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SERVICES
Child
and Adolescent |
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Cornerstones Day School
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Cornerstones Ipswich
Group Care Facility
Behavior Management
The core of a good behavior management program is to offer children new behavioral choices that satisfy both the needs of the child and the community. Program staff members make hypotheses about what the "problem" behavior is trying to achieve. Alternative outcomes that address student perceptions are then broken down into sequential steps. The staff then designs interventions that attempt to interrupt negative behavior patterns and create new learning opportunities for students.
In reality, changing negative behavior is never simple or straightforward. The Multidisciplinary program's staff members become a critical variable collaborating on what they experience, how they see the child's behavior and what things work / don't work for them. The collective wisdom and strength of staffs' effort and collaboration is where Cornerstones' behavior management efforts ultimately bear fruit.
There are certain behavior management principles that guide the staffs actions. First, behavior should be managed using a system of natural consequences as well as positive affirmations. Parents must be able to grasp and implement an effective system that should replicate the kinds of expectations children will encounter in the world. Second, rules, limits, expectations and praise should be clearly and consistently reinforced so that a student can have the opportunity to realize that they must change in order to get satisfaction. As long as the world is inconsistent, this gives children the false impression that they might get others to change to their liking. Third, all students will not receive the same consequences for their behavior. individualized behavior management plans must highlight a student's target behavior and learning style. The child's age, emotional development and cognitive ability are all taken into consideration. The exact consequence is then dependent on the learning objective.
Passive Restraints are tools used by the Cornerstones staff to stop or contain violence. Youth are held until their violent behavior subsides. The staff then debriefs the event with the student to extract lessons from the experience. Time out rooms are used for youth who need to be separated from peers while they calm down and collect their thoughts. in extreme instances of violence or emotional distress, the program will have a student screened for psychiatric hospitalization and evaluation. The Cornerstones staff collaborates closely with inpatient caregivers to assure purposeful and informed care prior to the child's return to the program. Hospitalizations tend to diminish over time as children connect with the program.
Direct care staff are trained and supervised in boundaries and human rights. These staff members are also certified in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) techniques, an internationally recognized crisis intervention and stress management model.
