It’s a true hallmark of parenting: We all want what’s best for our kids. Parents are fierce protectors, consistent teachers and faithful advocates.

When a child has an emotional or behavioral disorder, educators must work with parents and students to develop goals, a beneficial plan and appropriate structure.

Dr. Reesha Adamson, associate professor of special education at Missouri State University, shares about developing positive learning environments and implementing inclusive instruction.

In 2021, she and Dr. John William McKenna from the University of Massachusetts – Lowell wrote the book “Inclusive Instruction for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Pulling Back the Curtain.”

Making school more fluid for kids with behavioral disorders

Buy the book

Getting the structure in place

When a student will be moving between a special education and general education classroom, there is a lot of necessary coordination, said Adamson, and it begins before the student ever enters the inclusive classroom.

A general educator and special educator have to meet and work together regularly to set goals, build supports and determine accommodations needed to help students in an individualized manner.

The book includes tips and strategies for educators, but Adamson says it all comes down to flexibility and assessing the question: What is best for this student in this time and in this place?

When a peer is in a crisis

Between 20-40% of students will experience a behavioral or emotional disorder during their lifetime, according to Adamson. This underscores the importance for empathy and understanding among peers, parents and educators.

 

Read the transcript

Our children have spent the past two years living through a pandemic, sifting through experiences and learning the new “normal.”

Dr. Lindsey Murphy, associate professor in Missouri State University’s department of childhood education and family studies, has worked with children in crisis situations.

“In general, caregivers have been more stressed during the pandemic, balancing work, home life and health,” Murphy said.

“If caregivers stretch themselves too thin, there may be fewer quality interactions and less structure in the home. That can all have a significant impact on child development.”

But there is good news. Murphy notes that children can bounce back from difficulty easier than adults. Because children are still developing, they can be quite resilient.

Children feeling the effects

Distance learning, working from home and shelter in place can affect child development.

“The pandemic disrupted a lot of family routines,” Murphy said. “Most often, families are trying to get through the next hour or the next day.”

On the positive side, Murphy shares some families may have experienced more quality time together due to the pandemic.

“Some families are working from home and not commuting to and from work. This means they can have a longer family dinner together,” Murphy said. “There’s no universal impact in this situation.”

What we can do to help

While the chaos of pandemic life may seem inescapable, all is not lost.  Adults can help children through these trying times.

Murphy explains five things children need in stressful situations:

1. Safety – create predictability and limit media exposure. Respond to questions when asked with simple, age-appropriate honesty.
2. Regulation – give tight pressure hugs, rock in a rocking chair, massage or sing a song to help regulate the body with rhythm.
3. Connection – be present and make time to bond through a dance party, reading a book or having a family game night.
4. Efficacy – give opportunities for children to make others feel better. Encourage them to make a card for someone or help a neighbor in need.
5. Hope – make plans for the future and help children believe that things will get better.

When parents help children establish these basic coping skills, they have the tools to process the situation on their own terms. This helps children to develop resilience.

“Resilience is growing in the face of challenge and becoming a stronger, healthier version of yourself,” Murphy explained.

“A lot of times I see resilience in play settings. When children become playmakers, they can manipulate the experience. This allows them to gain control over something that could have felt overpowering at one point.”

It’s never too late to start early

Because crisis events are unpredictable, it is important to practice with children, so they have a set of skills to pull from during a crisis.

“It’s really hard to learn coping skills when you’re already under stress,” Murphy said.

“The sooner we start establishing the basics, the better children will be able to use these skills in the midst of crisis, and therefore the more effective they will be.”

Explore degrees in early childhood development

When students act out in classrooms, many schools deal with the disruptive behaviors through restraint and seclusion.

“Restraint restricts a child’s movement, while seclusion involves removing a child from the academic context,” said Dr. Reesha Adamson, a special education expert at Missouri State University. “Historically, our schools have underreported these incidents.”

While kids misbehaving in the classrooms isn’t unusual, it has been happening a lot more. One contributing factor is COVID-19 and the move to virtual instruction.

According to Adamson, an associate professor in the department of counseling, leadership and special education at Missouri State, schools often act as first responders, connecting kids with additional supports and services beyond educational needs.

During the pandemic, students lost that support system due to less time spent in the school environment.

“For kids already having issues, COVID provided a level of trauma to their lives that we haven’t experienced before,” Adamson said. “And when you think about trauma and how that manifests, it manifests sometimes in kids as that acting-out behavior.”

Preventing acting out in classrooms

Read the full transcript

Preventing outbursts

The key to minimizing and preventing negative classroom behaviors is de-escalation.

“It’s trying to make sure a student never gets to that point where he or she is out of control and requires additional supports and interventions,” Adamson said.

De-escalation involves using the seven phases of a crisis cycle – calm, triggers, agitation, acceleration, peak, de-escalation and recovery – to individualize prevention and recovery strategies.

Understanding a child’s curve

While it’s common to think of the cycle as a bell curve – a student starts out calm, moves up to a peak phase and then gets back to recovery – the curve will look different for each child.

So, using techniques specific to each of the seven phases in the crisis cycle can help students minimize or avoid disruptive behaviors.

Adamson and her team have mapped out specific strategies at each phase within that cycle for teachers and school personnel to consider.

“For example, if a kid is calm, what should you be doing? You should be teaching because when kids are calm, they’re ready to learn,” Adamson said.

“You should be teaching not only academic pieces, but also practicing for what happens if. What happens if you do get upset? How could we try something different or go someplace different that maybe will limit getting higher on that escalation curve?”

Adamson adds it’s also important to help kids know their spot on the curve in moments of crisis.

“It involves getting them to think about physiological changes they may feel to know they’re getting escalated,” Adamson said. “So, it’s not only on the teacher’s part to say, ‘What can I be doing to support this kid,’ but also for that kid to know what I can be doing to support myself.”

An agreement between Missouri State University and Springfield Public Schools (SPS) aims to keep teachers close to home.

The university and SPS signed a memorandum of understanding today (Dec. 9) at Hillcrest High School to create a “Grow Your Own” program, a district-wide initiative that identifies high school and college students who want to become educators.

“This initiative is going to recruit new teachers into the profession who will commit to staying in the community,” said Dr. Barri Tinkler, interim dean of the College of Education. “As the teacher shortage continues to intensify across Missouri, these kinds of alliances are an investment in the future of our state.”

The state of Missouri and SPS are experiencing a shortage of K-12 teachers, in part due to educators retiring or leaving the field. Fewer people are also entering the teaching profession. The COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to the shortage.

“To address the ongoing teacher shortage, we must continue to explore innovative ways to reach potential teacher candidates,” said Dr. Grenita Lathan, SPS superintendent. “Grow Your Own will help us connect with future teachers earlier, provide them experience in our classrooms and encourage them to join Team SPS when they graduate.

“We appreciate Missouri State joining forces with us in the Grow Your Own program. We believe this effort will enhance and further diversify teacher preparation programs and the teaching staff at Springfield Public Schools.”

About the Grow Your Own program

The program consists of two pathways: One covering high school juniors and seniors who are interested in pursuing a career in education, and one covering college students who are accepted into a program related to education.

Springfield Public Schools currently offers the Teaching as a Profession program of study at Central, Hillcrest and Kickapoo high schools and is considering expanding to Glendale and Parkview high schools.

Missouri State will provide a $2,000 access scholarship each year to any SPS student who is selected and accepted into the program and enrolls at the university. Current MSU and Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) students may also be eligible for the scholarship.

Information about how to apply for the new program will be available soon.