Module 3

Leading the Activity

Rose should have also turned to Magda's family. With the help of an interpreter (one who is knowledgeable about Magda' s culture), Rose could have asked the family about Magda' s strengths and interests, situations that Magda finds difficult, or strategies that they have used that were effective (or ineffective) for Magda. Rose could also have asked for their feelings and interpretation about Magda's behavior in the classroom, and what they think might help. Together, Rose and Magda' s family could also develop a plan for sharing information about Magda on a regular basis.

Tip for the Trainer: Remind participants that what people judge as "acceptable behavior" is often very subjective, and can be, in fact "culture bound." That is, what is considered unacceptable in one culture might be common practice, and reinforced, in another. This should be kept in mind when dealing with children from diverse cultures who may be exhibiting "challenging" behaviors. If the child's behavior is not dangerous, staff should gather facts about the behavior within the child's culture, before judging such behavior as "troubled," or-planning interventions. At the same time, point out that while cultural factors should be explored, they may not necessarily be accepted (that is, if the child's behavior is potentially dangerous, it should not be condoned, even if it is culture bound), Advise staff to seek consultation from cultural "experts" when challenging behavior seems to be supported by the child's culture.

Rose could also turn to her teaching team. Together, they could share their observations, specifically about the circumstances in which Magda becomes dangerous to herself or others. Determining what happens be fore, during, and after Magda fights with other children may be a good place to start. In addition, the team should look for situations when Magda succeeds. Is she usually with a certain child or adult during those times? What are those moments like?

A coordinated approach, in which staff work together with specialists and Magda's family to systematically identify strengths and needs, discuss issues and barriers, and develop strategies, is essential for providing an integrated approach to services.

Summing Up

Acknowledge that a developmentally appropriate classroom environment is not always enough to overcome a child's difficulties. In these instances, Head Start staff need to ask for assistance from supervisors, from colleagues, and from the child's family. They should also seek the help of other specialists (for example, the program's mental health professional), when appropriate. Point out that journal writing is a tool we can use to reflect on our work, identifying the type of emotional and practical assistance we might need to help children succeed.

Activity 3-2: What If?

Purpose: While Head Start staff can use a variety of techniques to prevent and manage classroom conflicts, emergency situations may arise when children pose imminent danger to themselves or others. This work shop activity will help participants identify emergency situations they may encounter while working with children with challenging behaviors, then develop contingency plans for handling these difficult situations.

Staff and parent contributions are critical to the success of the plan that you will begin developing in this activity. Also, the plan cannot become a working part of program operations without Policy Council approval. Therefore, this workshop should ideally be conducted with representation from managers, direct line staff, and parents from the Policy Council. In order to facilitate the brainstorming session in the workshop you may also want to identify and make note of some emergency situations the program staff have already experienced.

Easel, chart paper, markers, and tape

Duplicate:

Handout 20-Draft Contingency Plan (p.91): one for each participant

Leading the Activity

1. Introduce the activity and review the agenda with participants. Acknowledge that a nurturing and well-organized classroom environment is not always enough to overcome a child's difficulties. Emergencies may arise when children pose an immediate danger to themselves or others. It is therefore important that programs develop contingency plans that promote a collaborative and comprehensive approach to ensuring everyone's physical safety and emotional well being. These plans must prepare staff for responding to emergencies, respect the rights of children and families, and comply with the Head Start Program Performance Standards, as well as relevant laws and regulations.
2. Ask participants to brainstorm a list of situations (those they have experienced and others they might anticipate) when children pose an immediate danger to themselves or others (for example, when a child runs away, becomes physically aggressive, etc.). Record their suggestions on chart paper. Stop the brainstorming after about 3 minutes. Look over the list and choose 3 for discussion.
3. Distribute Handout 20—Draft Contingency Plan. With the entire group, discuss the key components of a contingency plan. Begin by reinforcing the purpose of the plan: keeping children and staff safe, following laws, and maintaining everyone's dignity. Use the discussion guide below to outline the essential components.
4. Divide participants into small groups. Make sure each group contains a balance of staff, parents, and management team members. Assign each small group one emergency situation from the brainstormed list. Ask each group to use the questions in Handout 20—Draft Contingency Plan, as well as some of their own ideas, to develop a draft plan for that particular situation.
5. After 20 minutes, reconvene the larger group. Ask one person from each small group to share their group's plans. Record the major ideas on chart paper.
6. With participants, discuss what elements the different plans have in common. Participants may talk about the value of designating a contact person, the importance of establishing the teacher's role in the process once the situation has been reported, and strategies for in forming and involving parents. Record these major features on chart paper. Stress the importance of these common elements as key features in any emergency plan.
   

Tip for the Trainer: Save the chart paper recording different emergency situations that the program has faced (or could face), key components and com mon elements of contingency plans, as well as the draft plans themselves. These records can later serve as working documents for the crisis planning task force suggested in Next Steps.

Discussion Guide

Who will go to the child in crisis/trouble? Decide who will be the "point person" in this situation. This person will be with the child until the immediate danger/emergency is over or another qualified, designated staff person can step in. Avoid having this designated person change. too often during the response/intervention, without a strong rationale (for example the person stepping in has a special relationship to the child and the child responds positively to him). Point out how frightening it can be for a child to feel out of control and out of everyone else's control. If staff respond by losing control of them selves (for example, yelling), it is very likely the child's behavior will take a turn for the worse. The "point person" may be any staff person: teacher, assistant teacher, classroom volunteer, or member of the management team.

Tip for the Trainer: During this discussion, emphasize that the most important way to keep children safe is by taking steps to prevent emergencies, by defusing or de-escalating a situation before it becomes a crisis. However, there may be rare cases where restraining a child becomes necessary. Advise participants to include this topic in their contingency plans. Remind participants that no one should restrain a child without training in: relevant laws and regulations related to this issue; guidelines on when restraining a child is and isn't appropriate; and procedures for restraining a child safely. Schools or programs in your community that specialize in working with children with significant problem behaviors may be a good source for such training.

 

• Who will go to the other children in the class? When the "point person" is involved with the child in crisis/trouble, someone else should assume her responsibilities for interacting with other children. This person should be capable of helping to ease the fears of other children who may be anxious about what is happening. This may be another teacher, a supervisor, or volunteer. Program staff will also need to consider whether children will need additional help once the immediate crisis is over.
• What other adults should be contacted? Who should contact them? It is important to let members of the program's management team know when an emergency arises. In fact, participants may want to plan that a classroom supervisor or program director be notified right away so that they can help in responding to the situation. In any case, decide who needs to know, at what point in the process this notification should happen, and who will be responsible for sharing the information.
• Who informs the child's family? Think about who on the staff has a good relationship with the family. This foundation may make communicating about difficult situations less stressful.
• When and how should other families be informed? For some emergencies, other families may have to be notified as well. Talk now about how to address the concerns of the child's classmates and their families. How much do they need-to know? Who will be responsible for responding to their questions and concerns, and how should this be best accomplished?
• How will the situation be debriefed and evaluated? Debriefing and evaluating the team's response to an emergency situation after it has occurred is an important step. The process of debriefing need not be a lengthy one, but should include time for the following:

  — Acknowledging what happened, updating staff on the current status (or the outcome) of the crisis, and applauding staff efforts when appropriate.

  — Discussing how team members feel. Sometimes responding to a child in a crisis situation evokes strong feelings in adults. They may feel frustrated or powerless, or worried about their own physical safety or the safety of others. Allowing a safe place for staff to acknowledge their feelings and recognize them as "normal" can help them move forward.

  —Discussing how effective the response was. Did the team respond quickly, respectfully, and responsibly? Did everyone understand their role? Were they able to perform their responsibilities? Did the response quickly reduce any risk of injury to the child and others? How did the child respond? What do we need to do differently next time this happens?

  —Planning next steps. Decide during this debriefing session what can be done to help avoid this situation in the future, if possible.Also identify which parts of the plan might need to be revised, and who will be responsible for drafting and distributing revisions.

Summing Up

According to the Head Start Program Performance Standards, programs must establish and implement policies and procedures for responding to health and safety emergencies. Developing these plans, and offering the training -needed to carry them out, can help ensure that staff understand what they legally can and cannot do when an emergency arises. These plans also help staff do their jobs and keep children safe. A program's ability to anticipate and plan for emergencies can reduce the possibility that these situations will occur, escalate, or create additional trauma. Summarize the key elements of contingency plans and identify next steps.

Close the activity by reading Andre's Story, which appears in the Preface. Acknowledge that working with children with difficult behaviors is challenging for everyone: for children, for families, and for staff. Too often, teachers feel that they are "in it alone." But no one person is responsible. Emphasize that successfully including all children demands a comprehensive approach that involves all the players: parents, managers, specialists, teachers, and other staff. Only in this way will all the adults in the child's life have a unified plan, behave consistently, and not inadvertently "undo" successes. As Andre's Story illustrates, Head Start staff, as a team, can tap resources, access supports, and creatively find solutions to children's problems.

Activity 3-3: Finding the Support You Need

Purpose: This workshop activity will provide participants with the opportunity to discuss what specific supports and resources have helped them in dealing with children's challenging behaviors in the past, and identify what systems they can use to take care of themselves.

Preparation

Arrange for:

Easel, chart paper. markers, and tape

Duplicate:

Handout 21—Cartoon (p. 92): one for each participant
Handout 22—Discussion Questions (p. 93): one for each participant
Handout 23—Survival Tips (pp. 94-95): one for each participant

Leading the Activity

1. All families have a right to confidentiality. That is, information about Head Start children and families can only be shared within Head Start on a "need-to-know" basis. Before participants share their descriptions of children in the program, make sure they fully understand issues around confidentiality.
2. Distribute Handout 21—Cartoon. Ask participants to share the thoughts and feelings the image evokes. Acknowledge that there are times in working with children with significant problem behaviors when adults can feel frustrated and burned out, like they could use a "time out." Emphasize that at these times it is important to be able to tap into a network of support.
3. Lead participants in guided imagery. Ask participants to close their eyes and think about a child with problem behaviors. If possible, they should focus on a situation in which things were difficult initially, but improved so that they were able to eventually develop a positive relationship with the child. Direct them to think about what that child was like, the behavior they found particularly difficult, and how they responded to the child. How did they feel when they worked with the child? Even when things were difficult, what helped them to see possibilities? What kept them going?
4. Tell participants to open their eyes. Give each participant a copy of Handout 22—Discussion Questions.
5. Divide participants into small groups (5 to 7 participants) to answer each question on the handout and discuss their experiences. Ask one volunteer from each group to serve as a reporter, and one volunteer to lead the small-group discussions.
   
   
   

   Tip for the Trainer: It may be easy for participants to dwell on negative experiences. Even if they cannot share an experience in which things changed, they will still be able to talk about what they did to cope and what kinds of support they received or felt they needed. For the discussion that follows, it's best to divide participants into groups in which a range of experiences can be shared. Pay particular attention to the participants who are not able to tell a success story yet. It's important to include them in a group where others have positive examples to share.

   
   
6. It may be easy for participants to dwell on negative experiences. Even if they cannot share an experience in which things changed, they will still be able to talk about what they did to cope and what kinds of support they received or felt they needed. For the discussion that follows, it's best to divide participants into groups in which a range of experiences can be shared. Pay particular attention to the participants who are not able to tell a success story yet. It's important to include them in a group where others have positive examples to share.
7. Reconvene the large group and ask each reporter to share. Record responses on chart paper, making note of similar themes or trends, such as having time/permission to "vent," or getting constructive ideas from other staff about how to approach things differently. Point out that just as we sometimes need to seek additional support for children, we must also recognize when we may need a "time out;" by learning to ask for help, we can receive the support and information we need to grow as professionals, and to help all children succeed.
8. With the group, identify what resources and systems currently exist in the program to support staff who work with children with problem behaviors. (Refer to questions 5, 7, and 8 of the Handout.)
9. Is there a process that staff can use to seek practical and emotional assistance in difficult situations? Is it formal or informal? If not for mal, would a more formalized system help? What could this system look like? Who should be involved in developing it? How should it be implemented?
10. Distribute Handout 23—Survival Tips, a handout that was developed by a mental health professional who has worked with Head Start pro grams for years. Read the handout aloud while participants read along. Suggest that participants keep this handout as a resource that they can refer to, and add to, from time to time.
    

Summing Up

Conclude the session by emphasizing the importance of a wide range of supports for staff and parents who are struggling with children's challenging behaviors. These structures should include having a safe place and time to talk things out in an appropriate way with a peer or supervisor, as well as access to resources and practical ideas about how to address challenges staff face.

Activity 3-4: Taking Care of Yourself

Purpose: Working with children with challenging behaviors on a daily basis can be difficult for Head Start staff. This coaching session will help participants recognize situations in which it is not only appropriate, but necessary to ask for help. In addition, participants will identify resources they can use to "take-care of themselves" as they strive to meet the needs of children with challenging behaviors and their families.

Preparation

This session has three parts:

• 1) a review of situations in which staff should ask for extra help in supporting children with challenging behaviors;
• 2) a discussion of the different resources and supports that staff can utilize; and
• 3) an assignment in which participants practice strategies for successfully coping with the difficulties they face in dealing with children with challenging behaviors.

Conducting the Session

1. Welcome participants and briefly discuss the purpose of the session. Remind participants that working with children with challenging behaviors can be difficult and frustrating. It is therefore important for staff to recognize when they might need assistance to meet the needs of children, as well as how to take steps to "care for the caregiver."
2. Distribute Handout 17—Rose's Journal and review it with participants. Review, Rose's entries to the journal, and ask volunteers to share their ideas about them. Use the Discussion Guide on pp. 72-73 (Activity 3-1: Asking for Help) to guide the conversation. Ask participants:
   What are some situations when Rose could have asked for support? Should have asked? How might things have been different if Rose had asked for help?
   
   

   Tip for the Coach: Remind participants that all families have a right to confidentiality. That is, information about Head Start children and families can only be shared within Head Start on a "need-to-know" basis. Before participants share their descriptions of children in the program, make sure they fully understand issues around confidentiality.

   
   
3. Distribute Handout l8—Worksheet Questions and give participants time to go through the worksheet together. Then discuss answers with participants. Ask what they would do in different situations if they were in Rose's place Focus on what supports they themselves have used in different situations in their own programs. Prompt a discussion with some questions: What happened? If they asked for help, at what point in the process did they ask? If they did not ask for help, why not? If faced with a similar difficulty in the future, what might they do to address it? Would their approach be different? If so,? how?
   
   

   Tip for the Coach: Discussion about emotionally charged personal experiences can tend to be long and very detailed. Give each participant an opportunity to speak, but be sure to keep the conversation focused on the specifics of the personal situations being discussed, and what the solutions were or could have been, rather than merely "venting" about problems.

   
   
4. Point out that it is important to remember that we sometimes need to seek additional support for children, and especially for children with challenging behaviors. We must also recognize when we may need a "time out" ourselves. Point out that even the most "expert" professionals seek support when they realize it is needed. Many even build it in as a routine. By learning to ask for help, we can receive the support and information we need to grow as professionals, and to help all children succeed.
5. Distribute Handout 21—Cartoon. Ask participants to share the thoughts/feelings the image evokes. Acknowledge that there are certainly times in working with children with challenging behaviors when you can feel frustrated and exhausted. Emphasize that it is during these times that it is most important to ask for help and to get support from supervisors or other resources.
6. Distribute Handout 23—Survival Tips, and review it with participants. Ask participants to respond to the list. Lead a discussion about what strategies they find work best for them. Encourage participants to add to the list.

Wrap- Up and Next Steps

Briefly summarize the session with participants. Point out that staff need to know where they can go to solve problems and plan interventions; staff also need to know where they can go to replenish themselves, to "care for the caretakers." Emphasize the importance of trying new strategies, and knowing when to turn to other people for guidance and support, both practical and emotional. Remind participants that Head Start staff must operate as a team when working with children with challenging behaviors. By working together, they can tap. resources, access supports, and find creative solutions to children's problems.

Review Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice with participants. Together, select one option for continuing your collaborative work. Thank them for their participation, and confirm a time and place for a follow-up meeting.

 

Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice

As a supervisor, you can encourage and support staff members to practice what they have learned in this module. Ways to accomplish this include:

1. Continue to encourage reflective practice. Ask participants to use a tape recorder or a journal to record their interactions with children whose behavior they find challenging. Ask participants to note what works, what doesn't, what they are feeling, how they are reacting, and times they feel they need additional supports or information to help children succeed. Use this to help staff recognize where they have strengths, as well as where they have difficulty. Reassure staff that supervision is a legitimate place to raise concerns and share difficulties,
2. Host a panel that provides staff with a better understanding of different disorders that may affect children in their program, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (Many children with PTSD are reportedly misdiagnosed as having ADHD.) In addition to providing an overview of the disorder, panelists can also help staff identify warning signals that a child may have PTSD, assess when a referral or consultation is needed, and offer suggestions for creating classroom environments that are responsive to the needs of children with PTSD.
3. Form a task force to continue the work begun in Activity 3-2: What If? Be sure the task force represents direct line staff, managers, parents from the Policy Council, and your program's mental health professional. Charge the task force with developing contingency plans that prepare staff for responding appropriately to different emergencies that can impact everyone's mental health (for example, floods, fires, neighborhood violence). When developing these plans, ask task force members to review the Head Start Program Performance Standards, as well as federal and state regulations on relevant issues, such as confidentiality. In addition, the task force should develop its own policies to help staff identify the people who should be contacted when different crises occur; define the types of information that are required during such crises; and clarify the reporting procedures that are involved in the process. Such policies provide a basis for safe and respectful action and authority.
4. In Activity 3-3: Finding the Support You Need, staff identify the practical and emotional support that they themselves need as caregivers. Some teachers, for instance, make arrangements with other teachers in the program to take over the class in those moments when they need a brief but much needed "time out." Other staff have created support groups so that they can share their frustrations as well as their triumphs with colleagues. Form a committee for analyzing what formal and informal systems are already in place within the program (for example, arrangements among teaching teams, with supervisors, mental health professionals, etc.), as well as what teachers feel is still needed.
5. Sponsor a biannual breakfast with representatives from mental health agencies in your community. Representatives can provide Head Start staff and families with an overview of community resources, the types of services that each agency provides, and procedures for facilitating referrals and consultations. These breakfasts can help Head Start staff form networks with representatives from community agencies, pro viding the face-to-face contact that is so vital when making referrals for children and their families.
6. The problem behaviors that teachers witness in the classroom are also likely to challenge family members at home. Providing respite for parents who have children With challenging behaviors can offer needed relief. Knowing that someone they trust is caring for their child, while they have time to care for themselves, can be a "life saver." Involve staff in helping families identify community re sources that offer respite care to families. You may also encourage staff to help families create informal systems, such as a "respite-exchange," which is developed and carried out by Head Start families.
7. Head Start staff need to hear positive feedback when they are doing well. One teacher told us that the best help she received was when a supervisor observed her in the classroom. Later the supervisor told the teacher, "I don't know how you're managing as well as you are. Really, you are doing a great job. Please write down how you do it. I want to learn from you!" As a supervisor, find ways to acknowledge teachers and other staff for their commitment to meet the needs of children with challenging behaviors.