v

Intervening Early and

Effectively:

Preventing and

Addressing Young

Children’s Challenging

Behavior

Students with Poor Social Skills

Experience difficulties in relationships with parents, teachers, and peers

Evoke highly negative responses from others that results in high levels of peer rejection

Often also show signs of depression, aggression, anxiety

Demonstrate poor academic performance

Are more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system as adults

Students with Emotional Disturbance

More than half of students with ED drop out of grades 9-12, the highest rate for all disability categories.

(U.S. Department of Education, 2006)

At 2 years post high school, 58% of youth have been arrested at least once and 42% are on probation or parole. (NLTS2, 2005).

Students with ED reported use of alcohol (54%), illegal drug use (36%), marijuana use (33%), and smoking (53%) at rates higher than all other disability categories (NLTS2, 2008)

Young Children?

Campbell (1995) estimated

that approximately 10-15% of

all typically developing

preschool children have

chronic mild to moderate

levels of behavior problems.

Children who are poor are

much more likely to develop

behavior problems with

prevalence rates that approach

30% (Qi & Kaiser, 2003).

Are rejected by peers

Receive less positive

feedback

Do worse in school

Are less likely to be

successful in kindergarten

A Problematic Trajectory of Development

Social Competence

“Emotional well-being and social

competence provide a strong foundation

for emerging cognitive abilities, and

together they are the bricks and mortar

that comprise the foundation of human

development.”(National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2007)

Centers

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning

www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/

Primary Partner Associations

Division for Early Childhood

of the Council for

Exceptional Children (DEC)

IDEA Infant and Toddler Coordinators

Association (ITCA)

National Association for

Bilingual Education

(NABE)

National Association of Child Care Resource

& Referral Agencies (NACCRRA)

National Association for the

Education

of Young Children (NAEYC)

National Association of State

Directors of Special Education

(NASDSE)

National Association of State Mental

Health Program Directors

(NASMHPD)

National Head Start

Association (NHSA)

Parent Advocacy Coalition for

Educational Rights (PACER)

Pyramid Model

Universal

Promotion

Secondary

Prevention

Tertiary

Intervention

Nurturing and Responsive

Relationships

Foundation of the pyramid

Essential to healthy social development

Includes relationships with children, families and team members

High Quality Environments

Inclusive early care

and education

environments

Supportive home

environments

Supportive Home Environments

Supporting families and

other caregivers to

promote development

within natural routines

and community settings

Providing families and

other caregivers with

information, support, and

new skills

Targeted Social Emotional

Supports

Explicit instruction

and support

Self-regulation,

expressing and

understanding

emotions, developing

social relationships

Individualized Intensive

Interventions

Family-centered,

comprehensive

interventions

Assessment-based

Skill-building

Pyramid Model

Inclusion

Secondary Prevention:

Instruction

“Who Would Choose to Live,

Even with All Possessions,

Without Friends”

- Aristotle

All You Need is Friends

What Do Preschool Friends

Do for Each Other?

Advocate for each others’ interests

Comfort when distressed

Suspend self-interest in the interest of the other

What Do Preschool Friends

Do for Each Other?

Always include the other

Always acknowledge the others’ presence

Teach each other and encourage life on the preschool edge

What Does Having Preschool Friends Predict?

Better academic skills

Less problem behavior

Better verbal language skills

Fewer mental health problems

Greater longevity and good physical health

Continuing friendships

Better employment outcomes

What Child Behaviors Determine the Formations

of Friendships?

Play organizers

Shares

Assists

Saying nice things to others

Length of Exchanges

Reciprocity of Exchanges

What Features of Teaching Peer-Related

Social Skills Lead to the Best Outcomes?

Exposure to socially competent and specially-trained peers

What Features of Teaching Peer-Related

Social Skills Lead to the Best Outcomes?

Exposure to socially competent and specially-trained peers

Embedding dozens of social response opportunities across daily routines

What Features of Teaching Peer-Related

Social Skills Lead to the Best Outcomes?

Exposure to socially competent and specially-trained peers

Embedding dozens of social response opportunities across daily routines

Teaching roles and rules around dramatic play

What Features of Teaching Peer-Related Social

Skills Lead to the Best Outcomes?

Carefully timed prompting and reinforcement for effortful behavior

Programming for generalization across play partners, materials, and settings from day one

Intervention is focused on social relationships, not individuals’ discrete behaviors

Getting the dosage right

Interested in More?

Training Modules

Classroom Materials

Family Materials

Syntheses of the EBP

Behavior Support Manuals

On-line Training Sessions

Opportunities for State Support for Implementation and

Scale-Up

www.challengingbehavior.org