Helping parents with challenging children: Positive family intervention, Facilitator\u27s guide.

Challenging behavior, while common, can have a significant negative impact on the lives of children and their families. A child\u27s behavior problems can exacerbate developmental setbacks and disrupt overall family functioning. Furthermore, families of children with behavior problems are often at risk for drop out of intervention programs. This facilitator guide, along with the corresponding workbook, aims to assist parents who have difficulty completing parent training and implementing interventions. It uses a fresh and resourceful approach, combining principles of applied behavior analysis, tools of positive behavior support (PBS), and cognitive restructuring techniques. Parents begin be gathering information about what sets off their child\u27s problem behavior, as well as what their child gets or avoids from misbehaving. They then learn strategies to prevent problems, manage consequences, and teach their child skills. A behavior support plan is designed that fits the family\u27s needs and goals. Once the plan is put into place, it is monitored for effectiveness and adapted as necessary. Throughout the program, parents practice positive thinking skills, which can enhance their parenting abilities. This guide gives detailed instructions for conducting the optimism training and steering parents through the PBS process. The parent workbook provides assessment tools and forms to help the family carry out the intervention steps and track progress. The positive family intervention program may be useful for a variety of behavior problems and in conjunction with treatment for other disorders. It can be used with a range of ages and family situations. Facilitators working with families of children with challenging behavior will find this an invaluable guide.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/books/1041/thumbnail.jp

Helping parents with challenging children: Positive family intervention, Workbook.

Having a child with challenging behaviour can be frustrating and affect the entire family. This Workbook is designed to help parents create a more positive attitude toward a child and carry out effective steps to improve behaviour. The program outlined in this workbook can be tailored to a child\u27s and family\u27s needs and goals. It helps parents to identify what sets off a child\u27s problem behaviour, as well as what a child gets or avoids from misbehaving. It will help parents learn strategies to prevent problems, manage consequences, and teach a child new skills. With the help of a facilitator parents can design a behaviour support plan, learn how to think more positively, and homework assignments will help assess the child\u27s behaviour, apply new strategies, and track the family\u27s progress.https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/books/1042/thumbnail.jp

Positive family intervention for severe challenging behvavior I: A multisite randomized clinical trial.

The present study was a multisite randomized clinical trial assessing the effects of adding a cognitive-behavioral intervention to positive behavior support (PBS). Fifty-four families who met the criteria of (a) having a child with a developmental disability, (b) whose child displayed serious challenging behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury, tantrums), and (c) who scored high on a measure of parental pessimism were randomly assigned to either PBS intervention or a combination of PBS and optimism training for parents (positive family intervention [PFI]). A manualized approach to both interventions was used for eight weekly individual sessions. Both groups improved in scores of parental pessimism as well as on standardized measures and direct observations of child challenging behavior. The PFI intervention resulted in significantly improved scores on the General Maladaptive Index of the Scales of Independent Behavior–Revised when compared with the PBS alone group. No differences in attrition were observed across the two different approaches. Importantly, significant improvements in child behavior at home were achieved through a clinic-based approach. Implications for working with families who may be less likely to benefit from parent training are discussed

Applying Positive Behavior Support and Functional Behavioral Assessments in Schools

Positive behavior support (PBS) and functional behavioral assessment (FBA) are two significant concepts of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. These two concepts are not new, but they are important for improving the quality of efforts to educate children and youth with disabilities. The purposes of this article are to describe (a) the context in which PBS and FBA are needed and (b) definitions and features of PBS and FBA. An important message is that positive behavioral interventions and supports involve the whole school, and successful implementation emphasizes the identification, adoption, and sustained use of effective policies, systems, data-based decision making, and practices. Systems-level challenges are also discussed