Inclusive and Supportive Education Congress International Special Education Conference Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity? 1st - 4th August 2005. Glasgow, Scotland

home about the conference programme registration accommodation contact

Behavioral/Social Skills Interventions for
Maltreated Children with Learning Disabilities

Professor Barbara Lowenthal
Northeastern IL University
Chicago, IL 60625
USA
BLFL@AOL.COM

In this paper, the types of child maltreatment are defined. These are: physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and neglect. Maltreatment can occur in families of diverse ethnic, linguistic, and social-economic backgrounds. The possible negative effects of abuse and neglect on the social-emotional development of children with learning disabilities (LD) can be: low self esteem, anxiety and depression, extremes of behavior ranging from being overly passive to very aggressive, mistrust of people, difficulties with social skills and development of friendships, inappropriate expressions of emotions and feelings, and problems with anger control and conflict management.

            There are strategies and social-emotional interventions that teachers can implement to make their classroom environments safe, predictable, and nurturing for maltreated children. The strategies include: structure through consistent routines, reasonable rules and limits, appropriate styles of discipline, behavioral supports, the use of natural and logical consequences, and other techniques of behavior management. Also there are a variety of social-emotional interventions which consist of general instruction in social skills and specific training in the following skills: the development of friendships, recognition of and appropriate expression of feelings and emotions, anger control, conflict management, development of an internal sense of control, and ways to foster self esteem. These particular skills were selected because of their importance to many maltreated children in their interpersonal relationships. However, the most significant social-emotional intervention is you as a teacher. In this role, you have many opportunities to make an important and positive impact on the lives of these child victims.

Strategies for Building Safe and Predictable Classroom Environments

Strategies which produce emotionally and physically safe classroom environments for maltreated youngsters consist of the following: structure through regular schedules and routines, clear limits and rules, appropriate discipline methods, natural and logical consequences, and a variety of techniques of behavior management.

Structure through Regular Schedules and Routines .   A number of maltreated children may have chaotic home environments which can produce pervasive anxiety and anger in the youngsters. These emotions may be reflected in disruptive behaviors at school. The child victims can benefit from very structured and predictable schedules and routines because they tend to increase their feelings of safety and security. Routines can be reinforced through their practice in daily activities (Cook, Tessier, and Klein, 2000). Visual aides such as pictures, photographs, charts, and signs act as reminders of class schedules along with verbal explanations. It is helpful if teachers refer to the periods during the day by name such as group time, recess, center, etc., and indicate what is expected at each time. Reviewing necessary changes at the beginning of the day prepares the students and avoids possible frustration and temper tantrums later.

The Necessity for Reasonable Rules and Limits

Another method of enhancing a sense of security is to establish consistent and clear rules and limits. All children need to have limits and to adhere to reasonable, brief school rules. For some maltreated youngsters with LD, who have caretakers who exert authority in frightening ways, it is essential that rules are established within a nurturing, supportive relationship with the teacher. When rules or limits are set in a neutral, consistent, and meaningful manner, maltreated children can learn to trust and develop their confidence that adults can be authoritative without being hurtful or threatening.

Appropriate Methods of Discipline

            Maltreated youngsters may need several types of discipline methods that are appropriate to meet their needs (Cicchetti, Toth, & Hennessy, 1989). Defiant, physically abused children can misinterpret their peers’ playful behaviors as threatening and anxiety provoking. As a result, they may lash out with verbal and physical aggression. Child victims of severe neglect may treat other children as objects and grab their toys and food. Other at-risk students may display negative behaviors in order to get the attention that they are severely lacking at home. If all these types of maltreated youngsters are responded to and disciplined in the same way, their individual needs will not be met, and their behavioral difficulties can worsen.

            Teachers, with the help of counselors, social workers, and psychologists, should try to understand the underlying reasons for the negative behaviors. Maltreated, aggressive students with LD need to learn how to better interpret the emotions and actions of others and recognize their own feelings as well. It is a necessity that they learn how to communicate positively with other people. Discipline should be firm but neutral, and the social advantages of positive behaviors be demonstrated to them. Abused and neglected child victims, who are anxious and fearful of their hostile caretakers, should be kept busy with school activities and be given appropriate choices so that they feel more in control over what happens to them. Punishment should be avoided if at all possible, but if necessary it should be brief and mild.

The Use of Natural and Logical Consequences

The use of these consequences represents an alternate type of approach to discipline that can assist some maltreated youngsters with LD to acquire more appropriate behaviors. Natural consequences happen when the adult does not interfere, and the youngsters learn from what happens after their inappropriate behaviors. For example, if at-risk youngsters refuse to play a game cooperatively, their peers will probably avoid playing with them next time. Natural consequences must be safe if used.

Logical consequences are those that do not happen naturally but are arranged by an adult (Marion, 1999). These consequences are called logical because of their logical relationships to the misbehavior. In order for consequences to be associated with a specific behavior, it must be immediate so that the child will remember the cause and effect. At school, the use of logical consequences can assist maltreated children with LD to understand the reasons for being disciplined.

Behavioral Supports

Another approach to behavioral difficulties is the use of behavioral supports which are defined by Snell and Janney (2000) as approaches that “emphasize the use of a collaborative problem solving process to develop individualized interventions that stress the prevention of problem behaviors through the provision of effective educational programming” (p.2). To be effective, this approach necessitates teaching the student appropriate behaviors which substitute for the negative ones. Janney and Snell (2000) describe some characteristics of behavioral supports which make them especially appealing when assisting maltreated children with disruptive behaviors. A summary of these characteristics is:

• Positive behavioral supports are respectful. They do not use force, cause pain, or emotional distress. They emphasize caring and trusting relationships with students.

• Behavioral supports can be used in inclusive environments in both public and private schools. They give the at-risk students chances to work, play with, and learn more appropriate behaviors from the modeling of some peers who are more socially skilled. Better ways of coping and problem solving can be demonstrated to them in an incidental manner.

• Behavioral supports stress the avoidance of failure. These supports focus on successful self-management procedures and the ability to express feelings in appropriate ways. This is a necessary positive emphasis for at-risk children with disruptive behaviors.

• The focus is on teaching social skills for successful interpersonal relationships, not just on controlling behavior.

• Behavioral supports are individualized to meet the unique needs of the student. An individualized support plan (ISP) is developed and monitored for its success in improving the target behavior.

Social Skill Training

Now, social skills are described which are difficult for some maltreated children with LD

to acquire because of the lack of adequate modeling by their abusive or neglectful

caretakers. The social skills that frequently need to be taught are:

• Body Language. Appropriate gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions.

• Alternative behaviors to aggression such as asking permission, sharing, negotiating, keeping self-control, and refraining from fighting.

• Greeting including the selection of appropriate ways to greet people and ways to respond to their greetings.

• Dealing with stress. How to react when not accepted, respond to failure, cope with embarrassment, and react to group pressure.

• Initiating and maintaining communication with others such as ways to initiate conversations, compliment others, ask appropriate questions, and respond to both positive and negative feedback.

Training in Selected Social Skills

Certain social skills have been selected for specific instruction because of their importance to many maltreated children in their interpersonal relationships. These are: making friends, how to recognize and express emotions constructively, controlling anger, conflict managing, developing inner control, and building self esteem.

            Last, the “educator’s role as a facilitator of resiliency” is examined. Because of their continual availability, teachers can be resiliency facilitators to maltreated children with LD. These child victims, who may lack attachment models in their families, can develop trust and warm relationships with their teachers who act as surrogate caregivers. Resiliency is enhanced when the youngsters are cared about and respected. Teachers who serve as models of resiliency have the greatest effect on at-risk youngsters when they provide them with a caring, respectful class environment with appropriate structure and limits.

home . about the conference . programme . registration . accommodation . contact