.

Executive Functioning Skills- Depending on the game or activity, it can be an opportunity to practice executive functions such as working memory, sequencing, following directions, task initiation and more.

Handwriting and Fluency- This piggybacks onto the language skills a child needs, but with worksheets, coloring pages and games, they can be a low-risk opportunity to practice handwriting and fluency.

Practicing Previously Acquired Skills-Applying already acquired skills across all environments, bring the classroom teaching into the real world.

-Textures, sounds, taste, vestibular, interoception, anything!

Social Awareness-Practice traditional social skills in a safe environment, such as: joint attention, taking turns, reciprocating conversation, waiting politely, and more.

Gross Motor-If you're in a new place, practice walking across uneven surfaces, new surfaces, inclines & declines, stairs, or increasing endurance.

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35 "Fun" Names for Seclusion Rooms at Schools.

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A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. A seclusion room by any other name...is still a seclusion room. Me. And Shakespeare. Did you know..that out of all the (reported) incidents of restraint and seclusion, that 75% of them were kids with disabilities? Yes, true story.

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https://traumatherapistnetwork.com/podcasts/therapy-chat-episode-321/?fbclid=IwAR1ZmKh9GjXx18YvMjg2w8EIy89ChFobM08t7n_SR3Um1rb5hYuvzXWcjb8

Trauma, Attachment + Sensory Informed Parenting with Dr. Mona Delahooke

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To download a transcript of this episode, click here.

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C welcomes back a returning guest, Dr. Mona Delahooke. Mona has a new book out this year called “Brain-Body Parenting: How to stop managing behavior and start raising joyful, resilient kids”.

Mona M. Delahooke, Ph.D. is a clinical child psychologist with a passion for supporting families and children. She has worked widely with multi- disciplinary teams in the area of developmental and emotional differences for over 20 years. She is a senior faculty member of the Profectum Foundation and is a trainer and consultant to schools, public/private agencies and parents. Her blog and award winning book, Beyond Behaviors: Using Brain Science and Compassion to Understand and Solve Children’s Behavioral Challenges explains a new neurodevelopmental approach to childhood challenges for therapists, parents and teachers.

Resources

Learn more at: www.monadelahooke.com

Listen to her previous Therapy Chat interview here.

Thank you to Trauma Therapist Network for sponsoring this week’s episode. Learn about trauma and find help at www.traumatherapistnetwork.com.

Podcast produced by Pete Bailey – https://petebailey.net/audio

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March 11, 2022

About the Host

Laura Reagan, LCSW-C

Laura Reagan, LCSW-C is an integrative trauma therapist and owner of a group practice, the Baltimore Annapolis Center for Integrative Healing. She is also the host of Therapy Chat and Trauma Chat podcasts and the founder of the Trauma Therapist Network, a website for learning information about trauma and finding resources and help for trauma.

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Trauma, Attachment + Sensory Informed Parenting with Dr. Mona Delahooke

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To download a transcript of this episode, click here. Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C welcomes back a returning guest, Dr. Mona Delahooke. Mona has a new book out this year called “Brain-Body Parenting: How to stop managing behavior and start raising joyful, resili…

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Not far into her new book, " Brain-Body Parenting " (Harper Wave), the child psychologist Mona Delahooke makes a confession. She recalls a time when her three daughters were young and she often felt overwhelmed. "When my body budget was in a deficit," she writes, "I'd sometimes say things I later regretted, projecting my own lack of internal resources onto my kids: 'Hurry up! You're making us late!' " Stress and exhaustion, she goes on, "turned me into an authoritarian and controlling mom."

I paused over this. I went back and reread the paragraph from the beginning. I skimmed ahead for further disclosures of Delahooke's authoritarian tendencies. But that was it: "Hurry up! You're making us late!" As someone whose morning exercise takes the form of a power struggle over when and under what circumstances my five-year-old will put down his trains, put on his shoes, and leave for school, I knew, reading Delahooke, that I had entered a reality-distortion field, but I wasn't sure which one of us was the agent of distortion.

Delahooke's recommendations in "Brain-Body Parenting" hew closely to the child-rearing philosophy commonly known as "gentle parenting," which has been the vogue among vigilant, trend-aware P.M.C. parents for some time. It has no official doctrine: writing in the Times, Jessica Grose called the approach "a sort of open-source mélange, interpreted and remixed by moms across the country." It doesn't even have an official name-"gentle parenting" is a catchall for variations that include "respectful parenting," "mindful parenting," and "intentional parenting." In its broadest outlines, gentle parenting centers on acknowledging a child's feelings and the motivations behind challenging behavior, as opposed to correcting the behavior itself. The gentle parent holds firm boundaries, gives a child choices instead of orders, and eschews rewards, punishments, and threats-no sticker charts, no time-outs, no "I will turn this car around right now." Instead of issuing commands ("Put on your shoes!"), the parent strives to understand why a child is acting out in the first place ("What's up, honey? You don't want to put your shoes on?") or, perhaps, narrates the problem ("You're playing with your trains because putting on shoes doesn't feel good").

The gently parented child, the theory goes, learns to recognize and control her emotions because a caregiver is consistently affirming those emotions as real and important. The parent provides a model for keeping one's cool, but no overt incentives for doing so-the kid becomes a person who is self-regulating, kind, and conscientious because she wants to be, not because it will result in ice cream. Gentle parenting represents a turn away from a still dominant progressive approach known as "authoritative parenting," which likewise privileges emotional attunement but allows for positive and negative reinforcement. Authoritative parents may use time-outs and groundings, for example, which are discouraged by their gentle counterparts.

There is a lot to like about gentle parenting. Delahooke's book is particularly strong when it illustrates the rudimentary rigging of children's physiology: kids aren't (yet) wired for compliance and self-control, so it's only fair for adults with fully developed brains to show them patience and empathy. Inhaling the expertise on the subject-books by Delahooke and Sarah Ockwell-Smith (the author of " How to Be a Calm Parent" and " The Gentle Parenting Book"), the RIE-descended philosophy of Janet Lansbury's "Unruffled" podcast, Robin Einzig's "Visible Child" Facebook discussion group, Destiny Bennett's TikToks, and the enormously popular Instagram tutorials of Becky Kennedy, a.k.a. Dr. Becky-has made me a more mindful, less reactive parent. It has changed how I speak to my children and how I attempt to negotiate tough moments with them, and for that I am grateful.

Still, across the parenting boards and the group texts, one can detect a certain restlessness. A fatigue is setting in: about the deference to a child's every mood, the strict maintenance of emotional affect, the notion that trying to keep to a schedule could be "authoritarian." Sometimes, the people are saying, a tantrum isn't worthy of being placed upon a pedestal. Sometimes, they plead, their voices rising past a gentle threshold, you just need to put your freaking shoes on.

Because so much of parenting is a practical matter, the how-to aspects of the gentle-parenting industry hold the most appeal. Kennedy, whose book " Good Inside " will be published in September, offers adaptable scripts for typical conflicts. (When a kid lies about knocking down his brother's block tower: "Well, if someone, not you, but someone did push down a tower . . . I think I'd understand. Having a brother is hard. Sharing is hard.") Bennett, a Black voice in a field crowded with white women, often draws on interactions with her own children: in a TikTok video labelled "The most emotionally invalidating things I stopped saying to my kids," she rattles off the verboten phrases-"I don't care," "You don't listen"-while a sleepy toddler nestles against her. Her videos collectively garner millions of views, and, in part because she often seems to be working through her approaches in real time, her advice feels friendlier and less doctrinaire than that of some of her gentle-parenting peers.

Elsewhere, the prohibitions on certain words and phrases can feel paralyzing. The parenting coach Einzig warns against "The Dreaded and Dangerous WE," as in "We don't hit people" and "We don't throw food." "It's condescending," she explains. "Children notice that we don't speak this way to adults, and they figure out that we think that children don't deserve the same respect that we give adults." Gentle-parenting advocates are near-unanimous in the view that a child should never be told that she "made Mommy sad"-she should focus on her internal weather rather than peering out the window. "Good job!" is usually not O.K., even if you corroborate why the job is good. "Because I said so" is never O.K., no matter how many times a child asks why she has to go to bed.

One of the major themes in "Brain-Body Parenting," and in gentle-parenting discourse generally, is that children don't defy for the sake of defiance, but that their challenging behavior is a physiological response to stress and should be seen as essentially adaptive. The assumption unto itself is questionable: if little Timmy is on the front lawn tossing gardening implements at traffic, his motivations are probably obscurer than stress. This is one of the most confounding dilemmas of parenting, especially as kids exit the toddler stage: that sometimes a child tests or destroys boundaries for the thrill of it. Under the gentle-parenting schema, a child's every act must be seen through a lens of anxiety and threat-detection-which heightens the parent's dual role of child psychologist and emotional-security guard.

And why does this child feel so threatened, so stressed? The answer might be found on an episode of "Unruffled," in which Lansbury addresses a mother whose five-year-old keeps hitting and pinching his younger sister. "He doesn't feel safe to open up and share himself," Lansbury explains. "He feels attacked. He feels judged. He feels misunderstood. . . . He feels he has to defend himself rather than having his mother or father or both of them being really curious about what's going on." In a post from 2012, Lansbury adopts the perspective of a toddler with aggression issues. "If I keep repeating the behavior," the imaginary toddler declares, "it's because it doesn't feel resolved for me. Either you aren't being convincing enough, or you're being too intense and emotional." If, toddler-Lansbury goes on, "there's anger in your voice when you say 'Don't hit!,' it unnerves me and I'm compelled to keep behaving that way until you can give me a calmer response." These scripts are an inversion of the look what you made me do school of authoritarian discipline: the child gets to be the one who will turn this car around right now.

For the most part, though, "Unruffled" is digital-audio Xanax; bingeing a few episodes always adds some levity, even serenity, to the day-to-day parenting project. To witness the true blame-Mom wing of gentle parenting, look to Einzig's heavily moderated Facebook group, "Visible Child: Respectful/Mindful Parenting," where the tone toward the parent-supplicants is one of weary passive-aggression edging into contemptuous disbelief. (Disclosure: I was blocked from "Visible Child" after objecting to a post in which Einzig expressed disdain for members of the group whose partners have authoritarian parenting styles.) Once, a mother asked about her young son, who hit and kicked her after she told him that she would be taking a break from playing with him to do some cleaning. "He's telling you very clearly that right now he needs your presence," Einzig replied-the housework should wait. (So much for setting firm boundaries.) She went on, "If you don't want him to hit you (perfectly reasonable), look at your part in the things that result in that."

What is bewildering about some tenets of gentle parenting is their presentation of a validated child as a solitary child, and a mother as only Mother. When Lansbury counsels the mother of a child who hits, there is no acknowledgment of the little sister's experience being hit, even though she may also feel "attacked"; there is no expectation of her mother "being really curious about what's going on" inside the girl after she's been hit, no recognition that the girl may wonder why her brother hitting her should not be "judged," no thought given to the social consequences of being known as a hitter or of how those consequences might adversely shape a child's self-perception. The housework that Einzig says to put off is a synecdoche for everything that the gentle parent-and, perhaps, the gently parented child's invisible siblings-must push aside in order to complete a transformation into a self-renouncing, perpetually present humanoid who has nothing but time and who is programmed for nothing but calm.

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Not far into her new book, " Brain-Body Parenting " (Harper Wave), the child psychologist Mona Delahooke makes a confession. She recalls a time when her three daughters were young and she often felt overwhelmed. "When my body budget was in a deficit," she writes, "I'd sometimes say things I later regretted, projecting my own lack of internal resources onto my kids: 'Hurry up!

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A great post about how adult expectations are at the root of many behaviors.

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Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint

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Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint

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A great post about how adult expectations are at the root of many behaviors.

#endseclusion

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https://www.additudemag.com/more-love-less-shout/?fbclid=IwAR1PtlIQYQa6GOseTaSGuVCQx7IfGfLFxUrHIbCagiDS_VmNSa4A2gHwwZY

Instead of dishing out consequences, we recognize his differences and we set up his environment for success. His slow auditory processing and developmental delays — combined with ADHD — mean that if you tell him something, his brain is a couple of steps behind. The screaming and swearing and “no’s” are his way of buying himself time to process what’s been asked of him.

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“No! I hate you! You’re stupid! You’re mean! You’re a fricking jerk!” My 10-year-old screams this, responding to a request to find his shoes before we head out to playgroup. I want to scream back, or start doling out punishments, to make him stop calling me names and to stop swearing. I want to hand out a consequence. I want to make it so he never acts like this again. Instead, I take several deep breaths, swallow hard, and wait a beat, trying hard to ignore his words.

He quits screaming. I wait another beat, and he starts pulling on his shoes. “Will Quinn be there?” he asks sweetly. “I like Quinn.” It’s as if nothing has happened.

Let the Storm Pass

This is a battle I often fight — not the battle with my child, his temper, and his choice of words — but a battle against myself. Squelching my first reaction to his oppositional behavior, to make room for what I’ve learned works: Let the storm pass, ignore, wait that magical beat. But it’s hard to do, because when he yells, screams, defies my requests, my temper flares and I worry and get scared. Scared that a 10-year-old who screams at his mother will become a 12-year-old who hits her.

My fear, born in worries that are out of control, has imagined my child’s potty mouth leading to a life sentence for armed robbery. That’s where my mind goes when I worry about my child’s future. That’s where all our minds go, the parents of children with serious behavior problems. That’s where everyone’s mind goes when they see a child who talks back and swears at his parents, who throws tantrums well past pre-K. Take care of these problems now, because they will get worse. If you give in, you’re a terrible mother. It’s American Parenting 101.

This might be standard advice, but it’s not the parenting my child needs. I tried it for years, and it made our problems worse. Only recently, when I’m able to refuse to punish him or react to his offensive behaviors, have his actions and mood improved. His swearing has declined, and his defiance is almost a thing of the past. This is because he’s not misbehaving on purpose. Because of his neuro-behavioral differences, he is not in control of his actions.

[Get This Free Download: 10 Ways to Neutralize Your Child’s Anger]

His oppositionality is a symptom of his brain differences, and punishing these behaviors is like punishing a blind person for not being able to see. It’s instinctual to punish. It takes effort to suppress the worries. We work at it every single day. But in our situation, suppression works.

Giving Up on Consequences

Instead of dishing out consequences, we recognize his differences and we set up his environment for success. His slow auditory processing and developmental delays — combined with ADHD — mean that if you tell him something, his brain is a couple of steps behind. The screaming and swearing and “no’s” are his way of buying himself time to process what’s been asked of him.

I wish it were different, but, for now, it’s enough that I know he doesn’t mean what he says in times of anger and uncertainty. I believe only what he says in times of calm, like what he tells me later while we’re driving to playgroup: “I love you, Mommy. I’m sorry I said those mean things to you.”

[Read This Next: ADDitude Asked — Preventing Meltdowns]

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“My Son Can’t Help It — So I Don’t Punish Him”

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He shouts, he swears, he calls me names — but I know it’s his ADHD talking. That’s why, when my child misbehaves, I work hard to ignore it and remember that sometimes punishments for kids with ADHD are counterproductive.

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https://www.edutopia.org/article/equity-schools-begins-changing-mindsets?fbclid=IwAR3zrFtPoOhcXBfLpX8Acyae9OUu950OBeA5g9jXF3D1e3Oqr-bsdtTamSE

The single variable that best predicts students’ sense of belonging is their relationship with teachers. This is more important than their race, socioeconomic status, academic achievement, and their relationships with peers. Strong teacher-​student relationships can mitigate the cumulative effects of misbehavior, apathy, and failure due to poor teacher-​student relationships. By improving students’ motivation, engagement, academic self-​regulation, and overall achievement, teacher-​student relationships offer schools continual opportunities to support students’ learning.

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Courtesy of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Framing Equity

Cultivating a school climate for equity requires careful attention to the creation of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral spaces throughout the school. It is useful to think of the climate through three lenses (L.S. Shulman, "Signature Pedagogies in the Professions," 2005):

Habits of heart-​core values; why do you teach?

Habits of head-​ways of thinking and knowing; what do you believe?

Habits of hand-​what you do; how do you practice your values and beliefs?

These habits will be enacted differently through interactions with students versus staff, but for each, the goal is to foster their motivation to perform to the best of their abilities by creating an environment where they want to be, where they see the purpose in being, and where they experience success. An expectancy-​value theory of motivation (J. Eccles et al., "Expectancies, Values, and Academic Behaviors," 1983) offers four suggestions for increasing intrinsic motivation:

1. Create a space where people enjoy themselves and can do things that interest them. For students, this means a variety of course options, multiple extracurricular activities, and innovative, hands-on learning experiences. For teachers this may mean variety in teaching assignments, autonomous decision-​making, and opportunities to develop new classes.

2. Keep your revised equity-​focused vision and mission at the core of school functioning. Clearly and consistently communicate your vision and explain how every decision contributes to the realization of the vision. The key here is transparency and honesty when explaining the utility of a particular assignment or class to students, and a new policy to staff.

3. Affirm everyone's contribution to the school community. This could be asking students to facilitate lessons or be peer mentors. You might invite staff to lead an initiative or promote them into a new position.

4. Minimize emotional costs by making sure that role expectations are reasonable (i.e., that the outcome will be worth the effort), that they leave time for other enjoyable tasks, and that they do not engender negative emotions. Students and staff should not be given busywork, be overworked, or be asked to do things which they are not capable of doing.

Each of these contributes to a positive school climate because it recognizes and leverages individuality, acknowledges accomplishments, and encourages continual engagement in the school community. School leaders can mistakenly put the climate on autopilot thinking that it will run on its own once people understand their role and are given their scripts. But a school climate is dynamic, open to influence from a variety of sources, so it must be consistently monitored and adjusted. Most importantly, because it is largely people who both shape and are shaped by the school climate, they too must be nurtured.

School Policies

Conversations about educational equity begin with policies because they determine what is and what is not allowed in schools. Many educators, students, and families interpret policies as if they are laws when, in fact, they are not. Policies are guidelines used to achieve specific goals. They are locally determined and implemented at the discretion of relevant decision-​makers. In the United States, education is overseen by individual states that pass most decision-​making to local educational agencies (LEAs) or school districts. Most education policies originate from school districts overseen by a school board composed of 4-​10 elected or appointed volunteers. School leaders have flexibility about when and how to implement district policies.

The problem with policies is that they are written as one-​size-​fits-​all guidelines, which, while equal, is not equitable. Inequities are exacerbated by school staff's inconsistent application of policies such that implicit biases and explicit prejudices mean some students are disproportionately subject to school policies whereas others are not. The most frequently cited policy that is inequitably enforced is zero tolerance school discipline policies. Though initially proposed at the national level in response to school shootings, since its inception in 1994, zero tolerance has expanded beyond weapons to minor infractions such as dress-​code violations and subjective offenses like disrupting class, offensive language, and disrespectful behavior. In schools designed according to White sociocultural norms, it is BISOC-Black, Indigenous, and students of color-who experience disproportionate rates of detention, suspension, and expulsion.

Consequently, racially minoritized students, especially Black and Latinx students, miss critical learning opportunities. The Civil Rights Project (2020) found that in one academic year, U.S. students lost 11 million days of instruction due to suspensions. When suspension data is disaggregated by race and gender, Black boys lost 132 days per 100 students enrolled and Black girls lost 77 days per 100 students, 7 times higher than White girls.

It is important to emphasize that discipline policies themselves are not automatically inequitable. The biased implementation of them is what creates discipline gaps that sustain opportunity gaps. This is true of most education policies, especially academic ones. For instance, tracking and sorting dictate students' opportunities to learn (OTLs) by placing them on an educational path that restricts the courses in which they can enroll in the future. The existence of academic courses with varying levels of rigor is not in itself problematic. The issue lies in how students are placed into certain courses.

It is common for individual teachers to use their discretion to decide which students can succeed in which tracks and make recommendations for placements. Teachers' perceptions are informed by their observations and interpretations of students' behavior, and their assessment of their academic work compared to other students. Academic sorting methods are exceedingly subjective and worrisome. As with discipline policies, teachers' biases against BISOC, students with disabilities, and boys means that White and Asian girls are those most often enrolled in gifted programs. Even when school policies require academic testing for course placement, students can be incorrectly sorted because standardized tests are culturally biased, lack predictive validity, and do not account for children's cognitive variability.

This is especially true for English language learners (ELLs), who, after being assessed in English, are frequently sorted into academic tracks that do not reflect their true capabilities. Some multilingual students are mainstreamed into courses with English-​speaking students and are pulled out for intensive English instruction. Others experience full English immersion and receive no English instruction. In both cases, students are given far fewer OTLs because they are not receiving instruction in their heritage language and, in the case of pull-​out programs, are missing content area instruction while receiving English language instruction.

Academic policies should enhance educational opportunities, not limit them. Whether students experience reduced OTLs because their school simply does not offer certain courses, they are prevented from enrolling in courses, or because they are absent from class, has long-​term implications for their educational achievement. For example, certain courses (e.g., Algebra 1, Biology, Chemistry 1) function as prerequisites for future courses, so without the opportunity to enroll in early courses, students will never be able to advance in that subject area. Even for the same course, content variation can greatly differ across academic tracks, resulting in unequal preparation for future learning.

The cumulative nature of learning means that students' early school experiences can and do predict future OTLs, but they do not predict students' future abilities. It is never too late to disrupt the cycle of educational inequity by expanding students' OTLs through equitable school policies.

Excerpted from Public School Equity: Educational Leadership for Justice, © 2022 by Manya Whitaker. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Editor's note: Edutopia readers will receive a discount when using the link above in 2022.

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Equity in Schools Begins With Changing Mindsets

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Courtesy of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Cultivating a school climate for equity requires careful attention to the creation of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral spaces throughout the school. It is useful to think of the climate through three lenses (L.S. Shulman, "Signature Pedagogies in the Professions," 2005): Habits of heart-​core values; why do you teach?

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Interview with author Dr. Mona Delahooke

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Interview with author Dr. Mona Delahooke

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https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=336058405255906

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Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint - Rethinking the Policy of Seclusion and Restraint | Facebook| By Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint

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Although it’s seldom discussed, the policy of seclusion and restraint is applied throughout the American education system. Should school officials deem...

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https://edsource.org/2022/old-school-discipline-doesnt-work-any-more-and-shouldnt/670966?fbclid=IwAR2PZFmZvZ12Dp3dHmUhfRyBSZp64HZblV8uK8KqKaDRVaW05mXrc2GXXEA

What would I prefer to see? I believe that schools need to apply “least restrictive environment” (LRE), a concept important in special education, which I teach, to school discipline. I know many teachers who would be very uncomfortable adopting this approach, but, if least restrictive environment is central to the mental health of special ed students, who are generally our most challenged, why cannot it be applied to all students?  This approach should be formalized in state law and discussed in district-sponsored workshops and professional development sessions.

...if we want to build on this collaboration, then project-based learning and diverse electives and sports are the best way to meet academic goals, not the single-minded pursuit of English and math, and we need a different grading system to match. I am always delighted when my wobbly ninth graders discover how much they love music or art or dance or wrestling. It steadies them.

...discipline problems arise because certain students don’t think school offers them what they need. The unrelenting drive to send all students to college causes a lot of unwelcome stress. This becomes a discipline problem closely related to absenteeism because many of my students want to leave school right now. They want to work with their families in construction or house cleaning or day care, partly because they can’t afford not to and partly because they do not want to go to college. We should be providing them with classes that will make them effective in their chosen careers, such as via career tech education. Our job is to present alternatives, not enforce our choice over theirs.

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Why last year's discipline reforms were the right move, and why we need to go further

Credit: iStockphoto.com

When I went to school, corporal punishment was still a thing; California banned it in 1986. Did we miss it, really? No, we didn't. Last September, new discipline guidelines for California schools were announced that limited suspensions. Do we miss the old policy, really? No, we don't.

This week, I decided to look back at what EdSource wrote about the changes six months ago, and I re-read the letters in response. Oh my. They were furiously apocalyptic. I will quote only one mild one: " This is Absolutely Absurd - no discipline, no accountability. " Were these letter writers right? Have we gotten rid of "discipline" or "accountability"? Have things gotten worse in our schools since the policy changed? Not really.

I can only see the view from where I teach in a Los Angeles public high school, but I think things have improved. Sure, there are still some difficult students who would be much better off in a nonpublic school, and there have been a few fights, but the police are gone, and there are barely any suspensions. The mood of the school seems positive. The reforms have worked.

The culture of discipline and punishment we have lived with offers a choice that every school makes, just as cities like Los Angeles have had to decide whether to make sweeping criminal justice reforms. Schools that buck the trend and continue to dole out punishment for minor "infractions" end up producing the very thing they wanted to attack: more bad behavior. The happiest schools are those where they know when to turn a blind eye.

This is why I believe the absolute worst job in education today is being responsible for "discipline." There are ways to do this job without being overzealous, without resorting to harassing students (or teachers), but this job changes people for the worse. After a time, when every nail they see needs to be hammered, they become consumed by it. I see this in other administrators and teachers too.

What would I prefer to see? I believe that schools need to apply "least restrictive environment" (LRE), a concept important in special education, which I teach, to school discipline. I know many teachers who would be very uncomfortable adopting this approach, but, if least restrictive environment is central to the mental health of special ed students, who are generally our most challenged, why cannot it be applied to all students? This approach should be formalized in state law and discussed in district-sponsored workshops and professional development sessions.

When state Sen. Anthony Portantino wants to require mental health training for teachers and staff ( Senate Bill 387 ), he is addressing the problem from the wrong end. It serves no point to drum into teachers that the pandemic has led to student depression and disaffection because teachers know this already. The individualized solution - spotting the distressed student and making referrals to our new wellness specialists and psychiatric social workers - doesn't address what's wrong at school. A better goal would be to identify and implement the least restrictive environment approach at a whole-school level and allow students to indulge in their natural urge to laugh and have fun. Lunchtime music and events in the central quad of my school are but one example.

Why else would we do this? First, the relationship between teachers and students has changed over the years, just as society has changed, and we need to accept this, not fight against it, nor blame parents. Authoritarian and hierarchical teaching styles and discipline simply don't work anymore. I am always surprised when conservatives insist that they do. They should visit a classroom. Respect and civility still matter, but teachers and students need to earn it from each other, by working collaboratively on shared goals. This minimizes conflict and the need for discipline.

Second, if we want to build on this collaboration, then project-based learning and diverse electives and sports are the best way to meet academic goals, not the single-minded pursuit of English and math, and we need a different grading system to match. I am always delighted when my wobbly nin th graders discover how much they love music or art or dance or wrestling. It steadies them.

Third, discipline problems arise because certain students don't think school offers them what they need. The unrelenting drive to send all students to college causes a lot of unwelcome stress. This becomes a discipline problem closely related to absenteeism because many of my students want to leave school right now. They want to work with their families in construction or house cleaning or day care, partly because they can't afford not to and partly because they do not want to go to college. We should be providing them with classes that will make them effective in their chosen careers, such as via career tech education. Our job is to present alternatives, not enforce our choice over theirs.

***
Martin Blythe teaches special education English at Canoga Park High School in Los Angeles and is a member of EdSource's Teachers Advisory Group.
The opinions in this commentary are those of the author. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
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COMMENTARY: Old-school discipline doesn't work any more - and shouldn't

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Credit: iStockphoto.com When I went to school, corporal punishment was still a thing; California banned it in 1986. Did we miss it, really? No, we didn't. Last September, new discipline guidelines for California schools were announced that limited suspensions. Do we miss the old policy, really? No, we don't.

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https://www.nj.com/opinion/2022/05/superintendent-adults-need-to-be-better-role-models-because-children-are-always-watching-i-opinion.html?fbclid=IwAR3__ME7kLVgYux1aDiFqIivKU956sJfREM5dc9FEL4irWQ-HBhUY1E0XC0

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Superintendent: Adults need to be better role models because children are always watching I Opinion

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They’re listening to people who promote discredited conspiracy theories. They’re watching news reports that titillate for profit, rather than inform.

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https://www.additudemag.com/positive-reinforcement-reward-and-punishment-adhd/?fbclid=IwAR39ekgtS1IGJkPiqM81HEiIYHufYGpiujQu5C9UGesGvqrO3hRXCHrEFzE

Science suggests that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differ from their neurotypical peers in their responses to positive reinforcement and punishment. The central differences: Children with ADHD are not effectively motivated by promises (of privileges to be earned or lost); and positive reinforcement is particularly powerful, but also ephemeral, in ADHD brains. Researchers have made these conclusions after studying children’s performance on cognitive tasks and monitoring their physiological responses.

Altered sensitivity to rewards and punishments may be a core characteristic of ADHD.¹ Prolific research on how changes at the brain’s cellular level explain individuals’ responses to rewards may offer compelling clues to the neurobiology of ADHD, and they may suggest effective approaches to behavior modification for children with ADHD.

Dopamine, Rewards, and the ADHD Brain...

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Do rewards and punishments - standards in every neurotypical parenting arsenal - actually inspire better behavior in children with ADHD? What about positive reinforcement? The answers to these questions from parents and educators, like most things ADHD-related, are nuanced.

Science suggests that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differ from their neurotypical peers in their responses to positive reinforcement and punishment. The central differences: Children with ADHD are not effectively motivated by promises (of privileges to be earned or lost); and positive reinforcement is particularly powerful, but also ephemeral, in ADHD brains. Researchers have made these conclusions after studying children's performance on cognitive tasks and monitoring their physiological responses.

Altered sensitivity to rewards and punishments may be a core characteristic of ADHD. Prolific research on how changes at the brain's cellular level explain individuals' responses to rewards may offer compelling clues to the neurobiology of ADHD, and they may suggest effective approaches to behavior modification for children with ADHD.

Dopamine, Rewards, and the ADHD Brain

In primates and rats, dopamine neurons in the brain get a boost when they are given an unexpected reward. When a reward is expected, after repetition and training, these dopamine boosts occur when the brain receives cues that predict the reward. This anticipatory dopamine boost helps to propel the action that will unlock the reward.

Similarly, it is hypothesized that neurotypical brains experience a surge of dopamine when they predict a forthcoming reward. This provides immediate and continuous reinforcement at the cellular level even when the reward is delayed or discontinued.
[Get This Free Download: 50 Tips for How to Discipline a Child with ADHD]
In children with ADHD, it appears, this process is incomplete. When rewards are slowed or stopped, there is a delay in the dopamine signal of the ADHD brain, which has an increased preference for immediate rewards. When rewards are withheld or efforts go unrewarded, the result is poorer learning and performance.

Positive Reinforcement Fuels Learning

Few behavior-management programs take into consideration how children with ADHD respond differently to rewards and punishments, and how to modify reinforcement accordingly. It's well-established that positive reinforcement increases performance across a range of cognitive tasks. Studies show that under continuous positive reinforcement, children with and without ADHD learn tasks more quickly than they do with less frequent reinforcement. When offered only partial reinforcement, children with ADHD show poorer sustained attention and demonstrate less predictable responses to tasks, the research shows.

In the absence of reinforcement, children produce fewer correct responses; they don't learn tasks as quickly or as well. Children with ADHD who are struggling to learn a task under these circumstances may feel increased frustration and simply stop engaging. This behavior may look like poor motivation, but it is actually a neurological response to poor reinforcement from caregivers and educators. With partial reinforcement, a child with ADHD may learn a task or skill more slowly - but they retain more of their learning for a longer time than with constant reinforcement.

Several studies also show that children with ADHD are less able to adapt to demands when expectations change ; when expectations are very clear, they are better able to meet demands. It is critical for children with ADHD to fully understand rules and expectations, especially when they change. Frequent reminders from caregivers and teachers can help.
[Read: It's Not Bribery. It's Brain Chemistry.]
ADHD Brains Prefer Immediate Rewards

In one study, children with and without ADHD were asked at the beginning of a task to choose between a smaller immediate reward and a larger delayed reward.The reward alternatives were available throughout the task, and the amount of time that the children had to wait for the reward varied.

The children with ADHD tried to wait for the larger later reward, but in the end, they were more likely to choose the smaller immediate reward. This suggests that children with ADHD are more likely to seek immediate and available rewards, particularly when frustrated or distracted.

This also suggests that children with ADHD may become more upset when they don't receive anticipated rewards, and they may give up more easily when tasks are perceived as too difficult. Teachers and caregivers should pay particular attention when the child's task persistence drops away and he begins to respond impulsively or become emotional.

There is evidence that punishment can keep a child with ADHD on task in the short term. Studies also show that children with ADHD are more sensitive than their neurotypical peers to punishment.

Punishment, or the perception of punishment, used to motivate children to learn or stay on task, may carry serious long-term consequences if the child's emotion regulation skills are weak. In most scenarios, positive reinforcement is a more effective motivator than is punishment.

Reward and Punishment: Better Strategies for Children with ADHD

1. Make sure that waiting times are within a child's capacity so that they can be successful in their efforts to wait. Consider building up a child's stamina for waiting. Start small and gradually increase waiting times, acknowledging and praising efforts to wait. Introduce strategies to make waiting easier, such as self-praise.

2. Bolster executive functions during transitions. Children who have ADHD often fail to meet behavioral demands or expectations, especially when transitioning from one activity or setting to another - and when rules are not obvious. Make sure students know the rules in different classes or settings. Praise them when they get it right and calmly remind them when they forget. Alert them when expectations change; give them time to adapt.

3. Match homework demands to a child's capacity. Many kids with ADHD are distracted by more immediately rewarding activities, or when they find the work too difficult. When the work is challenging, reduce the amount and duration of time spent on it, keep levels of praise high, and reward effort.
The content for this article was derived with permission from "From Research to Clinical Practice: Applying What We Know About Altered Reinforcement Sensitivity to the Management of ADHD" presented by Gail Tripp, Ph.D., at the APSARD 2022 Annual Conference.
Positive Reinforcement: Next Steps

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Sources
² Ljungberg, T., Apicella, P., & Schultz, W. (1991). Responses of monkey midbrain dopamine neurons during delayed alternation performance. Brain Research, 567, 337-341. ³ Mirenowicz, J., & Schultz, W. (1994). Importance of unpredictability for reward responses in primate dopamine neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology, 72, 1024-1027. ⁴ Ahn, S., & Phillips, A.G. (2007). Dopamine efflux in the nucleus accumbens during within-session extinction, outcome-dependent, and habit-based instrumental responding for food reward. Psychopharmacology (Berlin), 191, 641-651. ⁵ Tripp, G., & Wickens, J. R. (2008). Research review: Dopamine transfer deficit: A neurobiological theory of altered reinforcement mechanisms in ADHD. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 49(7), 691-704. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01851.x. ⁶ Freibergs, V., & Douglas, V.I. (1969). Concept learning in hyperactive and normal children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 74, 388-395. ⁷ Parry, P.A., & Douglas, V.I. (1983). Effects of reinforcement on concept identification in hyperactive children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 327-340. ⁸ Hulsbosch, A. et al. (2021). Systematic Review: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Instrumental Learning. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 60(11), 1367-1381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.03.009 ¹¹ Tripp, G., & Alsop, B. (2001). Sensitivity to reward delay in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 42(5), 691-698. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021963001007430.

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Carrots vs. Sticks: The Science of Reward and Punishment for Children with ADHD

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Do rewards and punishments - standards in every neurotypical parenting arsenal - actually inspire better behavior in children with ADHD? What about positive reinforcement? The answers to these questions from parents and educators, like most things ADHD-related, are nuanced.

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It's not about trying to control surface behaviors, it's about digging deeper and understanding the lagging skills, unmet needs, unsolved problems, limiting beliefs, and systemic barriers.  Image by Sandi Lerman

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https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-you-cant-change-schools-without-changing-yourself-first/2022/05?fbclid=IwAR2ng449t4G8JH8_qweGHAHTeIy8vw_0sh0ScHaqwmz8Hn4LGpJbPqRfE64

In schools, there is a constant striving for improvement, but improvement—getting better at what we already do within the systems we already have—will never fundamentally change who we are or how we think. Improvement will never erase inequities. We will continue to get the same results unless we are able to see education in a completely new way.

First defined by sociologist Jack Mezirow in 1978, transformative learning theory recognizes that adults learn differently from children in some fundamental ways. When adults engage in learning, they bring with them a wealth of life experiences and a highly developed worldview. Adults’ prior knowledge is certainly an asset but also a stumbling block to learning, because it is difficult for adults to recognize their socially conditioned mental models.

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Education depends on safe, orderly, predictable systems-something that the COVID-19 pandemic undermined. It's taught many of us how interdependent we all are and how interconnected our systems can be.

There are examples on almost every level. Our regional educational school district, after moving locations, hasn't had office furniture all year, because of the shipping crisis. I recently visited several middle schools that only have Porta Potties after students vandalized restrooms at the start of the school year, spurred by a destructive social media campaign. Orderly school board meetings are interrupted with heckles and protests around issues like masking and critical race theory, reflecting raging culture wars. On the front yard of my local elementary school, a bus is parked with a giant banner advertising the desperate need for bus drivers, a dramatic display of widespread labor shortages across America. Administrators are acting as substitute teachers, mopping floors, changing diapers-whatever it takes to simply keep the system going.

It feels like chaos and it isn't just our systems that are falling apart; it's people, too. The mental health crisis among children that was already occurring before the pandemic is at epic proportions. Articles that " the kids are not OK" were followed with articles of how " the teachers are not OK." But what's really not OK are the systems themselves.

At the onset of the pandemic, some educators saw hope that perhaps as typical school systems were disrupted, things would never go "back to normal"-and that would be a good thing. Maybe the pandemic would be a catalyst for educators, students, parents, and community members to come together, on behalf of children, and totally rethink education and how we could better serve all children.

In 1998, the futurist Joanna Macy predicted a "great unraveling," a time when the colonial- and industrial-era systems that never were working for those on the margins would become so dysfunctional that society would begin breaking down-and even those who seemed to benefit from the systems would suffer. Macy argued that this unraveling would lead to the "great turning," when systems of oppression and competition would give way to new systems based on paradigms of equity, relational connection, and well-being.

Historically, times of change need strong, visionary leaders to harness positive outcomes. Unfortunately, educational leaders have been under too much stress keeping up with day-to-day crises to imagine, much less implement, sweeping change of a kind people like Macy envision. For many, any optimistic images of "not going back to normal" have morphed into dystopian disarray.

Managing dystopia is certainly more familiar to many education leaders than leading a turn toward a more equitable paradigm. Administrator-licensure programs primarily train new leaders to comply with current laws and systems; they certainly aren't training administrators to be revolutionary. So not only are our public school systems not designed for second-order change-which requires changes in beliefs and behaviors-but our leaders are not trained for transformative change.

In schools, there is a constant striving for improvement, but improvement-getting better at what we already do within the systems we already have-will never fundamentally change who we are or how we think. Improvement will never erase inequities. We will continue to get the same results unless we are able to see education in a completely new way.

First defined by sociologist Jack Mezirow in 1978, transformative learning theory recognizes that adults learn differently from children in some fundamental ways. When adults engage in learning, they bring with them a wealth of life experiences and a highly developed worldview. Adults' prior knowledge is certainly an asset but also a stumbling block to learning, because it is difficult for adults to recognize their socially conditioned mental models.

There are essentially two types of learning: technical learning, in which adults learn new knowledge or skills and assimilate that new knowledge within their current worldview, and transformative learning, in which adults open their minds to new ways of thinking and take on new roles and behaviors. Adult learning theory says that unless we engage in transformative learning, adults aren't truly developing or expanding their capacities.

The same goes for organizations. Organizations, such as schools, can "learn," but, unless they are engaged in transformative learning, they aren't changing the underlying beliefs and behaviors that created the inequitable outcomes we currently experience.

The challenge is that transformative learning isn't easy. In fact, it's terrifying.

Transformation is analogous to a chemical change-once it happens, there's no going back. As individuals, when we transform, we give up who we are and enter the unknown to become someone new. As institutions, transformative change is difficult to endure. What if our school transformation effort fails and makes us look unprofessional, leads to more chaos, or, worst of all, harms children? Conditions can get a lot worse before they get better-a process that systems science calls an implementation dip.

Few school leaders naturally have the guts, the vision, the disposition, and the skill to lead transformation. Fortunately, we can develop transformative leaders if we learn to nurture leaders' inner transformation before expecting them to lead social change. There are examples of professional-development programs, such as the Transformative Educational Leadership program, which takes a holistic approach to leadership development. The only administrative master's program I know of with a transformative-leadership theme is at Southern Oregon University's Center for Holistic Education, where I teach, but there will be more on the horizon.

It's time we recognize that transformation isn't going to come from politicians but from school leaders and teachers.

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You Can't Change Schools Without Changing Yourself First (Opinion)

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Education depends on safe, orderly, predictable systems-something that the COVID-19 pandemic undermined. It's taught many of us how interdependent we all are and how interconnected our systems can be. There are examples on almost every level. Our regional educational school district, after moving locations, hasn't had office furniture all year, because of the shipping crisis.

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https://www.mother.ly/parenting/why-shaming-children-doesnt-work/?fbclid=IwAR023ZJNPs5P8pLS0dSlBYAsdcyL2V2dG8RUvM0GNAz67YppaICBbzgrMdg

Our society is conditioned to believe that we have to be strict and stern with our kids, or threaten, shame or punish them into behaving. This authoritarian style of parenting is characterized by high expectations and low responsiveness—a tough-love approach.

But while this type of authoritarian parenting may elicit "obedient" kids in the short term, studies suggest that children who are shamed or punished in the name of discipline face challenges in the long term.

Research suggests that children who are harshly disciplined or shamed tend to be less happy, less independent, less confident, less resilient, more aggressive and hostile, more fearful and at higher risk for substance abuse and mental health issues as adults and adolescents.

The reason? No one ever changes from being shamed.

"But how will my child learn to behave?" parents ask.

They learn through our modeling.

They learn through connection, love and compassion.

They learn through being seen, heard and understood.

They learn through consistent and firm limits.

They learn through guidance.

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How often do we see a "misbehaving" child and think to ourselves, that kid needs more discipline to correct their behavior? How often do we look at our own misbehaving child and think the same thing?

Our society is conditioned to believe that we have to be strict and stern with our kids, or threaten, shame or punish them into behaving. This authoritarian style of parenting is characterized by high expectations and low responsiveness-a tough-love approach.

But while this type of authoritarian parenting may elicit "obedient" kids in the short term, studies suggest that children who are shamed or punished in the name of discipline face challenges in the long term. Research suggests that children who are harshly disciplined or shamed tend to be less happy, less independent, less confident, less resilient, more aggressive and hostile, more fearful and at higher risk for substance abuse and mental health issues as adults and adolescents.

The reason? No one ever changes from being shamed.

Research shows that punishing and shaming kids creates more misbehavior, not less.

Consider this scenario:

You've fallen behind at work. You're under the gun to finish a presentation and turn in an admittedly-sloppy final draft full of careless mistakes. You know you can do better, but you haven't been feeling well, have had insomnia for the past few weeks, and you're having a lot of anxiety about your health which has been interfering with your work performance. Upon reviewing the presentation, your boss storms into your office, slams it down on your desk and yells, "What is this garbage? My kindergartner can do better than this! If you don't have this entire thing redone by tomorrow, you're FIRED!"

How do you feel? You already felt awful and now you've just had a nice dose of shame to compound your feelings of misery. You might work hard to fix the presentation out of fear of being fired, and maybe you'll never turn in a half-baked presentation again, but did your boss's response help address the root of the problem? No. His angry, punitive response made you feel insignificant, misunderstood and angry. Both at yourself and at him.

Now consider this:

Same scenario, except after you hand in the presentation, your boss knocks on your door and asks if he can come in and talk with you for a moment. He sits down and explains that he looked over your presentation and was surprised that it wasn't up to your normal standards. He asks if everything is okay and genuinely seems concerned. You explain that you've had some recent health issues and you've been a bit preoccupied. Your boss listens attentively and empathizes, saying how sorry he is to hear that you've been having a rough time. He explains that you'll have to stay late to revise the presentation but suggests that you take a personal day to get some rest and make an appointment with your doctor.

How do you feel? Seen, heard and understood. Relieved. Cared for. You stay late and work extra hard to fix the presentation. You turn it in with confidence and head home feeling less anxious and empowered to finally see that doctor you've been avoiding.

In the heat of the moment dealing with negative behavior from our child-a huge meltdown over a toy they can't live without, or some action we think they should "know better" than to do-we may instinctively react with shame and punishment, thanks to how prevalent this disciplinary reaction is in our culture. But shame and punishment never result in lasting or positive change. It may seem like the easy way out to yell at our kids, to send them to time out, to shame them with our words and punish them with our actions. But this only disconnects us, creates fear and anger in our children and lessens our influence on them.

We do not need to punish our kids to teach them a lesson, just as we don't need to be punished in order to shift our behavior.

"But how will my child learn to behave?" parents ask.

They learn through our modeling.

They learn through connection, love and compassion.

They learn through being seen, heard and understood.

They learn through consistent and firm limits.

They learn through guidance.

We have to let go of our tired and ineffective all or nothing thinking- If I don't draw a hard line, my kid won't learn how to behave-and we need to embrace a new paradigm- I can have high standards for my child's behavior and tune into and be responsive to her emotional needs. It doesn't have to be one or the other, it can be both.

When we replace the old adage "spare the rod, spoil the child," with the motto, "children need the most love when they're acting the least deserving of it," we will begin to create a new parenting paradigm that will result in happier, healthier and more resilient kids.

Next time your child acts out, instead of reacting with shame or punishment, try getting down on their level, mirroring his frustration by saying something like, "I see you are having a hard time," then giving them a hug. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

disclipline, parenting advice, Positive Parenting

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Shaming a child for behavior doesn't work-here's what does

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How often do we see a "misbehaving" child and think to ourselves, that kid needs more discipline to correct their behavior? How often do we look at our own misbehaving child and think the same thing? Our society is conditioned to believe that we have to be strict and stern with our kids, or threaten, shame or punish them into behaving.

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Santucci, Greg. (2021). The “WHY” of Behavior: Dig Deeper. Retrieved from his Social Media Account. Greg is an Occupational Therapist and published author. 

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"A bullying child who is held responsible for genuinely repairing the relational mess they’ve caused is a result worth striving for. Let’s be honest, nobody learns responsibility from a detention, suspension or expulsion.

These devices, while sometimes unavoidable, suppress any opportunity for responsibility and leave victims petrified of what this kid will come up with given four days at home to plot revenge."

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What not to do when your child is bullied at school

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There’s almost nothing to drive a spirited reaction in a parent like finding out that your child is being bullied.

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Resource: Tolley, Beth. (2022). The Problem With Behaviorism: There are better ways to work with behaviorally challenging children. Alliance Against Restraint and Seclusion.

The heavy reliance on rewards and punishment.  Though the name, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports, sounds nice, the children with or without IEPs who need support to help with their behavioral struggles are not getting those supports, and instead are being blamed for their behavior. Children are being punished (and shamed) through dojos and color charts, and by being left out of class celebrations and school activities, by being secluded and restrained, by being moved to more restrictive schools, or by being suspended, expelled, or referred to juvenile justice.  Some are being handcuffed at school by police.

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Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint

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There are better ways to work with behaviorally challenging children

The "solution" recommended for schools and school systems where there are issues with student disruption and out of control behaviors is consistently "positive behavior intervention and supports." In this document I will provide the history of positive behavior intervention and supports, the approach chosen by the national technical assistance center (PBIS.org), and the harm and contribution that approach is making to the disproportionate discipline rates for children with disabilities.

Positive behavior interventions and supports has held a unique place in special education law since Congress amended the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997.

The U. S. Department of Education first referenced the term "positive behavioral interventions and supports" (PBIS) in 1996, and the term is currently used in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (e.g., sections 601(c)(5)(F), 611(e)(2)(C)(iii), 614(d)(3)(B)(i), 662(b)(2)(A)(v), and 665).

The Department of Education indicated further that PBIS does not "mean any specific program or curriculum."

This emphasis on using functional assessment and positive approaches to encourage good behavior remains in the current version of the law as amended in 2004. IDEA requires:

The Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) team to consider the use of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for any student whose behavior impedes his or her learning or the learning of others (20 U.S.C. §1414(d)(3)(B)(i)).

A functional behavioral assessment when a child who does not have a behavior intervention plan is removed from his or her current placement for more than 10 school days (e.g. suspension) for behavior that turns out to be a manifestation of the child's disability (20 U.S.C. §1415(k)(1)(F)(i)).

A functional behavioral assessment, when appropriate, to address any behavior that results in a long-term removal (20 U.S.C. §1415(k)(1)(D)).

The Positive Behavior Intervention & Supports (PBIS) OSEP Technical Assistance Center was established in 1997 to deliver direct and indirect technical assistance and implementation support to local and state education agencies across the United States and territories. According to the "Brief Introduction" dated June 29, 2018, " PBIS implementation involves explicitly prompting, modeling, practicing, and encouraging positive expected social skills across settings and individuals."

The Brief goes on to explain " When students are taught to effectively use relevant expected social skills for themselves and with others, school climates are described as more positive, learning environments are designated as safer and student-educator relationships are referred to as more trusting and respectful. This document indicates that students and educators have improved perceptions of organization health and school safety and school climate when PBIS is implemented over time. The authors are clear that PBIS is not an intervention or practice, but rather a framework for selection and use of proven practices. According to the Brief, the PBIS framework is visible in all 50 states and has been used since the 1980's. The PBIS Center and it's national network support 26,316 schools.

Issue One:

The evidence of long-term effectiveness is not available. On the contrary, after 22 years, our country's schools continue to struggle with restraints, seclusion, suspensions and expulsions. In some cases, these statistics are increasing, even in schools where PBIS is in place. ( The PBIS.org website cites the effectiveness of the PBIS framework and lists many references. However, a look at the references reveals that most are not recent, are limited in scope, and do not reflect research about long term outcomes of implementation of PBIS).

According to the document Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports: Implementation Blueprint (October 2015), PBIS is grounded in the behavioral and prevention sciences and emphasizes within a multi-tiered support system framework (a) measurable outcomes, (b) evidence-based practices, (c) implementation systems, and (d) data for decision making.

Issue Two:

Though Positive behavior intervention and supports is not an intervention or practice and does not require a specific approach, the leaders of the national TA organization base all their technical assistance on a behavioral model. Despite the explosion of information from the 1990's "Decade of the Brain" and the continuing research in the areas of child development, neurobiology, trauma, attachment, and more, the leaders have not updated the PBIS approach. Behaviorism is harmful for vulnerable children, including those with developmental delays, neurodivergence (ADHD, Autism, etc.), mental health concerns (anxiety, depression, etc.).

The concept of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports is not the issue. The promotion of behaviorism is the issue. PBIS.org focuses only on surface behavior, what one can observe. Whether this is due to lack of understanding of the complexity or an intentional omission is unknown. The focus on surface behavior, without seeming to understand or be concerned about the complexity, or even the simple dichotomy of volitional versus autonomic (stress response) and the use of outdated, compliance based, animal based behaviorism (which has no record of long term benefits) continues to fail our country's students.
Specific Concerns Are Detailed Below:
The May 2019 PBIS.org policy document Preventing Restraint and Seclusion in Schools states the following:
Educators must understand that behavior is a form of communication and that all behavior serves a function. Students use their behavior to communicate that they want to get something (like attention or an activity) or avoid something (like escape an unpleasant or undesired situation). Therefore, when implementing more targeted (Tier 2) or intensive (Tier 3) prevention supports, educators must (a) teach students a replacement skill (i.e., more appropriate behavior) that effectively results in similar consequences and (b) make individualized adjustments to the classroom and school environment to set students up for success. For example, some evidence-based strategies include providing reminders, establishing predictable routines, adjusting academic instruction and tasks, and arranging the environment so the replacement skills "work" for the student. Increasing the likelihood of student success reduces the likelihood of a crisis situation.
This paragraph illustrates several major concerns about the guidance being provided by the OSEP funding national technical assistance center:

The documents on PBIS.org imply that all behavior is willful. There is no acknowledgement in the PBIS.org literature that behaviors can be stress responses (fight-flight-freeze responses). This is a profound omission that does great harm to children whose brains and bodies have highly sensitive neuroception of danger. To be punished for a stress response is harmful and traumatic.

The answer to misbehavior is teaching a replacement behavior or adjusting the environment, instructions and tasks. This brings up two important points. First, there is no mention here about the importance of relationship. It is through relationships that children find safety, and through safety, children are able to calm, co-regulate (and learn to self-regulate) and be available for learning those instructions.

The research from the 1990's and ongoing continues to affirm the key importance of relationships for children to feel safe and learn. In the "Brief Introduction" document mentioned previously, the following statement is made: " Adult-student trusting relationships are the result of positive school and classroom climate, experiences of academic and social success, predictable school routines and supports, positive adult modeling." This is contrary to what has been learned over the past 30 years through neurobiological research, attachment research, child development and trauma research. The relationship with a caring, trusted adult is primary. It must come first.

The second concern about teaching replacement behaviors goes back to the lack of distinction between willful behaviors and stress behaviors. Teaching replacement behaviors is not possible for stress responses since they are automatic responses that occur beneath the level of conscious thought.

An additional concern is that some "mis" behaviors occur because a child's brain has not developed the necessary skills to inhibit the undesired behavior or to produce the desired behavior. This can be the case for children with developmental delays, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, among others. No amount of incentives (positive or negatives) can motivate a child to do something that their brain does not have the capacity yet to do. The recommendations throughout PBIS.org include positive incentives, teaching and reteaching, then consequences (punishment) when students do not meet the expectations. Rewards and consequences, even for children who have the capacity to meet the expectations, are short-term solutions that do not solve the root causes for behaviors and create additional problems, including decreased internal motivation, loss of interest in activities that had been interesting, competition between students, shame for students unable to meet the expectations, and more.

There is no mention of dysregulation which is a major issue with trauma, ADHD, and other conditions. It is an underlying feature of disruptive behavior. Children must learn how to regulate their emotions and their bodies, something that is first learned through co-regulation with a trusted adult.

The other point is the comment about the tiers. Tier 2 and Tier 3 are described as available to students when more support is needed than what is provided through Tier 1. However, though much is said about PBIS being preventative, Tier 2 and Tier 3 do not seem to be available proactively, but rather after a student has failed to succeed at Tier 1.

There are two points to be made about this. First of all, the training of all school staff must be updated so that everyone who comes in contact with students understands brain development, fight-flight-freeze behaviors, is able to recognize signs of stress by noticing students' facial expressions and body language and by talking with students; and knows how to respond in a situation where a student begins to escalate or is escalated, so that the student is supported rather than further escalated. Secondly, students with IEPs would be provided the supports needed proactively (as Tier 2 or Tier 3 supports) rather than waiting for problems to occur.

There are additional concerning features of the PBIS guidance from the national technical assistance center. The first is the delineation of behaviors into classroom managed and office detention referral. Rather than determining whether the behavior is volitional or a stress response, or even if the behavior could be a result of an expectation that is beyond the child's capacity to meet, there is simply a decision between managing the behavior in the classroom or sending the child to the office. This is a false choice which misses the point of helping a vulnerable child who is having difficulty meeting an expectation.

Another concern is the functional behavioral assessment. There is no question that behavior is a form of communication. It does serve a function. However, the range of possible functions is much wider than simply trying to get out of something or trying to get something. This reduction of the function to a simple either/or option negates all the other equally possible explanations, including nonvolitional behavior and behaviors that were beyond the child's skill level, trauma flashbacks, and more. The FBA involves analyzing the antecedent - what happened immediately before the behavior in question and what happened after the behavior and drawing conclusions based on what function the behavior was like to have served. The people participating in the analysis include the teacher, the behavioral specialist and any other adults working with the child. There are several problems with this approach. It does not include the child's perspective. It does not consider that many factors that are unseen, including sensitivity to light, sound, movement; or internal pain; or trauma flashbacks, worry about a grandparent who had a stroke last night, fear because he doesn't know how to do the assignment he was just given, or a myriad of other potential factors not visible to the evaluators. The FBA and indeed the entire positive behavior intervention and supports framework focuses on behavior, not on root causes. Without addressing root causes, true growth cannot be expected.

The last concern is the use of rewards and consequences to achieve the desired goals. This is a top-down, power over, authoritarian approach that is not in alignment with the rest of the goals of the educational system that is designed to teach children to think and learn. The PBIS system expects students to comply. When they do, they are rewarded. When they do not, they are punished. (They may be taught first, though not necessarily in a way that they are able to learn), but they will be punished if they do not or are not able to comply.

In Addressing the Wicked Problem of Behaviour In Schools, published online in the International Journal of Inclusive Education April 25, 2019 David Armstrong reviews the challenges of the systems used to address behavioral issues in schools across several countries, including the United States. Behavior management, described as an influential educational cliché in Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand and US, utilizes a manage and discipline model which Armstrong asserts is misinformed by a deeply-rooted set of interconnected notions about how to ensure an orderly and productive classroom.

Students with disabilities affecting their behavioural development or who have mental health difficulties (MH) frequently face disadvantage, suspension or exclusion as a result of the application of this model in practice. Evidence-based initiatives designed to address this dilemma in the us since the late 1990s, using PBS (Positive Behavior Support) and SWPS (School-Wide Positive Behavior Support) do not appear to have been successful. Armstrong cites research indicating the harm of manage and discipline approaches to students with mental health issues and the escalation of exclusionary discipline in the United States and criminalization, even for offenses that in earlier years would have been handled much differently.

Armstrong also suggests that policies such as ranking schools encourages schools to exclude children with disabilities who will negatively impact their school's performance. Per the abstract, " this article recommends wholehearted rejection of the manage and discipline model by practitioners; targeted support for teachers experiencing (or at risk of experiencing) occupational burnout; and the introduction of tangible educational policy incentives intended to encourage schools to include students who might otherwise face suspension or exclusion on behavioural grounds. Finally, this article advocates radical change in attitudes by teachers toward student conduct in schools and argues that educational practice should align with insights about human behaviour arising from research in developmental psychology.

Conclusion:

The information from the national Behavior Technical Assistance Center (PBIS.org) is contributing to the misunderstanding school leaders, teachers, and support staff have about behavior. Specifically, the repeated assertion that students use their behavior to get something or to get out of something, along with the lack of information about autonomic reactions (stress responses) is incorrect and results in children being misunderstood and punished for behaviors that are not within their volitional control.

Another major concern is the heavy reliance on rewards and punishment. Though the name, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports, sounds nice, the children with or without IEPs who need support to help with their behavioral struggles are not getting those supports, and instead are being blamed for their behavior. Children are being punished (and shamed) through dojos and color charts, and by being left out of class celebrations and school activities, by being secluded and restrained, by being moved to more restrictive schools, or by being suspended, expelled, or referred to juvenile justice. Some are being handcuffed at school by police.

Based on countless reports from families on social media groups, newspaper reports, government accounts and personal accounts, many of the disciplinary actions directed toward students with disabilities are for behaviors that are flight-fight-freeze behaviors. Teachers, paraprofessionals, school resource officers, and other school personnel do not recognize the difference between willful and involuntary stress responses - and it is HURTING our children. And the leaders of the national technical assistance center are contributing to this.

Recommendations:

Require that National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports IMMEDIATELY STOP using an outdated behavioral management system which has not made significant progress toward solving our school discipline problems in the 20 years that Behaviorism has been the primary approach.

Require the National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports to provide guidance based on current findings from neuroscience, trauma research, attachment research, child development research, brain research, consulting such experts as the leaders of Harvard's Center for the Developing Child, Dr. Dan Siegel, Mona Delahooke, Ph.D., Stephen Porges, Ph.D., Ross Greene, Ph.D., Bruce Perry, M.D., Jack Shonkoff, M.D., Stuart Shanker, Ph.D., Heather Forbes, LCSW.

Fully fund IDEA. State funding for education must also be increased to support appropriate class sizes through appropriate staffing, appropriate staff salaries, entitled supports and services for children with disabilities, and ongoing training and team time for teachers and other school staff.

Resources:
This research was conducted by Beth Tolley. Beth retired in 2018 from a leadership position in Virginia's lead agency for early intervention for infants and toddlers and is a mother, grandmother and advocate. Beth is the Director of Educational Strategy for the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint.

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In this document I will provide the history of positive behavior intervention and supports, the approach chosen by the national technical assistance center (PBIS.org), and the harm and contribution that approach is making to the disproportionate discipline rates for children with disabilities.

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https://www.edutopia.org/article/silence-co-regulation-strategy-pre-k-classroom?fbclid=IwAR0CXFtZ9UQIIQqDTSPezukrBPq4PeAKiD2zw19fYLNxEcUBd4h29Xmz4p4

Using silence as a co-regulation strategy with preschoolers allows early childhood educators to connect with their young learners in a profound way, effectively supporting them as they move toward a sense of safety. Our silence speaks to what’s underneath the behavior and creates space for uncomfortable feelings to be seen and tended to. This demonstrates to our students, including the students watching all of this unfold, that we care enough to sit with them in their discomfort until they’re ready to successfully transition back to learning.

While quiet body-based interventions are an effective co-regulation strategy for young children, it’s important for educators to be mindful of safety and consent. Parents sign a consent form that explains the use of sensory and body-based coping strategies upon enrolling their child, and our young students are taught that they always have the right to say no if they don’t want to be touched. Our educators can also say no if they aren’t comfortable co-regulating in this way.

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As a preschool social worker, I'm often in my center's peace corner, sitting cross-legged on a shag carpet that our students like to make snow angels on, hands folded in my lap, waiting silently as one child or another thrashes and yells before slowly settling. Because the sounds of a young student in distress are anything but calm, my colleagues might come to the door offering support, or they look through the glass out of curiosity. I'm just sitting silently, waiting patiently for the right moment to intervene. But silence is the intervention during those charged moments, and over the years I've spent in the field of early childhood, using silence intentionally has become one of my most effective go-to strategies.

Using silence as a co-regulation strategy with preschoolers allows early childhood educators to connect with their young learners in a profound way, effectively supporting them as they move toward a sense of safety. Our silence speaks to what's underneath the behavior and creates space for uncomfortable feelings to be seen and tended to. This demonstrates to our students, including the students watching all of this unfold, that we care enough to sit with them in their discomfort until they're ready to successfully transition back to learning.

Using Words Can Often Escalate Difficult Moments

Pre-K settings are meant to be language-rich environments so that children can strengthen their expressive and receptive speech-language development. As a result, they are encouraged to use their words to express their wants and needs.

During difficult moments in the classroom, when students become dysregulated and may act out, well-meaning educators tend to encourage young learners to use their words, in the hopes that verbalizing how they feel and why they feel that way will defuse the situation. Educators, under an enormous amount of pressure to de-escalate behaviors quickly, rely on language to offer strategies or ask how they can help. They unintentionally co-escalate rather than co-regulate with the student, which prolongs upset in the classroom.

A parallel process of dysregulation often occurs between young students and educators during these challenging moments. As young children become increasingly dysregulated, they no longer have access to the part of the brain that controls language and reasoning because our sympathetic nervous system, which controls our fight, flight, freeze, and fawn response, takes it offline.

As educators become increasingly dysregulated when faced with a struggling student, the same sequence of events takes place in their adult brain. However, teachers don't communicate their dysregulation through behavior, but through language and how we use it when challenged-our volume, tone, pressure, and pace. When this happens, children who are already overstimulated by the classroom environment aren't able to tolerate verbal attempts to offer support because voice and language overwhelm an already taxed brain and body.

How to Co-regulate With Students

Early childhood educators can use many strategies to silently co-regulate with their students. With some students, I can simply put my hand out for them to take and walk them over to the classroom quiet area, a routine established with trust and time. This is also a natural opportunity to demonstrate the use of a quiet co-regulation strategy for newer students who may be watching, teaching them what the quiet area is for and what they can expect from me should I need to support them.

Once I guide students to the quiet area, we sit down together silently, and after a few minutes of sitting calmly near them, I continue to de-escalate through distraction. Small liquid timers or calming jars are excellent tools because they are visually soothing and young children love them.

For one student, I played with it myself, turning it upside down and right again before silently offering it to him. After a few minutes of playing with it on his own, he began to regulate enough where he was able to search for other coping tools and fidgets, showing them to me before beginning to talk about how hard it was to become a big brother.

For another student who frequently engaged in aggressive behavior, it was important to learn how to adapt to what his brain and body could handle in charged moments. He couldn't tolerate me sitting next to him but preferred for me to sit within visual proximity. He responded well to a fidget or liquid timer as a distraction tool, but he wouldn't take it from my hand.

Instead, I learned to put it on the floor and gently slide it over to him for him to take when he was ready, a strategy identified after a particularly charged moment in which any movement I made seemed to further escalate him. Eventually, he always came out from underneath a table or from behind a soft chair to take it before crawling over to sit next to me.

Other students benefit from quiet body-based strategies. Providing proprioceptive input, or deep pressure, to children through heavy work or joint compressions is an effective strategy. One of my colleagues often sits quietly with children who are struggling and provides deep pressure input by massaging their hands. I often offer students the option of sitting on my lap so I can envelop them in a bear hug and gently do some finger rolls and pulls or gentle squeezes on their arms.

We always observe our students' bodies relaxing while providing deep pressure input. Their shoulders lower, they breathe deeply, and their limbs loosen, all physical cues that their fight or flight system is turning off and they are beginning to regulate.

Understand and Prioritize Consent

While quiet body-based interventions are an effective co-regulation strategy for young children, it's important for educators to be mindful of safety and consent. Parents sign a consent form that explains the use of sensory and body-based coping strategies upon enrolling their child, and our young students are taught that they always have the right to say no if they don't want to be touched. Our educators can also say no if they aren't comfortable co-regulating in this way.

There are many times when the use of body-based strategies requiring touch isn't appropriate, such as at centers where physical contact may not be allowed or educators are alone with a student who is struggling. Small rocking chairs; body socks and foam rollers; and weighted lap pads, blankets, and stuffed animals are great alternative quiet body-based co-regulation tools that educators can have available in the classroom that don't require physical contact but still offer the same benefits.

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Silence as a Co-regulation Strategy in the Pre-K Classroom

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As a preschool social worker, I'm often in my center's peace corner, sitting cross-legged on a shag carpet that our students like to make snow angels on, hands folded in my lap, waiting silently as one child or another thrashes and yells before slowly settling.

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https://www.edutopia.org/article/keeping-disruptive-students-classroom?fbclid=IwAR0zXFiQAmKuaGCJMO9uR0Vbam7PcQro0mCG_pThtYXV-9YuB7Ju5iLF0Ho

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Administration & Leadership

When an administrator is called in to deal with a disruptive student, the situation is serious. This is a model for helping the student calm down so they can remain in class.

My walkie-talkie erupts: "Mr. Bowerman, you're needed right away in Room 23, E. Z." I hear yelling from that classroom, and then my walkie-talkie goes silent.

I think about E. Z. (not their real initials)-their story, their needs, their pain, and I ask myself several questions: Is this student safe? Are the staff and other students safe? What led up to this moment? How can I, as the school administrator, push in, support the staff, and help the other students remain focused while we're there working? What will be needed of me in the next five minutes?

I'm on the way to the classroom; I'm reacting to the event, and so I breathe, slow down, and reflect as I move down the hall to push in, because we are pushing in. This student's not getting bounced somewhere else; there's too much at stake.

Defining the Work: Push In and Pull Up

The "push in" is an intentional effort to show up to a space when a student is in crisis; it calls for spending time with a student in the environment, to provide a buffer between a student's fight/flight/freeze response and the perceived threat, in short, working to equitably de-escalate the situation. The goal is for the student to stay in the classroom space-or to return to it as soon as it's safe and the student is available for learning, because there are times when a student needs to be removed from the room. This reinforces the concept that even though you struggle, you still belong.

The "pull up" follows the initial work, promoting the student's success in recovering and returning to learning after having recentered their emotional stability. It's a process that requires authentic face-to-face time when triggering occurs; most of the time the situation won't be resolved immediately, and it's not about forcing things to happen but about reinforcing learning from the incident, validating emotions and experiences, student accountability, and proactive partnerships.

The amygdala hijack: I've pushed in from kindergarten through 12th grade, and one thing students have in common is that once they become triggered, they move into an amygdala hijack-the brain perceives a threat, an emotional threat, and the person is unable to rationalize. They crash into freeze, flight, or fight, with unwavering conviction. They quickly shut down, look for an escape, or go fists up, ready for a battle. They need space, they need to be heard, they deserve to be understood, and it's up to administrators, teachers, and school staff to be present in those moments and to find authentic ways to reach them and validate their emotions.

Intentional planning for prevention and intervention: The success for any trauma-sensitive, trauma-responsive work is grounded in relationships; I can't stress this enough. Relationships not only build lives but also save them. It's important to note that the push in and pull up go hand in hand and work together.

Your planning should anchor on a consistent, visible presence in the building, as someone who supports and celebrates students, so when a time comes that a student is in need, your entrance, your intentions and efforts, won't be seen as something out of place.

While we plan in order to prevent and intervene, crisis and trauma can meet our students at the door every day, so we must always have in mind the whats and the whys: What happened to them? What are they feeling, and why are they feeling that way?

How It Works

Remember, as an administrator being called in, you need to consider the perceptions of students and staff as you arrive. Be reflective before responding, slow down, breathe, and keep the following directives in mind.

Pause at the door. First, read the room and check the emotional temperature, step back, and stay at the door. The first level of de-escalation is based on the relationships you've already formed with the student and family, which provide immeasurable opportunities to help the student.

Establish contact with the staff, class, and the student in need; they all must know, "I'm here, I've got you"; it can be verbal or nonverbal. Ask to approach the student: "Is it OK if I come over there?" "I'm going to sit back here until you feel like you're ready."

Validate the emotions the student is expressing: "I can see you are feeling really frustrated," "You look upset. Is there anything you want me to know so I can help?"

Reframe what's happening: "You know I'm here for you to push in, but why don't we take a walk/sit out in the hall/chill back here in the back/grab a snack and sit outside before we return to the learning."

Lastly, give them agency by giving them choice. Let them pick a space to sit and talk away from watching eyes, a place to start over, and work with them to restore a sense of calm and order, focusing on getting them into a safe space, repairing harm, and getting additional support if needed. You, and your team, have the chance to show them they can pull themselves up, with supports, to make the rest of the day a safe, positive one.

No single model works for every student or situation, but support and patience must match the level of need; examining student safety and well-being must always be the priority in responding to our students in any form of crisis. They deserve that.

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An Administrator's Strategy for Calming Disruptive Students so They Can Stay in Class

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Administration & Leadership When an administrator is called in to deal with a disruptive student, the situation is serious. This is a model for helping the student calm down so they can remain in class. My walkie-talkie erupts: "Mr. Bowerman, you're needed right away in Room 23, E. Z."

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"When recess is withheld as a punishment for misbehavior at school or for incomplete academic work, teachers and children suffer. Teachers who know the benefits of recess for kids with ADHD never withhold it."

Section 504 requires that students with disabilities be given equal access to the programs and activities of their school. Excluding students from recess for behavior relating to ADHD, arguably, is a form of discrimination — they are being punished for a disability.

A study that appeared in School Psychology Quarterly underscored the importance of recess for kids with ADHD: “Results showed that levels of inappropriate behavior were consistently higher on days when participants [with ADHD] did not have recess, compared to days when they did have it.”

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Seven-year-old Scott, who has attention deficit disorder, can’t go out for recess because he speaks up in class without raising his hand. Rachel loses two days of recess because she hasn’t earned enough points on her behavior chart for completing classwork on time. Matt’s teacher keeps him in the classroom because he gets out of his seat.

When recess is withheld as a punishment for misbehavior at school or for incomplete academic work, teachers and children suffer. Teachers who know the benefits of recess for kids with ADHD never withhold it.

First, “acting out” behavior is less frequent among children who go to recess. Students, with or without ADHD, show improved attention, working memory, and mood after physical activity.

Second, playing with classmates helps children develop and sharpen social skills. Recess is the pause that refreshes.

Activity for All

Recess shouldn’t have to be “earned” by kids with ADHD and other disabilities. A report by the Centers for Disease Control, which analyzed dozens of studies about how physical activity affects classroom performance, found that recess and physical education contributed positively to the academic and behavioral performance of students.

[Free Download: Your Guide to ADHD and Classroom Behavior]

A study that appeared in School Psychology Quarterly underscored the importance of recess for kids with ADHD: “Results showed that levels of inappropriate behavior were consistently higher on days when participants [with ADHD] did not have recess, compared to days when they did have it.”

Instead of denying recess to children who underperform, school administrators, teachers, and parents should figure out the underlying reasons for their challenges and find strategies to address them. The culprit may be executive skill deficits or slow processing speed, or not enough medication.

Veteran teacher Jackie Minniti never takes away recess from a student with ADHD. In fact, she finds creative ways to increase activity levels during the school day. She assigns some students to go on “in-house field trips” to the supply closet or to another teacher’s room. She also schedules five-minute activity breaks, during which children do jumping jacks or dance to music. These activities settle children down. Minniti rewards timely work completion with five minutes of extra recess time.

Talk with your child’s teacher about trying these strategies first, instead of punishing your child by taking away recess. If she isn’t receptive to your suggestions, get a doctor’s note stating that your child must have recess each day.

[No Recess for Recess]

And if that doesn’t work, tell her what the Centers for Disease Control says: “Exclusion from recess for bad behavior in a classroom deprives students of physical activity that can contribute toward improved behavior in the classroom.” That might change her mind.

Recess: It’s the Law

Neither the federal special education nor the disability law explicitly addresses recess at school. But there are a number of provisions in those laws that support the right to recess for kids with ADHD:

Every child who has been identified with a disability is entitled to an individual program designed to meet his needs, including accommodations and special supports. If an activity helps him learn in the classroom, as recess does for kids with ADHD, it should be provided.

Under federal special education law, an IEP should include “positive behavior interventions and supports.” If a student needs recess to help him stay on task or burn some of his excess energy, that should be written into the IEP. The IEP could also suggest finding opportunities for frequent movement or breaks for alternative activities.

When schools develop behavior plans or administer discipline, they are supposed to examine the relationship of the student’s disability to the behavior. The school staff should look for things that trigger inappropriate behavior and identify those that promote positive behavior. Depriving a student of recess is unlikely to promote positive behavior. In fact, depriving a student of physical activity may trigger inappropriate behavior.

Section 504 requires that students with disabilities be given equal access to the programs and activities of their school. Excluding students from recess for behavior relating to ADHD, arguably, is a form of discrimination — they are being punished for a disability.

[Every 504 Plan Should Include These ADHD Accommodations]

Chris Zeigler Dendy, M.S., is a member of ADDitude’s ADHD Medical Review Panel.

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Why Taking Away Recess Is a Counterproductive Punishment

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When teachers deny recess for poor classroom behavior or late work, they hurt not only their students with ADHD, but the whole classroom. Learn why ‘losing recess’ is a terrible punishment — and how you can change the teacher’s mind.