Positive Strategies for Students with Behavior Problems

When a student's challenging behavior can't be resolved through either traditional disciplinary approaches or schoolwide positive behavior support (PBS), what can a teacher do next? This groundbreaking manual has effective solutions for educators from grades K—12. Developed specifically for use with children with persistent or severe behavior problems, this book introduces educators to the systematic Positive Strategies method, which helps teachers understand why behaviors persist, prevent problem behavior, and replace challenging behaviors with better alternatives.

Why does the Positive Strategies approach get results? Because it's

• grounded in the proven and popular PBS approach that's already used in schools across the country



• field tested with hundreds of school teams by the highly respected authors and collaborating school teams



• nonaversive, stopping escalating cycles of problem behavior and helping students develop a better way



• adaptable to the unique needs of individual children in different educational contexts



• equally useful for students with or without special needs

Teachers will get complete, step-by-step instructions on the two parts of the Positive Strategies method: 1) conducting functional behavioral assessments to see how student characteristics and environment interact with consequences to shape behavior, and 2) developing behavior intervention plans to prevent problem behaviors and teach replacement skills. Educators will also discover how to assemble effective school teams, implement the Positive Strategies method, and follow up with students to ensure the benefits are sustained.

With the appropriate, effective, and individualized solutions in Positive Strategies, school teams will help bring about long-term improvements in the social success, academic achievement, and overall quality of life for children with severe problem behaviors.

In addition to his position at the Westchester Institute for Human Development (a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities), Dr. Crimmins is a faculty member of the School of Public Health and the Department of Psychiatry, both at the New York Medical College. In 2002–2003, he was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow in Washington, D.C., where he worked in the office of Senator James M. Jeffords on health and education policy. Dr. Crimmins has a career interest in child development and disability with a particular interest in those issues that reflect the intersection of research, practice, and policy. He is coauthor of The Motivation Assessment Scale (Monaco & Associates, 1992) with V. Mark Durand and the Autism Program Quality Indicators (New York State Education Department, 2001) with V. Mark Durand, Karin Theurer-Kaufman, and Jessica Everett.

Dr. Farrell directs an interdisciplinary team that provides evaluation and intervention for children with disabilities. She is also Co-Director of Psychology Training at WIHD. Dr. Farrell earned her doctorate in clinical and school psychology at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York. She is a member of the Westchester, New York, Local Early Intervention Coordinating Council. Dr. Farrell provides consultation, training, and technical assistance to local, state, and federal agencies and regional intervention programs. She lectures frequently on autism, early communication disorders, behavioral supports for young children, best practice in assessment, and developmental risk in early childhood.

In addition to his work with the Westchester Institute for Human Development, Dr. Smith is a faculty member of the School of Public Health at New York Medical College. He has worked extensively in the area of positive behavior supports, developing and delivering training programs for schools, residential treatment programs, and families. He also provides technical assistance to schools conducting functional behavior assessment for students with the most challenging behaviors, and he maintains a caseload of individual therapy services for children and young adults with a combination of developmental disabilities, emotional disorders, and challenging behaviors.

Ms. Bailey has a background in school counseling and instructs courses in classroom management, behavioral theory, and computer technology. Her professional interests focus on the development, delivery, and evaluation of quality training programs.