10307189Behavior and Emotional Challenges
Course Information
Description
This 3 credit course prepares the student to build rapport with children and their families; create supportive learning environments; demonstrate positive social-emotional teaching strategies; define specific discipline and guidance strategies; assess challenging behaviors; describe specific diagnoses typically related to challenging behaviors; develop individualized, positive guidance plans; and communicate the need for positive, consistent, team approaches to including children with challenging behaviors in typical community settings.
Total Credits
3
Course Competencies
  1. Build rapport with children and their families.
    Assessment Strategies
    in written or oral presentations
    individually or in small groups
    in the classroom or in simulated settings
    Criteria
    Describe the importance of building relationships with children, families.
    Describe the relationship between children's social emotional development and challenging behaviors.
    Explain how challenging behavior serves a function for children.
    Identify strategies that can be used to build positive relationships with children, families, and colleagues.
    Evaluate your personal work with children related to building relationships.

  2. Create supportive learning environments.
    Assessment Strategies
    in written or oral presentations
    individually or in small groups
    in the classroom or in simulated settings
    Criteria
    Describe the relationship between environmental variables, children's challenging behaviors, and social emotional development.
    Identify strategies that can be used to design environments, schedules, and routines.
    Identify strategies that can be used to structure transitions.
    Identify strategies that can be used to help children learn rules and routines.
    Identify strategies that can be used to plan activities that promote engagement.
    Use descriptive acknowledgment and encouragement to support children's positive social behaviors.
    Evaluate personal work related to the structure and design of the environment.

  3. Demonstrate positive social-emotional teaching strategies.
    Assessment Strategies
    in written or oral presentations
    individually or in small groups
    in the classroom or in simulated settings
    Criteria
    Discuss importance of intentionality in teaching social-emotional skills.
    Identify strategies for supporting the development of friendship skills.
    Define emotional literacy.
    Identify activities that build "feeling vocabularies."
    Describe the importance of providing opportunities for children to begin to understand their own, as well as others' emotions.
    Articulate why children need to learn self-control of anger and handle disappointment.
    Identify strategies to teach anger management skills.
    Explain the importance of teaching and implementing problem solving steps.

  4. Define specific discipline and guidance strategies.
    Assessment Strategies
    in written or oral presentations
    individually or in small groups
    in the classroom or in simulated settings
    Criteria
    you differentiate between Positive Behavior Support (PBS) and traditional discipline approaches.
    you define forms and function of communication.
    you identify the behavioral mechanisms that contribute to viewing challenging behavior as communicative.
    you explain 'Behavior Modification', contingency contracts, cuing, modeling, self-monitoring, shaping, token economies, and social contracts.

  5. Assess challenging behaviors.
    Assessment Strategies
    in written or oral presentations
    individually or in small groups
    in the classroom or in simulated settings
    Criteria
    you describe methods that may be used to determine the function of challenging behavior.
    you use interview and observational data to determine the communicative function of challenging behavior.
    you communicate with family members and other key people in the child's life to increase awareness of the child's world and experiences.
    you develop behavior hypotheses.

  6. Describe specific diagnoses typically related to challenging behaviors.
    Assessment Strategies
    in written or oral presentations
    individually or in small groups
    in the classroom or in simulated settings
    Criteria
    you describe Autism.
    you describe Attention Deficit Disorder, with and without Hyperactivity.
    you contrast Reactive Attachment Disorder, Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Bi-Polar Disorder.
    you explain how traumatic brain injuries and different developmental disabilities might contribute to behavioral challenges.
    you describe other mental health diagnoses and their effect on personal behaviors.
    you examine hostile and verbally agressive behaviors and their possible causes and treatments.

  7. Develop individualized, positive guidance plans.
    Assessment Strategies
    in written or oral presentations
    individually or in small groups
    in the classroom or in simulated settings
    Criteria
    you identify the steps of the process of Positive Behavior Support (PBS).
    you describe strategies that may be used to prevent challenging behaviors.
    you identify replacement skills that may be taught to replace challenging behavior.
    you identify how to respond in a way that does not maintain or reinforce challenging behavior.
    you modify the environment rather than trying to change the child whenever possible.
    you provide communication adaptations, basic sign language, assistive devices, picture cards, etc. when enhanced communication is needed.
    you develop a behavior support plan for specific children (case studies or real).

  8. Communicate the need for positive, consistent, team approaches to including children with challenging behaviors in typical community settings.
    Assessment Strategies
    in written or oral presentations
    individually or in small groups
    in the classroom or in simulated settings
    Criteria
    you identify roles and responsibilities of "specialists" and licensed professional who may be part of a team of community resources.
    you determine the professional and ethical responsibilities and limitations of each team member's role, in particular your own.
    you describe an evidence-based framework for addressing social emotional development and challenging behavior.
    you identify strategies to address common barriers to evidence-based practices.
    you identify effective leadership strategies including collaborative planning, program-wide planning, and professional development.
    you apply collaborative action planning strategies for improving children's social emotional and behavioral outcomes.