Supporting Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Severe social, emotional, and behavioral challenges can be major obstacles to your students' academic success. Break down those barriers with the research-based interventions in this book, your guide to addressing serious problem behaviors in K-12 classrooms. Aligned with recommended practices for schoolwide positive behavior supports (SWPBS), this book presents a highly effective tiered approach that helps you develop school- and class-wide interventions and match behavior interventions to each student's needs. Developed by trusted PBS experts and packed with concrete strategies, this essential resource will prepare teachers to prevent and reduce severe behavior problems, improve students' social interactions, and increase academic engagement. A must for both preservice and in-service educators!

THE GUIDE YOU NEED TO:

• Improve the behavior of students with or without a specific diagnosis
• Boost your behavior management skills and empower yourself to take action
• Assess and improve your classroom environment, including physical setup, routines, and emotional climate
• Prevent behavior problems by keeping students engaged and motivated during instruction
• Directly teach social skills during your everyday classes and routines
• Identify student mental health problems and select appropriate interventions
• Determine when a student needs Tier 2 intervention or more intensive Tier 3 supports
• Conduct functional behavioral assessments and use them to develop support plans
• Select and use a behavioral management system to track your students' progress

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Real-world strategies, case studies, forms, and reflection activities that can be used right away in the classroom and across various school settings.

Strategies to Improve Behavior and Instruction in the Classroom

Mark D. Weist, Ph.D., received a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in 1991 and is currently professor of clinical-community and school psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina. He was on the faculty of the University of Maryland for 19 years, where he helped to found and direct the Center for School Mental Health (http://csmh.umaryland.edu), one of two national centers providing leadership in the advancement of school mental health policies and programs in the United States. He has edited nine books and has published and presented widely in school mental health and in the areas of positive behavioral interventions and supports, interconnecting school mental health and positive behavioral interventions and supports, trauma, violence and youth, evidence-based practice, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Lee Kern, Ph.D., received her doctorate in special education from the University of South Florida. She is currently professor of special education at Lehigh University and Director of the Center for Promoting Research to Practice. Dr. Kern has worked in the field of special education for more than 35 years as a classroom teacher, behavior specialist, professor, and consultant. Her research interests are in the area of interventions to reduce challenging behavior. She has published numerous articles, book chapters, and two books on topics related to problem behavior. Dr. Kern has received more than $20 million in grant support from the U.S. Department of Education and National Institutes of Mental Health to pursue research in behavior problems. She is currently co-editor of Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions.

Michael P. George, Ed.D., received his doctorate in special education from the University of Missouri–Columbia and is presently director of Centennial School of Lehigh University. Dr. George has been an administrator of programs for children and youth with the most severe social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties for nearly 30 years. He has served as a director of day school programs in St. Louis County, Missouri; Eugene, Oregon; and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His work on behalf of students and families has received numerous accolades over the years, including recognition by the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, the American Institutes for Research, CNN, and ABC's Nightline.