15-Minute Focus: Behavior Interventions: Strategies for Educators, Counselors, and Parents

by Amie Dean

In 15-Minute Focus: Behavior Interventions, Amie Dean gives educators, counselors, and parents knowledge, strategies, and resources to teach children and teens how to communicate and make decisions to get their needs met in positive ways through behavior instruction and coaching.

If a child or teen is struggling to manage emotions or make good choices, it is rarely because they want to be "bad" or disrespectful. Most adults look for the "right" way or a magic formula that will transform challenging students, with no luck on finding one. Impacting behavioral change in another person is hard work, and every individual has unique needs and circumstances that should be considered. This book will help you view children's words and actions as a lack of coping skills in the moment, or a skill deficit that can be taught and improved.

You'll discover:

- The function of behavior
- Ways to rethink responses to behavior
- De-escalation techniques
- Steps to create a trauma-sensitive classroom
- Principles for a positive classroom
- Actionable strategies, curated resources, and more!

This guide will ask you to consider that there is likely a barrier keeping children from being successful, and it is our opportunity as the adults who care for them to help them through it.

Genres: Education

104 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2021

Reviews

[Shyloh-Dawn Fermaldibryde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This! This is the book that encapsulates the things I wished I knew sooner in my teaching career in under 100 pages. This book is full of gems. My teaching philosophy has always been one of unconditional positive regard demonstrated through connection, kindness, and empathy and that is echoed throughout the book. I wish more teachers knew and understood the foundations of this book - it would help so many kids with “behaviour issues”. My big takeaways: have a coaching mindset instead of a consequential mindset; focus on what’s right with kids vs what’s wrong; all behaviour is an attempt to communicate a need so we should respond to needs instead of reacting to behaviours; it is always the job of the adult to deescalate the situation; trauma sensitive classrooms are essential and involve connection, the belief students are capable, and are calm (i.e. consistent and predictable), and routines and procedures must be taught early, often, and followed consistently.

One quote really stuck with me… “however hard challenging students have been to teach, their lives have been exponentially more difficult to live”. Oof.

If you are an educator, you definitely should read this book.