We offer full or partial day in-service trainings covering topics such as: challenging behaviors, overwhelming frustration, anxiety management, and social skills training. The following depicts the content of a sample in-service training:

Predictors of successful outcomes

• Building self-awareness
• Promoting motivation and active engagement
• Collaborative problem solving

Understanding of challenging behaviors precedes effective intervention

• Fear as the most common feeling behind oppositional/defiant behaviors in individuals with ASD, ADHD, Bipolar and multiple learning disabilities
• How caregivers can first manage their own anxiety before dealing with their kid’s behaviors
• Developing the right attitude to address challenging behaviors: Research on hope and attributional style of teachers and parent

Managing and preventing challenging behaviors

• Crisis management: De-escalating meltdowns though distraction/soothing
• Identifying the 7 common  triggers to frustration and anxiety
• Creating prevention plans for each of the 7 common triggers
• Anxiety management

Why most social skills programs fail! Six key Components of Social Skills Training

• One size does not fit all: Prioritizing relevant skill goals
• Knowing what to do does not mean one will do it: Establishing motivation to use skills
• Skill acquisition: strategies to teach skills based on language ability
• Generalization strategies: prompting skills in real settings
• Having skills does not insure peer acceptance: Creating accepting peer environments
• Measuring progress
• Q and A

We can come to a school to evaluate the social and behavioral needs of an individual, group of students, or the entire school and design an appropriate social skills support program.

Typically this involves in-service trainings followed by ongoing consultation to implement strategies.

We can provide an assessment of problem behaviors to help understand why the behaviors occur. This is sometimes known as a "Functional Behavioral Assessment." The assessment may involve observation, interview, review of behavior diaries, and filling out questionnaires.

Based on the information we will put together a behavior plan that may involve: Modifications to the demands placed on the student, skills training to provide alternatives to inappropriate behaviors, and incentive systems.

If a neuro-diverse student, or group of students, is perceived negatively by peers, those peers may tease or reject them. In addition to helping students handle teasing, it is equally or more important to increase understanding and acceptance from neuro-typical peers.

Peer sensitivity training can involve either a general presentation to increase acceptance of all students or can be a more targeted presentation to help peers accept a particular student. We typically ask peers to help in three ways: (a) invite the student to join in when the student has been left out, (b) stand up for the student if others are teasing him or her, and (c) offer help to the student if he or she is upset.