While children of all ages engage in some sort of challenging behavior from time to time, this is more common in children with disabilities and children who have experienced trauma. This session will focus on how early learning providers can understand the escalation cycle, ways to prevent challenging behaviors before they start, and how to help a child manage these big emotions.
Presented by
Julie Ashmun
Education Specialist, Professional Development and Training
University of Washington, Haring Center
Ariane Gauvreau
Senior Director, Professional Development and Training
University of Washington Haring Center
Dr. Ariane Gauvreau is the Senior Director of Professional Development and Training and The Haring Center, where she leads a team who provides professional development and training to schools and communities as they create inclusive, equitable and sustainable educational systems. She is a previous early childhood special education teacher, home visitor, coach, and professor.
Handouts
Age Group Addressed:
All age groups
Audience:
Parents, Foster Parents, Relative Care Givers, Teachers, Administrators, Therapists, Home Visitors, Family Resources Coordinators, Interested Professionals, Students
Core Competency Area:
Curriculum and Learning Environment
Skill Level:
Fundamental
Presentation Outcomes:
Our goal is to provide early learning educators with strategies for both understanding behaviors that are challenging (e.g., the function and unmet needs behind these behaviors) and strategies for supporting children so these behaviors do not occur in the first place. It is well documented that children of color and children with disabilities are at higher risk of being expelled, suspended, restrained and isolated compared to their White and non-disabled peers. By helping more EC providers feel comfortable understanding and supporting behavior, including how implicit bias impacts our perception of challenging behavior, we strive to increase access to high quality early care settings for children from historically marginalized groups.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will understand how a child's disability and history of trauma can impact challenging behavior
Participants will review and analyze the escalation cycle, and identify what this cycle looks like in a child in their program
Participants will identify strategies for preventing behaviors that are challenging
