direct download (pdf)

The post Grow the Good appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

direct download (pdf)

The post What it Takes to Succeed with the “Therapeutic Approach” (the BBTIPC) appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

Comprehension guides provide detailed and visually supported guidelines to illustrate what is expected and why. They help students understand the nuances of classroom routines and they increase the precision of behavior intervention programs.

» Improving Comprehension of the Nuances of Routine

Related Materials about Routines:

Using Classroom Routines to Create a Therapeutic Brain Settling Effect
Important Things to Remember about Routines
Guidelines for Using Routines
Social Emotional Learning Routines

» Working in a Group: Comprehension Materials
» Whole Class Instruction Comprehension Guide
» Warm up/ Staying Neutral Program: Directions
» Teacher Decisions: Comprehension Guide
» Taking a Break: Comprehension Guide
» Making an Adjustment: Comprehension Guide
» Clearing up Confusion: Comprehension Guide
» Good Sportsmanship and Self-Control in Competitive Games: Comprehension Guide
» Being a Good Sport: Comprehension Guide
» Blurting Out The Answer: Comprehension Guide

Please also see the Distress Tolerance Program – Guide to Materials, which includes a number of comprehension guides designed to support students in alleviating stress, frustration and feelings of being “worn out.”

The post Comprehension Guides – Topic Directory appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

Reasons for developing play and leisure skills include; Relief and Restore, Distraction, Reward Potency, Mood Regulation, Locus of Control, Social Connection, Engagement in the Present and others.

direct download (pdf)

The post Why Focus on Developing Leisure and Play Skills? appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

The children who find their way to us for help, children who have been hurt and mistreated by those they’ve had to rely on for care, children who—undiminished by their repeated failed efforts—still fight for what they need, only to bring more attention to the fight and less to what they really need, children who no longer trust—constantly hijacked by phantom threats and imagined rejection, children who are afraid of the world every day, complicated children who have long surpassed the capacity of their parent’s, teacher’s and therapist’s to fully understand them or to help them. These children need to be seen by us for the depth of their distress and the full extent of their ordeal, without minimizing, normalizing, denying, or needing to spare the feelings of those who have tried to help and failed, or those who have not tried as they should have.

Without blaming, accusing, or finding fault with anyone who has been involved, or anyone who is involved right now, we must have the courage and the honesty to face the truth behind the suffering that comes through the school door in the morning. We must truly and fully see these children—not the story that others have imposed on them—and we must convince them that they are fully seen, heard, felt, and understood, that we will endeavor to help them and that we are capable and unafraid and won’t look away.

The post The Central Challenge appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

We know what the children are saying even when they are saying something else, and we know how they are feeling about it well before they recognize it themselves. We are the inventors of what to do when nobody knows what to do, and the doers of what must be done when no one else can do it or no one else wants to do it. We advocate for the kiddos who need us most at a time when their options are most limited. Sometimes we are the only ones who see what is possible, so we lead by example, with quiet strength, boundless creativity, and an unyielding determination. Drawing from deep reserves of our own resilience, we try again, and again, and again, to change the trajectory of life for each young student within the therapeutic classroom community.

You have some precious souls in your room, all trying to be somebody, all struggling with themselves and the world, trying to trust someone and believe in themselves, and with you as their teacher they are in the best possible hands. I appreciate what you do.

The post We are the Therapeutic Team appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

Also see: Therapeutic Intensity Rubrics for BBTIPC

Many more forms, ratings and BBTIPC-related articles may also be found here.

The post Brain-Based Therapeutic Intervention Programming for Children (BBTIPC) appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

First those three things.

1) I am most proud of the way that I have believed in people, invested in people and enabled so many others to do for themselves what I have been able to do for them. I am proud of my role as a mentor and a recognizer of talent, of my team building, and my focus on seeing the best and bringing out the best in others. I’ve worked hard to diminish my individual importance by cultivating the talent around me, nurturing the strengths inherent in others, and adding to abilities; thereby enabling others to understand and employ advanced therapeutic concepts and methods. As the centrality of my own importance decreased through these efforts, I gained tremendously in collective spirit across a vast network of independently thriving consultation teams. It is an incredibly elevating experience, witnessing the developing excellence of others and achieving one voice with so many on behalf of children in need of that voice.

2) I am also proud of the seminal creation of the Brain-Based Therapeutic Intervention Program for Children, which, for years, has provided the leading definition of “therapeutic classroom,” a more robust and a more efficacious alternative to the “behavior programs” from the 1970s, still widespread in most school districts today. The Brain-based therapeutic intervention program has helped schools stay years ahead of the child clinical field in methodology as well as in the depth of understanding of children’s behavioral health, especially children impacted by autism or by trauma.

3) So often, what I needed just didn’t exist, so I am also proud of the invention and creation of the New Frontiers therapeutic game, The Social Challenge Program, The Green Zone continuous feedback system, and Long Run (a therapeutic novel). I am also proud of the vast library of articles and intervention programs I created and made available on my own website. Thousands of people throughout the world utilize this free resource.

I am exceedingly proud of those three things, and much more, but well beyond all that, there is one aspect of my career that I appreciate above all else, and for that one thing I am the most fortunate person I know.

In my 30-year career as a consulting child psychologist I have had the privilege of vast opportunity—dozens of districts have entrusted me with some of their most challenging and perplexing cases—and throughout this journey I have had bestowed upon me extraordinary gifts in the multitude of talented people who have worked alongside me on consultation teams. My journey has been enriched beyond imagination by these incredible relationships, so many remarkable people, compassionate, creative, bright and insightful people, resilient, hard-working, child-focused people; people with unmatched diligence, people with a deep sense of purpose, and tremendous dedication to the well-being of children. These people inspired me in profound ways, to be intensely present, relentlessly compassionate and endlessly innovative. So, as much as I think that I saw the best and brought out the best in others, undoubtedly so many others have done the same for me.

I loved going to work—no matter what I had to face— because I got to be on the same team with these people, got to witness what they could create, got to be a part of their passion and their brilliance. These people, these dedicated, kind, caring, compassionate, warm-hearted people; they captured my heart and never let it go. They were my source of energy, my source of inspiration. This is why my career has been richly rewarding beyond anything I could have planned or ever imagined. For 30 years, that is what it has been like for me to go to work. I am eternally appreciative of the opportunity I’ve had to know these people, to work with these people, to travel with them—for a time—on the same path.

My relationships with these wonderful people and our unity of purpose as we achieved one voice on behalf of each child; that has been my greatest reward. I am what I am because of who we all are (Ubuntu, from South Africa) and for that I will be forever grateful. Much respect and deep appreciation.

Cue music: Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (“IZ”), Over The Rainbow.

The post A Brief Reflection on Thirty Years of Service appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

Even after the forced school closings of 2020 have generally ceased, the option of providing distance learning under special circumstances remains. Just as instruction has been adapted to fit a distance learning approach, measuring student performance has also been adapted. These measurement guidelines are based upon unique environment of distance learning. In-school performance measurement guidelines are here.

Direct download: Student Performance During Distance Learning

The post Student Performance During Distance Learning appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

This adult-facilitated worksheet is used with students who experience frequent misperceptions in social situations, leading to escalating behavior and the development of false memories and negative narratives. This worksheet is designed to accomplish two goals: 1) clarify what really happened, leading to a more successful problem resolution and 2) incrementally improve social perception skills for application in real time. The adult who facilitates this worksheet process is most effective if they’ve witnessed what happened or they are able to get a full account from others. Download: Social Detecting Worksheet
Also see: Social Comprehension Breakdown  and Clearing up Confusion

The post Social Detecting appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

There are also specialized Guidelines for Teachers to build connection and support students in a virtual classroom environment. Many of these materials are useful to both parents and teachers.

Also please see the Managing Pandemic Stress Toolkit to support caregivers, educators and healthcare providers, or anyone experiencing unprecedented stress during the corona virus pandemic.

There are also guides and tools to help you Prepare Yourself for the Return to School in the Fall. Including support for trauma-impacted children.

Support Children Who Are Home

Modules I-VIII are guidelines to help parents support their children while they are home from school during corona virus (Covid 19). Each module is a different component of support, because you may want to provide this information in smaller organized pieces. Modules are grouped, so please be sure to scroll through longer documents.

Module I:  Structure Through Schedules and Routines
Module II:  Attunement, Increasing the Quality of Adult Attention
Module III: Quiet Time, Solitary Time, Restore and Reset
Module IV: Promoting Positive Actions and Positive Emotions
Module V: Expressing Gratitude and Appreciation
Module VI: Information Control for Children
Module VII: Supportive Communication (Part 1)
Module VIII: Supportive Communication (Part 2)
Related Materials and Links (All Modules)

Please also see: Additional Related Materials/Links for Modules I-VIII

  •  back to top  •

.

.

Materials to support teachers managing virtual classrooms:

Promoting Engagement in a Virtual Classroom
Achieving Social Connectedness While Physically Distant: The Appreciation Journal
Building on Your Student Relationships:  Staying Attuned in a Virtual Classroom
Building on Your Student Relationships: Recognition and Reward
Related Materials for Teachers (All Articles, Guidelines/Links)
Engaging Less Motivated Students: A Checklist of Intervention Options for Virtual Classrooms
Student Performance During Distance Learning – Rating Form

   •   back to top   • 

.

.

The Pandemic Stress Management Toolkit for caregivers, educators and healthcare providers.

Stress during this pandemic is like no other stress we’ve experienced before, which is why large numbers of educators and service providers are breaking down and experiencing uncontrolled stress responses. Many of our normal and automatic means of coping are inadequate for this increased demand. We need to be more deliberate in our efforts to reset the stress response ourselves. The following toolkit gives specific instruction to support individuals to interrupt the stress response and reset their brains and bodies.

Go to: Prepare for Your Return to School

back to top

The post Supporting Children and Ourselves: Coping during Covid 19 appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.

Many children have difficulty processing social situations. Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder have known difficulties figuring out what is happening in social situations.  Children with variations of anxiety or depression or other mood disorders frequently misperceive and misunderstand because their mood distorts their perception and triggers their memory (and the reverse is true) and this changes how they view what is happening in real time (https://kevinplummerphd.com/the-relationship-between-mood-memory-perception-andbehavior/). While so many emotional disorders of childhood can contribute to social processing problems, this summary will focus on children with ASD…

See also: Social Detecting Worksheet and Clearing up Confusion

Direct download: Closing the Comprehension Gap

The post Social Comprehension Breakdown appeared first on Kevin Plummer, PhD.