Website: http://www.aft.org/pdfs/tools4teachers/CT-BehaviorMgmt0310.

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Intervening in Problem Behavior Teaching Alternative Behaviors When individual children continue to act out in spite of prevention measures, it becomes necessary to use interventions to try to reshape their behavior.

Social Skills Training. Some children who do not behave appropriately simply have never been taught how to behave. They have difficulty developing friendships, meeting adult expectations and dealing with social problems appropriately. Teaching children social skills helps them develop good relationships with other children and adults. Research shows that social skills instruction should include the following steps: Identify the social skills that are needed to replace problem behavior. Decide which steps are necessary for performing the skill. Ask students to remember the steps of the social skill. For example, Asking permission to leave your seat may include: raising your hand; waiting to be recognized; asking permission to be dismissed; waiting for an answer; and asking questions if you do not understand the answer. Model or show the students how to perform the skill. Watching other children use appropriate social skills and seeing them rewarded often leads to imitation of those skills. Practice: Allow the students to practice using the skill through role-play situations.

 Reinforce acceptable performance by letting students know how well they are performing the skills.

Anger-Management Training. Children whose behavior is disruptive often have difficulty expressing anger in acceptable ways. When they were young, many of these children learned that they could control their world through anger. When people give in to these childrens aggressive behavior, this behavior is being rewarded, strengthening the connection between anger and control. Many children who exhibit aggressive behavior have never learned acceptable ways of showing dissatisfaction, frustration or anger. They need coping skills for resolving conflicts without coercion, physical force and aggression. These children need to recognize the triggers that ignite their anger and aggression, develop strategies for managing their anger, and avoid unnecessary conflict with others. Anger control strategies include:

Self-instruction: Self-talk and self-prompting are ways of talking through problems using special strategies. Students learn to engage in self-talk to manage their anger. In other words, instead of telling themselves negative things, such as The only way out of this situation is to be more violent than the other kid, they learn to replace these negative thoughts with positive ones.

Relaxation skills: Breathing and physical exercises allow students to reduce both stress and the physical symptoms of anger. Social problem solving: This strategy helps students view situations as problems to be solved and not as battles to be won.