As SPED teachers, how can we further professional development in the area of emotional & behavioral disorders?

Question

As SPED teachers, how can we further professional development in the area of emotional & behavioral disorders?

Answer 1

This is a much neglected area and sometimes that professional development you do receive is vague and not precise. However, you should call your staff development office and see if they plan to offer anything in this area. Also, call the special ed department at the district office and see if they have any offerings.

One of the best places to go for information is the Council for Exceptional Children website. They have a discussion of behavior disorders that may prove helpful. Also, go to Dr. Mac's Amazing Behavior Management website. He has a ton of information on the topic.

One of the biggest problems with staff development on these issues is that they miss one of the most important components of the behavior intervention plan. They fail to instruct teachers on teaching and reinforcing replacement behaviors. It is the single biggest reason why behavior plans fail.

You can't simply remove a behavior and call it good. It doesn't work that way. Kids misbehave for a reason, so you must replace the problem behavior with a more appropriate behavior. To do this, you must explicitly teach the behavior and plan to reinforce the new behavior. This means private instruction, role play and coaching in the classroom. I wonder how many teachers have ever done this.

You might ask your district for training in Functional Behavior Assessment. It will teach you to understand behavior and to select replacement behaviors and reinforcement. You can also get some of this information on Dr. Mac's page.

Thank you for being interested in one of the most problematic areas in education. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

You have to gain an understanding of the diagnoses and symptoms of the disorders before you can get a handle on the problems. So...

Take up courses in child psychology. It doesn't have to be degree courses - it's available as a specialist diploma course in the website below. I think the content is very relevant to not only SPED teachers but all educationists.

The other way is to suggest for paediatricians and other professionals to conduct courses. Assuming Singapore context, the Institute of Mental Health has a child psychiatry unit and they treat children with all learning disorders as well as emotional and behavioural disorders. Recently they brought in an expert for weeklong classes and workshops  under the HMDP (Healthcare Manpower Development Programme). KKWCH is also a good resource of pediatricians and therapists to invite for workshops or lectures. Get in touch with these people, especially psychologists, and occupational therapists who sometimes organise these events to get onto their mailing lists.

Answer 3

Do this:

Go to Google.  At the right hand end of the box where you would type things in, click on Advanced Search.  In the second box down, type in Special Education Professional Development.  There are a lot of hits there.  If you don't like those results, change the typing around to Professional Development Special Education.  You could also type in "Professional Development" (notice the quotes) in the top box, and Special Education in the second box.  Change things around like that until you come up with something that you like.  Good luck

Answer 4

Talk to parents group with these children and adults they can give you an insight with how to wrok and improve these students also it gives you an insight of the differant children.

Answer 5

I would take a look at attending a class that specializes in the area.  Trying looking into Youth Change.  http://www.youthchg.com , I took one of their classes, it was entertaining and it isn't only theory like some courses.  A plus side is you can get college credit, so it helps with the pay scale.

Answer 6

Learn about strategies such as Life Space Interviewing, Crisis Prevention Institute, Positive Behavior Facilitation, Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies, Nurtured Heart Approach, and the list goes on and on.

A real big key to dealing with others is understanding yourself, your triggers, and the things that challenge your ability to de-escalate.

Answer 7

Call NAMI- the National Association of Mental Illness, bet they have plenty of ideas and might be able to help or provide material.