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Positive Responses Result in Second Positive Beginnings Training Series for Educators of Young Children with Challenging Behavior

The Positive Beginnings instructional modules will also be available in a variety of formats including an instructional DVD, a multimedia package including VHS tapes and Powerpoint slides, and through a project web page. The dissemination list will include the Division of Early Childhood, the Teacher Education Division of Council for Exceptional Children, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Head Start, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, and The Autism Society of America.

Positive Responses Result in Second Positive Beginnings Training Series for Educators of Young Children with Challenging Behavior

“We are absolutely thrilled with the overwhelming response and interest in the Positive Beginnings Series,” said project coordinator Rochelle Lentini, referring to a six-part training series designed to improve early childhood special educational supports and services for young children with challenging behavior. Due to the overflow of registrants in the first training, an additional series will be conducted during the final months of 2003.

Designed to improve services and results for children with challenging behavior, the Positive Beginnings Series is part of the Meeting the Challenge: Building Capacity of Early Care and Education Provider project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The project addresses the needs of professionals in Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) who have expressed serious concerns about their ability to educate and support young children with challenging behavior.

Florida State University’s Departments of Special Education and Communication Disorders and CFS staff from the Division of Applied Research and Educational Support (DARES) have worked together to develop, evaluate and disseminate information for educators and instructors regarding the challenges associated with the skill development of children who engage in socially isolating or harmful patterns of behavior, which often result in the exclusion of these children from community-based early childhood programs.

The following topics, which outline ways to prevent the development of more serious challenging behavior - are addressed in the training series:

1. Promoting Social and Communication Skills
2. Determining the Meaning of Problem Behavior
3. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports
4. Building a Behavior Support Plan
5. Teaching Skills in the Natural Environment
6. Supporting Families

Beginning October 22nd, training will be conducted on Wednesdays from 1:00-4:00pm at USF’s Florida Mental Health Institute. A certificate of completed hours will be given to the participants at the last training on December 3rd. Materials and sessions are free of charge. The registration deadline is September 25th. For additional information, contact Rochelle Lentini at 813-974-1455, or lentini@fmhi.usf.edu

 

DARES is a division within the Department of Child and Family Studies (CFS), a department of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida. The faculty and staff of CFS are committed to enhancing the development, mental health and well-being of children and families through leadership in integrating research, theory & practice.

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