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  • A Letter To The Principal of The Non Traditional High School On The Preparation of Students With Learning & Behavioral Disabilities For Careers and For Life 1

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    Basil Fletcher
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    A Letter To The Principal Of The Non-Traditional High School Dear Sir/Madam; This compilation of web sourced documents, is intended to be used in the same manner in which one would use a tool box which contains several tools. As is seen, this document is a bit bulky and was not intended to be read as a novel, but rather to be used to identify approaches which can be used to further enable the school to better meet the special needs of those students with learning and behavioral disorders. A second feature of this document, is that it effective usage assumes a team approach, which includes the participation of senior teachers, heads of departments, the guidance councilors and deans of discipline, the arts department, in particular the dance and music teacher, and the school coach or physical education teachers. This approach allows the school to look honestly and deeply at the situation within the school at present, its policies and approaches to students with learning and behavioral problems, to review the academic performance of these students as against students who do not face similar challenges. This approach allows short comings to be identified and solutions and plans put in place for the resolution of the given problems. The schools, in particular the Non Traditional High Schools have been doing a less than satisfactory job at preparing students with special needs for the world of work and for the meeting of the very basic requirements needed by these individuals to live as independent persons and to lead productive lives with the law. These are short comings which the communities and the society as a whole can no longer afford to entertain. As is known, these short comings not only prevents the individual victims of the various types of learning and or behavioral challenges from ever reaching any where near their full potential, but also contribute to pri-20 years of age pregnancies, unemployment, crime, child abuse and a recurring ever expanding cycle in the production and reproduction of individuals with learning and or behavioral disabilities. As such, the communities in which the schools are located, the parents of those students and the law enforcement agencies have the right to critically examine the performance of the school and its leadership, even if the Minister of Education for what ever reason fails to do so. This compilation seeks to assist the class room teacher who has become the Principal, to better understand the roles and duties of the Principal in a modern education institution. It provides him or her with an introduction to strategic planning, policies, the concept of a high school which embraces all its students regardless of their abilities, mental or physical status in respect to disabilities; it introduces him or her to the understanding that it is possible to have a school in which sexual harassment and or victimization does occur between student and student, staff and student, student and staff , a school which is safe for all. It further introduces the Principal to a number of planning approaches. A hope also is that the leadership of the Non-Traditional High Schools will seek to utilize those resources which exist with the school, with the community and within the wider society to advance their mission and curricula. Too often a number of these schools for whatever reason have failed to do what is possible to help themselves, and instead sit waiting on the Ministry of Education to come to their rescue and save them from sinking. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the various authors, educators, institutions and publishers who have permitted their material to be compiled in such a way to assist those Jamaican high schools which are struggling. I would like to invite those principals and teachers elsewhere in the world who would gain from using this compilation to do so freely. Yours truly, Basil Fletcher

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    A Letter To The Principal Of The Non-Traditional High School Dear Sir/Madam; This compilation of web sourced documents, is intended to be used in the same manner in which one would use a tool box which contains several tools. As is seen, this document is a bit bulky and was not intended to be read as a novel, but rather to be used to identify approaches which can be used to further enable the school to better meet the special needs of those students with learning and behavioral disorders. A second feature of this document, is that it effective usage assumes a team approach, which includes the participation of senior teachers, heads of departments, the guidance councilors and deans of discipline, the arts department, in particular the dance and music teacher, and the school coach or physical education teachers. This approach allows the school to look honestly and deeply at the situation within the school at present, its policies and approaches to students with learning and behavioral problems, to review the academic performance of these students as against students who do not face similar challenges. This approach allows short comings to be identified and solutions and plans put in place for the resolution of the given problems. The schools, in particular the Non Traditional High Schools have been doing a less than satisfactory job at preparing students with special needs for the world of work and for the meeting of the very basic requirements needed by these individuals to live as independent persons and to lead productive lives with the law. These are short comings which the communities and the society as a whole can no longer afford to entertain. As is known, these short comings not only prevents the individual victims of the various types of learning and or behavioral challenges from ever reaching any where near their full potential, but also contribute to pri-20 years of age pregnancies, unemployment, crime, child abuse and a recurring ever expanding cycle in the production and reproduction of individuals with learning and or behavioral disabilities. As such, the communities in which the schools are located, the parents of those students and the law enforcement agencies have the right to critically examine the performance of the school and its leadership, even if the Minister of Education for what ever reason fails to do so. This compilation seeks to assist the class room teacher who has become the Principal, to better understand the roles and duties of the Principal in a modern education institution. It provides him or her with an introduction to strategic planning, policies, the concept of a high school which embraces all its students regardless of their abilities, mental or physical status in respect to disabilities; it introduces him or her to the understanding that it is possible to have a school in which sexual harassment and or victimization does occur between student and student, staff and student, student and staff , a school which is safe for all. It further introduces the Principal to a number of planning approaches. A hope also is that the leadership of the Non-Traditional High Schools will seek to utilize those resources which exist with the school, with the community and within the wider society to advance their mission and curricula. Too often a number of these schools for whatever reason have failed to do what is possible to help themselves, and instead sit waiting on the Ministry of Education to come to their rescue and save them from sinking. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the various authors, educators, institutions and publishers who have permitted their material to be compiled in such a way to assist those Jamaican high schools which are struggling. I would like to invite those principals and teachers elsewhere in the world who would gain from using this compilation to do so freely. Yours truly, Basil Fletcher

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    A Letter To The Principal of The Non Traditional High School On The Preparation of Students With Learning & Behavioral Disabilities For Careers and For Life 1

    Uploaded by

    Basil Fletcher
    A Letter To The Principal Of The Non-Traditional High School Dear Sir/Madam; This compilation of web sourced documents, is intended to be used in the same manner in which one would use a tool box which contains several tools. As is seen, this document is a bit bulky and was not intended to be read as a novel, but rather to be used to identify approaches which can be used to further enable the school to better meet the special needs of those students with learning and behavioral disorders. A second feature of this document, is that it effective usage assumes a team approach, which includes the participation of senior teachers, heads of departments, the guidance councilors and deans of discipline, the arts department, in particular the dance and music teacher, and the school coach or physical education teachers. This approach allows the school to look honestly and deeply at the situation within the school at present, its policies and approaches to students with learning and behavioral problems, to review the academic performance of these students as against students who do not face similar challenges. This approach allows short comings to be identified and solutions and plans put in place for the resolution of the given problems. The schools, in particular the Non Traditional High Schools have been doing a less than satisfactory job at preparing students with special needs for the world of work and for the meeting of the very basic requirements needed by these individuals to live as independent persons and to lead productive lives with the law. These are short comings which the communities and the society as a whole can no longer afford to entertain. As is known, these short comings not only prevents the individual victims of the various types of learning and or behavioral challenges from ever reaching any where near their full potential, but also contribute to pri-20 years of age pregnancies, unemployment, crime, child abuse and a recurring ever expanding cycle in the production and reproduction of individuals with learning and or behavioral disabilities. As such, the communities in which the schools are located, the parents of those students and the law enforcement agencies have the right to critically examine the performance of the school and its leadership, even if the Minister of Education for what ever reason fails to do so. This compilation seeks to assist the class room teacher who has become the Principal, to better understand the roles and duties of the Principal in a modern education institution. It provides him or her with an introduction to strategic planning, policies, the concept of a high school which embraces all its students regardless of their abilities, mental or physical status in respect to disabilities; it introduces him or her to the understanding that it is possible to have a school in which sexual harassment and or victimization does occur between student and student, staff and student, student and staff , a school which is safe for all. It further introduces the Principal to a number of planning approaches. A hope also is that the leadership of the Non-Traditional High Schools will seek to utilize those resources which exist with the school, with the community and within the wider society to advance their mission and curricula. Too often a number of these schools for whatever reason have failed to do what is possible to help themselves, and instead sit waiting on the Ministry of Education to come to their rescue and save them from sinking. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the various authors, educators, institutions and publishers who have permitted their material to be compiled in such a way to assist those Jamaican high schools which are struggling. I would like to invite those principals and teachers elsewhere in the world who would gain from using this compilation to do so freely. Yours truly, Basil Fletcher

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    A Letter To The Principal Of The Non

    Traditional High School On The


    Preparation Of Students With Learning
    & Behavioral Disabilities For Careers
    and For Life

    A Compilation
    A Fletchers’ & Manakers” Contribution

    By Basil Fletcher,
    Portmore,
    St. Catherine,
    Jamaica W.I.

    1
    April 2017

    Table of Contents

    Letter To The Principal Of The Non-Traditional High School..................33


    Types of Learning Disabilities.....................................................................................35
    Specific Learning Disabilities...................................................................................36

    Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)............................36

    Dyscalculia.........................................................................37

    Dysgraphia.........................................................................37

    Dyslexia..............................................................................37

    2
    Language Processing Disorder.....................................38

    Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities..................................38

    Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit........................39


    Related Disorders......................................................................................................39

    ADHD...................................................................................39

    Dyspraxia...........................................................................40

    3
    Executive Functioning .....................................................40

    Memory..............................................................................40
    Auditory Processing Disorder.....................................................................................41

    Adversely affects how


    sound that travels unimpeded through the ear is processed and
    interpreted by the brain...........................................................................................41
    Signs and Symptoms.............................................................................................41
    Strategies.................................................................................................................42
    7 Things I Wish People Knew About Parenting a Child With Auditory Processing
    Disorder.............................................................................................................................42
    About the Blogger..........................................................................................................45
    Dyscalculia.......................................................................................................................46

    4
    Affects a person’s ability to
    understand numbers and learn math facts........................................................46
    Signs and Symptoms.............................................................................................46
    Strategies.................................................................................................................46
    Compiler’s Comment # 1...............................................................................................47
    Is There Such a Thing as Orton–Gillingham for Math?....................................................48
    About the Author...........................................................................................................51
    Orton–Gillingham: What You Need to Know...................................................................51
    At a Glance....................................................................................................................51
    What Orton–Gillingham Focuses On............................................................................52
    Where to Find Orton–Gillingham..................................................................................52
    How Orton–Gillingham Works.....................................................................................53
    Key Takeaways..............................................................................................................53
    The Orton-Gillingham Approach..................................................................53
    OVERVIEW............................................................................................................53
    The Orton-Gillingham Approach..................................................................54
    APPROACH...........................................................................................................54
    APPROPRIATE FOR WHOM?........................................................................56
    Dysgraphia.........................................................................................................................57

    Affects a person’s handwriting


    ability and fine motor skills...........................................................................................57
    Signs and Symptoms.............................................................................................57

    5
    Strategies.................................................................................................................58
    Understanding Dysgraphia................................................................................................58
    What You’ll Learn.........................................................................................................58
    What is dysgraphia?.......................................................................................................59
    How common is dysgraphia?.........................................................................................59
    What causes dysgraphia?...............................................................................................59
    What are the symptoms of dysgraphia?.........................................................................60
    What skills are affected by dysgraphia?........................................................................62
    How is dysgraphia diagnosed?......................................................................................62
    What conditions are related to dysgraphia?...................................................................63
    How can professionals help with dysgraphia?...............................................................63
    What can be done at home for dysgraphia?...................................................................64
    What can make the journey easier?...............................................................................65
    Key Takeaways..............................................................................................................65
    Sources...........................................................................................................................65
    About the Author...........................................................................................................66
    Reviewed by..................................................................................................................66
    8 Expert Tips on Helping Your Child With Dysgraphia...................................................66
    Feel the letters............................................................................................................66
    Write big....................................................................................................................67
    Dig into clay..............................................................................................................67
    Practice pinching.......................................................................................................67
    Start cross-body training............................................................................................68
    Build strength and stability........................................................................................68
    Practice “organized” storytelling...............................................................................68
    Speak it first...............................................................................................................69
    Language Processing Disorder..........................................................................................70

    Affects attaching meaning to


    sound groups that form words, sentences and stories....................................................70
    Signs and Symptoms.............................................................................................70
    Strategies.................................................................................................................70
    Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities......................................................................................71

    6
    Has trouble interpreting
    nonverbal cues like facial expressions or body language and may have poor
    coordination...................................................................................................................71
    Signs and Symptoms.............................................................................................71
    Strategies.................................................................................................................72
    Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit............................................................................73

    Affects the understanding of


    information that a person sees, or the ability to draw or copy.......................................73
    Signs and Symptoms.............................................................................................73
    Strategies.................................................................................................................73
    Dyspraxia...........................................................................................................................74

    7
    Problems with movement and
    coordination, language and speech................................................................................74
    Signs and Symptoms.............................................................................................74
    Strategies.................................................................................................................75
    Executive Functioning.......................................................................................................76

    Affects, planning, organization,


    strategizing, attention to details and managing time and space.....................................76
    Memory............................................................................................................................77

    Affects storing and later


    retrieving information or getting information out.........................................................77

    8
    How does it all work together to learn?............................................................77
    Five Reasons to Use Games in the Classroom............................................................78
    Teaching Strategies: What Students Might Learn from Playing Board Games....80
    Teaching Strategies: Some Classic Board Games Students Can Learn From 81
    What To Ask Ourselves About Board Games........................................................82
    The Benefits of Board Games........................................................................................84
    LEARNING BENEFITS...............................................................................................84
    TOPICS..........................................................................................................................86
    RELATED.....................................................................................................................86
    Checker Board Math Game Multiplication Facts..................................................86
    The Song:- A Deck Of Cards.........................................................................................89
    How Board Games Help Kids to Develop Skills...................................................................91
    Educational Value of Chess...............................................................................................92
    Do the benefits of chess instruction transfer to academic and cognitive skills? A meta-
    analysis ☆.........................................................................................................................95
    Highlights......................................................................................................................95
    Abstract..........................................................................................................................96
    Keywords.......................................................................................................................96
    1. Introduction................................................................................................................96
    1.1. Difficulty of transfer.........................................................................................97
    1.2. The issue of transfer in chess research.......................................................98
    1.3. Chess in school...............................................................................................98
    2. Scope, aims, and hypotheses of the present meta-analysis........................................99
    3. Method.....................................................................................................................101
    3.1. Literature search............................................................................................101
    3.2. Inclusion/exclusion criteria...........................................................................102
    3.3. Effect size2......................................................................................................105
    4. Results......................................................................................................................106
    4.1. Moderator analyses......................................................................................107
    4.2. Additional meta-analytic models.................................................................107
    5. Discussion................................................................................................................108
    5.1. Substantive results............................................................................................108
    5.2. Methodological moderators.........................................................................109
    5.3. Limitations of this study................................................................................110
    5.4. Conclusions and recommendations for future research.........................110
    References5..................................................................................................................112
    Chess therapy.................................................................................................................128
    Landau-Kleffner Syndrome.............................................................................................130
    What is it like?.............................................................................................................130
    Who gets it?.................................................................................................................130
    Tell me more................................................................................................................130
    How is it treated?.........................................................................................................131
    What's the outlook?......................................................................................................131
    Chess Therapy for Mental Health....................................................................................132
    Category(s):Anger Management, Communication Disorders Problems, Sports
    Psychology...............................................................................................................134

    9
    Chess Therapy is Enjoyable and Valuable for Clearing Mental Disorders.....................134
    An interesting strategy.................................................................................................134
    Controls for many disorders........................................................................................134
    Notable for aggression.................................................................................................134
    A Possible Approach Which Could Be Taken By The School Doctor or Family Doctor,
    With One Day Set Aside Each Week For This Type Of Joint Consultation...............135
    The family physician and the psychologist in the office together: a response to
    fragmentation...................................................................................................................135
    Introduction and aims..................................................................................................135
    (a) Differentiation between medicine and psychology and consequent need
    for integration.........................................................................................................135
    (b) The social position of psychology (at least in some countries)...............138
    Methods.......................................................................................................................139
    Overview of the initiative......................................................................................139
    Clinical notations and case report......................................................................140
    Box 1Case report..................................................................................................140
    Possible limitations of this study.........................................................................142
    Conclusions and future perspectives...........................................................................143
    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.........................................................................................144
    Contributor Information...............................................................................................144
    REFERENCES............................................................................................................144
    Just Perhaps The Guidance Councillor Or The Dean Of Discipline Could Be Taught
    To Play Chess & And Coach Given Classes...............................................................145
    Chess helps children with learning disorders..................................................................145
    Is This Beyond The Ablities Of Cumberland High School? Chess & Dance !.......................148
    In Practice..............................................................................................................148
    The Benefit of Movement: Dance/Movement Therapy and Down Syndrome............148
    REVIEW OF LITERATURE....................................................................................149
    DISCUSSION..........................................................................................................155
    CONCLUSION........................................................................................................157
    REFERENCES........................................................................................................158
    A review of “music and movement” therapies for children with autism: embodied
    interventions for multisystem development.....................................................................161
    Abstract........................................................................................................................162
    Introduction..................................................................................................................162
    Table 1.............................................................................................................................163
    Multisystem effects of musical experiences................................................................167
    Figure 1............................................................................................................................167
    Effect of musical experiences on the development of language and
    communication......................................................................................................168
    Effect of musical experiences on social-emotional development and
    behavioral skills.....................................................................................................170
    Effect of musical experiences on the refinement of gross and fine motor
    skills.........................................................................................................................171
    Musical experiences, perception-action linkages, and brain development. 173
    Table 2.............................................................................................................................175

    10
    Propositions for using musical experiences in children with autism...........................178
    Critical elements of musical experiences for children with autism................178
    Current music therapy approaches used in children with autism and those
    with other special needs......................................................................................179
    Recommendations for clinicians and clinical researchers...........................................180
    Recommendations for assessment of children with ASDs.............................180
    Recommendations for treatment of children with ASDs.................................182
    Table 3.............................................................................................................................182
    Conclusions..................................................................................................................184
    Conflict of interest statement...............................................................................185
    Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................185
    References....................................................................................................................185
    Formats:.......................................................................................................................197
    Share............................................................................................................................198
    Save items................................................................................................................198
    Similar articles in PubMed......................................................................................198
    Cited by other articles in PMC................................................................................198
    Mixed-Ability Dance: Helping Students With Special Needs Grow and Learn............................199
    Student Movement......................................................................................................200
    Increased Ability......................................................................................................201
    Joining the Dance....................................................................................................201
    How to Start a Special Needs Dance Program......................................................................203
    The Benefits of Dance Classes............................................................................203
    Considerations When Starting a Special Needs Dance Program.............................204
    How to Spread the Word About Your Classes........................................................204
    Several high schools hold special Snowball dance..........................................................205
    Dance was part of Unified program for special needs students...............................205
    Special Ed You Can Dance To.................................................................................206
    Dance, Drama and Performance and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
    .........................................................................................................................................209
    Dance, Drama and Performance and Students with ADHD....................................211
    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)..................................................212
    Teaching strategies associated with ADHD / ADD..............................................212
    These strategies are suggestions for inclusive teaching. This list should not be
    considered exhaustive and it is important to remember that all students are
    individuals and what is considered to be good practice for one student may not
    necessarily be good practice for another. You may also like to contact the Disability
    Specialist in your institution for further information. If you have any good practice
    that you would like to add to this list, please email your suggestions to z.morton-
    jones@worc.ac.uk....................................................................................................212
    Strategies – Attention Skills.................................................................................212
    Strategies – Organisational Skills and Memory...............................................213
    Strategies – Raising Self-Esteem.......................................................................213
    Potential challenges to the achievement of learning...........................................213
    Dancing helps boys with ADHD.....................................................................................214

    11
    Dance therapy can be a successful method for reaching children and adolescents with
    problems. This has been shown in a research project at Karlstad University and
    the University College of Dance in Stockholm, Sweden............................................214
    Is this beyond the ability of Cumberland High School and the Other High
    Schools in The Municipality of Portmore Who Have Learning challenges?
    Could they have combined classes to more efficiently utilize the resources
    which are available or which could be made available?.................................217
    Working with Special Needs Students in Art..................................................217
    Special Education & the Arts............................................................................217
    Feat of Clay: Pottery projects give Jackson County special-ed students hands-on
    experience........................................................................................................................221
    ADHD or ADD in Children.............................................................................................225
    Signs and Symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder in Kids............................225
    What is ADHD or ADD?.............................................................................................226
    Is it normal kid behavior or is it ADHD?................................................................226
    The primary characteristics of ADHD.........................................................................227
    The three primary characteristics of ADHD............................................................227
    Which one of these children may have ADHD?.................................................227
    Spotting ADHD at different ages............................................................................228
    Inattentiveness signs and symptoms of ADHD...........................................................228
    Symptoms of inattention in children:......................................................................229
    Hyperactivity signs and symptoms of ADHD.............................................................229
    Symptoms of hyperactivity in children:..................................................................229
    Impulsive signs and symptoms of ADHD...................................................................230
    Symptoms of impulsivity in children:.....................................................................230
    Is it really ADHD?.......................................................................................................230
    A learning disability may be mistaken for ADHD..............................................231
    Positive effects of ADHD in children..........................................................................231
    Helping a child with ADHD........................................................................................232
    Don’t wait to get help for your child.......................................................................232
    Parenting tips for children with ADHD...................................................................232
    School tips for children with ADHD.......................................................................234
    ADHD and School...........................................................................................................235
    Helping Children and Teens with ADHD Succeed at School..........................235
    Setting up your child for school success......................................................................236
    Tips for working with teachers....................................................................................236
    Communicate with school and teachers..................................................................236
    Develop and use a behavior plan.............................................................................238
    Find a behavior plan that works...........................................................................238
    Tips for managing ADHD symptoms at school..........................................................238
    Tips for teachers..................................................................................................239
    Distractibility...........................................................................................................239
    Interrupting..............................................................................................................239
    Impulsivity...............................................................................................................240
    Fidgeting and hyperactivity.....................................................................................240
    Trouble following directions...................................................................................241

    12
    Medication for ADHD: What parents should know............................................241
    Tips for making learning fun.......................................................................................242
    Helping children with ADHD enjoy math...............................................................242
    Helping children with ADHD enjoy reading...........................................................242
    How does your kid like to learn?.........................................................................243
    ADHD and school: Tips for mastering homework......................................................243
    Helping a child with ADHD get organized.............................................................244
    Helping a child with ADHD get homework done on time......................................244
    Other ways to help your child with homework.......................................................244
    “Look, Ma, I Can Do It!”.................................................................................................256
    1. Take responsibility for managing ADD in your life......................................257
    2. Don’t feel that you must go to college – at least not right away................257
    3. Develop life skills before you leave home....................................................258
    4. Follow your heart to the right job or career...................................................258
    5. Take care of your brain by taking care of your body...................................258
    6. On the river of life, be a boat – not a log.......................................................259
    Watch Out for Sex!..........................................................................................................260
    Get Your Teen Ready for Life.........................................................................................262
    Provide Only the Help Your Teen Needs................................................................262
    Identify One Challenge and the Times It Occurs....................................................263
    Meet Resistance with Creativity..............................................................................263
    A Dyslexic Child in the Classroom.....................................................................264
    A Guide for Teachers and Parents...............................................................264
    The following items should provide useful guidelines for teachers and
    parents to follow and support :.....................................................................266
    In the class...............................................................................................................266
    Copying from the blackboard..................................................................................267
    Reading....................................................................................................................267
    Spelling....................................................................................................................268
    Maths.......................................................................................................................269
    Handwriting.............................................................................................................270
    Marking....................................................................................................................270
    Homework...............................................................................................................271
    Integration................................................................................................................271
    Conclusion:.......................................................................................................272
    Strategies for Teachers......................................................................................274
    Sparking new ideas for your classroom...............................................................275
    Some general recommendations for teachers of beginning readers and writers. 275
    General recommendations...................................................................................276
    Recommendations to support reading comprehension and fluency for classroom
    materials...............................................................................................................277
    Supporting vocabulary while reading..................................................................278
    Recommendations to support writing in school..................................................280
    Recommendations for students with visual deficits............................................281
    10 Teaching Tips for Dyslexia........................................................................................281
    2. Don’t ask person with dyslexia to read aloud......................................................282

    13
    5. Expect less written work..........................................................................................283
    8. Accept homework created on a computer...............................................................284
    37 Ways to Help Students with Dyslexia Flourish in the Mainstream Classroom..........290
    Dyslexia is a loaded word........................................................................................292
    Here’s what we know to be true..............................................................................292
    Explicit Instruction..................................................................................................292
    Reading....................................................................................................................293
    Writing.....................................................................................................................294
    Math.........................................................................................................................295
    Social-Emotional.....................................................................................................295
    Teaching Students with ADHD.......................................................................................298
    Helping Students with Attention Deficit Disorder Succeed at School ...........298
    Challenges of ADHD in the classroom.......................................................................298
    Challenges created by students with ADHD:..........................................................298
    How teachers can help children with ADHD..............................................................299
    Dealing with disruptive classroom behavior...........................................................300
    Accommodating students with ADHD in the classroom.............................................300
    Seating.....................................................................................................................300
    Information delivery................................................................................................300
    Student work............................................................................................................300
    Organization............................................................................................................301
    Teaching techniques for students with ADHD............................................................301
    Starting a lesson.......................................................................................................301
    Conducting the lesson..............................................................................................302
    Ending the lesson.....................................................................................................302
    Source:- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/teaching-students-with-adhd-
    attention-deficit-disorder.htm......................................................................................302
    Preparing for Employment and Careers for Intellectually Disabled Students.............302
    Why Employment Preparation?..........................................................................303
    Preparing for Employment and Careers for Intellectually Disabled Students.........303
     Areas of Preparation.....................................................................................303
    Steps to Integrate Into Employment........................................................................304

    ......................................................................................................305
    Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Emerging
    Standards, Quality Indicators and Benchmarks...........................................................305
    The Power of Inclusion: Personal Reflections on Creating Change............................306
    References............................................................................................................309
    The None Traditional High Schools Such As Cumberland High &
    Charlie Smith High Must Learn To Provide Some-Things For
    Themselves-Stop Waiting On Government!...............................................310
    The Teachers At Cumberland High School and Charlie Smith High School Should
    Strat The Students Out By Playing By Hear and Not Boring Them With Musical
    Notes. If A Child Has Difficulty Reading Standard English How Much More
    Difficulty He Or She Has Learning To Read Scrolls? Start By Hear And Explaining
    The Notes Heard. The Reading Of Music Can Come Later....................................312

    14
    NATURAL TREATMENTS...................................................................................312
    How Music Unlocked My Son’s ADHD Brain...............................................................312
    Rhythm of Change...................................................................................................313
    Source:- https://www.additudemag.com/ta-dah/.....................................................315
    Music and Specific Learning Difficulties - by Karen Marshall...............................316
    HOW IT STARTED...........................................................................................316
    WHAT ARE SPECIFIC LEARNING DIFFICULTIES (SPLDS)?................317
    WHAT IS MULTI-SENSORY MUSIC TEACHING?.....................................317
    HOW CAN WE TEACH MUSIC IN A MULTI-SENSORY WAY?..............317
    AUDITORY.........................................................................................................318
    VISUAL...............................................................................................................318
    KINAESTHETIC................................................................................................318
    HERE ARE SOME MORE GENERAL HINTS AND TIPS FOR TEACHING
    DYSLEXIC STUDENTS:..................................................................................319
    ADDITIONAL RESOURCES...........................................................................320
    It's a Snap! 4 Ways to Use Music With Special Needs Students..............................................320
    1. Music + Visual Supports = Increased Comprehension................................................321
    2. Favorite Songs as a Teaching Tool...........................................................................322
    3. Rhythm Is Your Friend.............................................................................................322
    4. Generalization Is Key...............................................................................................322
    Finnish teacher unlocks music for special-needs students......................................323
    Simplified, accessible music notation lets their talent, not their needs,
    take center stage.................................................................................................323
    By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, Staff writer of The Christian Science
    MonitorAPRIL 29, 2009.......................................................................................323
    Music Reading and Students with Special Needs........................................................330
    "The Big Four" by Dr. Alice M. Hammel  Music Reading and Students with Special
    Needs...........................................................................................................................330
    Size......................................................................................................................330
    Pacing..................................................................................................................331
    Getting Musical With Kids Who Have Physical Disabilities......................................332
     Group Music Experiences................................................................................332
     Adapting Musical Instruments.........................................................................333
     Respecting Different Intelligences..................................................................333
    Children with Special Needs Thrive in Music Program That Teaches Music for Music's
    Sake..............................................................................................................................334
    A New Jersey music school helps special needs students achieve more
    than learning an instrument – opening a world of opportunity...........334
    Key Roles in Planning the Transition to College and Careers....................................338
    The Role of the IEP Team...................................................................................338
    The Role of Transition Services..........................................................................339
    The Role of Rehabilitation Services....................................................................340
    Conclusion...........................................................................................................341
    References............................................................................................................341
    Creating a Transition Portfolio....................................................................................341

    15
    Using Individual Supports to Customize a Postsecondary Education Experience......342
    What Are Individual Supports?...........................................................................343
    The Process of Creating Supports........................................................................343
    Conclusion...........................................................................................................345

    ......................................................................................................346
    Preparing Students with Intellectual Disabilities for College: Tips for Parents and
    Teachers.......................................................................................................................346
    Beginning in Middle School................................................................................347
    During Eighth Grade............................................................................................348
    Beginning in 9th Grade........................................................................................349
    Conclusion...........................................................................................................350
    Celebrity Quotes: Learning From Challenges.................................................................351
    Share & Save...........................................................................................................351
    Orlando Bloom, actor..............................................................................................352
    Orlando Bloom, actor..............................................................................................352
    Will.i.am, Grammy-winning singer and producer...................................................353
    Tim Tebow, former NFL quarterback.....................................................................354
    Whoopi Goldberg, award-winning actress and comedian.......................................355
    Ty Pennington, host of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”.................................356
    Teaching Tips for Children and Adults with Autism..............................................357
    Teaching young children on the autism spectrum...........................................................361
    What is autism?............................................................................................................361
    What is Asperger syndrome?.......................................................................................362
    Signs of autism in young children...............................................................................362
    Communication difficulties.........................................................................................363
    Echolalia..................................................................................................................363
    Non-verbal communication.....................................................................................363
    Children with Asperger syndrome and communication..........................................363
    How to communicate with young children on the autism spectrum.......................363
    Use simple language............................................................................................363
    Use symbols or pictures.......................................................................................364
    Literal understanding...........................................................................................364
    Repeat instructions...............................................................................................365
    Always address a child by their name first..........................................................365
    Introducing a young child on the autism spectrum to the nursery...............................365
    Toileting problems...................................................................................................366
    Dealing with toileting problems..............................................................................366
    Keep a record when a child goes to the toilet..........................................................366
    Rewards for using the toilet.....................................................................................366
    Problems with eating...................................................................................................367
    Establishing a lunchtime routine.............................................................................367
    Obsessions...................................................................................................................367
    Meltdowns...................................................................................................................367
    Difficulty choosing activities or toys...........................................................................368
    Adapting the curriculum..............................................................................................368

    16
    Toys and play for children on the autism spectrum.....................................................369
    Trying new toys/experiences...................................................................................369
    Ideas for toys and activities for young children with autism...................................369
    Health and safety.........................................................................................................370
    Training for teachers and support staff........................................................................370
    Important points:..........................................................................................................370
    Books and resources for teachers of young children on the autism spectrum.............371
    12 Things I’d Like Teachers to Understand about Autism..............................................372
    For more resources for teachers and help with inclusion and acceptance at school,
    check out the Autism Speaks School Community Tool Kit here..............................375
    Everyone deserves the chance to reach their full potential. We need your help to tell
    lawmakers that improving education for children and young adults with autism is a
    priority for our community. Sign the petition here to have your voice heard.........375
    One in three teens with autism earns driver's license.............................................377
    Large study yields insights into family decision-making around the balance
    between safety and independence......................................................................377
    Teen with autism reluctant to drive; should this parent push?...............................379
    A checklist of crucial driving skills.........................................................................380
    Handling potential sensory overload.......................................................................381
    Get expert advice.....................................................................................................381
    Choosing the Right Job for People with Autism or Asperger's Syndrome...........382
    Table 1.....................................................................................................................383
    Table 2.....................................................................................................................383
    Table 3.....................................................................................................................384
    Table 4.....................................................................................................................385
    The Best Tech Jobs For Individuals With Autism...........................................................386
    11 Famous People With Autism......................................................................................389
    1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.....................................................................................390
    2. James Durbin...........................................................................................................391
    3. Daryl Hannah...........................................................................................................392
    4. Tim Burton...............................................................................................................393
    5. Andy Warhol...........................................................................................................394
    6. Dan Harmon.............................................................................................................395
    7. Marty Balin..............................................................................................................396
    8. Lewis Carroll...........................................................................................................397
    9. Courtney Love.........................................................................................................398
    10. Temple Grandin.....................................................................................................399
    11. Dan Aykoyrd.........................................................................................................400
    Teaching Students with Down Syndrome.......................................................................401
    For Educators.......................................................................................................401
    Cause........................................................................................................................402
    Best Practices...........................................................................................................403
    Down Syndrome Characteristics - Strengths and Needs.................................................404
    A Chromosomal Aberration Affecting Cognition, Physiology and Motor Strength...404
    For Educators.......................................................................................................405
    Biological Foundation of Down Syndrome.............................................................406

    17
    Physical Traits.........................................................................................................406
    Neurological Traits..................................................................................................407
    Social Traits.............................................................................................................407
    Motor and Health Challenges..................................................................................407
    Co-Morbidity...........................................................................................................408
    Including children with Down syndrome (Part 1).....................................................408
    Sue Buckley and Gillian Bird.............................................................................408
    Getting the culture right...............................................................................................409
    Why inclusion?........................................................................................................409
    Developing inclusive schools..................................................................................409
    Promoting mainstreaming........................................................................................410
    Moving to inclusion.................................................................................................411
    Whole school issues and the role of the headteacher..................................................412
    School philosophy and culture.................................................................................412
    Schools as agents of change....................................................................................412
    Strategies for success...................................................................................................414
    Valuing diversity and building self-esteem.............................................................414
    Staff attitudes...........................................................................................................417
    School organisation and the use of resources..........................................................419
    The role of Learning Support Assistants............................................................421
    Working with parents..............................................................................................422
    Peer support.............................................................................................................423
    Behaviour.................................................................................................................424
    Staff training............................................................................................................424
    Financial Resources.................................................................................................425
    Conclusions..................................................................................................................426
    References....................................................................................................................426
    Bibliography................................................................................................................427
    The Authors............................................................................................................427
    Down Syndrome: Other FAQs........................................................................................428
    Is there a cure for Down syndrome?..........................................................428
    How can parents and providers help teens and young adults with
    Down syndrome transition into adulthood?...........................................428
    What are the health issues for adults with Down syndrome?..........430
    What conditions or disorders are commonly associated with Down syndrome?............432
    Life After High School.................................................................................................436
    What Will Change After High School?.......................................................................436
    What Does Transition Planning Involve?....................................................................436
    What Kinds of Opportunities Are Available After High School for Individuals with
    Down Syndrome?........................................................................................................437
    Postsecondary Education.........................................................................................437
    Employment.............................................................................................................438
    Housing....................................................................................................................438
    What Are the Components of a Transition Plan?........................................................439
    Who Is Responsible for Developing the Transition Plan?...........................................439

    18
    What General Skills Should the Transition Plan Address?.........................................440
    Can a Transition Plan Be Changed?............................................................................440
    How Do I Know if the Transition Plan Is Working?...................................................440
    Transition Skills Checklist...........................................................................................440
    Vocational Skills......................................................................................................440
    Domestic Skills........................................................................................................441
    Social & Personal Skills..........................................................................................442
    Recreation & Leisure Skills.....................................................................................442
    Other Useful Skills..................................................................................................442
    Sample IEP Transition Goals.......................................................................................443
    9 successful people with Down syndrome who prove life is worth living......................444
    Famous People with Down Syndrome............................................................................446
    8 Famous People with Down Syndrome.................................................................448
    Luke Zimmerman................................................................................................448
    Lauren Potter.......................................................................................................448
    Tommy Jessop.....................................................................................................449
    Chris Burke..........................................................................................................450
    Edward Barbanell................................................................................................452
    Jamie Brewer.......................................................................................................452
    Angela Bachiller..................................................................................................453
    Michael Johnson..................................................................................................454
    Myths About Down Syndrome Debunked..............................................................455
    Myth: Down syndrome children are only born to older parents..........................455
    Myth: Having a Down syndrome child can place strain on a relationship..........455
    Myth: Siblings are negatively affected................................................................455
    Myth: Down syndrome people have a shorter life expectancy............................456
    Myth: They are limited physically.......................................................................456
    Myth: They cannot read or write.........................................................................456
    Myth: They cannot attend regular school............................................................456
    Myth: Those with Down syndrome don't feel pain.............................................456
    Myth: The all look alike......................................................................................456
    Myth: They are all overweight............................................................................456
    Myth: They are unable to have children..............................................................456
    Myth: They have poor memories.........................................................................457
    Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).............................................................................457
    Symptoms........................................................................................................................458
    Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia.......................................................................................458
    Agoraphobia........................................................................................................459
    The Panic Attack Symptoms Nobody Talks About..................................................460
    RELATED STORIES............................................................................................461
    RELATED STORIES............................................................................................462
    Social Anxiety Disorder..................................................................................................463
    Triumph Over Shyness: Conquering Social Anxiety Disorder, Second Edition..464
    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children.......................................................................464
    Practice Essentials.......................................................................................................464
    Signs and symptoms............................................................................................465

    19
    Diagnosis................................................................................................................466
    Management..........................................................................................................467
    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children.......................................................................468
    Practice Essentials.......................................................................................................468
    Signs and symptoms................................................................................................469
    Diagnosis.................................................................................................................470
    Management............................................................................................................471
    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children.......................................................................472
    Background..................................................................................................................472
    Diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) in individuals older than 6 years................................474
    Diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) in children aged 6 years or younger (preschool subtype)
    .................................................................................................................................476
    Responding to Students with PTSD in Schools...............................................................478
    Types of traumatic events that affect students.................................................478
    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)...............................................................479
    Evidence-based treatments for students with PTSD....................................................480
    Practical Approaches...................................................................................................481
    Supporting school personnel following a school-wide trauma.......................481
    Psychological First Aid for Schools....................................................................482
    Listen, Protect, Connect (LPC): An Evidence- Informed Model. 40,41.............483
    Step 1: Listen.........................................................................................................483
    Step 2: Protect.......................................................................................................484
    Step 3: Connect.....................................................................................................484
    Step 4: Model Calm and Optimistic Behavior...................................................484
    Step 5: Teach........................................................................................................485
    Talking to Parents about PTSD..........................................................................485
    Clinical strategies in working with students with PTSD..................................486
    Working with the parent...................................................................................487
    Treatment Rationale and Psychoeducation..................................................488
    Relaxation Training...........................................................................................488
    Cognitive Restructuring....................................................................................489
    Trauma Narrative..............................................................................................489
    In Vivo Gradual Exposure to Trauma Reminders........................................490
    Problem Solving................................................................................................491
    Conclusions..................................................................................................................491
    Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................491
    Notes............................................................................................................................492
    Footnotes......................................................................................................................492
    References....................................................................................................................492
    A school-based mental health program for traumatized Latino immigrant children.......495
    Author information.................................................................................................495
    Abstract...................................................................................................................495
    OBJECTIVE:......................................................................................................495
    METHOD:...........................................................................................................495
    RESULTS:..........................................................................................................495
    CONCLUSIONS:...............................................................................................495

    20
    Treating adolescents with social anxiety disorder in schools..........................................496
    Author information.................................................................................................496
    Abstract...................................................................................................................496
    Skills for social and academic success: a school-based intervention for social anxiety
    disorder in adolescents.....................................................................................................496
    Author information.................................................................................................496
    Abstract...................................................................................................................496
    News.............................................................................................................................497
    Jamaica’s crime stats among highest worldwide, despite
    reduction................................................................................................................497
    Jamaica homicides jump 20 per cent, highest level in 5 years499
    Women March Against Violence................................................................................500
    Story Highlights.....................................................................................................501
    JAMAICA 2016/2017....................................................................................................502
    Background.............................................................................................................502
    Police and security forces..........................................................................................503
    Violence against women and girls............................................................................503
    Children’s rights..........................................................................................................503
    Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.......................503
    International Justice...................................................................................................504
    CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT STILL ON THE RISE IN JAMAICA...................504
    News.............................................................................................................................506
    16,790 cases of sexual abuse against children recorded in eight
    years.........................................................................................................................506
    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).........................................................................508
    Information for Parents: Behaviors That Could Be Symptoms of OCD.........................509
    Eating Rituals...........................................................................................................509
    Inability to Make Decisions.....................................................................................509
    Extreme Separation Anxiety....................................................................................509
    Unusual Secretiveness.............................................................................................510
    Temper Tantrums.....................................................................................................510
    Finding Therapist: What to Ask..................................................................................510
    17 Quotes That Prove OCD Is So Much More Than Being Neat..........................512
    RELATED STORIES............................................................................................513
    RELATED STORIES............................................................................................515
    Bipolar Disorder..............................................................................................................521
    General Info.........................................................................................................522
    Co-Occurring Anxiety Disorder and Bipolar Disorder.......................................524
    The Course of Bipolar Disorder..........................................................................525
    Treatment.............................................................................................................526
    Getting Help.........................................................................................................527
    MoodNetwork......................................................................................................527
    More Steps to Reduce Anxiety and Regulate Mood...........................................528
    Helping Others.....................................................................................................528
    Helping Your Child.............................................................................................529

    21
    Teaching Strategies For Children With Bipolar Disorder.........................................529
    Suggestions for Teaching a Bipolar Child................................................531
    Reduction in Number of Missing Children.................................................................534
    Story Highlights.....................................................................................................534
    THE MYSTERY OF MISSING CHILDREN IN JAMAICA.........................................535
    The key problem......................................................................................................536
    The problem within Jamaica....................................................................................536
    Working together to bring back our children..........................................................537
    Child Month Fact – How Many Children Have Been Reported Missing?......................538
    Stress................................................................................................................................540
    News.............................................................................................................................540
    60 children murdered, 99 shot and injured in past 16 months..540
    Gunmen murder two children, man in Hanover.................................542
    Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder in Children..................................544
    4 Truths About Children Showing Signs of “Multiple Personality Disorder”................548
    About Támara Hill, MS, LPC......................................................................................553
    The Differences Between Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia and Multiple
    Personality Disorder...................................................................................................553
    Bipolar Disorder......................................................................................................554
    Schizophrenia..........................................................................................................554
    Multiple Personality Disorder (Dissociative Identity Disorder)..............................555
    Contrasting the Three Very Different Disorders.....................................................556
    Teaching and Understanding Students with Schizophrenia..................................557
    How to Teach Schizophrenic Students............................................................................561
    Step 1......................................................................................................................561
    Step 2......................................................................................................................561
    Step 3......................................................................................................................561
    Schizophrenia................................................................................................................562
    WHAT IS IT?.........................................................................................................562
    Are People With Schizophrenia Likely To Be Violent?....................................566
    What About Suicide?............................................................................................567
    WHAT CAUSES SCHIZOPHRENIA?................................................................567
    HOW IS IT TREATED?........................................................................................569
    HOW CAN OTHER PEOPLE HELP?.................................................................575
    WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK?................................................................................577
    Church robbed of $700,000 in equipment ..............................................................587
    by.................................................................................................................................587
    News.............................................................................................................................589
    Church robbers make off with $1M worth of equipment..............589
    News.............................................................................................................................590
    Robbery turns away US church group....................................................590
    2nd arrest in double murder of U.S. missionaries in Jamaica.........................................592
    Dissociative Disorders..................................................................................................593
    Symptoms....................................................................................................................594

    22
    Causes..........................................................................................................................595
    Diagnosis.....................................................................................................................595
    Treatment.....................................................................................................................596
    Related Conditions.......................................................................................................596
    CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES.............................................................................................598
    Assignments..............................................................................................................598
    Lesson Ideas..............................................................................................................598
    The Effects of DID on Children of Trauma Survivors....................................................602
    Dissociative Parenting: Memory, Mistakes, and Middle School........................607
    I Forgot I’m Parenting with A Handicap Called Dissociative Identity
    Disorder.................................................................................................................608
    When I Say Memory Problems ….....................................................................608
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR.....................................................................................608
    Holly Gray..............................................................................................................608
    10 thoughts on “Dissociative Parenting: Memory, Mistakes, and Middle
    School”........................................................................................................................608
    Gunmen invade Cumberland High in search of students................................................614
    Gunmen invade St. Catherine school...............................................................................615
    News.............................................................................................................................616
    Gunmen invade Manchester school.........................................................616
    10-year-old robbed on his way to school...............................................................616
    by.................................................................................................................................616
    expressed concern................................................................................................617
    More students robbed in Corporate Area since JC student's killing................................618
    Vere Tech students robbed at gunpoint on school's dormitory619
    News.............................................................................................................................621
    School plagued by theft, other problems, in need of help...........621
    Robberies choking Walkerswood All-Age.............................................625
    Computers, toilets, food items taken in 8th break-in since
    2011.......................................................................................................................625
    UPDATE - 11 year old accused of killing 14 year old in police custody.......................628
    Brothers chopped to death by nephew in Clarendon.......................................................629
    Women march against violence in MoBay............................................632
    News.............................................................................................................................634
    Over 1,400 perpetrators of crime against women, children
    arrested — Grant................................................................................................634
    Jamaicans wear black to protest violence against women and children.............635
    Model: Gianna Photo: Michael Gordon).................................................................638
    Violence against women: the full story...............................................................638
    A Self-Regulatory Model of Behavioral Disinhibition in Late Adolescence: Integrating
    Personality Traits, Externalizing Psychopathology, and Cognitive Capacity.................644
    Abstract........................................................................................................................644

    23
    Disinhibited Personality Traits and Externalizing Psychopathology.............645
    Cognitive Capacity, Self-Regulation, and Behavioral Disinhibition...............646
    The Present Study................................................................................................647
    Method.........................................................................................................................649
    Participants............................................................................................................649
    Sample 1............................................................................................................649
    Sample 2............................................................................................................650
    Assessment Materials..........................................................................................650
    Diagnostic interviews........................................................................................650
    Table 1.............................................................................................................................650
    Personality trait indicators................................................................................652
    Intelligence.........................................................................................................652
    Short-term memory capacity...........................................................................653
    Working memory capacity...............................................................................653
    Procedure...............................................................................................................654
    Analyses.................................................................................................................654
    Results..........................................................................................................................655
    Intercorrelations among trait and problem count indicators...........................655
    Table 2.............................................................................................................................656
    Sample 1 Model Comparisons............................................................................657
    Table 3.............................................................................................................................658
    Figure 1............................................................................................................................659
    Images in this article....................................................................................................660
    Sample 2 Model Comparisons............................................................................660
    Sample 2 Correlated Model of Behavioral Disinhibition and Cognitive
    Capacity..................................................................................................................661
    Figure 2............................................................................................................................661
    Discussion....................................................................................................................662
    Limitations and Conclusions................................................................................664
    Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................665
    Notes............................................................................................................................665
    Footnotes......................................................................................................................665
    References....................................................................................................................666
    Symptoms of Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder....................................671
    Specific Symptoms of Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder..........................671
    Disinhibition..................................................................................................................673
    Psychoactive substances....................................................................................673
    See also..................................................................................................................674
    Responding to Inappropriate Sexual Behaviors Displayed by Adolescents With Autism
    Spectrum Disorders.........................................................................................................675
    Act Early..................................................................................................................675
    Using Environmental Modifications to Improve Behavior.....................................675
    Saying Yes to Appropriate Behaviors.....................................................................676
    Be Consistent...........................................................................................................676
    Remember the Potential for Inadvertent Outcomes.................................................677
    References................................................................................................................677

    24
    Moments Of Memory- Charlie Smith High School, A Holding Center & Not
    By Choice An Institution Of Learning-Is Cumberland High School Any Better
    Off?..........................................................................................................................678
    Sexual behavior and drinking style among teenagers: a population-based study in Finland
    .........................................................................................................................................679
    SUMMARY.................................................................................................................679
    INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................680
    MATERIAL AND METHODS...................................................................................682
    Sexual behavior.......................................................................................................683
    Maturation................................................................................................................684
    Drinking style..........................................................................................................684
    Statistical analysis....................................................................................................685
    RESULTS....................................................................................................................686
    DISCUSSION..............................................................................................................712
    CONCLUSION............................................................................................................714
    FUNDING...................................................................................................................715
    REFERENCES:- Please follow link to the article, pasted here:-................................715
    Timing of Alcohol and Other Drug Use And Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Unmarried
    Adolescents and Young Adults.......................................................................................715
    METHODS..................................................................................................................717
    RESULTS....................................................................................................................719
    Analytic Approach.................................................................................................719
    Descriptive Data....................................................................................................719
    Bivariate Analyses................................................................................................720
    Multivariate Analyses............................................................................................721
    DISCUSSION..............................................................................................................722
    Review of Findings................................................................................................722
    Limitations..............................................................................................................723
    Implications............................................................................................................724
    FOOTNOTES....................................................................................................724
    REFERENCES..................................................................................................725
    AUTHORS' AFFILIATIONS.............................................................................727
    1.4.6 Assessment of Harmful Sexual Behaviour in Children and Young People...........728
    SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER......................................................................................728
    Contents.......................................................................................................................728
    1. Introduction..............................................................................................................728
    2. How to use these Guidelines....................................................................................728
    There are three sections:-....................................................................................728
    Part I - deciding if there is a cause for concern and the level of
    seriousness........................................................................................................728
    Part II - If it is a cause for concern - where to next?....................................729
    Part III - Further stages of assessment.........................................................729
    3. Part I - Deciding if there is a Cause for Concern and the Level of Seriousness......729
    Pre-Adolescent Children......................................................................................729
    Introduction........................................................................................................729
    Theoretical Models............................................................................................731

    25
    Age Appropriate / Healthy Behaviours..........................................................731
    Characteristics of Age Appropriate and Problematic Sexual Behaviours 732
    Criteria for assessment of problematic behaviours.....................................733
    Detailed Checklist for Referral, Initial Investigation and Establishing Cause
    for Concern with Younger Children................................................................735
    References.........................................................................................................735
    Adolescents............................................................................................................736
    Identifying Sexually Inappropriate and Sexually Aggressive Behaviours in
    Adolescents........................................................................................................736
    What causes inappropriate and sexually aggressive behaviour in
    adolescents?......................................................................................................736
    Detailed Checklist for Referral, Initial Investigation and Establishing Cause
    for Concern with Adolescents.........................................................................738
    References.........................................................................................................739
    4. Part II - If it is a Cause for Concern - Where to Next?............................................740
    Useful Contacts.....................................................................................................740
    Useful Contacts for discussion/consultation.................................................740
    5. Part III - Further Stages of Assessments..................................................................740
    Child and Family Assessment.............................................................................740
    1. Why do we need to assess families?........................................................740
    2. What needs to be included in the family assessment?..........................741
    3. Using the Child and Family Assessment to evaluate risk and plan
    further intervention............................................................................................741
    Checklist for the Fuller Family Assessment......................................................741
    Child Developmental Needs............................................................................741
    Parenting Capacity............................................................................................741
    Family and Environment..................................................................................742
    Assessment of the Child/Young Person's own needs both as a Perpetrator
    and as a Vulnerable Child....................................................................................742
    Wenet & Clark's Juvenile Sexual Offender Decision Criteria (1986)............742
    Evaluation...........................................................................................................742
    Assessment to Inform a Pre Sentence Report.............................................745
    Understanding the link between early sexual initiation and later sexually transmitted
    infection: Test and replication in two longitudinal studies..............................................745
    Abstract........................................................................................................................746
    Current study.........................................................................................................747
    Methods.......................................................................................................................747
    Participants............................................................................................................747
    Measures................................................................................................................747
    Lifetime sexually transmitted infection (STI).................................................748
    Young adult predictors (ages 18–24).............................................................748
    Adolescent predictors.......................................................................................748
    Childhood predictors (ages 10–14)................................................................748
    Demographics....................................................................................................749
    Statistical Analyses...............................................................................................749
    Appendix 1.......................................................................................................................750

    26
    Appendix 2.......................................................................................................................764
    Appendix 2.......................................................................................................................771
    Results..........................................................................................................................778
    Table 1.............................................................................................................................778
    Table 2.............................................................................................................................781
    Figure 1............................................................................................................................782
    Figure 3............................................................................................................................784
    Discussion....................................................................................................................785
    Figure 2............................................................................................................................786
    Implications and Contribution..............................................................................786
    Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................787
    Footnotes......................................................................................................................787
    References....................................................................................................................787
    Exposure to Sexual Lyrics and Sexual Experience Among Urban Adolescents.............790
    Abstract........................................................................................................................790
    Introduction..................................................................................................................790
    Methods.......................................................................................................................792
    Design, Setting, and Participants.......................................................................792
    Sample....................................................................................................................792
    Procedures.............................................................................................................793
    Measures................................................................................................................793
    Independent variables: exposure to lyrics describing degrading and
    nondegrading sex..............................................................................................793
    Dependent variables: sexual behavior..........................................................794
    Covariates..........................................................................................................795
    Analysis..................................................................................................................795
    Results..........................................................................................................................796
    Discussion....................................................................................................................797
    Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................800
    Footnotes......................................................................................................................800
    References....................................................................................................................800
    Teenage sexual behaviour: attitudes towards and declared sexual activity.....................804
    Author information.................................................................................................804
    Abstract...................................................................................................................804
    PIP:......................................................................................................................804
    Decreasing Impulsive Behaviors in the Classroom Elem......................................................811
    ADHD in School: Self-Control and Focus.......................................................................811
    Dealing With Impulsive Behaviors in ADHD Students....................................................812
    San Fran school wastes class time teaching students the do’s and dont’s of social media
    .........................................................................................................................................814
    Teachers resign from an Upper Hutt school after being sexually harassed by
    students..........................................................................................................................815
    Teachers suffer sexual harassment and rape threats from pupils as young as SIX............818
    Teachers 'victims of sexist bullies in class'................................................................825
    Shares.....................................................................................................................825
    Most popular in US...............................................................................................825

    27
    British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia................825
    US drops largest ever non-nuclear bomb on Isis affiliate in Afghanistan,
    military says.......................................................................................................826
    Chechens tell of prison beatings and electric shocks in anti-gay purge:
    ‘They called us animals’....................................................................................826
    'It's a perfect storm': homeless spike in rural California linked to Silicon
    Valley..................................................................................................................826
    AI programs exhibit racial and gender biases, research reveals................826
    Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you..................827
    Since you’re here …...................................................................................................828
    Hot for Teacher: Rethinking Education’s Sexual Harassment Policies..........................829
    Sexual Harassment at School......................................................................................836
    Title IX Overview...................................................................................................836
    The Circumstances That Led Up to the Davis Ruling.....................................836
    Harassment vs. School-Yard Bullying...............................................................837
    Tips for Parents of Sexually Harassed Kids.....................................................838
    Sample Letter........................................................................................................838
    What to Do If the Principal Does Nothing..........................................................839
    How Schools Should Approach Sexual Harassment at School....................839
    What to Do To Stop Sexual Harassment at School..............................................849
    Guidelines for Administrators..............................................................................850
    References.............................................................................................................850
    Preventing Student Sexual Harassment. ERIC Digest Number 160.
    .....................................................................................................................................851
    PEER SEXUAL HARASSMENT...................................................................851
    SCHOOL INITIATIVES ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT........................852
    CONCLUSION...................................................................................................854
    REFERENCES....................................................................................................854
    FOOTNOTES.............................................................................................................870
    Sexual harassment in education (brochure)..............................................................890
    Page controls..............................................................................................................890
    Page content..............................................................................................................890
    Applying the Human Rights Code in education.....................................................890
    Gender-based harassment and bullying...........................................................891
    Preventing and responding to sexual harassment...........................................891
    For more information:...........................................................................................892
    How To Prevent Sexual Harassment By Setting Boundaries..........................................893
    According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 59 percent of secondary
    schools report incidents of sexual harassment.................................................................893
    Employee behavior that might lead to sexual harassment charges include:................894
    School employees should take following proactive steps to stop sexual
    harassment:...........................................................................................................894

    28
    Provide training to school employees on the school's policies, procedures
    and sexual harassment laws to ensure that everyone understands the
    boundaries and how to respond to inappropriate behavior and report it
    according to policy................................................................................................894
    Preventing harassment at schools..............................................................................895
    Strategies to address sexual harassment in schools and youth settings.......................897
    Everyone has a role to play in addressing sexual harassment with youth.. . .897
    Prevention of Sexual Harassment in Schools........................................................................899
    THIS SECTION IS INTENDED FOR PRINCIPALS, SENIOR TEACHERS AND
    HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND NON TRADITIONAL
    HIGH SCHOOLS IN JAMAICA (.................................................................................913
    Policy-Making Process (HS) ...........................................................................................913
    Policy-Making Processes in School Health Promotion, Safety and Social Development
    .....................................................................................................................................913
    Section 9. Changing Policies in Schools...................................................................................917
    C H A P T E R 2 5 S E C T I O N S ............................................................................917
     WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CHANGING POLICIES IN
    S C H O O L S ? .....................................................................................................917
     WHY SHOULD YOU WORK TO CHANGE POLICIES IN
    S C H O O L S ? .....................................................................................................917
     WHEN SHOULD YOU TRY TO CHANGE POLICIES IN
    S C H O O L S ? .....................................................................................................917
     WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN CHANGING POLICIES
    I N S C H O O L S ? ...............................................................................................917
     H O W D O Y O U C H A N G E P O L I C I E S I N S C H O O L S ? ..........917
    WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CHANGING POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?
    .....................................................................................................................................918
    WHY MIGHT YOU WANT TO CHANGE POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?
    .....................................................................................................................................921
    T O I M P R O V E S T U D E N T S ’ ( A N D O T H E R S ’ ) H E A L T H . .............921
    T O I M P R O V E E D U C A T I O N . .....................................................................921
    T O M E E T T H E N E E D S O F P A R T I C U L A R G R O U P S . ....................922
    TO IMPROVE CLASSROOM AND SCHOOL CLIMATE AND
    C U L T U R E . ..........................................................................................................923
    T O P R O T E C T S T U D E N T S ( A N D S T A F F ) F R O M H A R M . ...........923
    T O S A F E G U A R D S T U D E N T S ’ R I G H T S . .............................................924
    T O R E S P O N D T O A P E R C E I V E D C O M M U N I T Y N E E D . ............924
    WHEN SHOULD YOU TRY TO CHANGE POLICIES IN
    S C H O O L S ? .............................................................................................................925
    WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN CHANGING SCHOOL
    P O L I C I E S ? ..............................................................................................................925
    H O W D O Y O U C H A N G E P O L I C I E S I N S C H O O L S ? ..........................926
    M A R S H A L Y O U R S U P P O R T A N D B E G I N T O S T R A T E G I Z E . . 926
    D O Y O U R H O M E W O R K . .............................................................................927
    WORK TO GET YOUR PROPOSAL FOR POLICY CHANGE
    I M P L E M E N T E D . ..............................................................................................931

    29
    I N S U M M A R Y ......................................................................................................937
    Enhancing Student Achievement.................................................................938
    Chapter 6. Policies and Practices Affecting Students..........................................938
    Relationship to the Framework............................................................................938
    A Safe and Positive Environment.....................................................................938
    A Culture of Hard Work......................................................................................938
    A Success Orientation.........................................................................................938
    A Culture of Respect and Responsiveness to Clients..................................939
    Student Leadership and Decision Making.....................................................939
    Minimal Competition..........................................................................................939
    A Culture for Learning........................................................................................939
    Categories of Policies and Practices....................................................................940
    Attendance Policies.............................................................................................940
    Discipline Policies................................................................................................941
    Homework Policies..............................................................................................941
    Grading Policies....................................................................................................943
    Reflective of Student Learning in the Curriculum....................................944
    Consistency Within a School.........................................................................944
    Multiple Measures of Student Learning.....................................................944
    Grade Inflation.................................................................................................944
    Summary...................................................................................................................945
    Rubric for Policies and Practices Affecting Students...............................945
    Rouse Hill High School Policies.............................................................................................947
    Policies & procedures......................................................................................................947
    Rouse Hill High School Policies.............................................................................................949
    Policies & procedures......................................................................................................949
    School Operations, Policies, and Expectations................................................................950
    Definitions...............................................................................................................951
    Equal Educational Opportunity...............................................................................951
    Jurisdiction and Expectations..................................................................................951
    Philosophy...............................................................................................................952
    Attendance...............................................................................................................952
    Excused/Unexcused Absence Procedures...............................................................953
    Tardiness..................................................................................................................953
    Suspension and Expulsion from School..................................................................954
    Alcohol/Drugs/Tobacco and Other Controlled Substances.....................................954
    Dangerous Weapons................................................................................................955
    Student Lockers.......................................................................................................955
    Search and Seizure...................................................................................................955
    Academic Dishonesty..............................................................................................956
    Removal from Class................................................................................................956
    Detention..................................................................................................................956
    Fighting and Swearing.............................................................................................957

    30
    Appearance..............................................................................................................957
    Student Dress...........................................................................................................957
    Respect for Property................................................................................................957
    Respect for Individuals............................................................................................958
    Harassment – Students.............................................................................................958
    Curriculum Requirements for Graduation...............................................................958
    Early Graduation......................................................................................................959
    Enrollment Policies..................................................................................................959
    Open Enrollment......................................................................................................959
    Human Growth and Development...........................................................................960
    Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Act.................................................................960
    Grading Policies.......................................................................................................960
    Honor Roll...............................................................................................................960
    Special Programming...............................................................................................960
    Success Center.........................................................................................................961
    Lunch Shifts.............................................................................................................961
    Lunch Period............................................................................................................961
    Delivery of Meals....................................................................................................961
    Carbonated Beverages.............................................................................................961
    Study Hall................................................................................................................961
    Study Hall Expectations:.........................................................................................962
    Leaving School during School Hours......................................................................962
    Display of Posters....................................................................................................963
    Skate Boards and Roller Blades..............................................................................963
    Passes.......................................................................................................................963
    School Cancellations...............................................................................................963
    Fire and Tornado Drills...........................................................................................963
    Hallway Conduct.....................................................................................................963
    Student Interpersonal Relations...............................................................................963
    Library Media Center..............................................................................................964
    Assembly Programs.................................................................................................964
    Report to Parents......................................................................................................964
    Visitors at School.....................................................................................................964
    Open Campus Policy (For Seniors Only)................................................................964
    Turning Around the Lowest-Performing Schools: The Role of the Principal - Research
    Findings to Support Effective Educational Policymaking...............................................965
    PREPARING AND DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADERS.................967
    References....................................................................................................................971
    Role of Principal Leadership in Improving Student Achievement....................................978
    The Basics of Successful Leadership............................................................................979
    Setting Direction..........................................................................................................979
    Examining the Evidence..........................................................................................979
    Practical Application...............................................................................................980
    Developing People.......................................................................................................980
    Redesigning the Organization......................................................................................981
    Examining the evidence...........................................................................................981

    31
    Practical application.................................................................................................981
    Broad Goals for School Leaders...................................................................................982
    Conclusion...................................................................................................................982
    References....................................................................................................................982
    School Principal - The Role of Elementary and Secondary School Principals, Principal
    Duties and Responsibilities, Principal Qualifications.....................................................983
    schools public private students...........................................................................983
    The Role of Elementary and Secondary School Principals.........................................984
    Principal Duties and Responsibilities..........................................................................984
    Principal Qualifications...............................................................................................985
    Research on School Leadership...................................................................................986
    Demographic Profile of School Principals..................................................................987
    BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................988
    INTERNET RESOURCE............................................................................................988
    SWOT analysis for schools|education|colleges|universities...........................988
    SWOT analysis for schools, teachers and education |colleges|universities
    .....................................................................................................................................989
    Conducting a SWOT analysis for schools | colleges | universities..............990
    IMPORTANT TIP for SWOT analysis in schools, | colleges | universities....991
    What sort of tasks and issues can a SWOT analysis for Schools be used for?
    .....................................................................................................................................991
    An Example of a SWOT analysis for schools | colleges| universities......991
    SWOT Analysis templates for schools & education | colleges |
    universities..............................................................................................................993
    About Mike Morrison....................................................................................1001
    SWOT Analysis.............................................................................................................1001
    SWOT Analysis Table........................................................................................1002
    S.W.O.T Analysis Of The School.............................................................................1003
    Resources Available To The Cumberland High School................................................1045
    Guidance in Designing Interventions For Students With Learning Disabilities and
    Assisting In The Training of Teachers to Use Chess, Dance, Music and Sports For
    Therapy and Education..........................................................................................1045
    For Pallets and Associated Materials For The Making Of Musical Instruments and
    Game Board...........................................................................................................1045
    For Technical Guidance In Strategic Planning, For Using SWOT Analysis, for using
    Visioning Method, and the Logical Framework Method......................................1045
    For Dance and Music Teachers.............................................................................1045
    The School’s Medical Doctor Will Work With The Mental Health Institution To
    Develop The Skills and Competences Needed To Work On A Long Term Basis On
    Both Physical & Mental Health Interventions and Guidance................................1045

    32
    Letter To The Principal Of The Non-Traditional High
    School

    Dear Sir/Madam;

    33
    This compilation of web sourced documents, is intended to be used in the same manner in
    which one would use a tool box which contains several tools. As is seen, this document is
    a bit bulky and was not intended to be read as a novel, but rather to be used to identify
    approaches which can be used to further enable the school to better meet the special
    needs of those students with learning and behavioral disorders.

    A second feature of this document, is that it effective usage assumes a team approach,
    which includes the participation of senior teachers, heads of departments, the guidance
    councilors and deans of discipline, the arts department, in particular the dance and music
    teacher, and the school coach or physical education teachers. This approach allows the
    school to look honestly and deeply at the situation within the school at present, its
    policies and approaches to students with learning and behavioral problems, to review the
    academic performance of these students as against students who do not face similar
    challenges. This approach allows short comings to be identified and solutions and plans
    put in place for the resolution of the given problems.

    The schools, in particular the Non Traditional High Schools have been doing a less than
    satisfactory job at preparing students with special needs for the world of work and for the
    meeting of the very basic requirements needed by these individuals to live as independent
    persons and to lead productive lives with the law. These are short comings which the
    communities and the society as a whole can no longer afford to entertain. As is known,
    these short comings not only prevents the individual victims of the various types of
    learning and or behavioral challenges from ever reaching any where near their full
    potential, but also contribute to pri-20 years of age pregnancies, unemployment, crime,
    child abuse and a recurring ever expanding cycle in the production and reproduction of
    individuals with learning and or behavioral disabilities. As such, the communities in
    which the schools are located, the parents of those students and the law enforcement
    agencies have the right to critically examine the performance of the school and its
    leadership, even if the Minister of Education for what ever reason fails to do so.

    This compilation seeks to assist the class room teacher who has become the Principal, to
    better understand the roles and duties of the Principal in a modern education institution. It
    provides him or her with an introduction to strategic planning, policies, the concept of a
    high school which embraces all its students regardless of their abilities, mental or
    physical status in respect to disabilities; it introduces him or her to the understanding that
    it is possible to have a school in which sexual harassment and or victimization does occur
    between student and student, staff and student, student and staff , a school which is safe
    for all. It further introduces the Principal to a number of planning approaches.

    A hope also is that the leadership of the Non-Traditional High Schools will seek to utilize
    those resources which exist with the school, with the community and within the wider
    society to advance their mission and curricula. Too often a number of these schools for
    whatever reason have failed to do what is possible to help themselves, and instead sit
    waiting on the Ministry of Education to come to their rescue and save them from sinking.

    34
    I would like to use this opportunity to thank the various authors, educators, institutions
    and publishers who have permitted their material to be compiled in such a way to assist
    those Jamaican high schools which are struggling. I would like to invite those principals
    and teachers elsewhere in the world who would gain from using this compilation to do so
    freely.

    Yours truly,
    Basil Fletcher

    A wall made from shipping pallets, a hedge could be added to it. Special funds from the
    Ministry of Education are not needed to make this wall.

    A wall made of rammed earth. This type of wall does not require special funds from the
    Ministry of Education.

    35
    Types of Learning Disabilities

    Learning disabilities are


    neurologically-based processing problems. These processing problems can
    interfere with learning basic skills such as reading, writing and/or math.  They can
    also interfere with higher level skills such as organization, time planning, abstract
    reasoning, long or short term memory and attention.  It is important to realize
    that learning disabilities can affect an individual’s life beyond academics and can
    impact relationships with family, friends and in the workplace.

    Since difficulties with reading, writing and/or math are recognizable problems during
    the school years, the signs and symptoms of learning disabilities are most often
    diagnosed during that time.  However, some individuals do not receive an evaluation
    until they are in post-secondary education or adults in the workforce.  Other individuals
    with learning disabilities may never receive an evaluation and go through life, never
    knowing why they have difficulties with academics and why they may be having
    problems in their jobs or in relationships with family and friends.

    Learning disabilities should not be confused with learning problems which are primarily
    the result of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps; of mental retardation; of emotional
    disturbance; or of environmental, cultural or economic disadvantages.

    Generally speaking, people with learning disabilities are of average or above average
    intelligence. There often appears to be a gap between the individual’s potential and
    actual achievement. This is why learning disabilities are referred to as "hidden
    disabilities": the person looks perfectly “normal” and seems to be a very bright and
    intelligent person, yet may be unable to demonstrate the skill level expected from
    someone of a similar age.

    36
    A learning disability cannot be cured or fixed; it is a lifelong challenge. However, with
    appropriate support and intervention, people with learning disabilities can achieve
    success in school, at work, in relationships, and in the community.

    In Federal law, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the term is
    "specific learning disability," one of 13 categories of disability under that law.

    "Learning Disabilities" is an "umbrella" term describing a number of other, more specific


    learning disabilities, such as dyslexia and dysgraphia. Find the signs and symptoms of
    each, plus strategies to help below.

    Specific Learning Disabilities

    Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)


    Also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder, this is a condition that adversely
    affects how sound that travels unimpeded through the ear is processed or interpreted
    by the brain. Individuals with APD do not recognize subtle differences between sounds
    in words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard. They can also
    find it difficult to tell where sounds are coming from, to make sense of the order of
    sounds, or to block out competing background noises.

    Learn more about Auditory Processing Disorder

    Dyscalculia

    37
    A specific learning disability that affects a person’s ability to understand numbers and
    learn math facts. Individuals with this type of LD may also have poor comprehension of
    math symbols, may struggle with memorizing and organizing numbers, have difficulty
    telling time, or have trouble with counting.

    Learn more about Dyscalculia

    Dysgraphia
    A specific learning disability that affects a person’s handwriting ability and fine motor
    skills. Problems may include illegible handwriting, inconsistent spacing, poor spatial
    planning on paper, poor spelling, and difficulty composing writing as well as thinking
    and writing at the same time.

    Learn more about Dysgraphia

    Dyslexia
    A specific learning disability that affects reading and related language-based processing
    skills. The severity can differ in each individual but can affect reading fluency, decoding,
    reading comprehension, recall, writing, spelling, and sometimes speech and can exist
    along with other related disorders. Dyslexia is sometimes referred to as a Language-
    Based Learning Disability.

    38
    Learn more about Dyslexia

    Language Processing Disorder


    A specific type of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) in which there is difficulty
    attaching meaning to sound groups that form words, sentences and stories. While an
    APD affects the interpretation of all sounds coming into the brain, a Language
    Processing Disorder (LPD) relates only to the processing of language. LPD can affect
    expressive language and/or receptive language.

    Learn more about Language Processing Disorder

    Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities


    A disorder which is usually characterized by a significant discrepancy between higher
    verbal skills and weaker motor, visual-spatial and social skills. Typically, an individual
    with NLD (or NVLD) has trouble interpreting nonverbal cues like facial expressions or
    body language, and may have poor coordination.

    Learn more about Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities

    39
    Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit
    A disorder that affects the understanding of information that a person sees, or the
    ability to draw or copy. A characteristic seen in people with learning disabilities such as
    Dysgraphia or Non-verbal LD, it can result in missing subtle differences in shapes or
    printed letters, losing place frequently, struggles with cutting, holding pencil too tightly,
    or poor eye/hand coordination.

    Learn more about Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit

    Related Disorders

    ADHD
    A disorder that includes difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty
    controlling behavior and hyperactivity. Although ADHD is not considered a learning
    disability, research indicates that from 30-50 percent of children with ADHD also have a
    specific learning disability, and that the two conditions can interact to make learning
    extremely challenging.

    Learn more about ADHD

    40
    Dyspraxia
    A disorder that is characterized by difficulty in muscle control, which causes problems
    with movement and coordination, language and speech, and can affect learning.
    Although not a learning disability, dyspraxia often exists along with dyslexia, dyscalculia
    or ADHD.

    Learn more about Dyspraxia

    Executive Functioning
    An inefficiency in the cognitive management systems of the brain that affects a variety
    of neuropsychological processes such as planning, organization, strategizing, paying
    attention to and remembering details, and managing time and space. Although not a
    learning disability, different patterns of weakness in executive functioning are almost
    always seen in the learning profiles of individuals who have specific learning disabilities
    or ADHD.

    Learn more about Executive Functioning

    41
    Memory
    Three types of memory are important to learning. Working memory, short-term
    memory and long-term memory are used in the processing of both verbal and non-
    verbal information. If there are deficits in any or all of these types of memory, the ability
    to store and retrieve information required to carry out tasks can be impaired.

    Learn more about Memory

    Source:- https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/

    Auditory Processing Disorder

    Adversely affects how


    sound that travels unimpeded through the ear is processed
    and interpreted by the brain.
    Also known as Central Auditory Processing Disorder, individuals with Auditory
    Processing Disorder (APD) do not recognize subtle differences between sounds in
    words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard. They can also find

    42
    it difficult to tell where sounds are coming from, to make sense of the order of sounds,
    or to block out competing background noises.

    Signs and Symptoms


     Has difficulty processing and remembering language-related tasks but may have
    no trouble interpreting or recalling non-verbal environmental sounds, music, etc.
     May process thoughts and ideas slowly and have difficulty explaining them
     Misspells and mispronounces similar-sounding words or omits syllables;
    confuses similar-sounding words (celery/salary; belt/built; three/free; jab/job;
    bash/batch)
     May be confused by figurative language (metaphor, similes) or misunderstand
    puns and jokes; interprets words too literally
     Often is distracted by background sounds/noises
     Finds it difficult to stay focused on or remember a verbal presentation or lecture
     May misinterpret or have difficulty remembering oral directions; difficulty
    following directions in a series
     Has difficulty comprehending complex sentence structure or rapid speech
     "Ignores" people, especially if engrossed
     Says "What?" a lot, even when has heard much of what was said

    Strategies
     Show rather than explain
     Supplement with more intact senses (use visual cues, signals, handouts,
    manipulatives)
     Reduce or space directions, give cues such as “ready?”
     Reword or help decipher confusing oral and/or written directions
     Teach abstract vocabulary, word roots, synonyms/antonyms
     Vary pitch and tone of voice, alter pace, stress key words
     Ask specific questions as you teach to find out if they do understand
     Allow them 5-6 seconds to respond ("think time")
     Have the student constantly verbalize concepts, vocabulary words, rules, etc.
    Excerpted from the LDA of California and UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute "Q.U.I.L.T.S." Calendar
    2001-2002

    43
    7 Things I Wish People Knew About Parenting a Child
    With Auditory Processing Disorder

    When my son was in first grade, his teacher complained to me that he “didn’t pay
    attention” in class. She said he wasn’t listening. To her, this was an act of defiance.

    I explained that my son has auditory processing disorder (APD). He’s usually a very


    well-behaved boy, but the classroom was too chaotic and noisy for him. With all the
    background sound, my son simply couldn’t make out what she was saying to him, no
    matter how hard he tried.

    For people who don’t have APD, it can be a puzzling challenge. Even my husband, who
    tries to understand, often struggles to see the world from the perspective of my son.

    I’ve learned a lot from parenting a child with APD. And because I have APD myself, I
    think I’m a good person to explain. Here are some things I wish people understood about
    me, my son and APD.

    1. He isn’t being defiant.

    With APD, the brain doesn’t always process spoken words smoothly. So when my
    son doesn’t respond right away or doesn’t understand what you’re saying, he’s
    not doing it to be rude or defiant. He simply didn’t comprehend what you said.

    My son wants to understand you—more than anything. People like my son and
    me sometimes give up on conversations, though, because we’re afraid of seeming
    rude. Sadly, it’s part of life for someone with APD.

    44
    2. The link between APD and hearing can be confusing.

    Having APD isn’t the same as being hard of hearing. My son’s hearing is actually
    very good. In fact, that can be part of the problem.

    For example, my husband’s electric shaver makes a high-pitched, irritating sound


    when it’s charging. At least it does according to my son and me. No one else in
    our family seems to notice the sound we complain about.

    It may seem counterintuitive. He notices sounds no one else does but still can’t
    seem to “hear” what someone else is saying. That’s because APD is
    an information processing issue, not a hearing issue.

    3. Competing sounds and noises make understanding harder.

    When I’m talking to my child, my voice is competing with a thousand other


    noises. It could be the rush of air blowing out of the air conditioner. Or footsteps
    coming from down the hallway. Or the buzz of an overhead, fluorescent light.
    That’s why I try not to start a complex conversation with my son in a loud or
    chaotic environment.

    If you have something important to share and it’s noisy, text or write down the
    message. Better yet, when you need to have a real conversation, talk to him in a
    quiet place. Speaking directly to him and making eye contact also helps.

    4. Telling him to “pay closer attention” or “listen harder” doesn’t help.

    Some people confuse APD with ADHD, but they aren’t the same.

    Yes, APD can include problems with attention. After all, it’s hard to focus if you
    can’t understand what’s being said around you.

    But telling my son to “pay closer attention” or “listen harder” doesn’t help when
    his brain is scrambling the sounds coming in. That’d be like someone telling you
    to “listen harder” to a foreign language you barely speak.

    5. Rephrasing is more helpful than repeating.

    When my son responds with “What?” to something I said, it’s tempting to repeat
    exactly what I just said and in a louder voice.

    But what he really needs is for me to say what I said in a different way. That’s
    because certain phrases and sentences can be more difficult to process. The
    sounds may be too similar. The word combinations may be too complex.

    45
    Rephrasing—not repeating the same words louder—can really help. When
    struggling with my own APD, I’ve learned to say, “Can you please say what you
    said again, but with different words?”

    6. He wants to feel safe to ask you to say something as many times as he needs.

    Most people don’t like to say the same thing over and over. I understand that. My
    son does, too. That’s why it’s hard for him to ask.

    But if he knows you’re OK with repeating and rephrasing something a few times,
    he’ll be more comfortable asking. It’s wonderful when people are willing to do
    this for him—and for me. We appreciate it more than you can imagine.

    7. It’s OK to be frustrated, as long as you try to understand.

    Even though I have APD, I get frustrated with my son sometimes. I lose my
    patience. So I know others might too.

    My son’s first teacher never did come around to understanding his challenges. In
    the end, though, we were lucky that a new teacher replaced her. This new teacher
    was wonderful. The only difference between her and the first teacher was the
    willingness to try to understand APD.

    Learn more common myths about APD. See what classroom accommodations can help
    kids with APD. And find out what to do if you’re concerned your child has APD, or
    if you recently found out he does.

    Any opinions, views, information and other content contained in blogs on


    Understood.org are the sole responsibility of the writer of the blog, and do not
    necessarily reflect the views, values, opinions or beliefs of, and are not endorsed by,
    Understood.

    About the Blogger

    Rachel Gurevich is a health-care journalist, a fertility expert, and 

    Source:- https://www.understood.org/en/community-events/blogs/what-i-wish-id-known-
    sooner/2016/11/29/7-things-i-wish-people-knew-about-parenting-a-child-with-auditory-
    processing-disorder?

    46
    utm_campaign=partner&utm_source=lda&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=Understoo
    dorg

    Dyscalculia

    Affects a person’s
    ability to understand numbers and learn math facts.
    Individuals with this type of Learning Disability may also have poor comprehension of
    math symbols, may struggle with memorizing and organizing numbers, have difficulty
    telling time, or have trouble with counting.

    Signs and Symptoms


     Shows difficulty understanding concepts of place value, and quantity, number
    lines, positive and negative value, carrying and borrowing
     Has difficulty understanding and doing word problems
     Has difficulty sequencing information or events
     Exhibits difficulty using steps involved in math operations
     Shows difficulty understanding fractions
     Is challenged making change and handling money
     Displays difficulty recognizing patterns when adding, subtracting, multiplying, or
    dividing
     Has difficulty putting language to math processes
     Has difficulty understanding concepts related to time such as days, weeks,
    months, seasons, quarters, etc.

    47
     Exhibits difficulty organizing problems on the page, keeping numbers lined up,
    following through on long division problems

    Strategies
     Allow use of fingers and scratch paper
     Use diagrams and draw math concepts
     Provide peer assistance
     Suggest use of graph paper
     Suggest use of colored pencils to differentiate problems
     Work with manipulatives
     Draw pictures of word problems
     Use mnemonic devices to learn steps of a math concept
     Use rhythm and music to teach math facts and to set steps to a beat
     Schedule computer time for the student for drill and practice
    Excerpted from the LDA of California and UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute "Q.U.I.L.T.S." Calendar
    2001-2002

    Source:- https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/dyscalculia/

    48
    Compiler’s Comment # 1

    Even as in Scotland of old where there were warring clans fighting against each other and
    also within the clans and fighting for the benevolence or patronage of the Crown, the
    Africa from whence the slaves came where with a few exceptions was fractured by wars
    between tribes and tribes within tribes.
    2. Promotion within slavery was in the main based on patronage and not on the basis of
    merit, the whip ensured that a given average output per slave was maintained and the
    slaves had no reason to push for increased labour productivity or to lead innovation,
    which would have led to increase demands on labour-the slaves. Many Muslim slaves
    were also more educated than their White Overseers, many of whom were illiterate.
    3) The existence of the system of slavery was also based on the willingness of slaves to
    do harm and or kill other slaves on behalf of the White Overseers and for patronage and
    the willingness of slaves from other estates to seek to rob and ruin other estates in
    keeping with the economic and property seeking interests of their owners and overseers.
    4) Slavery as a system was a training school in violence and areas dominated by sugar
    cane slavery and or where the children of the plantations settled were always
    characterized by higher levels of violent and economic crimes- estate children without
    overseers.

    Parents of children who are gods must be made to understand that the school system is
    not intended to teach gods. Schools are institutions of learning guided by policies,  rules
    and procedures which are in known to all stakeholders. 

    A parent who has not visited the school of his or her child at least three times in a given
    year should be reported to the police by the principal so that charges of child neglect  laid
    against the offending parent or parents.

    Football played in the non- traditional high schools must be aimed more at raising student
    discipline, physical and mental health, team play and solidarity than for winning matches.
    In short, football without infringements. The Jamaican "Gentleman's Game" akin to the
    British cricket of the colonial era. Therapy through sports. 

    The Jamaican School of Boxing must become closer to the Chinese and or Japanese
    Schools of martial arts in promoting respect for self and others and striving for higher
    values than the American School of Boxing which promotes winning at all costs,
    arrogance, egoism,and disrespect for self and others. In short the objective is to produce
    Usain Bolts and not the stereotype American Sprinter- Tyson Gayle, Michael Jordon
    among others. The USA has far greater social space to absorb and manage deviancy than
    does Jamaica. 
    End

    49
    Is There Such a Thing as Orton–Gillingham for Math?
    By Brendan R. Hodnett
     
    My child has issues with math. Another parent told me there’s something called
    “Orton–Gillingham for Math.” Is this a real thing, and should I look into it for my
    child?

    Brendan R. Hodnett
    Special Education Teacher
    This question comes up often—and there’s a lot of confusion about what the term even
    means.

    Orton–Gillingham (OG) is a style of instruction that focuses on certain features. They


    are: multisensory, structured, step-by-step, driven by data and personalized.

    OG was developed around research on how people learn to read and write, and why some
    people struggle with it. This approach is designed to be used with direct one-on-one or

    50
    small group instruction. A number of reading programs for kids with dyslexia are based
    on OG—and with great success.

    Now educators are using this type of instruction with kids who struggle in math. (It’s
    important to note that the research behind OG didn’t involve math instruction or
    learning.)

    When a program is described as “Orton-Gillingham Math” it generally refers to


    a multisensory approach. And it follows a progression of “concrete-representational-
    abstract.”

    All that means is that kids first learn new math concepts using hands-on materials
    (concrete). Then they move on to drawing or using pictures (representational). The last
    step is converting the information into numbers and symbols (abstract).

    Kids who struggle with math often have trouble making sense of the abstract—the
    numbers and symbols. This OG-type instruction helps kids connect what they learn
    through their senses to numbers and symbols.

    Numerous studies have shown that multisensory math instruction is good for all learners.
    It gives kids a broader understanding of concepts. But when you add personalized
    instruction that builds on each concept, it can really help kids with math issues.

    You’ve asked if your child might benefit from this type of instruction. I don’t know your
    child, or the nature of his math issues. But for most kids who struggle with math, the
    answer is yes.

    Just bear in mind that the OG approach was designed to address difficulties with reading.
    It’s based on research involving reading and writing, not math. Programs described as
    Orton–Gillingham math instruction haven’t been around as long as OG reading
    interventions have. And they don’t have the same evidence of success.

    As you’re investigating math intervention programs, here are some features to look for:

     Multisensory
     Data driven
     Direct connection between previously learned and new material
     Immediate feedback

    51
    It is also important to read reviews of the program. See how popular it is with parents and
    teachers, and how long it’s been in use. There’s no guarantee these programs will
    improve your son’s performance in math. But they definitely have benefits for many kids
    with math difficulties.

    About the Author

    Brendan R. Hodnett is a special education teacher in Middletown, New Jersey.

    Source:- https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-
    disabilities/math-issues/is-there-such-a-thing-as-orton-gillingham-for-math?
    utm_campaign=partner&utm_source=lda&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=Understoo
    dorg

    Orton–Gillingham: What You Need to Know


    By Peg Rosen
     

    At a Glance
     Orton–Gillingham was the first program designed for struggling readers. Several
    reading approaches are based on it.

    52
     Orton–Gillingham teaches the connections between sounds and letters.
     Many schools use the Orton–Gillingham approach in their special
    education reading programs.

    Of all the reading programs specifically designed to help struggling readers by explicitly
    teaching the connections between letters and sounds, Orton–Gillingham was the first.
    Today—decades later—many reading programs include Orton–Gillingham ideas.

    The highly structured program introduced the idea of breaking reading and spelling down
    into smaller skills involving letters and sounds, and then building on these skills over
    time. It also pioneered the “multisensory” approach to teaching reading, which is
    considered the gold standard for teaching students with dyslexia. This means that
    instructors use sight, hearing, touch and movement to help students connect language
    with letters and words.

    What Orton–Gillingham Focuses On


    Orton–Gillingham focuses on teaching kids to read at the word level. While it can help
    develop reading comprehension, that is not the program’s primary goal.

    This approach uses multiple pathways to help kids learn. For example, students might
    learn the letter s by seeing it, saying its name and sounding it out while writing it with
    their fingers in shaving cream.

    “Of all reading programs, Orton–Gillingham has the most research to support its
    approach.”
    Orton–Gillingham also puts a strong emphasis on understanding the “how” and “why”
    behind reading. Students may explore why the letter s sounds one way in the word plays,
    and another way in the word snake. Once they know consistent rules and patterns, they’re
    better able to decode words on their own.

    Where to Find Orton–Gillingham


    Orton–Gillingham has the most research of any program to support its approach. That’s
    why many classroom teachers choose to use strategies from the program in their reading
    instruction. Having students walk around the floor in the pattern of a letter, for instance,
    is an activity inspired by Orton–Gillingham.

    But reading specialists use the program more comprehensively with students who have
    dyslexia and other reading issues. Many schools provide instruction based on Orton–
    Gillingham through a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or response to
    intervention.

    Orton–Gillingham is the basis for numerous other reading programs aimed at struggling
    readers. These include Lindamood–Bell and the Wilson Reading System. These programs
    vary somewhat. But they all use a highly structured, multisensory approach.

    53
    Schools may use any one of these programs to teach struggling readers. The program
    they choose may depend upon a teacher’s training or whom the school is partnered with.
    What matters most is that the program is based on Orton–Gillingham.

    How Orton–Gillingham Works


    The first step is assessing a student to determine his reading skills and areas of strength
    and weakness. This can be done by any specialist or teacher trained in the Orton–
    Gillingham approach.

    Students are then taught in small groups with others at similar skill levels. Instructors
    follow a highly structured approach that teaches skills in a particular order. This order is
    based on an understanding of how children naturally develop language.

    For example, the group may first work on making the connection between sounds and the
    letters that represent those sounds. The next step will be recognizing those sounds in
    words. Students must master each skill before they move on to the next. If a student is
    confused, the instructor will reteach that skill from the beginning. The goal is for students
    to use the skills they’ve learned to decode words independently.

    Effective help is available for struggling readers. It’s important to know what program
    your child’s school uses, and how the different programs work. That knowledge can help
    you see if the school is meeting program goals. And it will give you a better idea of how
    to help your child at home.

    Key Takeaways
     Orton–Gillingham’s step-by-step approach is based on how children learn
    language.
     Students must master one reading skill before moving on to the next.
     Programs for struggling readers should be based on an Orton–Gillingham
    approach.

    Source:- https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-
    school/instructional-strategies/orton-gillingham-what-you-need-to-know

    The Orton-Gillingham Approach

     Overview
     Approach
     Appropriate for Whom?

    OVERVIEW

    Orton-Gillingham is an instructional approach intended primarily for use with persons


    who have difficulty with reading, spelling, and writing of the sort associated with

    54
    dyslexia. It is most properly understood and practiced as an approach, not a method,
    program, system or technique. In the hands of a well-trained and experienced instructor,
    it is a powerful tool of exceptional breadth, depth, and flexibility.
     
    The essential curricular content and instructional practices that characterize the Orton-
    Gillingham Approach are derived from two sources: first from a body of time-tested
    knowledge and practice that has been validated over the past 70 years, and second from
    scientific evidence about how persons learn to read and write; why a significant number
    have difficulty in doing so; how having dyslexia makes achieving literacy skills more
    difficult; and which instructional practices are best suited for teaching such persons to
    read and write.
     
    The approach is so named because of the foundational and seminal contributions of
    Samuel T. Orton and Anna Gillingham. Samuel Torrey Orton (1879-1948) was a
    neuropsychiatrist and pathologist. He was a pioneer in focusing attention on reading
    failure and related language processing difficulties. He brought together neuroscientific
    information and principles of remediation. As early as 1925 he had identified the
    syndrome of dyslexia as an educational problem. Anna Gillingham (1878-1963) was a
    gifted educator and psychologist with a superb mastery of the language. Encouraged by
    Dr. Orton, she compiled and published instructional materials as early as the 1930s which
    provided the foundation for student instruction and teacher training in what became
    known as the Orton-Gillingham Approach.
     
    The Orton-Gillingham Approach is most often associated with a one-on-one teacher-
    student instructional model. Its use in small group instruction is not uncommon. A
    successful adaptation of the approach has demonstrated its value for class-room
    instruction. Reading, spelling and writing difficulties have been the dominant focus of the
    approach although it has been successfully adapted for use with students who exhibit
    difficulty with mathematics.
     
    The Orton-Gillingham Approach always is focused upon the learning needs of the
    individual student. Students with dyslexia need to master the same basic knowledge
    about language and its relationship to our writing system as any who seek to become
    competent readers and writers. However, because of their dyslexia, they need more help
    than most people in sorting, recognizing, and organizing the raw materials of language
    for thinking and use. Language elements that non-dyslexic learners acquire easily must
    be taught directly and systematically.

    The Orton-Gillingham Approach

     Overview
     Approach
     Appropriate for Whom?

    APPROACH

    55
    The Orton-Gillingham Approach has been rightfully described as language-based,
    multisensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, cognitive, and flexible. These
    characteristics can be easily amplified and extended as they are in the following
    attributes.
    PERSONALIZED
     
    Teaching begins with recognizing the differing needs of learners. While those with
    dyslexia share similarities, there are differences in their language needs. In addition
    individuals with dyslexia may possess additional problems that complicate learning.
    Most common among these are attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit
    disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD).
    MULTISENSORY
     
    It uses all the learning pathways: seeing, hearing, feeling, and awareness of motion,
    brought together by the thinking brain. The instructor engages in multisensory teaching
    to convey curricular content in the most understandable way to the student. The teacher
    also models how the student, by using these multiple pathways, can engage in
    multisensory learning that results in greater ease and success in learning.
    DIAGNOSTIC AND PRESCRIPTIVE
     
    An Orton-Gillingham lesson is both diagnostic and prescriptive. It is diagnostic in the
    sense that the instructor continuously monitors the verbal, nonverbal, and written
    responses of the student to identify and analyze both the student’s problems and
    progress. This information is the basis of planning the next lesson. That lesson is
    prescriptive in the sense that will contain instructional elements that focus upon the
    resolution of the student’s difficulties and that build upon the student’s progress noted in
    the previous lesson.
    DIRECT INSTRUCTION
     
    The teacher presentations employ lesson formats which ensure that the student
    approaches the learning experience understanding what is to be learned, why it is to be
    learned, and how it is to be learned.
    SYSTEMATIC PHONICS
     
    It uses systematic phonics, stressing the alphabetic principle in the initial stages of
    reading development. It takes advantage of the sound/symbol relationships inherent in
    the alphabetic system of writing. Spoken words are made up of individual speech sounds,
    and the letters of written words graphically represent those speech sounds.
    APPLIED LINGUISTICS
     
    It draws upon applied linguistics not only in the initial decoding and encoding stages of
    reading and writing but in more advanced stages dealing with syllabic, morphemic,
    syntactic, semantic, and grammatic structures of language and our writing system. At all
    times the Orton-Gillingham Approach involves the student in integrative practices that
    involve reading, spelling, and writing together.

    56
    LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
     
    It increases linguistic competence by stressing language patterns that determine word
    order and sentence structure and the meaning of words and phrases. It moves beyond this
    to recognizing the various forms that characterize the common literary forms employed
    by writers.
    SYSTEMATIC AND STRUCTURED
     
    The teacher presents information in an ordered way that indicates the relationship
    between the material taught and past material taught. Curricular content unfolds in
    linguistically logical ways which facilitates student learning and progress.
    SEQUENTIAL, INCREMENTAL, AND CUMULATIVE
     
    Step by step learners move from the simple, well-learned material to that which is more
    and more complex. They move from one step to the next as they master each level of
    language skills.
    CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK AND POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
     
    The approach provides for a close teacher-student relationship that builds self-confidence
    based on success.
    COGNITIVE APPROACH
     
    Students understand the reasons for what they are learning and for the learning strategies
    they are employing. Confidence is gained as they gain in their ability to apply newly
    gained knowledge about and knowledge how to develop their skills with reading,
    spelling, and writing.
    EMOTIONALLY SOUND
     
    Students’ feelings about themselves and about learning are vital. Teaching is directed
    toward providing the experience of success. With success comes increased self-
    confidence and motivation.
     
    The basic purpose of everything that is done in the Orton-Gillingham Approach, from
    recognizing words to composing a poem is assisting the student to become a competent
    reader, writer and independent learner.
     
     

    APPROPRIATE FOR WHOM?

    The Orton-Gillingham approach is appropriate for teaching individuals, small groups, and
    classrooms. It is appropriate for teaching in the primary, elementary, intermediate grades,
    and at the secondary and college level as well as for adults. The explicit focus of the
    approach has been and continues to be upon persons with the kinds of language

    57
    processing problems associated with dyslexia. Early intervention is highly desirable, but
    it is never too late to begin!
     

    Source:- http://www.ortonacademy.org/approach.php

    Dysgraphia

    Affects a person’s
    handwriting ability and fine motor skills.
    A person with this specific learning disability may have problems including illegible
    handwriting, inconsistent spacing, poor spatial planning on paper, poor spelling, and
    difficulty composing writing as well as thinking and writing at the same time.

    Signs and Symptoms


     May have illegible printing and cursive writing (despite appropriate time and
    attention given the task)
     Shows inconsistencies: mixtures of print and cursive, upper and lower case, or
    irregular sizes, shapes or slant of letters
     Has unfinished words or letters, omitted words
     Inconsistent spacing between words and letters
     Exhibits strange wrist, body or paper position
     Has difficulty pre-visualizing letter formation
     Copying or writing is slow or labored
     Shows poor spatial planning on paper
     Has cramped or unusual grip/may complain of sore hand
     Has great difficulty thinking and writing at the same time (taking notes, creative
    writing.)

    58
    Strategies
     Suggest use of word processor
     Avoid chastising student for sloppy, careless work
     Use oral exams
     Allow use of tape recorder for lectures
     Allow the use of a note taker
     Provide notes or outlines to reduce the amount of writing required
     Reduce copying aspects of work (pre-printed math problems)
     Allow use of wide rule paper and graph paper
     Suggest use of pencil grips and /or specially designed writing aids
     Provide alternatives to written assignments (video-taped reports, audio-taped
    reports)
    Excerpted from the LDA of California and UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute "Q.U.I.L.T.S."
    Calendar 2001-2002

    Source:- https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/dysgraphia/

    Understanding Dysgraphia
    By Erica Patino
    What You’ll Learn

     What is dysgraphia?
     How common is dysgraphia?
     What causes dysgraphia?
     What are the symptoms of dysgraphia?
     What skills are affected by dysgraphia?
     How is dysgraphia diagnosed?
     What conditions are related to dysgraphia?
     How can professionals help with dysgraphia?
     What can be done at home for dysgraphia?
     What can make the journey easier?

    You probably hear a lot about learning and attention issues like dyslexia and ADHD. But
    chances are you don’t hear much about dysgraphia. If your child has trouble expressing
    himself in writing, you may want to learn more about this condition.

    Writing difficulties are common among children and can stem from a variety of learning
    and attention issues. By learning what to watch for, you can be proactive about getting
    help for your child.

    There’s no cure or easy fix for dysgraphia. But there are strategies and therapies that can
    help a child improve his writing. This will help him thrive in school and anywhere else
    expressing himself in writing is important.

    59
    What is dysgraphia?

    Dysgraphia is a condition that causes trouble with written expression. The term comes
    from the Greek words dys (“impaired”) and graphia (“making letter forms by hand”).
    Dysgraphia is a brain-based issue. It’s not the result of a child being lazy.

    For many children with dysgraphia, just holding a pencil and organizing letters on a line
    is difficult. Their handwriting tends to be messy. Many struggle with spelling and putting
    thoughts on paper.[1] These and other writing tasks—like putting ideas into language that
    is organized, stored and then retrieved from memory—may all add to struggles with
    written expression.

    Different professionals may use different terms to describe your child’s struggle with
    written expression. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-
    5) doesn’t use the term dysgraphia but uses the phrase “an impairment in written
    expression” under the category of “specific learning disorder.” This is the term used by
    most doctors and psychologists.

    Some school psychologists and teachers use the term dysgraphia as a type of shorthand to
    mean “a disorder in written expression.”

    To qualify for special education services, a child must have an issue named or described


    in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). While IDEA doesn’t use the
    term “dysgraphia,” it describes it under the category of “specific learning disability.”
    This includes issues with understanding or using language (spoken or written) that make
    it difficult to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or to do mathematical calculations.

    Whatever definition is used, it’s important to understand that slow or sloppy writing isn’t
    necessarily a sign that your child isn’t trying hard enough. Writing requires a complex set
    of fine motor and language processing skills. For kids with dysgraphia, the writing
    process is harder and slower. Without help, a child with dysgraphia may have a difficult
    time in school.

    How common is dysgraphia?

    Dysgraphia is not a familiar term. But symptoms of dysgraphia are not uncommon,
    especially in young children who are starting to learn how to write. If a child continues to
    struggle with writing despite plenty of practice and corrective feedback, it’s a good idea
    to take a closer look to see whether dysgraphia is an underlying cause.

    What causes dysgraphia?

    Experts aren’t sure what causes dysgraphia and other issues of written expression.
    Normally, the brain takes in information through the senses and stores it to use later.
    Before a person starts writing, he retrieves information from his short- or long-term
    memory and gets organized to begin writing.

    60
    In a person with dysgraphia, experts believe one or both of the next steps in the writing
    process go off track:

    1. Organizing information that is stored in memory


    2. Getting words onto paper by handwriting or typing them

    This results in a written product that’s hard to read and filled with errors. And most
    important, it does not convey what the child knows and what he intended to write.

    Working memory may also play a role in dysgraphia. A child may have trouble with
    what’s called “orthographic coding.” This is the ability to store unfamiliar written words
    in the working memory.[2] As a result, he may have a hard time remembering how to
    print or write a letter or a word.

    There may also be a genetic link, with dysgraphia running in families.

    What are the symptoms of dysgraphia?

    The symptoms of dysgraphia fall into six categories: visual-spatial, fine motor, language


    processing, spelling/handwriting, grammar, and organization of language. A child may
    have dysgraphia if his writing skills lag behind those of his peers and he has at least some
    of these symptoms:

    Visual-Spatial Difficulties

     Has trouble with shape-discrimination and letter spacing


     Has trouble organizing words on the page from left to right
     Writes letters that go in all directions, and letters and words that run together on
    the page
     Has a hard time writing on a line and inside margins
     Has trouble reading maps, drawing or reproducing a shape
     Copies text slowly

    Fine Motor Difficulties

     Has trouble holding a pencil correctly, tracing, cutting food, tying shoes, doing
    puzzles, texting and keyboarding
     Is unable to use scissors well or to color inside the lines
     Holds his wrist, arm, body or paper in an awkward position when writing

    Language Processing Issues

     Has trouble getting ideas down on paper quickly


     Has trouble understanding the rules of games
     Has a hard time following directions
     Loses his train of thought

    61
    Spelling Issues/Handwriting Issues

     Has a hard time understanding spelling rules


     Has trouble telling if a word is misspelled
     Can spell correctly orally but makes spelling errors in writing
     Spells words incorrectly and in many different ways
     Has trouble using spell-check—and when he does, he doesn’t recognize the
    correct word
     Mixes upper- and lowercase letters
     Blends printing and cursive
     Has trouble reading his own writing
     Avoids writing
     Gets a tired or cramped handed when he writes
     Erases a lot

    Grammar and Usage Problems

     Doesn’t know how to use punctuation


     Overuses commas and mixes up verb tenses
     Doesn’t start sentences with a capital letter
     Doesn’t write in complete sentences but writes in a list format
     Writes sentences that “run on forever”

    Organization of Written Language

     Has trouble telling a story and may start in the middle


     Leaves out important facts and details, or provides too much information
     Assumes others know what he’s talking about
     Uses vague descriptions
     Writes jumbled sentences
     Never gets to the point, or makes the same point over and over
     Is better at conveying ideas when speaking

    The symptoms of dysgraphia also vary depending on a child’s age. Signs generally
    appear when children are first learning to write.

     Preschool children may be hesitant to write and draw and say that they hate
    coloring.
     School-age children may have illegible handwriting that can be mix of cursive
    and print. They may have trouble writing on a line and may print letters that are uneven
    in size and height. Some children also may need to say words out loud when writing or
    have trouble putting their thoughts on paper.
     Teenagers may write in simple sentences. Their writing may have many more
    grammatical mistakes than the writing of other kids their age.[3]

    62
    What skills are affected by dysgraphia?

    The impact of dysgraphia on a child’s development varies, depending on the symptoms


    and their severity. Here are some common areas of struggle for kids with dysgraphia:

     Academic: Kids with dysgraphia can fall behind in schoolwork because it takes


    them so much longer to write. Taking notes is a challenge. They may get discouraged and
    avoid writing assignments.
     Basic life skills: Some children’s fine motor skills are weak. They find it hard
    to do everyday tasks, such as buttoning shirts and making a simple list.
     Social-emotional: Children with dysgraphia may feel frustrated or anxious
    about their academic and life challenges. If they haven’t been identified, teachers may
    criticize them for being “lazy” or “sloppy.” This may add to their stress.[4] Their low
    self-esteem, frustration and communication problems can also make it hard to
    socialize with other children.

    While dysgraphia is a lifelong condition, there are many proven strategies and tools that
    can help children with dysgraphia improve their writing skills.

    How is dysgraphia diagnosed?

    Signs of dysgraphia often appear in early elementary school. But the signs may not
    become apparent until middle school or later. Sometimes the signs go unnoticed entirely.
    As with all learning and attention issues, the earlier signs of dysgraphia are recognized
    and addressed, the better.

    Dysgraphia is typically identified by licensed psychologists (including school


    psychologists) who specialize in learning disabilities. They will give your child academic
    assessments and writing tests. These tests measure fine motor skills and written
    expression production.

    During testing, the professional may ask your child to write sentences and copy text.
    They’ll assess not only your child’s finished product, but also his writing process. This
    includes posture, position, pencil grip, fatigue and whether there are signs of cramping.
    The tester may also test fine motor speed with finger tapping and wrist turning.[5]

    Special education teachers and school psychologists can help determine the emotional or
    academic impact the condition may be having on your child.

    What conditions are related to dysgraphia?

    Many children with dysgraphia have other learning issues. These conditions, which can
    also affect written expression, include:

     Dyslexia: This learning issue makes it harder to read. Dyslexia can also make


    writing and spelling a challenge. Learn more about the difference between dysgraphia
    and dyslexia.

    63
     Language disorders: Language disorders can cause a variety of problems with
    written and spoken language. Children may have trouble learning new words, using
    correct grammar and putting their thoughts into words.[6]
     Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): ADHD causes problems
    with attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity.
     Dyspraxia: Dyspraxia is a condition that causes poor physical coordination and
    motor skills. It can cause trouble with fine motor skills, which can affect physical task of
    writing and printing. Learn about the differences between dysgraphia and dyspraxia.

    How can professionals help with dysgraphia?

    If your child is found to have dysgraphia and qualifies for special education services, you
    and a team of teachers and specialists at the school will develop an Individualized
    Education Program (IEP). This may include intensive instruction in handwriting as well
    as personalized accommodations and modifications.

    If your child isn’t eligible for an IEP, another option is to request a 504 plan. This is a
    written plan that details how the school will accommodate your child’s needs.

    But even without an IEP or 504 plan, you may be able to get help in other ways:

     Response to intervention (RTI) is an approach some schools use to screen


    students and provide small group instruction to those who are falling behind. If a child
    doesn’t make progress, he may receive intensive one-on-one instruction.
     Informal supports are strategies your child’s teacher can use, such as giving your
    child copies of class notes or using assistive technology tools like voice-to-text (dictation)
    software.

    There are many ways to help a child with dysgraphia. Generally, support falls into these
    categories:

     Accommodations are changes to how your child


    learns. Accommodations include typing on a keyboard or other electronic device instead
    of writing by hand. Apps can help some children stay organized through voice-recorded
    notes.
     Modifications are changes to what your child learns. Examples
    of modifications include allowing a student to write shorter papers or answer fewer or
    different test questions than his classmates.
     Remediation is an approach that targets foundational skills your child needs to
    master. Some children may practice copying letters, using paper with raised lines to help
    them write in straight lines. An occupational therapist may provide exercises to build
    muscle strength and dexterity and increase hand-eye coordination.

    There is no medication for treating dysgraphia. However, children who also have ADHD
    sometimes find that medication for ADHD alleviates symptoms of dysgraphia.

    64
    What can be done at home for dysgraphia?

    There are many things you can do at home to help your child with dysgraphia. Here are
    some strategies to consider.

     Observe and take notes. Taking notes about your child’s writing difficulties


    (including when they occur) will help you find patterns and triggers. Then you can
    develop strategies to work around them. Your notes will also be useful when you talk to
    your child’s doctor, teachers and anyone else helping your child.
     Teach your child writing warm-up exercises. Before writing (or even as a
    break when writing), your child can do a stress-reliever exercise. He could shake his
    hands quickly or rub them together to relieve tension.
     Play games that strengthen motor skills. Playing with clay can strengthen
    hand muscles. A squeeze ball can improve hand and wrist muscles and coordination.

    It’s best not to try too many strategies at once. Instead, add one at a time so you know
    what is (or isn’t) working. Praise your child for effort and genuine achievement. This can
    motivate him to keep building skills. Many kids overcome and work around their writing
    difficulties. With support, your child can, too.

    Back to the top


    What can make the journey easier?

    Whether you’re just learning about dysgraphia or your journey is well underway, this site
    can help you find support your child.

     Know your child’s issues. If your child hasn’t been identified with
    dysgraphia, consider having him evaluated by the school or by an outside professional.
    Knowing which issues your child has is the first step toward getting the best help.
     Request an evaluation. If your child is found to have dysgraphia, consider
    asking your school district if he qualifies for an IEP or a 504 plan.
     See it through your child’s eye. Get a better sense of what your child is
    experiencing. The more you understand, the more you can help.
     Connect with other parents. Remember that you’re not alone. You can
    visit our online community to find other parents who are dealing with the same issues.
     Get advice from experts. Use Parenting Coach to help navigate behavior and
    emotional issues that may come up along the way.

    Difficulty with writing doesn’t need to hold your child back. Explore and experiment
    with different tools and strategies. Eventually, you’ll find ways to help your child
    succeed.

    Key Takeaways
     Dysgraphia makes written expression challenging.
     There are resources available to get free or low-cost help for your child.

    65
     When given the appropriate help, kids with dysgraphia can succeed.

    Sources
    [1] Fischer, Jeri, and Michael Rettig. "Dysgraphia: When Writing Hurts." NAESP.org.
    National Association of Elementary School Principals.
    Web. http://www.naesp.org/resources/2/Principal/2004/N-D-Web.pdf

    [2] International Dyslexia Association. "Understanding Dysgraphia." Wrightslaw.com.


    Web. http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/read.dysgraphia.facts.htm

    [3] Von Dresner, Kara Sandor. "Criteria and Assessment of Dyslexia and
    Dysgraphia." Cba-va.org. Chesapeake Bay Academy.

    [4] "Dysgraphia Q & A." DavidsonGifted.org. Davidson Institute for Talent


    Development. Web. http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10707.aspx

    [5] "Dysgraphia Info." Brainhe.com. BRAIN.HE.


    Web. http://www.brainhe.com/staff/types/dysgraphiastaff.html

    [6] "Specific Language Impairment." NIDCD.nih.gov. National Institute on Deafness and


    Other Communication Disorders. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/pages/specific-
    language-impairment.aspx

    About the Author

    Erica Patino is an online writer and editor who specializes in health and wellness
    content.
    Reviewed by

    Mark Griffin, Ph.D., was the founding headmaster of Eagle Hill School, a school for
    children with specific learning disabilities.
    Source:- https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-
    disabilities/dysgraphia/understanding-dysgraphia?
    utm_campaign=partner&utm_source=lda&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=Understoo
    dorg

    8 Expert Tips on Helping Your Child With Dysgraphia


    By Peg Rosen

    66
    Does your child struggle with handwriting? Has he been diagnosed with dysgraphia?
    These exercises from handwriting specialists are fun, effective and easy to practice at
    home.

    1 of 8

    Feel the letters.

    Taking away one sense experience often heightens the others. Experts advise trying
    activities that help your kid focus on feeling—not seeing—how a letter is made.

    For example, use your finger to trace a letter on your child’s back. Or he can close his
    eyes while you trace a letter on his palm. Then see if he can reproduce that letter on your
    back or on a piece of paper.

    You can make things more challenging by writing a capital letter and asking him to write
    it as a lowercase one, or vice versa.

    2 of 8

    Write big.

    Kids with dysgraphia usually have trouble remembering how to form letters correctly.
    One way therapists make the process more memorable is by having kids write in ways
    that use large motor movements and multisensory materials.

    At home, young kids can spray big shaving cream letters on the tile wall at bath time. Or
    they can smooth out the cream on the tile and write letters in the foam. They can practice
    making letters in a plastic tub of damp sand. Adding sand to finger paint is another way
    to increase sensory input.

    3 of 8

    Dig into clay.

    Clay is a wonderfully versatile medium. It’s dense and responsive. And mistakes can
    disappear with just a pinch.

    Roll clay into ropes and practice making letters with your child. It builds hand strength
    and boosts fine motor skills. And it reinforces the shapes of letters in his mind, too.

    67
    Another option: Smooth a layer of clay on a cookie sheet. Then invite your child to etch
    letters into the surface with a pencil. The clay provides sensory feedback, which gives
    more information to the brain about how the letters are formed.

    4 of 8

    Practice pinching.

    Holding a pencil properly is a challenge for many kids with writing difficulties. Your
    child can strengthen his fingers and improve his “pencil grip” using “pinching” tools
    found around the house. These include tweezers, children’s chopsticks (joined at one end)
    and ice tongs.

    Try this game: Toss pieces of cereal, balled-up scraps of paper or small pencil erasers
    onto a tabletop. Then see how many you and your child can pick up with a pinching tool
    in a minute.

    Another option: Play board games and use pinching tools to move the playing pieces.

    5 of 8

    Start cross-body training.

    For a child to write properly, both sides of his body need to work together: One arm holds
    the paper stable. The other does the actual pencil work.

    Any activity that encourages coordinated movement on both sides of the body provides
    good reinforcement. This includes crafts that use scissors: One hand holds, the other cuts.

    Physical exercises that require cross-body coordination are helpful, too. See if your child
    will give windmills, jumping jacks, touching alternate toes, and mountain climbers a
    whirl before sitting down to write.

    6 of 8

    Build strength and stability.

    68
    Writing may not seem physically demanding. But sitting properly and controlling pen
    and paper require muscle strength and stability in the shoulders and core.

    Activities that condition these areas can help. These include planks, push-ups,
    wheelbarrow walking, crab walking, shooting baskets, hanging from monkey bars and
    rope climbing. Even reading while lying tummy-down on the floor builds strength.

    So set aside time for your child to include activities like these in his day. He can do them
    at a local gym, at the playground, or right in your own backyard or playroom.

    7 of 8

    Practice “organized” storytelling.

    Kids with dysgraphia often have trouble organizing their thoughts. You can help your
    child by practicing structured storytelling.

    At bedtime, ask him to tell you about his day. Have him start with an introduction, like
    “Today was Thursday and boy, was it a busy day for me and my friends.” Ask him to
    describe what he did in the morning, the afternoon and the evening. Then he can wrap
    things up with how the day went overall.

    You can use this approach with just about any experience your child wants to share with
    you.

    8 of 8

    Speak it first.

    Kids with dysgraphia may be brimming with great ideas. But putting those ideas into
    written words can be a frustrating hurdle for them.

    Encourage your child to record himself (on a smartphone or other device) while he talks
    through his thoughts or the story he’d like to tell. He can then play the recording back
    when he sits down to write. This can be a helpful and confidence-boosting tool.

    Source:- https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-
    disabilities/dysgraphia/8-expert-tips-on-helping-your-child-with-dysgraphia#slide-8

    69
    Language Processing Disorder

    Affects attaching meaning to


    sound groups that form words, sentences and stories.
    A specific type of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). While an APD affects the
    interpretation of all sounds coming into the brain (e.g., processing sound in noisy
    backgrounds or the sequence of sounds or where they come from), a Language
    Processing Disorder (LPD) relates only to the processing of language. LPD can affect
    expressive language (what you say) and/or receptive language (how you understand what
    others say).

    Signs and Symptoms


     Has difficulty gaining meaning from spoken language
     Demonstrates poor written output
     Exhibits poor reading comprehension
     Shows difficulty expressing thoughts in verbal form
     Has difficulty labeling objects or recognizing labels
     Is often frustrated by having a lot to say and no way to say it
     Feels that words are "right on the tip of my tongue"
     Can describe an object and draw it, but can’t think of the word for it
     May be depressed or having feelings of sadness
     Has difficulty getting jokes

    Strategies
     Speak slowly and clearly and use simple sentences to convey information
     Refer to a speech pathologist
     Allow tape recorder for note taking
     Write main concepts on board
     Provide support person or peer tutor

    70
     Use visualization techniques to enhance listening and comprehension
     Use of graphic organizers for note taking from lectures or books
     Use story starters for creative writing assignments
     Practice story mapping
     Draw out details with questions and visualization strategies
    Excerpted from the LDA of California and UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute "Q.U.I.L.T.S."
    Calendar 2001-2002

    Source:- https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/language-processing-
    disorder/

    Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities

    Has trouble interpreting


    nonverbal cues like facial expressions or body language and may have poor
    coordination.
    Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVD or NVLD), is a disorder which is usually
    characterized by a significant discrepancy between higher verbal skills and weaker motor,
    visual-spatial and social skills.

    Signs and Symptoms


     Has trouble recognizing nonverbal cues such as facial expression or body
    language
     Shows poor psycho-motor coordination; clumsy; seems to be constantly “getting
    in the way,” bumping into people and objects
     Using fine motor skills a challenge: tying shoes, writing, using scissors
     Needs to verbally label everything that happens to comprehend circumstances,
    spatial orientation, directional concepts and coordination; often lost or tardy

    71
     Has difficulty coping with changes in routing and transitions
     Has difficulty generalizing previously learned information
     Has difficulty following multi-step instructions
     Make very literal translations
     Asks too many questions, may be repetitive and inappropriately interrupt the flow
    of a lesson
     Imparts the “illusion of competence” because of the student’s strong verbal skills

    Strategies
     Rehearse getting from place to place
     Minimize transitions and give several verbal cues before transition
     Avoid assuming the student will automatically generalize instructions or concepts
     Verbally point out similarities, differences and connections; number and present
    instructions in sequence; simplify and break down abstract concepts, explain metaphors,
    nuances and multiple meanings in reading material
     Answer the student’s questions when possible, but let them know a specific
    number (three vs. a few) and that you can answer three more at recess, or after school
     Allow the child to abstain from participating in activities at signs of overload
     Thoroughly prepare the child in advance for field trips, or other changes,
    regardless of how minimal
     Implement a modified schedule or creative programming
     Never assume child understands something because he or she can “parrot back”
    what you’ve just said
     Offer added verbal explanations when the child seems lost or registers confusion
    Excerpted from the LDA of California and UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute "Q.U.I.L.T.S."
    Calendar 2001-2002

    Source:- https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/non-verbal-learning-
    disabilities/

    72
    Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit

    Affects the understanding of


    information that a person sees, or the ability to draw or copy.
    A characteristic seen in people with learning disabilities such as Dysgraphia or Non-
    verbal LD, it can result in missing subtle differences in shapes or printed letters, losing
    place frequently, struggles with cutting, holding pencil too tightly, or poor eye/hand
    coordination.

    Signs and Symptoms


     May have reversals: b for d, p for q or inversions: u for n, w for m
     Has difficulty negotiating around campus
     Complains eyes hurt and itch, rubs eyes, complains print blurs while reading
     Turns head when reading across page or holds paper at odd angles
     Closes one eye while working, may yawn while reading
     Cannot copy accurately
     Loses place frequently
     Does not recognize an object/word if only part of it is shown
     Holds pencil too tightly; often breaks pencil point/crayons
     Struggles to cut or paste
     Misaligns letters; may have messy papers, which can include letters colliding,
    irregular spacing, letters not on line

    Strategies
     Avoid grading handwriting
     Allow students to dictate creative stories
     Provide alternative for written assignments
     Suggest use of pencil grips and specially designed pencils and pens
     Allow use of computer or word processor

    73
     Restrict copying tasks
     Provide tracking tools: ruler, text windows
     Use large print books
     Plan to order or check out books on tape
     Experiment with different paper types: pastels, graph, embossed raised line paper
    Excerpted from the LDA of California and UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute "Q.U.I.L.T.S."
    Calendar 2001-2002

    Source:- https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/visual-perceptual-visual-
    motor-deficit/

    Dyspraxia

    Problems with movement and


    coordination, language and speech.
    A disorder that is characterized by difficulty in muscle control, which causes problems
    with movement and coordination, language and speech, and can affect learning. Although
    not a learning disability, Dyspraxia often exists along with Dyslexia, Dyscalculia or
    ADHD.

    Signs and Symptoms


     Exhibits poor balance; may appear clumsy; may frequently stumble
     Shows difficulty with motor planning
     Demonstrates inability to coordinate both sides of the body
     Has poor hand-eye coordination
     Exhibits weakness in the ability to organize self and belongings
     Shows possible sensitivity to touch

    74
     May be distressed by loud noises or constant noises like the ticking of a clock or
    someone tapping a pencil
     May break things or choose toys that do not require skilled manipulation
     Has difficulty with fine motor tasks such as coloring between the lines, putting
    puzzles together; cutting accurately or pasting neatly
     Irritated by scratchy, rough, tight or heavy clothing

    Strategies
     Pre-set students for touch with verbal prompts, “I’m going to touch your right
    hand.”
     Avoid touching from behind or getting too close and make sure peers are aware of
    this
     Provide a quiet place, without auditory or visual distractions, for testing, silent
    reading or work that requires great concentration
     Warn the student when bells will ring or if a fire drill is scheduled
     Whisper when working one to one with the child
     Allow parents to provide earplugs or sterile waxes for noisy events such as
    assemblies
     Make sure the parent knows about what is observed about the student in the
    classroom
     Refer student for occupational therapy or sensory integration training
     Be cognizant of light and light sources that may be irritating to child
     Use manipulatives, but make sure they are in students field of vision and don’t
    force student to touch them
    Excerpted from the LDA of California and UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute "Q.U.I.L.T.S."
    Calendar 2001-2002

    Source:- https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/dyspraxia/

    75
    Executive Functioning

    Affects, planning,
    organization, strategizing, attention to details and managing time and
    space.
    An inefficiency in the cognitive management systems of the brain that affects a variety of
    neuropsychological processes such as planning, organization, strategizing, paying
    attention to and remembering details, and managing time and space. Although not a
    learning disability, different patterns of weakness in executive functioning are almost
    always seen in the learning profiles of individuals who have specific learning disabilities
    or ADHD.

    Source:- https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/executive-functioning/

    76
    Memory

    Affects storing and later


    retrieving information or getting information out.
    Three types of memory are important to learning, "working memory", "short term
    memory" and "long term memory." All three types of memory are used in the processing
    of both verbal and non-verbal information.

    1. “Working memory” refers to the ability to hold on to pieces of information until


    the pieces blend into a full thought or concept. For example, reading each word
    until the end of a sentence or paragraph and then understanding the full content.
    2. “Short-term memory” is the active process of storing and retaining information
    for a limited period of time. The information is temporarily available but not yet
    stored for long-term retention.
    3. “Long-term memory” refers to information that has been stored and that is
    available over a long period of time. Individuals might have difficulty with auditory
    memory or visual memory.

    How does it all work together to learn?


    One reads a sentence and holds on to it. Then the next and the next. By the end of the
    paragraph, he pulls together the meaning of the full paragraph. This is working memory.
    He continues to read the full chapter and study it. Information is retained long enough to
    take a test and do well. This is short-term memory. But, unless the information is
    reviewed and studied over a longer period of time, it is not retained. With more effort
    over time, the information might become part of a general body of knowledge. It is long-
    term memory.  If there are deficits in any or all of these types of memory, the ability to
    store and retrieve information required to carry out tasks can be impaired.

    Source:- https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/memory/

    77
    Five Reasons to Use Games in the Classroom
    Thanks to its partnership with publisher Eye on Education, Education World is
    pleased to present this blog post by Rebekah Stathakis, author of A Good Start:147
    Warm-Up Activities for Spanish Class.

    I have always enjoyed playing games. My family regularly plays board games when we
    get together, I play games with my own children almost every day, and (not surprisingly)
    I have used a wide variety of games* as instructional tools in my classroom. I have never
    had a student ask “Why are we playing games?” Instead, students usually ask, “Can we

    play this again soon?” 

    Some people may wonder, “Why play games in a class?” I think it is important to
    articulate the value of game playing for myself, my students, colleagues, parents and
    others. Over the years, I have come up with my own list of the top five reasons I believe
    game playing is a powerful instructional tool.

    *(By “game," I am referring to learning through play, active engagement and fun).

    1. Students learn through the process of playing the game. By playing a game,
    students may be able to understand a new concept or idea, take on a different
    perspective, or experiment with different options or variables. For example, in my
    beginning Spanish classes, I often played a card game the first week of school. The
    students were in groups of 4-5. Each person read through the directions to the card
    game; then, the game was played in complete silence. After the first round, one student
    from each group (typically the “winner”) moved to a different group. We typically
    played three or four rounds.

    What my students did not initially know is that each group had received a different set
    of rules. When a student moved to a new group, he often felt confused and was unsure

    78
    as to why the other people were playing differently (students usually say “they were
    playing wrong”). We used this as a starting point to discuss the experience of moving to
    a new country. Having moved from Spain to Venezuela to the United States, I shared
    my own experiences of learning new cultural rules and, at times, feeling like others
    were “playing wrong.”

    Then, we played the game again, but I allowed all the students to talk. Through
    discussions, students explained the rules to “newcomers,” and the game ran more
    smoothly (and students reported feeling much more satisfied). At this point, at least
    someone said, “I get it. You are trying to show us this is why we need to learn another
    language. So we can all explain the rules to each other.”
     
    2. Games provide a context for engaging practice. As a world languages teacher, I
    know students need a lot of practice to internalize important vocabulary and structures.
    However, for the practice to be meaningful, students must be engaged (and let’s be
    honest, countless workbook pages or textbook exercises are not always highly
    engaging!). Through lively games of charades, $25,000 pyramid, or others, my students
    willingly use the vocabulary and structures, repeatedly gaining much-needed practice.
     
    3. Through games, students can learn a variety of important skills. There are
    countless skills that students can develop through game playing such as critical thinking
    skills, creativity, teamwork, and good sportsmanship. For example, with my Spanish
    students, circumlocution is a very important skill. By playing word guessing games, I
    have seen my students’ ability to use circumlocution improve dramatically. I love to
    watch my students’ creativity during game sessions (we have used Play-doh, drawing,
    acting and many other activities in our games).

    One of my first years as a teacher, a student commented that he loved the verb game we
    were playing (a variation of “Yahtzee”). I told him I was glad he liked it, but that it
    wasn’t my invention—it was based on a game he might have played at home. He then
    told me that he had never played games at home and I was the only adult who had ever
    sat down to play a game with him. At times, I am surprised that students don’t logically
    think through how to play “Guess Who?” Then, I remind myself that this 14-year-old
    had never played a game with an adult before he came to my class! I see this as an
    opportunity to teach a wide range of life skills that don’t necessarily show up in my
    curriculum’s scope and sequence.
     

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    4. While playing games, students develop a variety of connections with the
    content and can form positive memories of learning. Some of my favorite classroom
    memories are from game times. I will never forget watching Miguel jump around the
    classroom to help his peers guess the word “Mono” (monkey). Fortunately, the students
    won’t forget it either (and they all got “mono” right on their assessments). The fun, silly
    or interesting moments tend to stand out in students’ memories, and they latch on to the
    vocabulary/structures we are studying. A positive emotional connection can facilitate
    learning. Furthermore, many games feature a variety of different stimuli; some students
    might remember the vocabulary words from acting them out, others remember reading
    the clues, and other students remember hearing classmates call out answers. Games can
    provide a variety of sensory experiences for students.
     
    5. Games grab students’ attention and actively engage them. I find that because
    students really enjoy playing games, it is a good way tofocus their attention and actively
    immerse them in Spanish. This can be especially useful in a wide variety of ways. For
    example, after a fire drill students sometimes have trouble settling down and returning
    to class. A game allows students to quickly engage and transition back to the content we
    were working on. After hours of state-mandated standardized tests, I find my students
    are often tired of sitting and full of energy; an energetic game with lots of movement
    may be just what they need.

    Education World®    
    Copyright © 2013 Education World

    Source:- http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reasons-to-play-games-in-the-
    classroom.shtml

    Teaching Strategies: What Students Might Learn from


    Playing Board Games
    By: Jordan Catapano

    Research has already revealed that simply playing board games in the classroom or on
    family game night helps brain development. Often we think of board games as relegated
    to the family’s dusty closet or the indoor recess backup plan on rainy days. But board
    games offer a variety of mind-enriching opportunities that could provide big benefits for
    our students via emplyong them as part of our teaching strategies.

    Games by definition are something we play, offering the opportunity to think, react,
    adapt, master, compete, and laugh all the way through. Research also suggests that board

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    games can be helpful in building social skills and self-esteem, as well as teach kids about
    rules, competition, fair play, and values.

    Games can be just plain fun. While we strive to capture attention and activate
    imagination with our lessons, we might be able to find ready-made opportunities for
    learning within those classic board games we relegate to our dusty shelves. Perhaps we
    take some time to consider how board games can play a more upfront role within
    our teaching strategies and curriculums and within how we see child development.

    Teaching Strategies: Some Classic Board Games Students Can Learn


    From

    Monopoly. Known as the classic game of real estate and trade, Monopoly is virtually a
    must-have for the American household. But what about the American classroom? Along
    with its snazzy tokens and play money, Monopoly is known for teaching students about
    math and finances. Monopoly is also an incredible powerful mechanism for introducing
    students to the art of negotiation, which Philip Orbanes author of “Monopoly, Money,
    and You: How to Profit from the Game’s Secret of Success” said “Is the first and perhaps
    most significant training ground kids get in learning the importance of the art of
    negotiation and how to do it.”

    This board game is relatively simple to learn at a young age, but offers opportunity for
    increasing levels of sophistication related to finances, investing, strategy, diplomacy,
    probability, and social interaction. Include this in your classroom and provide students
    with the chance to play full games with one another, reflect on what strategies led to
    victories, and key-in on exploiting some of those skill sets this game helps facilitate. Plus,
    Monopoly has so many quirky editions that it can suit nearly anyone’s interests and
    ability level.

    Risk. The game of world domination, as it’s subtitled, initially seems rooted in chance.
    After all, every turn involves multiple roles of the dice. Can this game just be about
    probability, odds, and luck? The answer is definitely not.

    Risk involves multiple players building armies, protecting their territories, and attacking
    their opponents in a global quest for conquest. As I played with friends, I realized that it
    was the same friends who ended up winning again and again – so luck had nothing to do
    with it. What these friends possessed (and I lacked) was the skills of diplomacy and
    negotiation mixed with a keen insight into timing, odds, and long-term strategy. This
    game blends a number of disciplines into its concept, compelling students to master
    certain skills or face extinction.

    Since Risk takes place on a game board largely shaped off of major global territories,
    playing helps students gain a greater sense of geography, and how geopolitics can play a

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    role in alliances, developments, and victories. The game offers fantastic tie-ins to
    mathematics and social study concepts that resonate deeply with students vying in this
    game of global conquest.

    Scrabble. Scrabble is known for “teaching new words,” and its challenging format
    compels players to take a random mix of consonants and vowels and transform them into
    winning word combinations. While world Scrabble champions often seem to possess
    a genetic predisposition for anagramming words, memorizing obscure terms, and
    strategizing board space use, there are plenty of advantages for our students. Namely, our
    students are forced to contrive words, look them up in dictionaries, and focus on their
    linguistic-cognitive skills in a competitive format.

    Chess. Chess is known as the king of board games, the ultimate in strategy, planning, and
    one-on-one competition. Chess is more than a board game – it’s a symbol of war, politics,
    relationships, and a far-reaching range of competitive analogies. It takes “Moments to
    learn but a lifetime to master,” and it provides overwhelming opportunity for our
    students. Each side has 16 pieces and battles for control over an 8x8 board. But within
    that tiny space, dramatic use of strategy, planning, resource management, anticipation,
    and counter-maneuver are played out. Plus, plenty of easy connections to war, politics,
    and general human interactions can be inspired by board play.

    In 2008, researchers in Germany divided students into two groups – one that received


    five hours of math instruction a week and one that received four hours of math instruction
    a week plus an hour of chess. The study found that students who had less direct math
    instruction yet an hour of chess play ended up developing higher math-associated
    academic abilities, suggesting that chess can genuinely pump up students’ brains in ways
    that strict academic instruction cannot.

    Clue. There’s been a murder, and only the best player’s powers of logic and reasoning
    can help solve the mystery. The classic “Whodunnit?” board game asks students to create
    and then test hypotheses to steadily deduce the murderer, the room, and the weapon
    before other competing players do. At the basic level, students slowly learn to cross off
    the cards they see from themselves and others off their list. However, as cognitive
    abilities become more complex, players can involve a rich series of social interactions
    and deductive powers to arrive at the correct answer. This is not just for fun at the grade
    school level; Professor Todd Neller et al. in 2006 conducted research to incorporate the
    game of Clue into his course to teach propositional logic and computer programming to
    college students.

    What To Ask Ourselves About Board Games

    The games listed above are just a few classics, the games you’re likely to find in your
    closet at home, on your indoor recess shelves, or on sale in your local store’s game aisle.

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    But there are limitless possibilities when it comes to board games. When considering any
    board game to have your students enjoy, consider some of the following questions:

     Does this game match the age/grade level? Board games can be adapted to
    many different age levels. Make sure your students are playing at a level that’s
    appropriately complex without becoming frustrating or impossible.
     What skills does a student need to possess to do well in the game? All board
    games revolve around certain skills. Ask yourself which ones any given board
    game requires students to focus on.
     What skills will this game help a student to develop? If your students were to
    consistently play certain games, what skills would their minds become especially
    adept at performing?
     How can we facilitate discussion and explanation of their thinking? Often,
    teacher-guided surveys, reflections, and in-the-moment prodding can accelerate
    skill acquisition. Consider how your role as a facilitator can encourage students to
    vocalize their thinking and reasoning processes.
     Is there any carryover? Sometimes when you play a game, you just get better at
    playing that game without those skills crossing over into other areas of
    metacognition. Think about how the games that your students play might offer
    opportunity to develop skills that extend into many other potential areas, too.

    Board games don’t have to take center stage in your curriculum, but they might provide a
    unique, fun opportunity to facilitate higher order cognitive abilities in ways that our
    normal academic studies may not. Consider how you might either encourage your
    students to play more board games on their own, or how you could potentially bring these
    games into your classroom and help students dive into these fun and competitive learning
    opportunities.

    What do you think about using board games in the classroom? What games would you
    suggest? Tell us in the comments below!

    Jordan Catapano is a high school English teacher in a Chicago suburb. In addition to


    being National Board Certificated and head of his school’s Instructional Development
    Committee, he also has worked with the Illinois Association of Teachers of English and
    has experience as a school board member for a private school. You can follow him on
    Twitter at @BuffEnglish, or visit his website www.jordancatapano.us.

    CaseyMartin / Shutterstock.com

    Source:- http://www.teachhub.com/teaching-strategies-what-students-might-learn-
    playing-board-games

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    The Benefits of Board Games
    Playing games with your kids is a perfect way to spend time together — and build
    learning skills at the same time.
     

    LEARNING BENEFITS

    Logic and Reasoning


    Spatial Reasoning
    Critical Thinking
    Spelling
    What your child most wants — and needs — is to be with you with no goal in mind
    beyond the joy of spending time together. He wants you to take pleasure in him, play
    with him, and listen to him. Nothing bolsters his self-esteem more! So why not pull out
    an old board game tonight? Playing games is an easy and excellent way to spend
    unhurried, enjoyable time together. As an added bonus, board games are also rich in
    learning opportunities. They satisfy your child's competitive urges and the desire to
    master new skills and concepts, such as:

     number and shape recognition, grouping, and counting


     letter recognition and reading
     visual perception and color recognition
     eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity
    Games don't need to be overtly academic to be educational, however. Just by virtue of
    playing them, board games can teach important social skills, such as communicating
    verbally, sharing, waiting, taking turns, and enjoying interaction with others. Board
    games can foster the ability to focus, and lengthen your child's attention span by
    encouraging the completion of an exciting, enjoyable game. Even simple board games
    like Chutes and Ladders offer meta-messages and life skills: Your luck can change in an
    instant — for the better or for the worse. The message inherent in board games is: Never
    give up. Just when you feel despondent, you might hit the jackpot and ascend up high, if
    you stay in the game for just a few more moves. 

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    Board games have distinct boundaries. Living in a complex society, children need clear
    limits to feel safe. By circumscribing the playing field — much as tennis courts and
    football fields will do later — board games can help your child weave her wild and
    erratic side into a more organized, mature, and socially acceptable personality. After all,
    staying within the boundaries (not intruding on others' space, for example) is crucial to
    leading a successful social and academic life.

    A Word About Winning


    Children take game playing seriously, so it's important that we help guide them through
    the contest. When a playing piece falls to a lower level, our kids really feel sad; when it
    rises up high, they are remarkably proud and happy, even if we adults know that it
    happened only by chance. Therefore, you need to help balance your child's pleasure in
    playing the game with his very limited ability to manage frustration and deal with the
    idea of losing. 

    For 3, 4, and even 5 year olds, winning is critical to a feeling of mastery. So generally, I
    think it's okay to "help" them win. By about 6, kids should begin to internalize the rules
    of fair play, tenuous as they may seem to a child who is losing a game. So I am also fine
    with a 6 year old "amending" the rules to win if he feels she has to. I encourage you to
    acknowledge your child's need for special rules. At the start of the game, you might want
    to ask, "Are we playing by regular or cheating rules today?"

    Choosing the Right Game at Every Age


    While in the long run we need to teach values, ethics, academic skills, and the importance
    of playing by the rules, in the early years the primary goals are helping your child
    become more self-confident and ambitious and to enjoy playing with others. If you're
    playing with more than one child, divide the family into teams, giving each player a job
    he can do well: A younger child may be responsible for rolling the dice (which he
    considers important, since that is where the luck comes from), and an older child the job
    of sorting the Monopoly money.

    As children approach 5, they have more sophisticated thinking skills and can begin to
    incorporate and exercise their number, letter, and word knowledge in literacy-based
    games. By 6, children may prefer more cognitively challenging games like checkers,
    which require and help develop planning, strategy, persistence, and critical thinking
    skills. Here are some of our favorite game picks for 5 and 6 year olds.

    Scrabble Junior (Milton Bradley): This is the younger cousin of the tremendously


    educational and challenging Scrabble, which we all know and love. Using large yellow
    letter tiles, players match letters to words already written on one side of the board. The
    reverse side has an open grid where older children can create their own words.
    Learning highlights: Fosters literacy and language skills. 
    Boggle Junior (Parker Brothers): The prelude to Boggle — one of the best learning
    games for older kids — is Boggle Junior, in which players link pictures to letters and
    words. The game comes with 6-sided letter cubes and numerous picture cards that have
    the name of the object spelled below. Players place a card on a blue tray and use 3- or 4-

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    letter cubes to copy the item's spelling. Older children can hide the written words and
    spell the word just using the picture. 
    Learning highlights: Teaches letters, words, spelling, and matching skills. 
    Zingo (Think Fun Company): One of this year's "hot" games, this Bingo-style matching
    game relies on a player's ability to spot pictures (of a dog, say, or the sun) and match
    them quickly to the words and pictures on his play card. As in Bingo, the first one to
    finish a complete line of items wins. 
    Learning Highlights: Encourages matching skills and quick thinking. 
    Monopoly Junior (Parker Brothers): As they do in its senior sibling, players roll dice to
    move around the game board and buy real estate. The game is shorter and uses smaller
    dollar denominations so kids can figure out winnings and penalties more quickly. 
    Learning Highlights: Develops math, color recognition, reading, reasoning, and social
    skills.
    Junior Labyrinth (Ravensburger): Each player gets a large, easy-to-handle piece shaped
    like a ghost, which she moves through an extra-large maze in an attempt to reach a
    treasure. While the path may appear straight, the walls move and shift, so getting there is
    a challenge. This game imparts the idea of impermanence and change, since a path that
    was open just a moment ago might now be closed and vice versa. Players have to figure
    out what to do when circumstances change unexpectedly — a good life skill to learn.  
    Learning highlights: Teaches spatial relations and relies on some manual dexterity.
    TOPICS
    Alphabet Recognition, Spelling, Vocabulary, Colors, Early Math, Early
    Reading, Social Skills, Board Games.
    RELATED

    Source:- http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/creativity-play/benefits-
    board-games

    Checker Board Math Game

    Multiplication Facts
    Memorizing Math facts just got a lot
    easier with this checker board math
    game! Since most kids are already
    familiar with playing checkers, they'll
    have no problem with this game. And
    if they haven't played the classic

    86
    273Save

    checkers board game, here's their


    chance to learn.

    Math Checkers
    Skills: Multiplication facts up to 12 x 12

    Number of Players: 2

    What You Need: Copy of Checker math game board, Calculator, Two different color
    sets of Checkers. 

    How To Play:

     The game is played very much like the classic checkers board game. After you
    print off the checker board, place it in the middle of the two players. 
     Players decide which color checkers they want.
     Each player places their checkers on all of the grey squares an their side of the
    board as shown below.

     Decide who will go first. 


     Players will take turns trying to move their pieces diagonally, one space at a time
    by answering multiplication problems correctly.
     The first player chooses one of his pieces that can be moved to a vacant space and
    then attempts to state correctly the multiplication on the space they want to move
    to.

    Let's say player 1 decides to move their checker to the square that says "7 x 3". (See
    picture below.) The player will first have to say the multiplication sentence on that
    square correctly to move their piece to that square. So they would say out loud,

    87
    "seven times three equals twenty-one".

     Since 7 x 3 = 21 is correct, they move their piece to that vacant square. (See the
    picture below.) If they do not answer correctly on the first try, they do not move
    and player 2 takes their turn.

    Jumping an Opponent's Piece: 

     A player may jump an opponent’s Checker and capture the piece if the grey
    square diagonally beyond that Checker is vacant. If possible, you can double or
    triple jump on a turn.
     After you jump over one of your opponent’s Checkers, remove it from the Game
    Board and place it nearby in discard pile. (See pictures below.)

    The picture on the left shows the player with the black checkers has a chance to jump his
    opponent. He must first say aloud the multiplication in the vacant space :

    "9 x 4 = 36".

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    The picture on the right shows the result after the player says the correct multiplication
    sentence and jumps the opponent and removes the red checker from the board.

     When you reach the back row of your opponent’s side of the Game Board with
    one of your Checkers, it becomes a King. To designate it as a King, you will put
    one of the checkers of the same color that was removed from the board on top of
    it. So now it is a double-layer. 
     The advantage of having Kings is they can move can move diagonally
    forward and backward!
     The player that is the first to remove all of their opponent’s Checkers from the
    Game Board is the winner!

    Hope you enjoy this checker board math game.

    Source:- http://www.learn-with-math-games.com/checker-board-math-game.html

    The Song:- A Deck Of Cards


    Friends, this is Tex Ritter with a strange story about a soldier boy and a deck of cards

    During a North African campaign a bunch of soldier boys had been on a long hike, and
    they arrived in a little town called Casino." The next morning being Sunday several of the
    boys went to church. A
    Sergeant commanded the boys in church, and after the Chaplain had read the prayer the
    text was taken up next. Those of the boys who had a prayer book took them out, but this
    one boy only had a deck of cards, and so he spread them out

    The Sergeant saw the cards and said,"Soldier, put away those cards."

    After the services were over the soldier was taken prisoner and brought before the
    Provost Marshall. The Marshall said, "Sergeant, why have you brought this man here?"

    "For playing cards in church, sir."

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    "And what have you to say for yourself, son?"

    "Much, sir." replied the soldier

    'The Marshall said, "I hope so, for if not , I shall punish you more than any man was ever
    punished."

    The soldier said, "Sir , I have been on a march for about six days, and I had neither Bible
    nor Prayer Book, but I hope to satisfy you, Sir, with the purity of my intentions." With
    that the boy started his story

    "You see, Sir, when I look at the Ace it reminds me that there is but one God. The deuce
    reminds me that the Bible is divided into two parts; the Old and New Testaments. And
    when I see the trey I think of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. When I see the four I think
    of the four evangelist who preached the Gospel. There was Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
    John. And when I see the five it reminds me of the five wise virgins who trimmed their
    lamps. Ten of 'em; five who were wise and were saved; five were foolish and were shut
    out. And when I see the six it reminds me that in six days God made this great heaven
    and earth. And when I see the seven it reminds me that on the seventh day God rested
    from His great work. When I see the eight I think of the eight righteous persons God
    saved when he destroyed this earth. There was Noah, his wife,their three sons, and their
    wives. And when I see the nine I think of the lepers our Savior cleansed , and nine of the
    ten didn't even thank Him. When I see the ten I think of the Ten Commandments God
    handed down to Moses on a tablet of stone. When I see the King it reminds me that there
    is but one King of Heaven, God Almighty. And when I see the queen I think of the
    Blessed Virgin Mary who is Queen of Heaven. And the jacks, or knaves, it's the devil

    And when I count the number of spots on a deck of cards I find three hundred sixty-five,
    the number of days in a year. Fifty-two cards, the number of weeks in a year. Four suits,
    the number of weeks in a month. Twelve picture cards, the number of months in a year.
    Thirteen tricks, the number of weeks in a quarter. So you see, Sir, my pack of cards serve
    me as a Bible, almanac, and prayer book."

    "Friends, I know this story is true, because I knew that soldier."

    Source:- https://genius.com/Tex-ritter-deck-of-cards-lyrics

    How Board Games Help Kids to Develop Skills

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    Board games help kids develop important skills
    Do you need a new mode of entertainment for your kids, especially something that’s
    gadget-free, educational and fun? In such a case, engaging them with classic board games
    is a good idea. Besides being fun, they also teach your children strategy skills, colours,
    teamwork and is great way to bond with the whole family.
    Traditional board games include Chess, Chinese Checkers, Ludo and Snakes & Ladders,
    to name a few. At the turn of the 19th century, a number of new games were invented
    such as Life, Monopoly and Scrabble which became family heirlooms. It is only in very
    recent times that, we have seen a spurt of interest in strategy-based games involving
    adults who use advanced tactics during game play. The Settlers of Catan (a multiplayer
    board game where the players become settlers trying to trade property and gain
    resources) is one such game that originated in Germany. These will keep the older kids
    engaged.
    Now, let’s move onto the benefits of board games:
    1. Bonding Time: Board games are the best way for children to bond with their friends
    and family. We live in an age when everyone is busy with gadgets, therefore it’s
    important to build a platform for communication that will allow kids to understand their
    parents and be understood in return. Moreover, it also creates time for some fun.
    2. Learning Skills: Playing board games can be more than just fun.  These games are a
    great mechanism to test an individual’s intelligence, strategy and skills. The way a person
    understands and reacts to different situations is what makes the game interesting and

    91
    different every time it is played.  Younger children will also learn colours, shapes, figures
    and numbers better and faster while they play these games.
    3. Life Lessons: Remember that Snake & Ladders game you grew up playing, it is a
    great way to teach young kids about numbers. Similarly games like Ludo, Business and
    Monopoly are a great way to learn strategy skills. Games like Scrabble and Soduku help
    develop language and math skills.
    4. Problem Solving Skills: Problem solving is an important skill that every kid must
    learn and board games are a stepping stone to acquiring these skills, as they try to recover
    from a heavy debt in Monopoly or avoid a crisis in the Game of Life.
    5. Budget Entertainment: A movie ticket, a visit to the nearest mall or a tour to the park
    will cost you money. But getting your hands on a board game will only lead to fun
    moments that you will cherish.
    With inputs from Dr. Shyam Makhija, Director, Business Development - Pegasus
    ToyKraft Pvt.Ltd and founder of Checolo, a new board game that is fun as well as
    educational.
    Image courtesy: ©Thinkstock photos/ Getty images
    Source:- http://www.idiva.com/news-iparenting/how-board-games-help-kids-to-develop-
    skills/28271

    Educational Value of Chess


    by Wendi Fischer

    It's not about Kings, Queens, and Rooks, but rather, quadrants and coordinates, thinking
    strategically and foreseeing consequences. It's about lines and angles, weighing options
    and making decisions. Chess might just be the perfect teaching and learning tool. Since
    2000, America's Foundation for Chess (AF4C) has been working with 2nd and 3rd grade
    students and their teachers to promote the use of chess as an educational tool. The goal of
    the First Move™ curriculum is to use the game of chess as a tool, to increase higher level
    thinking skills, advance math and reading skills, and build self-confidence.

    Research shows, there is a strong correlation between learning to play chess and
    academic achievement. In 2000, a landmark study found that students who received chess
    instruction scored significantly higher on all measures of academic achievement,
    including math, spatial analysis, and non-verbal reasoning ability (Smith and Cage,
    2000).

    While studies have shown chess to have a positive impact on kids in elementary, middle
    and high school, AF4C targeted second and third graders as the evidence, and certainly
    our experience, suggests it's the ideal age. Eight and nine year-old minds and thinking
    skills are developing rapidly, and chess teaches higher level thinking skills such as the
    ability to visualize, analyze, and think critically.

    92
    If you teach an adult to play chess, they quickly comprehend where they should and
    shouldn't move pieces to capture or avoid capture. Young Kate knew the names of the
    pieces and how they moved, but initially moved her pieces randomly. Soon she was
    saying, "If I move my piece here, you could capture it, right? Then I'm not going to move
    there." You can almost see the mental changes taking place.

    Chess has a unique and strong brand attribute, in that it is generally perceived that
    playing chess and being smart are connected. This can be very positive driver for young
    children, who, rather than being intimidated as many adults are, embrace the notion. As
    children get older, a stigma, or nerd factor attaches to "being smart." But in the second
    and third grade, kids want to be thought of as smart. It is also an important age for
    developing an attachment to school. If kids associate school and learning with fun, they
    will most likely develop a stronger attachment to school.

    To be referred to as "the perfect teaching tool," chess would have to do much more than
    be age appropriate, and it does. As our classrooms become increasingly diverse, being
    able to reach all children becomes increasingly challenging. Chess levels the playing field
    as it crosses all socio-economic boundaries. It is a universal game, with worldwide rule
    consistency. Age, gender, ethnic background, religious affiliation, size, shape, color, and
    language don't matter when playing chess. Everyone is equal on the chessboard. Students
    who are English language learners find success with chess, because they don't face
    language barriers on the chessboard. Principal Jeff Newport commented, "We have 34
    different languages spoken at our school, and chess is now the one we have in common."

    Many schools have after-school chess clubs that create a mix of fun, competition and
    learning. Predominantly the members are boys. An unintended consequence of these
    programs is that they often leave some kids behind who are not drawn to the competitive
    aspect of the game. By integrating chess into the classroom, we are able to reach all
    children and provide them with the benefits of learning through the game of chess. These
    benefits include the fact that students who wouldn't have thought to join the chess club on
    their own, are more apt to join after having been exposed to chess in their classroom. In
    Philadelphia, where 20 schools have implemented First Move™ during the school day,
    participation in chess club after-school increased in several schools that already had a
    chess club, and five schools created a new club in response to student demand.

    The First Move™ curriculum was developed by a curriculum professional, and designed
    specifically to connect with National and State academic standards. For example, while
    learning about the chessboard, students are taught that each square has a name/location.
    You can find each square by using coordinates, a set of numbers, letters or a number and
    a letter, that tell you the exact location of something. On the chessboard, each square is
    located at the intersection of a file (vertical line) and rank (horizontal line). As they learn,
    students begin to talk in chess terms, i.e." I am moving my c3 Knight to e4." This helps
    their chess game, and it also meets the Washington State Standards for math (1.5.1 and
    5.3.1). "Chess will never show up on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning
    [test]" says Kent Ferris, Lafayette Elementary School, "but the confidence, focus, and
    academic skills our students are gaining through becoming analytical players will pay

    93
    measurable benefits in the years ahead." Principal Michelle Hartman was concerned
    about her 3rd grade class because they were considered a "high-risk" group. At the end of
    the school year she noted, "Chess has really made a difference for these kids, and their
    test scores help prove it."

    In any classroom, there are disparate levels of prior knowledge on any given topic; chess
    is no different. Teachers find some of their students already know how to play chess. This
    becomes an opportunity to place those children in leadership roles as teaching assistants
    for their classmates. The reason isn't clear, but in many interviews with children in the
    First Move™ program, they express their desire to teach others to play chess.
    Superintendent Reece Blincoe from Stockdale ISD reported his delight when his family
    gathered on the living room floor so his 3rd grade daughter could teach them all to play
    chess, based on the lessons she had learned during the school day in the First Move™
    program.

    The way chess can incorporate and relate to other core subjects makes it an amazingly
    powerful tool. In First Move™ Teacher Training Workshops, classroom teachers learn
    how to develop their core curriculum using chess. Chess is one big science experiment;
    every time you play a game you are testing hypotheses and learning by trial and error.
    Chess is rooted in history and can open a door to history knowledge. Our current game of
    chess developed in the Middle Ages in Western Europe, though it began in India at least
    1500 years ago. The King, Queen, Bishops, Knights, Rooks, and Pawns are symbolic of
    real groups of people in the Middle Ages and studies of them can take children into an
    understanding of what life was like at that time.

    As children play chess, they begin to see the importance of thinking ahead, trying to
    figure out what their opponent might do next and what their alternatives are too. This
    ability to anticipate outcomes can transfer to their reading comprehension. Students can
    predict outcomes, and realize that characters in their stories are interconnected, just as
    just as they and their opponent, and the pieces on the chessboard are.

    In the First Move classroom, kids aren't thinking about the benefits of chess, and how it
    might help them on their standardized tests, but they are thinking while having fun. Their
    teachers can see the benefits, however. Julie Doan, teacher at Medina Elementary says:

    My students are more focused—chess certainly accounts for this. In math, for instance,
    students who had studied chess were able to read graphs and work with charts so much
    more smoothly than the students I had last year, who weren't even able to read a grid
    prior to the lessons in math class.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Reference

    94
    Smith, J. P. and Cage, B. N. (2000). The effects of chess instruction on the mathematics
    achievements of southern, rural, black secondary students. Research in the Schools, 7,
    19-26.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    About the author

    Wendi Fischer is the Scholastic Director of America's Foundation for Chess, a non-profit
    organization formed in 2000, dedicated to bringing chess into the schools so that all
    children can have the benefits of its lessons. Wendi becomes "Lady Wendolyn" in the
    DVD lessons that accompany the First Move chess program produced by the Foundation.
    Email: wendi@af4c.org

    ©July 2006

    http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/strategies/topics/thinking-skills/chess/

    Review

    Do the benefits of chess instruction transfer to academic


    and cognitive skills? A meta-analysis ☆
     Giovanni Sala, , 
     Fernand Gobet

    http://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2016.02.002
    Get rights and content
    Under a Creative Commons license

    Highlights
    •

    Chess instruction is thought to improve children's cognitive and academic skills.


    •
    Results show a modest overall effect size (g = 0.338, K = 40).
    •

    The duration of chess training predicts pupils' achievement.


    •

    However, no study had an “ideal design”; thus, placebo effects cannot be ruled
    out.
    •

    More than half of educational interventions are better than chess instruction.

    95
    Abstract
    In recent years, pupils' poor achievement in mathematics has been a concern in
    many Western countries. Chess instruction has been proposed as one way to
    remedy this state of affairs, as well as improving other academic topics such as
    reading and general cognitive abilities such as intelligence. The aim of this
    paper is to quantitatively evaluate the available empirical evidence that skills
    acquired during chess instruction in schools positively transfer to mathematics,
    reading and general cognitive skills. The selection criteria were satisfied by 24
    studies (40 effect sizes), with 2788 young people in the chess condition and
    2433 in the control groups. The results show (a) a moderate overall effect size
    (g = 0.338); (b) a tendency for a stronger effect on mathematical (g = 0.382)
    than reading skill (g = 0.248), and (c) a significant and positive effect of
    duration of treatment (Q(1) = 3.89, b = 0.0038, p < .05). However, no study
    used an “ideal design” including pre- and post-test, full random allocation of
    participants to conditions and, most importantly, both a do-nothing control
    group and an active control group - a problem common in education research.
    Directions for further research are discussed.

    Keywords
     Chess; 
     Transfer; 
     Meta-analysis; 
     Learning; 
     Education

    1. Introduction
    Recently, many concerns have been expressed about pupils' poor mathematics
    achievement both in the United States (Hanushek et al., 2012 ;  Richland et al.,
    2012) and in Europe (Grek, 2009). Pupils' low mathematical skills have serious
    consequences well beyond the classroom, as the possibility of successfully
    majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
    subjects, and hence obtaining STEM jobs, is limited by one's mathematical
    skills. The job market demands more graduates in STEM subjects than
    graduates in the humanities and has also become more competitive worldwide
    in recent years, with increasingly high mathematical competences being
    required (Halpern et al., 2007).

    To address the issue of how to improve mathematics instruction, policy makers


    and researchers have explored a number of avenues. One such avenue is to
    teach chess in schools. Chess has recently started to become part of the school
    curriculum (as an optional subject) in several countries.

    96
    Chess-related research and educational projects are currently ongoing in the
    United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Germany, and Italy, among other countries.
    Commenting on a large project having introduced chess in the curriculum of
    175 schools in the UK, chess master Jerry Myers stated that chess “directly
    contributes to academic performance. Chess makes children smarter” (Garner,
    2012).

    The European Parliament has expressed its favourable opinion on using chess
    courses in schools as educational tool (Binev, Attard-Montalto, Deva, Mauro, &
    Takkula, 2011) and, similarly, the Spanish Parliament has approved the
    implementation of chess courses during school hours. These initiatives have
    been conducted because chess is considered an effective educational tool able to
    improve not only mathematical skills, but also other academic skills such as
    reading and general cognitive abilities such as concentration and intelligence,
    and even children's heuristics and habits of mind (Costa & Kallick, 2009).
    Critically, efforts to promote chess in schools take for granted that chess skill
    transfers to other domains.

    1.1. Difficulty of transfer


    Transfer of learning occurs when a set of skills acquired in one domain
    generalizes to other domains or improves general cognitive abilities. Transfer is
    an important question both theoretically and practically. Mestre
    (2005) distinguishes between near-transfer, where transfer occurs between
    closely related domains (e.g., transfer from geometry to calculus) and far-
    transfer, where the source and target domains are only loosely related (e.g.,
    transfer from Latin to geography). It has been proposed that transfer is a
    function of the extent to which two domains share common features ( Thorndike
    & Woodworth, 1901) and cognitive elements (Anderson, 1990). In line with this
    hypothesis, near-transfer is often observed, although exceptions also exist. For
    example, research into expertise shows that transfer is only partial between
    subspecialties of expertise such as cardiology and neurology (Rikers, Schmidt,
    & Boshuizen, 2002). By contrast, substantial research in education and
    psychology suggests that far-transfer is difficult (Donovan, Bransford, &
    Pellegrino, 1999). This includes the research on teaching the computer language
    LOGO in order to improve children's thinking skills, which has obtained
    disappointing results ( De Corte and Verschaffel, 1986 ;  Gurtner et al., 1990).
    In addition, the higher the level of a skill, the more specific the features of a
    domain will be, and the lower the likelihood that there will be transfer (Ericsson
    & Charness, 1994), in particular because a large number of domain-specific
    perceptual chunks will be acquired (Gobet, 2015). Again, there are exceptions,
    and some individuals have excelled in several different domains ( Gobet, 2011 ;
    Gobet, 2015).
    The difficulty of transferring knowledge and skills raises a number of
    significant practical issues, especially in education. Most educational
    interventions try to transmit knowledge which, to some extent, is meant to be

    97
    transferable from one domain of learning to another. In fact, transferability of
    skills is either a tacit assumption or a specific aim of nearly every educational
    program (Donovan et al., 1999 ;  Perkins and Salomon, 1994). Therefore,
    educational institutions are interested in methodologies implementing school
    activities that teach and boost transferable skills. One approach is to teach
    general strategies, such as learning, problem-solving, and reasoning heuristics
    (Perkins & Grotzer, 2000), so that these skills can be easily transferred to other
    domains. Another approach is to teach a specific activity, with the hope that this
    activity will help individuals to develop skills that might be useable in other
    domains. The game of chess is one such activity that has been used in that way.

    1.2. The issue of transfer in chess research


    A substantial amount of research has been devoted to understanding the
    cognitive processes underpinning chess skill, and much is known about chess
    players’ perception, learning, memory, and problem solving (for reviews,
    see Gobet, 2015 ;  Gobet et al., 2004). Much less is known about the extent to
    which chess skill transfers to other domains of learning.
    Several studies (Bilalić et al., 2007; Doll and Mayr, 1987; Frydman and Lynn,
    1992 ;  Grabner et al., 2007) have shown that chess players tend to be more
    intelligent than the general population. However, these studies were
    correlational in nature and cannot establish that chess skill is the actual cause of
    better intellectual abilities. In fact, the exact opposite causal explanation could
    be true: some individuals could excel at chess due to their superior intellectual
    abilities (Gobet & Campitelli, 2002).
    Assuming that skills acquired in chess will lead to benefits in domains such as
    mathematics and reading clearly implies the presence of far transfer. In line
    with Thorndike and Woodworth's (1901) hypothesis, several studies have
    shown that chess players' skill tends to be context-bound, suggesting that it is
    difficult to achieve far-transfer from chess to other domains. For example,
    memory for chess positions fails to transfer from chess to digits both in adults
    and children (Chi, 1978 ;  Schneider et al., 1993); chess players' perceptual
    skills do not transfer to visual memory of shapes (Waters, Gobet, & Leyden,
    2002); chess skill does not predict performance in the economic game known as
    beauty contest (Bühren & Frank, 2010); and finally, chess planning skills do not
    help chess players to solve the Tower of London task (Unterrainer, Kaller,
    Leonhart, & Rahm, 2011).

    1.3. Chess in school


    In spite of these negative results, several researchers have pursued the
    hypothesis that skills acquired with chess can transfer to other domains. Two
    main explanations have been adduced to support this hypothesis. First, chess
    requires decision-making skills and high-level processes (such as acquiring and
    selecting relevant information from a problem) similar to those used in
    mathematics and reading (Margulies, 1992). Second, since chess is a demanding
    task involving focused attention and problem solving, playing chess should

    98
    strengthen these cognitive abilities and thus be beneficial for children's school
    performance (Bart, 2014). However, convincing experimental evidence of the
    effectiveness of chess instruction is lacking. In a literature review, Gobet and
    Campitelli (2006) argued that there was no strong evidence for the cognitive
    and academic benefits of chess. They found only few studies, which included
    unpublished reports or master and doctoral theses. Most importantly, many of
    these studies had a quasi-experimental design (no random assignment to the
    experimental and control groups) and, in some cases, the experimental samples
    were self-selected.
    The difficulty of transferring chess skill is consistent with the literature on the
    transfer of specific skills. At first blush, it is hard to see why knowing the
    strategic value of the bishop pair or the correct way to handle a minority attack
    should offer any advantage in mathematics, understanding a text, or developing
    focused attention. Nevertheless, it is possible that chess practice enhances some
    abilities shared with other domains, such as those mentioned above, provided
    that chess is taught early on with children, when academic and cognitive
    abilities are at the beginning of their development. This is the reason why chess
    intervention studies have focused on the academic and cognitive skills of
    children rather than adults: Children's skills are less context-specific than
    adults', and thus transfer of learning is more likely in the former than in the
    latter.
    Some recent studies (Sala et al., 2015; Scholz et al., 2008; Trinchero, 2012 ;
    Trinchero and Sala, 2016) have provided more refined explanations as to why
    chess may effectively enhance cognitive and mathematical skills. According to
    these researchers, chess improves children's mathematical skills because the
    game has some elements in common with the mathematical domain and because
    it promotes suitable habits of mind (Costa & Kallick, 2009). Through chess,
    children train several context-independent skills (such as the ability to
    understand the existence of a problem or the need for correct reasoning), which
    may transfer to the mathematical domain. This is possible because (primary
    school) mathematics and chess share some common features (e.g., numerical
    and spatial relationships as well as quantity-based problems), strategies to solve
    problems (e.g., focusing and interpreting game/problem situations, selecting
    relevant information, or looking for correct arguments), cognitive skills (e.g.,
    attention) and meta-cognitive skills (e.g., planning). The aim of our study is thus
    to test, comprehensively and quantitatively, these previous claims on the
    putative benefits of chess instruction in school.

    2. Scope, aims, and hypotheses of the present meta-analysis


    Given the considerable attention that research on chess in school is attracting
    and the potentially important implications for our understanding of transfer, it is
    important to provide a scientific evaluation of the effects of chess instruction on
    academic and cognitive skills. A similar interest has been devoted to studies on
    the possibility that video-games improve cognitive skills and that the benefits
    transfer to other domains (Green et al., 2010a ;  Green et al., 2010b). Just like
    with the video-game literature, a possibility that will have to be kept in mind in

    99
    our meta-analysis is that the observed transfer from the source domains to the
    target domains might be due to confounds such as the placebo effect (Boot
    et al., 2011 ;  Gobet et al., 2014).
    Our meta-analysis1 is an investigation of studies regarding the potential benefits
    of chess for children with respect to (a) mathematics skills, (b) reading skills,
    and (c) several cognitive skills (general intelligence, meta-cognition,
    attention/concentration, and spatial abilities). We chose these three categories of
    skills because they were the three categories chess-related research has been
    focusing on.
    Our study had two main aims. The first aim was to estimate the overall effect
    size of the benefits of chess instruction by comparing experimental groups to
    control groups. The second aim was to evaluate the potential role of several
    factors in moderating the effect of chess instruction in children. The first four
    moderators addressed substantive aspects of the studies, and the last two
    covered methodological aspects:
    1.
    Outcome: Mathematics, reading, or cognitive skills;
    2.
    Duration of training (in hours);
    3.
    Grade of the participants: Primary or secondary school;
    4.
    Participants' category: Children with special educational needs or not;
    5.
    Publication: Published or unpublished studies, where “published” is defined as
    having appeared in a peer-reviewed journal;
    6.
    Design quality: Integer index (range 0–3, from poor to good) expressing the
    quality of the study design. The index measures three methodological
    characteristics: random allocation, administered pre-test, and avoidance of self-
    selection of the sample.
    Along with the evaluation of the potential role of the above moderators, two
    specific sets of hypotheses were tested. The first pair of hypotheses dealt with
    the general question as to whether the skills acquired with chess instruction
    transfer to other domains.

    Two opposing hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis 1a predicted that, consistent


    with the literature on expertise and most of the literature on transfer, chess skill
    does not transfer to other domains, or at best the transfer is small and mostly
    due to unspecific factors (such as placebo effects).

    Hypothesis 1b, which reflects the view held by most researchers and
    practitioners in the field of chess instruction, predicted that there is substantial

    100
    transfer. The second hypothesis dealt with the benefits of chess instruction on
    mathematics and reading. In line with Thorndike and Woodworth's (1901), it
    was predicted that transfer is stronger with mathematics than with reading, as
    chess shares more elements with the former topic than with the latter.

    3. Method
    3.1. Literature search
    A systematic search strategy was used to find the relevant studies. The
    procedure is summarized in Fig. 1. Google Scholar, ProQuest (Dissertations &
    Theses), ERIC and Psyc-Info databases were searched to identify all the
    potential relevant studies. In addition, previous narrative reviews were
    examined, and we e-mailed researchers in the field asking for unpublished
    studies and data.

    Fig. 1. 
    Flow diagram of the studies considered and ultimately included in the meta-
    analysis.
    Figure options

    3.2. Inclusion/exclusion criteria


    The studies were included according to the following seven criteria:

    101
    1.
    The design of the study was experimental or quasi-experimental; correlational and
    ex post facto studies were excluded.
    2.
    The independent variable (chess instruction) was successfully isolated; the studies
    using chess instruction as one of several independent variables (such as other
    activities) in the experimental group were excluded.
    3.
    The study presented a comparison between a chess intervention group and at least
    one control group.
    4.
    The treatment and the control groups did not differ in terms of grade (e.g. third
    graders compared to fourth or fifth graders).
    5.
    During the study, a measure of mathematical, reading, or cognitive skill was
    collected.
    6.
    The participants of the study were pupils from kindergarten to the 12th grade.
    7.
    The data presented in the published study were sufficient to calculate an effect
    size or the author(s) of the study, after having been contacted, provided the
    necessary data.
    We found 24 studies, conducted from July 1976 to July 2015, that met all the
    inclusion criteria (see Table 1). These studies included 25 independent samples
    and 40 effect sizes, and a total of 5221 participants (2788 in the experimental
    groups and 2433 in the control groups).
    Table 1.
    Summary of the 24 studies included in the meta-analysis.
    Study Outcome Published Hours Design Special Grade Outcome
    quality educational measure
    needs
    Aciego, Cognitive Yes 96 1 No Both WISC-R
    Garcia,
    and
    Betancort
    (2012)
    Aydin Maths & Yes 48 1 Yes Secondary Unknown
    (2015) Cognitive
    Barrett Maths & Yes 25 2 Yes Secondary TAKS
    and Fish Cognitive
    (2011)
    Christiae Maths & Yes 42 2 No Primary DGB

    102
    Study Outcome Published Hours Design Special Grade Outcome
    quality educational measure
    needs
    n and Reading
    Verhofsta
    dt-
    Denève
    (1981)
    DuCette Maths & No Not 0 No Both PSSA
    (2009) Reading Given
    Eberhard Cognitive No 60 1 Yes Secondary CogAT;
    (2003) NNAT
    Forrest Maths & No 37 2 No Primary WISC-R
    et al. Reading (arithmetic
    (2005) subtest);
    Neale test
    Fried & Cognitive No Not 2 Yes Primary WISC-R
    Ginsburg Given
    (n.d.)
    Garcia Maths & No 90 1 No Primary TAKS
    (2008) Reading
    Gliga and Cognitive Yes 10 3 No Primary Krapelin test;
    Flesner Rey test
    (2014)
    Hong and Cognitive Yes 20 3 Yes Both RPM
    Bart
    (2007)
    Kazemi Maths & Yes 96 2 No Both TIMSS
    et al. Cognitive (mathematica
    (2012) l literacy);
    Panaoura,
    Philippou &
    Christou test
    Kramer Cognitive No 32 2 No Primary Unknown
    & Filipp
    (n.d.)
    Margulie Reading No Not 1 No Primary DRP
    s (1992) Given
    Rifner Maths & No 30 2 No Secondary CTBS/4
    (1992) Reading
    Romano Maths No 25 3 No Primary INVALSI
    (2011)
    Sala & Maths & No 10 3 No Primary OCDE-Pisa

    103
    Study Outcome Published Hours Design Special Grade Outcome
    quality educational measure
    needs
    Trinchero Cognitive (mathematica
    (in l literacy)
    preparati
    on)
    Sala et al. Maths Yes 18 3 No Primary OCDE-Pisa
    (2015) (mathematica
    l literacy)
    Sala, Maths & No 15 3 No Primary TIMSS
    Gobet, Cognitive (mathematica
    Trinchero l literacy);
    ,& Panaoura &
    Ventura Philippou test
    (submitte
    d)
    Scholz Maths & Yes 24 3 Yes Primary Arithmetic
    et al. Cognitive test designed
    (2008) by the
    authors; DL-
    KG
    Sigirtmac Cognitive Yes 50 0 No Primary Unknown
    (2012)
    Trinchero Maths No 30 2 No Primary Unknown
    and
    Piscopo
    (2007)
    Trinchero Maths No 19 3 No Primary OCDE-Pisa
    & Sala (mathematica
    (2016) l literacy)
    Yap Maths & No 50 0 No Primary Oregon State
    (2006) Reading Assessment
    Table options
    3.3. Effect size2

    For the studies with an only-post-test design, the standardized means difference


    (Cohen's d) was calculated with the following formula:
    equation(1)
    d= (M e−M c)/S D p o o l e d

    where SDpooled is the pooled standard deviation and Me and Mc are the means


    of the experimental group and the control group, respectively.3 For the studies

    104
    with a repeated-measure design, the standardized means difference was
    calculated with the following formula:
    equation(2)
    d= (M g − e −M g − c )/S D p o o l e d − p r e

    where SDpooled-pre is the pooled standard deviation of the two pre-test


    standard deviations, and Mg−e and Mg−c are the gain of the experimental
    group and of the control group, respectively. For the studies with an ANCOVA
    design, the standardized means difference was calculated with the following
    formula:
    equation(3)
    d= (M a d j − e −M a d j − c )/S D p o o l e d

    where SDpooled is the pooled standard deviation of the two standard deviations


    of the unadjusted means, and Madj-e– Madj−c are the adjusted means of the
    experimental group and the control group, respectively. To correct for the
    upward bias, every Cohen's d was converted into Hedges's g by using the
    following formula:
    equation(4)
    g= d/(1+ 0.75/(N − 3))

    where N is the sample size of the study.Where reliability coefficients were


    available, the effect sizes were corrected for measurement error by using the
    following formula:
    equation(5)
    g ′ = g/a

    where a is the square root of the reliability coefficient. It was possible to apply
    this correction to 31 effect sizes. Finally, there were three outliers whose
    residual errors had z scores greater than 4. These were Winsorized to z scores
    equal to 3.99.
    Since we believed that the effect sizes had to reflect the actual improvement of
    the experimental groups and should not be the product of statistical artefacts, we
    adopted the following criterion: when the control group performance decreased
    in the post test, the effect size was calculated by considering Mg-c (control
    group gain) equal to 0. Finally, the Comprehensive Meta Analysis (Version 3.0;
    Biostat, Englewood, NJ) software package was used for computing the effect
    sizes and conducting the statistical analyses.

    4. Results
    A random model (K = 40) was built to calculate an overall effect size. 4 The
    overall effect size was g = 0.338, 95% CI [0.242; 0.435], p < .001 ( Fig. 2). The
    degree of heterogeneity between effect sizes was between moderate and high
    (I2 = 57.227), suggesting the potential effect of some moderators. A trim-and-
    fill analysis showed that there was no publication bias. Consistent with this, a

    105
    funnel plot analysis, depicting the relationship between standard error and effect
    size, was approximately symmetrical (see Fig. 3).

    Fig. 2. 
    Overall effect size (g) for chess training groups compared to control groups.
    Hedges's gs (circles) and 95% CIs (lines) are displayed for all effects entered into
    the meta-analysis. The diamond at bottom represents the meta-analytically
    weighted mean Hedges's g. For studies with multiple independent samples, the
    result of each sample (S1, S2, etc.) is reported separately. Analogously, for
    studies with multiple outcome measures, the result of each measure (M1, M2,
    etc.) is reported separately. Asterisks identify adjusted (Winsorized) outliers.
    (Please use source link to see graph in the original article)
    Figure options

    Fig. 3. 
    Funnel plot of standard errors and effect sizes (g). The diamond at bottom represents the
    meta-analytically weighted mean Hedges's g.
    Figure options

    4.1. Moderator analyses


    The only two statistically significant moderators were Duration of Training,
    which positively affected the effect sizes (Q(1) = 3.89, b = 0.0038, p < .05, two
    tailed, K = 35), and Publication, which also positively affected the effect sizes
    (Q(1) = 10.17, b = 0.2941, p < .01, two tailed, K = 40).
    Following Trinchero's (2012) suggestion (see Discussion), we considered 25 h
    as a threshold for the moderator Duration of Training. The overall effect size in
    studies with 25 or more hours of treatment was g = 0.427, 95% CI [0.271;
    0.583], p < .001, K = 23, while the overall effect size in studies with less than
    25 h of training was g = 0.303, 95% CI [0.189; 0.417], p < .001, K = 12.
    Regarding the moderator Publication, the overall effect size of the published
    studies was g = 0.540, 95% CI [0.346; 0.735], p < .001, K = 17, while the

    106
    overall effect size of the unpublished studies was g = 0.230, 95% CI [0.149;
    0.311], p < .001, K = 23.

    4.2. Additional meta-analytic models


    Although outcome was not a significant moderator, we ran three additional
    random models – one for each outcome – in order to investigate whether any
    outcome shows an overall effect size appreciably superior (or inferior, see
    discussion) to the others, as stated in Hypothesis 2.
    The first model included the 17 mathematics-related effect sizes. The overall
    effect size was g = 0.382, 95% CI [0.229; 0.535], p < .001. A trim-and-fill
    analysis showed that there was no publication bias. The second model included
    the 16 cognitive-related effect sizes. The overall effect size was g = 0.330, 95%
    CI [0.130; 0.529], p = .001. A trim-and-fill analysis indicated that there was no
    publication bias. Finally, the third model included the seven reading-related
    effect sizes. The overall effect size was g = 0.248, 95% CI [0.128;
    0.368], p < .001. A trim-and-fill analysis showed a possible publication bias
    (one study trimmed, left to the mean). The analysis showed that the point
    estimate was g = 0.241, 95% CI [0.122; 0.359].

    5. Discussion
    There is currently much research and excitement about the benefits of teaching
    chess in schools. The issue is theoretically important, since chess researchers'
    and practitioners’ claims about the presence of far transfer are at variance with
    main theories of learning and expertise, which consider far transfer as difficult.
    In order to evaluate these diverging predictions, the current meta-analysis
    examined the effect exerted by chess instruction on academic (mathematics and
    reading) and cognitive abilities in children.

    5.1. Substantive results


    The first hypothesis predicted overall transfer beyond placebo effects. The
    results of the current meta-analysis suggest that chess instruction improves
    children's mathematical, reading, and cognitive skills moderately. Although this
    outcome seems promising, two considerations should be borne in mind.

    First, the overall effect size is not large enough to convincingly establish the
    effectiveness of chess instruction in enhancing the skills in consideration. By
    using Hattie's (2009) categorization, an overall effect size of g = 0.338 is not in
    the so-called “zone of desired effects,” that is d ≥ 0.4, which is the median value
    of the effectiveness of educational interventions estimated by Hattie's second-
    order meta-analysis. This suggests that chess instruction is no more effective in
    enhancing children's cognitive and academic skills than many (at least more
    than 50%) other possible educational interventions.

    107
    Moreover, the observed difference between treatment and control groups might
    be due to chess instructors' passion rather than chess itself, because the potential
    role of placebo effects was rarely, if ever, controlled for in the studies under
    consideration (we will take up this methodological point below).

    Thus, consistent with Thorndike and Woodworth's (1901) common-element


    theory, the results tend to lend more support to Hypothesis 1a (chess skill does
    not transfer to other domains) than Hypothesis 1b (transfer will be substantial),
    which is largely held by the field of chess-in-school research. These
    considerations – along with the overall results of the meta-analysis – lead us to
    think that learning activities should be as close as possible to the skills to train;
    for example, mathematics instruction should be used to teach mathematical
    skills.

    However, the positive influence of the hours of treatment on the results seems to
    support the idea that chess skill does transfer to other domains. Trinchero
    (2012) has suggested that appreciable positive effects occur only after 25–30 h
    of chess instruction. For studies with a minimum of 25 h of instruction, the
    overall g effect size was 0.427, which is a value in the “zone of desired effects”
    (see above). It is thus unlikely that this positive outcome is only the
    consequence of placebo effects, although this possibility cannot be ruled out
    completely. This suggests that 25–30 h of chess instruction is the minimum
    amount of instruction in order to obtain a significant transfer of learning from
    chess to other domains.

    The second hypothesis, which was a more direct test of Thorndike and
    Woodworth's (1901) theory, predicted that transfer from chess should be
    stronger to mathematics than to reading, as chess shares more common elements
    with the former than the latter. Consistent with the hypothesis, the overall effect
    size was larger with mathematics than with reading (g = 0.382 vs. g = 0.248).
    Although outcome was not a significant moderator, reading seemed to benefit
    less from chess instruction than mathematics, as the effect size was substantially
    lower; this was despite the fact that five of the seven studies on reading used a
    long duration (30 h or more; no information about duration was available in the
    other two studies).

    In the introduction, we presented Thorndike and Woodworth's (1901) view that


    transfer of skills occurs only between two domains that share components. It is
    plausible to argue that chess and mathematics have some components in
    common, such as their problem-solving nature and the importance of
    quantitative relationships. Therefore, the hypothesis that chess is a medium (in
    the sense of Feuerstein, Feuerstein, Falik, & Rand, 2006) through which
    cognitive skills are trained with some benefit for mathematics is plausible, even
    though it has not yet been convincingly supported by empirical research.

    108
    However, with respect to reading, it is difficult to identify what components are
    shared with chess, unless we focus on very general commonalities (e.g., chess
    playing and reading are both decision-making activities). In their study of the
    effects of chess instruction on reading, Forrest, Davidson, Shucksmith, and
    Glendinning (2005) suggested that chess interventions enabled participants with
    low self-esteem to gain more confidence, which improved their literacy skills. If
    true, this suggestion – along with the small effect size (g = 0.248) – upholds the
    idea that the effects of chess interventions on reading are non-specific.

    5.2. Methodological moderators


    The index of design quality was not a significant moderator. This fact suggests
    that the results have not been significantly biased by the design used in the
    studies included in the meta-analysis. Nevertheless, as previously mentioned,
    the absence of an active control group in almost all the studies was a potential
    design-related confound we could not control for. The moderator Publication
    indicated that studies published in peer-reviewed journals have greater effect
    sizes. That studies with good results are more likely to be published is a
    common pattern in the literature (Schmidt & Hunter, 2015).

    5.3. Limitations of this study


    Regrettably, like the vast majority of studies carried out to assess the effect of
    educational methods, none of the studies considered in this review employed
    what Gobet and Campitelli (2006) called the “ideal design.” This design
    includes the following requirements in addition to a treatment group: pre-test
    and post-test; two control groups (a do-nothing group and an active control
    group, necessary for removing the possibility of a placebo effect); random
    allocation to group; different personnel for conducting the pre-test, the
    treatment, and the post-test; and ideally – but nearly impossible to do in practice
    – experimenters' and testers' unawareness of the nature of the assignment into
    groups, and participants' unawareness of the goal of the experiment and the fact
    that they take part in an experiment.

    The presence of an active control group is crucial for controlling the possibility
    of placebo effects, and thus establishing the causal role of chess instruction in
    far transfer. Mechanisms that could produce “placebo effects” include
    instructors' motivation, the state of motivation induced by a novel activity, and
    educators’ expectations (e.g., Boot et al., 2013 ;  Gobet and Campitelli, 2006).

    Without any active control group, it is not possible to exclude the possibility
    that positive results are due to such confounds, rather than to chess itself. It
    remains unknown whether a study with a more rigorous design would yield the
    same results as the studies previously conducted. Since nearly no study in the
    current meta-analysis had an active control group, which is necessary for ruling
    out possible placebo effects, the effects of chess instruction could have been
    systematically overestimated.

    109
    Another limitation of this field of research is that too few studies reliably
    controlled for moderator effects. In addition, the dependent variables were often
    very different between the studies: for example, basic arithmetic skills and
    mathematical problem-solving skills are not the same thing, and the same
    applies to meta-cognition, general intelligence, attention, and spatial abilities.
    We classified the studies using three broad kinds of outcomes (mathematical,
    reading, and cognitive skills) because, unfortunately, the small number of
    studies did not allow us to reliably evaluate the specific skills assessed as
    potential moderators.

    5.4. Conclusions and recommendations for future research


    Even if chess, under specific circumstances, seems to positively affect children's
    skills, there still are serious doubts about the real effectiveness of its practice.
    There is a need to clarify whether this positive influence is due to placebo
    effects or to chess instruction itself. In the latter case, research should identify
    the mechanisms underpinning the link between chess, the specific cognitive
    abilities involved and enhanced by the practice of the game, and their potential
    influence on mathematics and reading skills.
    In addition, the field should develop a detailed causal model explaining the
    cognitive processes that mediate learning and transfer. Finally, the data suggest
    that chess enhances children's mathematical skills and cognitive abilities more
    than reading skills, although the moderator analysis was not statistically
    significant. With reading skills, both the data and the explanations provided by
    researchers suggest that the positive effects of chess on children's reading skills
    are due to placebo effects. Further research should establish the reliability of
    these results.
    Regarding future studies, we recommend to use an experimental design (random
    allocation, pre-tests and post-tests) with two control groups (a do-nothing group
    and an active control group). While logistically more complex, such a design is
    necessary in order to establish whether the benefits putatively provided by chess
    instruction are genuine and not caused by non-specific factors (e.g., placebo
    effect).
    Another important goal is to identify the specific characteristics of chess that
    might improve children's abilities, and which abilities they foster (e.g.,
    attention, spatial abilities, quantitative reasoning, or meta-cognition). For
    example, is it the diversity of pieces on the board that help maintain attention?
    Does the movement of the pieces help to boost visuo-spatial abilities? Does
    chess ideally combine numerical, spatial, temporal, and combinatorial aspects?
    Does chess promote a better and more conscious way of thinking? In particular,
    it is important to demonstrate whether these features are common or not to other
    activities and games. Specifically, one should understand whether some features

    110
    (e.g., quantitative relationships between pieces and problem-solving situations)
    are shared by other board games.
    Thus, researchers should include (at least) two dependent variables – one
    academic and one cognitive – in their experimental designs, in order to shed
    some light on the causal relationships between chess instruction, and cognitive
    and academic skills. Many researchers, for instance, have claimed that chess
    enhances mathematical skills because chess practice relies on cognitive skills
    and mechanisms that, in turn, underlie mathematical skills.

    While this hypothesis is plausible, too few studies have directly addressed the
    question by assessing both a cognitive and an academic outcome, and the results
    have been contradictory. For example, Scholz et al. (2008) and Sala and
    Trinchero (in preparation) found no effect of chess on focused attention and
    meta-cognition respectively, whereas Kazemi, Yektayar, and Abad
    (2012) found a positive effect of chess practice on meta-cognitive abilities both
    in primary and in secondary school participants.

    Finally, since the effectiveness of chess in enhancing children's intellectual


    skills seems to be dependent on the duration of the training, it would be useful
    to directly manipulate this variable in future studies, by systematically varying
    the duration of treatments between groups. This would ascertain the minimal
    and optimal amounts of chess instruction for far transfer: too short a duration
    might not provide enough time for progress, while too long a duration might
    lead to diminishing returns.

    Other worthwhile topics of investigation include a comparative study of


    different teaching methods with respect to their efficiency (e.g., is instruction
    better with computers or without computers? Are group activities preferable to
    individual activities, or is it the opposite? Are there more efficient orders of
    covering the material?).

    Finally, there has been little research that has explicitly mapped between chess
    and aspects of mathematics. Possible examples include bridging the chess board
    with the Cartesian graph and bridging the way the king moves in chess with
    block distance (as opposed to Euclidean distance). As it is known that
    awareness makes transfer more likely (Gick and Holyoak, 1980 ;  Salomon and
    Perkins, 1989), it is plausible that making explicit the links between chess and
    mathematics could facilitate transfer.

    In conclusion, the game of chess seems to exert a slight positive influence on


    both academic and cognitive abilities. Further research is needed to shed light
    on the relationship between cognitive and academic improvements, to evaluate
    the role of potential moderators and confounds, and to understand the role, if
    any, of placebo effects and game elements non-specific to chess.
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    o Romano, 2011
    o B. *Romano
    o Does playing chess improve math learning? Promising (and
    inexpensive) results from Italy
    o University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (2011) (Unpublished
    doctoral dissertation)
    o
    15.
    o Sala et al., 2016
    o G. *Sala, F. Gobet, R. Trinchero, S. Ventura
    o Does chess instruction enhance mathematical ability in children? A
    three-group design to control for placebo effects
    o submitted for publication  (2016) (Unpublished manuscript)
    o
    16.
    o Sala et al., 2015
    o G. Sala, A. Gorini, G. Pravettoni
    o Mathematical problem solving abilities and chess: An experimental
    study on young pupils
    o SAGE Open, July-September (2015), pp. 1–9
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    o Sala and Trinchero, 2016
    o G. Sala, R. Trinchero
    o Is meta-cognition the link between chess training and improvement
    in mathematics? A study on primary school children
    o (in preparation)  (2016) (Unpublished manuscript)
    o
    18.
    o Salomon and Perkins, 1989
    o G. Salomon, D.N. Perkins
    o Rocky roads to transfer: Rethinking mechanisms of a neglected
    phenomenon

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    o Educational Psychologist, 24 (1989), pp. 113–142
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    o F.L. Schmidt, J.E. Hunter
    o Methods of meta-analysis: Correcting error and bias in research
    findings
    o (3rd ed.)Sage, Newbury Park, CA (2015)
    o
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    o Schneider et al., 1993
    o W. Schneider, H. Gruber, A. Gold, K. Opwis
    o Chess expertise and memory for chess positions in children and
    adults
    o Journal of Experimenal Child Psychology, 56 (1993), pp. 328–349
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    o Scholz et al., 2008
    o M. Scholz, H. Niesch, O. Steffen, B. Ernst, M. Loeffler, E. Witruk, et al.
    o Impact of chess training on mathematics performance and
    concentration ability of children with learning disabilities
    o International Journal of Special Education, 23 (2008), pp. 138–148
    o
    2.
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    o A.D. *Sigirtmac
    o Does chess training affect conceptual development of six-year-old
    children in Turkey?
    o Early Child Development and Care, 182 (2012), pp. 797–806
    o CrossRef
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    o S.M. Tracz, P.B. Elmore, J.T. Pohlmann
    o Correlational meta-analysis: Independent and nonindependent cases
    o Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52 (1992), pp. 879–888
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    o Trinchero, 2012
    o R. Trinchero
    o Gli scacchi, un gioco per crescere. Sei anni di sperimentazione nella
    scuola primaria [Chess, a game to grow up with. Six year of research
    in primary school]
    o Franco Angeli, Milan (2012)
    o
    6.
    o Trinchero and Piscopo, 2007
    o R. *Trinchero, M. Piscopo
    o Gli scacchi, un gioco per crescere. [Chess, a game to grow up with]
    o (2007) (Unpublished manuscript)
    o
    7.
    o Trinchero and Sala, 2016
    o R. Trinchero, G. Sala
    o Can chess training improve Pisa scores in Mathematics? an
    experiment in Italian primary schools

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    o Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 12
    (2016), pp. 655–668
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    o Unterrainer et al., 2011
    o J.M. Unterrainer, C.P. Kaller, R. Leonhart, B. Rahm
    o Revising superior planning performance in chess players: the impact
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    o American Journal of Psychology, 124 (2011), pp. 213–225
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    o Waters et al., 2002
    o A.J. Waters, F. Gobet, G. Leyden
    o Visuospatial abilities in chess players
    o British Journal of Psychology, 30 (2002), pp. 303–311
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    10.
    o Yap, 2006
    o K.O. *Yap
    o Chess for success evaluation: Final report
    o Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Portland, OR (2006)
    o
    ☆
    We thank William Bart, Guillermo Campitelli, and Grace McGuire for useful
    comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

    Corresponding author. Department of Psychological Sciences, Bedford Street


    South, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZA, United Kingdom.
    1
    Two previous meta-analyses were carried out on the effect of chess
    instruction: Benson (2006) and Nicotera and Stuit (2014). Neither calculated an
    overall effect size nor ran a moderator analysis. Rather, they divided the meta-
    analytic means into sub-categories (such as mathematics with chess instruction).
    The results they obtained were optimistic compared to ours, as they included

    126
    several studies that were not included in the present meta-analysis because they
    did not satisfy the selection criteria.
    2
    All the formulas we used were taken from Schmidt and Hunter (2015).
    3
    If the t or F statistics were provided, we used the regular formulas d = t *
    √((n1 + n2)/(n1 * n2)) and d = √(F * (n1 + n2)/(n1 * n2)).
    4
    Twelve studies had more than one effect size. However, according to Tracz,
    Elmore, and Pohlmann (1992), violations of statistical independence have little or
    no effect on means, standard deviations, and confidence intervals.
    5
    References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis.
    © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
    Source:- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X16300112

    Chess therapy
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Students of the Angelo King International Center, De La Salle-College of Saint


    Benilde learning the dynamics in chess, showing that it is a social experience which
    necessitates abiding by rules, taking into consideration the wishes and acts of another
    person, and wherein intense interpersonal relations are possible in a brief period

    127
    Chess therapy is a form of psychotherapy that attempts to use chess games between the
    therapist and client or clients to form stronger connections between them towards a goal
    of confirmatory or alternate diagnosis and consequently, better healing. Its founder can be
    considered to be the Persian polymath Rhazes (AD 852–932), who was at one time the
    chief physician of the Baghdad hospital. His use of tactics and strategies in board games
    as metaphors in real life to help his patients think clearer were rediscovered and
    employed by Fadul and Canlas.[1]

    One of the earliest reported cases of chess therapy involves the improvement in an
    isolated, schizoid, 16-year-old youth that took place after he became interested in chess.
    [2]
     Chess provided an outlet for his hostile impulses in a non-retaliatory manner. Good use
    was made of the patient's digressions from the game and his newly acquired ability to
    speak about his feelings, fantasies and dreams which the particular emotional situation of
    the game touched off. The report demonstrates how the fact that chess is a game, and not
    real, enabled the patient to exert some conscious control over his feelings and thus learn
    to master them to a limited extent.

    In a relatively recent review by an Indian psycho-therapist, Thomas Janetius[3] chess


    therapy is considered to be a form of creative therapy. Chess games may contain most of
    what we need to know about the causes of our psychological troubles; they can tell us
    why we are as we are—victim or martyr, sexually impotent, deprived child looking for
    adventure, etc.—but they can also show us the remedy for our disorder. The unconscious,
    through chess games, is not concerned merely with putting right the things that have gone
    wrong in us. Chess games aim at our well-being in the fullest sense; their goal is nothing
    less than our complete personal victory or development in defeats, the creative unfolding
    of the potentialities that are contained in the analysis of the games that we played,
    whether we won, lost or drew.

    In psychoanalysis chess games are wish fulfillment, and that an important part of these
    wish fulfillment are the result of repressed desires—desires that can scare us so much that
    our games may turn into a series of defeats. Chess games can be divided into wishful
    games, anxiety games, and punitive games. Punitive games are in fact also fulfillment of
    wishes, though not of wishes of the instinctual impulses but of those of the critical,
    censoring, and punishing agency in our controlling minds. Thus, for Jungian
    Psychology chess imagery is part of a universal symbolic language. Roumen Bezergianov
    uses chess as a Logotherapy method, to help his clients discover and fulfill the meanings
    of their unique lives and life situations. He describes his method in the book "Character
    Education with Chess" (http://www.amazon.com/Character-Education-Chess-Roumen-
    Bezergianov-ebook/dp/B005AVUPNQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390509738&sr=8-
    1&keywords=character+education+with+chess).

    Chess games are an open pathway toward our true thoughts, emotions, and actions. In
    your chess games you are able to somehow see your aggressive impulses and desires.

    128
    Chess games are a way of compensating for your shortcomings in your life. For instance,
    if a person is unable to stand up to his boss, he may safely lash out an attack at a chess
    piece in a chess game. Thus chess games offer some sort of satisfaction that may be more
    socially acceptable. Some of the major benefits that chess can offer come however,
    through its educational value for younger children. In fact, chess has been proven to aid
    in skills such as

     Focusing: Having to observe carefully and concentrate;


     Visualizing: Imagining a sequence of actions before it happens;
     Thinking ahead: With the concept of "think first, then act";
     Weighing options: Finding pros and cons of various actions;
     Analyzing Concretely: Logical decisions are better than impulsive;
     Thinking abstractly: Taught to consider the bigger picture;
     Planning: Developing long range goals and bringing them about;
     Juggling multiple considerations simultaneously: Having to weigh various factors
    all at once.

    Throughout the US, a multitude of experiments have been conducted regarding the true
    educational value of chess. In Marina, CA, an experiment with chess indicated that after
    only 20 days of instruction, students' academic performance improved dramatically. It
    reported that 55% of students showed significant improvement in academic performance
    after only this brief time of chess instruction. Similarly, a 5-year study of 7th and 8th
    graders, by Robert Ferguson of the Bradford School District showed that test scores
    improved 17.3% for students regularly engaged in chess classes, compared with only
    4.56% for children participating in other forms of "enrichment activities" such as Future
    Problem Solving, Problem Solving with Computers, independent study, and creative
    writing. These beneficial effects were also present among Special Education students,
    improving their ability to socialize, and reducing incidents of suspension at school by at
    least 60%.
    In Gestalt therapy, we seek to fill our emotional voids so that we can become a unified
    whole. Some chess games contain the rejected, disowned parts of the self. Every chess
    piece, tactic, and/or strategy in a chess game represents an aspect of oneself as shown in a
    case involving a boy with Landau-Kleffner syndrome.[4] In a sense, chess imagery is not
    part of a universal symbolic language because each chess game is unique to the
    individual who played it.
    In Italy, the first study of chess therapy "The Game of Chess as an Educational Aid in
    Compulsory Schooling for Deaf-and-dumb Children" was conducted in 1992 from ASIS
    (Association for the Deaf). It was funded by the CNR (National Research Council), with
    the 92.02547.CT08 contract number. The research was conducted by psychologist and
    psychotherapist Massimo Marino, President of ASIS. Various searches that resulted in
    other publications were produced dall'ASIS about treatment failure.[5] The synthesis of
    these studies are summarized in the "Book Scaccoterapia Complete Edition".[6]
    Source:- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_therapy

    129
    Landau-Kleffner Syndrome

     Landau-Kleffner syndrome usually begins between 3 and 7 years of age.


     There is a progressive loss of speech. 
     Seizures occur during sleep.
     This syndrome includes a loss of IQ. 

    What is it like?
    In the typical case, a child between 3 and 7 years of age experiences language problems,
    with or without seizures. The language disorder may start suddenly or slowly. It usually
    affects the child's understanding of spoken language the most, but it may affect both
    understanding speech and speaking ability, or it may affect speaking only.
    Seizures are usually few and often occur during sleep. Simple partial seizures involving
    movement are most common, but tonic-clonic seizures can also occur.
    Who gets it?
    The Landau-Kleffner syndrome is a rare disorder. It begins during childhood, with
    language disorders starting between ages 3 and 7 years.
    Tell me more
     Its symptoms are "acquired aphasia" (the loss of language abilities formerly
    present) and usually a seizure disorder. The children usually have generalized tonic-
    clonic and atypical absence seizures.
     The EEG is often the key to the diagnosis. A normal EEG, especially one done
    when the child is awake, does not rule out this disorder. Sleep activates the epilepsy
    waves in these children, so sleep recordings are extremely important. Sometimes the
    abnormality is seen only during sleep. The stage of sleep most affected is called
    slow-wave sleep, which usually does not begin until several hours after falling
    asleep. Therefore, routine 30-minute EEGs may miss the seizures in this condition.
     The boundaries of the Landau-Kleffner syndrome are imprecise. Some children
    may first have a delay in language development followed by a loss of speech
    milestones.
     Landau-Kleffner syndrome (or a variant of it) may also occur in some children in
    whom language function never develops, or in others whose language skills move
    backward but who very seldom have epilepsy waves on the EEG. The exact
    relationship between the epilepsy waves on the EEG and the language disorder is
    imprecise, although in some cases the epilepsy activity may contribute to the
    language problems.
    How is it treated?
    Seizure control is rarely a problem, but standard seizure medications are not often
    effective against the language disorder. Drugs such as Lamictal (lamotrigine), Keppra
    (levetiracetam), and Depakote (valproate) sometimes help. High dose diazepam given at
    bedtime has resulted in excellent improvement in some children. Steroids have also
    shown some efficacy, improving both the EEG and language.

    130
    A new form of epilepsy surgery, multiple subpial transections in which multiple small
    slices are made in brain cortex, may improve both the EEG abnormalities and the
    language disorder in a small number of children. This procedure is still being studied in
    various epilepsy centers.
    What's the outlook?
    After age 10, only 20% of patients still have seizures. The clinical course of the disorder
    fluctuates and it occasionally disappears on its own.
    Some children are left with permanent language difficulties. Most commonly, these are
    children in whom medical or surgical therapy does not eliminate the epileptic patterns on
    the EEG.
     
     Authored by:  Gregory L. Holmes, MD | Robert S. Fisher, MD, PhD  on 9/2013
    Reviewed by: Robert S. Fisher, MD, PhD on 9/2013

    Source:- http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-epilepsy-syndromes/landau-kleffner-
    syndrome

    Chess Therapy for Mental Health


    Published on July 1, 2014

    131
    Chess therapy is now used
    by numerous psychotherapists and doctors. It has become a popular creative
    psychotherapy technique in the past 20 years. This therapy has been known to produce
    positive results with children who have bipolar disorders, depression, ADHD, and neuro-
    behavioral disorders.

    Chess therapy is a creative form used to develop bonds between the psychotherapist and
    his/her clients. It is an alternative diagnostic technique for neuro-behavioral and mental
    issues that a client may suffer from. Chess therapy helps in developing a therapeutic
    alliance between the psychotherapist and his patient to help him through any
    psychological or emotional problems that he may be experiencing.

    Unlike other forms of therapy, chess therapy does not require the patient to lie down on a
    couch and pour his heart out to his therapist. Chess therapy involves active participation
    from both parties―the client as well as the therapist―to engage in a creative,
    recreational game of chess.

    132
    One time, Mark, a university-educated young man from Italy, visited me in the hospital.
    He's hungry for chess and wanting to inquire about chess therapy. When he arrived, I
    asked him to join my group session and share a bit about himself. After a short
    conversation, he's truly a "philosopher" guy immersed in heady ideas and abstract
    concepts.

    But, most of all, Mark was going through some emotional difficulties and seeing me for
    psychotherapy to unpack his unexplainable psychological blocks. His preferred way:
    chess therapy. Chess did fit him despite his seemingly normal exterior or mindworks. It
    can be good emotional therapy too for "philosophers" to play chess.

    My fellow Filipino, Manny Pacquaio, world boxing champion, is a sportsman who uses
    chess as therapy in his sport and life. He plays well even in this game, besting some of
    our best players around. Appreciative of the game, he supported international and
    national chess tournaments in our country.

    The other day, I was talking to one of his aides in Congress (Pacquaio is also a duly-
    elected Congressman!) inside a television studio. He said Manny was even able to beat a
    grandmaster during a tournament in his home! Before crucial boxing matches, I was told
    he'd play chess in the dugouts behind the ring as part of his mental conditioning and
    therapy.

    Chess therapy was founded as early as AD 852-932 by a certain Dr. Rhazes who was
    chief physician at Baghdad Hospital. Dr. Rhazes uses chess strategies and tactics as
    metaphors in real life to help patients think clearer.

    Wikipedia reported, "One of the earliest reported cases of chess therapy involves the
    improvement in an isolated, schizoid, 16-year old youth that took place after he became
    interested in chess. Chess provided an outlet for his hostile impulses in a non-retaliatory
    manner. Good use was made of the patient's digressions from the game and his newly
    acquired ability to speak about his feelings, fantasies and dreams which the particular
    emotional situation of the game touched off. The report demonstrates how the fact that
    chess is a game, and not real, enabled the patient to exert some conscious control over his
    feelings and thus learn to master them to a limited extent."

    133
    Category(s):Anger Management, Communication Disorders Problems, Sports
    Psychology
    Source:- http://www.psychologymatters.asia/article/234/chess-therapy-for-mental-
    health.html

    Chess Therapy is Enjoyable and Valuable for Clearing Mental


    Disorders
         
     
    An interesting strategy
    One of the most interesting points that can be used when handling a mental disorder is
    chess therapy. This is a type of therapy that involves a person playing a therapist in a
    series of chess games. This involves helping to allow a person to have a clearer series of
    thoughts that might be a little easier for a person to work with. This is a big point to find
    for clearing the difficult problems that often come with mental disorders. It is an
    interesting procedure that may be considered by some people to be a more creative form
    of therapy like art therapy.

    Controls for many disorders


    A big point about the use of chess therapy is that it may be used to help with opening up a
    person’s mind by being allowed to discuss difficult problems in one’s life. It may also be
    used as an outlet for allowing for some discussion that relates to getting different kinds of
    behaviors arranged to where one can be a little more positive and supportive. This means
    that there is a potential for chess therapy to work with mood disorders such as depression.

    Notable for aggression


    Some mental disorders may involve cases that relate to aggressive behaviors. These may
    include conditions like bipolar disorder. Chess therapy may be used as an outlet for a
    person to handle one’s impulses in a way that is positive and constructive without
    creating any hostile attitudes towards anything. This may also work to create a sense of
    control over a person’s feelings. This can be used to help with giving a person the ability
    to control one’s feelings to where it can be adjusted to a game setting instead of

    134
    something that might work in real life. It is used to help treat all people in a case to where
    everyone will feel more comfortable with each other.
    Source:- http://www.depression-guide.com/therapy/chess-therapy.htm

    A Possible Approach Which Could Be Taken By The School


    Doctor or Family Doctor, With One Day Set Aside Each Week
    For This Type Of Joint Consultation.

    The family physician and the psychologist in the office


    together: a response to fragmentation
    Luigi Solano,  Enzo Pirrotta, Veronica Ingravalle, and Paolo Fayella

    Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ►

    This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

    Introduction and aims


    Both doctors and healthcare officials are well aware that motives for consulting the
    family physician, though expressed as physical symptoms, often derive from problems
    that are not somatic in origin. This topic was extensively addressed in Balint's pioneering
    work,1 and confirmed by several additional investigations.2,3 In the absence of a capacity
    on the part of the physician to meet this request on a non-somatic level, symptoms may
    persist or worsen, with repeated consultations and increased expenditure for the patient or
    the national health services, where present.4,5 Such situations have, in fact, been shown to
    lead to a utilisation of health services that is nine times greater than that of the general
    population.6 In order to address this problem, we experimented with a form of
    physician/psychologist co-operation through the joint presence of these two professionals
    in the office. This proposal stems from the following considerations:

    (a) Differentiation between medicine and psychology and consequent need


    for integration
    Progressive differentiation has taken place throughout the past century and is actively
    continuing. Medicine (apart from individual exceptions) has departed from a holistic
    consideration of the human being, which was one of its prominent features before the
    second half of the 19th century, and has become increasingly concentrated on biological
    and genetic factors affecting health and disease. This focused approach has brought
    enormous, previously unthinkable, benefits in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
    disease in the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, but has entailed disregard of
    emotional and relational factors. This latter attitude, in spite of common statements to the
    contrary, is far from subsiding, reinforced by such constructs as evidence-based medicine
    and universal diagnosis and treatment protocols.

    135
    Psychology, on the other hand, as synthesised in Engel's notion of a ‘biopsychosocial
    model’,7 tends to view health and pathology (both mental and physical) as linked to: (i)
    the relationship between the individual and his/her past and present social environment,
    as exemplified for instance in the psychobiological regulation model;8 (ii) the relationship
    between the individual and the specific moment in his/her lifecycle; and (iii) specific
    resources of the individual, such as coping styles, or the capacity to identify, process and
    regulate emotions.9 Psychologists are generally mindful of Balint's legacy, where every
    disease is defined as a co-construction between patient and physician;1 conversely, they
    lack the competence to fully understand the pathophysiology of physical disease and its
    possible biological determinants, and may tend to disregard these components.
    This strong differentiation therefore calls for a corresponding effort at integration, which
    should not be left as a burden to the patient alone, subjecting him/her to such widely
    different types of input.
    One possibility is the training of family physicians in a more comprehensive,
    biopsychosocial approach to patients, as originally proposed by Balint. (As extensively
    reported in his well-known volume, The Doctor, his Patient and the Illness,1 Balint
    proposed weekly meetings of groups of family physicians with a mental health expert
    (‘Balint groups’), for some years, in which cases with more obvious psychosocial
    implications were to be discussed.) This appears much more difficult today than in
    Balint's time, firstly due to the very differentiation we are considering. A recent survey
    among family physicians in an Italian city showed that, while the need for a psychosocial
    approach was widely recognised among doctors, they tended to consider themselves
    barely suited for this, for reasons related to: (i) time limitations; (ii) the possible presence
    of conflictual dynamics around drug compliance and certification of absence from work,
    which might hinder interaction on other levels; (iii) reluctance of the patient to enter into
    a dialogue with the physician on a more personal level, in view of his established role in
    physical examination and drug prescription; and (iv) insufficient training on the
    physician's part.10 We might add that specific training in psychology for physicians may
    also be more difficult today, in view of the remarkable increase in the amount of strictly
    biomedical material a doctor needs to know. (Training physicians to recognise and treat
    pharmacologically moderate states of mental distress, such as minor depression, is of
    course perfectly feasible, and is being done worldwide. We believe this has nothing to do
    with the challenge we are addressing here – that is, achievement of the capacity to locate
    every kind of complaint brought to the family physician within the patient's life context.)
    The other road to integration is co-operation between the physician and the psychologist.
    A range of levels of collaboration is widely discussed in the literature, including informal
    consultation, formal consultation, joint sessions (the latter recommended for
    ‘somatisation disorders’, seen as difficult to refer11), ’co-provision of care’ (involving
    frequent discussions of cases between physician and psychologist) and ‘co-
    therapy’.12 This last situation is recommended when ‘co-morbidity’ of biological and
    psychological distress is present.13Tovian recommends, in all cases, meetings between
    physicians and psychologists to discuss referrals.14 A training model at Massachussets
    Medical School, explicitly designed to promote collaboration between psychologists and
    physicians,15 entails a large number of ‘dual interviews’ with patients at various points in
    clinicians' training. The East Virginia Medical School also implemented joint training of

    136
    physicians and psychologists, involving co-ordinated treatment of a large number of
    patients, under the supervision of senior psychologists and physicians.16
    Though all these proposals appear reasonable and useful and meet some needs, they leave
    open two kinds of problems:
    1. in spite of commonly alleged adherence to the biopsychosocial model, the sharp
    distinction between somatic disease – under the rubric of the physician's
    competence – and psychic distress – under the psychologist's – appears not to
    have abated much. We still find reference to ‘somatisation disorders’,12presumably
    as opposed to (true) ‘somatic’ ones, and to ‘co-morbidity‘13 as an indication for
    co-operation, as if the presence of somatic disease per se had nothing to do with a
    psychologist's intervention
    2. in most proposals, probably in all, the decision to request co-operation
    (consultation, referral, joint sessions, etc) rests on the decision of the physician,
    who judges a patient – one who requested consultation with him/her – as in need
    of a psychologist's competence. In order to be effective and optimally useful, this
    would require deep knowledge and understanding on the physician's part of
    psychological theories, modalities and possibilities. Strong differentiation
    between the two disciplines, as described above, makes this seldom the case.

    Referral to psychologists on the part of physicians mainly takes place, in fact, when
    explicit mental distress is present, or when problems arise in the doctor/patient
    relationship (as in lack of adherence to treatments), or in diseases for which medicine is
    partially or totally impotent in helping the patient, where psychological intervention is
    seen as a synonym for ‘humanitarian assistance’.17 Very seldom is psychological
    intervention requested in the initial phases of physical illness, where its beneficial effect
    could be much greater, or as an adjuvant to effective medical treatment when this is
    available, in spite of the literature showing the heightened effects of combined
    treatments.18–20
    Furthermore, the physician's tendency to recognise only explicit mental distress often
    causes neglect of the best-known psychic risk factor for somatic disease or illness – that
    is, a deficit in the identification and expression of emotions, as described in the construct
    of alexithymia or affective dysregu-lation.9 This condition generally results in a
    colourless, boring, ‘hypernormal’ style of communication, totally opposite to the style
    commonly present in mental distress as commonly viewed. For this reason, those very
    patients who tend to express their life problems through the body, more so than others,
    are those less likely to be referred to a psychologist.21
    Physicians and psychologists also have very different views surrounding psychological
    referral. Doctors in general tend to view referral to a psychologist as similar to referral to
    a medical consultant, that is, a decision based on a need of the patient, for which
    something can be prescribed. Psychologists, on the contrary, are well aware of the
    importance of a personal request (or acceptance) on the patient's part, in addition to the
    presence of a need that is (albeit correctly) seen by someone else; they are well aware that
    psychological consultation cannot be ‘prescribed’, but must be ‘negotiated’ and
    ‘accepted’, since the patient is required to do much more than in cardiologic consultation,

    137
    for example. Referral, therefore, even in appropriate situations, may be not appropriately
    proposed to the patient.

    (b) The social position of psychology (at least in some countries)


    While physical disease is seen as inevitable for everyone, sooner or later – to the point
    that, in European countries, every citizen from birth is assigned a physician – psychic
    distress is seen as pertaining only to a certain subset of people, who are to be treated
    (more or less benevolently, according to the historical period) in specific services,
    following a specific request on the part of the patient or of someone else. Moreover, due
    to the difficulty of objectively defining psychic distress (except in cases causing security
    problems), an individual is socially defined as distressed essentially when a consultation
    with a mental health specialist has taken place.
    Given all the above, in spite of any official or individual statement to the contrary, a
    heavy stigma is attached to people requesting this kind of consultation. The effect is that a
    psychologist (let alone a psychiatrist) is often consulted as a last resort, only after
    everything else has failed, when problems have become inveterate, entrenched in
    interpersonal or work situations, and thus require long, intensive treatments, the results of
    which are not always as positive as might have been the case with earlier intervention.
    The introduction of a ‘family psychologist’ or a ‘first-level psychologist’, working jointly
    in the same office with a family physician – not requiring, therefore, any specific request
    on the patient's part – may thus offer the following possibilities:
     intervention in an initial phase of distress, before the structuring of severe and/or
    chronic somatic diseases or psychic disorders
     direct access to a psychologist for the whole population, avoiding the filter of
    medical referral – which, as described above, is not always appropriate – and
    without the risk (or certainty) of the patient's being stigmatised as ‘mentally ill’
     an approach to symptoms of any kind taking into consideration, in addition to the
    patient's biological condition, his/her relational, intrapsychic, and lifecycle
    situation
     in a few, specific cases, correct referral to a mental health specialist
     an integration of the competency areas of the physician and the psychologist
     a reduction of costs for tests, consultation of specialists, and drug treatments, to
    the extent that these derive from an effort to find a solution to problems that lies
    exclusively within a biological model.

    For further clarity, the main aim is not to implement ‘first-level psychiatry’ for patients
    with patent mental distress, but to explore the meaning of every complaint brought by
    patients, be it in the physical or mental sphere, in the context of the individual's past or
    present relational and lifecycle situation.

    Methods
    In the last nine years, nine qualified psychologists attending the Postgraduate School in
    Health Psychology of the University of Rome have guaranteed their presence, one day a

    138
    week for three years, in the office of a family physician in Rome or in an adjacent town.
    A poster in the waiting room informs patients of the initiative and of the possibility of
    consulting only with the physician if they so prefer. Clinical cases and the functioning of
    the initiative are discussed in group meetings, which are attended by all psychologists
    involved and open to physicians, who also occasionally join the meetings and are co-
    ordinated by a teacher of the school (the senior author).
    Intervention on the psychologist's part is implemented through the following means:
     assessment of requests and of the doctor/patient relationship for every patient
    coming to consultation
     discussion with the physician of cases observed
     further exploration/clarification with the patient in the context of ordinary medical
    consultation in some limited and selected cases, further exploration through
    separate interviews with the psychologist (ordinarily one to five in number) in
    some of these latter cases, referral to mental health specialists.

    Overview of the initiative


    The first experience, entailing three years of cooperation of a family physician in Orvieto,
    Giovanni Iacarella, and resident psychologist Monica Tomassoni, was reported in a
    paper,22 and in a volume.23
    Results of the present study may be summarised as follows:
     the joint presence of a family physician and a psychologist appeared feasible and
    helpful, from all points of view
     integration of the psychologist in a physician's office, however, took several
    months, necessary primarily to reach a sufficient level of attunement and
    understanding between the two professionals
     most patients showed and/or directly expressed appreciation for the initiative
     in the whole experience, in only four cases did a patient request consultation with
    the physician only
     the number of separate interviews with the psychologist was very small (six cases
    a year, on average, for each psychologist)
     the number of referrals to mental health specialists was negligible (about two
    cases per year for each office)
     the latter two points show that, at least in the theoretical/clinical view we adopted,
    there is no risk of ‘psychiatrisation’ of the population, or of an increased burden
    for mental health services
     on the other hand, in the course of three years of experience, each psychologist
    met with about 700 patients, one-half of the physician's clients (which were about
    1500 in all for each physician). This is a measure of the large extent to which the
    general patient population had access to a psychologist through this experience, in
    spite of the low frequency of the psychologist's presence (once a week). A higher
    frequency was not feasible since participation in the experiment on the
    psychologists' part was voluntary and unpaid. We believe that a psychologist's
    presence twice a week, during one morning and one afternoon, would be the

    139
    optimal frequency with which to reach a higher proportion of patients, without
    making encounters with the psychologist more or less unavoidable, short of
    explicit refusal. Freedom for the patient to choose to meet with the psychologist
    or not by simply scheduling his/her appointment on a particular day of the week,
    without the need to take full, official responsibility for a request or refusal in
    advance, appeared to be one of the strong points of the initiative, though an
    unplanned one.

    Clinical notations and case report


    Both physician and psychologist were initially quite worried about ‘what each should do’
    to avoid conflict or overlapping; they wondered how they should ‘introduce this new
    figure’ to patients and define his/her role in a place where, for many years, only one
    person had been present. Most, possibly all, the professionals involved in the initiative
    soon discovered that, if on one hand some negotiation was certainly necessary between
    physician and psychologist, on the other, the relationship with patients in most instances
    was not in the least jeopardised, and very often it was enriched.
    On several occasions, it was apparent that the simple presence of the psychologist in the
    office encouraged patients to tell the story of their ailments, even when they were from
    long ago, in a different way, with the addition of new elements – due not only to the new
    figure's different professional role, but also to the presence of a ‘third’ in the
    doctor/patient relationship. Lack of previous acquaintance with patients on the
    psychologist's part often led the physician to formulate more specific questions for the
    patient and to reconstruct past history in a more careful way. Patients, for their part, felt
    more entitled to sit down and talk about things they previously had not thought could find
    space in a physician's office.
    After an initial period in which a tendency to implement the old ‘referral’ model
    emerged, separate consultation with the psychologist came to be the result of mutual,
    well-motivated agreement between the two professionals. It came to be proposed in a
    very ‘natural’ way, when both a need and a readiness on the patient's part for deeper
    understanding of his/her life situation became apparent to both professionals. As reported
    above, however, most of the work was performed jointly.
    We shall now present a case, recently seen jointly by a physician and psychologist who
    participated to this experiment (see Box 1).
    Box 1Case report 
    Dino is a 41-year old man, tall, neat and of juvenile appearance. He comes to the office
    complaining of episodes of intense dizziness, appearing a few months ago. Vomiting,
    nausea and tachycardia are absent (making an organic lesion highly improbable). He is
    very disturbed by the ensuing reduction in his work capacity. Though he admits that these
    symptoms are associated with more stressful periods, this connection is put aside in
    favour of a forceful request to find an organic cause through a computerised tomography
    (CT) scan or some other sophisticated brain-imaging technique. At the same time, he is
    very frightened at the idea of discovering some dangerous health problem.

    140
    Physician and psychologist enquire together more carefully about the circumstances of
    this dizziness. It takes place only in specific situations: at work, especially during
    meetings, and at the gym.
    Blood parameters, recently measured, are all normal; ‘perfect!’ says the physician. This
    gives little relief to Dino, who wonders in a more anxious tone ‘what is wrong with me,
    then?’. The doctor performs a physical examination, finding no neurological implication;
    he excludes the usefulness of a CT scan; he tells the patient that dizziness is commonly
    associated with highly stressful situations and, in agreement with the psychologist,
    proposes a separate meeting with the latter to elucidate what stressful situations may be
    present in his life.
    In this encounter, very significant details of Dino's life quickly emerge. He is an engineer
    and has a high-level job, but still lives with his mother, who is 84 and suffering from
    diabetes and renal insufficiency. A caretaker is also present in the house. His father died
    when Dino was 22. He is the youngest of four brothers; the other three are all married and
    living on their own, including one who was disabled following an accident and who lived
    with him and mother until two years ago. When this brother left home his mother's
    diabetes worsened greatly.
    Dino is single; a few months ago he broke up with his girlfriend of 12 years. His days
    consist mainly of work, gym and mother. He rarely goes out. He does not particularly like
    the gym, but says he attends it three times a week, in addition to following a diet, in order
    to avoid the possible onset of diabetes that he could inherit from his mother.
    The psychologist suggests that physical symptoms are often signals our body gives us, in
    relation to life situations; that rather than following the urge to suppress symptoms as
    disturbing, the two of them could work together in trying to figure out what these signals
    might be about. Dino appears surprised but interested and says he will consider the idea.
    A few days later, on a day when the psychologist is absent, Dino shows up at the office,
    officially only to ask for some prescriptions for his mother. ‘Marginally’, though, he tells
    the physician he found meeting the psychologist quite helpful and asks how he can meet
    with her again. The doctor tells him to phone on the day she is present.
    For some weeks there is no further word from Dino. One day the doctor goes to Dino's
    house (while Dino is at work) for a home visit to the mother, who is also his patient.
    ‘What have you two done to my son?’ cries the mother. ‘Since he broke up with his
    girlfriend he was always at home, but now he is going out every night!’
    This case is highly illustrative of the meaning and usefulness of our initiative. A patient
    comes to a physician's office complaining of a physical symptom that the doctor assumes
    to be ‘functional’; the patient is worried about his health, anxious to find a cause, and
    requesting sophisticated investigations. In some such cases, physicians collude with this
    request (or are the first to propose it). The patient enters the unfortunate pathway well
    described by Balint:1 most often, in spite of the number and quality of tests (nowadays
    much more numerous and sophisticated that in Balint's time), nothing is found. The
    patient becomes progressively more resentful and embittered at the powerlessness of
    medicine in failing to find what is wrong with him; in his peregrinations, he may start to

    141
    get the feeling of being considered a malingerer, someone who is looking for excuses to
    avoid work, or a ‘psychiatric case’. Or maybe something will be identified that will
    eventually result in a casual finding, unrelated to his symptoms, but leading to further,
    more invasive investigations, leaving the patient with the impression of ‘having
    something wrong’. Quite often, after a period of time, new symptoms develop.
    The physician in our case, possibly supported by the presence of the psychologist, was
    very firm in avoiding this pathway. (Another physician participating in the initiative in
    the past expressed this point very clearly: ‘When I was alone, and a patient came to me
    with symptoms that I could not think of a cause for, I would often request a CT scan,
    perhaps just to break the impasse; now that I know there is another possibility of finding
    out what's wrong, I can afford to wait’.) Still, Dino would probably not have been fully
    satisfied with learning only that his symptoms were ‘commonly associated with stressful
    situations’.
    Meeting with the psychologist led to rapid unfolding of the stressful situation we were
    dealing with: Dino, the youngest child in the family, as often happens, was probably
    destined by the family system – at least since his father's premature death if not before –
    to take care of his mother for life. We can suppose that breaking up with his girlfriend
    may have been connected with his reluctance, due to this ordeal, to be fully involved in
    the relationship (marriage, children, and the like). Dino's struggle against the risk of
    inheriting diabetes from his mother may be seen as a struggle against this chain of
    obligations.
    We cannot know how much of all this, foreshadowed in Dino's narrative, reaches the
    patient's full awareness. At this point, however, Dino is quite ready to accept the idea that
    his physical symptoms are a signal his body is sending to him; and, without further
    meetings, he probably realises that the signal has to do with the danger of his ending up
    in a life composed only of obligations (work and the gym) and no personal achievements.
    He therefore plunges into a different life, astonishing his mother.
    Time will tell us the end of the story. One advantage of working in a family physician's
    office is that one usually doesn't lose track of patients, as ordinarily happens in
    psychological practice. What we can definitely say is that giving meaning to Dino's
    dizziness has allowed him to avoid entering a pathway of physical examinations that
    would have brought nothing helpful to him, as described above, and would have caused a
    useless drain on the health services.

    Possible limitations of this study


    It could be objected that the presence of the psychologist on a certain day of the week
    could lead to selection of some patients rather than others, resulting in a bias in the
    results. However, all physicians in the study agreed that they had never noticed major
    differences in types of consultations or patients according to the day of the week. On the
    other hand, a major difference was present in that the working population seldom asked
    for consultations in the morning; for this reason, the psychologist's presence was
    scheduled for afternoons, whenever possible, in order to access the broadest patient
    population. By contrast, a strong, unavoidable bias – but also an asset, as described above

    142
    – comes from the patients' opportunity to choose either to meet with, or to decline
    meeting with, the psychologist through their choice of the day of consultation.
    Another question that can be raised is the possible usefulness of this initiative in countries
    other than Italy. While medical training and the doctor/patient relationship, with their
    corollary of mutual expectations, do not appear to be very different among Western
    countries, there might be differences in attitudes towards consultations with
    psychologists. Since, as outlined above, suspicion and fear of stigma with respect to
    meeting with a psychologist appear to be very high in this country, the initiative may be
    even more feasible in countries where these obstacles are less present, though possibly
    not so needed, since people might more easily find access to psychologists through other
    routes.
    Our cross-cultural knowledge is not sufficient for us to discuss the possible application of
    the model in non-Western countries. A relatively small number of immigrants from
    Eastern Europe, Africa, and South America (present in Italy in increasing numbers) came
    into contact with the initiative and did not respond differently than did the local
    population.

    Conclusions and future perspectives


    In our study, joint consultation with a family physician and a psychologist appeared
    feasible and effective in affording the possibility to explore and more fully clarify the
    meaning of physical symptoms or other kinds of problems brought to the physician's
    attention. The mere presence of a psychologist in the office, accepted and arranged by the
    physician himself, powerfully changed patients' attitudes about what topics they were
    allowed and expected to bring up. Direct access to a first-level psychologist, in the
    absence of any filter and without the need for a formal, specific request on the patient's
    part, also appeared as one of the main assets of this initiative.
    Integration of medical and psychological knowledge about the cases observed allowed a
    holistic approach. Working together for a number of years enriched each professional's
    competence to an extent which, we believe, may be difficult to obtain with any kind of
    formal training. Physicians could deepen their knowledge about the impact of relational
    and emotional dynamics on health and disease; psychologists not only learned a lot about
    the organic aspects of the human being, but they also had the occasion to witness the very
    birth of conflicts and other life problems, and to experience the effectiveness of their
    intervention in these instances; moreover, they had the opportunity to become acquainted
    with and involved in a number of life situations that would be unthinkable in any other
    kind of psychological practice.
    A 31% reduction in drug expenses pertaining to patients attending one office, in
    comparison to the preceding years, confirmed our intuition that health costs might be
    reduced by implementing this initiative. Further investigations, therefore, will involve
    measurement of differences in health costs (not only those related to drugs) before and
    after the psychologist's arrival in each physician's office.

    143
    We are also planning to measure differences in wellbeing24 and affective
    regulation9 between patients having access to a psychologist in their family physician's
    office and patients who utilise common assistance.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
    Physicians involved in the initiative were: Giovanni Iacarella, Quintilia Rosati, Sandro
    Scattoni (Orvieto); Andreina Boschi, Maria Luisa Pandolfi, Enzo Pirrotta (Rome); and
    Adriano Cappelloni (Rieti). Psychologists were: Monica Tomassoni, Salvatore Davide
    Mundanu, Antonia Palmisano, Simona Balistreri, Paolo Fayella, Daniela Lucignolo,
    Barbara Coci, Lucia Chiancone, Veronica Ingravalle and Alessandra Marchina.
    We thank Gina Atkinson, MA, for her careful and thoughtful linguistic revision of this
    paper.

    Contributor Information
    Luigi Solano, 
    Enzo Pirrotta, 
    Veronica Ingravalle, 
    Paolo Fayella, 

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    Just Perhaps The Guidance Councillor Or The Dean Of Discipline Could Be Taught
    To Play Chess & And Coach Given Classes

    Chess helps children with learning disorders


    Divya Chandrababu| TNN | Nov 4, 2013, 01.42 PM IST
    CHENNAI: Chess is not just a title clash between Anand and Carlsen, or merely a battle
    of wits. The popular game can actually help children with learning disorders. "It's the art
    of the coach to use chess as a tool either to silence or stimulate a particular part of the
    brain", says Ebenezer Joseph, FIDE trainer and chief consultant of Emmanuel Chess
    Centre. Ebenezer, the first Indian to be certified as a chess trainer by the World Chess

    145
    Federation, says children who play chess have shown 100% improvement in academic
    performances.

    Therapists and psychologists often refer children with learning disabilities and attention
    deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to chess training. For example, 12- year-old Vijay
    was diagnosed with ADHD in 2009. His parents complained that he did not concentrate
    in class or cooperate with his teachers. Dr Khursheed Begaum, a psychologist who
    specializes with ADHD kids, says she suggested only chess training and no psychological
    therapy for him. "Initially he was not interested, he played impulsively. He slowly started
    processing and his attention deficiency reduced. He has overcome ADHD now and sits in
    one place for half an hour. ADHD kids usually cannot sit for more than 3 minutes
    continuously", she said. Vijay even went on to play the National age group chess
    championship in 2011.

    Psychologists also assert that after a year of playing chess consistently, children have
    shown an increase in their IQ levels. "Chess looks at the intellectual capability and not
    academics. So even children with learning disorders have shown an improvement in their
    cognitive skills", says Dr Veena Doss, head, department of psychology, Women's
    Christian College. She explains the case of 8-year-old, Ashish who exhibited disruptive
    behaviour, and gave up in the middle of tasks. "A year after playing chess he had the
    ability to focus and did not get mentally tired of tasks", she says.

    Swapna Raman, a parent of two girls who have been playing chess for almost three years
    says that there is drastic improvement in both of them. "My elder daughter, Sumanna, 11
    couldn't concentrate for more than five minutes and her teachers also frequently
    complained. After she started training in chess, her concentration improved, and she
    scored really well in mathematics. My younger daughter Sowmya, 7, had memory
    problems. I don't find her saying she doesn't remember things anymore. Her IQ has also
    gone up from normal to very superior in two years", she says. Swapna is now an
    accredited chess trainer and works to improve cognition in children with disorders. "My
    daughters always win an argument with me now and all explanations to them have to be
    logical", she adds.

    Chess trainers can handle kids with mild disorders, but a therapist is required in the case
    of children with severe disorders. "I've used chess as therapy even for mentally retarded
    children who have very low cognitive scores," says Sharon Dominica, occupational
    therapist. Cognition that requires both basic and high level skills is found in chess. The
    game has helped children with visual perception disorders and those who cannot

    146
    recognize letters and numbers. "The basic skills required for reading, writing and playing
    chess are the same, so the game has an impact even when it is not directly linked," says
    Dominica. "Research has shown chess training resulting in high math scores and
    improved reading," she adds.

    Practical chess training is different from the training that children with special needs
    undergo. "You come to know the child has some disability when they don't even learn the
    moves, only a handful stay back in chess" says Manuel Aaron, India's first international
    master. The concept of chess and the setting in which it is played, helps children with
    social and communication disorders, say experts. The Newman international academy in
    Texas, "uses chess as a therapy for all people and age groups including those with special
    needs", says their founder Sheeba George. Chess is also used to rehabilitate patients who
    suffer from spinal cord injury, says Dominica. "Chess classes are therapeutic for children
    with problems and the beauty of it is that neither the child nor the society knows that it's
    therapy," she says.

    (Names of the children have been changed to protect their identity)


    Source:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Chess-helps-children-with-
    learning-disorders/articleshow/25211133.cms

    147
    Is This Beyond The Ablities Of Cumberland High School?
    Chess & Dance !

    In Practice

    The Benefit of Movement: Dance/Movement Therapy and Down


    Syndrome
    Chloe M. Albin , BA
    Pages 58-61 | Published online: 13 Jun 2016

    There are various forms of therapies for children with disabilities, including physical
    therapy, speech therapy, and alternative therapies such as music and dance therapy. Each
    form of therapy has its benefits for those with disabilities, but ultimately the success of
    the therapy rests on the attention paid to the individual. Especially for children with
    disabilities, it is important for the therapist and educator to pay attention to the details and
    intricacies of the child’s life to formulate the best approach to therapy and inclusive
    movement in the classroom. Many factors need to be considered when determining the
    best form of therapy for an individual. Movement-based therapy is an effective form of
    therapy, primarily due to its sensorimotor integration. For children with Down syndrome,
    movement-based therapy is beneficial; benefits range from strengthening the mind–body
    connection to the improvement of development, health, and cognitive skills.

    148
    REVIEW OF LITERATURE
    Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects 1 in every 730 babies born in the United
    States each year and affects more than 400,000 people in total nationwide
    (Clark 2010Clark, L. M. 2010. Movement patterns and quality of life for individuals with
    Down syndrome: An overview of dance as physical therapy. Logos: A Journal of
    Undergraduate Research 4:37–48. [Google Scholar]). It is the most common condition
    concerning abnormal chromosomes; an extra 21st chromosome is present in those with
    Down syndrome (Clark 2010Clark, L. M. 2010. Movement patterns and quality of life for
    individuals with Down syndrome: An overview of dance as physical therapy. Logos: A
    Journal of Undergraduate Research 4:37–48. [Google Scholar]).

    This disorder heavily influences the motor development of a child. Individuals with
    Down syndrome often have thyroid and respiratory problems and are at risk for early
    onset of Alzheimer’s disease (Clark 2010Clark, L. M. 2010. Movement patterns and
    quality of life for individuals with Down syndrome: An overview of dance as physical
    therapy. Logos: A Journal of Undergraduate Research 4:37–48. [Google Scholar]).
    Effects of developmental delays include muscle hypotonia, poor balance, inadequate
    control of posture, and underdeveloped posture control (Esposito et al. 2012Esposito, P.
    E., M. MacDonald, J. E. Hornyak, and D. A. Ulrich. 2012. Physical activity patterns of
    youth with Down syndrome. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities50(2):109–19.
    [CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]).

    These common physical traits of those with Down syndrome can have detrimental effects
    on posture and mobility; affected children might walk with knees in a locked position and
    turned-out legs, which distributes weight abnormally on the medial sides of the foot
    (Clark 2010Clark, L. M. 2010. Movement patterns and quality of life for individuals with
    Down syndrome:

    An overview of dance as physical therapy. Logos: A Journal of Undergraduate


    Research 4:37–48. [Google Scholar]). This, in turn, can cause further problems in this
    kinematic chain including the presence of a tilted pelvis in a sitting position, a rounded
    back, and a head that is slightly tilted back (Clark 2010Clark, L. M. 2010. Movement
    patterns and quality of life for individuals with Down syndrome: An overview of dance
    as physical therapy. Logos: A Journal of Undergraduate Research 4:37–48. [Google
    Scholar]).

    In addition to these physical developmental delays, cognitive delays are also common
    such as the ability to learn new concepts, skills, and activities (Esposito et
    al. 2012Esposito, P. E., M. MacDonald, J. E. Hornyak, and D. A. Ulrich. 2012. Physical
    activity patterns of youth with Down syndrome. Intellectual and Developmental
    Disabilities50(2):109–19.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]).
    A child with Down syndrome might have similar developmental milestones compared to
    a child with typical development, but these milestones are delayed.

    149
    There are many benefits of physical activity for children such as improved health,
    prevention of chronic disease, increase in self-esteem, and opportunities for social
    interaction (Barr and Shields 2011Barr, M., and N. Shields. 2011. Identifying the barriers
    and facilitators to participation in physical activity for children with Down
    syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research55:1020–33.
    [CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]).

    Due to developmental delays, those with Down syndrome might be less likely to be
    physically active because there is a lack of programs with accommodations for their
    developmental differences (Esposito et al. 2012Esposito, P. E., M. MacDonald, J.
    E. Hornyak, and D. A. Ulrich. 2012. Physical activity patterns of youth with Down
    syndrome. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities50(2):109–19.
    [CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). Physical activity is an
    important part of development; “current research suggests that using movement as an
    intervention for children with Down syndrome can support the development of not only
    their quality of movement but also the relationship it has to social development,
    emotional development, cognitive development, and inclusion” (Gass et al. 2013Gass, K.
    R., J. R. Kennedy, S. Hastie, and H. M. Wentworth. 2013. Somatic assessment of
    nonverbal social skills in children with Down syndrome: Using the Kestenberg
    Movement Profile as a tool for treatment planning. Body, Movement and Dance in
    Psychotherapy: An International Journal for Theory, Research and Practice 8(1):17–
    33. [Google Scholar], 17–33).

    Children with Down syndrome who are not physically active could experience an
    increase in the severity of their existing health conditions, such as hypotonia, cardiac
    abnormalities, and hypothyroidism (Barr and Shields 2011Barr, M.,
    and N. Shields. 2011. Identifying the barriers and facilitators to participation in physical
    activity for children with Down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability
    Research55:1020–33.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]).
    They are at risk for cardiovascular disease and obesity if exercise is not incorporated into
    their life (Shields, Dodd, and Abblitt 2009Shields, N., K. J. Dodd, and C. Abblitt. 2009.

     Do children with Down syndrome perform sufficient physical activity to maintain good
    health? A pilot study. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly26(4):307–20.[PubMed], [Web
    of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). In recent years, approximately 45 percent of males and
    56 percent of females with Down syndrome have been found to be overweight (Shields,
    Dodd, and Abblitt 2009Shields, N., K. J. Dodd, and C. Abblitt. 2009. Do children with
    Down syndrome perform sufficient physical activity to maintain good health? A pilot
    study. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly26(4):307–20.[PubMed], [Web of Science
    ®], [Google Scholar]); based on statistics alone, it is obvious that children with Down
    syndrome must be shown how to live a healthy life as children, so that they will be more
    likely to live a healthy lifestyle as adults (Shields, Dodd, and Abblitt 2009Shields, N., K.
    J. Dodd, and C. Abblitt. 2009.

     Do children with Down syndrome perform sufficient physical activity to maintain good
    health? A pilot study. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly26(4):307–20.[PubMed], [Web
    of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). Early intervention also helps to combat childhood

    150
    obesity; if children are obese, then they are less likely to be physically active as
    adolescents and adults (Jobling 1994Jobling, A. 1994. Physical education for the person
    with Down syndrome: More than playing games? Down Syndrome Research and
    Practice 2:31–35.[CrossRef], [Google Scholar]).

    It is important that different forms of therapies for children with Down syndrome offer
    opportunities for activity as this is a critical aspect of development. Early intervention is
    ideal as this helps the individual maintain functionality with age, including intellectual
    functioning as well as physical skills, such as jumping, walking, and balance (Barr and
    Shields 2011Barr, M., and N. Shields. 2011. Identifying the barriers and facilitators to
    participation in physical activity for children with Down syndrome. Journal of
    Intellectual Disability Research55:1020–33.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science
    ®], [Google Scholar]). The barriers of developmental delays must be addressed, and
    specialized movement programs for individuals with Down syndrome should be more
    abundant and accessible.

    Research has revealed that “those with physical or intellectual


    impairments may have reduced opportunities for social interaction and
    stimulation partly because they are identified as non-communicators”
    Williams 2008Williams, C. 2008. 

    Creative engagement in interactive immersive environments. Digital


    Creativity 19(3):203–11.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science
    ®], [Google Scholar]). Children with Down syndrome are at a
    disadvantage because they might not be given the opportunity to
    participate in activities based on their perceived physical abilities and
    social skills.

    Often, the reason these children do not participate in exercise is


    because there are not appropriate programs for them (Barr and
    Shields 2011Barr, M., and N. Shields. 2011. Identifying the barriers and
    facilitators to participation in physical activity for children with Down
    syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research55:1020–33.
    [CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). Because
    of this, these children might not acquire certain developmental skills or
    have access to ideal life chances.

    Certain skills should be incorporated in therapy and in any educational


    setting for children with Down syndrome to nurture development such
    as climbing, jumping, running, and balancing (Barr and
    Shields 2011Barr, M., and N. Shields. 2011. Identifying the barriers and

    151
    facilitators to participation in physical activity for children with Down
    syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research55:1020–33.
    [CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). In addition
    to these basic movement skills, concepts of body awareness and
    spacial awareness can be included in therapy
    (Jobling 1994Jobling, A. 1994. Physical education for the person with
    Down syndrome: More than playing games? Down Syndrome Research
    and Practice 2:31–35.[CrossRef], [Google Scholar]). It is the dance
    therapist’s and dance educator’s responsibility to offer inclusive
    physical activity opportunities.

    A successful physical therapy program is one that is as unique as the


    individual. Dance/movement therapy is a malleable approach to
    therapy; it can change depending on the needs of a specific person. It
    is beneficial for children, but also adults, as methods used in
    movement therapy can evolve with age. It is defined as a
    “psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional,
    cognitive, physical, and social integration of the individual” (About
    Dance/Movement Therapy 2015About Dance/Movement
    Therapy. 2015. ADTA: American Dance Therapy
    Association.http://www.adta.org/About_DMT(accessed April 19, 2015). ).

    This type of therapy incorporates repetition that “involves having the


    person undergo certain environmental and social interactions to
    enhance normal brain function” (Couper 1981Couper, J. L. 1981. Effects
    on motor performance of children with learning disabilities. Journal of
    the American Physical Therapy Association 61(1):23–26. [Google Scholar],
    23–26). Learning new skills and experiencing movement aids the
    development of the mind–body connection; this sensorimotor
    integration could improve motor skills, emotional processing, language
    capabilities, and academic success (Couper 1981Couper, J.
    L. 1981. Effects on motor performance of children with learning
    disabilities. Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association 61(1):23–
    26. [Google Scholar]).

    For dance to be an effective form of therapy, it must relate to other


    areas of the child’s life (Jobling 1994Jobling, A. 1994. Physical education

    152
    for the person with Down syndrome: More than playing games? Down
    Syndrome Research and Practice 2:31–35.[CrossRef], [Google Scholar]). If
    the concepts are not relatable, then the child might be less likely to
    experience a connection to the therapy, and it might not be as
    effective. The life skills that could be presented in a dance/movement
    therapy setting are not “readily available in other psychosocial
    rehabilitation groups” (Barton 2011Barton, E. J. 2011. Movement and
    mindfulness:

    A formative evaluation of a dance/movement and yoga therapy


    program with participants experiencing severe mental illness. American
    Journal of Dance Therapy 33(2):157–81.[CrossRef], [Google Scholar],
    157–181), so it would be beneficial for children with Down syndrome
    who might not be seeing results from other types of therapy.
    Ultimately, combining therapies such as physical therapy and a more
    creative, expressive therapy can be more beneficial than one approach
    alone; “combining the functionality of physical therapy and the creative
    aspect of dance can stimulate and challenge Down syndrome
    individuals physically and cognitively and can improve their memory
    and increase physical fitness while allowing them to express their
    emotions” (Clark 2010Clark, L. M. 2010. Movement patterns and quality
    of life for individuals with Down syndrome: An overview of dance as
    physical therapy. Logos: A Journal of Undergraduate Research 4:37–
    48. [Google Scholar], 37–48).

    Many factors need to be considered when structuring a dance class for


    children with Down syndrome. The structure should have both an
    individual and group focus. When the parents and families of children
    with Down syndrome participate in therapy, the child is more likely to
    become engaged (Barr and Shields 2011Barr, M.,
    and N. Shields. 2011. Identifying the barriers and facilitators to
    participation in physical activity for children with Down
    syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research55:1020–33.
    [CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]) because
    they are the best role models for the child (Shields, Dodd, and
    Abblitt 2009Shields, N., K. J. Dodd, and C. Abblitt. 2009. 

    153
    Do children with Down syndrome perform sufficient physical activity to
    maintain good health? A pilot study. Adapted Physical Activity
    Quarterly26(4):307–20.[PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]).
    Children with Down syndrome are motivated by peers (Sharp, Dunford,
    and Seddon 2012Sharp, N., C. Dunford, and L. Seddon. 2012. A critical
    appraisal of how occupational therapists can enable participation in
    adaptive physical activity for children and young people. British Journal
    of Occupational Therapy 75:486.[CrossRef], [Web of Science ®], [Google
    Scholar]). The presence of others encourages autonomy and efficacy
    (Sharp, Dunford, and Seddon 2012Sharp, N., C. Dunford,
    and L. Seddon. 2012. 

    A critical appraisal of how occupational therapists can enable


    participation in adaptive physical activity for children and young
    people. British Journal of Occupational Therapy 75:486.[CrossRef], [Web
    of Science ®], [Google Scholar]), which children might be able to apply
    to their life outside of therapy. An emphasis on the “similarities of
    students with learning disabilities … to nondisabled students should
    strengthen positive attitudes” in a therapy setting (Theodorakis,
    Bagiatis, and Goudas 1995Theodorakis, Y., K. Bagiatis,
    and M. Goudas. 1995. Attitudes toward teaching individuals with
    disabilities: Application of planned behavior theory. Adapted Physical
    Activity Quarterly 12(2):151–60.[Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar],
    151–160). The incorporation of both disabled and nondisabled children
    would prove to be beneficial for all children involved.

    There are certain movement patterns that children with disabilities


    benefit from that can positively affect their general movement outside
    of therapy. Because most children with Down syndrome are inactive,
    introducing simple movement into their lives is crucial to their
    continued development. Children in movement-based therapies excel
    in the therapy setting, but these results carry over to their lives in ways
    such as decreased anxiety in social settings (Becker and
    Dusing 2010Becker, E., and S. Dusing. 2010. Participation is possible: A
    case report of integration into a community performing arts
    program. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice 26(4):275–80.[Taylor &
    Francis Online], [Google Scholar]), improved quality of life, increased

    154
    independence and confidence, improved communication skills (Jobling,
    Virji-Babul, and Nichols 2006Jobling, A., N. Virji-Babul,
    and D. Nichols. 2006. Children with Down syndrome: Discovering the
    joy of movement. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation &
    Dance77(6):34–54.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Google Scholar]), and
    improved retaining of information (Becker and Dusing 2010Becker, E.,
    and S. Dusing. 2010. Participation is possible: A case report of
    integration into a community performing arts program. Physiotherapy
    Theory and Practice 26(4):275–80.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Google
    Scholar]).

    Pedestrian movement, such as running, jumping, skipping, throwing,


    kicking, and catching, can improve motor skills, spatial awareness, and
    visual-motor coordination skills (Block 1992Block, M. E. 1992. What is
    appropriate physical education for students with profound disabilities?
    Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly9(3):197–213. [Google Scholar]). Also,
    heel raises, relevés, should be incorporated in parallel and in a turned-
    out position to strengthen the tibialis muscles, which will help to
    stabilize the weak ankles commonly found in children with Down
    syndrome (Clark 2010Clark, L. M. 2010. Movement patterns and quality
    of life for individuals with Down syndrome: An overview of dance as
    physical therapy. Logos: A Journal of Undergraduate Research 4:37–
    48. [Google Scholar]).

    The approach to teaching movement should include breaking down a


    skill into manageable parts (Jobling 1994Jobling, A. 1994. Physical
    education for the person with Down syndrome: More than playing
    games? Down Syndrome Research and Practice 2:31–35.
    [CrossRef], [Google Scholar]) because these children have more of a
    “global visual processing style” (Daunhauer and
    Fidler 2011Daunhauer, L., and D. Fidler. 2011. The Down syndrome
    behavioral phenotype: Implications for practice and research in
    occupational therapy. Occupational Therapy in Health Care 25(1):7–25.
    [Taylor & Francis Online], [Google Scholar]) and pay less attention to
    details. It takes more time for a child with Down syndrome to complete
    goal-directed movement than those without disabilities or those who
    are nondisabled (Hodges et al. 1995Hodges, N. J., S.

    155
    J. Cunningham, J. Lyons, T. L. Kerr, and D. Elliott. 1995. Visual feedback
    processing and goal-directed movement in adults with Down
    syndrome. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly 12 (2):176–86. [Google
    Scholar]).

    Therefore, the therapist must teach the skill in individual parts until
    there is a strong understanding, and only then can the skills be used
    comprehensively (Jobling 1994Jobling, A. 1994. Physical education for
    the person with Down syndrome: More than playing games? Down
    Syndrome Research and Practice 2:31–35.[CrossRef], [Google Scholar]).
    For the acquisition of these skills, it is important to focus on effort
    rather than ability (Jobling 1994Jobling, A. 1994. Physical education for
    the person with Down syndrome: More than playing games? Down
    Syndrome Research and Practice 2:31–35.[CrossRef], [Google Scholar]).

    This is important because a child must not focus on the concept of


    success and failure as this could encourage negative thinking. Instead,
    an individual’s effort should be rewarded because this encourages
    positive thinking and motivation to complete a task. In addition to
    breaking a skill into manageable parts, repetition of the skill or
    movement must be used in a creative way so that the child maintains
    interest (Jobling 1994Jobling, A. 1994. Physical education for the person
    with Down syndrome: More than playing games? Down Syndrome
    Research and Practice 2:31–35.[CrossRef], [Google Scholar]).
    Improvisation and basic gestures should also be incorporated in a
    dance therapy program (Capello 2008Capello, P.
    P. 2008. Dance/movement therapy with children throughout the
    world. American Journal of Dance Therapy30 (1):24–36.
    [CrossRef], [Google Scholar]).

    As a whole, benefits from activity in groups might be stronger with


    dance therapy compared to other forms of therapy
    (Couper 1981Couper, J. L. 1981. Effects on motor performance of
    children with learning disabilities. Journal of the American Physical
    Therapy Association 61(1):23–26. [Google Scholar]). Drawing from
    information from other forms of therapy and research, a highly
    effective educational program with a dance and movement emphasis

    156
    can be created. A broad focus must be used to guarantee that multiple
    factors are considered when structuring a program based in
    movement.

    DISCUSSION

    Although the approach described in this article is based on the exploration of dance in a
    therapy setting, it is extremely malleable and can be used by the dance educator. Portions
    of this approach can be taken and modified for whatever setting the educator is in,
    whether it be a dance studio or a classroom. The format of the session would be as
    follows: warm-up, concept, repetition of skills, improvisation, and cool-down. Repetition
    and patterning of language and movement is important in the presentation of concepts
    and skills. Healthy movement patterns and good habits come with repetition and
    familiarity with concepts. It is extremely important to use repetition in therapy and use
    repetition over several class periods. Short-term and long-term repetition are both
    beneficial because they help to develop skills.

    Concepts could include skipping, jumping, catching, throwing, body-half movement, or


    core-distal movement. It is important to introduce simple concepts slowly and in a
    broken-down form so that the children can best understand and apply them. If the central
    concept is skipping, the educator could begin with walking exercises, then move on to
    exercises involving jumping on two feet. Then, the educator could proceed to exercises
    involving shifting weight while jumping from right foot to left foot. Finally, the educator
    could introduce the concept of traveling. This progression introduces the key steps
    involved in skipping and allows the children to build on each skill.

    Each week, a new concept can be introduced. This way, by the end of the program, the
    children will have accumulated new skills that they can apply to their daily life. Activities
    can be set up in a station method where the child can experience the concept. Music,
    rhythm, color, and other visuals should be incorporated to promote learning and maintain
    the child’s attention. Partnering activities can be used so that the child interacts with
    others while still focusing on new concepts.

    Pedestrian movements are a good focus because Laban’s ideas of movement can be
    applied to actions such as walking, skipping, or jumping. Because children with Down
    syndrome have gaps in their development or develop more slowly than other children, it
    is important to develop these patterns as they are the foundation for all movement. Due to
    physical limitations for children with Down syndrome, movements requiring neck
    extensions and spinning should be avoided as well as spinning activities. Jumping
    activities can be included as it has been observed that these children enjoy this type of
    movement, but caution must be taken so that the children do not hurt themselves. To
    ensure that the children maintain interest, variations can be applied to concepts that have
    previously been introduced. These variations can include the use of levels and speed of
    movement but they also can include the use of scarves, balls, and other props.

    157
    In regard to developing movement patterns, the movement approach connects the mind
    and body, which is a connection that both therapists and educators working with Down
    syndrome children need to focus on. In physical therapy, occupational therapy, adapted
    physical education, or the classroom setting, all of these ideas can be applied. Based on
    the similarity of the information gathered from professionals in the field, it is clear that
    there is not one particular setting in which dance and movement are the most beneficial.
    So long as the professional guiding the movement is consistent, the program will be
    beneficial; consistency is the key to developing comfort and trust.

    Ultimately, the environment must be a very positive one. It is important that the educator
    and therapist remain positive because these children, like anyone else, are more
    responsive to this demeanor. By creating a positive environment, a safe environment is
    also formed. Vocabulary used by the professional is critical; language should be full of
    words that encourage motivation and optimism. This can be done in simple ways such as
    recognizing the strengths and successes of individual students. It is important to
    acknowledge these things, no matter how small.

    Another way to create a positive environment is to allow the children to help in the
    decision making. Explaining and providing two options instead of one and allowing the
    child to choose what he or she wants to do gives the child a deeper sense of involvement
    in the content being presented. Setting goals for the child is important; both individual
    goals and group goals should be set to encourage individuality and a sense of community.
    These two ideas, individuality and community, will encourage each child to find his or
    her sense of self through movement, but these ideas will also encourage the child to relate
    to others. Setting realistic goals and offering small rewards for reaching these goals
    encourages positive thinking. Rewards are not a form of bribery but instead a recognition
    of work and progress. For example, a small reward could be as simple as a high-five, a
    sticker, or allowing the child to choose the next activity.

    CONCLUSION
    Movement-based programs could alter the trend of sedentary lifestyles associated with
    children with Down syndrome. Individuals would benefit in every aspect of their
    development, which in turn would influence other areas of their lives. Certain barriers
    associated with Down syndrome need to be taken into consideration such as physical,
    social, and cognitive limitations. A combination of specific movement and cognitive
    exercises will stimulate sensorimotor development, which is crucial. Accessibility should
    be taken into consideration because families need to be educated and aware of existing
    effective programs for their child.

    The dance therapist and the dance educator can develop a reciprocal relationship to
    maximize a child’s individual growth. Each professional can share strategies and his or
    her own experience working with a child or a specific group of children. The dance
    therapist and educator might have slightly different views of the child, depending on the

    158
    environment in which they typically interact. Therefore, by collaborating with each other,
    a more comprehensive view of the child’s life and behaviors can be seen. Dance
    educators can incorporate strategies such as class structure and recommended movements
    into their lessons. Even if there are children with and without disabilities in a class
    together, these movement lesson plans are beneficial for everybody. No matter what the
    ability level, movement stimulates the sensorimotor connection in the body, which is
    healthy for everyone.

    Further research regarding the long-term effects of dance therapy on those with Down
    syndrome should be conducted. This research focused on the benefits of movement for
    children with Down syndrome; further research on the benefits of dance therapy for
    adults with Down syndrome would reveal similarities and trends between these different
    age groups. This research would also show if there are benefits in beginning movement
    therapy and incorporating movement into the classroom at a young age compared to
    starting movement therapy as an adult. Additional research could also include the
    examination of specific exercises and their effects on children with Down syndrome.
    Based on current research, there is an understanding of general movements that these
    children benefit from. However, future research could reveal the benefits of movement
    series structured specifically for children with Down syndrome. Future research could
    also show effective ways in which movement can be incorporated into any classroom due
    to its beneficial nature for children of any age and ability.

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    A review of “music and movement” therapies for children with


    autism: embodied interventions for multisystem development
    Sudha M. Srinivasan1,2 and Anjana N. Bhat1,2,3,*

    Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ►

    This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

    Abstract

    Introduction
    Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurological disorders characterized
    by social communication impairments as well as the presence of stereotyped and
    repetitive behaviors and interests (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Children
    with ASDs demonstrate social impairments such as poor social and emotional reciprocity
    or turn taking and reduced eye contact during social exchanges (Mundy and
    Crowson, 1997; Dawson et al., 2004). Communication impairments in autism typically
    involve the lack of or a delay in the acquisition of language, difficulties in initiating and
    sustaining conversations with social partners, and the idiosyncratic use of language
    (Tager-Flusberg, 1999).
    In addition, the presence of repetitive and stereotypical behaviors is a hallmark of
    autism; children with ASDs demonstrate repetitive manipulations of objects, stereotypical
    behaviors such as flapping of hands, twisting of the body, and compulsive behaviors such
    as inflexible adherence to fixed routines and rituals (Bodfish et al., 2000; Boyd et
    al., 2012).

    In addition to these core impairments, children with ASDs may demonstrate several
    secondary impairments or comorbidities including significant behavioral and emotional
    problems as well as perceptuo-motor impairments. Behavioral and emotional problems
    include anxiety, aggression, depression, hyperactivity, temper tantrums, and/or self-
    injurious behaviors (Bodfish et al., 2000; Lecavalier, 2006; Loh et al., 2007; Mazefsky et
    al., 2012).
    A growing body of evidence suggests that perceptuo-motor impairments are frequently
    present in children with ASDs (Fournier et al., 2010; Bhat et al., 2011). Specifically,
    children with autism have difficulty modulating sensory inputs (Baranek, 1999; Baranek
    et al., 2005; Tomchek and Dunn, 2007) which may manifest as enhanced perception of
    auditory and visual stimuli (Bonnel et al., 2003; Heaton, 2003; Gernsbacher et al., 2008).

    163
    Furthermore, they have significant and pervasive motor impairments such as problems
    with dual and multi-limb coordination (Green et al., 2009; Fournier et al., 2010), postural
    control (Minshew et al., 2004), gait (Vilensky et al., 1981; Hallett et al., 1993), as well as
    imitation and praxis (Mostofsky et al., 2006; Dewey et al., 2007). Comorbidities in
    perceptuo-motor performance could contribute to the social communication impairments
    of ASDs. Specifically, limited movement exploration and motor clumsiness may lead to
    missed opportunities to develop social connections with peers and caregivers (Leary and
    Hill, 1996; Jansiewicz et al., 2006; Bhat et al., 2011). Taken together, ASDs are
    multisystem disorders with both primary social communication impairments and
    secondary perceptuo-motor and behavioral comorbidities.
    The current standard of care for ASDs includes the use of Applied Behavioral Analysis
    (ABA) (Lovaas, 1987), Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) (Bondy and
    Frost, 2003), Teaching and Education of Autistic and Related Communication
    Handicapped Children (TEACHH) (Mesibov et al., 2004) as well as developmental, skill-
    based approaches (Pierce and Schreibman, 1995; Kasari et al., 2008). ABA, PECS, and
    TEACHH approaches recommend specific strategies for social interaction and
    environmental structure to promote positive behaviors and communication in children
    with ASDs (Lovaas, 1987; Bondy and Frost, 2003; Mesibov et al., 2004). The
    developmental approaches promote specific early social communication skills such as
    joint attention and imitation. While these approaches have significant evidence to support
    their use, they are primarily used to promote social communication and academic skills
    (Landa, 2007). Few approaches such as Sensory Integration therapy (Baranek, 2002) or
    Floortime (Greenspan and Wieder, 1999) promote perceptuo-motor development;
    however, there is limited evidence to support their use. Given the multisystem nature of
    the impairments in ASDs, there is a clear need to develop multisystem interventions that
    address their core social communication deficits as well as their perceptuo-motor and
    behavioral comorbidities. In this review, we highlight the multisystem effects of music
    therapies and how they might benefit children with ASDs.
    Music-based therapies form about 12% of all autism interventions and 45% of all
    alternate treatment strategies used within school settings (Simpson et al., 2005; Hess et
    al., 2008). However, our review of published and unpublished research evaluating the
    efficacy of music therapies in autism revealed that the majority of the studies involved
    single-subject designs or small sample sizes (see Table Table1).1). Moreover, these
    studies involved a pre-post comparison of outcomes in the treatment group and did not
    include a control group. The overall quality of studies was poor except for three
    published randomized controlled trials (Lundqvist et al., 2009; Lim, 2010; Gattino et
    al., 2011). The majority of the studies focused on addressing the communication
    impairments in autism. Few studies used musical experiences to facilitate social-
    emotional and behavioral outcomes in ASDs (see Table Table11 for details).
    Interestingly, the effects of music therapy on motor performance and motor stereotypies
    have never been examined. Given the current state of the music therapy literature, it is
    difficult to make definitive claims about the effects of music-based interventions in
    children with ASDs, except for the significant treatment effects in improving
    communication. In this review, we not only acknowledge the limitations of the music
    therapy literature, but also provide additional sources of evidence from the fields of

    164
    music education, neuroscience, and special education to make a strong case for “music
    and movement” activities as multisystem interventions for children with ASDs. We
    believe that the multisystem nature of musical experiences warrants further systematic
    investigation as an effective treatment strategy to address both the core impairments and
    comorbidities of individuals with autism.

    Table 1
    Music therapies in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs).

    Study Sample Age of Therapy Therapy Type of Type of music Intervention


    size subjects duration frequency intervention used design
    in years (number (number (Active/Passive (Live/Recorded (Individual/Grou
    of days) of sessions ) ) p)
    per week)

    STUDIES ASSESSING COMMUNICATION OUTCOMES

    Gattino et 24 6.7–12.2 16 1 Active Live Individual


    al., 2011

    Wan et 6 5.9–8.9 40 5 Active Live Individual


    al., 2011

    Lim, 2010 51 3–5 6 3 Passive Recorded Individual

    Edgerton, 19 11 6–9 10 1 Active Live Individual


    94

    165
    Study Sample Age of Therapy Therapy Type of Type of music Intervention
    size subjects duration frequency intervention used design
    in years (number (number (Active/Passive (Live/Recorded (Individual/Grou
    of days) of sessions ) ) p)
    per week)

    Buday, 1995 10 4.4–9 8 4 Passive Recorded Individual

    Lim and 22 3–5 3 6 Active Live Individual


    Draper, 201
    1

    Corbett et 11 3–7 38 7 Passive Recorded Individual


    al., 2008

    STUDIES ASSESSING SOCIAL OUTCOMES

    Kim et 15 3–5 12 1 Active Live Individual


    al., 2008

    STUDIES ASSESSING EMOTIONAL OUTCOMES

    Katagiri, 20 12 9–15 8 2 Active and Live and Individual


    09 Passive Recorded

    166
    Study Sample Age of Therapy Therapy Type of Type of music Intervention
    size subjects duration frequency intervention used design
    in years (number (number (Active/Passive (Live/Recorded (Individual/Grou
    of days) of sessions ) ) p)
    per week)

    Kim et 15 3–5 12 1 Active Live Individual


    al., 2009

    STUDIES ASSESSING BEHAVIORAL OUTCOMES

    Lundqvist et 20 22–57 10 2 Passive Recorded Individual


    al., 2009

    Boso et 8 23–38 52 1 Active Live Group


    al., 2007

    Carnahan et 6 6–11 40 5 Active Recorded Group


    al., 2009a,b

    Note: This table does not include case studies or unpublished theses and dissertations.

    We propose that music-based interventions are effective treatment tools for individuals
    with ASDs because they harness the musical strengths of this population while alleviating
    their impairments. We are offering three different reasons that make music-based
    interventions particularly attractive for individuals with ASDs. First, musical training
    may help address the various core autism impairments in joint attention, social
    reciprocity, and non-verbal and verbal communication, as well as comorbidities of
    atypical multisensory perception, poor motor performance, and behavioral problems.
    Second, children with ASDs find musical activities enjoyable, perhaps due to their

    167
    enhanced musical understanding (Heaton, 2003). Children with autism have enhanced
    pitch perception abilities compared to typically developing children, for instance,
    enhanced pitch memory, labeling (Heaton, 2003), and discrimination (Bonnel et
    al., 2003). Therefore, clinicians and special educators often use music-based activities in
    school settings to engage children with ASDs (Hess et al., 2008). Third, music-based
    activities can be non-intimidating experiences wherein a child with ASD spontaneously
    explores various musical instruments, with the trainer joining in and copying the child's
    actions. Children with ASDs have difficulties with direct social engagement; hence,
    socially embedded group musical activities provide excellent opportunities to engage in
    predictable and comfortable interactions with social partners (Darrow and
    Armstrong, 1999; Allgood, 2003). In this review, we first provide evidence for the
    multisystem effects of musical experiences in facilitating various skills in children with
    autism, other neurological populations, and healthy individuals. Next, we discuss the
    critical elements of music-based activities and the popular music therapy approaches used
    in ASDs and other pediatric developmental disorders. Finally, based on the current
    literature, we provide recommendations for clinicians and clinical researchers working
    with children with autism including ideas for assessment and treatment.

    Multisystem effects of musical experiences


    In this section, we describe the supporting evidence for how embodied music therapies
    promote communication, social-emotional, perceptuo-motor, and behavioral skills in
    children with ASDs. In each sub-section, we will first explain the mechanism for positive
    effects of musical experiences and the evidence supporting the use of embodied music
    interventions in remediating the impairments in autism. Since the current research on
    music-based therapies in autism is limited, we will also rely on evidence from healthy
    individuals and pediatric populations with similar neurological impairments as autism.
    Figure Figure11 shows the direct and indirect effects of musical experiences on the
    perceptuo-motor, communication, social-emotional, and behavioral domains of
    development. We will also offer recent neuroscientific evidence which suggests that
    musical experiences may shape the nervous system in healthy individuals and discuss its
    implications for individuals with ASDs.

    Figure 1

    168
    Direct and indirect influences of musical experiences/therapies on the various
    domains of development.

    Effect of musical experiences on the development of language and


    communication
    Musical experiences involving singing, chanting, and playing of musical instruments
    clearly require communication between individuals. Music and language are closely
    related to each other in that both music and language are hierarchically arranged, with
    lower-level units such as notes/keys or letters/syllables integrated to form higher-level
    units such as chords/chord progressions or words/sentences (Molnar-Szakacs and
    Overy, 2006).
    Moreover, music and language are strikingly similar in the complexity of acoustic
    information, the use of spatial notation such as musical notation and the alphabet (Kraus
    and Chandrasekaran, 2010), as well as cognitive processes such as attention and memory
    (Patel et al., 1998; Foxton et al., 2003). These similarities allow easy transfer of learning
    between music and language (Tallal and Gaab, 2006). Children with ASDs have
    significant communication impairments despite relatively preserved musical skills
    (Bonnel et al., 2003; Heaton, 2003).
    Hence, music therapies have been used to facilitate verbal and gestural communication
    skills in children with ASDs (Edgerton, 1994; Buday, 1995; O'Loughlin, 2000;
    Farmer, 2003; Gold et al., 2006; Lim, 2010; Tindell, 2010; Gattino et al., 2011; Lim and
    Draper, 2011; Simpson and Keen, 2011; Wan et al., 2011) (see Table Table1).1). A
    recent meta-analysis revealed that active music therapies involving singing and music-

    169
    making led to significant improvements in verbal communication skills and non-verbal,
    gestural communication skills in children with ASDs (Gold et al., 2006). Effect sizes
    varied between 0.4 and 0.5 based on two randomized control trials involving 20
    participants in the music therapy group compared to the control “placebo” therapy group
    (Buday, 1995; Farmer, 2003; Gold et al., 2006). Overall, there is some evidence from the
    autism literature supporting the links between music and language, thus justifying the use
    of music therapies to enhance communication skills in autism.
    Literature from music education suggests strong links between musical training and
    enhanced communication skills in typically developing children and adults. Prolonged
    music training not only enhances musical perception but also speech perception/receptive
    language as well as expressive language (Butzlaff, 2000; Jakobson et al., 2003; Schlaug
    et al., 2005; Magne et al., 2006; Forgeard, 2008; Kraus and Chandrasekaran, 2010).
    Children and adults who received long-term musical training showed significant
    advances in basic auditory perception of music as well as speech, particularly, pitch
    perception (Schön et al., 2004; Marques et al., 2007; Moreno et al., 2009).
    Adult musicians were better able to detect weak violations/incongruities in pitch within
    both music and language compared to non-musicians (Schön et al., 2004). Moreover, the
    ability to detect pitch violations in language was not restricted to their native language; it
    also generalized to foreign languages (Marques et al., 2007). Similar enhancements in
    pitch perception were observed in children who had at least 4 years of musical training
    (Magne et al., 2006).
    Even children who received short-term musical training for a 6-month period were better
    able to detect weak pitch violations in both music and speech than children who received
    painting training (Moreno et al., 2009). Other perceptual skills that improve with
    prolonged musical training include rhythmic and auditory discrimination abilities
    (Jakobson et al., 2003) as well as melodic contour perception (Forgeard, 2008). Musical
    training not only enhances music and speech perception but also directly impacts
    expressive language. Musically trained children outperformed musically naïve children
    on tasks of verbal memory, verbal fluency, and non-verbal reasoning (Ho et al., 2003;
    Forgeard, 2008).
    Lastly, music and movement therapies may enhance communication skills in children
    with other developmental disorders including children with dyslexia (Overy, 2003) and
    intellectual disabilities (Duffy and Fuller, 2000). Similar to children with autism, children
    with dyslexia have impairments in reading, phonological processing, and receptive
    vocabulary (Overy, 2000). Children with dyslexia significantly improved their spelling
    and phonological skills following a 15-week rhythm-based intervention involving singing
    and percussion games when compared to a control group receiving individual reading
    lessons (Overy, 2003).
    Engaging in timed rhythmic movement during singing may enhance the ability to parse
    words and give meaning to them during reading and verbalization (Sparks et al., 1974;
    Carroll, 1996; Overy, 2003, 2008; Roper, 2003; Overy and Molnar-Szakacs, 2009; Wan
    et al., 2011). This indirect linkage between perceptuo-motor and communication systems
    is shown in Figure Figure1.1. Children with moderate intellectual disability also showed

    170
    improvements in verbal communication skills following an 8-week music therapy
    program (Duffy and Fuller, 2000). Overall, there is considerable evidence from music
    education, special education, and music therapies supporting linkages between musical
    experiences and communication development in children with autism, typically
    developing children, and children with other diagnoses.

    Effect of musical experiences on social-emotional development and


    behavioral skills
    Music-making or singing in dyadic or group settings create opportunities for developing
    social connections. Synchronous movements during rhythmic actions or music-making as
    well as unison singing creates a state of social cooperation, shared purpose, and a sense
    of togetherness which sparks a social connection between individuals, as highlighted in
    Figure Figure11 (Marsh et al., 2009; Overy and Molnar-Szakacs, 2009; Kirschner and
    Tomasello, 2010). Moreover, group musical environments provide opportunities for
    learning social skills such as imitation, turn taking/social reciprocity, joint attention,
    shared affect, and empathy (Overy and Molnar-Szakacs, 2009), which are impaired in
    individuals with ASDs.
    While engaging in musical games, children will begin by imitating and synchronizing
    the actions of a social partner; however, gradually they will develop an understanding of
    their partner's intentions and emotions (Overy and Molnar-Szakacs, 2009). Overy and
    Molnar-Szakacs suggest that group music-making and singing conveys the affective
    state, physical state, and intentions of the partner and fosters empathy and positive
    emotions (Overy and Molnar-Szakacs, 2009). This could be particularly important in
    children with ASDs given their difficulties in empathizing and understanding the
    intentions of others (Koelsch, 2009).
    Moreover, different emotions such as happiness, sadness, fear, and anger can be
    effectively communicated to the listener through musical elements such as tempo and
    sound level of music as well as intonation and pauses in voice (Katagiri, 2009). Children
    with autism recognize affective signals conveyed through music, in spite of difficulties in
    recognizing emotions conveyed through speech (Heaton et al., 1999). Hence, we believe
    that socially embedded music and movement contexts involving listening, singing,
    moving, verbalizing, and playing, provide great opportunities to foster social connections
    and facilitate emotional understanding in children with ASDs. Further, the non-
    intimidating yet engaging nature of musical experiences and their ability to induce
    positive emotions while improving compliance may contribute to the behavioral effects
    of music therapies including a reduction in the frequency of negative behaviors.
    Conversely, the positive behavioral effects of music might in turn lead to enhanced
    social-emotional skills following musical training (see Figure Figure11).
    Music-based interventions have been used to enhance social skills such as eye contact,
    engagement, and spontaneous initiation of social interactions in children with ASDs
    (Wimpory et al., 1995; Reitman, 2005; Kern and Aldridge, 2006; Kern et al., 2007;
    Stephens, 2008; Kim et al., 2009) (see Table Table11 for details). A 12-week intervention
    of improvisational music therapy led to significant increases in the frequency and

    171
    duration of shared positive affect and joint attention with the therapist in the music group
    compared to the control group engaged in toy play (Kim et al., 2009).
    Similarly, a 7-month intervention involving different types of rhythmic movement games
    to music between a child with autism and his mother led to an increase in the frequency
    of eye contact episodes and spontaneous initiation of interactions by the child, post-
    intervention (Wimpory et al., 1995).
    Music has been used to promote emotional understanding in children with autism.
    Specifically, when children with autism were taught the four emotions of happiness,
    sadness, anger, and fear using verbal instructions or appropriate background music or
    specially composed songs, they improved their understanding of the selected emotions
    most in the background music condition (Katagiri, 2009). Further, music-based contexts
    have been used with success to reduce challenging behaviors such as self-injurious,
    aggressive, and stereotypical behaviors in children with autism (Wood, 1991; Gunter et
    al., 1993; Clauss, 1994; Orr et al., 1998; Brownell, 2002; Pasiali, 2004; Rapp, 2007;
    Devlin et al., 2008; Carnahan et al., 2009a,b; Lanovaz et al., 2009).
    Studies in typically developing adults and children in the field of social psychology
    provide substantial evidence for how musical experiences facilitate the social and
    emotional development of individuals. Healthy adults and children tend to synchronize
    more with a human partner than with a recording or a drumming machine
    (Himberg, 2006; Kirschner and Tomasello, 2009). Joint rhythmic activities may
    intrinsically motivate adults and children to move in synchrony and engage in a
    cooperative effort (Tomasello and Carpenter, 2007).
    There is a developmental trajectory for joint action in that adult-adult pairs demonstrate
    greater interpersonal synchrony during drumming than child-child pairs suggesting that
    synchrony during joint action is a learned skill that improves over development
    (Kleinspehn-Ammerlahn et al., 2011) There is objective evidence for both adults and
    children to exhibit more cooperative and empathetic behaviors toward their social partner
    after engaging in a synchronized group musical experience (Anshel and Kipper, 1988;
    Wiltermuth and Heath, 2009; Kirschner and Tomasello, 2010).
    Adults who had previously engaged in synchronized singing or movement were more
    likely to be cooperative during a group economic game compared to those who had
    engaged in unsynchronized activities (Wiltermuth and Heath, 2009). Similarly, children
    who participated in an interactive musical game with adult partners were more likely to
    exhibit prosocial behaviors of helping and cooperating with their partners compared to a
    control group that engaged in a dyadic, non-musical, storytelling activity (Kirschner and
    Tomasello, 2010). The authors proposed that musical experiences may provide greater
    opportunities for fostering social connections than just verbal and non-verbal
    communication (Kirschner and Tomasello, 2010). Overall, there appears to be promising
    evidence for the potential use of socially embedded music and movement games to
    facilitate the social-emotional and behavioral skills in children with ASDs.

    Effect of musical experiences on the refinement of gross and fine motor


    skills

    172
    Whole body rhythmic actions such as clapping, marching, or walking to music provide
    significant opportunities to facilitate gross motor skills. Temporal patterning is inherently
    present in musical rhythms and an effort to synchronize arm and body movements to the
    rhythm of music could promote motor coordination in children.
    In addition, musical experiences that require fine motor skills of playing various musical
    instruments such as the piano, guitar, or drums have the potential to promote fine motor
    coordination and motor sequencing/praxis by providing numerous opportunities to
    practice, refine, and appropriately time finger, hand, and arm movements (Rodriguez-
    Fornells et al., 2012). It is also suggested that adding music through music-supported
    therapies can enhance patient motivation and compliance, provide opportunities for
    extensive practice, and offer continuous auditory feedback for online corrections
    (Schneider et al., 2007; Rodriguez-Fornells et al., 2012).
    Children with autism have significant impairments in gross motor skills such as bilateral
    motor coordination (Green et al., 2009; Fournier et al., 2010), balance (Minshew et
    al., 2004), and gait (Vilensky et al., 1981; Hallett et al., 1993) as well as significant fine
    motor delays (Provost et al., 2007; Downey and Rapport, 2012) that could be addressed
    using music and movement games targeted toward specific motor skills. As mentioned
    earlier, to the best of our knowledge there is no study that examined the effects of music
    and movement interventions on the gross and fine motor skills of children with ASDs.
    Hence, we will mainly draw upon evidence from typically developing children and
    individuals with other special needs to support the use of music and movement games in
    promoting motor skills in children with ASDs.
    Several music education approaches including the Dalcroze and Kodaly methods of
    musical learning promote gross motor performance (Findlay, 1971; Hurwitz et al., 1975;
    Bachmann, 1991; Frego et al., 2004). These approaches promote the use of body
    movements to understand musical rhythms, but in the process facilitate gross motor
    coordination and movement timing (Findlay, 1971; Hurwitz et al., 1975;
    Bachmann, 1991; Frego et al., 2004).
    There is some evidence for the use of these approaches to improve gross motor
    performance in typically developing children. Four to six-year-old typically developing
    children who received a 2-month music and movement program showed significant
    improvements in their gross motor skills such as jumping and dynamic balance as
    measured by the Motor proficiency test (MOT 4–6) compared to children who engaged in
    a non-musical, physical education program (Zachopoulou et al., 2004).
    In another comparative study, 4 to 6-year-old typically developing children who received
    a 10-week, Dalcroze-based integrated music and physical education program
    outperformed children who received a general movement exploration program on various
    custom-developed, perceptuo-motor skills, and creative movement activities
    (Brown, 1981).
    These studies suggest that rhythmic accompaniment during motor practice enhances
    gross motor skill learning in typically developing children. In terms of fine motor skills,
    typically developing children who received 2 years of piano instruction showed
    significant improvements in fine motor skills as measured by the response speed, visuo-

    173
    motor control, and upper limb speed and dexterity subtests of the Bruininks Osteresky
    Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP) compared to children who did not receive piano
    instruction (Costa-Giomi, 2005). The fine motor improvements observed in the children
    were directly related to the duration of musical training (Forgeard, 2008). Overall, there
    is considerable evidence from the field of early childhood music education to support the
    use of music and movement games for gross and fine motor development.
    There is some evidence from special populations including children with dyslexia and
    adults with Parkinson's disease (PD) supporting the benefits of rhythmic movement and
    dance-based interventions. Specifically, rhythm training involving whole body actions
    such as clapping and percussion games has been used to promote movement timing in
    children with dyslexia (Overy, 2008). Overy proposed that poor movement timing may
    contribute to the poor phonological awareness and reading deficits observed in children
    with dyslexia (Overy, 2003). Moreover, children with dyslexia were more inaccurate and
    variable during multi-limb motions such as walking and clapping to a metronome beat
    compared to typically developing children (Getchell et al., 2010).
    However, a short-term auditory pacing program improved the multi-limb coordination of
    children with dyslexia suggesting that auditory feedback might supplement existing
    kinesthetic and visual feedback, and thereby facilitate motor coordination (Getchell et
    al., 2010). Along the same lines, dance has been used to promote balance, gait, and
    functional mobility in adults with PD (Hackney et al., 2007a,b; Duncan and
    Earhart, 2012). Adults with PD have significant motor impairments including
    impairments of gait as well as static and dynamic balance, similar to the motor deficits of
    individuals with ASDs (Bloem et al., 2001). A 12-month, bi-weekly, community-based
    tango dance program in patients with PD led to improvements in balance, gait patterns,
    and movement control in the treatment group compared to the control group that received
    no intervention (Duncan and Earhart, 2012).
    Dancing involves practice of precise movement sequences that demand dual and multi-
    limb coordination with varying balance requirements, thus providing an excellent
    alternative treatment tool for individuals with movement impairments such as PD as well
    as autism (Earhart, 2009). In summary, there is evidence for the potential use of music-
    based movement experiences to promote gross motor and fine motor performance in
    typically developing children as well as in individuals with special needs. Given this
    evidence from music education and neurorehabilitation literature and the nature of the
    motor impairments encountered in autism, we strongly believe that it is important to
    systematically explore the effects of embodied music therapies on the fine and gross
    motor skills of children with ASDs.

    Musical experiences, perception-action linkages, and brain development


    Multiple brain regions, including motor, perceptual, language, and social-emotional
    systems are stimulated during musical experiences due to their multimodal, multisystem
    nature. For example, while playing a musical instrument the musician reads the complex
    musical notation and translates it into highly time-locked, synchronized, sequential, and
    precise finger and hand movements. In addition, the musician will use the auditory
    feedback produced by his/her music to adjust the timing, spatial organization, and

    174
    sequence of future movements (Zatorre et al., 2007). The very nature of this task
    demands a strong coupling between the auditory, visual, somatosensory, and motor
    cortices (Schlaug et al., 2010). In this section, we provide evidence for neural substrates
    that contribute to perceptuo-motor, communication, and social-emotional enhancement
    following musical training and their implications for individuals with autism.
    Music produced during music making is a multimodal perceptual experience produced by
    the integration of sensory and motor systems involved in the experience (Phillips-
    Silver, 2009). During a musical activity, the movements produced by adults are
    intimately linked to the sounds perceived: what one hears depends on how one moves and
    vice-versa (Phillips-Silver and Trainor, 2007). Neuroanatomical evidence for a
    perception-action linkage during musical activities comes from brain imaging studies in
    trained musicians (Haueisen and Knösche, 2001; Gaser and Schlaug, 2003; Bangert et
    al., 2006; Habib and Besson, 2009). Musicians showed activity in the premotor areas
    while simply listening to piano melodies, whereas non-musicians did not show such
    activity (Haueisen and Knösche, 2001).
    However, non-musicians trained over 5 days to play a melody, demonstrated premotor
    cortical activity while simply listening to the trained melody; they did not demonstrate
    similar premotor activity on listening to an untrained melody suggesting the important
    role that perceptuo-motor mapping plays during the initial stages of learning (Lahav et
    al., 2007). Similar premotor activation is seen during both simple listening and
    covert/overt singing (Callan et al., 2006). Musical tasks involving only auditory, only
    visual, or only motor components led to co-activation of the auditory, visual, and motor
    areas suggestive of strong visuo-motor and audio-motor integration following musical
    training (Bangert et al., 2006). Similarly, presentation of musical notation alone led to co-
    activation in the visual and motor cortices following training in reading music and
    playing the keyboard (Stewart et al., 2003). Thus, there is considerable evidence for the
    ability of musical experiences to recruit multiple areas of the brain and promote
    multimodal integration.
    The multimodal nature of musical experiences is especially important for individuals
    with autism due to their known deficits in multimodal integration (Minshew and
    Williams, 2007). According to the connectivity hypothesis, brains of individuals with
    autism are characterized by short-range over-connectivity and long-range under-
    connectivity (Belmonte et al., 2004; Courchesne et al., 2007). To be clear, there is an
    increase in the short-range cortico-cortical connections and an underdevelopment of long-
    range connections between different brain regions including the frontal, temporal,
    parietal, and subcortical areas (Belmonte et al., 2004; Courchesne et al., 2007).
    The impaired functions of long-range networks are thought to underlie the social-
    emotional and communication impairments of autism (Courchesne et al., 2007). Based on
    the evidence presented earlier, the ability of music to recruit multiple brain areas
    simultaneously might help address some of the multimodal integration deficits in autism.
    As an example, there is some evidence for a reversal in the left-right asymmetry in the
    arcuate fasciculus of non-verbal children with autism (Wan et al., 2012). The arcuate
    fasciculus is a long-distance white-matter tract that connects temporo-parietal areas with

    175
    the frontal areas of the brain and is important for audio-motor integration of speech and
    language skills (Hickok and Poeppel, 2004; Glaser and Rilling, 2008).
    In healthy individuals, there is a left-right asymmetry in this tract with greater volumes
    in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere; in children with autism this
    asymmetry is reversed (Herbert et al., 2002; De Fossé et al., 2004; Wan et al., 2012) and
    is thought to underlie some of the language deficits in this population (Wan et al., 2012).
    However, there is promising evidence suggesting that novel music and movement
    interventions such as Auditory Motor Mapping Technique (AMMT) focused on
    promoting multimodal integration may in fact recruit these dysfunctional networks in
    children with ASDs (Wan et al., 2012, see Table Table22 and within music therapy
    approach section).

    Table 2
    Music therapy approaches: critical elements, domains of development, targeted
    skills, and populations.

    Music therapy Type of Critical Domains of Targeted skills and populations


    approach music elements development
    therapy

    Auditory motor Active Listening Communication Speech sounds and word


    mapping technique Singing Music- approximations in non-verbal
    making children with autism (Wan et
    al., 2011)

    Melodic intonation Active Singing Gross- Communication Phonation and speech production in
    therapy motor tapping children with apraxia (Roper, 2003)

    Rhythm therapy Active Singing Music- Social Movement timing, phonologic


    making communication skills, auditory processing, and
    Rhythmic actions spelling in children with dyslexia
    like clapping (Overy, 2003)

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    Music therapy Type of Critical Domains of Targeted skills and populations
    approach music elements development
    therapy

    Improvisational Active Music-making Social Eye contact, turn taking,


    music therapy communication spontaneous joint attention,
    Emotional behavioral compliance, and positive
    affect in children with autism (Kim
    et al., 2008, 2009)

    Sound therapies such Passive Listening to Sensory Sound sensitivity, behavioral


    as Auditory music that has Behavioral compliance, listening and
    Integration Therapy, been modified by Communication comprehension. Majority of the
    Tomatis Method, and filtering and studies found non-significant
    Samonas Therapy modulation results for these outcomes (Rimland
    and Edelson, 1995; Bettison, 1996;
    Zollweg, 1997; Edelson et
    al., 1999; Mudford et al., 2000;
    Corbett et al., 2008)

    Table 2

    Music and language systems also share common neural substrates. Specifically, the
    Heschl's gyrus, planum temporale, secondary auditory cortex, and the corpus callosum
    are all involved in both music and language processing (Meyer et al., 2002). Musical
    training leads to structural changes in the planum temporale, primary and secondary
    auditory cortices, and the Heschl's gyrus, all of which are important for auditory
    processing (Wan and Schlaug, 2010).
    Further, the magnitude of these changes is greater in musicians who begin training early
    in life (Gaser and Schlaug, 2003). Six-year old children who received musical training for
    15 months demonstrated structural changes in the precentral gyrus, the corpus callosum,
    and the Heschl's gyrus (Hyde et al., 2009). Similarly, 9–11 year old instrumentalists with

    177
    4 years of musical training showed larger gray matter volumes in the sensorimotor and
    occipital cortices as well as greater activation of the mirror neuron systems (MNS) during
    rhythm and melody discrimination tasks compared to non-instrumentalists (Schlaug et
    al., 2005). Hence, in typically developing individuals, neuroanatomical evidence suggests
    strong links between musical training and activation of substrates common to both music
    and language processing.
    There is clear evidence for the relatively unimpaired musical skills despite significant
    language impairments in individuals with autism (Bonnel et al., 2003; Heaton, 2003).
    There is also mounting evidence for abnormalities in neural networks underlying speech
    in autism (Hesling et al., 2010; Lai et al., 2012; Wan et al., 2012). A comparison of
    neural systems sensitive to both speech and music in low-functioning children with
    autism and age-matched healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging
    and diffusion tensor imaging revealed that the activation in the inferior frontal gyrus in
    children with autism was lower than in controls during speech stimulation but higher than
    controls during song stimulation.
    This study argues for the potential utility of music-based therapies in remediating the
    core language impairments in autism (Lai et al., 2012). Some mechanisms have been
    proposed to explain the positive effects of musical training on speech impairments in
    autism. For instance, the OPERA hypothesis proposes that speech-related impairments
    could benefit from musical training due to its following characteristics—(1) Overlap
    exists in the brain regions processing speech and music (Patel, 2003), (2) Precision of
    processing required during musical activities is more intense than that needed for speech
    processing, (3) Emotions invoked by musical activities are strong and positive,
    (4) Repetition and practice are the integral elements of all musical experiences, and lastly,
    (5) Focused Attention is required for accurate musical performance (Patel, 2011). Taken
    together, these factors associated with musical training can drive experience-dependent
    plasticity in speech processing in individuals with autism (Patel, 2011).
    Socially synchronous movements and unison singing during group music activities evoke
    the MNS activity in the brain. MNS has been postulated as the neural basis for social
    abilities of shared attention, affect, and empathy (Molnar-Szakacs and Overy, 2006;
    Cattaneo and Rizzolatti, 2009). The MNS includes a group of neurons thought to be
    present in the inferior frontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, and superior temporal sulcus
    of the human brain (Buccino et al., 2004; Cattaneo and Rizzolatti, 2009). These neurons
    are activated both during action production and during observation of actions performed
    by others (Buccino et al., 2004; Cattaneo and Rizzolatti, 2009; Rizzolatti et al., 2009).
    An additional subset of premotor “mirror” neurons have been postulated to possess
    audio-motor properties so that they are activated just by listening to someone else singing
    or making music (Molnar-Szakacs and Overy, 2006). This may allow students to learn
    not just by playing the instrument on their own but also by listening to the sounds and
    watching the movements produced by their teacher (Schlaug et al., 2005). The shared and
    temporally synchronous activation of the MNS in individuals involved in a group music-
    making experience provides a neural basis for the shared experiences and social
    connections within the group (Molnar-Szakacs and Overy, 2006).

    178
    There is mounting evidence that individuals with autism have a dysfunctional MNS
    which might underlie some of the social-emotional and motor imitation deficits observed
    in this population (Williams et al., 2001; Dapretto et al., 2005; Wan et al., 2010a,b).
    Hence, music-based activities involving imitation and rhythmic synchronization within
    socially embedded contexts may engage the dysfunctional MNS of children with ASDs
    (Wan et al., 2010a,b). Taken together, the neuroanatomical evidence presented in this
    section suggests that music and movement activities within social contexts can serve as a
    powerful medium to induce a range of plastic changes in brain structure and connectivity
    in individuals with ASDs.

    Propositions for using musical experiences in children with autism


    Having reviewed strong behavioral and neuroanatomical evidence in favor of music and
    movement therapies for children with ASDs, we will now discuss the critical elements of
    musical experiences and their potential benefits for remediating the core impairments and
    comorbidities in autism. We will also review in detail the critical elements and potential
    benefits of three active music-based therapies that are currently utilized in the treatment
    of children with special needs.

    Critical elements of musical experiences for children with autism


    Musical experiences can vary depending on the activities involved, but the four most
    critical elements are listening, singing, music-making, and rhythmic actions synchronized
    to music, experienced in individual or socially embedded, dyadic, and group activities
    (Edelson et al., 1999; Pellitteri, 2000; Schlaug et al., 2005; Overy, 2008; Wan et
    al., 2010a,b, 2011). Listening to music is predominantly a passive musical experience
    whereas singing, music-making, and rhythmic actions require active participation
    (Pellitteri, 2000).
    Each type of musical experience has its own applications. For example, passive listening
    techniques such as Auditory Integration Therapy (AIT) have been used to address
    behavioral problems and auditory hypersensitivity in children with ASDs (Rimland and
    Edelson, 1995; Bettison, 1996; Zollweg, 1997; Edelson et al., 1999; Mudford et al., 2000;
    Corbett et al., 2008); however, there is limited evidence to support their use (Sinha et
    al., 2011). Singing has been used as a communicative medium to compensate for
    language impairments as well as to promote language in individuals with various speech
    disorders including ASDs (Wan et al., 2010a,b). Music-making has been used extensively
    in music education to teach children concepts of rhythm, melody, and pitch as well as
    various spatio-temporal concepts such as slow-fast, soft-loud, moving on a count, etc.
    (Pellitteri, 2000).
    Specifically, improvisational music-making is an outlet for expression of creativity and
    individuality (Pellitteri, 2000). The last element of synchronized whole body rhythmic
    actions is often used to teach and internalize musical concepts such as rhythm. By
    grounding music in physical movements, eurhythmics provides an embodied musical
    experience (Findlay, 1971; Hurwitz et al., 1975; Bachmann, 1991; Frego et al., 2004).
    Structured and improvisational music-making as well as rhythmic whole body
    movements involve perception and action and promote fine and gross motor skills and

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    bilateral and visuomotor coordination as discussed in the previous section (Phillips-
    Silver, 2009).
    Children can experience all the critical elements of music in individual as well as group
    settings. Individual experiences involve one-on-one interactions between the trainer and
    the child and are tailored to the individual needs of the child. Group sessions involve
    synchronous activities between members to ensure a meaningful and enjoyable musical
    experience and in turn facilitate social connections between members of the group
    (Pellitteri, 2000; Overy and Molnar-Szakacs, 2009). Moreover, careful additions of
    socially embedded, dyadic, and group activities would be important for children with
    ASDs to practice social communication skills.

    Current music therapy approaches used in children with autism and those
    with other special needs
    Current music therapy approaches, their critical elements, domains of development, and
    targeted skills are highlighted in Table Table2.2. In general, music therapies have been
    provided to children with ASDs (see Table Table11 for details), dyslexia (Overy, 2003),
    apraxia (Roper, 2003), and intellectual disabilities (Duffy and Fuller, 2000) (see Table 
    Table22 for details).
    1. Auditory Motor Mapping Training (AMMT) and Melodic Intonation Therapy
    (MIT) facilitate language production in non-verbal/low-verbal children by training
    an association between self-produced sounds (drum hit or finger tap) and
    articulatory movements or auditory-motor mapping (Sparks et al., 1974;
    Carroll, 1996; Roper, 2003; Norton et al., 2009; Wan et al., 2011) (see Table 
    Table2).2). AMMT combines critical elements of listening to the therapist's
    intonation and drum tapping, singing with the same intonation, and music-making
    by tapping on a pair of tuned drums. Therapists progress from sounding words
    and tapping the tuned drums alone to unison singing and music-making. It is
    proposed that ultimately the child produces the words on his/her own without any
    support from the therapist (Wan et al., 2011).

    Non-verbal children with ASDs demonstrated improvements in their ability to


    articulate words and phrases following an 8-week intervention of AMMT (Wan et
    al., 2011). Similarly, MIT which involves singing and associated gross motor tapping
    to mark the rhythm and stress of the intoned phrases was found to enhance phonation
    and speech production in children with apraxia (Roper, 2003; Norton et al., 2009).

    2. Rhythm training has been used to address the timing deficits in language, motor
    control, perception, and cognition encountered in children with dyslexia
    (Overy, 2008) (see Table Table2).2). Children with dyslexia significantly
    improved their phonological and spelling skills following a 15-week rhythm
    therapy intervention based on the critical elements of singing, joint music-making,
    and whole body rhythmic movements (Overy, 2008). The multisensory
    experience focused on rhythm and timing facilitated the temporal processing
    skills of children with dyslexia.

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    3. Improvisational music therapy is an individualized, patient-centered approach to
    facilitate social engagement and verbal and non-verbal communication skills in
    children with ASDs (Kim et al., 2009) (see Table Table2).2). In this approach, the
    therapist uses improvised, shared music-making experiences to tune in to the
    patient's musical and non-musical non-verbal behaviors. Such moment-by-
    moment musical attunement of the therapist to the patient helps develop a
    medium of communication between the two, which in turn facilitates social skills
    such as turn taking, imitation, and joint attention as well as verbal communication
    skills (Kim et al., 2008). This approach has been used to improve social
    communication skills in children with autism (Kim et al., 2008, 2009). Taken
    together, several attempts have been made to therapeutically utilize the various
    critical elements of musical experiences in the treatment of children with autism
    and other pediatric disorders.

    Recommendations for clinicians and clinical researchers


    In the above sections, we have reviewed vast evidence supporting the therapeutic use of
    embodied music interventions in addressing the multisystem impairments of children
    with autism and other similar developmental disorders. However, as outlined in the
    introduction, current research in this area has several limitations. In this section, we will
    provide recommendations for assessment and treatment of autism for clinicians and
    researchers working in this field. We hope that this discussion will provide guidelines for
    future systematic research on embodied music therapies and will bring multisystem
    music and movement interventions to the forefront in the treatment of autism.

    Recommendations for assessment of children with ASDs


    In this review, we have offered substantial evidence on how musical experiences may
    impact the various forms of development in typically developing children and children
    with special needs. The majority of the evidence stems from literature in music education
    and special education and to some extent from the music therapy literature. Currently,
    there is limited evidence to support the use of music therapies in children with ASDs.
    Future research should consider using better study designs such as randomized controlled
    trials to examine the efficacy of music therapies on the various core deficits and
    comorbidities of children with ASDs. Standardized, reliable, and valid assessments
    should be routinely used to evaluate outcomes. In this section, we provide researchers
    with certain objective and subjective tools to better characterize their study populations
    and to assess the impact of music-based interventions on perceptuo-motor,
    communication, and social-emotional development. We strongly urge that whenever
    possible, researchers use a combination of subjective and objective tools to assess
    treatment effects.
    To the best of our knowledge, no study to date has assessed the impact of music therapy
    on motor skills in ASDs. However, for future studies, we recommend that researchers
    consider the use of standardized tests such as the Bruininks Osteretsky Test of Motor
    Proficiency (BOTMP) (Bruininks, 1978), Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (SIPT)
    (Ayres, 1996), Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) (Henderson and

    181
    Sugden, 1992), gross motor and fine motor subtests of the Mullen Scales of Early
    Learning (MSEL) (Mullen, 1995), and the Individualized Music Therapy Assessment
    Protocol (IMTAP) (Baxter, 2007) to assess for changes in motor function. In addition,
    context-specific changes in motor skills such as the accuracy of imitation or amount of
    time spent in synchrony can be examined using moment-to-moment video coding or
    quantitative measures such as relative phase analysis (Scholz and Kelso, 1989; Schmidt
    et al., 1991). Changes in sensory modulation could also be assessed using the Short
    Sensory Profile (Tomchek and Dunn, 2007), the sensory subtests of the IMTAP
    (Baxter, 2007), and the SIPT (Ayres, 1996).
    Some common social communication measures for school-age children include the
    Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised (ABLLS-R) (Partington and
    Sundberg, 1998) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary test (PPVT) (Dunn and
    Dunn, 1981). Non-verbal communication can be examined using the Early Social
    Communication Scale (ESCS) in young children (Mundy et al., 2003). In addition,
    researchers should also use video coding to measure socially directed verbal
    communication such as the frequency of spoken syllables/words, non-verbal
    communication such as social gaze, joint attention, and use of signs or gestures, as well
    as affective changes including durations or frequencies of positive, neutral, and negative
    affect.
    For the assessment of changes in behavioral problems following intervention, several
    psychiatric measures, and parent/teacher questionnaires have been used. Some of the
    commonly used measures include the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) (Lukoff et
    al., 1986), Repetitive Behaviors Scale-Revised (RBS-R) (Lam, 2004), Autism Behavior
    Checklist (ABC) (Krug et al., 1988), Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior
    Inventory (PDDBI) (Cohen and Sudhalter, 2005), Connor's Rating Scales
    (Conners, 1989), and the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (Aman and Singh, 1986). In
    addition, we recommend that researchers code for changes in the frequency of positive
    and negative behaviors within the music therapy sessions.
    It would be important to characterize the study population given the diversity of
    impairments observed in ASDs. Group characterization measures include a confirmation
    of ASD diagnosis and its severity as well as a basic IQ measure. Autism-related
    impairments could be confirmed through medical records, screeners such as the Social
    Communication Questionnaire (Berument et al., 1999) or the Social Responsiveness
    Scale (Constantino and Gruber, 2002) or through gold-standard assessments/interviews
    such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2) (Lord et al., 2012a,b)
    and Autism Diagnostic Interview -Revised (ADI-R) (Lord et al., 1994). Autism severity
    can be determined through standardized tests such as the Childhood Autism Rating Scale
    (CARS) (Schopler et al., 1980). IQ could be measured using various measures such as the
    Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT) (Kaufman, 1990), Wechsler Intelligence Scale
    (WISC) (Wechsler, 1949), Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test (SBIT), (Terman and
    Merrill, 1960), or Differential Abilities Scale (DAS) (Elliott, 1990). Given the evidence
    for the multisystem effects of music interventions discussed, we urge researchers to
    assess the multisystem effects of music-based therapies using various sensori-motor,
    communication, social-emotional, and behavioral measures.

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    Recommendations for treatment of children with ASDs
    There is a strong need to further develop comprehensive, multisystem, music
    interventions to facilitate the communication, social-emotional, behavioral, and
    perceptuo-motor skills of individuals with ASDs. In addition, we have various specific
    recommendations on the nature, intensity, and frequency of music interventions. First,
    active music interventions that emphasize participation through singing, music-making,
    and synchronized rhythmic actions must be promoted as opposed to passive listening.
    Second, given the positive effects of socially embedded activities it would be useful to
    consider dyadic, triadic, or group-based activities. However, we acknowledge that
    working with children with autism is very challenging and the needs of each child are
    unique.
    The other members in the group could be typically developing siblings, parents, or
    caregivers who will adjust to the needs of the child. Third, we recommend better content
    development as opposed to purely improvisational music-based activities. Fourth, there is
    a need for better reporting standards while disseminating the results. Fifth, there is a need
    to test for skill generalization to novel contexts or standardized tests and maintenance of
    learned skills through long-term follow-up.
    Sixth, interventions should be offered within natural settings such as home or school
    environments to ensure ecological validity and generalization. In terms of the intensity of
    interventions, music-based interventions have been provided at least 2–3 times per week
    with each session lasting for ~30 min (see Table Table1).1). Repetition is of utmost
    importance to ensure learning in this population. Hence, we recommend involving
    parents and caregivers in the training activities to enhance skill learning, generalization,
    and maintenance.
    Some additional special considerations specific to training sessions and needs of children
    with ASDs are listed in Table Table3.3. These considerations incorporate the ideas
    promoted by contemporary autism interventions such as ABA, PECS, and TEACHH. The
    recommendations provided in this section should be used as guidelines; however the
    training protocols will need to be tailored to the individual needs of the child. As
    mentioned earlier, various domains of development can be addressed through music-
    based activities; however, certain domains may require more training than others for an
    autistic child due to his or her individual impairments. Similarly, specific modifications
    may be needed for a child due to his or her unique behavioral or sensory modulation
    impairments.

    Table 3
    Special considerations for music-based interventions for children with ASDs.

    183
    Domain Special considerations

    1. Predictability and familiarity is important. Follow a familiar activity schedule.


    Structure of the Conduct sessions in the same physical space (Mesibov et al., 2004).
    environment 2. Use visual cues to indicate the child's spot and distinguish the space used.

    3. Consider the needs of the child when setting up the environment. For example,
    avoid distractions, cover musical instruments until they are used, and avoid
    bright lights and loud sounds for hypersensitive children.
    4. Use visual picture schedules to provide structure to the session (Bondy and
    Frost, 2003). This helps children with ASDs to understand the progression in
    the session and helps them anticipate transitions.

    5. Allow time for the child to adapt to any new activity.

    Instructions, 1. Be aware of the child's communication system in advance.


    prompts, and 2. Avoid long verbal instructions. Be brief and precise in your instructions.
    feedback 3. Whenever, possible, combine verbal and visual instructions. For example, use
    visual picture schedules and instructions such as “do this.”
    4. Make sure that the instructor is seated in front of the child to ensure that he/she
    is in the child's visual field.
    5. Instructions can be provided through songs to ensure better comprehension.
    6. A typically developing peer or adult could stand or be seated beside the child
    as a model for the child.
    7. One of the adults could provide manual guidance during the motor activities.
    8. Allow the child time to practice the activity independently (Shumway-Cook
    and Woollacott, 2007).

    9. Use props whenever necessary to clarify the goals of the activity.

    Repetition and 1. Repetition is the key for learning (Lovaas, 1987).


    reinforcement 2. Ask parents and caregivers to try out the activity in another environment to
    promote practice and generalization to other individuals and environments.
    3. Various rewards such as stickers and small toys could also be provided

    184
    Domain Special considerations

    (Lovaas, 1987; Landa, 2007).
    4. Provide verbal and gestural reinforcement in the form of good jobs and hi-
    fives.

    5. Provide breaks from activity to do favorite sensory activities. Edibles should


    be used as the last resort.

    Nature of the 1. During group sessions, be sensitive to the individual needs of the child.
    interaction 2. Give sufficient breaks and avoid overwhelming the child.
    3. Try to keep the child actively involved as much as possible.
    4. Vary the level of task complexity. Use a mix of simple and complex activities
    to allow for success and engagement (Darrow, 2009).
    5. Within activities, vary the verbal and motor complexity.
    6. Allow time for free music-making and movements to sustain engagement.

    7. Look out for negative behaviors such as tantrums, non-compliance, and self-
    injurious behaviors. If these are observed, then ask the child to communicate
    that the activity be stopped. Seek advice from caregivers on best ways to
    address negative behaviors (Lovaas, 1987; Landa, 2007).

    Conclusions
    In this review, we offered substantial evidence for the multisystem effects of musical
    experiences in children with ASDs, healthy individuals, as well as other pediatric
    neurological populations. We believe that novel, embodied rhythm-based, multisystem
    interventions grounded in singing, music-making, joint action, and social synchrony can
    be used to alleviate the core social communication deficits and perceptuo-motor and
    behavioral comorbidities of children with ASDs. Current evidence for the efficacy of
    music therapies in children with ASDs comes from a handful of studies that lack
    systematic study designs, assessments, and treatment protocols. There is an urgent need
    for systematic research in this field. Our research team has developed an intense, 8-week,
    novel, embodied musical intervention that will be tested within a pilot, randomized
    controlled trial to assess its effects on the multisystem performance of children with
    ASDs. If our hypotheses are upheld, we will be providing objective evidence to support
    the use of rhythm-based, music and movement intervention for children with ASDs.

    185
    Future research should extend this work by examining multisystem effects of music
    therapies through larger clinical trials using larger sample sizes.

    Conflict of interest statement


    The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or
    financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

    Acknowledgments
    We thank Autism Speaks for a pilot treatment award (#8137) to support our study on the
    effects of music and movement interventions in children with autism spectrum disorders.

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    Mixed-Ability Dance: Helping Students With Special Needs Grow and Learn

    Karen Peterson and Dancers (KPD), a mixed-ability dance group perform with the The Miami String
    Project earlier this year.
    Photo credit: Mariolga Ramirez

    I founded Karen Peterson and Dancers (KPD) in Miami in 1990. We are recognized as


    the leading mixed-ability dance company in the U.S. Southeast. As a not-for-profit dance
    organization, KPD commissions and produces the work of dance artists with and without
    disabilities -- presenting excellence in dance through our quality-based programs,
    community performances and educational workshops.

    200
    Students become better prepared to meet challenges by learning the demands of
    organizing movement, and by finding the courage to perform in front of others. Our
    company, integrating dancers with and without disabilities, creates and performs "mixed-
    ability" dance as an inclusive art form on a year-round basis. The dancers collaborate,
    research and integrate their personal movement styles, and discover an innovative dance
    language for choreography. The troupe provides a positive role model for the disability
    community and offers new visual inspiration for traditional dance audiences.

    Student Movement

    When I first began working with wheelchair dancers in 1990, this was cutting-edge and
    new in Miami, and there was much feedback and interest from audiences viewing mixed-
    ability dance for the first time. Dance classes were not offered to the local disability
    population. There was a void to be filled, and I took action by inviting teens and young
    adults into the company. My idea was to use the inclusive form of mixed-ability dance
    with the traditions of contemporary and improvisational dance. Contemporary dance can
    be tailored to specific groups where people at all ability levels can enjoy the creative and
    physical aspects of movement and performance.

    In 2005, we began a new program to for Miami-Dade Public Schools to introduce


    students with autism, learning disabilities, and visual, physical, language and emotional
    impairments to dance instruction by developing a new and unique dance residency
    program.

    There are more than 6,000 students with physical, emotional, learning and/or
    developmental disabilities in the Miami-Dade Public Schools, students who have little
    access to movement education. I quickly developed a passion to spearhead this new
    program, and we have received positive feedback from the Miami-Dade School Board,
    The Children's Trust and Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs for its process and results.

    What started from a small program in six schools has grown to 24 schools throughout
    Miami-Dade County. On an annual basis, up to 400 middle and senior high school
    students with diverse abilities and special needs work with our Miami-based professional
    dance artists. Their instruction culminates in a final community performance open to the
    public (our annual Talent Showcase).

    In our 15-week residency program, teachers meet once a week with 15-20 special needs
    students. During these one-hour classes, we utilize the researched movement methods
    that students apply toward their final five-to-seven-minute dance piece. Students with
    disabilities participate in all aspects of the program: the creation of the choreography,
    music, costumes and, of course, the resulting performance. Through their involvement in
    all elements of the production, students learn to discover and develop creativity,
    teamwork and self-esteem.

    Increased Ability

    201
    Over the last seven years, we have found that students with disabilities, when involved in
    a positive dance program, improve in the following ways:

     They make more eye contact with others.


     They make more physical contact with others.
     They learn how to provide appropriate assistance to others.
     They move in synchrony or partnership with others.
     They learn how to take direction from others.
     They learn how to respect the personal space of others.
     They learn self-expression and physical self-confidence.

    And last (but certainly not least), they learn to play and have fun!

    The students also imitate movement as demonstrated by the instructor, learn to improvise
    movement and incorporate all of these learning skills toward the final product. We see
    them learning how to be inventive, resourceful and imaginative and developing
    appreciation for their peers. They also map new pathways for old muscle memory and
    find new spatial directions for limbs and body parts.

    I find that these programs often reach students in a way that traditional classroom
    teachers have not been trained to do.

    With encouragement and support to be physically creative, many young teens with low
    self-esteem develop the courage to move through rhythm, become eager to perform and
    discover something new about themselves.

    I have seen many young women not willing to participate in the beginning of a residency,
    only to then blossom and want to take center stage at the end.

    I have seen students who use wheelchairs not want to be involved at first, and then have
    the chair become the central focus of the choreography.

    I have seen young teen men frown upon dance at first, but then thrive when improvisation
    includes hip-hop moves that flow naturally from their bodies.

    With the idea of teamwork and group choreography, students give up their egos and
    become team players. Often personal attitudes take a back seat for the good of the
    ensemble.

    This program provides students with the opportunity to learn about dance despite their
    economic, disability and geographic limitations.

    Joining the Dance


    I would offer the following advice for dance instructors who may want to start their own
    mixed-ability dance program:

     Learn the basics of contemporary composition and contact improvisation.

    202
     Take the basics and tailor the material for your specific group.
     There are many instructional books that you can find on the web.
     Be flexible, be curious, be patient, and your students will love you for opening up
    creativity and personal expression through movement.
     There are also many mixed-ability inclusive dance workshops offered by dance
    companies and teachers in the States and abroad. This year, we have been invited to
    lead workshops in Europe and Central America. Research "mixed-ability dance" to
    find dates and places near you, and join the fun in your own community.

    Our dance company's commitment to and vision of inclusive dance challenges


    perceptions and explores the boundaries of what is perceived as disabled and non-
    disabled.

    We aim to help students become better prepared to meet challenges by learning and
    growing via the demands of organizing movement and finding the courage to perform in
    front of others.

    Through the beauty and wonder of mixed-ability performance and all-inclusive dance, the
    labels of developmental, intellectual or physical disabilities disappear once a young
    person manifests the glory of dance.
    KAREN PETERSON'S PROFILE

    Source:- https://www.edutopia.org/blog/mixed-ability-dance-special-needs-karen-
    peterson

    203
    How to Start a Special Needs Dance Program

    One amazing trend that’s been gaining a lot of attention in the dance community in the
    past few years is new programs for children with special needs. These classes, often
    called adaptive dance, allow kids of all ages and abilities to experience the mental and
    physical perks of dance class, all while having a blast with other students. If you’ve been
    considering starting an adaptive dance program at your studio, you may be wondering
    what it should entail and how to get it off the ground. Here are some tips that will help
    you cater to the children in your community with a special needs dance program.

    The Benefits of Dance Classes


    It often helps to understand just how dance classes can benefit students with special
    needs. Michael O’Donnell, whose 6-year-old daughter Kiera has Down’s Syndrome,
    explained to San Diego Family magazine that adaptive dance classes have a number
    of benefits for both the children and society.
    “Dance allows creative expression, both individually and in a group setting, encourages
    exercise and promotes healthier living,” O’Donnell explained to San Diego Family
    magazine. “An argument can be made that dance stimulates the intellect and learning as
    well.”
    Further, dance classes allow children to become comfortable interacting with new people.
    On the other side of the same coin, having an adaptive dance class will help to break

    204
    down barriers between your existing students and their peers with special needs, fostering
    strong and inclusive relationships.

    Considerations When Starting a Special Needs Dance Program


    One of the most important things to consider when you start forming a new program is
    whether you have an experienced teacher. Expert Beacon explained that you’ll want
    someone who has experience working with children with special needs to teach or at least
    help out with the class. If you can’t find a teacher who fits the bill, consider partnering
    with a occupational therapist or special educator in your community. They’ll be able to
    help you create a class plan and run each session.
    You’ll also need to think about your studio’s accessibility. If you’re on the first floor, this
    shouldn’t be a problem. However, if you have a second- or third-floor location, make
    sure there’s an easy way for handicapped individuals to reach you. Otherwise, you may
    not be able to welcome all potential students.
    Finally, pick a day and time that will be convenient for your new students. Dance
    Advantage explained that students with special needs and their parents often strive for
    consistency in their schedules, so it’s important to hold classes at the same time each
    week. This will help minimize any problems regarding rides, work schedules and other
    commitments.

    How to Spread the Word About Your Classes


    Once you’ve figured out all the logistics, it’s time to find students for your new adaptive
    dance program. Dance Advantage explained that other community organizations that
    cater to individuals with disabilities are usually willing to help spread the word about
    dance classes. Reach out to your local chapter of the Special Olympics or a community
    center to see if they’ll help you publicize your program.
    You can also reach out to local schools and employ traditional marketing strategies, like
    posting fliers, using ads or posting on social media. Encourage your current students to
    share social posts and talk to their friends about the new program. Before you know it,
    you’ll likely have a fresh group of dancers who are ready and eager to learn all that you
    have to offer.

    Source:- https://www.tututix.com/how-to-start-a-special-needs-dance-program/

    205
    Several high schools hold special Snowball dance

    Dance was part of Unified program for special needs students

     |  
    Updated: 2:55 PM EST Jan 29, 2017

    Londonderry High School's Unified program connects special needs students with sports
    programs and other events.

    Saturday night was their winter semi-formal and it was all about the dance floor.

    "I'm ready to dance the night away,” student Noah Ellis said.

    Dancing and dressed to the nines, students like Ellis who attended the Unified winter
    Snowball were happy to make the dance a new tradition.

    "I think it's awesome how our school is doing this and having all the Unified kids from
    different schools be here and be an awesome event," student Alison Kraytenberg said.

    The ball was a success in every way - bringing together special students from several
    high schools.

    "This Snowball committee as we call ourselves, put together this event for the kids and
    we have Concord High School here, Alvirne High School, Nashua North and then
    Londonderry High School,” said organizer and Londonderry High School physical
    education teacher Ashley Tebbetts.

    "This is a celebration of Unified sports and showing that all kids can take part in any kind
    of activity they want, and have a great time doing it, and that the community comes
    together to support our children,” Londonderry Superintendent Nate Greenberg said.

    From the DJ to the photographers to the food, all of the Snowball was a community
    affair, made possible by donations.

    "These kids are worth it. They deserve all of this and more,” Tebbetts said.

    The Unified program gets the students involved in sports as well and they say they are
    thrilled to take part in this dance with friends.

    206
    "I hope everyone else has fun too dancing around,” student Brianna Ho said.

    "I think it's fantastic,” Londonderry student Annie Hughes said.

    "I think it's a great event. We always have a good time with Unified sports and I’m glad
    to be a part of it in my last year of high school," Ellis said.

    Source:- http://www.wmur.com/article/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-
    titanic/9277095

    Special Ed You Can Dance To

    Waltz, swing, merengue— Becky Stern gets people with special needs grooving.

    By Corinne Steinbrenner

    Photo by Jeff Swensen

    When Becky Stern began ballroom dance classes eight years ago at the Steel City
    Ballroom in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she immediately loved two things about her new
    hobby: the dancing itself, and the diverse group of people she encountered.

    207
    Teresa Plunkett, 30, learns the jitterbug and other dances at Yes, You
    Can Dance!, a Pittsburgh-area nonprofit created by
    Becky Stern (’80) / JEFF SWENSEN

    “One minute you were dancing with someone who was a professor of the sciences at one
    of the many universities in Pittsburgh, and the next minute you were dancing with
    someone who worked with his hands,” says Stern (’80). “You’d dance with someone who
    was 18, and then someone who was 80. It was a healthy, wonderful activity to be
    involved in, and a great way to broaden my world.”

    Given the welcoming, inclusive nature of the dance community, Stern—who studied
    special education at SED—understood that ballroom dance would be an excellent fit for
    people with special needs. She began imagining a program that would allow adults with a
    variety of special needs to experience the joy of dance.

    In 2011, Stern founded Yes, You Can Dance! (YYCD), a Pittsburgh area nonprofit that
    offers ballroom dance classes for teens and adults with cognitive disabilities, as well as
    dance programs for senior citizens and people with multiple sclerosis. The organization
    pairs students with trained, volunteer dance mentors who provide physical support and
    opportunities to socialize.

    “Parents often say to us how exciting it is to see their son or daughter


    going out socially and just being a dancer.” —Becky Stern (’80)

    Stern says she has seen dancers with special needs—who make up the majority of YYCD
    students—improve their social skills, enjoy newfound confidence, and delight in the
    “genuine partnership and community” that develops among dancers and volunteers, all
    while promoting their physical wellness.

    To develop the curriculum for the special needs dance program, Stern worked with her
    own dance instructor, Chris Roth, and with special educators from the Pittsburgh-area
    Upper St. Clair School District, where she was on the school board. “We came up with
    some very simple, but really important adaptations,” she says.

    For example, giving dancers instruction is often complicated by the positioning of the
    dancers: facing each other. When one turns left, the other turns right. To minimize
    confusion about which way to move, YYCD provides colored wristbands: men wear
    them on the left, women on the right. Also, each wall of the dance studio is adorned with
    a large graphic, such as a fish or a smiley face. Instructing students to move toward their
    wristband or one of the images made it easy to follow directional instruction.

    208
    Special needs dancers begin with waltz, swing club, and merengue—all of which require
    changing weight with every beat of the music—then move on to jitterbug, rumba, and
    other dances with more complicated rhythms.

    The YYCD curriculum has been so successful—the organization now offers nine special
    needs classes in two locations—that Stern plans to share it with other educators.
    Pittsburgh-area schools offer a program called Partners in PE that brings students with
    and without special needs together in one physical education class. YYCD created a
    three-week ballroom dance curriculum that two area high schools have used in their
    Partners in PE classes. Stern is working to fine-tune those lesson plans so YYCD can
    license them to schools nationwide.

    Dance programs offer tremendous benefits for people with special needs because dancing
    is such a complex skill and activates all three domains of learning, says SED Lecturer
    Rebecca Shangraw (’05,’13), who specializes in physical education for students with
    learning disabilities and is a consultant for the Special Olympics.

    Becky Stern (’80) and her dance instructor, Chris Roth, developed a
    curriculum for special needs dance classes. / JEFF SWENSEN

    “You need to use your body to dance, so that’s the psychomotor domain. You need to
    remember the dance steps, so there’s the cognitive part. And when you’re partner
    dancing, you have to take somebody else’s needs into consideration and coordinate your
    movement with theirs, and that’s the affective domain.” Dancing, she adds, lets people

    209
    with cognitive impairments practice using the affected areas of their brains in a
    therapeutic way that’s also fun and engaging.

    “I was absolutely born to dance,” says Teresa Plunkett, 30, who has Down syndrome and
    is a member of the YYCD performance team.

    Plunkett says she’s very good at tango and waltz, but the fancy footwork of the jitterbug
    has been a challenge. She’s not about to give up, though. “I love ballroom dancing,” she
    says. “I can’t wait to get to the next level.”

    Plunkett and the rest of the team perform at local dance festivals several times a year, and
    usually stick around to join the social dancing that follows. Watching their child being
    asked to dance is often a thrill for parents, says Stern.

    “It’s a chance for their kid to be just another 25-year-old at an event, and the focus isn’t
    on their special needs,” she says. “Parents often say to us how exciting it is to see their
    son or daughter going out socially and just being a dancer.”

    Source:- https://www.bu.edu/sed/magazine-article/special-ed-you-can-dance-to/

    Dance, Drama and Performance and Attention Deficit


    Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
    Dance, Drama and Performance and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) published onJune 6,
    2004Read more posts by the author of Dance, Drama and Performance and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
    Disorder (ADHD),T Alexander

    Challenges – this link takes you to more specific challenges associated with
    learning.

    210
    Comment #2 By The Compiler
    The gods worshipped by the Tianos (Awaraks) on  the islands of the Caribbean were not
    the same as those worshipped by the Mayans,  Aztecs or other groups of Indians in
    Mexico,  Honduras and elsewhere,  in spite of the fact open channels of communications
    existed between them.  Perhaps an important reason for this is the fact that the islands did
    not have the cultural,  social or economic spaces required for the traditions and rituals
    associated with those mainland religions. 

    For these reasons the islands of the Caribbean escaped the coming into being of "Village
    Tribes" a feature of the islands of the South Seas,  where in a space of 50 square miles
    more than ten different tribes speaking different languages were to be found and in some
    instances still can be found.  

    On the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Caribbean all islands without exception
    were more developed in all sense of the word than their equivalents in  the South Seas. 

    The failure of the Jamaican religious community to recognize that Jamaica is a small
    island and not Israel, Egypt, Mexico or Peru/ Bolivia, has lead to practices which have
    contributed in no small way to the "normalization" of some of the worse types of crime
    and which have resulted in Jamaica becoming a very hostile place for living and the
    rearing of families.  

    Both the Greeks and the Romans in recognizing the limitations imposed by space on their
    city states-Athens & Rome, restricted and contained many of their "performances" to the
    arena, be it in the form of sports,  wars between gladiators or the feeding of people to
    lions, thus preserving peace and order in their cities. One finds the same approach among
    the Mayans,  Aztecs and Incas. Where there was a need to make war with the "ungodly or
    the heathens" they were found outside the borders of the state and not within. 

    While the Jamaican political system does allow itself to be used to play out and over, the
    great wars of old and the various sporting competitions do lend themselves to replay
    those " seasons" when kings went to war as described in the Bible and elsewhere,  the
    religious community has not found a way to contribute to social stability and the creation
    of a sense of unity while conducting  their rituals. Over and over it has been proven that
    Jamaica is too small for the existence of all the gods, heroes and saints. 

     Each year,  there is ritualistic bloodletting in Europe and elsewhere,  be it in the form of
    sending a plane to be shot down,  allowing a terrorist to blow up or shoot up somewhere,
    making a plane disappear etc or allowing terror attacks in London and Paris-but an
    important objectiv of all of these acts is that of creating a sense of unity,  common
    mission and identity etc.  Here in Jamaica religious bloodletting carries a mission of
    sowing division, undermining national objectives and creating a culture of revenge. 

    211
    It is the duty of the Leadership of the non-traditional high schools to be brutally honest
    with themselves and to examine the socio-cultural environment in an objective way and
    determine if they want Their Institutions to become social elements in a South Island
    community, a contributor to a culture of destruction and revenge.  Their examination of
    self and the wider society will determine what they allow in their schools, the objective
    purpose (mission) of the school-who they produce and what cultural values they
    reproduce and propagate.

    Perhaps a gladiator does not need quality education and the more socially and culturally
    dysfunctional he or she is the better it is-the education of future teachers,  nurses,  police
    officers, civil servants require a very different type of education and educational inputs. 
    The Principals, senior teachers and heads of departments along with the ordinary come
    class room teacher either consciously or sub-consciously determine who is trained by the
    given schools, the role their graduates will play in society and the contributions those
    graduates will make. 
    End

    Dance, Drama and Performance and Students with ADHD


    Inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity are the main characteristics of Attention Deficit
    Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). As a student’s academic success is often dependent on
    their ability to attend to tasks and tutor expectations with minimal distractions, a student
    with ADHD may struggle within the typical HE academic environment. Activities
    associated with acquiring necessary information for completing tasks, completing
    assignments and participating in discussions with their tutors and peers are all activities
    that can potentially be problematic for the student with ADHD.

    The behaviours associated with ADHD can change as people get older and where a
    young child can often appear to have large amounts of energy and restlessness,
    adolescents and young adults can often be withdrawn and less communicative.
    Characteristics of ADHD can also include impulsivity and reacting spontaneously
    without regard to previous plans or necessary tasks and assignments.

    As students with ADHD may experience difficulties with the structured environment of a
    tutorial or lecture or focusing on their assigned work, they may need adjustments to the
    learning environment to help them remain focused on the task in hand. Students may
    need to be questioned about where they prefer to sit within the learning environment to
    help them to focus on what is being said, they may also benefit from working closely
    with another student who can help them to develop their cooperation skills or, if space
    permits, work in separate learning areas, away from other students. Different students
    will find different scenarios work better for them and open communication with the
    student about this is essential.

    212
    It is crucial to assess the unique education requirements of each student with ADHD on
    an individual basis as they will all have different strengths. It may help to work in a
    multidisciplinary team consisting of the student, other academic staff and the institutional
    disability service. Assessments, such as a learning style inventory could be considered to
    determine the student’s strengths and allow teaching staff to best build on these existing
    abilities. The settings and contexts in which any difficulties occur should also be
    considered as part of the evaluation.

    There is some evidence to suggest that students with ADHD can excel at dance and
    drama programmes, as they respond well to a less formally structured learning
    environment, where they can express themselves more freely. At the same time, students
    with ADHD can also possess the ability to totally focus on something when it really
    interests them. Some education psychologists have also suggesting using music and
    dance with children who have ADHD to help them to control their behaviour and focus
    on their learning, so it is possible that some students may have learnt as children to
    associate the use of music and dance with various methods of their learning. Students
    with ADHD can also be total perfectionists in their area of interest, which can be
    extremely beneficial to the student who is studying dance and drama. It is often just a
    case of tapping into the most appropriate teaching method to give that student the best
    opportunity to develop their skills.

    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

    Teaching strategies associated with ADHD / ADD

     These strategies are suggestions for inclusive teaching. This list should not be
    considered exhaustive and it is important to remember that all students are
    individuals and what is considered to be good practice for one student may not
    necessarily be good practice for another. You may also like to contact the Disability
    Specialist in your institution for further information. If you have any good practice
    that you would like to add to this list, please email your suggestions to z.morton-
    jones@worc.ac.uk.

    There are a number of strategies that can be employed in relation to the learning
    environment and behaviour of tutors in order to help students with ADHD. It should be
    recognised that students with ADHD often possess the necessary skills but just need
    support in utilising them and often recognise what they should or shouldn’t have done but
    have little control over their behaviour.

     Provide sufficient time to discuss needs with the student before/during their initial
    teaching session. 

    Strategies – Attention Skills

    213
     Arrange the learning environment in order to minimise distractions, e.g. seat
    students with ADHD away from windows, and take care during group work as
    students can become over-stimulated.
     Use frequent eye contact.
     Identify times and places where the student is more focused.
     Give frequent reminders about how much time is left to complete tasks both
    short-term (examinations) and long-term (assignments and coursework).
     Integrate stretch breaks or relaxation exercises.
     Include a variety of activities within programmes of study, such as questions,
    discussions, practical activities, etc.
     Use large fonts on handouts and provide only one or two main points to a page.
    Avoid the use of illustrations that are not directly relevant to the task.
     Use checklists for each assignment and outline the tasks to be completed.
     Ensure student attention before giving an instruction and encourage students to
    verbalise tasks and instruction – first to the tutor and then silently to themselves.
    Emphasise critical pieces of information.

    Strategies – Organisational Skills and Memory


     Focus on tangible, short-term steps rather than long-term plans.
     Agree on a concrete starting point to help with prioritisation and avoid
    procrastination.
     Provide structure and routine.
     Allow the student to tape lectures and provide copies of OHPs.
     Encourage the use of colour-coded ring-binders or notebooks for each subject
    area.
     Encourage the use of daily reminder schedules or to do lists and highlight priority
    tasks.

    Strategies – Raising Self-Esteem


     Try to adopt positive descriptions for students, e.g. instead of saying a student
    is distractable say they have a high level of awareness.
     Use assertive and positive communication, e.g. tell students what is required
    instead of what is not required.
     Encourage positive self-talk and internal control.
     Students may benefit fom having a mentor to help them to develop their academic
    and social skills.

    Potential challenges to the achievement of learning


    (please follow the links provided here.)
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Ability to Empathise
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Anxiety / Stress
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Auditory Difficulties
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Information Processing

    214
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Language / Comprehension
    Difficulties
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Memory / Recall Difficulties
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Mobility Difficulties
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Motivation
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Motor / Manual Dexterity Difficulties
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Organisational Difficulties
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Speech Difficulties
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Stamina
     Dance, Drama and Performance and Visual Difficulties

    TagsADD, ADHD, Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity


    Disorder, Dance, Drama, Performance
    Source:- https://scips.worc.ac.uk/subjects-and-disabilities/dance-ddp_adhd/

    Dancing helps boys with ADHD

    Dance therapy can be a successful method for reaching children


    and adolescents with problems. This has been shown in a
    research project at Karlstad University and the University
    College of Dance in Stockholm, Sweden.
    Hyperactive and unruly boys with ADHD became calmer and played better with
    playmates.

    Depressed and self-destructive teenage girls were better at setting limits, and their
    depression was alleviated.

    For some groups in child and youth psychiatry it is difficult to find effective or sufficient
    treatment. These include boys with ADHD and depressed, self-destructive adolescent
    girls.

    215
    A research project in the province of Varmland, Sweden, shows that dance therapy is a
    form of treatment that can work when other more traditional treatments fail or are
    insufficient.

    The research project was led by Professor Erna Gronlund, University College of Dance in
    Stockholm, and Assistant Professor Barbro Renck, Karlstad University.

    Barbro Renck has also worked as a specialist nurse in both child and youth psychiatry
    and adult psychiatry.

    "We are the first in the world to try and scientifically assess dance therapy as a form of
    treatment for boys with ADHD", says Professor Erna Gronlund.

    The research project has attracted a great deal of international attention. Findings from
    the ADHD study have been published in The American Journal of Dance Therapy.

    There is a great need today for variation in forms of treatment in child and youth
    psychiatry. The assessment in the project Dance Therapy for Children and Adolescents
    with Mental Disorders shows that dance can truly help.

    "Boys with ADHD calmed down. Their parents and teachers reported that they did their
    schoolwork better. One boy could only sit in a classroom for ten minutes previously, and
    after dance therapy he could attend a whole lesson. These boys could also play with other
    children without getting into conflict and fighting all the time," says Erna Gronlund.

    It may seem strange to prescribe movement and stepped up activity for boys whose
    problem is basically that they can't stop moving or calm down. But it works. The
    exercises start at full throttle and then move on to components where you need to listen
    and mimic, play to music, play roles, and then perform slower and slower moves.

    "It can be hard to use conversational therapy for silent teenagers who neither wish nor
    dare to speak about what bothers them. It turns out that dance is a good way to crank up
    the energy and joy of living in depressed girls. An exercise with flamenco, for instance,

    216
    can also be about feeling pride and self-esteem and about setting limits and saying no,"
    says Erna Gronlund.

    "The results for both groups were good, but this is a small group of children and
    adolescents, six boys and eleven girls, so we dare not be too sweeping in our conclusions.
    More follow-up studies needed," says Barbro Renck.

    The fact that several families have asked for the therapy to be continued also shows that
    the project was a success.

    "Unfortunately this form of therapy is not used in child and youth psychiatry today, but
    we hope that the government authorities will actively recommend that counties introduce
    dance therapy as a complement. Above all in regard to boys with ADHD it seems as if
    the treatment needs to be repeated for the positive effects to be lasting," says Barbro
    Renck.

    The research project was carried out at the Clinic for Child and Youth Psychiatry in
    Karlstad during the period 2001–2005. The project is a collaborative effort involving the
    University College of Dance in Stockholm, the Department of Public Health Science at
    Karlstad University, the Clinic for Child and Youth Psychiatry in Karlstad, and Dance in
    Varmland. The boys in the project were age 5-7 and the girls age 13-17.

    Source: http://www.kau.se/eng/

    217
    Is this beyond the ability of Cumberland High School and the Other High
    Schools in The Municipality of Portmore Who Have Learning challenges?
    Could they have combined classes to more efficiently utilize the resources
    which are available or which could be made available?

    Working with Special Needs


    Students in Art
    Special Education & the Arts
    [ What I Need to Know | Classroom Management | Lesson Advice
    Instructional Strategies | ADD/ADHD | Visual Impairment | ESL ]
     
    This page was started as a result of Gail's Getty TeacherArtExchange List post -
    March 2004.
    From Gail:
    I will be teaching art to 6 classes of special needs students from ages 3-21. Most of these
    students have multiple handicaps and most come in with an aide for one on one or one aide
    per three students. Any ideas?

    218
     
    From Sidnie Miller:
    Our special needs kids do really well with clay. Depending on their level--some just come in
    and pound on it -- their aids help them to build projects--some can't build, but can paint on
    glazes. For some, just being with regular kids and acting appropriately is the goal, so what
    they do is secondary to being there. Weaving is a good activity if they can do it.
     
    From Sandra Barrick:
    This is a wide range but doable and don't be intimidated by their handicaps. Most if not all
    want to be independent and do things on their own. They are a very determined group as a
    whole. Last year I worked with deaf children 3-11. A few had other disabilities as well,
    learning disorders and rare skin diseases (where the fingers were just little nubs and the child
    actually would bleed and blister if touched or from his own clothes. I also had a special needs

    child who had a rare form of dwarfism. 


    Besides their disabilities you will be amazed by their spirit and the more severe the handicap
    the more chances and independence they may want. I also worked for (HC) MRDD, which is
    the division for our special needs kids, the age was 3-21. Through MRDD, I came in contact
    with severely handicapped and they really couldn't do anything but lay and look. The most
    severe had aids but also mentally were no older than a 3 -6 month old. Definitely get catalogs
    for supplies. If you come in contact with their caretaker/parent ask then what their interests
    are and if they have any supplies they could keep there. I am not sure how large your class
    will be but the child I had who didn't not have fingers had his own supply box, all of them did
    but his had scissors for his hands and crayons which had knobs on the end, etc. I also did a lot
    of sensory material/lessons with them for fine motor. Coming from Montessori - the punching
    tools and exercises really helped them. - Sandra
     
    From Maggie White:
    Concentrate on what the students CAN do, not on what they can't. Don't accept at face value
    what their teachers or aides tell you the students can't do; they will always surprise you and
    especially the people who think they know the kids so well. Don't hesitate to give the students
    something more challenging. Read the book Exceptional Children, Exceptional Art (from
    Davis). It provides a lot of insight into the physical, psychological, and emotional needs of a
    range of disabilities and ages. You can adapt a lot of classroom tools like pencils or brushes by
    using large foam curlers or the sponge-like foam (not the Styrofoam) that cushions computers
    and such. You can saw it with a hacksaw blade so it fits their hands comfortably. Stencils work
    better if they're tracing around the INSIDE of the stencil, rather than the outside. It seems
    they have a harder time keeping their pencils up against the outside edge rather than the
    inner edge. Shapes cut from sponges make neat stamps. Also weather stripping foam, which
    is sticky on one side, can be cut into shapes and stuck to film canisters to make an easy-to-
    grip stamp.
     
    From Judy Potter:
    Checkout at this site as a resource, http://www.wiu.edu/thecenter/art/
     
    From Sue Freeland:
    Here are some ideas off the top of my head... Clay projects.. The tactile feel of the clay might
    be good for dexterity. Model magic... create an animal, blend clays to create new colors. Read
    them a story then draw the ending or their favorite part. Give them shapes & pieces of stuff
    (whatever) to glue down in a pattern or face or whatever. With Kinders, I took a large sheet of
    yellow paper and cut a hole in the top to represent the window on a bus, the kids colored their
    self portraits and I taped them in the window. All the yellow papers side by side made up the
    bus. Also a good one is printing in shaving cream or pudding if you think they may eat it.
    Shaving cream is loved by all, even High school and leaves my counters and tables very clean!
    I used to teach Autistic kids but they were very low functioning.
     

    219
    From Betty Bowen:
    My special needs campers love the beads you make designs with and iron into a solid form -
    now they come in larger sizes, too. They really loved the camp spin-art machine. I found their
    bead-stringing patience to be inspiring. They also enjoyed making decorations for their
    wheelchairs or walkers, like foam-core flames or sparkley things to go on the wheels.
     
    In response to an Art Education List post asking for high school lesson ideas
     
    From Kathy Douglas:
    I would not bother too much with themes and subjects... leave that to them. When you look at
    Outsider Art, sometimes made by artists in this population, it is raw, personal and sometimes
    amazing.

    If your students are not tactile defensive they might enjoy using plaster gauze over an
    armature of half a gallon spring water jug to create masks. You can help them create great 3D
    effects and then they can use their paint knowledge to add color. Also beads, feathers, etc for
    decoration. I would have examples of Mardi Gras, theater and cultural masks. What they often
    have in common is exaggeration of features. They could also choose animal masks. But I
    would let them decide what sort of mask they want to make, from a list of options.

    I have had some younger students on the Autism spectrum who were very uncomfortable
    touching certain wet things... if that is the case in your class I would strongly suggest an
    alternate project available, so that they can find their comfort level. And one of my students
    overcame his discomfort when he saw his friends using the plaster. Because he was able to
    decide when he was ready to use it, he felt in control and was proud of himself when it was
    done.
     
    From Terri Noell:
    I teach at a Special Needs Magnet school... With the Autistic students, I find that adding
    scents and textures to the paint will very much interest these students... I have some
    students that touch and feel everything and some that taste everything so these were very
    exciting for them... I use finger cover tip brushes with my younger students since a lot of
    them have trouble holding paint brushes effectively... also great for other students with
    coordination issues... I would advise a lot of lessons that effect their other senses besides just
    the 2-D art...
     
    From Sandy:
    I teach in a magnet school for Cognitively Impaired kids, pre-school to 6th grade. I have
    found that these kids are  often fabulous painters. I do limit all black & brown paint
    though! More abstract work seems to  work  best for most of them. Printmaking  works
    well, perhaps with pre-cut stamps, Styrofoam or found objects, at least something that they
    don't have to cut themselves. 3D constructions are great, and what I offer  may be more
    suitable for Elementary. But we use clay, wood scraps,  cardboard, (tubes & flat pieces). Old
    puzzle pieces for jewelry, etc. I do papier mache  sculpture or masks etc with them even
    though some are tactile defensive and hate to touch the paste. I offer plastic gloves if they
    need them. We've done basic weavings, &  simple sewing with  big needles. Some of the
    kids love to draw, others not, but it is good to let them try and they  tell great stories about
    their  work! This is the first year that I have tried a TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior -
    Choice Based) approach with these kids and it has been  wonderfully  successful. The kids just
    love it.
    See Resources compiled by Bernie Poole  and Yvonne Singer [Archive]
    Includes resources for elementary and secondary education.
     
    Sax Arts and Crafts Catalog has a section for special needs students and has a separate
    catalog available. Adaptive Product index is on page 588 in the main catalog. 1-800-588-
    6696.
    From Pam Whisenhunt - Working with LD Students
     
    Lesson Plans:

    220
    Lesson Plan tips for LD Students - from Pam Whisenhunt
    P. Buckley Moss Foundation lessons [Archive] "For Special Learners: Growing Through the
    Arts" P. Buckley Moss Foundation Find out more about P. Buckley Moss
     
    Art for Children and Adults with Disabilities:
    http://www.kinderart.com/special/
     
    Some Helpful Links:
    IAD's Special Education page
    Great Ideas for Special Artists - for clay, drawing and painting (Archive)
    Easy to follow directions for clay bowl and other clay projects.
    Special Needs Supplies from Dick Blick

    Links for children with Autism:


    http://www.lessontutor.com/autismgenhome.html

    Activities for Teaching About Disabilities:


    http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson115.shtml
    Keystone Arts Education Network (home page)
    http://www.keyarts.ws/content/view/18/156/ [Archive]
    Special Education - Disability Links:
    http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/special_ed/disabilities/

    Special Education Links:


    http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/special_ed/
    Teaching Art to Students With Special Needs - page by Sara Green
    http://www.saragreen.net/mh.html
    National Arts and Disability Center:
    http://nadc.ucla.edu/
    ArtExpress - Lessons Adaptable to children with disabilities:
    http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/art_express.html
    Adapting Art Materials for Children with Disabilities:
    http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfkls1/artexpress/adaptat.html
    Special Education and the Arts
    http://www.southernct.edu/~gerber/SEDarts/index.htm [Archive]
    On this site is an extensive list of resources:
    http://www.southernct.edu/~gerber/SEDarts/SEDArts%20References.htm [Archive]

    Organizations:
    http://www.southernct.edu/~gerber/SEDarts/SEDArtsOrganizations.htm [Archive]
    Teaching Art Safely to the Disabled
    VSA arts:
    http://www.vsarts.org/
    Teaching Special Needs Kids - Online Resources from Education World:
    http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr139.shtml
    Arts & Activities article: Making art activities work for students with special needs  by Anne
    Vize (Archive)
    Creativity Explored - nonprofit visual arts center where artists with developmental disabilities
    create, exhibit, and sell art.
     
    Artists with Disabilities
    Dan Keplinger - He calls himself King Gimp. Visit the Virtual Gallery and be awed.
    Brett Eastburn - He was my art student when he was in 4th grade. He is now a motivational
    speaker.
     
    Books:
    Exceptional Children: Exceptional Art : Teaching Art to Special Needs  
    by Authors: David R. Henley

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    The Power of the Arts: Creative Strategies for Teaching Exceptional Learners
    By Sally L. Smith
     
    Resources:
    Flag House is an organization and a catalog for activities and supplies for disabled
    student/people.
    http://www.flaghouse.com
    Another resource
    http://www.enablingdevices.com/
     
    CATALOGS FOR EDUCATORS of the disabled:
    Flag House
    800-793-7900
    sales@flaghouse.com
     
    Greystone Educational Materials
    1-800-733-0671
    P.O Box 86
    Scandia, MN 55073
    - See more at:
    http://www.incredibleart.org/files/special.htm#sthash.Ux9iBlno.dpuf

    Source:- http://www.incredibleart.org/files/special.htm

    Feat of Clay: Pottery projects


    give Jackson County special-
    ed students hands-on
    experience
    Print Email

    By Jackson Citizen Patriot staff  

    on April 22, 2011 at 5:45 AM

    222
    Libby March | Citizen Patriot Sophomore

    Darius Mackey shares a laugh with Jackson Pottery and Clay Guild member Romelle Frey as they work

    on throwing a clay mug Thursday at Mary Humphrey's Pottery Studio.

    By Lonnie Huhman

    Brandon Blankenship took a moment from painting a clay mold to look up and
    smile.

    “I’m an artist,” the 10th-grader beamed.

    Moments such as that one have been plentiful the past several weeks for
    Northwest High School teacher Nancy Snow, whose students in the
    Moderately Cognitive Impaired (MoCI) program have been learning the old
    craft of pottery and clay outside the classroom.

    Snow’s students have been working on a sculpture project and enjoying


    experiences they could not have had in the classroom.

    Junior Neal Smith took home some extra clay to make a miniature tea pot, and
    then brought it back to show everyone.

    “This is one of the best things we’ve done,” Snow said. “It has been a great
    experience.”

    Students are working at the local studio of Mary and Darrell Humphrey on a
    project that will have them creating two totem poles of clay designs and a clay
    face post that will be placed in the school’s courtyard.

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    The MoCI program takes in students from all over Jackson County, and Snow
    hopes her students learn life skills and how to interact in a variety of situations.

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    1 / 13
    CITIZEN PATRIOT • LIBBY MARCH Northwest junior Alison Hinkle paints her ceramic
    creation Thursday morning at Mary Humphrey's Pottery Studio. Members of the Clay Guild
    were helping Northwest special education students make totems for the school
    courtyard. To buy reprints or merchandise of this and other Citizen Patriot photos,
    visit  citpat.photoreprintservices.com
    Libby March
    Snow said she is grateful for the help she has received for the art program, including
    funding from Mounties on a Mission, assistance from the Jackson Pottery and Clay
    Guild, and the Humphreys’ hospitality.

    The Humphreys and guild volunteers have assisted the students in creating the display
    pieces. On a recent day, Darrell Humphrey helped sophomore Darius Mackey paint the
    face post outside in the studio’s backyard, while indoors, guild President Romelle Frey
    guided students’ hands as they formed bowls on the pottery wheel.

    “They don’t get a lot of art exposure, so they just love this,” Snow said. “Working with
    their hands like this has really given them a feeling of pride.”

    225
    Blankenship, in particular, is looking forward to seeing his work placed in the school’s
    courtyard once it’s completed.

    “I can’t wait,” he said.

    Source:- http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2011/04/post_103.html

    ADHD or ADD in Children


    Signs and Symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder in Kids

    It’s normal for children to occasionally forget their homework, daydream during
    class, act without thinking, or get fidgety at the dinner table. But inattention,
    impulsivity, and hyperactivity are also signs of attention deficit hyperactivity
    disorder (ADHD or ADD). ADHD can lead to problems at home and school and
    affect your child’s ability to learn and get along with others. The first step to
    addressing the problem and getting your child the help he or she needs is to
    learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of ADHD.

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    What is ADHD or ADD?

    We all know kids who can’t sit still, who never seem to listen, who don’t follow
    instructions no matter how clearly you present them, or who blurt out
    inappropriate comments at inappropriate times. Sometimes these children are
    labeled as troublemakers, or criticized for being lazy and undisciplined. However,
    they may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), formerly known
    as attention deficit disorder, or ADD. ADHD makes it difficult for people to inhibit
    their spontaneous responses—responses that can involve everything from
    movement to speech to attentiveness.

    Is it normal kid behavior or is it ADHD?

    The signs and symptoms of ADHD typically appear before the age of seven.
    However, it can be difficult to distinguish between attention deficit disorder and
    normal “kid behavior.”

    If you spot just a few signs, or the symptoms appear only in some situations, it’s
    probably not ADHD. On the other hand, if your child shows a number of ADHD
    signs and symptoms that are present across all situations—at home, at school,
    and at play—it’s time to take a closer look.

    Once you understand the issues your child is struggling with, such as forgetfulness or
    difficulty paying attention in school, you can work together to find creative solutions and
    capitalize on strengths.

    Myths & Facts about Attention Deficit Disorder


    Myth: All kids with ADHD are hyperactive.

    Fact: Some children with ADHD are hyperactive, but many others with attention
    problems are not. Children with ADHD who are inattentive, but not overly active,
    may appear to be spacey and unmotivated.
    Myth: Kids with ADHD can never pay attention.

    Fact: Children with ADHD are often able to concentrate on activities they enjoy.
    But no matter how hard they try, they have trouble maintaining focus when the
    task at hand is boring or repetitive.
    Myth: Kids with ADHD could behave better if they wanted to.

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    Myths & Facts about Attention Deficit Disorder

    Fact: Children with ADHD may do their best to be good, but still be unable to sit
    still, stay quiet, or pay attention. They may appear disobedient, but that doesn’t
    mean they’re acting out on purpose.
    Myth: Kids will eventually grow out of ADHD.

    Fact: ADHD often continues into adulthood, so don’t wait for your child to
    outgrow the problem. Treatment can help your child learn to manage and
    minimize the symptoms.
    Myth: Medication is the best treatment option for ADHD.

    Fact: Medication is often prescribed for attention deficit disorder, but it might not
    be the best option for your child. Effective treatment for ADHD also includes
    education, behavior therapy, support at home and school, exercise, and proper
    nutrition.

    The primary characteristics of ADHD

    When many people think of attention deficit disorder, they picture an out-of-
    control kid in constant motion, bouncing off the walls and disrupting everyone
    around. But this is not the only possible picture.

    Some children with ADHD are hyperactive, while others sit quietly—with their
    attention miles away. Some put too much focus on a task and have trouble
    shifting it to something else. Others are only mildly inattentive, but overly
    impulsive.

    The three primary characteristics of ADHD

    The three primary characteristics of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and


    impulsivity. The signs and symptoms a child with attention deficit disorder has
    depends on which characteristics predominate.

    Which one of these children may have ADHD?


    A. The hyperactive boy who talks nonstop and can’t sit still.
    B. The quiet dreamer who sits at her desk and stares off into space.

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    C. Both A and B

    The correct answer is “C.”

    Children with ADHD may be:

     Inattentive, but not hyperactive or impulsive.


     Hyperactive and impulsive, but able to pay attention.
     Inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive (the most common form of ADHD).

    Children who only have inattentive symptoms of ADHD are often overlooked,
    since they’re not disruptive. However, the symptoms of inattention have
    consequences: getting in hot water with parents and teachers for not following
    directions; underperforming in school; or clashing with other kids over not playing
    by the rules.

    Spotting ADHD at different ages

    Because we expect very young children to be easily distractible and hyperactive,


    it’s the impulsive behaviors—the dangerous climb, the blurted insult—that often
    stand out in preschoolers with ADHD.

    By age four or five, though, most children have learned how to pay attention to
    others, to sit quietly when instructed to, and not to say everything that pops into
    their heads. So by the time children reach school age, those with ADHD stand
    out in all three behaviors: inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

    Inattentiveness signs and symptoms of ADHD

    It isn’t that children with ADHD can’t pay attention: when they’re doing things they
    enjoy or hearing about topics in which they’re interested, they have no trouble
    focusing and staying on task. But when the task is repetitive or boring, they
    quickly tune out.

    Staying on track is another common problem. Children with ADHD often bounce
    from task to task without completing any of them, or skip necessary steps in
    procedures. Organizing their schoolwork and their time is harder for them than it
    is for most children.

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    Kids with ADHD also have trouble concentrating if there are things going on
    around them; they usually need a calm, quiet environment in order to stay
    focused.

    Symptoms of inattention in children:

    1. Has trouble staying focused; is easily distracted or gets bored with a task
    before it’s completed
    2. Appears not to listen when spoken to
    3. Has difficulty remembering things and following instructions; doesn’t pay
    attention to details or makes careless mistakes
    4. Has trouble staying organized, planning ahead, and finishing projects
    5. Frequently loses or misplaces homework, books, toys, or other items

    Hyperactivity signs and symptoms of ADHD

    The most obvious sign of ADHD is hyperactivity. While many children are
    naturally quite active, kids with hyperactive symptoms of attention deficit disorder
    are always moving.

    They may try to do several things at once, bouncing around from one activity to
    the next. Even when forced to sit still which can be very difficult for them their
    foot is tapping, their leg is shaking, or their fingers are drumming.

    Symptoms of hyperactivity in children:

    1. Constantly fidgets and squirms


    2. Has difficulty sitting still, playing quietly, or relaxing
    3. Moves around constantly, often runs or climbs inappropriately
    4. Talks excessively
    5. May have a quick temper or “short fuse” 

    Impulsive signs and symptoms of ADHD

    The impulsivity of children with ADHD can cause problems with self-control.
    Because they censor themselves less than other kids do, they’ll interrupt
    conversations, invade other people’s space, ask irrelevant questions in class,
    make tactless observations, and ask overly personal questions.

    230
    Instructions like “Be patient” and “Just wait a little while” are twice as hard for
    children with ADHD to follow as they are for other youngsters.

    Children with impulsive signs and symptoms of ADHD also tend to be moody and
    to overreact emotionally. As a result, others may start to view the child as
    disrespectful, weird, or needy.

    Symptoms of impulsivity in children:

    1. Acts without thinking


    2. Guesses, rather than taking time to solve a problem or blurts out answers
    in class without waiting to be called on or hear the whole question
    3. Intrudes on other people’s conversations or games
    4. Often interrupts others; says the wrong thing at the wrong time
    5. Inability to keep powerful emotions in check, resulting in angry outbursts
    or temper tantrums

    Is it really ADHD?

    Just because a child has symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity


    does not mean that he or she has ADHD. Certain medical conditions,
    psychological disorders, and stressful life events can cause symptoms that look
    like ADHD.

    Before an accurate diagnosis of ADHD can be made, it is important that you see
    a mental health professional to explore and rule out the following possibilities:

    Learning disabilities or problems with reading, writing, motor skills, or


    language.

    Major life events or traumatic experiences (e.g. a recent move, death of a loved
    one, bullying, divorce).

    Psychological disorders including anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder.

    Behavioral disorders such as conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.

    231
    Medical conditions, including thyroid problems, neurological conditions, epilepsy,
    and sleep disorders.

    A learning disability may be mistaken for ADHD

    Think your child has attention deficit disorder? Sometimes, kids who are having
    trouble in school are incorrectly diagnosed with ADHD, when what they really
    have is a learning disability. Furthermore, many kids struggle with both ADHD
    and a learning disability. See: Learning Disabilities and Disorders

    Positive effects of ADHD in children

    In addition to the challenges, there are also positive traits associated with people
    who have attention deficit disorder:

    Creativity – Children who have ADHD can be marvelously creative and


    imaginative. The child who daydreams and has ten different thoughts at once can
    become a master problem-solver, a fountain of ideas, or an inventive artist.
    Children with ADHD may be easily distracted, but sometimes they notice what
    others don’t see.

    Flexibility – Because children with ADHD consider a lot of options at once, they
    don’t become set on one alternative early on and are more open to different
    ideas.

    Enthusiasm and spontaneity – Children with ADHD are rarely boring! They’re
    interested in a lot of different things and have lively personalities. In short, if
    they’re not exasperating you (and sometimes even when they are), they’re a lot
    of fun to be with.

    Energy and drive – When kids with ADHD are motivated, they work or play hard
    and strive to succeed. It actually may be difficult to distract them from a task that
    interests them, especially if the activity is interactive or hands-on.

    Keep in mind, too, that ADHD has nothing to do with intelligence or talent. Many
    children with ADHD are intellectually or artistically gifted.

    232
    Helping a child with ADHD

    Whether or not your child’s symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity


    are due to ADHD, they can cause many problems if left untreated. Children who
    can’t focus and control themselves may struggle in school, get into frequent
    trouble, and find it hard to get along with others or make friends. These
    frustrations and difficulties can lead to low self-esteem as well as friction and
    stress for the whole family.

    But treatment can make a dramatic difference in your child’s symptoms. With the
    right support, your child can get on track for success in all areas of life.

    Don’t wait to get help for your child

    If your child struggles with symptoms that look like ADHD, don’t wait to seek
    professional help. You can treat your child’s symptoms of hyperactivity,
    inattention, and impulsivity without having a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder.

    Options to start with include getting your child into therapy, implementing a better
    diet and exercise plan, and modifying the home environment to minimize
    distractions.

    If you do receive a diagnosis of ADHD, you can then work with your child’s
    doctor, therapist, and school to make a personalized treatment plan that meets
    his or her specific needs. Effective treatment for childhood ADHD involves
    behavioral therapy, parent education and training, social support, and assistance
    at school. Medication may also be used, however, it should never be the sole
    attention deficit disorder treatment.

    Parenting tips for children with ADHD

    If your child is hyperactive, inattentive, or impulsive, it may take a lot of energy to


    get him or her to listen, finish a task, or sit still. The constant monitoring can be
    frustrating and exhausting. Sometimes you may feel like your child is running the
    show. But there are steps you can take to regain control of the situation, while
    simultaneously helping your child make the most of his or her abilities.

    233
    While attention deficit disorder is not caused by bad parenting, there are effective
    parenting strategies that can go a long way to correct problem behaviors.

    Children with ADHD need structure, consistency, clear communication, and


    rewards and consequences for their behavior. They also need lots of love,
    support, and encouragement.

    There are many things parents can do to reduce the signs and symptoms of
    ADHD without sacrificing the natural energy, playfulness, and sense of wonder
    unique in every child.

    Take care of yourself so you’re better able to care for your child. Eat right,
    exercise, get enough sleep, find ways to reduce stress, and seek face-to-face
    support from family and friends as well as your child’s doctor and teachers.   

    Establish structure and stick to it. Help your child stay focused and organized by
    following daily routines, simplifying your child’s schedule, and keeping your child
    busy with healthy activities.

    Set clear expectations. Make the rules of behavior simple and explain what will
    happen when they are obeyed or broken—and follow through each time with a
    reward or a consequence.

    Encourage exercise and sleep. Physical activity improves concentration and


    promotes brain growth. Importantly for children with ADHD, it also leads to better
    sleep, which in turn can reduce the symptoms of ADHD.

    Help your child eat right. To manage symptoms of ADHD, schedule regular
    healthy meals or snacks every three hours and cut back on junk and sugary food.

    Teach your child how to make friends. Help him or her become a better listener,
    learn to read people’s faces and body language, and interact more smoothly with
    others.

    School tips for children with ADHD

    234
    ADHD, obviously, gets in the way of learning. You can’t absorb information or get
    your work done if you’re running around the classroom or zoning out on what
    you’re supposed to be reading or listening to.

    Think of what the school setting requires children to do: Sit still. Listen quietly.
    Pay attention. Follow instructions. Concentrate. These are the very things kids
    with ADHD have a hard time doing—not because they aren’t willing, but because
    their brains won’t let them.

    But that doesn’t mean kids with ADHD can’t succeed at school. There are many
    things both parents and teachers can do to help children with ADHD thrive in the
    classroom. It starts with evaluating each child’s individual weaknesses and strengths,
    then coming up with creative strategies for helping the child focus, stay on task, and learn
    to his or her full capability.

    Tips for managing ADHD symptoms at school


    Symptom: Distractibility

    Tip: Seat the child away from doors and windows. Alternate seated activities with
    those that allow the child to move around. Divide big assignments into smaller
    ones and allow frequent breaks.
    Symptom: Interrupting

    Tip: Use discreet gestures or words you have previously agreed upon to let the
    child know they are interrupting. Praise the child for interruption-free
    conversations.
    Symptom: Impulsivity

    Tip: Tape a written behavior plan to the wall or the child’s desk. Give
    consequences immediately following misbehavior and recognize good behavior
    out loud.
    Symptom: Fidgeting and hyperactivity

    Tip: Finding creative ways to allow the child to move in appropriate ways at
    appropriate times can make it easier for the child to keep still during work time.
    Provide a stress ball, encourage exercise before and after school, and ask the
    child to run errands in the classroom.

    235
    Tips for managing ADHD symptoms at school
    Symptom: Trouble following directions

    Tip: Break down and reinforce the steps involved in your instructions. Allow the
    child to do one step and then come back to find out what they should do next. If
    the child gets off track, give a calm reminder. Write directions on a board.

    Symptom: General inattentiveness

    Tip: Make learning fun. Using physical motion in a lesson, connecting dry facts to
    interesting trivia, or inventing silly songs that make details easier to remember
    can help a child enjoy learning and even reduce the symptoms of ADHD

    Source:- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/attention-deficit-disorder-adhd-in-
    children.htm

    ADHD and School


    Helping Children and Teens with ADHD Succeed at School

    School creates multiple challenges for kids with ADHD, but with patience and an
    effective plan, your child can thrive in the classroom. As a parent, you can work
    with your child and his or her teacher to implement practical strategies for
    learning both inside and out of the classroom. With consistent support, these
    strategies can help your child meet learning challenges—and experience
    success at school.

    236
    Setting up your child for school success

    The classroom environment can be a challenging place for a child with attention
    deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD). The very tasks these students find
    the most difficult—sitting still, listening quietly, concentrating—are the ones they
    are required to do all day long. Perhaps most frustrating of all is that most these
    children want to be able to learn and behave like their unaffected peers.
    Neurological deficits, not unwillingness, keep kids with attention deficit disorder
    from learning in traditional ways.

    As a parent, you can help your child cope with these deficits and meet the
    challenges school creates. You can provide the most effective support: equipping
    your child with learning strategies for the classroom and communicating with
    teachers about how your child learns best. With support at home and teaching
    strategies at work in the classroom, there is no reason why kids with ADHD can’t
    flourish in school.

    Tips for working with teachers

    Remember that your child’s teacher has a full plate: in addition to managing a
    group of children with distinct personalities and learning styles, he or she can
    also expect to have at least one student with ADHD. Teachers can do their best
    to help your child with attention deficit disorder learn effectively, but parental
    involvement can dramatically improve your child’s education. You have the
    power to optimize your child’s chances for success by supporting the work done
    in the classroom. If you can work with and support your child’s teacher, you can
    directly affect the experience of your child with ADHD in the classroom.

    There are a number of ways you can work with teachers to keep your child on
    track at school. Together you can help your child with ADHD learn to find his or
    her feet in the classroom and work effectively through the challenges of the
    school day.

    Communicate with school and teachers

    As a parent, you are your child’s advocate. For your child to succeed in the
    classroom, it is vital that you communicate his or her needs to the adults at

    237
    school. It is equally important for you to listen to what the teachers and other
    school officials have to say.

    You can make communication with your child’s school constructive and
    productive. Try to keep in mind that your mutual purpose is finding out how to
    best help your child succeed in school. Whether you talk over the phone, email,
    or meet in person, make an effort to be calm, specific, and above all positive—a
    good attitude can go a long way in communication with school.

    Plan ahead. You can arrange to speak with school officials or teachers before the
    school year even begins. If the year has started, plan to speak with a teacher or
    counselor on at least a monthly basis.

    Make meetings happen. Agree on a time that works for both you and your child’s
    teacher and stick to it. If it's convenient, meet in your child’s classroom so you
    can get a sense of your child’s physical learning environment.

    Create goals together. Discuss your hopes for your child’s school success.
    Together, write down specific and realistic goals and talk about how they can be
    reached.

    Listen carefully. Like you, your child’s teacher wants to see your child succeed at
    school. Listen to what he or she has to say—even if it is sometimes hard to hear.
    Understanding your child’s challenges in school is the key to finding solutions
    that work.

    Share information. You know your child’s history, and your child’s teacher sees
    him or her every day: together you have a lot of information that can lead to
    better understanding of your child’s hardships. Share your observations freely,
    and encourage your child’s teachers to do the same.

    Ask the hard questions and give a complete picture. Be sure to list any medications
    your child takes and explain any other treatments. Share with your child’s teacher
    what tactics work well—and which don’t—for your child at home. Ask if your child
    is having any problems in school, including on the playground. Find out if your
    child can get any special services to help with learning.

    238
    Develop and use a behavior plan

    Children with ADD/ADHD are capable of appropriate classroom behavior, but


    they need structure and clear expectations in order to keep their symptoms in
    check. As a parent, you can help by developing a behavior plan for your child—
    and sticking to it. Whatever type of behavior plan you put in place, create it in
    close collaboration with your child’s teacher and your child.

    Kids with attention deficit disorder respond best to specific goals and daily
    positive reinforcement—as well as worthwhile rewards. Yes, you may have to
    hang a carrot on a stick to get your child to behave better in class. Create a plan
    that incorporates small rewards for small victories and larger rewards for bigger
    accomplishments.

    Find a behavior plan that works

    Click here to download a highly regarded behavior plan called The Daily Report
    Card, which can be adjusted for elementary, middle and even high school
    students with ADHD.

    Source: Center for Children and Families

    Tips for managing ADHD symptoms at school

    ADHD impacts each child’s brain differently, so each case can look quite different
    in the classroom. Children with ADHD exhibit a range of symptoms: some seem
    to bounce off the walls, some daydream constantly, and others just can’t seem to
    follow the rules.

    As a parent, you can help your child with ADHD reduce any or all of these types
    of behaviors. It is important to understand how attention deficit disorder affects
    different children’s behavior so that you can choose the appropriate strategies for
    tackling the problem. There are a variety of fairly straightforward approaches you
    and your child’s teacher can take to best manage the symptoms of ADHD—and
    put your child on the road to school success.

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    Tips for teachers

    For more teaching strategies to help children with ADHD in the classroom, see:
    Teaching Students with ADHD.

    Distractibility

    Students with ADHD may be so easily distracted by noises, passersby, or their


    own thoughts that they often miss vital classroom information. These children
    have trouble staying focused on tasks that require sustained mental effort. They
    may seem to be listening to you, but something gets in the way of their ability to
    retain the information.

    Helping kids who distract easily involves physical placement, increased


    movement, and breaking long work into shorter chunks.

     Seat the child with ADHD away from doors and windows. Put pets in
    another room or a corner while the student is working.
     Alternate seated activities with those that allow the child to move his or her
    body around the room. Whenever possible, incorporate physical
    movement into lessons.
     Write important information down where the child can easily read and
    reference it. Remind the student where the information can be found.
     Divide big assignments into smaller ones, and allow children frequent
    breaks.

    Interrupting

    Kids with attention deficit disorder may struggle with controlling their impulses, so
    they often speak out of turn. In the classroom or home, they call out or comment
    while others are speaking. Their outbursts may come across as aggressive or
    even rude, creating social problems as well. The self-esteem of children with
    ADHD is often quite fragile, so pointing this issue out in class or in front of family
    members doesn’t help the problem—and may even make matters worse.

    Reducing the interruptions of children with ADHD should be done carefully so


    that the child’s self-esteem is maintained, especially in front of others. Develop a
    “secret language” with the child with ADHD. You can use discreet gestures or

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    words you have previously agreed upon to let the child know they are
    interrupting. Praise the child for interruption-free conversations.

    Impulsivity

    Children with ADHD may act before thinking, creating difficult social situations in
    addition to problems in the classroom. Kids who have trouble with impulse
    control may come off as aggressive or unruly. This is perhaps the most disruptive
    symptom of ADHD, particularly at school.

    Methods for managing impulsivity include behavior plans, immediate discipline


    for infractions, and ways to give children with ADHD a sense of control over their
    day.

    Make sure a written behavior plan is near the student. You can even tape it to the
    wall or the child’s desk.

    Give consequences immediately following misbehavior. Be specific in your


    explanation, making sure the child knows how they misbehaved.

    Recognize good behavior out loud. Be specific in your praise, making sure the
    child knows what they did right.

    Write the schedule for the day on the board or on a piece of paper and cross off
    each item as it is completed. Children with impulse problems may gain a sense
    of control and feel calmer when they know what to expect.

    Fidgeting and hyperactivity

    ADD causes many students to be in constant physical motion. It may seem like a
    struggle for these children to stay in their seats. Kids with ADD/ADHD may jump,
    kick, twist, fidget and otherwise move in ways that make them difficult to teach.

    Strategies for combating hyperactivity consist of creative ways to allow the child
    with ADHD to move in appropriate ways at appropriate times. Releasing energy
    this way may make it easier for the child to keep his or her body calmer during
    work time.

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    Ask children with ADHD to run an errand or do a task for you, even if it just
    means walking across the room to sharpen pencils or put dishes away.

    Encourage a child with ADHD to play a sport—or at least run around before and
    after school—and make sure the child never misses recess or P.E.

    Provide a stress ball, small toy, or other object for the child to squeeze or play with
    discreetly at his or her seat.

    Limit screen time in favor of time for movement.

    Trouble following directions

    Difficulty following directions is a hallmark problem for many children with ADHD.
    These kids may look like they understand and might even write down directions,
    but then aren’t able to do what has been asked. Sometimes these students miss
    steps and turn in incomplete work, or misunderstand an assignment altogether
    and wind up doing something else entirely.

    Helping children with ADHD follow directions means taking measures to break
    down and reinforce the steps involved in your instructions, and redirecting when
    necessary. Try being extremely brief when giving directions, allowing the child to
    do one step and then come back to find out what they should do next. If the child
    gets off track, give a calm reminder, redirecting in a calm but firm voice.
    Whenever possible, write directions down in a bold marker or in colored chalk on
    a blackboard.

    Medication for ADHD: What parents should know

    Many schools urge parents to medicate children with attention deficit disorder,
    and you may feel unsure about what this means. While medication can help with
    the symptoms of ADHD, it is not a cure and comes with side effects. As a parent,
    you should weigh the benefits and risks of medications for ADHD before using
    them to treat your child. See ADHD or ADD Medications

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    Tips for making learning fun

    One positive way to keep your child's attention focused on learning is to make
    the process fun. Using physical motion in a lesson, connecting dry facts to
    interesting trivia, or inventing silly songs that make details easier to remember
    can help your child enjoy learning and even reduce the symptoms of ADHD.

    Helping children with ADHD enjoy math

    Children who have attention deficit disorder tend to be “concrete” thinkers. They
    often like to hold, touch, or take part in an experience in order to learn something
    new. By using games and objects to demonstrate mathematical concepts, you
    can show your child that math can be meaningful—and fun.

    Play games. Use memory cards, dice, or dominoes to make numbers fun. Or
    simply use your fingers and toes, tucking them in or wiggling them when you add
    or subtract.

    Draw pictures. Especially for word problems, illustrations can help kids better
    understand mathematical concepts. If the word problem says there are twelve
    cars, help your child draw them from steering wheel to trunk.

    Invent silly acronyms. In order to remember order of operations, for example,


    make up a song or phrase that uses the first letter of each operation in the
    correct order.

    Helping children with ADHD enjoy reading

    There are many ways to make reading exciting, even if the skill itself tends to be
    a struggle for children with ADHD. Keep in mind that reading at its most basic
    level made up of stories and interesting information—things that all children
    enjoy.

    Read to children. Read with children. Make reading cozy, quality time with you.

    Make predictions or “bets.” Constantly ask the child what they think might
    happen next. Model prediction: “The girl in the story seems pretty brave—I bet
    she’s going to try to save her family.”

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    Act out the story. Let the child choose his or her character and assign you one,
    too. Use funny voices and costumes to bring it to life.

    How does your kid like to learn?

    When children are given information in a way that makes it easy for them to
    absorb, learning is a lot more fun. If you understand how your child with ADHD
    learns best, you can create enjoyable lessons that pack an informational punch.

     Auditory learners learn best by talking and listening. Have these kids
    recite facts to a favorite song. Let them pretend they are on a radio show
    and work with others often.
     Visual learners learn best through reading or observation. Let them have
    fun with different fonts on the computer and use colored flash cards to
    study. Allow them to write or draw their ideas on paper.
     Tactile learners learn best by physically touching something or moving as
    part of a lesson. For these students, provide jellybeans for counters and
    costumes for acting out parts of literature or history. Let them use clay and
    make collages.

    It’s tough to enjoy learning when there is something undiagnosed standing in the
    way. In addition to ADHD, children may also be affected by learning disabilities.
    These issues make even the most exciting lessons extremely difficult for
    students. Like children with attention deficit disorder, children with learning
    disabilities can succeed in the classroom, and there are many ways you can
    help. See Learning Disabilities and Disorders.

    ADHD and school: Tips for mastering homework

    Sure, kids may universally dread it—but for a parent of a child with ADHD,
    homework is a golden opportunity. Academic work done outside the classroom
    provides you as the parent with a chance to directly support your child. It’s a time
    you can help your child succeed at school where you both feel most comfortable:
    your own living room.

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    With your support, kids with ADHD can use homework time not only for math
    problems or writing essays, but also for practicing the organizational and study
    skills they need to thrive in the classroom.

    Helping a child with ADHD get organized

    With organization, it can help to get a fresh start. Even if it’s not the start of the
    academic year, go shopping with your child and pick out school supplies that
    include folders, a three-ring binder, and color-coded dividers. Help the child file
    his or her papers into this new system.

     Establish a homework folder for finished homework and organize loose


    papers by color coding folders and showing the child how to file
    appropriately.
     Help your child organize his or her belongings on a daily basis, including
    backpack, folders, and even pockets.
     If possible, keep an extra set of textbooks and other materials at home.
     Help your child learn to make and use checklists, crossing items off as
    they are accomplished.

    Helping a child with ADHD get homework done on time

    Understanding concepts and getting organized are two steps in the right
    direction, but homework also has to get done in a single evening—and turned in
    on time. Help a child with ADHD to the finish line with strategies that provide
    consistent structure.

     Pick a specific time and place for homework that is as free as possible of
    clutter, pets, and television.
     Allow the child breaks as often as every ten to twenty minutes.
     Teach a better understanding of the passage of time: use an analog clock
    and timers to monitor homework efficiency.
     Set up a homework procedure at school: establish a place where the
    student can easily find his or her finished homework and pick a consistent
    time to hand in work to the teacher.

    Other ways to help your child with homework

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    Encourage exercise and sleep. Physical activity improves concentration and
    promotes brain growth. Importantly for children with ADHD, it also leads to better
    sleep, which in turn can reduce the symptoms of ADHD.

    Help your child eat right. Scheduling regular nutritious meals and snacks while
    cutting back on junk and sugary foods can help manage symptoms of ADHD.

    Take care of yourself so you’re better able to care for your child. Don’t neglect your
    own needs. Try to eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, manage stress, and
    seek face-to-face support from family and friends

    Source:- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/attention-deficit-disorder-adhd-
    and-school.htm

    Teaching Students with ADHD to F.O.C.U.S.: A Learning Strategy

    Dr. Victoria Groves Scott, Ed.D.


    Assistant Provost for Academic Innovation and Effectiveness and Professor of Special
    Education, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

    Kendra Fark
    Speech Language Pathologist completing her clinical fellowship year in Illinois

    Students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) make up a significant


    portion of the students receiving intervention in schools.  Bloom and Cohen report that
    4.5 million children in the United States between the ages of 3 and 17 had ADHD in 2006
    (Bloom & Cohen, 2007).  This disorder can have a significant impact on students’
    academic success due to difficulty with selective attention, sustained attention,
    impulsivity, and high levels of activity.  One specific characteristic which inhibits
    academic success is reduced ability to selectively attend in order to listen to and follow
    directions (Maag & Anderson, 2007; Zentall, 2005).  Learning strategies are a frequently
    used intervention for students with ADHD (Zentall, 2005).  Furthermore, learning
    strategies to improve listening effectiveness are supported for this population (Alberta
    Education, 2006).

    This article focuses on teaching a learning strategy to develop improved listening in


    students with ADHD.  The goals of this article are to briefly define learning strategies,
    discuss necessary aspects of listening, introduce the FOCUS strategy, explain how to
    teach FOCUS, and explain how to evaluate students’ use of FOCUS in class. 

    What is a Learning Strategy?

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    Learning strategies are actions taken by the student to make learning easier, faster, more
    self-directed, more effective, and transferrable to new situations (Oxford, 1990).
    Developed to help students succeed in a variety of academic areas, learning strategies
    often employ the use of a first-letter mnemonic used to cue students to follow strategy
    steps. Depending on the strategy, these steps guide students as they work on academic
    tasks, such as reading comprehension, paragraph writing, or test taking.  Learning
    strategies do not teach students content.  They do, however, teach students how to
    approach the content.  Instead of teaching students multiplication facts, a learning
    strategy might teach students the steps necessary to solve a multiplication problem (Scott
    & Compton, 2007).  Proven to be one of the most effective instructional techniques for
    students with learning problems, strategy instruction is often crucial for students’ success
    (Beckman, 2002; Reid & Lienemann, 2006). 

    What are the Elements of Listening?

    The first step in developing a learning strategy for improved listening is to identify the
    necessary elements in listening.  First, listeners display several behaviors to let their
    communication partners know that they are prepared to focus their attention on the
    message; they will be quiet, watch the speaker, look at the materials presented by the
    speaker, and avoid fidgeting (Owca, Pawlak, & Pronobis, 2003).  Secondly, individuals
    must be active listeners.  Being an active listener rather than a passive listener means an
    individual actively thinks about the information being shared rather than just passively
    hearing it.  Some ways in which individuals can actively think about the information
    include identifying the important parts, reminding themselves to focus on the message,
    summarizing the message, making connections to what they already know, and
    visualizing the message.  In addition to being active listeners, individuals should be
    participants in the communication.  Listeners can make comments, ask questions, and
    respond to questions (Brent & Anderson, 1993; Owca et al., 2003).   These skills were
    used to develop the learning strategy below to improve the listening of students with
    ADHD. 

    Developing a Learning Strategy for Listening

    Good learners are strategic, meaning that they possess a variety of ways to meet cognitive
    challenges.  Good listeners use strategies that improve their performance when they are
    asked to listen.  From the observations and literature described above, a learning strategy
    was developed to cue students into critical actions that they can take to attend to and
    process verbal information, commit it to memory, and communicate to the speaker that
    they are interested.  Each step of the strategy corresponds with a specific task students
    should complete while engaged in improved listening.  FOCUS is the mnemonic
    developed to outline this learning strategy.  Each key word is an action verb that cues
    students on what to do (Figure 1).

    Figure 1. FOCUS cue card

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    Memory Device Intended Associations
    F1. Eyes and mind on the speaker.
    Focus on speaker
    F2. Resist talking to your neighbors.

    F3. Keep your hands and feet quiet.


    O1. Clear your mind of distracting thoughts.
    Open your mind (Ignore distractions)

    O2. Be ready to learn and remember.

    O3. Set your mind on the subject.

    O4. “Your brain is like a parachute.  It only


    works when it’s open.”

    O5. Think about what is being said.


    C1. Try to relate what you are hearing to
    Connect things that you already know and are related
    to the lesson.

    C2. Create a picture in your mind of the new


    information.

    C3. Listen to other students’ related


    comments.

    Use your eyes U1. Pay attention to the book, chalk board,
    worksheets, overheads, or other visual
    materials.
    S1. Select the important parts so you know
    Select what to remember.

    S2. Say the important parts to yourself in your


    own words.

    S3. Ask questions to make sure you


    understand.

    Teaching “FOCUS”

     There is considerable literature that outlines the most effective method to teach learning
    strategies (Pressley & Woloshyn, 1995).  Most experts agree that the strategy should be

    248
    described to the student.  This should include information about each step of the strategy
    and the benefits of using the strategy.  If a mnemonic is used, the mnemonic should be
    rehearsed until the student can recite it easily from memory.  The teacher should model
    strategy use and provide opportunities for both guided and independent practice.  The
    student should be taught to apply the strategy in a variety of settings.  Finally, the student
    and teacher should evaluate and monitor strategy use (Pressley & Woloshyn, 1995).   

    To begin this process, the teacher should first use Figures 2 and 3 to collect pre-
    intervention or baseline information about the students’ listening skills.  The teacher
    might begin by teaching a short lesson on a topic related to the curriculum.  See Figure 4
    for a sample mini lesson.  During the lesson, a fellow teacher or teacher’s aid might
    observe the students and note their listening behaviors using the FOCUS observation
    chart (Figure 2). After the lesson the teacher should check comprehension by asking the
    students questions related to the lesson.  Any students who exhibit difficulty with the
    listening behaviors or in answering questions may significantly benefit from the FOCUS
    instruction.

    Figure 4. Sample mini lesson

    Today we are going to learn about penguins.  Let’s listen carefully because I will be asking
    some questions about penguins after the lesson to see how much you can remember.

    Penguins are like people because they are warm blooded.  But unlike people, penguins have
    insulation that lets them live in extremely cold temperatures.  Insulation is something that
    keeps things warm.  Houses have insulation to keep them warm in the winter.  The
    penguins’ insulation is several layers thick.  A layer of tightly packed feathers covers the
    penguins’ bodies. (Show picture of penguin feathers from Internet.)  Under the feather is a
    thick layer of fat called blubber.  Both the feathers and the blubber are insulation for the
    penguin. Whales and dolphins also have blubber to keep them warm, or insulated from the
    cold.  A penguin’s insulation works so well that sometimes they get too hot.  What can you
    do when you get hot? How do you think a penguin will cool down when it gets hot?  When
    this happens, the penguin fluffs up their feathers to let some of the heat out. 

    Comprehension check:

    1.     What is this lesson about?

    2.     How are penguins like people?

    3.     What is insulation?

    4.     What is the penguins’ thick layer of fat called?

    5.     What can a penguin do if it gets too hot?

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    After baseline data has been collected, teachers should introduce the strategy to students,
    teaching about the importance of the strategy and what each step of FOCUS implies. 
    Following the introduction, activities in which students verbally rehearse the FOCUS
    steps can be used to help them master automatic recall of the mnemonic (Beckman,
    2002).  The FOCUS Cue Card (Figure 1) can be used as a visual cue at the beginning of
    verbal rehearsal and then removed as students improve in their ability to recall the steps.
    Once students are able to recite the FOCUS steps with 80% accuracy, without the cue
    card, the teacher can begin teaching students how to use the strategy steps in listening
    activities.

    Activities to Teach Use of FOCUS Steps

    Teachers can use the following activities when teaching the steps to the FOCUS strategy. 
    Remember that each step should be described, modeled, practiced, and evaluated. 

    Figure 5. Activities to teach FOCUS

    FOCUS Step Related Lesson


    F: Focus on the Speaker
    “Video Feedback”: Set up a video camera in the
    When teaching students to focus on back of the classroom while teaching.  Plan for a
    the speaker, it is important to small distraction to occur as a story is read, such as
    convey the reciprocity in setting a timer to tick.  After the lesson, show the
    communication.  Students can be students the video and discuss how they did or did
    good listeners and not look at the not remain focused on the speaker.  Have the
    speaker.  However, that does not students discuss what the word focus means and
    communicate to the speaker that the describe the behaviors they exhibit when they are
    listener is interested.  This simple focused on something.
    communication of listening may
    have a dramatic effect on the
    quality of interaction.  Anyone who
    has tried to talk to a disinterested
    person can attest to this.  Therefore,
    it is crucial for the student to
    demonstrate behaviors consistent
    with good listening.
    O: Open Your Mind
    “What’s in Your Mind?”: Begin by asking the
    Multi-tasking is a skill growing in students to take out a piece of paper and write down
    importance and popularity.  It or draw an image that displays what they are
    requires individuals to think about thinking about.  Next, lead a discussion about
    several topics at once.  things that might interfere with listening.  The term
    Unfortunately, this positive skill “distracted” could be introduced here.  The student
    can negatively impact a student’s may be distracted by thoughts of lunch, friendships,

    250
    ability to listen effectively.  For this after school activities, or the previous academic
    reason, it is especially important to topic, and all of these can cause students to “run out
    remind students that they must clearof space” in their head, much like you can run out
    their heads and concentrate on what of space on your computer storage device.  Explain
    is being said in order to gain the importance of opening your mind to the current
    information from listening. topic.
    C: Connect
    “Who’s the Artist?”: Separate students into pairs,
    Making connections to the and give each pair the name of an unfamiliar animal
    student’s prior knowledge (i.e. kangaroo rat, aye-aye, naked neck chicken,
    (including interests and pygmy marmoset, Andean condor, scorpion fish,
    experiences) is a fundamental part sloth, anglerfish; See Your World, 2009).  Student
    of scaffolding as well as the basic A will describe to Student B what he or she thinks
    process of learning.  This part of the animal looks like.  Student B will draw exactly
    the process helps the student to what Student A describes.  Then the partners will
    identify what he or she already trade roles.  After each student has had a turn to
    knows about the topic, compare it draw, ask them if it was easy or difficult to follow
    to what is being presented, and then their partners’ directions.  Lead this discussion to
    modify his or her concept of the the idea that they used their prior knowledge to
    topic to match.  Making draw what they thought the animal may look like. 
    connections provides “hooks” on Students must take what they know about the topic
    which to hang the new information, and combine it with or replace it by the new
    making the new information information (i.e., from their partners).
    meaningful to the student and
    providing motivation to learn. 
    Recognizing the importance of
    making connections and being able
    to do so are key steps in learning to
    use FOCUS.
    U: Use Your Eyes “Math Magic” (Hopkins, 2002): This is a quick
    lesson to demonstrate the importance of using your
    Using your eyes is likely a eyes when you listen.  Ask all the students to get
    straightforward step to most into pairs and take out a pencil, paper, and
    teachers and clinicians reading this calculator (optional). Explain that they will learn a
    article.  However, students may not trick for calculating people’s ages (students must be
    recognize this as a valuable skill at least ten years old for the math trick to work). 
    that can improve their ability to Read the following steps to the class:
    listen.  Therefore, it is necessary
    that their attention is brought to the  Ask your friend to think of the first number
    importance of looking at the visual in his or her age.
    aids that are available.  Visual aids  Tell your friend to multiply that number by
    can be a variety of items: a page in 5.
    the book, writing on the board, a  Then, tell your friend to add 3 to that
    poster, a worksheet, etc.  Teaching number.
    students to recognize and use visual  Next, ask your friend to double the latest

    251
    number.
    aids is important for this step of  Finally, ask your friend to add the second
    FOCUS. number of his or her age to the total.
     Ask your friend to tell you the number that
    resulted from the calculations.
     Now, simply subtract 6 from that number.
     Announce the answer as that person's age!

    Once the steps have been read, have the students try
    to complete the trick from memory.  This would be
    difficult for any student to do without seeing the
    steps written out or being given one step at a time. 
    After a minute or so, put up a Power Point slide or
    overhead of the steps listed in Figure 6.  After
    students finish the calculations, ask them what they
    thought about the math trick and what might have
    made it easier.  Discuss the importance of using
    visual aids that are available.
    S: Select
    “Newspaper Ads” (Jalongo, 1991): Place the
    Selecting means that the student is students in pairs.  One student will be the product
    eliminating extraneous information salesman, and the other will be the newspaper
    to focus on what is important in the writer.  The salesman describes the product he
    message.  As stated above, students wants to sell, including all the pertinent information
    with ADHD have noted deficits in about the product.  The writer will listen to the
    selective attention, which salesman and then restate in his own words what
    negatively affects their ability to the salesman told him.  The pair will split up, with
    listen to and follow directions.  the writer writing out an ad for the product.  The
    Instead of trying to remember each two will trade roles.  The ads will be returned to the
    and every word spoken by the salespeople for them to review, and the salespeople
    speaker, the listener must learn how will judge whether or not they approve printing of
    to identify and remember the the ad.  Discuss the fact that not all the information
    important parts of the message.  was included in the ads.  Ask students how they
    Trying to remember information decided what was important enough to be included
    that is unimportant can interfere in the ad information. Explain that identifying the
    with the student’s recall of the important parts of a message helps them remember
    overall message. and focus on it. 

    Strategy Practice

    Students are now at the point where mini lessons can be given in a variety of content
    areas as opportunities for them to practice applying FOCUS. See Figure 4 for a sample
    mini lesson.   At first, lessons should be taken from content materials one grade level
    lower than where students are currently performing.  This is done so that the focus of the
    challenge is on the use of the strategy, not necessarily on the content of the lesson.  As
    students achieve mastery of FOCUS with the lower grade level content materials, mini

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    lessons at the students’ current grade level can be given to assist students in learning to
    apply the FOCUS strategy to material that is more challenging.

    Each mini lesson for FOCUS practice should follow a set of steps.  First, the teacher
    should review FOCUS with the students using the FOCUS Cue Card.  Next, students
    should be told that they will be practicing using FOCUS during a lesson and that they
    will be asked questions afterward to see how well they listened.  The FOCUS Cue Card
    can be displayed in the room as a visual reminder of the strategy.  An advanced organizer
    can be given to each student as an additional visual cue for use during the mini lesson. 
    The teacher will present the brief mini lesson while using the Observation Chart (Figure
    2) to record the behaviors that are representative of good listeners and take notes for
    individual feedback after the lesson.  Once the mini lesson has been taught, the teacher
    will ask the students comprehension questions for information obtained through the
    lesson.  Each student’s accuracy on these questions will be recorded on his or her
    Progress Chart (Figure 3) in the “Controlled Practice” section.  Once the mini lessons are
    taught at students’ current grade levels, the data is recorded in the “Advanced Practice”
    section.  These two forms of evaluation are explained in greater detail in the following
    section.  Finally, the teacher and students will discuss how they applied the strategy
    during the lesson: how the steps were helpful, what they noticed as they used the steps,
    what they did well, and where they can improve.

    As more mini lessons are taught, teachers should need to provide fewer and fewer cues
    for students to use the strategy.  Also, less explanation of the strategy and less assistance
    with application will be needed as students progress in their ability to effectively apply
    FOCUS. 

    Strategy Evaluation

    As stated earlier, students’ behaviors that demonstrate listening and their responses to
    listening comprehension questions should be evaluated before FOCUS is introduced. 
    Having this baseline data will allow the teacher to show that students have experienced
    improvement in listening skills after learning to apply the FOCUS strategy. 

    Once students have practiced using the FOCUS strategy in the mini lesson format
    described above, their performance can be evaluated and recorded in the “Post-Test”
    section of the Progress Chart for comparison to the baseline data.  Mini lessons like those
    above are used for the post-test evaluation sessions.  Evaluation is completed through two
    methods.  First, the students are observed and rated on behaviors related to the FOCUS
    strategy.  During the lesson, each student is evaluated for: (a) eye contact with the
    speaker, (b) demonstration of listening by not talking to others, (c) use of correct sitting
    posture, (d) listening to other students’ comments, (e) use of relevant comments or
    questions, and (f) ability to follow directions (such as look at the board, take out your
    pencil, or turn to your neighbor).  These behaviors can be easily rated during the lesson
    using the FOCUS Observation Chart (Figure 2)

    Figure 2. FOCUS observation chart.

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    Secondly, comprehension questions related to the mini lesson are developed for
    assessment after the lesson.  These questions can be given orally or in written form
    depending on the skills of the students.  Each student’s score on the comprehension
    questions can be tracked to document progress using the FOCUS Progress Chart (Figure
    3). 

    Figure 3. FOCUS progress chart

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    These two methods of evaluation should be employed for each mini lesson in pre-test,
    controlled practice, advanced practice, post-test, and maintenance to obtain data.  The
    students should be able to gain 80% accuracy or above on the comprehension questions
    following the mini lessons and on the FOCUS behavior evaluation to demonstrate
    mastery at each level.

    Conclusion

    Students with ADHD face numerous challenges, with listening effectively being one. 
    Listening is used in every class and in every situation throughout each school day. 
    Students can apply the steps of the FOCUS strategy as they sit in class, go through the
    lunch line, complete group work, and interact with peers on the playground.  Teaching
    students FOCUS and providing them with a variety of opportunities in which to practice

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    effective use of the strategy can give them a tool to improve their functioning across the
    curriculum.

    References

    Alberta Education. (2006). Focusing on Success: Teaching Students with Attention


    Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, grades 1-12. Retrieved May 3, 2010 from
    http://education.alberta.ca/admin/special/resources/adhd.aspx

    Beckman, P. (2002). Strategy instruction. ERIC digest (Digest number E638). Arlington,
    VA: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, Council for Exceptional
    Children. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED474302).

    Bloom, B. & Cohen R.  (2007). Summary health statistics for U.S. children: National
    health interview survey, 2006. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health
    Statistics, 10(234), 5. Retreived May 3, 2010 from
    http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_234.pdf

    Brent, R. & Anderson, P. (1993). Developing children’s classroom listening strategies.


    The Reading Teacher, 47, 122-126. Retrieved from
    http://www.reading.org/general/Publications/Journals/RT.aspx

    Hopkins, G. (2002). Math magic. Education world: The educator’s best friend. Retrieved
    June 19, 2009, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/02/lp265-03.shtml

    Jalongo, M. (1991). Strategies for developing children's listening skills: Fastback 314.
    Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. (ERIC Document
    Reproduction Service No. ED331099).

    Maag, J. & Anderson, J. (2007). Sound-field amplification to increase compliance to


    directions in students with ADHD. Behavioral Disorders, 32, 238-253.

    Owca, S., Pawlak, E., & Pronobis, M. (2003). Improving student academic success
    through the promotion of listening skills. Master’s Action Research Project, Saint Xavier
    University and IRI/Skylight. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED478233).

    Oxford, R.  (1990).  Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know.
    Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

    Pressley, M. & Woloshyn, V. (1995). Cognitive strategy instruction that really improves
    children’s academic performance (2nd ed.).  Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.

    256
    Reid, R., & Lienemann, T.O. (2006). Strategy instruction for students with learning
    disabilities: What works for special needs learners? New York, NY: Gilford
    Publications.

    Scott, V.G., & Compton, L. (2007). A new TRICK for the trade: A strategy for keeping
    an agenda book for secondary students. Intervention in School and Clinic, 42, 280-284.

    See Your World, LLC. (2009). Nineteen insanely weird animals. Life: Your World in
    Pictures. Retrieved June 19, 2009, from http://www.life.com/image/first/in-
    gallery/26582/19-insanely-weird-animals

    Zentall, S. (2005). Theory- and evidence-based strategies for children with attentional
    problems. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 821-836. doi: 10.1002/pits.20114

    Source:- http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/Winter2011/Scott

    “Look, Ma, I Can Do It!”


    The responsibilities that come with adulthood can be daunting, especially if
    one of them is managing your ADHD. Learn why following your heart and
    staying healthy are key for any teen.

    BY PETER JAKSA, PH.D.

    Teen with ADHD looking at paper in high school hallway

    Welcome to adulthood! Late adolescence and early adulthood are exciting times, bringing
    tremendous change and personal growth. From choices about higher education to
    decisions about a career and family, there is so much ahead that it may seem
    overwhelming. Take heart – every adult has faced these same decisions and met the same
    challenges. You’ll do fine.

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    As an ADD teen, however, be aware that you have some additional responsibilities and
    concerns to shoulder. As someone who has been there, let me outline six points to
    consider, and offer some advice and inspiration, as you enter the next phase of your life.

    1. Take responsibility for managing ADD in your life

    Be honest – by now, you’re a little sick of hearing about ADD, reading about ADD,
    being treated for ADD, and just plain dealing with ADD. As you take responsibility for
    your own life, you might consider discontinuing medical treatment or letting go of the
    organizational strategies that you’ve developed to cope with ADD. This would be a
    mistake, one with potentially very damaging consequences. As life becomes more
    complicated and responsibilities increase (college, relationships, work), the need to
    manage ADD effectively becomes more important, not less.

    Let go of any stigma or resentment you may have about ADD, so that you can manage it
    as honestly and constructively as possible. ADD is simply a part of who you are, like the
    color of your hair or your athletic ability. Companionship helps, so join a support group
    in your town or online, and talk with those who’ve learned to look beyond the ADD
    label. Feel comfortable with your unique kind of brain, one that has its positives as well
    as its negatives.

    Get involved with your own treatment. Do you know not only the name, but the dosage
    of and schedule for taking your medication? Can you tell whether it’s working properly
    or not? Can you monitor any side effects? Build a relationship with your doctor and take
    on the responsibility for refilling your own prescriptions.

    Healthy self-awareness starts with a realistic picture of one’s strengths and weaknesses,
    and willingness to work with them (or around them). Building on strengths and
    overcoming areas of weakness are two skills that help us succeed in everything we do in
    life. Accepting ADD is a step toward accepting yourself for who you are.

    2. Don’t feel that you must go to college – at least not right away

    Attending college after graduating from high school is increasingly seen as a given: “Of
    course, I’m going to college – doesn’t everyone?” But sometimes it makes sense to delay
    that next step, or not to attend college at all.You may be so tired after 12 years of
    struggling in school that, instead of seeing college as an opportunity for growth, it feels
    like a dreaded obligation. If your enthusiasm about this next stage is only lukewarm,
    consider deferring your enrollment. A college education should not be a race among
    friends to see who graduates first. Or, if you are not academically ready for a fulltime
    college program, consider taking classes at a community college, and transferring to a
    four-year school in your own good time.

    In fact, for many, a college degree may not even be necessary for them to achieve their
    life goals. If you excel at carpentry or mechanics, for example, and you’re thinking of
    pursuing a career in those fields, you don’t need to spend four years at college. Consider

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    your individual interests and abilities, rather than general societal expectations, before
    making a decision about the next steps in your education.

    3. Develop life skills before you leave home

    As a psychologist, I am always pained to see an optimistic 18-year-old go away to


    school, only to return home in a state of shock after the first semester, dismayed,
    demoralized, and possibly even failing his courses. Usually this happened because the
    student wasn’t sufficiently prepared to function without the external structure that was in
    place while he was living at home during high school.

    Start developing skills for independent living before you leave for college – long before.
    Take inventory of your survival skills. Are you more productive when you have a set
    routine? Start getting to bed at the same time and setting your own alarm clock. Which
    accommodations have worked best for you at your high school? Contact the office of
    disabilities or student services at the college you’ll be attending and ask for similar
    accommodations there. Whether you’re still in junior high or are finishing your last
    semester of high school, it’s not too late, as long as you take action now, so these
    measures will be in place by the time you leave for freshman year.

    And don’t forget about Mom and Dad. You may have forgotten that they can be your best
    resource. Tell your parents that you want to participate in your IEP meetings; ask them to
    teach you how to budget money, shop for groceries, and do laundry. As you acquire these
    skills, you won’t need to depend on your parents as much, and they will certainly send
    you in the right direction.

    Already in college and feeling a little lost? Don’t rely on your academic advisor or the
    office of disabilities alone. Find a local therapist or a coach who specializes in working
    with students with ADD. The strategies you come up with together will be tailored to
    meet the demands of your current life.

    4. Follow your heart to the right job or career

    The old saying “follow your heart and the money will follow” is, for most people, a
    matter of career satisfaction. For ADDers, it is usually a matter of career survival. A
    strong personal interest in an activity or subject is critical to both focus and motivation.
    There is no such thing as the perfect ADD-friendly job or career. The right career for you
    is the one that you are passionate about. Discovering your passions needs to be your
    focus during this period of your life. If you need help identifying your areas of interest,
    vocational testing and career counseling can be very helpful.

    5. Take care of your brain by taking care of your body

    Remember all the advice your mother gave you about the benefits of exercise, sleep, and
    proper nutrition? Well, it turns out that she was right. A healthy lifestyle makes a

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    significant difference in attention, concentration, memory, irritability, and mood control –
    all of which are directly affected by ADD.

     Exercise: Regular, sustained aerobic exercise is the most effective natural way to
    raise levels of dopamine and the other brain neurotransmitters that improve your
    mood and ability to focus.

     Sleep: More than 70 percent of ADD adults over age 30 report problems falling
    asleep and staying asleep – another good reason to develop a healthy sleep routine
    now. Go to bed at the same time each night and try to get at least eight hours of
    sleep to avoid aggravating your ADD symptoms.

     Nutrition: Inadequate nutrition, including low blood-sugar levels caused by


    skipping meals, impairs concentration and other aspects of functioning that are
    already affected by ADD.

    A note of caution: Adults with untreated ADD are at greater risk for substance abuse and
    addiction than adults without ADD. Studies indicate that the rate of substance abuse
    among the untreated adult ADD population is roughly twice as high as in the non-ADD
    population. The levels of abuse in the treated ADD population and the non-ADD
    population, however, are about the same. Remember that the perceived “benefits” of self-
    medicating with recreational drugs never come close to the benefits provided by
    medication used in the course of proper medical care.

    6. On the river of life, be a boat – not a log

    People with ADD tend to live in the here and now, caught up in whatever captures their
    interest at a given point in time. Having a vision for the future and an understanding that
    your life’s course is the result of your own actions is critical. Now is the time to start
    thinking about the life you want to lead down the road. Planning doesn’t come naturally
    to any of us, so no one expects you to have a detailed, 10-year plan in place by high
    school graduation. But you’ll find that planning for the future, even by establishing short-
    term goals, is worth the effort. Setting goals will ideally lead to a long-term plan – and to
    living a fulfilling life and accomplishing the things we want to accomplish.

    It doesn’t matter if you change your mind later about some of your plans, or even change
    the direction you want to go in. In fact, you should expect to have some shifts in interests
    along the way. Think about it this way: As you plunge into the river of life, be a boat, not
    a log. As a log, all you can do is float where the current takes you. As a boat, you can
    drift if you want to, but you have the ability to direct your course when you know where
    you want to go.

    Here’s the key for ADDers: Our passions often help us set and achieve our goals.
    Understanding what interests you, what you love, and what you value in life, may
    provide the direction and the motivation necessary to commit to a goal and stay focused

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    on it until you achieve it. Take time to think about what you really enjoy, set your sights,
    and, above all, believe in yourself.

    Tags: April/May 2005 Issue of ADDitude Magazine

    Source:- https://www.additudemag.com/teen-becoming-adult/

    Watch Out for Sex!


    Young adults with ADHD are often impulsive, which interferes with smart decisions
    — especially when it comes to sex. Check out these three tips to help keep your sex
    life happy, healthy, and safe.

    BY WES CRENSHAW, PH.D.

    For young adults with ADHD, sex can be dangerous. I’m not moralizing here. I do sex
    therapy. I like helping young people of any sexual or gender orientation understand sex
    and sexuality, so don’t give up on me yet.

    Sex is fun only when you treat it responsibly. This is tricky for anyone, but ADHD
    inhibits your ability to focus on what is most important in a situation and to choose the
    correct action to take. You should think things through before you act on impulse.

    As a teen or young adult with ADHD, your goal in approaching sex is to act intentionally.
    Here are three safe sex guidelines that can help you see danger coming, so you can either
    step out of the way or get on it:

    1. Health. The people who devise government-sponsored programs seem to think that
    scaring kids with creepy sexually transmitted infection (STI) threats will prevent them
    from having sex. It never has, and it never will. So, I’ll just say that teens and young
    adults who have sex with several partners raise their chances of coming down with

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    something. If you have multiple partners, and don’t get every single one tested before you
    hook up, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll get an STI.

    Herpes (HSV2) is easy to catch, even if you use a condom, and impossible to really get
    rid of. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is easier to acquire, so girls should get a Gardasil
    shot before becoming sexually active to reduce the risk of cervical cancer. The shot is
    also recommended for boys now, so that they don’t pass HPV around. However, the
    vaccine won’t keep you safe from all strains. You can carry certain STIs with no sign of
    symptoms, so don’t wait until things aren’t feeling right to be tested. Remember, random
    hook-ups are more fun than their consequences. Think it through.

    2. Emotions. People with ADHD have a tough time with emotional intimacy. Sex, for
    them, is more an awesome adventure than a way to express sentiment or make a spiritual
    connection. That goes for girls and guys, though they express it differently.

    What seems exciting at 20 may be remembered differently at 25, when you look back on
    your years of sexual exploration with self-judgment and disappointment. I see some
    young people in their mid-20s as traumatized by their own early sexual conduct as are
    those who have been assaulted or molested.

    A good rule of thumb is to decide up front whether you will look back on what you’re
    about to do with pride or regret. Sexual impulses are normal, and sometimes it’s OK to
    act on them. Other times, it isn’t wise to do so. Though ADHD makes those decisions
    tougher, your job is to figure out the difference and act accordingly.

    3. Ethics. Instructions for ethical sexual conduct would fill a book, which, by the way, I
    am writing this year. Though everyone should be honest in sexual expression, people
    with ADHD must be especially mindful to treat themselves and their partners with moral
    and psychological integrity. At the top of the list of considerations is reproduction. It’s
    never ethical to produce children you can’t care for or don’t want, so if you’re straight,
    master contraception.

    Teen girls can get the Depo-Provera shot or the Nexplanon implant, or use NuvaRing,
    rather than have to remember to take a pill every day. Boys shouldn’t trust anyone’s
    contraception but their own. Resist the impulse to toss the condoms unless you’re in an
    exclusive relationship and you have verified your partner’s contraception status.
    Everyone of every orientation and identity should be honest about their intentions with
    themselves and their partner. Is this a hook-up or something more intense? Are you
    capable of an exclusive relationship right now? Are you having sex with other people?

    These guidelines aren’t intended to limit your options for sexual expression. If you
    practice them correctly, they won’t. I know many sexually active teens and young adults,
    with and without ADHD, who have thought through sex, are doing what they mean to do,
    and are pretty satisfied with the outcome.

    Tags: dating, sex, Winter 2014 Issue of ADDitude Magazine

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    Source:- https://www.additudemag.com/safe-sex-tips-help-teens-adults-adhd-impulsive/

    Get Your Teen Ready for Life


    It’s almost time for you to step back and let your ADHDer solve his own problems –
    but before you do, check out these ways to prepare him for the challenge.

    BY COLIN GUARE, PEG DAWSON, ED.D., RICHARD GUARE

    ADHD teen learns how to be independent

    Parents walk a tightrope trying to help their ADHD teens get ready to take
    responsibilities on their own. Perhaps you are a micromanager and you’ve been acting as
    your teen’s “surrogate frontal lobe.” Now that he’s older, you’re getting some pushback
    from him, and you wonder if there’s a way to step back without seeing him flounder.

    Perhaps your daughter gladly accepts your assistance in getting organized and attending
    to everyday chores, but you’re unsure about how much to help her. You don’t want her to
    become dependent on you, but you don’t want her to fail. Maybe your son has dug in and
    refuses to acknowledge that he has any challenges at school or his job, but you feel that if
    you don’t push him to act, he won’t be able to overcome his problems.
    What’s a parent to do? Follow these guidelines, many of which allow your teen to take
    the lead in solving a problem.

    Provide Only the Help Your Teen Needs

    1. Whenever possible, communicate indirectly – using a note or text message. The


    idea is to create distance between you and your teen, so that the cue can work without
    both of you being in the same place at the same time.

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    2. Send notes, don’t nag. A voicemail, note, or text message reminding your son to
    empty the dishwasher before he goes to the dance may get him to do it. Nagging won’t.
    In the case of regular chores or routines, try reminders for a few weeks. Then stop
    prompting him and see if he does the chore on his own. If not, return to the reminders.

    3. Ask your teen to develop his own cues. This is a way to hand off the skill to the teen,
    so she can remind herself in her own way.

    4. Edit your words. When it comes to reminders, parents talk too much, include lessons
    and lectures, and use an irritated voice. This frequently leads to conflict.

    5. Use an outside expert to teach your child a skill. If teens are going to be independent
    problem solvers, they need to use people and information, not their parents, to help them.
    While we all feel good when our teen asks us for help from time to time, this does not
    increase their independence, unless they internalize the information and stop coming to
    us.

    Identify One Challenge and the Times It Occurs

    6. Let your teen choose which challenge to work on first, and how to address it. It
    could be moving too slowly in the morning or driving carelessly. Anything that increases
    your teen’s interest in the problem increases her investment in solving it.

    7. If your teen is open to help, choose a goal for which implementation is shared. By
    letting your teen decide in what way you can help, you decrease the burden the task
    places on you. The objective is to fade out your help over time, but not so quickly that
    your teen fails at a task.

    8. Start with a problem that is small and easily tackled. This will build your teen’s
    confidence and will increase the likelihood that he will be willing to work on other
    problems. In the morning routine, you can move from waking your teen to having him
    wake himself.

    9. Address a problem that puts your teen at immediate risk. This is when parental
    judgment and decision-making must override teen choice. If your teen has trouble
    controlling emotions or sustaining attention, which you fear may pose a risk of unsafe
    driving or substance abuse, closely monitor his behavior. This will strike your teen as
    intrusive, but a parent’s job is to keep the teen “in the game.” This does not mean that
    parents should lock up their teen during his adolescence, but it does mean that parents
    find ways to balance choice and risk management.

    Meet Resistance with Creativity

    10. Be open to negotiation. If you have approached a problem as a “have to” or a “do it
    or else,” consider offering an exchange. You’ll give up something you want if the teen
    will give up something she wants (or do something you want). If you want chores done in

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    exchange for using the car, change the chores to errands you need done and offer the car
    if she’ll run a couple of errands for you before she goes off with friends.

    11. Use your teen’s personal goals to teach executive skills. Virtually any goal requires
    planning, time management, sustained attention, task initiation, and goal-directed
    persistence. Focus on personal goals that are a high priority for your teen – saving to buy
    a car or going to Europe next summer. These are ideal vehicles for learning executive
    skills, and have the
    advantage of built-in motivation if they come from your teen.

    12. Consider more rewards. Parents are often cheap in terms of what they will offer
    their teen, because they are annoyed at having to offer anything at all. If you accept that
    these are difficult skills for your teen to learn, understand what is needed for her to make
    the effort.

    Excerpted from Smart but Scattered Teens: The “Executive Skills” Program for Helping
    Teens Reach Their Potential, by Richard Guare, Ph.D., Peg Dawson, Ed.D., and Colin
    Guare. Copyright © 2013. Reprinted with permission of The Guilford Press, New York.

    How did you encourage your teen to take on more responsibilities? Share your story in
    the Parents of ADHD Teens and Young Adults support group on ADDConnect.

    Source:- https://www.additudemag.com/get-your-teen-ready-for-life/

    A Dyslexic Child in the Classroom


    A Guide for Teachers and Parents
    Author
    Patricia Hodge, Dip.spld (dyslexia)  © 2000

    Listen

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    Proficient reading is an essential tool for learning a large part of the
    subject matter taught at school. With an ever increasing emphasis on
    education and literacy, more and more children and adults are needing help in
    learning to read, spell, express their thoughts on paper and acquire adequate
    use of grammar.

    A dyslexic child who finds the acquisition of these literacy skills difficult can
    also suffer a lot of anguish and trauma when they may feel mentally abused
    by their peers within the school environment, because they have a learning
    difficulty. Much can be done to alleviate this by integrating the child into the
    class environment (which is predominantly a learning environment) where
    he/she can feel comfortable and develop confidence and self esteem.

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    Class teachers may be particularly confused by the student whose consistent
    underachievement seems due to what may look like carelessness or lack of
    effort.

    These children can be made to feel very different from their peers simply
    because they may be unable to follow simple instructions, which for others
    seem easy. It is a class teacher’s responsibility to provide an atmosphere
    conducive to learning for all pupils within their class.

    Class teachers need to have an understanding of the problems that the


    dyslexic child may have within the classroom situation. Hopefully, with this
    knowledge, a great deal of misunderstanding of a child’s behaviour can be
    prevented. In a positive and encouraging environment, a dyslexic child will
    experience the feeling of success and self-value.

    Of particular importance is an understanding of the problems that poor


    auditory short term memory can cause, in terms of retaining input from the
    teacher.

    Examples of poor auditory short term memory can be a difficulty in


    remembering the sounds in spoken words long enough to match these, in
    sequence, with letters for spelling. Often children with poor auditory short
    term memory cannot remember even a short list of instructions.

    The following items should provide useful guidelines for


    teachers and parents to follow and support :

    In the class

     Of value to all children in the class is an outline of what is going to be


    taught in the lesson, ending the lesson with a resume of what has been
    taught. In this way information is more likely to go from short term
    memory to long term memory.

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     When homework is set, it is important to check that the child correctly
    writes down exactly what is required. Try to ensure that the
    appropriate worksheets and books are with the child to take home.
     In the front of the pupils’ homework book get them to write down the
    telephone numbers of a couple of friends. Then, if there is any doubt
    over homework, they can ring up and check, rather than worry or spend
    time doing the wrong work.
     Make sure that messages and day to day classroom activities are
    written down, and never sent verbally. i.e. music, P. E. swimming etc.
     Make a daily check list for the pupil to refer to each evening.
    Encourage a daily routine to help develop the child’s own self-reliance
    and responsibilities.
     Encourage good organizational skills by the use of folders and dividers
    to keep work easily accessible and in an orderly fashion.
     Break tasks down into small easily remembered pieces of information.
     If visual memory is poor, copying must be kept to a minimum. Notes or
    handouts are far more useful.
     Seat the child fairly near the class teacher so that the teacher is
    available to help if necessary, or he can be supported by a well-
    motivated and sympathetic classmate

    Copying from the blackboard

     Use different colour chalks for each line if there is a lot of written
    information on the board, or underline every second line with a
    different coloured chalk.
     Ensure that the writing is well spaced.
     Leave the writing on the blackboard long enough to ensure the child
    doesn’t rush, or that the work is not erased from the board before the
    child has finished copying

    Reading

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     A structured reading scheme that involves repetition and introduces
    new words slowly is extremely important. This allows the child to
    develop confidence and self esteem when reading.
     Don’t ask pupils to read a book at a level beyond their current skills,
    this will instantly demotivate them. Motivation is far better when
    demands are not too high, and the child can actually enjoy the book. If
    he has to labour over every word he will forget the meaning of what he
    is reading.
     Save the dyslexic child the ordeal of having to ‘read aloud in class’.
    Reserve this for a quiet time with the class teacher. Alternatively,
    perhaps give the child advanced time to read pre-selected reading
    material, to be practiced at home the day before. This will help ensure
    that the child is seen to be able to read out loud, along with other
    children
     Real books should also be available for paired reading with an adult,
    which will often generate enthusiasm for books. Story tapes can be of
    great benefit for the enjoyment and enhancement of vocabulary. No
    child should be denied the pleasure of gaining access to the meaning of
    print even if he cannot decode it fully.
     Remember reading should be fun.

    Spelling

     Many of the normal classroom techniques used to teach spellings do


    not help the dyslexic child. All pupils in the class can benefit from
    structured and systematic exposure to rules and patterns that underpin
    a language.
     Spelling rules can be given to the whole class. Words for class spelling
    tests are often topic based rather than grouped for structure. If there
    are one or two dyslexics in the class, a short list of structure-based
    words for their weekly spelling test, will be far more helpful than
    random words. Three or four irregular words can be included each

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    week, eventually this should be seen to improve their free-writing
    skills.
     All children should be encouraged to proof read, which can be useful
    for initial correction of spellings. Dyslexics seem to be unable to
    correct their spellings spontaneously as they write, but they can be
    trained to look out for errors that are particular to them.
     Remember, poor spelling is not an indication of low intelligence.

    Maths

     Maths has its own language, and this can be the root of many problems.
    Whilst some dyslexic students are good at maths, it has been estimated
    that around 90% of dyslexic children have problems in at least some
    areas of maths. General mathematical terminology words need to be
    clearly understood before they can be used in calculations, e.g. add,
    plus, sum of, increase and total, all describe a single mathematical
    process. Other related difficulties could be with visual/perceptual
    skills, directional confusion, sequencing, word skills and memory.
    Dyslexic students may have special difficulties with aspects of maths
    that require many steps or place a heavy load on the short-term
    memory, e.g. long division or algebra.
     The value of learning the skills of estimation cannot be too strongly
    stressed for the dyslexic child. Use and encourage the use of
    estimation. The child should be taught to form the habit of checking
    his answers against the question when he has finished the calculation,
    i.e. is the answer possible, sensible or ludicrous?
     When using mental arithmetic allow the dyslexic child to jot down the
    key number and the appropriate mathematical sign from the question.
     Encourage pupils to verbalize and to talk their way through each step
    of the problem. Many children find this very helpful.
     Teach the pupil how to use the times table square and encourage him to
    say his workings out as he uses it.

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     Encourage a dyslexic child to use a calculator. Make sure he fully
    understand how to use it. Ensure that he has been taught to estimate to
    check his calculations. This is a way of ‘proof reading’ what he does.
     Put key words on a card index system or on the inside cover of the
    pupils maths book so it can be used for reference and revision.
     Rehearse mathematical vocabulary constantly, using multi
    sensory/kinesthetic methods.
     Put the decimal point in red ink. It helps visual perception with the
    dyslexic child.

    Handwriting

     Reasons for poor handwriting at any age can be poor motor control,
    tension, badly formed letters, speed etc. A cursive joined style is most
    helpful to children with dyslexic problems. Encourage the children to
    study their writing and be self-critical. Get them to decide for
    themselves where faults lie and what improvements can be made, so
    that no resentment is built up at yet another person complaining about
    their written work.
     Discuss the advantages of good handwriting and the goals to be
    achieved with the class. Analyze common faults in writing, by writing
    a few well chosen words on the board for class comment.
     Make sure a small reference chart is available to serve as a constant
    reminder for the cursive script in upper and lower case.
     If handwriting practice is needed it is essential to use words that
    present no problem to the dyslexic child in terms of meaning or
    spelling.
     Improvement in handwriting skills can improve self confidence, which
    in turn reflects favorably throughout a pupil’s work.

    Marking

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     Credit for effort as well as achievement are both essential. This gives
    the pupil a better chance of getting a balanced mark. Creative writing
    should be marked on context.
     Spelling mistakes pinpointed should be those appropriate to the child’s
    level of spelling. Marking should be done in pencil and have positive
    comments.
     Try not to use red pens to mark the dyslexic child’s work. There’s
    nothing more disheartening for the child than to have work returned
    covered in red ink, when they’ve inevitably tried harder than their
    peers to produce the work.
     Only ask a pupil to rewrite a piece of work that is going to be
    displayed. Rewriting pages for no reason at all is soul destroying as
    usually much effort will have already been put into the original piece
    of work

    Homework

     By the end of a school day a dyslexic child is generally more tired than
    his peers because everything requires more thought, tasks take longer
    and nothing comes easily. More errors are likely to be made. Only set
    homework that will be of real benefit to the child.
     In allocating homework and exercises that may be a little different or
    less demanding, it is important to use tact. Self-esteem is rapidly
    undermined if a teacher is underlining the differences between those
    with difficulties and their peers. However, it should also be
    remembered that far more effort may be needed for a dyslexic child to
    complete the assignment than for their peers.
     Set a limit on time spent on homework, as often a dyslexic child will
    take a lot longer to produce the same work that another child with good
    literacy skills may produce easily

    Integration

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     A dyslexic child’s ability to write down thoughts and ideas will be
    quite different from the level of information the child can give
    verbally. For successful integration, the pupil must be able to
    demonstrate to the teacher that he knows the information and where he
    is in each subject. Be prepared to accept verbal descriptions as an
    alternative to written descriptions if appropriate.Alternative ways of
    recording should be looked at, such as :
    o The use of computers for word processing.
    o Audio tapes for recording lessons that can then be written up at
    a later stage.
    o Written record of the pupil’s verbal account, or voice activated
    software can be used.
     More time should be allocated for completion of work because of the
    extra time a dyslexic child needs for reading, planning, rewriting and
    proofreading their work.
     For a dyslexic child the feeling of being ‘different’ can be acute when
    faced with the obvious and very important need of ‘specialist’ help for
    his literacy and possibly mathematical skills. Some specialist methods
    can be incorporated into the classroom so all children can benefit from
    them, thus reducing the feeling of ‘difference’.

    Conclusion:

    In order to be able to teach, as far as possible, according to each child’s


    educational needs, it is essential to see him or her as a whole person,
    complete with individual strengths and weaknesses.

    An understanding of the pupil’s specific difficulties, and how they may affect
    the student’s classroom performance, can enable the teacher to adopt teaching
    methods and strategies to help the dyslexic child to be successfully integrated
    into the classroom environment.

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    Dyslexics have many strengths: oral skills, comprehension, good visual
    spatial awareness/artistic abilities. More and more dyslexic children could
    become talented and gifted members of our schools if we worked not only
    with their specific areas of difficulty, but also their specific areas of
    strengths from an early age. To do this we have to let go of outmoded
    viewpoints that a dyslexic child must first fail, in order to be identified.

    These are the children of our future and they have a right to help and support
    before they develop the dreadful sense of failure which is so insidious.

    Class teachers dealing with dyslexic children need to be flexible in their


    approach, so that they can, as far as possible, find a method that suits the
    pupil, rather than expecting that all pupils will learn in the same way.

    Above all, there must be an understanding from all who teach them, that they
    may have many talents and skills. Their abilities must not be measured purely
    on the basis of their difficulties in acquiring literacy skills. Dyslexic
    children, like all children, thrive on challenges and success.

     Source:- https://www.dyslexia.com/about-dyslexia/understanding-
    dyslexia/guide-for-classroom-teachers/

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    Strategies for Teachers

    Upon completion of this section, you will


     Acquire general recommendations for the classroom that enrich learning for
    beginning readers and writers
     Identify tips for the different parts of the reading process that enrich
    comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary
     Have ideas to use when teaching children with visual deficits
    Quicklinks
     Beginning readers
     General recommendations
     Comprehension and fluency
     Vocabulary
     Writing
     Students with visual deficits

    Sparking new ideas for your classroom

    Malcolm Alexander, the acclaimed dyslexic sculptor, tells a story about one of his
    teachers who made a difference. According to Malcolm, that teacher said, "When I

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    teach, when I look at a student's work, I always try to find something nice in it. And
    then go into the rest of it."

    This is a gift you can give all students, but particularly those who are dyslexic: find
    something positive, something they have done well, and acknowledge it. They will
    remember that comment — and you.

    As a teacher, you most likely already have a print-rich environment in your classroom.
    We know that all teachers, whether they are new to the profession or seasoned veterans,
    continue to look for suggestions and tweak their skills so they are better able to help their
    students.

    The following suggestions may spark a new idea for your classroom. The good news
    about honing one's teaching for individuals with dyslexia is that many of the strategies
    will be helpful to the typical learner as well. And, of importance, the strategies will be
    particularly helpful to any struggling readers and writers in your classroom.

    In addition to general recommendations, there are suggestions to promote phonological


    awareness skills, reading comprehension and fluency, vocabulary development, oral
    reading, comprehension of written directions, spelling, and writing. As always, choose
    the strategies and activities that best fit your students, your classroom, and you.

    Some general recommendations for teachers of beginning readers and


    writers
    1. Make personalized books and stories with the student’s name and photos.
    Alternatively, have him or her dictate a story and draw pictures, which an adult can
    then transcribe and bind with a cover.
    2. Increase print awareness by asking your student to look for everything he/she can
    find with writing (i.e. McDonald’s sign, labels, and packages).
    3. Provide multisensory experiences for students related to each book that they read,
    such as using stories and coloring pages (available with a story teller guide).
    4. Choose rhyming books with high repetition of words and phrases.
    5. Dramatically pause to allow students to fill in the refrain as you are reading.
    6. Play sound matching games. For example, say, “Let’s think of as many things as
    we can that start with Mmmm.” Your student might say “Mouse, moo, milk.” If your
    student has difficulty, give him or her clues. Say: “We drink mmmmm.” Wait two
    seconds and then provide the answer (“milk”).
    7. Increase the repertoire of shapes your student draws to include circles, triangles,
    squares, and various facial features, such as eyes and a mouth.

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    8. Increase the repertoire of letters your student writes to include all the letters in the
    alphabet and numbers up to 10.
    9. Guide your student’s drawing and writing by placing your hand on top of his or
    her hand. Gradually fade the level of assistance.

    General recommendations
    1. During times when other students are independently working on class work, the
    student should have the option to work in a study carrel with headphones to eliminate
    distractions.
    2. Allow extra time to complete tests.
    3. Provide a regular study buddy whom the student sits next to in class.
    4. Give “THINK TIME” before answering a question. This can be done by
    presenting a question and then pausing or by coming back to the student after a little
    while and repeating the question. Alternatively, have multiple students answer the
    same question. In this way, several models are provided.
    5. Provide opportunities for writing and spelling every day, in a variety of formats,
    such as writing in a journal, sending an email, writing or copying a list of homework
    activities, writing on a large wall calendar, writing thank you letters, or archiving
    items in a collection.
    6. Explicitly teach organization and planning skills for completing and tracking
    homework. Instruct students how to break down large projects into smaller tasks.
    7. Improve word retrieval for naming through participation in one or more of these
    games: Scattegories, Taboo, Guesstures, Password, Scrabble, logic puzzles, rebus
    puzzles, Catch-Phrase, UpWords, Tribond, Plexers, crosswords and other word
    puzzles.
    8. Give manipulatives (things to touch and move around) whenever possible to work
    on math related to time, money, or fractions.
    9. Explicitly and systematically teach math to students with dyslexia (including
    models of proficient problem solving, verbalization of thought processes, guided
    practice, corrective feedback, and frequent cumulative review). Dyslexia and
    Mathematics Second Edition edited by T. R. Miles and Elaine Miles, 1992, and The
    Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Guide for Assisting Students Struggling with
    Mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for Elementary and Middle Schools
    provide more information.

    Recommendations to support reading comprehension and fluency for


    classroom materials

    Before reading

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    1. Preview the title, pictures, chapter names, and bold-faced words in order to make
    a prediction.
    2. Connect new information to previously learned information by talking about a
    personal experience related to the theme.
    3. Verbalize or write questions prior to reading the text.
    4. Discuss reading schemas for different types of textbooks (i.e. compare math and
    history). Highlight salient information that each genre addresses. Visual webs are
    useful for the student to preview and complete as they encounter key information.
    5. Pre-teach key vocabulary for a particular unit or chapter before introducing the
    text.
    6. Pre-teach themes or background information (i.e. historical context) for reading
    fiction.
    7. Explicitly teach “how to use” the table of contents, glossary, index, headings,
    sidebars, charts, captions, and review questions in a text book.

    During reading
    1. Provide a set of textbooks for the student to take home and to highlight.
    2. Assign class readings a week ahead of time for students to preview. This will
    improve attention and comprehension.
    3. Provide audio recordings for the student to use while reading the text.
    o Books on tape and audio equipment may be obtained, free of charge,
    through the National Library Service.
    o A large range of books are already scanned and available for free through
    Bookshare.
    4. Give the student a choice of what to read within selected genres, topics, and
    themes. High interest reading facilitates comprehension and reading for pleasure. In
    addition to classroom learning, the “curriculum” should cultivate the students’
    interests and strengths (both in and outside of the classroom). The Time on My Hands
    and Affinities checklists at All Kinds of Minds may be helpful in guiding the student
    to high-interest reading materials.
    5. Make texts at a variety of reading levels available so that students can read
    fluently but also be slightly challenged (the appropriate instructional level).
    6. Allow the student to use text-to-speech software for information on the computer.
    o This may be established by setting preferences on a Macintosh computer.
    o Text-to-speech software is available through a free trial over at CNET.
    o A scanner with OCR (optical character recognition) may be used to scan
    textbooks onto the computer.

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    7. Model self-monitoring skills with the following questions: “Does what I’m
    reading make sense?” “What do I think will happen next?” “Are there any words that I
    don’t know?” “Can I figure out what the words mean from the sentences around
    them?”
    8. Encourage sub-vocalization of the text and self-monitoring questions.
    9. Model active engagement with the text through visualization of the scene (i.e.
    trying to make a “photograph” of the word in his/her mind’s eye while enhancing
    visual features), highlighting, note taking, or jotting down a question.
    10. Train students to silently read at various rates depending on the purpose; for
    example, skimming to find a particular term or to get the main idea or gist vs. reading
    more carefully for directions or comprehension of key concept.
    11. Encourage multiple readings of a text.
    12. Provide templates for students to jot down notes and key concepts as they read
    (i.e. a story line, visual web, or list of WH-questions).
    o If a student is reading a chapter book or novel, one template should be
    completed for each scene or chapter.
    o Pre-made templates are available for free at Inspiration Software. These
    can be customized as well. Many teachers have made their Inspiration
    units/lessons available on the web.
    13. Bolster comprehension of idioms and more abstract language through reading the
    scripts of everyday conversations on Randall’s Listening Lab. Students can listen to
    the conversation as they read. Key vocabulary is highlighted and defined.

    Supporting vocabulary while reading


    1. Log unfamiliar words in a personal dictionary that includes the sentence that
    contains the word, page number, a guess about the meaning, the pronunciation, a
    dictionary definition, and a new sentence using the word.
    2. Improve vocabulary for written and verbal expression by forming associations
    between words, paraphrasing, and elaborating on an idea.
    3. Teach prefixes, suffixes, and root words to students to improve spelling,
    decoding, and comprehension.
    4. Give ample opportunities to practice writing target words. The student might be
    asked to say them, or use them in sentences or a story.
    5. Look up unfamiliar words with an electronic speller that has speech output (such
    as the Franklin Speller) or a web-based dictionary. For example, Dictionary.com
    provides the pronunciation and definition of a word.

    After reading

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    1. Verbalize or write the answers to the pre-reading questions and share the answers
    with a friend or family member.
    2. Compose an alternative ending for the story or write a sequel.
    3. Act out key scenes from a text or give “How To” demonstrations for kinesthetic
    learners.
    4. Challenge students to draw inferences from the text (i.e. "How do you think the
    main character feels?" "Do you think it will be harder to stop a heavier or lighter
    object traveling at the same velocity?").

    Oral reading
    1. Increase reading fluency through a “reading apprenticeship” incorporating the
    following elements:
    1. Models of fluent reading.
    2. Repetition of the same passage, until reading is fluent.
    3. Dramatic readings (i.e. skits, poetry, and speeches).
    4. Regular tracking and graphing of reading rate and fluency.
    2. See Read Naturally for a systematic program that incorporates choral reading
    (reading at the same time as a fluent reader), repetitions, and tracking of reading
    fluency.
    3. For more information on reading apprenticeships, see The Fluent Reader: Oral
    Reading Strategies for Building Word Recognition, Fluency, and Comprehension, by
    Timothy Rasinski.

    Supporting comprehension of written directions


    1. Present less written material per page with no more than two directions in a
    sentence. Double spacing and bullets or numbers are also helpful.
    2. Provide additional time to take tests.
    3. Assist the student in breaking apart the written directions into smaller steps.
    4. Check for comprehension of the directions.
    5. Both auditory and written instructions should be provided.
    6. Sub-rehearse (quietly or silently repeating) the directions to keep them in working
    memory long enough to complete them.

    Recommendations to support writing in school


    1. Increase phonetic spelling of unfamiliar words by counting the number of sounds
    in a word, and then correlating the sounds with letters.
    2. Explicitly teach phonics rules and review them multiple times.

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    3. Provide a disproportionate amount of positive feedback for writing (relative to
    correction). Students should be praised for words that are spelled phonetically and
    accurately.
    4. Use Kidspiration, Inspiration or other webbing strategies for planning.
    5. Institute delays that require the student to wait 5 minutes before starting a writing
    task. The student should be instructed to spend those 5 minutes planning.
    6. Explicitly teach the elements of writing narratives or essays.
    7. Brainstorm key vocabulary prior to writing.
    8. Provide a focused spelling program such as Spellography to work on learning
    specific morphological, semantic and mental orthographic spelling rules.
    9. Group words into word families with multiple exemplars of each phonetic pattern.
    10. Provide models of “good essays” for struggling writers to use as a template.
    11. Dictate stories with an audio recording or dictation software.
    12. Emphasize the need to write in “stages” rather than completing a long narrative in
    one sitting. The stages should include: planning, writing, and revision.
    13. Teach mnemonic devices for editing such as: SCOPE (spelling, organization,
    order of words, punctuation, and expresses a complete thought)
    14. Instruct students to create an alternate ending for a familiar story, make a modern
    day story historic, or create a comic strip of two of the characters having a
    conversation.
    15. Use word prediction software such as Co:Writer for improving spelling and
    complex sentence structure.
    16. Text-to-speech software and word processing should be available for editing
    written work.
    17. Encourage students to keep a journal. To increase motivation, visual images
    should be added to each page (i.e. “things found” throughout the day: maps, photos, or
    clippings from a magazine or the internet).
    18. Improve penmanship with a larger pen or pencil grip and raised-line paper.
    19. Practice handwriting using the following low-tech strategies: pencil grips, paper
    with raised lines and a slant board.

    Recommendations for students with visual deficits


    1. Encourage students to use a line guide as he/she is reading, to avoid skipping
    lines.
    2. Use cut-out window for completing math worksheets.
    3. Give visual pictures for commonly reversed or flipped letters: (i.e. “Which way
    does the “b”/ “d” go in “bed?”).

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    4. Utilize a highlighter for key words, concepts, and/or directions when presented
    with written material.
    5. Give visual images to associate with problematic sounds such as “short a” and “e”
    (i.e. Does the “e” in “bed” sound like a “short e” in “elephant” or a “long e” in
    “eagle?" "Does the “a” in “angel” sound like the “short a” in “alligator” or the “long
    a” in “ape?”).
    6. Encourage students to keep a copy of a “letter shaping card” in his/her school
    supplies and homework supplies for an easy reference.

    Source:- http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/professionals/dyslexia-school/strategies-
    for-teachers

    10 Teaching Tips for Dyslexia


     1. Praise Gives Power Criticism Kills

    A person with dyslexia needs a boost to their self-confidence before they can learn to
    overcome their difficulties. They have already experienced failure and deep down they
    often don’t believe they are capable of learning.

    To re-establish self-confidence provide the opportunity to succeed and give praise for
    small achievements.

    2. Don’t ask person with dyslexia to read aloud

    Words are likely to be misread or skipped, causing embarrassment.

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     3. Don’t give a punishment for forgetting books or sports kit

    Offer positive strategies such as having one place to put things away.

     4. Don’t use the word ‘lazy’

    People with dyslexia have to work harder to produce a smaller amount.

    They will have difficulty staying focused when reading, writing or listening.

    5. Expect less written work

    A person with dyslexia may be verbally bright but struggle to put ideas into writing.

    Allow more time for reading, listening and understanding.

     6. Prepare a printout of homework and stick it in their book

    Provide numbered steps, e.g. 1. Do this. 2. Do that etc.

     7. Do not ask them to copy text from a board or book

    Give a printout. Suggest they highlight key areas and draw thumbnail pictures in the
    margin to represent the most important points.

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    8. Accept homework created on a computer

    Physical handwriting is torture for most people with dyslexia. Word processors make life
    much easier. Allow them to use the Spell checker and help with grammar and
    punctuation so that you can see the quality of the content.

     9. Discuss an activity to make sure it is understood

    Visualising the activity or linking it to a funny action may help someone with dyslexia
    remember.

     10. Give the opportunity to answer questions orally

    Often people with dyslexia can demonstrate their understanding with a spoken answer but
    are unable with to put those ideas in writing.

     Source:- https://www.nessy.com/uk/teachers/essential-teaching-tips-dyslexia/

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    A confession: I get a significant thrill from reading research that confirms my
    personal suspicions. This happened recently when I dug into some studies about
    reading and achievement.  According to the National Assessment of Educational
    Progress (NAEP), not only does the amount of reading “for fun” outside of school
    directly correlate to academic achievement, but there are numerous other studies
    to demonstrate that there is no better way to increase vocabulary than
    independent reading.

    The NAEP study does not distinguish whether the higher achievement scores of
    students who read more reflected an increased exposure to more words or the
    specific act of decoding, but I would argue that it is the former.  It is hard to
    imagine that the mechanics related to reading are responsible for these academic
    gains.  We know that good thinkers need words, and reading is a gateway into the
    world of words and ideas.  Therefore it would follow that how one gathers words
    is less important than how many words one gathers.

    What does this mean for dyslexics?  Reading is harder and slower for
    dyslexic students. Consequently, they typically read less.  If they are to keep up
    with their peers academically, then it is imperative to find additional ways to
    expose them to as many words and ideas as possible.

    This is a challenge.  Dyslexics often encounter a gap between their reading level
    and their intellectual level.  This can turn them off of reading altogether.  They
    don’t want to read “baby books”.  Some handle this by faking engagement with
    thick sophisticated titles while others decide that they don’t like to read at all and
    avoid it completely.  Both can be disastrous responses.  Fortunately, there are a

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    few tried and true tricks for building word power for elementary students with
    dyslexia. 

    Many Ways to Read

    We all agree that children benefit from exposure to stories for their content,
    structure, and new vocabularies.  But reading independently is not the only way
    to gain access to stories. 

    Read Aloud: There are few things as powerful for encouraging a love of reading
    as a well-read story.  This goes for all children.  It is never too early to start
    reading books to children (and surprisingly, they are rarely too old to enjoy the
    act of being read to).  In Naked Reading: Uncovering What Tweens Need to
    Become Lifelong Readers, Teri Lesesne cites Becoming a Nation of Readers, a
    study that was commissioned to examine reading in the United States, to make
    her own case for why teachers
    should not abandon reading to
    their classes once their students
    become independent readers. 
    According to the study, reading

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    aloud was the single most effective activity for building to eventual success in
    reading.

    Listening to books read aloud allows students to have access to stories that are
    out of their reading range but within their comprehension zone. Even the most
    rigorous high school English teachers understand the power
    and potential of reading aloud to their classes. It also gives
    teachers an opportunity to model oral reading skills like
    fluency, proper pronounciation, and oral expression. These
    conditions serve all students, but they are critical to
    dyslexics.  Dyslexics particularly benefit when they visually
    track with the reader as much as possible. 

    “Reading along” gives the listening student an increased


    exposure to the look of words and makes explicit the process
    of converting letter combinations to sounds.  In classrooms,
    using an “Elmo” gives the entire class a way to follow along
    with the text.  In one-on-one situations, something as simple
    as sitting next to the child serves the same purpose. 

    Reading aloud also helps develop the building blocks of


    reading comprehension.  Students are able to discover new
    vocabulary, formulate predictions, and make outside

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    connections. When children are read to they usually ask questions.  Their
    questions help to clarify what they are taking in and allow them to make meaning
    with someone else.  It’s like having their own built-in book club. Having access to
    a discussion partner actually gives them an advantage over their silent-reading
    peers.  Many more able readers will rip through stacks of books without pausing
    for reflection or questioning, thus reducing the potential for grasping many of the
    ideas or cultural/ literary references in the story.  Students who are read to
    actually have a unique opportunity to discuss and question along the way.

    Things to think about with read aloud:  Read aloud is powerful because of
    the opportunity to model reading fluency and expression.  Consequently, the
    reader should be comfortable and familiar with the text.  Previewing allows the
    adult reader to know the overarching architecture of the story and the
    personalities of the individual characters so that they can employ appropriate
    voice and tone.  Also, many teachers confuse reading aloud with a round robin
    student read.  Unfortunately, round robin reads are often very stressful for
    student readers (they obsess and rehearse their turn instead of listening to the
    story).  It is also typically a choppy and fragmented version of the story and not
    effective for encouraging focus and engagement. 

    Recorded Books:  Listening to audiobooks is a way to deliver words and ideas


    to a child with limited access to an adult reader.  Recorded books are wonderful,
    particularly when authors or professional actors read them.  Listening to stories
    being read aloud by master storytellers goes a long way to cultivate a love of
    literature.  The drawbacks are that the child cannot ask questions or engage with
    the recorded storyteller and it is more difficult to follow along with the words. 
    Additionally, recorded books also make it more difficult to maneuver around the
    pages (relocating a passage or a reference requires skill and patience).  Despite
    these drawbacks, recorded books remain a great supplemental way to keep a
    dyslexic reader well supplied with rich stories. 

    Vocabulary Building

    Standardized tests, humanities teachers, and the culture at large reward those
    with a strong vocabulary.  On a subtle level, vocabulary is often used as an

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    unconscious gauge to determine someone’s level of
    intelligence.  But much less subtly, having a strong working
    vocabulary helps one make meaning from the oral and
    written world. 

    It should be no surprise that dyslexic students struggle with written vocabulary. 


    Often complex words are challenging because of difficult pronunciations. 
    Dyslexic students may even know the written word when used in a context or
    read aloud, but on a written word list it means nothing.  Teachers often deliver
    vocabulary in unimaginative and problematic ways, but the good news is there
    are many ways to supplement vocabulary instruction that will help every dyslexic
    child get more out of word studies. 

    Illustrating New words: Vocabulary instruction is best when it involves


    having students draw a symbolic or realistic representation of the word.  It
    requires them to make meaning from a word in a way that memorization of a
    definition does not.  One can’t fake a picture.  The first step in generating an
    illustration involves grasping the meaning or the context of the word.  It doesn’t
    require artistic skill, but it does require thinking deeply.  Creating the image also
    stores the word’s meaning in a different part of the brain, generating a visual
    association.  Having students make pictorial flashcards can be a helpful strategy.
    Making a little drawing next to the word and its definition is another good
    practice. 

    Standardized Test Preparation:  Publishers of test prep books are starting to


    catch on to the power of imagery to create additional associations for memorizing
    words.  There are many vocabulary book and flashcards available now that are
    organized around images and cartoons.  These tools can be helpful for dyslexic
    students preparing for standardized tests. 

    Acting Out a Word: Dyslexics also benefit from acting out words.  Having to
    bring a word to life is a little like a game of charades.  The beauty of the game is
    that it requires the actor to understand the word in a deep way.  Acting out the
    meaning of a word is particularly helpful to a child who is a tactile learner (one

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    who learns through using his body), but everyone benefits from creating
    additional associations for words.

    Writing a story using vocabulary words:  It is amazing what a random


    word list can do to spark a child’s creativity.  When students are asked to use all
    the words on their vocabulary list to write a story, not only do they need to
    understand all the words in context, but students often come up with some very
    imaginative tales.  Dyslexics remember things much better when the information
    has a context or a narrative attached.

    Context, Context, Context


    If there is an overall theme to building word power for dyslexics, it is this: context
    matters.  Dyslexic students understand and remember information by relating
    facts to larger ideas.  In order for information to be understood and remembered,
    it needs to be attached to an idea.  It’s no wonder that studies indicate that
    students who read a lot do better academically and have superior vocabularies. 
    Stories are wonderful for offering a context that supports memory and meaning
    for all students.

    It is sobering, but not surprising, to know that how much time one spends
    reading influences academic achievement.  However, it is also a great relief to
    know that there are many ways to gather words even when reading is not easy. 
    Dyslexic children usually need additional support in their quest to find a way to
    gain access to the world of words, but in most cases, all that is required is an
    alternative path. 

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    Source:- http://dyslexia.yale.edu/EDU_wordvocab.html

    37 Ways to Help Students with Dyslexia Flourish in


    the Mainstream Classroom
    Minds in Bloom is excited to present Anne-Marie of Bay Tree Blog , who is
    giving us a TON of great tips on teaching students with dyslexia.

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    You work so hard. You’re dynamite with your students. You spend hours
    preparing your classroom activities. And yet, your hard work isn’t paying off
    for all of your students. You’re not alone. Most classroom teachers have a
    small handful of students who misspell words, struggle to memorize math
    facts, or hate to read out loud. Sound familiar? Chances are good that some of
    these students have dyslexia.

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    Dyslexia is a loaded word.

     There are lots of misconceptions and misunderstandings about this condition. Maybe
    you’ve heard a few of these myths?

     People with dyslexia see words backwards.

     Only boys are impacted by dyslexia.


     People with dyslexia are less intelligent.
     Dyslexia is caused by bad teaching.
     People with dyslexia can’t learn to read.

    Here’s what we know to be true.

    Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability that can impact reading,


    writing, and spelling. People with dyslexia struggle to match up letters with
    their sounds. Typical learners use the temporal-occipital lobe to read.
    Individuals with dyslexia use different neural pathways and different areas of
    the brain to read. As a result, reading is often slow and inaccurate.

     I’m going to be honest with you: dyslexia interventions are time-intensive. As an


    educational therapist, I frequently schedule over 100 sessions per year with individual
    students. You probably have 25 other students in your classroom, lessons to plan, and
    homework packets to correct. So, the question is…

     What can you do right now to reach the students in your classroom who struggle with
    dyslexia?

     Thirty-seven things, actually. Well, you don’t have to do all of them once! But seriously,
    I hope that as you read this list, a few items pop out at you, and you’re able to add one or
    two more instruments to your toolbox.

    Explicit Instruction

    1. Make directions clear. Kids with dyslexia often can’t remember


    multi-step or complex directions.   Speak briefly and clearly, and always
    provide written directions. Try this: Video yourself for an hour and see how
    you can tighten up your delivery.
    2. Get students interacting! To ensure that all of your students are
    engaged, require frequent responses from students. Kids with dyslexia have
    perfected how to fly under the radar.   This will also allow you to provide
    immediate corrective and positive feedback.

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    3. Build in review. To help students retain information, check for
    mastery before jumping into a new topic.

    Reading

    1. Use an Orton-Gillingham-based reading program. Orton-


    Gillingham  is explicit, systematic, and multi-sensory. It works. Other good
    programs: Lindamood-Bell , RAVE-O , Slingerland , Wilson , and Barton . Many
    classroom teachers successfully use  Fundations  for whole class instruction.
    2. Act on your suspicions. If you have concerns about a student’s
    reading progress, refer him or her for appropriate services. Kids don’t
    outgrow dyslexia! Early intervention can change the way the brain reads,
    preventing decades of struggle.
    3. Use audiobooks, too. Audiobooks allow all students to access
    the curriculum. They help students build background knowledge,
    comprehension skills, and vocabulary. Audio books can be found at  Learning
    Ally and Bookshare .
    4. Teach phonemic awareness. All students in kindergarten, first,
    and second grade need daily phonemic awareness instruction. Phonemic
    awareness creates the foundation for long-term success in reading and
    spelling. Here are two fantastic programs:  Phonemic Awareness in Young
    Children  and Road to the Code .

    5. Read aloud to students. This is the perfect way to develop


    vocabulary and explicitly model reading comprehension strategies. Even
    better, you can demonstrate your love of books.
    6. Teach phonics. New readers and older students who struggle to
    decode need help. Make sure students know their letter sounds and can blend
    sounds together.

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    7. Teach reading fluency. Once students have mastered basic
    phonics and decoding skills, make sure they can read with grade level speed
    and accuracy.
    8. Monitor reading progress. One straightforward way to monitor
    progress and spot problems is the DIBELS  program.
    9. Use speech-to-text software. With headphones and a computer,
    students can “read with their ears,” regaining independence. Here are two
    videos on how to set this up for PC  and for Mac .
    10. Don’t require students to read aloud. Many adults with dyslexia
    vividly describe the shame they felt when they read in front of the class as
    children.

    Writing

    1. Teach specific strategies.  Decades of research have


    demonstrated that one method, Self-Regulated Strategy Development,
    produces significant improvements in students’ writing. (Graham & Harris,
    2005). This book  will save you hours preparing your writing lessons.

    1. Give credit for graphic organizer use. Do you have students with great
    ideas, but their writing is unclear?   Show the class how to use graphic
    organizers. If you give credit for  thoughtfully filled out graphic organizers,
    your students will buy in!

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    2. Use speech-to-text software. Make sure handwriting and spelling
    challenges don’t get in the way of students expressing their ideas. Say
    goodbye to resistance to writing.  Dragon Dictate  is popular.
    3. Teach handwriting. Research has shown that elementary students who
    write legibly automatically write longer and better compositions (Graham,
    Bernginer, Abbott, Abbott, & Whitaker, 1997).
    4. Teach spelling. Spelling instruction needs to continue through seventh
    grade, according to researchers (Jushi, Treiman, Carreker, & Moats, 2008).
    Here are some of the best programs for providing explicit, differentiated
    instruction: Spellography , Spelling Through Patterns , and Words Their Way .
    5. Use Ginger. Students with dyslexia sometimes can’t effectively use the
    built-in spell checker because spell checkers are designed for fixing typos.
    Programs like Ginger  correct severe spelling mistakes.
    6. Help students with persistent letter reversals.  In my article, What
    Tigers Can Teach Us About Letter Reversals , I explain why letter reversals
    happen and how to help students avoid them. I also offer a  free workbook  of
    activities for eliminating letter reversals in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

    Math

    1. Teach with manipulatives. Kids with dyslexia don’t always


    understand symbols immediately. You can use manipulatives like base-10
    blocks to teach basic math operations. Avoid rote learning like the plague.
    2. Write accessible word problems. Use straightforward language
    with simple vocabulary and short sentences.
    3. Spend more time teaching math facts.  Mastery of math facts
    frees up working memory for other cognitive demands.
    4. Use graph paper. Sometimes kids with dyslexia have a hard time
    lining up their numbers.
    5. Try alternate methods for teaching math facts. Many of my
    students finally learned their math facts with the Schoolhouse Rock songs.
    6. Avoid timed math drills. Timed tasks send anxiety levels
    skyrocketing. You can use the same tests and turn off the timer. Some kids
    prefer to be tested privately so they can’t compare themselves to others.
    7. Provide calculators. I recommend allowing students to use
    calculators once they’ve demonstrated conceptual proficiency and fact
    fluency. This will free up working memory so they can do higher level work.
    8. Invest in programs designed for all kinds of learners. I’ve found
    the Making Math Real  and Jump Math  programs helpful.

    Social-Emotional

    1. Teach to strengths. Students with dyslexia often have


    pronounced strengths in big picture thinking, problem solving, creativity, and
    design. Check out the Strengths Assessment  from Headstrong Nation to find
    out where your students shine.

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    2. Emphasize problem solving and critical thinking.  Try
    some of Rachel’s fabulous tips .
    3. Read books that feature characters who learn differently.
    Here are a few of my student’s favorites:  The   Dunderheads , Tacky the
    Penguin , Thank You, Mr. Falker , Percy Jackson , Two Minute Drill .

    1. Build rapport. Students with dyslexia are hungry for approval.


    Make a point to greet students daily and connect about their personal
    interests.
    2. Call home with good news. This is powerful reinforcement that
    students with dyslexia rarely get.
    3. Feature all student work. Some of my students have never had
    their work displayed or held up as an example of good work.
    4. Be on the lookout for bullying, and stop it.

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    5. Help students build community.  Kids with dyslexia need to
    know that they are not alone.  Eye to Eye  is a national mentoring organization
    that pairs college students and elementary-aged students with learning
    disabilities.
    6. Empathize. Motivate your students by helping them feel
    understood and respected. On my website, I share my favorite strategies
    for building empathy .

    Thank you, Rachel, for helping me share these tips and strategies!

    P.S. – If you found some of the suggestions on this list helpful, you may also
    enjoy using my free resource book on letter reversals,  The Eliminating Letter
    Reversals Workbook for b and d . Each activity in the book includes concise
    teacher instructions and full-color worksheets. Please enjoy!

    Anne-Marie Morey provides tools and strategies for educators who teach kids
    with learning differences at Bay Tree Blog . A Board Certified Educational
    Therapist, she runs a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. She
    loves to help students with learning disabilities build foundational academic
    and life skills.

    Source:- http://minds-in-bloom.com/37-ways-to-help-students-with-dyslexia/

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    Teaching Students with ADHD
    Helping Students with Attention Deficit Disorder Succeed at School

    If you’re a teacher, you know these kids: The one who stares out the window,
    substituting the arc of a bird in flight for her math lesson. The one who wouldn’t
    be able to keep his rear end in the chair if you used Krazy Glue. The one who
    answers the question, “Who can tell me what the 6th Amendment guarantees?”
    with “Mrs. M, do you dye your hair?”

    Students who exhibit ADHD’s hallmark symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity,


    and impulsivity can be frustrating. You know the brainpower is there, but they just
    can’t seem to focus on the material you’re working hard to deliver. Plus, their
    behaviors take time away from instruction and disrupt the whole class.

    Challenges of ADHD in the classroom

    Think of what the school setting requires children to do: Sit still. Listen quietly.
    Pay attention. Follow instructions. Concentrate. These are the very things kids
    with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) have a hard time
    doing—not because they aren’t willing, but because their brains won’t let them.
    That doesn’t make teaching them any easier, of course.

    Challenges created by students with ADHD:

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     They demand attention by talking out of turn or moving around the room;
    they don’t pull their weight during group work and may even keep a group
    from accomplishing its task.
     They have trouble following instructions, especially when they’re
    presented in a list, and with operations that require ordered steps, such as
    long division or solving equations.
     They often forget to write down homework assignments, do them, or bring
    completed 
    work to school.
     They often lack fine motor control, which makes note-taking difficult and
    handwriting a 
    trial to read.
     They usually have problems with long-term projects where there is no
    direct supervision.

    Students with ADHD pay the price for their problems in low grades, scolding and
    punishment, teasing from peers, and low self-esteem. Meanwhile, you, the
    teacher, wind up taking complaints from parents who feel their kids are being
    cheated of your instruction and feeling guilty because you can’t reach the child
    with ADHD.

    How teachers can help children with ADHD

    So how do you teach a kid who won’t settle down and listen? The answer: with a
    lot of patience, creativity, and consistency. As a teacher, your role is to evaluate
    each child’s individual needs and strengths. Then you can develop strategies that
    will help students with ADHD focus, stay on task, and learn to their full
    capabilities.

    Successful programs for children with ADHD integrate the following


    three components:
    1. Accommodations: what you can do to make learning easier for students
    with ADHD.
    2. Instruction: the methods you use in teaching.
    3. Intervention: How you head off behaviors that disrupt concentration or
    distract other students.

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    Your most effective tool, however, in helping a student with ADHD is a positive
    attitude. Make the student your partner by saying, “Let’s figure out ways together
    to help you get your work done.” Assure the student that you’ll be looking for
    good behavior and quality work and when you see it, reinforce it with immediate
    and sincere praise. Finally, look for ways to motivate a student with ADHD by
    offering rewards on a point or token system.

    Dealing with disruptive classroom behavior

    To head off behavior that takes time from other students, work out a couple of
    warning signals with the student who has ADHD. This can be a hand signal, an
    unobtrusive shoulder squeeze, or a sticky note on the student’s desk. If you have
    to discuss the student’s behavior, do so in private. And try to ignore mildly
    inappropriate behavior if it’s unintentional and isn’t distracting other students or
    disrupting the lesson.

    Accommodating students with ADHD in the classroom

    As a teacher, you can make changes in the classroom to help minimize the
    distractions and
    disruptions of ADHD.

    Seating

    Seat the student with ADHD away from windows and the door, right in front of
    your desk unless that would be a distraction for the student.

    Seats in rows, with focus on the teacher, usually work better than having students
    seated around tables or facing one another in other arrangements.

    Information delivery

    Give instructions one at a time and repeat as necessary. If possible, work on the
    most difficult material early in the day.

    Use visuals: charts, pictures, color coding. Create outlines for note-taking that
    organize the information as you deliver it.

    Student work

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    Create a quiet area free of distractions for test-taking and quiet study.

    Reduce the number of timed tests. Test the student with ADHD in the way he or
    she does best, such as orally or filling in blanks; give frequent short quizzes
    rather than long tests.

    Let the student do as much work as possible on computer. Show him or her how to
    use a pointer or bookmark to track written words on a page.

    Divide long-term projects into segments and assign a completion goal for each
    segment. Create worksheets and tests with fewer items

    Accept late work and give partial credit for partial work.

    Organization

    Have the student keep a master binder with a separate section for each subject,
    and make sure everything that goes into the notebook is put in the correct
    section. Color-code materials for each subject.

    Provide a three-pocket notebook insert for homework assignments, completed


    homework, and “mail” to parents (permission slips, PTA flyers).

    Make sure the student has a system for writing down assignments and important
    dates and uses it. Allow time for the student to organize materials and
    assignments for home. Post steps for getting ready to go home.

    Teaching techniques for students with ADHD

    Teaching techniques that help students with ADHD focus and maintain their
    concentration on your lesson and their work can be beneficial to the entire class.

    Starting a lesson

    Signal the start of a lesson with an aural cue, such as an egg timer, a cowbell or a
    horn. (You can use subsequent cues to show much time remains in a lesson.)

    Establish eye contact with any student who has ADHD and list the activities of the
    lesson on the board.              

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    In opening the lesson, tell students what they’re going to learn and what your
    expectations are. Tell students exactly what materials they’ll need.

    Conducting the lesson

    Keep instructions simple and structured. Use props, charts, and other visual aids.

    Vary the pace and include different kinds of activities. Many students with ADHD
    do well with competitive games or other activities that are rapid and intense.

    Have an unobtrusive cue set up with the student who has ADHD, such as a touch
    on the shoulder or placing a sticky note on the student’s desk, to remind the
    student to stay on task.

    Allow a student with ADHD frequent breaks and let him or her squeeze a rubber
    ball or tap something that doesn’t make noise as a physical outlet. Try not to ask
    a student with ADHD perform a task or answer a question publicly that might be
    too difficult.

    Ending the lesson

    Summarize key points. If you give an assignment, have three different students
    repeat it, then have the class say it in unison, and put it on the board.

    Be specific about what to take home.

    Source:- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/teaching-
    students-with-adhd-attention-deficit-disorder.htm

    Preparing for Employment and Careers for Intellectually


    Disabled Students

    Employment is a big step for children with intellectual disabilities. This article describes
    the curriculum and process for employment preparation for students with intellectual
    disabilities.

    Why Employment Preparation?

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    Children with intellectual disabilities may not be able to go through the regular
    educational system that prepares them for careers and jobs. They may not be able to cope
    with high school or college.

    Preparing for Employment and Careers for Intellectually Disabled Students

    School always provides a very fun and supportive environment for a child. At school,
    teachers accept the child’s work, and always appreciate them for it, irrespective of how good
    it actually is. Special children especially are given a lot of space and are allowed to do what
    is comfortable for them. This is great for a special child; however, this means that they need
    additional training to be able to integrate into regular work. This is why it is important for
    children to be a part of pre-vocational training before they are ready for employment.

     Areas of Preparation

    Some of the aspects that are covered in employment preparation for students with
    intellectual disabilities are:
    Functional Literacy:
    Children may require training in basic literacy. Sight reading, identifying their name and
    writing it, identifying and writing their address are some of the tasks.
    Functional Math:
    Children will require training in simple calculations, use of a calculator, counting,
    sorting, arranging in numerical order etc. Skills in weighing, and measuring are also very
    useful.

    Work behaviors:
    Children will require training in producing neat and quality work, punctuality and
    regularity, reporting once a task is completed, correct use and maintenance of tools and
    other materials. They also need to know and learn about the behavior that is expected at
    the workplace.

     Social skills:
    Children will need to learn to relate to their supervisor and colleagues, ask and answer
    questions and build relationships with others. In addition, the child must be taught to
    accept criticism from the supervisor and to express frustration in an acceptable way.

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    Exposure to different occupations and work tasks:
    While preparing for employment, the child must be exposed to a variety of work tasks.
    This will help teachers and family to understand more about the aptitude and skills of the
    child.

    Steps to Integrate Into Employment

    Employment is a huge change for a child with an intellectual disability, and a child needs
    to be prepared for it physically, mentally as well as emotionally. A lot of encouragement
    and psychological support is required at this time. Discussions with the child, teachers,
    parents and other professionals will help choose the right type of employment for the
    child.You can also use special curriculums to train and teach children.
    Another important aspect is good communication with the future employer. If the
    employer can understand the needs, strengths and weaknesses of the child, it will help the
    child have a positive experience at work. Even after starting work, regular follow up and
    discussions with the child and the employer will help the child be successful at work.
    Teachers and parents have an important role to play in employment preparation for
    students with intellectual disabilities. Devoting six months to two years to this task, will
    help a child comfortably integrate into regular work.
    Source:- http://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-neurological-disorders/75447-
    preparing-students-with-intellectual-disabilities-for-employment/

    Previous Article / Next Article

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    Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual
    Disabilities: Emerging Standards, Quality Indicators and
    Benchmarks

    The growth of postsecondary education programs for people with intellectual disabilities
    over the past decade, coupled with important changes to the Higher Education
    Opportunity Act (HEOA), have led to a need for a more standardized approach to
    determine the efficacy and quality of such programs. Therefore, in 2008, the National
    Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and the Administration on
    Developmental Disabilities funded research to determine a set of standards, quality
    indicators, and benchmarks that could be used by existing and new programs. The
    Institute for Community Inclusion at University of Massachusetts Boston, in partnership
    with TransCen, Inc., received funding to complete this research, and the process to
    develop a validated set of standards commenced in 2009. The ongoing research is
    resulting in a validated set of practices that can be used by institutes of higher education
    to create, expand or enhance high-quality, inclusive postsecondary education experiences
    to support positive outcomes for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Further, the
    standards, indicators, and benchmarks are aligned with the definition of a comprehensive
    postsecondary and transition program for students with intellectual disabilities contained
    in the HEOA in an effort to assist with compliance with these parameters.

    The resulting standards, quality indicators, and benchmark tool includes eight
    overarching standards that have been identified as critical areas of focus for
    postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disabilities. They are:
    Academic Access, Career Development, Social Networks, Fostering Self-Determination,
    Integration with College Systems and Practices, Coordination and Collaboration,
    Sustainability, and Evaluation. These eight standards represent the key areas that those
    establishing and/or improving these programs should consider. Each represents an area
    that is vital to establishing a comprehensive, inclusive educational experience for students
    with intellectual disabilities, and to assure alignment with requirements in the HEOA. In
    this way, the standards will assist programs in applying to be an "eligible program" under
    the HEOA and therefore be eligible for financial aid for its students.

    By mid-2011 the final validated standards, quality indicators, and benchmarks will be
    posted on the Think College Web site (www.thinkcollege.net) as a resource for new and
    existing programs, eventually available on the Web site as a downloadable guide. In
    addition, an online self-assessment tool will also be developed that will allow those who
    are implementing a postsecondary education program to rate their practices with those
    reflected in the standards. For those establishing a new postsecondary program, the
    standards will provide guidance on what is promising practice in the field and what is
    required by the HEOA.

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    Contributed by Cate Weir, Debra Hart and Meg Grigal, of Think College, Institute for
    Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts, Boston. To learn more see
    http://thinkcollege.net

    The Power of Inclusion: Personal Reflections on Creating


    Change

    by Shea Howell

    What then would be our reason for instituting a program for students whose goal is not
    degree completion? The participation of students with cognitive disabilities on our
    campus indicates that we have a broader view of our institution as a center for
    learning... The liberal arts tradition maintains that higher education is more than
    preparation for a specific career or profession. It is about the continual quest for deeper
    understanding, richer life experiences, and personal growth; in short, the overused term
    – life-long learning. If we accept this as the role of higher education, then we must
    believe that this is our mission toward all individuals.
    – Virinder Moudgil, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Oakland
    University, delivered at Options Graduation Ceremony, April 19, 2010

    Micah Fialka-Feldman graduated from Oakland University in the spring of 2010,


    completing six years in a program designed to provide a fully inclusive university
    experience to young people with intellectual disabilities. With the support of Micah, his
    family, and visionary educational professionals, Oakland University opened its doors for
    full inclusion. In the course of this experience I was able to observe the power of
    inclusion to transform institutions and individuals.

    I taught Micah in two classes during his final semester. He was in a public speaking class
    and I directed his capstone course. A year earlier Micah also took my class Persuasion
    and Social Movements. I was involved in his course selection throughout his academic
    career. I was able to watch Micah grow as an individual and to observe the impact he had
    on other students.

    My first classroom experience with Micah was in Persuasion and Social Movements.
    This class fit his strengths. His family members are well-known activists and he has spent
    a lifetime surrounded by people engaged in movements for change. Micah has a keen
    interest in politics; he was among the most-informed students in the class and participated
    fully in discussions. During the class he was the first to have seen Milk, a film about gay
    activist Harvey Milk of San Francisco. He encouraged classmates to see it and talked
    about how important it was for people to understand the struggles individuals faced. This
    kind of contribution was typical of Micah's participation, offering resources and insights
    to others.

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    Grades in that course depended on papers discussing some aspect of social movements.
    The only modification I made was to allow Micah to substitute video interviews for
    written papers. This did require giving him some clear direction in how to frame
    questions and approach issues. Generally, it was helpful for me to develop a few ideas
    and present them to Micah so that he could chose among them. He followed the same
    assignment schedule and handed in his interviews along with everyone else's papers. He
    worked with another student on their final presentation, analyzing his effort to overturn a
    university ruling preventing him from living in the dorm.

    The second class, Public Speaking, also drew on Micah's strengths. During high school,
    he spoke to groups about people with disabilities. By the time he came to the university
    he had established a record of speaking events. Micah not only spoke on campus, but
    traveled locally and nationally to make presentations to gatherings large and small.
    Depending primarily on Power PointTM presentations to provide structure, Micah was
    comfortable as a speaker. In a class with mostly freshman and sophomores he was among
    the most natural, organized, and effective speakers. Micah's main challenge was to move
    beyond material that he had presented and to explore new ideas. Here, too, the primary
    strategy I used was to develop some options for Micah so that he could select among
    ideas. While it was often difficult for him to generate new topic areas, once he grasped a
    direction he was able to move forward.

    His final speech presentation in the course, on the use of the word "retarded," required
    research and organizational skills that challenged him. Working with his parents and
    another student, Micah crafted and delivered an excellent presentation, earning one of the
    highest grades in the class. More importantly, the speech touched off a discussion with
    students saying how much they appreciated Micah's perspective and how he made them
    think about things they had never considered. The experience of inviting people to think
    more deeply and to rethink old ideas are important gifts of inclusion to the campus
    community.

    For the capstone course, Micah worked with Sarah Vore, a student doing a capstone in
    writing. Together, they produced a film about Micah's experiences at Oakland. Sarah and
    Micah met with Micah's family at their initiation and with Micah's permission. This
    proved to be an important support in developing the project. Micah's parents helped
    Sarah understand how to work with him to get his best ideas. They encouraged Sarah to
    not only help him frame questions for interviews, but to be willing to challenge him.
    Having high expectations and not settling for less were important for their success in the
    project. Sarah wrote in her capstone paper about the experience:

    Having never given much thought to higher education for this select group of individuals,
    my experiences with Micah have completely opened my eyes to the academic and social
    enrichment capabilities of those who are classified as "intellectually disabled." (p. 3)

    Earlier Sarah described her first meeting with Micah and how she was able to confront
    her own stereotypes:

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    I felt both a sense of intrigue and enthusiasm as we easily made conversation. It was
    during that moment that my prior myths associated with intellectual disabilities were
    dispelled. (p. 1)

    Sarah's reaction to Micah was not unusual. By his senior year he was among the most
    recognized students on the campus. In chronicling the highlights of the graduating class,
    the Oakland Post, the student newspaper, listed ground-breaking for new buildings, a 9%
    tuition hike, a faculty strike, and "After covering his story for over a year, Micah Fialka-
    Feldman won his personal battle to live on campus..." ("Return the favor," 2010). This is
    perhaps my greatest lesson from this experience with Micah and efforts at inclusion. It is
    not only important for the growth of the individual, but it radically challenges and
    changes the stereotypes of others.

    Even in the earliest days of the program, the potential for altering thinking was clear. In a
    book chapter co-written by Marshall Kitchens, the director of the Writing Center, and one
    of his students, Sandra Dukhie, about tutoring Micah on the use of assistive technologies,
    they noted the benefit to Micah's increased confidence, but went on to say:

    A primary benefit for Sandra was the sense of social awareness because of the project.
    Sandra describes working with Micah as "a wonderful experience." Over the weeks that
    they worked together, she says, she acquired a greater appreciation for individuals with
    disabilities: "I now have a better understanding of some of the frustrations encountered
    by many individuals with cognitive impairments." At the same time, Micah not only
    benefited from the experience in terms of communicative growth, but also from the social
    interaction, citing the social nature of the sessions as the most beneficial aspect. (p. 214)

    Micah's visible presence on campus resonated with other students with disabilities. In a
    moving article in the Oakland Post, Shawn Minnix (2010) wrote:

    I thought I would take a minute to congratulate all of the seniors on their upcoming
    graduation. There is one person that I wish to acknowledge separately, and that would be
    Micah Fialka-Feldman, or as we just know him Micah. Micah has a cognitive disability,
    and is set to get his certificate at the end of this semester, finishing his odyssey and
    completing his education. I look at Micah and what he has accomplished and smile. He
    inspires us all to do greater things. I should know. In some ways, I used to BE Micah. I
    was placed in a school for the emotionally impaired when I was 6 years old, and I stayed
    there until I was 14 and it was hell from the start. I was told by my own principal that I
    would never finish high school.

    The full inclusion of Micah and other students required professors who were willing to
    think creatively about what would enable students to contribute and learn in classes. The
    single most important source of these strategies emerged from meetings with Micah, with
    his administrative support team of professionals, and with his family. Out of these
    meetings we were able to make adaptations that enriched the class experience for
    everyone. We recognized no one strategy fit all students or all classes, but through open
    communication and attention to the goal of full participation, we were able to find ways

    309
    to meet the needs of all students. Adapting classes to meet the needs of students with
    cognitive disabilities took minimal effort. As a community we grew tremendously
    because of it.

    References

    Kitchens, M. & Dukhie, S. Chapter 9: Speech-to-text: Peer tutoring, technology, and


    students with cognitive impairments. In R. Day Babcock & S. Daniels (Eds.), Writing
    centers and disability (pp. 193-222). Unpublished manuscript.

    Minnix, S. (2010, April 13). Underdogs succeed at Oakland. Oakland Post. Retrieved
    12/8/10 from http://oaklandpostonline.com/2010/04/13/perspectives/underdogs-succeed-
    at-oakland/

    Moudgil, V. (2010). Unpublished remarks delivered upon the completion of the Options
    program, Oakland University, April 19, 2010.

    Return the favor, rise up; If you stay or go, improve what was left for you: Staff editorial.
    (2010, April 14). Oakland Post. Retrieved 12/8/10 from
    http://oaklandpostonline.com/2010/04/13/editorial/return-the-favor-rise-up-if-you-stay-
    or-go-improve-what-was-left-for-you/

    Vore, S. (2010). Micah Fialka-Feldman. Unpublished senior capstone project (WRT 491
    Internship), Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan.

    Shea Howell is Professor of Communication at Oakland University, Rochester,


    Michigan. She may be reached at howell@oakland.edu or 248/370-4120.

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    The None Traditional High Schools Such As
    Cumberland High & Charlie Smith High Must Learn To
    Provide Some-Things For Themselves-Stop Waiting On
    Government!

    If the Ministry of Education out of negligence, lack of concern or simple meanness of


    spirit, fails to provide the musical equipment needed for the conduct of music classes for
    all students and in particular for those with learning and emotional difficulties, there is no
    reason why the Mathematics Department by itself or working in conjunction with the
    Industrial Arts Department cannot make simple music equipment.

    Does it make sense for a teacher of Mathematics to stand in front of a class claiming to
    teach, when his or her students are not able because of real challenges unable to learn? Is
    that not collecting pay for work not done? The same could be asked of the English
    teachers and all other teachers. Does it make sense for the Dean of Discipline and the
    Guidance Councilor to complain about student indiscipline when they know that those
    students are in need of help which the school can provide but refuse to? Are shipping
    pallets too humble a material to be used to make musical instruments? Are those schools
    so broke that they cannot buy a few lengths of wood, some sheets of sand paper, a tin of
    varnish and other such material?

    Yes many students might be able to purchase “recorders”, the problem is that experience
    has shown that only a very small handful of students in Jamaica have learnt to play that
    equipment in school. In the minds of most students a recorder is not a real music
    instrument, there is a cultural preference for percussion instruments and string
    instruments, look at the instruments used in popular music culture. Start from that which
    is culturally close to those who are being taught and are expected to learn.

    311
    Beyond Their Abilities and Imagination.

    312
    The Teachers At Cumberland High School and Charlie Smith High School Should
    Strat The Students Out By Playing By Hear and Not Boring Them With Musical
    Notes. If A Child Has Difficulty Reading Standard English How Much More
    Difficulty He Or She Has Learning To Read Scrolls? Start By Hear And Explaining
    The Notes Heard. The Reading Of Music Can Come Later.

     For Parents
     Treating Your Child

    NATURAL TREATMENTS

    How Music Unlocked My Son’s ADHD Brain


    Traditional learning programs helped my son, who has ADHD and other special needs,
    concentrate and focus — but nothing helped him as much as music. Whether he was
    learning an instrument, listening to a classical concerto, or just clapping along to a beat,
    Brandon found himself and his strengths in the power of sound.

    BY SHARLENE HABERMEYER

     

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    Children do not come in tidy packages — they come with spontaneity, energy, and
    delicious individuality. Some have learning challenges that affect them physically,
    cognitively, emotionally, and/or behaviorally. The good news is that music can help with
    most of them.

    In 1982, my third son, Brandon, suffered a traumatic birth that left him with pre-frontal
    cortex damage. He was a fussy baby, cried all the time, and had constant ear infections,
    speech and language delays, and severe separation anxiety. At six, he was diagnosed with
    ADHD, auditory processing, auditory discrimination, visual-motor, visual perception,
    and sensory motor problems. The difference between his oral and written IQ was 38
    points, indicating severe learning disabilities. A team of school and professional experts
    concluded that he would have a hard time learning, focusing, and concentrating. They
    said he may not graduate from high school; college was out of the question.

    I decided to take the experts’ conclusions as one possibility, and not get too discouraged.
    I researched ADHD and learning disabilities — asking questions and aggressively
    networking. I learned that it takes time to solve such challenges. I learned that all learning
    disabilities start with auditory processing — the child can hear, but has difficulty
    processing what he hears. This can affect his ability to concentrate and focus. I enrolled
    Brandon in learning programs, many of which helped. But music — and
    particularly musical instruments — were the real keys to unlocking his ability to learn.

    Rhythm of Change

    Music strengthens the areas of the brain that, in the child with ADHD, are weak. Music
    builds and strengthens the auditory, visual/spatial, and motor cortices of the brain. These
    areas are tied to speech and language, reading, reading comprehension, math, problem
    solving, brain organization, focusing, concentration, and attention issues. Studies indicate
    that when children with ADHD or learning disabilities learn a musical instrument,
    attention, concentration, impulse control, social functioning, self-esteem, self-expression,
    motivation, and memory improve. Some studies show that children who have difficulty
    focusing when there is background noise are particularly helped by music lessons.

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    Starting from birth, Brandon listened to classical music and, by age three, he was taking
    group music lessons. By five, I was teaching him piano by color-coding the keyboard. By
    eight, he was taking private lessons.

    To support Brandon in school, I created musical games. For instance, I made up musical
    jingles to teach him spelling. We clapped out rhythms while learning addition,
    subtraction, and multiplication facts. I created songs, jingles, and rhyming couplets for
    material he was learning in social studies, science, and language arts. Coupled with
    formal music lessons, concepts became easier for him to grasp and understand. His
    ability to concentrate and focus for longer periods increased each year. After a long, hard
    climb, Brandon was accepted to a four-year university, and he eventually graduated with
    straight A’s in film and philosophy.

    Here are the sound strategies I used with Brandon. I have no doubt that they will work
    with your child as well.

    > Start group music lessons. When he is about 18 months old, find a group music
    program for your child.

    > Get into the rhythm. Our biological systems work on precise rhythms (think
    heartbeat). If these rhythms are out of sync, it is hard for anyone to focus and stay on
    task. Using rhythm instruments is a powerful way to sync the natural biorhythms of the
    body, allowing the child to feel “in tune” with his environment. So put on music with a
    strong beat — the “Baby Dance” CD is good — and beat out, bang out, or clang out the
    rhythm of the music with your child.

    > Dance to the music. Movement for a child with ADHD is a must! In fact, movement is
    an indispensable part of learning, thinking, and focusing. As a child moves to different
    cadences and rhythms, his physical coordination and ability to concentrate improve.

    > Draw what you hear. Many children with ADHD are creative and in search of
    creative outlets. Drawing or doodling engages motor skills, organizes the brain, and
    stimulates artistic juices. After a busy day at school, and before your child jumps into
    homework, give her paper and crayons, put on some classical music, and let her draw.

    I used to play a game with Brandon called “Draw What You Hear.” I put on classical
    music and Brandon drew or doodled to the music. Later, when he was in high school,
    these exercises helped him shut out outside noise, and relaxed his mind.

    > Read music books. I’m a strong advocate of reading to your children every day.
    Reading builds focus, concentration, vocabulary, speech and language, and writing skills.
    I read many books to our sons, some of which were associated with music: Swine Lake ,
    by James Marshall (a great book to introduce your kids to the ballet Swan Lake),
    and Lentil  by Robert McCloskey.

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    > Start private music lessons between the ages of five and seven. If you are a parent
    with ADHD, take music lessons along with your child.

    > Find an ADHD-friendly instrument. The string bass, woodwinds, and percussion


    instruments are good choices, because a child can stand and move while playing them.
    Let your child choose his own instrument. If he decides on drums, buy earplugs!

    > March in the morning. Children with ADHD usually have a hard time attending to
    tasks during the busy morning hours. Every morning, play marching music (John Philip
    Sousa tunes are great) and march from activity to activity — getting dressed, making
    beds, eating breakfast, brushing teeth — with feet moving and arms swaying.

    > Sing your way to school. Teachers want students to be ready to learn when they come
    to class. So, on your way to school, sing in the car or play classical music. Singing
    demands total focus. “The Alphabet Operetta,” by Mindy Manley Little, is perfect.

    > Orchestrate homework. Some classical music changes the way the brain processes
    information by changing its electromagnetic frequencies. As a result of listening, children
    and adults are able to absorb, retain, and retrieve information better. When doing
    homework, try listening to George Frederic Handel’s Water Music or Johann Sebastian
    Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti.

    > Combine music and nature. Studies show that listening to music while walking in
    nature has a beneficial effect on the brain. The combination re-sets the brain —
    increasing its focus and priming it for learning.

    How is Brandon doing today? He is married, works in the film industry, and writes blogs
    on philosophy. Music is still an important part of his life. He listens to classical music
    while traveling to work each day and plays the piano weekly. Brandon has the tools and
    understanding to make ADHD his “friend.” He will always be somewhat of a round peg
    expected to fit in a square hole, but he is a happy, successful adult who embraces the
    differences in people.

    Source:- https://www.additudemag.com/ta-dah/

     Music and Specific Learning Difficulties - by Karen Marshall


    Teaching / 04/07/2016

    316
    HOW IT STARTED

    In the year 2000 I started to teach a student with dyslexia.  Unusually his parents brought
    him to me with a wealth of information on what dyslexia was and how it affected him. 
    As a teacher I was very lucky to be given information because, the only thing I knew
    about dyslexia was that it caused spelling difficulties.  After spending time with this
    student I noticed other students – who had not been assessed as dyslexic – displaying
    some of the same traits.  Over the next couple of years, some of these students were also
    assessed with dyslexia or another specific leaning difficulty (spLD). 

    It became quickly apparent that my usual teaching style was not being particularly
    effective.  I read as much as I could but found that this information described many of the
    problems but gave few practical solutions.  I contacted the British Dyslexia Association
    who referred me to the late Margaret Hubiki (Emeritus Professor from the Royal
    Academy of Music).  Over the last few years of her life – by telephone – Peggy Hubiki
    taught me how to multi-sensory music teach.  I will never forget her words.  Try to focus
    on three questions with a student:  What do you see?  What do you feel?  What do you
    hear?  The results using this style of teaching for these students and others have been
    quite extraordinary.     

    WHAT ARE SPECIFIC LEARNING DIFFICULTIES (SPLDS)?

         Dyslexia – difficulties with processing words (can be seeing and hearing)
         Dyscalculia – difficulties with processing number
         Dysgraphia – difficulties with the process of writing

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         Dyspraxia – difficulties processing movement
         ADHD / ADD – difficulty with concentration
         Asperger’s Autism – difficulty processing emotion
    In addition to these problems, many of these difficulties are also accompanied by
    memory problems, short term and working memory.

    WHAT IS MULTI-SENSORY MUSIC TEACHING?

    Multi-sensory music teaching is just what it sounds, using all the senses to teach music. 
    The main three employed are visual (seeing), auditory (hearing) and kinaesthetic (doing). 
    I’d also add in reading and writing (text) as the literate nature of our world shows, many
    people find this useful (even those with dyslexia).  Multi-sensory music teaching can be
    seen in some of the most respected music teaching approaches in the world such as
    Dalcroze, Kodály, Suzuki and Orff.  It can benefit all learners, but especially those with
    specific learning difficulties like dyslexia.

    Sheila Oglethorpe in Instrumental Music for Dyslexics: A Teaching Handbook (Whurr,


    1996) states:  “The foremost advice that is given to teachers of dyslexics in the classroom
    is to teach in a multi-sensory way.  They are exhorted to employ as many of the child’s
    senses as possible in the hope that the stronger senses will compensate for the weaker
    ones and a pathway into the brain and the memory will be found.”

    HOW CAN WE TEACH MUSIC IN A MULTI-SENSORY WAY?

    Multi-sensory teaching (MST) is regularly employed when teaching a child to read. My


    own daughter was shown pictures of the letters (visual), listened to how the letters are
    pronounced (auditory), and drew the letters in a tray of sand (kinaesthetic).  Learning to
    play and read music can also be taught using all the senses.  As already mentioned it’s
    one of the most effective ways to teach a student with learning difficulties.  Here’s an
    example, teaching C major scale on a piano.

    These exercises can be adapted for instruments other than the piano.  If you are teaching
    the flute let the student see, hear and feel, the fingering on the pads, if the trumpet, the
    position on the valves, the violin, the fingering on the strings. 

    AUDITORY

    •    Sing to ‘la’ the C major scale with the student.

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    •    Sing the ascending scale again for the student to listen to, using the letter names C D
    E F G A B C, and then sing them descending while the student follows the progress on
    the keyboard (or fingering on another instrument).

    •    Sing the scale again to the student but this time using the finger numbers 123 12345
    etc. as you sing up and down.

    •    Play the intervals of a major 2nd and a semi-tone.  Help the student aurally identify
    these intervals within the scale.   

    VISUAL

    •    Provide the student with a picture of the keyboard with the finger numbers of the scale
    on it.  Some students do not think in terms of finger numbers: if this is the case, try
    another way.

    •    Show the student the scale written out as notes on the stave.

    •    Get the student to look at the keyboard and see the shape of the scale in relation to the
    white and black notes.

    •    I have a student who always remembers the D major scale as the one with Fish and
    Chips in – the Fish representing F sharp and Chips reminding them of the C sharp.

    KINAESTHETIC

    •    Finger numbers need to be learnt.  This can be done with a simple song (like ‘Once I
    caught a fish alive), doing the actions of the finger numbers at the same time.

    •    Invite the student to use the right hand and depress the first three notes of the scale
    (notes CDE) together on the keyboard, then place the thumb on F and depress the next
    four notes with fingers 1234 (notes FGAB) – ascending up the keyboard. 

    •    Get the student to close their eyes and feel the fingering of the scale.

    •    Ask the student using their right hand to put finger 3 on the E and then tuck their
    thumb under onto the F.

    319
    •    Walk the pattern of the tones and semi tones one the floor, a tone (large step), semi-
    tone (small step).

    HERE ARE SOME MORE GENERAL HINTS AND TIPS FOR


    TEACHING DYSLEXIC STUDENTS:

    •    Teach in a multi-sensory way and use colour, pattern and music recordings to aid your
    teaching if helpful to the student.

    •    Be aware that dyslexic students may confuse left and right.  Avoid using these terms:
    find other ways.

    •    Sensitively encourage students to say things out loud what they need to learn.  This is
    a good way to check their understanding.

    •    Produce well-structured lessons.  It helps to use a regular format so that the student
    knows in what order you do things.

    •    Watch the body language to see if “Yes I understand” really means “No I don’t but I
    don’t want to say”.  Test the understanding without challenging the student and then
    teach the concept in another way.

    •    Always OVER-TEACH information.  Poor short-term memory is a particular


    weakness for dyslexic students.  Use mnemonics if they help.

    •    Beware of sequencing problems.  Many dyslexic students can find it difficult to
    sequence note names backwards.

    •    Build the student’s self-esteem: focus on strengths.

    •    Do not speak too much or too fast, and try to use short sentences.  

    •    If the dyslexic student complains about the notes dancing, produce enlarged or
    simplified copies of the music, try covering the music with coloured acetate, or copy the
    music onto coloured paper. 

    •    Set realistic goals and ensure all results are rewarded.

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    •    Help with personal organisation.  Try highlighting things to be practised by putting a
    small bookmark in the music, with no more than three things to practise listed on it. 
    Even better, use pictures.

    •    Work in partnership with the parent.

    •    Be flexible and persistent.  If something isn’t successful, keep on trying new things.

    ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

     Get Set Piano! – Karen Marshall and Heather Hammond, A&C Black: These tutor
    books incorporate MST teaching throughout.  Suitable for beginner pianists, Book 1
    takes the student to prep test and book 2 to Grade 1. 
     E-MusicMaestro's new Piano Sight Reading Grades 1 - 3: online sight reading
    practice with a huge number of examples, all of which can be viewed large on a
    dyslexia-friendly, cream background. 
     My First Theory Book and Theory Made Easy for Little Children by Lina Ng  -
    these include stickers which are very popular with young children.
     Life size stave:  Create using masking tape on the floor or an old piece of carpet
    with black carpet tape (this is then transportable).  Get the student to sing the letter
    names of the different pitches as they stand in the correlating space on the stave, play
    musical twister, marking and singing different words on the stave, stand on the note
    pitch and play the corresponding note on an instrument (use a picture of the keyboard
    for pianists).

    Source:- http://www.e-musicmaestro.com/blog/23/music-and-specific-learning-
    difficulties-by-karen-marshall

    It's a Snap! 4 Ways to Use Music With Special


    Needs Students
    S EP TE MB ER 18, 2014

    321
    I’ve heard Pharrell Williams' song "Happy" a few times in the last week, and the unhappy
    news is that it's now playing on repeat inside my head . . . over and over and over again.
    The good news is that we can actually use this scenario to our advantage with our
    difficult-to-reach students and special learners. Music can often be the key that unlocks
    the door to learning for children who think outside of the box. In fact, studies have found
    that individuals with diagnoses such as autism and Williams syndrome frequently have
    preserved musical abilities despite challenges in non-music functioning.

    Capitalizing on these benefits, board-certified music therapists develop music-based


    interventions to help students make progress in educational goal areas. Music therapy is
    even recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and states such as California as a
    related service which may be required for a student to benefit from his or her educational
    program.

    As music therapists, we have the unique opportunity to compose educational songs, write
    learning chants, and use musical cues to target goals that students are having difficulty
    meeting. We use music as a motivator, memory tool, timekeeper, and way to elicit
    communication when other strategies have not been effective. In school settings, music
    therapists provide consultation, training, and resources to the child's teacher and other
    members of the IEP team.

    Even if you sing off-key, there are many simple ways for integrating music-assisted
    learning techniques to help your students tune in. Here are four music therapist-
    recommended strategies to use music as a teaching tool in special education.

    1. Music + Visual Supports = Increased Comprehension


    While music is an effective memory cue and learning modality, many students still
    perform best when visual cues are paired with auditory stimuli. Using flash cards, song

    322
    story books, digital pictures, and even physical gestures can increase students'
    understanding of the lyrics they are hearing or singing. Here's an example of a song about
    money with simple visual supports:

    2. Favorite Songs as a Teaching Tool


    For students who have limited interests or are difficult to engage, try creating a lesson
    plan around one of their favorite songs. Let's take the earlier example of the song
    "Happy." Given printed or digital lyric sheets, students can read the song lyrics out loud,
    identify unfamiliar vocabulary, circle key words, and discuss the song's meaning.
    Afterward, students can complete a related writing activity based on the central themes in
    the song.

    For younger students, provide pictures or photos that relate to the main characters,
    animals, objects, or actions from a song. Engage the student in selecting the correct
    pictures as you sing the words from the song, or have them sequence the pictures in order
    from memory after listening to the song.

    3. Rhythm Is Your Friend


    There is a focus in special education (especially with autism intervention) on structuring
    the student's visual environment. What about auditory information? Verbal instructions
    and dialog can also be overwhelming for students who have difficulty filtering for the
    important information they should attend to. Rhythm helps emphasize key words, add a
    predictable cadence, and naturally gets the body in sync with and tuned into the activity.

    Try this simple greeting chant:

     Let’s go 'round in a circle.


     Let’s go 'round in a game.
     When I get to you, tell me, what’s your name?

    Students can tap the syllables to their name on a drum to help with their articulation and
    pacing. Tapping a rhythm on the table, a knee, or a drum is also a great tool for students
    who speak too fast or are difficult to understand.

    4. Generalization Is Key
    It's great to see a student who can sing his or her phone number, math facts, or classroom
    rules through a song, but what happens when music time is over? It's our job as educators
    to facilitate the generalization of skills from the music to the non-music setting. Some
    ways to do this include:

     After a song, ask the students "Wh" questions (who, what, when, where, why)
    about the song content in spoken language.
     Use visual supports from the song during related non-music activities. You might
    use pictures from a hand-washing song as cues during actual hand washing at the sink.

    323
     Use lyrics from the song as cues throughout the week. If you have a behavioral
    song cuing the student to keep their hands down, you might start by singing the "hands
    down" phrase at other times during the day when you see the student becoming
    restless. Later you can fade the singing into a spoken voice.

    Now it's your turn to get those songs out of your head and into the classroom! And please
    share with us how you use music with your special education students.
    MICHELLE LAZAR, MA, MT-BC'S PROFILE

    Source:- https://www.edutopia.org/blog/music-with-special-needs-students-michelle-
    lazar

    WORLD  PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE


    Difference Maker
    Finnish teacher unlocks music for special-needs
    students

    Save for later

    Simplified, accessible music notation lets their talent, not their needs, take
    center stage.
    By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, Staff writer of The Christian Science MonitorAPRIL 29, 2009
    Save for later

    324

    Petri Krook/Special to the Christian Science Monitor

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    325

    Petri Krook/Special to the Christian Science Monitor

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    HELSINKI, FINLAND — Jamming on keyboards, bass guitar, and drums, four

    young men fill a basement room with harmony. The only unusual items here

    are the colorful squares, triangles, and circles up on a magnet board. The

    symbols are stand-ins for conventional musical notes – the keys that have

    unlocked music for the students here.

    The Special Music Center Resonaari has a humble, cozy setting – a converted

    two-story home in Finland 's capital. But for the 170 people with intellectual

    326
    or developmental disabilities who take music classes here each week, it's a

    place where their talents, not their special needs, take center stage.

    For music teacher Markku Kaikkonen , the director, it's also the nucleus of a

    "cultural revolution."

    Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship test?

    "Our pupils, many of them, have lived in the margin of society. But now, with

    the help of ... music education, they are coming closer and closer to the center

    of society," Mr. Kaikkonen says, leaning forward with excitement, his brown

    hair hanging loosely about his shoulders.

    Could you pass a US citizenship test?


    TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE  

    Finnish teacher unlocks music for special-needs students

    327
    Photos of the day 02/08
    PHOTOS OF THE DAY  

    The effects spread far beyond the students, Kaikkonen says. They change

    attitudes among families, neighbors, and the audiences who see them

    perform.

    Figurenotes, a system of notation and teaching, has been developed and

    tested over the past decade by Kaikkonen and codirector Kaarlo Uusitalo.

    Students learn to play by matching the symbols to keys on a piano or frets on

    a guitar. Colors indicate notes, shapes show the octave, and arrows show

    sharps and flats. It's a simple way to convey all the information in traditional

    notation.

    The Figurenotes method has spread to Japan, Estonia, and Scotland .

    "What they're teaching us is that people with learning disabilities are capable

    of doing so much more in terms of their musical ability than what we

    previously knew," says Brian Cope, artistic director of Drake Music Scotland,

    a charity that uses Figurenotes in both mainstream and special education.

    328
    Students often arrive with no concept of rhythm, melody, or other basics.

    Some can use only one finger to play. Others are very shy. It can take years to

    reach the point of performing in annual concerts, which draw hundreds.

    Kaikkonen and his teachers patiently rejoice in every step of progress.

    "In the beginning, it's only colors and symbols, but then suddenly it starts to

    be music, and it's the miracle moment," Kaikkonen says. "When a person is

    playing for the first time in his life, and he understands, 'I played music!' ... I

    call it the big-smile effect." It kicks off a lifelong cycle of learning, he says.

    When student Marko Koivu arrived for classes about 10 years ago, he had

    only two friends: his mother and a nurse. "He was a really passive boy,"

    Kaikkonen recalls.

    Before long, Marko was learning to play the keyboard. "His mother called to

    say, 'Marko is teaching me how to play chords. Are these real chords?' "

    Kaikkonen says. "It was a great moment ... when the son ... had knowledge

    about something that the mother didn't know anything about."

    Marko started exploring bus routes to rehearsals, instead of relying on his

    free taxi card. He befriended some famous Finnish musicians, who joined him

    and other Resonaari students onstage.

    "Music is my life," he says. "When we have concerts, it is giving me a good

    feeling."

    329
    Kaikkonen studied music education and music therapy at Helsinki 's

    prestigious Sibelius Academy  long before good methods for teaching music to

    the disabled had been found. But as a teacher at a secondary school and as a

    music therapist at a mental hospital, he learned to turn chaos into order

    among students with behavioral problems. And two "master teachers" showed

    him how to bring out people's hidden talents.

    "When working with special-needs people, Markku treats them with respect

    and humanity, with trust in their potential," writes Ulla Hairo-Lax  in an e-

    mail interview. A music teacher and researcher in Helsinki, she has observed

    his work and credits him with "boundless 'innovativeness' " and a "hilarious

    sense of humor."

    Kaikkonen joins Marko's band practice, tapping a plaid-slippered foot on a set

    of bongos on the floor, his hand tucked into a back pocket of his black

    jeans. Mr. Uusitalo  leads the group as they play (and sing in Finnish) John

    Fogerty 's zesty "Proud Mary."

    Perhaps they'll perform it at the next concert. The Resonaari players'

    professionalism, and their ties to the well-known artists who perform with

    them, are central to Kaikkonen's "cultural revolution."

    They challenge people's notions of who can be a musician, he says. "People

    are coming because the music is so good. For the audience, it is the moment

    when they start to think [about] the power of these people." Maybe they look

    330
    a bit different, but what the audience finds isn't a needy person. It's a "person

    who is as talented as anybody."•

    Source:- http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2009/0429/p47s01-
    lign.html

    Music Reading and Students with Special Needs


    "The Big Four" by Dr. Alice M. Hammel 
    Music Reading and Students with Special Needs
    When teaching students with special needs to read music, set the stage for success by
    creating an optimal learning environment. As many distractions as possible should be
    removed from the environment, keeping the student’s area neat and clear of clutter,
    adjusting lighting and making certain students are not near windows or uncontrolled
    lighting to prevent glare that may detract from the music reading process.
    Students with special needs can sometimes be easily distracted, however, learning can
    improve if adaptations to music are made in advance. When a task such as music reading
    is difficult, getting “off-task” in a lesson can be very easy. Preparing necessary materials
    before the lesson may diminish these issues.
    Color, Size, Modality and Pacing
    The “Big Four” of color, size, modality, and pacing should guide every teacher’s
    approach.
    Color

    Students with learning differences have difficulty reading music primarily because they
    cannot easily see black print on white paper. Adding color to the page heightens the
    detection ability of the rods and cones that help eyes see and send messages to the brain.
    Some of the following color adaptations include:
     A piece of colored transparency paper placed over the music helps to organize the
    visual process and can bring the notes into proper perspective;
     A highlighter with an eraser on the opposite can be used to highlight an area and
    erase when the music reading focus moves to a different part of the page;
     Color photographs of information also help students visualize materials; and
     Music can be coded with colors or familiar symbols to help students remember
    notes or rhythms, for example, pink is C, blue is D, and E is green. Colors
    (familiar to students) remove a step in the music reading process. When students
    are able to recognize notes on the staff, the next set of notes can be color coded.

    Size
    Students with learning differences respond very well when music is simplified or made
    larger and bolder, thereby increasing the student’s ability to focus on specific elements in

    331
    the teaching process. The following recommendations will help decrease a student’s
    frustration level:
     Use an overhead projector, copy machine, or computer to enlarge materials;
     Begin with a blank score and add information as needed during the process to
    indicate tempo, meter, key signature, note values, or write measure numbers as
    needed; or
     Create visual aids for difficult words, and provide visual cues for phrases or score
    markings.

    These strategies help students gain control over the speed of information they are asked
    to process.

    Modality
    All students learn through various modalities (visual, aural, and kinesthetic); however,
    students with special needs sometimes process information best through one or two,
    rather than all, modalities. Music educators should plan to present information in at least
    three ways and encourage students to respond through one or more modalities. The
    following examples are multi-sensory approaches that will help address multiple
    modalities:
     Provide written materials for all spoken instruction;
     Provide multiple opportunities to reinforce concepts with manipulatives such as a
    felt board, a raised texture board with heavy rope, foam or plastic shaped notes
    and clefs;
     Allow students to tape record rehearsals for personal practice at a slower pace or
    in their preferred modality;
     Ask students to respond according to their strongest modality (visually, orally, or
    kinesthetically); and
     Allow students to use a Word Bank (list of key words) when completing
    assessments to stimulate memory of definitions or applications of knowledge.

    Pacing
    Students with learning differences may have to complete the entire process of building a
    piece from a blank score throughout their music study. This can be a source of frustration
    for both the student and teacher as the task can appear to be overwhelming. The
    following process is effective in guiding students to reading music:
     Use a scaffolding technique by introducing and increasing the amount of music
    reading a student performs independently;
     Separate rhythmic and melodic elements until a student can combine them;
     Provide a list of the multiple steps (or a visual model of the steps) involved for
    learning the music. The student can follow the list while practicing at home to
    develop the independence necessary for music reading.
     Separate pieces into small chunks, a measure or short phrase that can be put
    together at a later time;

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     Incorporate computer software programs for students who need extra drill and
    practice in note and rhythm reading;
     Ask students to practice for a short period of time at more frequent intervals, for
    example, two 10 minute practice sessions rather than one 20 minute practice
    session to encourage students to work at an even pace and decrease frustration
    levels;
     Wait to prompt students for verbal answers to questions until at least 5 seconds
    have passed; and
     Identify “strong” students who will be a good friend and practice buddy for a
    special student who needs help.

    Students with special needs need a longer period of time to process questions and
    determine appropriate responses. Music reading processes may need to be reviewed each
    time the student begins a new piece of music. Students with learning differences will
    appreciate the extra time to process the information and will begin to feel their input is
    valuable. Learning will be more successful when students are full participants in the
    process.
    These accommodations are entirely appropriate because students with learning
    differences complete many more steps than non-disabled students. Frustration levels can
    be lowered if students can demonstrate competency by completing a few problems or
    performing a few measures rather than an entire page. Because the process is more
    difficult for students with learning differences, each response requires much more effort.

    Source:- http://www.people.vcu.edu/~bhammel/special/resources/articles/big_four.htm

    Getting Musical With Kids Who Have Physical Disabilities


    written by: Anne Vize • edited by: SForsyth • updated: 8/2/2012
    Making music is fun, and most kids learn much from music. Creative expression and the
    ability to communicate in a language that involves sound and rhythm and beat can be an
    extremely satisfying experience for all. Music activities for kids with special needs can
    take many forms

     Group Music Experiences


    Group musical experiences are easy to run in a school setting, particularly if you have
    access to a trained music teacher or music therapist. The teacher or music leader is
    responsible for planning the session, ensuring a logical flow of learning from one session
    to the next, and for planning, implementing and reporting on the outcomes of the music
    classes. Here are some great music activities to try with kids with special needs in a
    group setting:
     Keep the beat here - One student starts a beat by tapping on a part of their
    body and, without using words, everyone copies that person's action. When the
    teacher points at another student, the new person starts a beat on a different part of
    their body.

    333
     Song choice - Use Compic cards or Makaton signs for songs that are
    familiar to students so a student can choose what they would like to play or hear. This
    is great for encouraging turn-taking, teamwork and communication skills with special
    needs students.
     My big bass drum - The song 'I can play on my big bass drum' is great for
    kids with special needs who have a physical and auditory disability. They can gain
    lots of sensory feedback and sensory information through a bass drum, while being
    able to play it fairly easily from a seated position. For a wheelchair student, ensure
    the drum is positioned in a stable place and that the student is able to hit the drum
    with part of their body without hurting themselves on the rim of the drum.

     Adapting Musical Instruments


    Sometimes instruments and other musical items need to be adapted so they can be used
    easily by a student with a physical disability. You could try:
     Adding a piece of sponge wrapped around a handle of an instrument (such
    as a tone block handle or a xylophone beater) to increase the grip size.
     Mounting an instrument onto a flat board so it remains still, or clamping it
    to a table top using a monkey grip
     Adding a circle of soft elastic to a handle of an instrument so it is not lost
    by a student who has trouble maintaining a strong hand grip.
     Using a nail brush to act as a holder to keep a piece of music upright
    (laminate the page first to give it the necessary stiffness; otherwise it will fall over)--
    This can be placed on a wheelchair tray or table top so it can be seen while playing an
    instrument.
     Consulting with a therapist (such as an occupational therapist) about more
    technical ways of making instruments and music accessible to an individual student.

     Respecting Different Intelligences


    You've know the concept of different types of intelligences. Remember that musical
    intelligence is another form that needs to be cared for and nurtured so that it can grow
    and develop. Find the music intelligence in all your students and take the time to adapt
    and plan for their individual needs. If you do, you will discover that music activities for
    kids with special needs could become one of the most rewarding parts of your week as a
    teacher.

    Source:- http://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-physical-disabilities/43084-
    classroom-music-activities-for-students-with-physical-challenges/

    334
    Children with Special Needs Thrive in Music Program That Teaches Music for
    Music's Sake
    A New Jersey music school helps special needs students
    achieve more than learning an instrument – opening a world
    of opportunity
    Article ID: 642341
    Released: 30-Oct-2015 9:05 AM EDT
    Source Newsroom: Rutgers University
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     special needs children, Autism, autistic adults, autistic child, Music Education

    335
    Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Octopus Music School
    Octopus Music School founder Joseph Fekete and guitar instructor Ariella Gizzi.

    Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Octopus Music School


    Guitar instructor Ariella Gizzi has taught Victor Grigorov, who has autism, for three years.

    336
    Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Octopus Music School
    Octopus Music School founder Joseph Fekete and guitar instructor Ariella Gizzi.

    Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Octopus Music School


    Guitar instructor Ariella Gizzi has taught Victor Grigorov, who has autism, for three
    years.
    PrevNext
    Music can be life changing. Newswise — Just ask Dimitar Grigorov. When his then-12-
    year-old son, Victor, asked to take guitar lessons, the Highland Park, N.J., father was
    skeptical. Victor, who is autistic, was prone to anxiety and had difficulty focusing his
    attention on one task. But Victor was insistent: He was going to play the guitar. “There’s
    no denying Victor when he sets his mind on something,” Grigorov says. “I figured it was
    worth a shot.” Grigorov started calling music schools but became discouraged: Most

    337
    teachers had never taught a child with special needs and weren’t sure they could. He had
    almost given up when a friend recommended Octopus Music School in downtown New
    Brunswick, owned by Rutgers University alumnus Joseph Fekete. “It was wonderful to
    finally hear a yes,” Grigorov says. The school had never taught a child with special
    needs. But Fekete and guitar instructor Ariella Gizzi, a fellow Rutgers graduate who
    works during the day as a special education teacher, were willing to try. “We are music
    teachers, not music therapists, but we saw a child who just wanted to learn how to play
    an instrument,” Fekete says. “We decided: Why not teach music for music’s sake, and if
    in doing so, we provide something therapeutic, all the better.” In his early sessions,
    Victor was anxious and experienced panic attacks. “Teaching him guitar was secondary
    to keeping him engaged in the lesson,” Fekete says. “But soon, Victor started to express
    his understanding and appreciation of music. It was pretty amazing what he achieved.”
    Today, Victor, 15, practices daily, researches music that he’d like to play and has
    performed in the school’s annual spring showcase along with his typically functioning
    peers at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick. Beyond the technical skills,
    Grigorov ticks off the personal benefits: Victor’s communication, patience and
    interaction with the world around him have improved. And the teen, who at one time
    could only tolerate the lowest volumes while watching television, now can be found in
    the audience at rock concerts. “We’ve seen the loudest bands we could – The Rolling
    Stones, Whitesnake, AC/DC,” says Grigorov. “I have to wear cotton in my ears, but
    Victor takes his out.” Since enrolling Victor, Octopus’s special needs program has taken
    off, primarily through word of mouth: Of the approximately 200 students the school
    teaches each week, one-quarter has disabilities, such as autism and Down syndrome. As
    a Division of Developmental Disabilities service provider, Octopus also offers music
    instruction to special needs adults attending area day programs.
    “Victor opened our eyes to the fact that there is a population of people who want to learn
    music, but have few opportunities,” says Fekete. “Students come to us from across the
    state.” Fekete – a French cultural studies and political science double major who worked
    his way through college by teaching guitar at his off-campus home – opened Octopus
    Music School upon his graduation from Rutgers in 2008. Since then, the business has
    grown from one to four rooms and boasts a stable of 10 instructors who teach guitar,
    bass, piano, violin, drum and voice. The quirky name is a nod to Fekete’s original home
    studio. “The street number was eight, and the room where I taught was so tiny that the
    equipment cables unraveled all over the place,” he says. “I referred to it as ‘the octopus’
    and the name stuck.” He says the greatest satisfaction comes from watching children,
    regardless of ability, learn to appreciate music. “Teaching a special needs student is no
    different than teaching a typically functioning student,” Fekete explains. “Every person
    is unique in how he or she learns. We get to know the individual first and create lessons
    accordingly.” Gizzi, who previously worked at Rutgers’ Douglass Developmental
    Disabilities Center, draws upon her education and experience to apply instructional
    techniques to teaching music theory. “Some students do not require modified content,”
    she says. “For others, I focus more on providing the foundations and basics of rhythm
    and note reading. I add visuals, body movements and verbal cues to enhance my
    instruction.” Beyond music education, students in the program have reaped other
    benefits, such as improved motor or communication skills. Gizzi encourages parents to
    see their special needs children as capable of learning an instrument. “The progress they

    338
    see is incredible,” she says. “They will leave their lessons with a sense of purpose and
    with a skill that they themselves have worked to achieve.”

    Source:- http://www.newswise.com/articles/children-with-special-needs-thrive-in-music-
    program-that-teaches-music-for-music-s-sake

    Key Roles in Planning the Transition to College and Careers

    by Margo Vreeburg Izzo

    Students with disabilities have the most important role in planning their own transition
    from high school to postsecondary education, employment, and independent living.
    However, parents, educators, and adult services personnel also have crucial roles in the
    teams that work with the students to prepare for post-high school life. This article
    provides an overview of some of the key roles of those adults in assisting students to
    explore, plan for, and move into further education and career preparation opportunities
    after high school.

    The Role of the IEP Team

    Federal legislation provides very clear guidance on how educators and parents must
    design special education and related services to prepare students with disabilities for
    further education, employment, and independent living. The Individuals with Disabilities
    Education Act (IDEA) of 2004 requires school personnel to begin planning transition
    services with the student, parents, and other agency representatives prior to the student's
    16th birthday, or younger if determined appropriate. The Individualized Education
    Program (IEP) team must review the IEP annually and update the:

    (aa) "appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition


    assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate,
    independent living skills;
    (bb) transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the child in reaching
    those goals."
    (IDEA of 2004, Section 614, d, VIII)

    The IEP team meets on an annual basis to discuss the student's vision for the future,
    present levels of performance, transition services, and annual goals. The IEP is developed
    to prepare the student for postsecondary education and employment. Once students reach
    the age of 16, they assist the IEP team to develop measurable postsecondary goals.
    Examples of such goals are: "After high school, Liz will obtain a two-year degree in
    Allied Health's Patient Care Program" and "After high school, Juan will attend classes at
    Independence Community College and work part-time on campus in the bookstore or
    student center." Once these measurable postsecondary goals are developed, the IEP team
    writes annual goals and identifies transition services needed to prepare students to reach

    339
    their postsecondary goals. Since students' postsecondary goals guide what types of annual
    goals and transition services are delivered, it is essential to identify postsecondary goals
    that students are motivated to achieve. For example, if a student wants to go to college
    but doesn't currently have the study habits and educational track record to make that a
    realistic goal, then teachers and parents need to share their concerns with the student.
    They need to give him or her an opportunity to take steps toward better preparation to
    achieve that goal or to revise the goal. Going to college will require attending classes,
    doing homework, and receiving grades. If a student does not like these tasks, perhaps the
    student could look at alternative forms of post-high-school education, such as attending
    non-credit adult learning classes through the local adult and community education
    program where participants do not have to complete homework or take tests.

    The IEP team is also involved in planning community experiences with the student to
    confirm potential employment and postsecondary goals and to explore various work and
    college settings. Research indicates that the best predictor of employment following high
    school is paid work experience in high school. Gaining the skills to maintain employment
    is critical even if a student wants to go to college. Ultimately, employment is the goal of
    both high school and college programs.

    Finally, the IEP must include a statement of the interagency responsibilities or any
    needed linkages. For example, a rehabilitation counselor may support a summer work
    experience by funding a job developer and coach to work with a student. By including
    descriptions of both educational and adult services in the IEP, a coordinated set of
    transition services leading to postsecondary education and careers is more likely to occur.

    The Role of Transition Services

    Transition services are designed to facilitate movement from school to adult settings
    including college, vocational education, employment, continuing and adult education,
    adult services, independent living, and community participation. IEP teams consider
    students' strengths, preferences and interests when planning these services. Transition
    services are provided by teachers and related services personnel such as occupational
    therapists, transition specialists, and rehabilitation counselors. These school and adult
    services personnel provide instruction and community experiences to develop the skills
    students need to navigate college and employment settings. Bridge programs located on
    college campuses, but designed for high school students, are becoming increasingly
    popular. These programs give students opportunities to navigate college settings with
    their age-peers without disabilities, enroll in or audit college classes, and move toward
    employment and adult participation in the community.

    340
    The Role of Rehabilitation Services

    The Rehabilitation Act was reauthorized under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to
    consolidate, coordinate, and improve employment, training, literacy, and vocational
    rehabilitation services. The act mandates that vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors
    participate in transition planning for students served under IDEA, at the very least, in the
    form of consultation and technical assistance (National Council on Disability, 2009).
    Students with disabilities are eligible for VR services if they meet the following three
    criteria:

     Their physical or mental impairment constitutes or results in a substantial


    impediment to employment.

     They can benefit from VR services in terms of an employment outcome.


     They require VR services to prepare for, secure, retain or regain employment.

    However, not all eligible students can be served by VR due to a lack of funds.

    Vocational rehabilitation counselors provide direct services to help transition-age youth


    gain the educational and vocational skills needed to transition to living, working, and
    participating as adults in community life. The VR counselor works with eligible youth
    and the IEP team to develop an Individual Plan for Employment (IPE) designed to assess,
    plan, develop and provide VR services to prepare for, and engage in, gainful employment
    (National Council on Disability, 2009). An IPE contains the specific employment
    outcome that is chosen by the eligible individual, and any services provided by VR listed
    and described in the IPE must be focused toward securing a reasonable employment
    outcome. VR counselors provide services to enable youth with disabilities to leave high
    school, attain postsecondary education and training, and achieve employment rates and
    levels of wages comparable to their peers without disabilities. Services provided through
    the IPE to youth and adults eligible for VR include assessment, counseling and guidance,
    referral, job-related services, corrective surgery, therapeutic treatment that may reduce or
    eliminate an employment impediment, prosthetics, employment-related transportation,
    related personal services, interpreter services, and rehabilitation technology.

    Several studies have reported that students with intellectual and developmental
    disabilities who participate in postsecondary education have increased their earnings
    (Grigal & Dwyre, 2010). Despite this, not all VR counselors will include the costs for
    college as a VR service in the IPE. However, many professionals and parents can attest to
    the significant growth in employability skills that occurs when young adults with
    disabilities are participating in college classes with their age-peers. The skills of being a
    good student overlap considerably with those skills needed for successful employment.

    341
    Conclusion

    In summary, professionals and parents should encourage high school students with
    intellectual disabilities to take the lead in exploring the skills and education needed to
    transition to college and careers of interest. Students must take an active role in
    developing their IEPs and be comfortable talking about the nature of their disabilities
    with both educators and other professionals. Encouraging students to advocate for
    necessary accommodations in the high school setting will prepare them for college.
    Finally, empowering students to embrace their futures with the self-determination needed
    to set goals and make adjustments on a daily basis will help ensure their success.

    References

    Grigal, M. & Dwyre, A. (October 2010). Employment activities and outcomes of college-
    based transition programs with students with intellectual disabilities. Insight, 3. Retrieved
    1/12/11 from http://www.thinkcollege.net/about-us/publications

    Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq. (2004).

    National Council on Disability. (2009). National disability policy: A progress report.


    Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved 5/24/09 from
    http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2009/publications.htm

    Margo Vreeburg Izzo is Associate Director and Program Director of Special Education
    and Transition at the Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus. She may be
    reached at 614/292-9218 or izzo.1@osu.edu.

    Creating a Transition Portfolio

    The transition portfolio is a collection of documents students prepare to help develop


    their postsecondary goals and their plans to achieve those goals. Students print out and
    place these documents in a binder and save them electronically for easy updating in the
    future. Many of the documents can be developed in English or technology classes to meet
    required academic standards and course objectives. The following items are suggested for
    inclusion in the portfolio:

     PowerPointTM presentation outlining results of students' transition assessment


    surveys, careers of high interest, postsecondary goals, and transition activities
    they will implement to prepare for college and careers.

     Job comparison chart outlining the nature of work, working conditions, salary and
    education needed to enter their top two careers.

    342
     College comparison chart outlining the costs, size, residential options, majors and
    supports available at two or three colleges of high interest.
     Career narrative explaining their postsecondary plans.
     Measurable postsecondary goals for employment and education or training that
    students and their IEP team can consider including in the IEP.
     Short-term, annual goals students can complete this year to help them meet their
    long-term postsecondary goals.
     Resume and cover letter for students to attach to a job or college application.
     Completed job and college applications to use as samples for future applications.
     Written interview with a professional from their chosen career area.
     Checklist of tasks that must be completed to reach their postsecondary goals.
     Bookmarks listing Web sites that have been helpful in clarifying the students'
    career goals and transition plans.

    Contributed by Margo Izzo, Associate Director and Program Director of Special


    Education and Transition at the Nisonger Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus.

    Using Individual Supports to Customize a Postsecondary


    Education Experience

    by Cate Weir

    With special programs for students with intellectual disabilities now in place on
    approximately 200 college campuses in the U.S., the opportunities for people with
    intellectual disabilities to attend college as part of an organized program are greater than
    they have ever been. While a program may offer classes and social events specifically for
    students with intellectual disabilities, and for many individuals this may be the route they
    would like to go, others may want to go a different route. They may want to attend a
    college that is near to their home or one that offers the courses they are interested in even
    though it does not have a program specifically for them. It is still possible for people with
    intellectual disabilities to attend a college of their choice, even if a special program does
    not exist. This can be accomplished through the creative use of individualized,
    collaborative supports that are designed around the unique needs and desires of the
    student.

    What Are Individual Supports?

    It may be helpful to describe what individual supports are not. They are not
    predetermined, they are not on a menu to pick from, and they are not packaged together
    into anything that would resemble a program. Where programs may be developed on a
    campus with the generic needs of a group of students in mind (for example, those with

    343
    labels of autism) and then students with this label are directed into that program,
    individual supports start with the unique needs and desires of the student. A key
    difference between programs and individual supports is the level of choice one has of
    which college to attend. Another critical distinction is that individual supports utilize
    existing college support systems, perhaps supplementing those with additional services
    such as vocational rehabilitation and other adult support agencies; but it does not create a
    special support system designed only for program participants.

    The essence of individual supports is person-centeredness – the student her or himself is


    determining the process, and supports are coordinated by the student or a person that
    student picks. This may be a friend, a case manager, a high school teacher, a vocational
    rehabilitation counselor or a staff person from an adult support agency. This method
    requires good communication among the people involved in supporting the student, and
    that all parties be knowledgeable about how college supports work.

    The Process of Creating Supports

    To prepare for college while still in high school, students who receive special education
    services must be assisted to develop independence in the use of accommodations they
    need, be encouraged to pursue the academic coursework needed for college courses that
    they desire to take, and have the opportunity to attend college fairs along with their peers.
    Once a student has decided to attend a particular college, if it is in or near the student's
    home community the student's school district can assist him or her to prepare for entry to
    that college by including a college support person on the transition team. The district can
    also provide the student with a document to share with the college that explains the best
    learning and teaching strategies for this student's success. In some instances, when a
    student is under the age of 21 and still eligible for their school district's support, tutoring,
    transportation or classroom assistance may be provided by the district on the college
    campus.

    In planning for individual supports for attending college, the person with an intellectual
    disability – whether still in high school or post-high school – and a team of people
    representing both professional and personal relationships meet to identify challenges the
    student may face in college and to plan for supports for those areas. Collaboration and
    person-centered planning are both key features of individual supports for college. The
    person is supported to attend regular college classes and activities, and supports are
    provided in much the same fashion as supports are provided to any student who requires
    assistance. Key considerations in creating individual supports include the following:

     Resource mapping: Identify all resources available to the person that can offer
    supports and services to assist at college. Examples of resources that students
    have used include vocational rehabilitation services, developmental disability
    agencies, Medicaid funding, private pay tutors, public transportation, college

    344
    disability services, Americorps, mentor programs on college campuses, family
    resources, along with school district resources for those under age 21.

     Creative use of generic resources: It may not be readily apparent that some of the
    supports a person has can be used to attend college. For example, an adult
    developmental disability agency may offer staff support to a person to do their
    shopping or learn to clean their apartment; but that staff support could also be
    used to help them with homework or learning to use the college cafeteria.
     Technology: For individuals with disabilities technology can be a critical support
    in attending college and can also offer long-term independence. Perhaps the best
    technology solutions are devices that all students are using, such as cell phones,
    smart phones, iPods, and computers with their many applications that can be used
    to help support students on campus and improve communication and personal
    organization. In addition, many campuses have technology centers equipped with
    special software and hardware to assist students with disabilities in their school
    work, and vocational rehabilitation services may also be able to help with
    obtaining assistive technology to help the student be more independent.
     Person-centered planning: With a commitment to planning that puts the person's
    dreams at the center, it is more likely that the services and assistance that are
    designed to support their college education are aligned with the true wishes of the
    person. It also opens up the type of creative, out-of-the-box thinking that
    effectively supporting a college education requires. Rather than fitting a person
    into a pre-existing "slot" the resources can be aligned with what that person wants
    to do.
     Coordination: An individual approach to services and supports for people with
    disabilities seeking postsecondary education requires someone who is aware of all
    the pieces and can coordinate them to maximize the usefulness of each one. This
    role can be filled by a transition coordinator at a school district, by a case
    coordinator at an agency, or sometimes by a parent. Certainly it is sometimes the
    student himself or herself who does the coordinating. But someone who is always
    seeing the big picture is a key to success.
     Collaboration and communication: Many individuals with intellectual disabilities
    who want to attend college have had less-than-successful experiences when the
    communication between and among all the players, especially college faculty and
    staff, is not effective. For many college personnel, their experience with people
    with intellectual disabilities is limited, and their understanding of why people with
    significant disabilities want to go to college may be lacking. Many students have
    found it helpful to identify a "champion" on campus. That "champion" can help
    college faculty and staff understand the student's commitment to a college
    education, help address concerns and answer questions, and facilitate
    collaboration and communication between all involved parties.
     Knowledge of how college differs from high school: Because a college education
    is not a guaranteed right like a K-12 education is, there are different ways to
    approach a college. There are things that are not available to students who are not
    "matriculated" – not admitted fully into the college certificate or degree programs.
    Students with intellectual disabilities often enter the college through continuing
    education divisions and classes, rather than through the certificate or degree

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    application process. Discussions on what courses are available, how to register,
    and how to obtain services from the disability services office all need to take
    place before the individual attends. Conversations with the college are critical to
    laying the groundwork and the understanding between and among all the people
    involved, and setting the expectations for everyone involved.

    Conclusion

    Through pre-planning that emphasizes the goals and dreams of the student, creative use
    of existing resources and a willingness to challenge assumptions about the capacity of
    individuals with significant disabilities, students with intellectual disabilities are
    attending college in increasing numbers. Here are some of the supports and strategies
    students are using to make their dreams of college come true:

     A student who never received a high school diploma took college classes through
    the university's division of continuing education. His successful completion of
    college level courses showed that he was qualified to continue his education. He
    used support from his family, an adult support agency, and vocational
    rehabilitation services in addition to the supports provided to him as a student
    with a disability through the Access Office on campus.

     The state Vocational Rehabilitation agency financially supported a young woman


    to meet state licensing requirements by completing two college courses in child
    development. The agency paid for professional tutoring for the student to
    supplement the peer tutoring available at the college. The student and her tutor
    developed grids for the child observations that were required in her class that
    were adopted by all of her classmates. Child observations had been a historically
    difficult area for all students, and this approach proved very successful for all
    students in the class.
     A course of study was individually designed for a student interested in completing
    a degree that will allow her to work in the animal grooming field. Together with
    her academic advisor, the student was able to design a major that highlighted her
    strengths and interests. For those classes that were particularly difficult, she
    audited the class first, and then took the course for credit, allowing her more time
    to learn the essential material.

    Cate Weir is Project Coordinator for Think College at the Institute for Community
    Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston. She may be reached at 603/848-4901 or
    cathryn.weir@umb.edu.

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    Previous Article / Next Article

    Preparing Students with Intellectual Disabilities for College: Tips


    for Parents and Teachers

    by Beth Swedeen

    Last year while attending our state's transition conference, my 17-year-old daughter told
    me she wanted to speak at the conference this coming year. Over the summer we
    developed and submitted a proposal that tells her story: how a student with
    developmental disabilities fully participates in family, school, and community life. I was
    both proud and a bit surprised when the proposal was one of the few chosen for a very
    limited number of breakout sessions. However, it also saddened me that her experiences
    are so unusual: She takes almost all general education courses (with modifications) in a
    large, comprehensive high school where she participates in extra-curricular clubs and
    leadership opportunities; has started and maintains a small jewelry business with her
    sister; and is active in volunteer and other community service work. She also is on the
    local "speaking circuit" to college students and parent groups.

    In reality, even 35 years after the passage of legislation opening up public school
    experiences for our children, students with intellectual disabilities often remain on the
    fringes of school and community life. They continue to experience lower levels of
    involvement in activities, organizations, and life experiences compared with their peers,
    often resulting in a lack of skills needed for postsecondary and employment success. In
    addition, they are not forming the relationships through which so many of us learn about
    opportunities. How many high school students learn about a job or become interested in a
    college through their connections with a friend or relative? For this to happen, those
    relationships need to be taking place.

    Developing family, school, and community expectations that individuals with disabilities
    will participate across the lifespan in their schools, on the job, and in their communities is
    essential in creating both the opportunities and relationships necessary for students with
    intellectual disabilities to develop goals and achieve their dreams. While some families
    have paved the way in creating the expectation that students with intellectual disabilities
    can and should attend college, many other families who have experienced years of low
    expectations from schools and other professionals may need support to develop that
    vision.

    As for any young adults, preparation for college for students with intellectual disabilities
    needs to begin years before those application forms are filled out and a tuition down
    payment is made. Students with intellectual disabilities may benefit from even more
    exposure and practice than their peers in making choices, exploring options, developing

    347
    self-advocacy skills, and learning to navigate their communities. Sadly, most are getting
    far fewer, if any, opportunities compared with their peers.

    Here are some ways families and schools can begin early in encouraging, providing, and
    supporting those critical experiences and opportunities that help students with intellectual
    disabilities prepare academically, form social connections, develop self-advocacy skills,
    and increase independence. These four components are all necessary – regardless of
    disability – for the success of students in college.

    Beginning in Middle School

    During 6th and 7th grade, the following preparations for college can begin:

     Talk with the student about a range of careers and necessary preparation.

     Use person-centered planning tools (e.g., PATH, MAPS, Essential Lifestyle


    Plans) to identify the student's strengths, interests, motivators, connections, and
    potential resources.
     Look at different postsecondary programs online with the student.
     Attend college sports activities, plays, or other events together if you live near a
    college or university.
     Encourage the student to use the Internet to conduct searches about careers and
    postsecondary options.
     Encourage the student to make choices and his or her own purchases at stores,
    restaurants, movie theaters.
     Have the student sign-in or check-in for doctor and dentist visits.
     Make sure the student has a library card. Libraries are a great resource for practice
    making choices and performing independent transactions. Students also begin to
    learn responsibility for keeping track of the card and checked-out resources.
     Include and involve the student in general education courses.
     Encourage use of technologies other students use (Internet, iPods, email), as well
    as assistive technology such as voice to text programs.
     Discuss with the student extra-curricular and other community opportunities that
    match his or her interests.
     Discuss and set-up necessary supports for the student to participate in extra-
    curricular activities.
     Involve the student in aspects of the IEP process (e.g., display or discuss the
    student's portfolio of work, talk about goals for the coming year, decide who to
    invite).

    348
    During Eighth Grade

    Parents and teachers can support preparation for postsecondary education by doing the
    following while the student is in 8th grade:

     Continue to discuss with the student possible career paths and interests.

     Administer age-appropriate transition assessments, including person-centered


    planning tools.
     Connect the student to possible leadership opportunities (e.g., 4-H, self-advocacy
    training, school leadership teams).
     Work with the student to develop high school class schedules aligned to his or her
    transition path and course of study, with a priority on general education courses
    with accommodations/modifications as needed.
     Discuss the value of extra-curricular activity involvement and encourage the
    student to identify and participate in at least one activity during freshman year.
     Include a high school teacher on the 8th grade transition IEP team.
     Set up a high school tour and spend some time in the high school setting as part of
    the 8th grade transition process, if needed.
     Consider peer mentors, as opposed to adult supports, as guides, tutors, or supports
    when possible.
     Encourage participation in programs and activities that have an overnight
    component, such as Scouting and other camps, recreation programs, sleep-overs
    with friends, etc.
     Provide opportunities for the student to have some ownership in planning and
    participating in the IEP process (e.g., welcoming participants, sharing favorite
    experiences from the school or a new interest discovered).
     Discuss possible summer activities that align with the student's career and
    academic interests, such as volunteer opportunities, interest camps and recreation
    programs, and part-time work.
     Continue to explore with the student technologies teens use to connect and
    communicate (e.g., Facebook, cell phones, texting, instant messaging).
     Reflect with the student, toward the end of the year, on school and community
    experiences in which he or she participated during middle school. Evaluate what
    went well, what supports were helpful, and what activities are worth pursuing in
    high school.

    Beginning in 9th Grade

    Among the steps parents and teachers can take to further prepare a student for
    postsecondary education beginning in 9th grade and continuing through the remainder of
    high school are these:

    349
     Continue discussions with the student about his or her interests, aptitudes, and
    motivators throughout high school.

     Continue using age-appropriate transition assessments.


     Provide opportunities to encourage development of self-advocacy and other self-
    help skills through typical high school experiences (e.g., field trips in which the
    student makes his or her own lunch and incidental purchases, learning to ride the
    city bus, buying items at the school store, signing up for peer tutoring, etc.).
     Provide support for the student to keep and use a daily planner.
     Work with the student to design a class schedule based on ability, interests, and
    postsecondary options, prioritizing general education classes with appropriate
    accommodations and modifications as needed.
     Further facilitate discussion and exploration of career options through career fairs,
    job shadows, in-school and community volunteer experiences, and service
    learning.
     Begin to fade the use of one-on-one supports. Encourage connections with peers
    for support, such as peer-tutoring, mentoring, and study groups.
     Help the student learn to identify when he or she needs help, and then ask peers
    for support when needed.
     Support the student to learn appropriate self-regulation and classroom behaviors
    (e.g., asking for a break, asking for help from a peer, not interrupting classroom
    discussion).
     Discuss ways that the student can begin to take ownership for daily chores at
    home (e.g., making lunch, cleaning room, adhering to a medication schedule).
     Encourage establishment of a bank account and use of a debit card and/or
    checkbook.

    Conclusion

    My daughter's presentation for the conference is a work in progress. She continues to


    work on new skills. These include using her planner every single day and getting a ride
    home from a friend after school, then letting herself into the house with her key and
    calling me to say she got home. It seems like the set of skills to learn is endless, but
    having those opportunities to practice problem-solving and take some risks are what
    growing up is all about. And they certainly increase any young person's chances of
    success in college.

    Beth Swedeen is Executive Director with the Wisconsin Board for People with
    Developmental Disabilities, and former Transition Specialist with the Waisman Center at
    the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She may be reached at
    Beth.Swedeen@wisconsin.gov.

    350
    Retrieved from the Web site of the Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota
    (http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/233). Citation: Weir, C., Fialka, J., Timmons, J., Nord, D., & Gaylord,
    V. (Eds.). (Autumn/Winter 2010/2011). Impact: Feature Issue on Postsecondary Education and Students
    with Intellectual, Developmental and Other Disabilities, 23(3). [Minneapolis: University of Minnesota,
    Institute on Community Integration].
    __________

    Hard copies of Impact are available from the Publications Office of the Institute on Community Integration.
    The first copy of this issue is free; additional copies are $4 each. You can request copies by phone at
    612/624-4512 or e-mail at icipub@umn.edu, or you can fax or mail us an order form. See our listing of
    other issues of Impact for more information.

    The PDF version of this Impact, with photos and graphics, is also online at
    http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/233/233.pdf.

    Source:- https://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/233/14.html

    Celebrity Quotes: Learning From Challenges


    By Amanda Morin

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    Celebrities with learning and attention issues are often willing to share what those
    challenges have taught them. Here’s what 9 famous people with ADHD, dyslexia and
    more have to say.

    597Found this helpful


    Listen

    351
    Orlando Bloom, actor

    Dyslexia

    “If you have kids who are struggling with dyslexia, the greatest gift you can give them is
    the sense that nothing is unattainable. With dyslexia comes a very great gift, which is the
    way that your mind can think creatively.”
    —Child Mind Institute

    Orlando Bloom, actor

    Dyslexia

    “If you have kids who are struggling with dyslexia, the greatest gift you can give them is
    the sense that nothing is unattainable. With dyslexia comes a very great gift, which is the
    way that your mind can think creatively.”
    —Child Mind Institute

    352
    Will.i.am, Grammy-winning singer and producer

    ADHD

    “You’re always moving and thinking about a whole bunch of things. But those traits
    work well for me in studios and in meetings about creative ideas. If you listen to the
    songs I write, they are the most ADHD songs ever. They have five hooks in one and it all
    happens in three minutes. I figured out a way of working with it.”
    —Daily Mirror

    353
    Tim Tebow, former NFL quarterback

    Dyslexia

    “It has nothing to do with how intelligent you are. You can be extremely bright and still
    have dyslexia. You just have to understand how you learn and how you process
    information. When you know that, you can overcome a lot of the obstacles that come
    with dyslexia. When you figure out how you learn, you can accomplish whatever you
    want.”
    —ESPN

    354
    Whoopi Goldberg, award-winning actress and comedian

    Dyslexia

    “They thought I was lazy so they put me in the slow class. But my mom was a Head Start
    teacher, and she told me, ‘You’re not slow, you’re just different.’”
    —Brattleboro Reformer

    355
    Ty Pennington, host of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

    ADHD

    “That’s the other thing: Even if you’re on medication, you still have to treat your body
    properly and take care of yourself. The idea that [ADHD] goes away or you grow out of
    it isn’t true.”
    —Huffington Post

    Source:- https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/personal-
    stories/famous-people/celebrity-quotes-learning-from-challenges#slide-5

    356
    Teaching Tips for Children and Adults
    with Autism
    Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
    Assistant Professor
    Colorado State University
    Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
    (Revised: December 2002)

    Good teachers helped me to achieve success. I was able to overcome autism because I
    had good teachers. At age 2 1/2 I was placed in a structured nursery school with
    experienced teachers. From an early age I was taught to have good manners and to
    behave at the dinner table. Children with autism need to have a structured day, and
    teachers who know how to be firm but gentle.

    Between the ages of 2 1/4 and 5 my day was structured, and I was not allowed to tune
    out. I had 45 minutes of one-to-one speech therapy five days a week, and my mother
    hired a nanny who spent three to four hours a day playing games with me and my sister.
    She taught 'turn taking' during play activities. When we made a snowman, she had me
    roll the bottom ball; and then my sister had to make the next part. At mealtimes, every-
    body ate together; and I was not allowed to do any "stims." The only time I was allowed
    to revert back to autistic behavior was during a one-hour rest period after lunch. The
    combination of the nursery school, speech therapy, play activities, and "miss manners"
    meals added up to 40 hours a week, where my brain was kept connected to the world.

    1. Many people with autism are visual thinkers. I think in pictures. I do not think in
    language. All my thoughts are like videotapes running in my imagination.
    Pictures are my first language, and words are my second language. Nouns were
    the easiest words to learn because I could make a picture in my mind of the word.
    To learn words like "up" or "down," the teacher should demonstrate them to the
    child. For example, take a toy airplane and say "up" as you make the airplane
    takeoff from a desk. Some children will learn better if cards with the words "up"
    and "down" are attached to the toy airplane. The "up" card is attached when the
    plane takes off. The "down" card is attached when it lands.
    2. Avoid long strings of verbal instructions. People with autism have problems with
    remembering the sequence. If the child can read, write the instructions down on a
    piece of paper. I am unable to remember sequences. If I ask for directions at a gas
    station, I can only remember three steps. Directions with more than three steps
    have to be written down. I also have difficulty remembering phone numbers
    because I cannot make a picture in my mind.
    3. Many children with autism are good at drawing, art and computer programming.
    These talent areas should be encouraged. I think there needs to be much more
    emphasis on developing the child's talents. Talents can be turned into skills that
    can be used for future employment.

    357
    4. Many autistic children get fixated on one subject such as trains or maps. The best
    way to deal with fixations is to use them to motivate school work. If the child
    likes trains, then use trains to teach reading and math. Read a book about a train
    and do math problems with trains. For example, calculate how long it takes for a
    train to go between New York and Washington.
    5. Use concrete visual methods to teach number concepts. My parents gave me a
    math toy which helped me to learn numbers. It consisted of a set of blocks which
    had a different length and a different color for the numbers one through ten. With
    this I learned how to add and subtract. To learn fractions my teacher had a
    wooden apple that was cut up into four pieces and a wooden pear that was cut in
    half. From this I learned the concept of quarters and halves.
    6. I had the worst handwriting in my class. Many autistic children have problems
    with motor control in their hands. Neat handwriting is sometimes very hard. This
    can totally frustrate the child. To reduce frustration and help the child to enjoy
    writing, let him type on the computer. Typing is often much easier.
    7. Some autistic children will learn reading more easily with phonics, and others will
    learn best by memorizing whole words. I learned with phonics. My mother taught
    me the phonics rules and then had me sound out my words. Children with lots of
    echolalia will often learn best if flash cards and picture books are used so that the
    whole words are associated with pictures. It is important to have the picture and
    the printed word on the same side of the card. When teaching nouns the child
    must hear you speak the word and view the picture and printed word
    simultaneously. An example of teaching a verb would be to hold a card that says
    "jump," and you would jump up and down while saying "jump."
    8. When I was a child, loud sounds like the school bell hurt my ears like a dentist
    drill hitting a nerve. Children with autism need to be protected from sounds that
    hurt their ears. The sounds that will cause the most problems are school bells, PA
    systems, buzzers on the score board in the gym, and the sound of chairs scraping
    on the floor. In many cases the child will be able to tolerate the bell or buzzer if it
    is muffled slightly by stuffing it with tissues or duct tape. Scraping chairs can be
    silenced by placing slit tennis balls on the ends of the legs or installing carpet. A
    child may fear a certain room because he is afraid he may be suddenly subjected
    to squealing microphone feedback from the PA system. The fear of a dreaded
    sound can cause bad behavior. If a child covers his ears, it is an indicator that a
    certain sound hurts his ears. Sometimes sound sensitivity to a particular sound,
    such as the fire alarm, can be desensitized by recording the sound on a tape
    recorder. This will allow the child to initiate the sound and gradually increase its
    volume. The child must have control of playback of the sound.
    9. Some autistic people are bothered by visual distractions and fluorescent lights.
    They can see the flicker of the 60-cycle electricity. To avoid this problem, place
    the child's desk near the window or try to avoid using fluorescent lights. If the
    lights cannot be avoided, use the newest bulbs you can get. New bulbs flicker
    less. The flickering of fluorescent lights can also be reduced by putting a lamp
    with an old-fashioned incandescent light bulb next to the child's desk.
    10. Some hyperactive autistic children who fidget all the time will often be calmer if
    they are given a padded weighted vest to wear. Pressure from the garment helps to

    358
    calm the nervous system. I was greatly calmed by pressure. For best results, the
    vest should be worn for twenty minutes and then taken off for a few minutes. This
    prevents the nervous system from adapting to it.
    11. Some individuals with autism will respond better and have improved eye contact
    and speech if the teacher interacts with them while they are swinging on a swing
    or rolled up in a mat. Sensory input from swinging or pressure from the mat
    sometimes helps to improve speech. Swinging should always be done as a fun
    game. It must NEVER be forced.
    12. Some children and adults can sing better than they can speak. They may respond
    better if words and sentences are sung to them. Some children with extreme sound
    sensitivity will respond better if the teacher talks to them in a low whisper.
    13. Some nonverbal children and adults cannot process visual and auditory input at
    the same time. They are mono-channel. They cannot see and hear at the same
    time. They should not be asked to look and listen at the same time. They should
    be given either a visual task or an auditory task. Their immature nervous system is
    not able to process simultaneous visual and auditory input.
    14. In older nonverbal children and adults touch is often their most reliable sense. It is
    often easier for them to feel. Letters can be taught by letting them feel plastic
    letters. They can learn their daily schedule by feeling objects a few minutes before
    a scheduled activity. For example, fifteen minutes before lunch give the person a
    spoon to hold. Let them hold a toy car a few minutes before going in the car.
    15. Some children and adults with autism will learn more easily if the computer key-
    board is placed close to the screen. This enables the individual to simultaneously
    see the keyboard and screen. Some individuals have difficulty remembering if
    they have to look up after they have hit a key on the keyboard.
    16. Nonverbal children and adults will find it easier to associate words with pictures
    if they see the printed word and a picture on a flashcard. Some individuals do not
    under-stand line drawings, so it is recommended to work with real objects and
    photos first. The picture and the word must be on the same side of the card.
    17. Some autistic individuals do not know that speech is used for communication.
    Language learning can be facilitated if language exercises promote
    communication. If the child asks for a cup, then give him a cup. If the child asks
    for a plate, when he wants a cup, give him a plate. The individual needs to learn
    that when he says words, concrete things happen. It is easier for an individual
    with autism to learn that their words are wrong if the incorrect word resulted in
    the incorrect object.
    18. Many individuals with autism have difficulty using a computer mouse. Try a
    roller ball (or tracking ball) pointing device that has a separate button for clicking.
    Autistics with motor control problems in their hands find it very difficult to hold
    the mouse still during clicking.
    19. Children who have difficulty understanding speech have a hard time
    differentiating between hard consonant sounds such as 'D' in dog and 'L' in log.
    My speech teacher helped me to learn to hear these sounds by stretching out and
    enunciating hard consonant sounds. Even though the child may have passed a
    pure tone hearing test he may still have difficulty hearing hard consonants.
    Children who talk in vowel sounds are not hearing consonants.

    359
    20. Several parents have informed me that using the closed captions on the television
    helped their child to learn to read. The child was able to read the captions and
    match the printed works with spoken speech. Recording a favorite program with
    captions on a tape would be helpful because the tape can be played over and over
    again and stopped.
    21. Some autistic individuals do not understand that a computer mouse moves the
    arrow on the screen. They may learn more easily if a paper arrow that looks
    EXACTLY like the arrow on the screen is taped to the mouse.
    22. Children and adults with visual processing problems can see flicker on TV type
    computer monitors. They can sometimes see better on laptops and flat panel
    displays which have less flicker.
    23. Children and adults who fear escalators often have visual processing problems.
    They fear the escalator because they cannot determine when to get on or off.
    These individuals may also not be able to tolerate fluorescent lights. The Irlen
    colored glasses may be helpful for them.
    24. Individuals with visual processing problems often find it easier to read if black
    print is printed on colored paper to reduce contrast. Try light tan, light blue, gray,
    or light green paper. Experiment with different colors. Avoid bright yellow--it
    may hurt the individual's eyes. Irlen colored glasses may also make reading easier.
    (Click here to visit the Irlen Institute's web site.)
    25. Teaching generalization is often a problem for children with autism. To teach a
    child to generalize the principle of not running across the street, it must be taught
    in many different locations. If he is taught in only one location, the child will
    think that the rule only applies to one specific place.
    26. A common problem is that a child may be able to use the toilet correctly at home
    but refuses to use it at school. This may be due to a failure to recognize the toilet.
    Hilde de Clereq from Belgium discovered that an autistic child may use a small
    non-relevant detail to recognize an object such as a toilet. It takes detective work
    to find that detail. In one case a boy would only use the toilet at home that had a
    black seat. His parents and teacher were able to get him to use the toilet at school
    by covering its white seat with black tape. The tape was then gradually removed
    and toilets with white seats were now recognized as toilets.
    27. Sequencing is very difficult for individuals with severe autism. Sometimes they
    do not understand when a task is presented as a series of steps. An occupational
    therapist successfully taught a nonverbal autistic child to use a playground slide
    by walking his body through climbing the ladder and going down the slide. It
    must be taught by touch and motor rather than showing him visually. Putting on
    shoes can be taught in a similar manner. The teacher should put her hands on top
    of the child’s hands and move the child’s hands over his foot so he feels and
    understands the shape of his foot. The next step is feeling the inside and the
    outside of a slip-on shoe. To put the shoe on, the teacher guides the child’s hands
    to the shoe and, using the hand-over-hand method, slides the shoe onto the child’s
    foot. This enables the child to feel the entire task of putting on his shoe.
    28. Fussy eating is a common problem. In some cases the child may be fixated on a
    detail that identifies a certain food. Hilde de Clerq found that one child only ate
    Chiquita bananas because he fixated on the labels. Other fruit such as apples and

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    oranges were readily accepted when Chiquita labels were put on them. Try
    putting different but similar foods in the cereal box or another package of a
    favorite food. Another mother had success by putting a homemade hamburger
    with a wheat free bun in a McDonald’s package.

    December 2002

    Source:- https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/Teaching-Tips-for-Children-and-Adults-
    with-Autism

    Teaching young children on the autism spectrum

    If you have a young child in your class who has autistic traits (whether or not
    they have received a formal diagnosis), this guide explains more about
    autism and suggests some strategies for helping them in nursery and
    preschool.

    For ease of reference, the word 'child' refers to 'child on the autism
    spectrum'.

    What is autism?

    Autism is a lifelong disability that affects the way a person communicates


    and relates to people around them. Children on the autism spectrum have
    difficulty relating to others in a meaningful way. Their ability to develop
    friendships is generally limited as is their capacity to understand other
    people's emotional expression.

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    Some children may have an accompanying learning disability, a specific
    learning difficulty or an additional developmental disorder. All children on
    the autism spectrum have impairments in social interaction, social
    communication and imagination. This is known as the 'triad of impairments'.

    What is Asperger syndrome?

    Children with Asperger syndrome may have fewer problems with language


    than other autistic children, often speaking fluently, though their words can
    sometimes sound formal or stilted. People with Asperger syndrome do not
    usually have an accompanying learning disability. They are often of average
    or above average intelligence, although some may have an accompanying
    specific learning difficulty. With an understanding of their needs, the right
    support and encouragement, many can attend a mainstream school, make
    good progress and go on to further education and employment.

    It's important to remember that each child on the autism spectrum is an


    individual and so their needs and the appropriate interventions to meet
    them will vary.

    Signs of autism in young children

    Children on the autism spectrum exhibit a wide range of behaviours,


    including:

     difficulty relating to others and making friends

     difficulty in communicating (some children may not talk at all)


     being unable to engage in imaginative play.

    Other signs of autism include:

     obsessions

     fears
     a lack of awareness of danger
     ritualistic play and behaviour
     inappropriate eye contact
     hypersensitivity to sound, light
     spinning objects
     hand flapping.

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    A child does not need to show all these signs to be diagnosed as on the
    autism spectrum and some children who are not autistic may exhibit some of
    these behaviours.

    Communication difficulties

    Some children never develop spoken language and their understanding may
    be limited. Others develop speech although this may begin much later than
    normal.

    Echolalia

    Some of these children will develop echolalia, repeating words that may have
    little meaning for the child or repeating what you say. For example, when
    asking a child if he wants a drink, he may reply 'Do you want a drink?' The
    child may also use the words 'Do you want a drink?' to actually ask for a
    drink. He may also repeat words or phrases that he has heard in the past -
    including phrases from television programmes. For those children whose
    language develops beyond echolalia, they may have great difficulty with
    grammar and word meanings.

    Non-verbal communication

    Non-verbal communication is also impaired. Young children may even have


    difficulty in understanding simple gestures such as nodding and shaking the
    head. They also have great difficulty in using such language, although they
    often develop simple skills as they grow older. The basic rule is to be clear,
    concise and consistent.

    Children with Asperger syndrome and communication

    Children with Asperger syndrome may appear to have normal language. This
    can be deceptive as they still have a range of subtle problems and it should
    not be assumed they understand what they are saying. Their conversation
    may be repetitive and non-conversational. Some children will repeatedly ask
    the same question regardless of the answer or insisting that the same
    answer is given.

    How to communicate with young children on the autism spectrum

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    Use simple language

    It is crucial to use simple language when talking to the child, speaking slowly
    and clearly. For example, rather than saying 'Tommy, put your coat on. It's
    time to go home', saying 'Tommy, coat' may be more effective. Point to the
    coat at the same time and use the child's name.

    For children with better comprehension, speak in sentences, but ensure that
    they are short and simple and not ambiguous. Stress keywords if necessary
    and try to put them at the end of the sentence, eg 'It is time for a drink'.

    Use symbols or pictures

    Another technique is to use symbols and


    pictures or a real object. If you are telling a child it's time for a drink, show
    them a picture of a drink. Such techniques will also help reduce the
    frustration a child feels at not being able to communicate verbally. For very
    young children the real object may be better, possibly backed up with a
    symbol. You need to be careful with pictures because the child could focus
    on the background if the picture has too much detail. Also, if not exactly the
    same drink, eg the picture is of milk and you are offering blackcurrant, they
    may not recognise it is still a drink. He may view it as something different.

    Picture timetables give children a sense of structure to their day and make
    them feel more secure. A variety of types of pictures can be used –
    photographs, drawings, symbols etc – depending on the child's
    understanding. More able children may prefer words. What is important is
    that the timetable is clear, unambiguous and does not give too much
    information at once. Visual timetables can also be used to break an activity
    down into steps. Hannah (2001) discusses in detail how to design and
    implement a good timetable.

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    Picture symbols were used with Emma to help her use the toilet. A

    picture of the toilet was placed next to the toilet and this was shown

    to her every time she went to there. Once she had associated the

    symbol with the toilet an identical symbol was shown to her in the

    playroom when the staff member was going to take her there. At the

    same time she was told 'Emma, toilet'. As time went on, Emma was

    able to show a member of staff the appropriate picture when she

    needed to use the toilet."

    Literal understanding

    Always be aware of what you are saying and how the child might
    misunderstand it. Their understanding is likely to be literal: for example, if
    you say 'it's raining cats and dogs', they may look for cats and dogs falling
    from the sky. An expression such as 'crying your eyes out' can be taken at
    face value and cause distress or even terror.

    Repeat instructions

    Continually check that the child is listening and understanding. Many


    children may not look at you or the object but still may be taking everything
    in. Don't be afraid of repeating what you have said if you don't think they
    have understood the first time. It is essential to give the young child a much
    longer time to process the information than you would expect for other
    children. Also, if you repeat the instruction, repeat it in exactly the same way.
    If you say the phrase slightly differently the child may have to process the
    information all over again. This is particularly important if the child is in a
    group. Young children may not understand that they are included, so you
    may need to address them by name or talk to them alone, then to the group.

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    Always address a child by their name first

    Don't assume if you say 'John' to a child they will automatically respond or, if
    the tone of voice implies 'stop that' or 'come here' that they will comply. Give
    positive instruction – ie what you want them to do rather than what you
    don't want them to do, eg, 'Sahid, slow down' rather than 'Sahid, stop
    running'.

    Introducing a young child on the autism spectrum to the nursery

    Any child is likely to be overwhelmed by the


    noise, light, number of children present etc. This is particularly true of the
    child on the autism spectrum who may be hypersensitive to these things.
    Make the introduction to nursery gradual:

     Take photographs of the nursery and make a picture book

     Arrange for staff to visit the child at home


     The child can visit the nursery when no other children are present and
    be introduced to staff and activities
     Then introduce the child to the other children, gradually increasing the
    amount of time he spends at nursery.

    It may also be useful for staff to have a photograph and name on a badge so
    that the child begins to recognise them and their name. For children who
    don't like change, it might be useful to have a display board with photos
    showing which staff are in that particular day.

    Toileting problems

    Some children find toileting very difficult, especially if they have learning
    difficulties. You may find that a child who is dry at home may need nappies at

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    nursery. Other children may use other places than the toilet, not realising
    that this is inappropriate. Autism makes it very difficult for the child to
    understand social rules. They are not being naughty.

    Dealing with toileting problems

    Try and establish a routine. For example, take the child to the toilet or potty
    about 20 minutes after every meal. You can also look out for non-verbal
    signals that indicate the child wants a wee or poo. Parents should be able to
    advise on this. Take the child to the toilet and encourage them to sit on the
    toilet or potty. Try and get them to sit for a short period of time, say five
    minutes, before you let them off. If they don't do anything let them off but
    return a short while later, especially if they give signals that they are about to
    do something in their nappy or pants.

    Keep a record when a child goes to the toilet

    It is important to keep a record when a child goes to the toilet – a simple w/p
    key (w=wee/p=poo) when using the toilet eg did a wee, did a poo, pants wet,
    just sat etc. This will give useful information in order to determine whether
    visits to the toilets should have shorter/longer intervals and whether a child
    wets/poos at around the same time daily. Timings of visits can then be
    adjusted accordingly.

    For a child who dislikes using the potty/toilet, it may be useful to give them a
    favourite book/toy to use while getting them to tolerate just sitting down. For
    a child who holds on to their urine, it might be worth plying them with their
    favourite drinks throughout the day.

    Rewards for using the toilet

    Rewards for using the toilet need to be instant so that the child relates the
    reward with the correct action.

    It may be an idea to set up a reward system when toilet training. Rewards


    can be anything from praise to allowing the child to undertake a favourite
    activity, for example.

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    Problems with eating

    Lunch time can be particularly difficult for children at nursery. Some are very
    sensitive to certain textures or flavours, or are frightened of trying new
    foods. Many are overactive and find it hard to sit down and eat at a table. It is
    therefore important to take things in small steps and praise the child for
    their progress. They may find eating as part of a group overwhelming - sitting
    the child at their own table and gradually introducing other children may
    help.

    Establishing a lunchtime routine

    Lunch time must be a very consistent routine with, perhaps, a personal table
    mat so that the child knows that it is time to sit down and eat. Encourage the
    child only to eat when sitting. Keep returning them to their chair to sit for a
    few minutes to eat. Be very clear what you are working on, eg favourite
    foods, so that the child wants to sit down and eat.

    Gradually build up the amount and variety of food presented to the child.
    During the early days, only present the foods that the child knows and likes.
    Then put one small new item in middle of a favourite food e.g. one pea in a
    jacket potato and gradually build up. If they show interest in other foods, by
    all means then try the new food, unless the child is on a special diet. Give
    praise once the food has been swallowed, and not before. If the child leaves
    food on their plate, just remove their plate without comment. Accept it may
    be better for a child to initially use their fingers, rather than cutlery, if you
    just want them to eat. Teach one skill at a time.

    Obsessions

    Many children will have one or more obsessions eg Thomas the Tank Engine
    or dinosaurs. A child may talk repeatedly about the object. It may be
    necessary to have rules such as they can only bring one engine to
    nursery and that he can only talk about Thomas at certain times. The visual
    timetable can be used to implement this.However, a child's special interest
    can be used as a tool. For example, Thomas and the other engines can be
    used to teach numbers and colours.

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    Meltdowns

    Some children have meltdowns because they are unable to communicate


    what they want or express their feelings in any other way. They may also
    have difficulty in understanding what they are being told.

    The use of picture cards may help overcome some of these problems. It is
    also essential to keep your language clear and brief and to emphasis
    important words.

    However, don't just assume it is a communication problem. Try to get as


    much information as possible from parents eg did he sleep well, did they
    have breakfast, are they ill, frightened etc. If a child has meltdowns often, it
    would be helpful to record these - time, date, what was happening just
    before the incident, during the incident, and how did the child calm down. A
    pattern might emerge which might identify triggers. If a child is non-verbal it
    would be helpful to teach a child to initially point or take an adult's hand to
    items they want. This will reduce the frustration of not having some of their
    needs met.

    Difficulty choosing activities or toys

    During free time, the child may find it very difficult to choose what to do.
    They may stand on the perimeter engaging in self-stimulatory activity, such
    as flicking their fingers. Slowly build up the choices that are available to the
    child - initially offer them a favourite activity together with something they do
    not enjoy. Gradually build up to two desired activities. Alternatively, they may
    always choose the same activity, such as playing with the toy train. A picture
    timetable can be used, alternating the train play with other activities.

    Adapting the curriculum

    As with all children, children on the autism spectrum will be required to


    follow the early years foundation stage of education from the age of three to
    the end of reception year. However, children on the autism spectrum have
    differences in their brain development and they may have difficulties in
    learning those skills which typically developing children learn naturally.
    Essentially, a young child needs to develop 'learning to learn' skills in order to
    access a curriculum - sitting for short periods, looking, listening, attention,
    concentration, enjoyment, simple self- help skills, eg toileting.

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    Cumine, Leach and Stevenson (2000) give an outline as to how this
    curriculum can be adapted to meet the needs of children on the autism
    spectrum. They emphasise the child's special needs and give hints on
    teaching, with case study examples.

     Personal, social and emotional development


    What a child learns in the early years is crucial in the development of his
    social competence. Specific social interaction skills need to be taught - using
    real social situations.

     Communication, language and literacy


    Similarly, the child may have great difficulty in understanding
    communication, verbal and non-verbal. Again, this may need to be taught.
     Mathematical development
    This may be an area of strength. However, mathematical experiences will
    need to made meaningful for the child.
     Knowledge and understanding the world
    The child may not be naturally inquisitive and this will need to be fostered.
    However, they may have extreme curiosity for certain things. Help will be
    needed to make sense of past, present and future events.
     Physical development
    Be vigilant with those children whose agility outstrips their sense of danger.
    Clear safety rules that the child understands will be necessary.
     Creative development
    Help the child reflect on previous experiences and learning and help them
    make connections between past and present learning.

    Toys and play for children on the autism spectrum

    Play can be particularly difficult. Research has shown that for young children
    on the autism spectrum, sensory motor play (eg putting toys in the mouth)
    dominates beyond the age at which it declines in children without autism.

    They may also use objects in an inflexible way, for example spinning the
    wheels of a toy car rather than playing a racing game.

    They may often prefer to play by themselves, rather than with other children.
    Children, especially those with Asperger syndrome, sometimes want to play
    with other children, but do not know how.

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    Adult assistance may greatly help these children. Interactive play, such as
    singing games, can also be very popular. Sherratt and Peter (2002) give a
    wide range of practical strategies for teaching play, depending on the child's
    level of functioning. Some of these can be used on a one-to-one basis; others
    involve other children. Moor (2002) also has a wealth of practical advice to
    offer on play ideas.

    Imaginary play (eg doctors and nurses) is rare. Often when it does appear, it
    is in fact an enactment of something they have seen on television and they
    will repeat the same scene over and over again.

    Trying new toys/experiences

    Many young children on the autism spectrum have poor self-occupancy skills
    and lack the imagination to truly experiment and examine toys. Because of
    their rigid behaviours they may not want to try new toys/experiences. One-
    to-one teaching of how to use functional toys may not necessarily teach a
    child how to 'play' but, through routine, they may learn to occupy themselves
    in a more constructive and appropriate way. The child's range of toys could
    be systematically increased thus increasing the child's ability to make
    choices. The more familiar a child becomes with a range of toys, the more
    they are likely to use them.

    Ideas for toys and activities for young children with autism

    Shields (1999) has compiled a lists of toys that have been demonstrated as
    being popular with young children on the autism spectrum:

    Toys which are visually interesting:

     bubbles

     shape and colour matching or sorting toys


     jigsaws
     Jack-in-the-box
     lego
     videos especially Thomas the Tank Engine, Pingu and Disney
     books, especially those with flaps or items to touch, puzzle books,
    word books.

    Other toys:

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     physical activity toys eg swing, slide, trampoline, rocking horse, ride-on
    toys, climbing frame, football etc

     games to play with other people eg tapes of singing and dancing


    games, picture lotto, snap, Connect 4, snakes and ladders, ludo, chess
     computer software - early years programmes, characters (eg Thomas
    the Tank Engine, Pingu, Disney), software to develop vocabulary, factual
    software.

    Health and safety

    Some children do not seem to react to pain. They may not cry when hurt and
    show little or no awareness of danger. It is therefore advised that they are
    carefully monitored when playing on play equipment.

    They may also lack awareness of other children's safety eg pushing another
    child aside. This is not to intentionally hurt the child, rather they are unaware
    that the other child may get hurt or be angry at being pushed aside.

    Training for teachers and support staff

    If possible, try and arrange training for all staff. To arrange in-house training
    and consultancy, contact our Training Department on 0141 285 7117 or
    email training@nas.org.uk. You may also consider our Ask Autism training for
    staff. 

    Important points:

     All staff need to be aware of the needs of the child and interventions
    should be used consistently.

     Language should be clear and simple. 


     Use rewards, not punishment
     Share information/experiences with parents/carers
     Be aware of what might upset the child.

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    Books and resources for teachers of young children on the
    autism spectrum

    Hannah, L. (2001). Teaching young children with autistic spectrum disorders: a


    practical guide for parents and staff in mainstream schools and nurseries.
    London: The National Autistic Society

    Hannah, L. (2007). My friend Sam: introducing a child with autism to nursery


    school. London: The National Autistic Society - A book for preschool children
    about autism

    Leicestershire County Council and Fosse Health Trust. (1998). Autism: how to
    help your young child. London: The National Autistic Society

    Moor, J. (2002). Playing, laughing and learning with children on the autism
    spectrum: a practical resource of play ideas for parents and carers. London:
    Jessica Kingsley

    Peters, C. (2007). Thats not fair! Leicester: Leicester City Council - A book for
    preschool children about autism

    Plimley, L., Bowen, M. and Morgan, H. (2007). Autistic spectrum disorders in the
    early years. London: Paul Chapman

    Sherratt, D. and Peters, M. (2002). Developing play and drama in children with
    autistic spectrum disorders. London: David Fulton

    Shields, J. (1999). Ideas for toys and leisure. In: The autistic spectrum - a
    handbook 1999. London: The National Autistic Society

    Sussman, F. (1999). More than words: helping parents promote communication


    and social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. Toronto, Ontario:
    The Hanen Program

    Wall, K. (2004). Autism and early years practice: a guide for early years
    professionals, teachers and parents. London: Paul Chapman

    Wing, L. (1996). The autistic spectrum: a guide for parents and professionals.
    London: Constable

    Quick link to this page: www.autism.org.uk/teachingyoungchildren

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    Source:- http://www.autism.org.uk/professionals/teachers/teaching-young-children.aspx

    12 Things I’d Like Teachers to Understand about Autism


    The post below is by Lisa Smith, the mother of seven children, two with special needs.
    Her son Tate has autism. Lisa blogs about her experiences and can be found on
    Facebook at Quirks and Chaos or at  quirks-and-chaos.blogspot.com. For more
    resources for teachers and help with inclusion and acceptance at school, check out the
    Autism Speaks School Community Tool Kit here.

    I have a follower who is a teacher and she asked me to do a “Ten things I’d like to tell
    teachers about autism” list. I came up with 12 things that I would tell my son’s teachers
    in grade school if I could go back in time. 

    1. Autism is a huge spectrum. 

    If you have taught other children with autism you may have a good general idea of what
    autism looks like but my son will still be different than the others. If you have questions
    about my son or how autism affects him, ask me. Nothing will impress me more about
    you than your willingness to learn about my son and his needs.

    2. A routine and transition warnings are helpful for a child with autism.

    While we know that flexibility is an important life skill and one we need to work on, my
    son does not handle surprises or big changes in his routine well. Things like a substitute
    teacher, a fire drill, or a field trip are all going to cause anxiety for my son. A warning
    and clear instructions will help. A visual schedule would be a helpful tool for my son. A
    five-minute warning, a two-minute warning, and tolerance are needed. 

    3. A child with autism needs extra time to process language. 

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    Use simple language and short sentences. Give no more than two-step instructions. Give
    my son at least three full seconds after you make a statement or ask a question to respond.
    If you choose to repeat, do not rephrase, as then he will have to start processing over
    again. Trying to hurry my son will only slow him down further.

    4. Receptive language and expressive language are two different things.

    My son may understand much more than you think he does. He may not be able to put
    into words all the things he wants to say. On the other hand he may be able to quote long
    complicated phrases or passages without understanding any of the meaning of the words.
    It is difficult to know exactly what my child really knows and what he still needs to learn
    sometimes.

    5. Children with autism are literal.

    Figurative language and abstract ideas are a mystery to a child with autism. So, when you
    say things like, “Pick up the pace” and your other students know you want them to walk
    faster, my son will be looking for something called “pace” that he should be lifting from
    the floor. These things happen all day long.

    6. A child with autism can get stuck on one subject.

    My son obsesses about things that do not matter to you or I. He might want to talk about
    Disney movie characters for a long period of time and there will be little you can do to
    distract him. He gets stuck in a continuous loop. Occasionally these topics of interest can
    be incorporated into his learning but mostly they distract him from learning.

    7. A child with autism may need help with social interactions.

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    My son will probably appear disinterested in his peers and he may actually be
    disinterested but he will never learn social skills unless we keep trying. You have him in
    a perfect setting for teaching social skills. It is an environment I cannot recreate at home.
    It would be so helpful if you would use every opportunity available there to teach and
    reteach social skills.

    8. Sensory issues are a distraction for many children with autism.

    Sounds that are barely noticeable to you may distract my child and keep him from
    learning. Textures may cause my son to recoil in disgust. Smells may cause him to gag.
    Please be considerate of this. Over stimulation can sometimes overwhelm him and cause
    a meltdown. A meltdown looks similar to a temper tantrum but it is not the same at all.

    9. Children with autism use stereotypic behaviors or repetitive behaviors when they
    are excited, bored, or stressed.

    My son will need redirection throughout the day. The behaviors will cause him to appear
    odd to his peers. Please consider giving the class an age appropriate definition of autism
    to help his peers understand.

    10. Positive Reinforcement will be helpful but punishments will not.

    Punishments or threats of punishment will probably result in anxiety and impede


    progress. He will work toward a reward but will shut down if he fears a punishment.

    11. People with autism tell the truth as they see it.

    My son may let you know you need to lose weight, you need a shave, or your breath
    smells bad. Do not take it personally. A sense of humor is a must when working with
    children with autism.

    12. Kids with autism are not scary or unlovable. They are just different.

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    Sometimes different is intimidating but educating yourself about autism and about my
    son will help. I’m can help with that! I will willingly answer any questions you have. 

    For more resources for teachers and help with inclusion and acceptance at school,
    check out the Autism Speaks School Community Tool Kit here.

    Everyone deserves the chance to reach their full potential. We need your help to tell
    lawmakers that improving education for children and young adults with autism is a
    priority for our community. Sign the petition here to have your voice heard.

    The Autism Speaks blog features opinions from people throughout the autism
    community. Each blog represents the point of view of the author and does not necessarily
    reflect Autism Speaks' beliefs or point of view.

    Source:- https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2015/03/09/12-things-i%E2%80%99d-
    teachers-understand-about-autism

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    One in three teens with autism earns driver's license
    Large study yields insights into family decision-making around the balance
    between safety and independence

    A large new study found that a third of teens who have autism without intellectual
    disability earn a driver's license. Nearly 90 percent of them do so within two years of
    getting their learner’s permit. That’s strong evidence, the researchers say, that most
    families are making an informed decision about whether a teen with autism has the
    potential to be a safe and successful driver before he or she ever gets behind the wheel.

    Appearing in the journal Autism, the study included 52,172 New Jersey teens seen in the
    healthcare network of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). CHOP is one of 13
    centers in the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network.

    To their unique analysis, the researchers cross-linked autism diagnoses from CHOP’s
    electronic health records with a New Jersey driver-licensing database, identifying 609
    teens who had autism.

    379
    Key findings included:

    * Of the teens who had autism (without intellectual disability), 34 percent earned a
    driver’s license, compared to 83 percent of teens without autism.

    * Nearly 90 percent of those with autism progressed from learner’s permit to intermediate
    license within 2 years. By comparison, this was true of 98 percent of teens not affected by
    autism. (With an intermediate license, New Jersey drivers can legally drive independently
    between 5 am and 11 pm with no more than one non-family passenger.)

    * On average, those with autism took 9 months longer to progress from learner’s permit
    to intermediate license than did the other teens.

    Given the high rate of success once a teen with autism gets a learner’s permit, the
    researchers conclude that, overall, families are doing a good job assessing whether their
    teens are capable of driving safely before they agree to embark on learning to drive.

    Since car crashes are the number one cause of death for adolescents, the authors urge
    further research to understand how families make the decision of whether a teen with
    autism should pursue a driver's license – and how healthcare providers and driving
    educators can best support them.

    "For teens on the autism spectrum, the decision to pursue a driver's license is one of
    several milestones that other families might take for granted,” says Benjamin Yerys,
    study co-author and a scientist at the Center for Autism Research at the children’s
    hospital. "ASD can affect decision-making, information processing and attention to
    varying degrees. We need to understand what resources, specialized instruction and other
    supports might be helpful for teens and adults with ASD who are considering or
    preparing to drive."

    "Our best advice to parents and caregivers of teens with ASD who are considering
    driving is to schedule a doctor's appointment to address any concerns, such as attention
    issues," adds co-author Patty Huang, a developmental pediatrician. "Parents may also
    want to seek the advice of an occupational therapist who specializes in driving or a
    driving educator who has training in working with individuals with special needs."

    Funding for this study was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of
    Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

    Editor’s note: For more guidance on this important topic, see the DriveAdvise video
    below, developed by Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with the help of a
    community grant from Autism Speaks.

    Source :- https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2017/04/12/one-three-teens-autism-earns-
    drivers-license

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    Teen with autism reluctant to drive; should this parent
    push?

    Photo by Jesse Uli

    “My son, who has autism, is not sure if he wants to learn to drive. He’s nervous
    about getting into an accident. He follows laws, is very careful and has driven go
    carts. His coordination is clumsy in games like catch or basketball. But he has good
    balance. I’m encouraging him to be open about the idea. What are your thoughts?”

    Today’s “Got Questions?” answer is by


    psychologist Cathryn Lehman, of the Center for
    Autism and Developmental Disorders, at the
    University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The
    medical center is one of 14 sites in the Autism
    Speaks Autism Treatment Network.

    What a great question! Of course, many parents


    grapple with this topic to one degree or another.

    381
    How do I know if and when my child is ready to drive? The level of concern is
    understandably elevated when your child has autism.

    It’s important to remember that there’s no set rule to determine when someone is ready to
    drive, regardless of autism-related challenges. Some teenagers feel ready to drive as soon
    as they’re old enough. Others wait several years or choose the alternative of navigating
    their local public transportation system.

    Often, life circumstances play the largest role in the decision-making process. For
    example, if your son is going to be responsible for commuting to and from college or a
    job, learning to drive may become an important component of his independence.
    However, if there’s a bus or subway stop nearby, learning to drive may not be imperative.

    Here are a few points to consider when helping your son to make this important decision:

    A checklist of crucial driving skills

    You mention that your son is good at following laws. That’s a great start, and a strength
    frequently associated with autism. Of course, there’s much more to driving than simply
    remembering rules. In order to drive safely and effectively, an individual must use:

    Social judgement and perspective-taking – For example, a good driver has to ask and
    answer such questions as “Is the driver in the opposing lane going to allow me to turn in
    front of him?”

    Fine and gross motor skills – Can the driver use the wheel, brake and gas pedals and
    other controls in an effective and timely manner?

    Physical coordination – Maneuvering a vehicle requires the driver to use hands and feet
    simultaneously and in coordination.

    Planning – A driver needs to know how to plan a route and follow it without getting
    disoriented. He or she also needs to understand when the car needs gas or service.

    Cognitive flexibility – A driver needs to figure out to do when the unexpected happens.
    What if a road is closed or there’s construction? What if it starts to rain or snow heavily?
    What if the car gets a flat tire or otherwise starts making an unexpected sound that may
    require a response?

    Sustained attention – The average commute is about 25 minutes. Drivers needs to keep
    their full attention on driving for the entire length of a trip.

    Impulse control and emotion regulation – How would your son react if another driver
    shouted at him or used a rude gesture? Would he respond appropriately if pulled over by
    police? How would he respond if other drivers were not abiding by the rules of the road
    as precisely as he thought they should?

    382
    Multi-tasking and prioritizing – Many distractions can and will compete for a driver’s
    attention. A cell phone rings. A drink spills. An irritating – or favorite – song plays on the
    radio. For safety’s sake, a driver must continually evaluate what should be foremost in his
    or her attention and screen out distractors as needed.

    Handling potential sensory overload

    Second, many people on the autism spectrum have a tendency to be over-stimulated by


    the sights, sounds, smells and other sensory information in their environment. It is
    important to consider the very real possibility that situations such as heavy traffic,
    highway speeds or a profusion of road signs will prove over-stimulating to a driver who
    has autism.

    Get expert advice

    Third, you and your son do not need to make this decision alone! A variety of
    professionals can help you and your son determine if he’s ready and able to drive safely.
    Such an expert may also be able to help your son become more confident in his skills.

    One place to start is through your son’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP), if he has
    one. The school district’s IEP transition coordinator should be able to connect you with
    someone who can conduct a driver readiness assessment. Another possible resource
    would be a community organization that specializes in vocation rehabilitation services.
    Even a local driving school can be a great resource if it has instructors who can recognize
    and assess your son’s issues.

    Autism study looks at driver readiness


    In a 2012 study, researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia surveyed nearly
    300 parents of teens with autism who were registered with the Interactive Autism
    Network. In the process, they identified some of the characteristics increased the
    likelihood that a teen with autism was driving. These factors included having an
    Individualized Education Plan that included driving goals, planning to attend college,
    holding a paid job outside the home and having a parent who had previously taught a teen
    to drive. These aren’t requirements for driving with autism. Rather they represent some
    additional characteristics that might help you and your son determine whether driving is
    right for him at this time.

    And if he’s not comfortable with learning to drive now, encourage him to keep an open
    mind as he might feel ready in a few years.

    Good luck to you and your son and thank you again for your question!

    Source:- https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2016/03/18/teen-autism-reluctant-drive-
    should-parent-push

    383
    Choosing the Right Job for People with
    Autism or Asperger's Syndrome
    Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
    Assistant Professor
    Colorado State University
    Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
    (November, 1999)

    Jobs need to be chosen that make use of the strengths of people with autism or Asperger's
    syndrome. Both high and low functioning people have very poor short-term working
    memory, but they often have a better long-term memory than most normal people. I have
    great difficulty with tasks that put high demands on short-term working memory. I cannot
    handle multiple tasks at the same time. Table 1 is a list of BAD jobs that I would have
    great difficulty doing. Table 2 is a list of easy jobs for a visual thinker like me. I have
    difficulty doing abstract math such as algebra and most of the jobs on Table 2 do not
    require complex math. Many of the visual thinking jobs would also be good for people
    with dyslexia.

    The visual thinking jobs on Table 2 put very little demand on fast processing of
    information in short-term working memory. They would fully utilize my visual thinking
    and large long-term memory. Table 3 is a list of jobs that non-visual thinkers who are
    good with numbers, facts and music could do easily. They also put low demands on
    short-term working memory and utilize an excellent long-term memory. Table 4 shows
    jobs that lower functioning people with autism could do well. For all types of autism and
    Asperger's syndrome, demands on short-term working memory must be kept low. If I
    were a computer, I would have a huge hard drive that could hold 10 times as much
    information as an ordinary computer but my processor chip would be small. To use 1999
    computer terminology, I have a 1000 gigabyte hard drive and a little 286 processor.
    Normal people may have only 10 gigabytes of disc space on their hard drive and a
    Pentium for a processor. I cannot do two or three things at once.

    Some job tips for people with autism or Asperger's syndrome:

     Jobs should have a well-defined goal or endpoint.


     Sell your work, not your personality. Make a portfolio of your work.
     The boss must recognize your social limitations.

    It is important that high functioning autistics and Asperger's syndrome people pick a
    college major in an area where they can get jobs. Computer science is a good choice
    because it is very likely that many of the best programmers have either Asperger's

    384
    syndrome or some of its traits. Other good majors are: accounting, engineering, library
    science, and art with an emphasis on commercial art and drafting. Majors in history,
    political science, business, English or pure math should be avoided. However, one could
    major in library science with a minor in history, but the library science degree makes it
    easier to get a good job.

    Some individuals while they are still in high school should be encouraged to take courses
    at a local college in drafting, computer programming or commercial art. This will help
    keep them motivated and serve as a refuge from teasing. Families with low income may
    be wondering how they can afford computers for their child to learn programming or
    computer aided drafting. Used computers can often be obtained for free or at a very low
    cost when a business or an engineering company upgrades their equipment. Many people
    do not realize that there are many usable older computers sitting in storerooms at schools,
    banks, factories and other businesses. It will not be the latest new thing, but it is more
    than adequate for a student to learn on.

    In conclusion: a person with Asperger's syndrome or autism has to compensate for poor
    social skills by making themselves so good in a specialized field that people will be
    willing to "buy" their skill even though social skills are poor. This is why making a
    portfolio of your work is so important. You need to learn a few social survival skills, but
    you will make friends at work by sharing your shared interest with the other people who
    work in your specialty. My social life is almost all work related. I am friends with people
    I do interesting work with.

    Table 1
    Bad Jobs for People with High Functioning Autism or Asperger's Syndrome: Jobs that
    require high demands on short-term working memory

     Cashier -- making change quickly puts too much demand on short-term working
    memory
     Short order cook -- Have to keep track of many orders and cook many different
    things at the same time
     Waitress -- Especially difficult if have to keep track of many different tables
     Casino dealer -- Too many things to keep track of
     Taxi dispatcher -- Too many things to keep track of
     Taking oral dictation -- Difficult due to auditory processing problems
     Airline ticket agent -- Deal with angry people when flights are cancelled
     Future market trader -- Totally impossible
     Air traffic controller -- Information overload and stress
     Receptionist and telephone operator -- Would have problems when the switch
    board got busy

    385
    Table 2
    Good Jobs for Visual Thinkers

     Computer programming -- Wide-open field with many jobs available especially in


    industrial automation, software design, business computers, communications and
    network systems
     Drafting -- Engineering drawings and computer aided drafting. This job can offer
    many opportunities. Drafting is an excellent portal of entry for many interesting
    technical jobs. I know people who started out at a company doing drafting and
    then moved into designing and laying out entire factories. To become really
    skilled at drafting, one needs to learn how to draw by hand first. I have observed
    that most of the people who draw beautiful drawings on a computer learned to
    draw by hand first. People who never learn to draw by hand first tend to leave
    important details out of their drawings.
     Commercial art -- Advertising and magazine layout can be done as freelance work
     Photography -- Still and video, TV cameraman can be done as freelance work
     Equipment designing -- Many industries, often a person starts as a draftsman and
    then moves into designing factory equipment
     Animal trainer or veterinary technician -- Dog obedience trainer, behavior
    problem consultant
     Automobile mechanic -- Can visualize how the entire car works
     Computer-troubleshooter and repair -- Can visualize problems in computers and
    networks
     Small appliance and lawnmower repair -- Can make a nice local business
     Handcrafts of many different types such as wood carving, jewelry making,
    ceramics, etc.
     Laboratory technician -- Who modifies and builds specialized lab equipment
     Web page design -- Find a good niche market can be done as freelance work
     Building trades -- Carpenter or welder. These jobs make good use of visual skills
    but some people will not be able to do them well due to motor and coordination
    problems.
     Video game designer -- Stay out of this field. Jobs are scarce and the field is
    overcrowded. There are many more jobs in industrial, communications business
    and software design computer programming. Another bad thing about this job is
    exposure to violent images.
     Computer animation -- Visual thinkers would be very good at this field, but there
    is more competition in this field than in business or industrial computer
    programming. Businesses are recruiting immigrants from overseas because there
    is a shortage of good programmers in business and industrial fields.
     Building maintenance -- Fixes broken pipes, windows and other things in an
    apartment complex, hotel or office building
     Factory maintenance -- Repairs and fixes factory equipment

    386
    Table 3
    Good Jobs for Non-Visual Thinkers: Those who are good at math, music or facts

     Accounting -- Get very good in a specialized field such as income taxes


     Library science -- reference librarian. Help people find information in the library
    or on the Internet.
     Computer programming -- Less visual types can be done as freelance work
     Engineering -- Electrical, electronic and chemical engineering
     Journalist -- Very accurate facts, can be done as freelance
     Copy editor -- Corrects manuscripts. Many people freelance for larger publishers
     Taxi driver -- Knows where every street is
     Inventory control -- Keeps track of merchandise stocked in a store
     Tuning pianos and other musical instruments, can be done as freelance work
     Laboratory technician -- Running laboratory equipment
     Bank Teller -- Very accurate money counting, much less demand on short-term
    working memory than a busy cashier who mostly makes change quickly
     Clerk and filing jobs -- knows where every file is
     Telemarketing -- Get to repeat the same thing over and over, selling on the
    telephone. Noisy environment may be a problem. Telephone sales avoids many
    social problems.
     Statistician -- Work in many different fields such as research, census bureau,
    industrial quality control, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, etc.
     Physicist or mathematician -- There are very few jobs in these fields. Only the
    very brilliant can get and keep jobs. Jobs are much more plentiful in computer
    programming and accounting.

    Table 4
    Jobs for Nonverbal People with Autism or People with Poor Verbal Skills

     Reshelving library books -- Can memorize the entire numbering system and shelf
    locations
     Factory assembly work -- Especially if the environment is quiet
     Copy shop -- Running photocopies. Printing jobs should be lined up by somebody
    else
     Janitor jobs -- Cleaning floors, toilets, windows and offices
     Restocking shelves -- In many types of stores
     Recycling plant -- Sorting jobs
     Warehouse -- Loading trucks, stacking boxes
     Lawn and garden work -- Mowing lawns and landscaping work
     Data entry -- If the person has fine motor problems, this would be a bad job

    387
     Fast food restaurant -- Cleaning and cooking jobs with little demand on short-term
    memory
     Plant care -- Water plants in a large office building

    Source:- https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/Choosing-the-Right-Job-for-People-with-
    Autism-or-Aspergers-Syndrome

    The Best Tech Jobs For Individuals With Autism

    Robert J. Szczerba ,  

    Contributor

    Exploring the future of science and tech

    Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

    As the CEO of X Tech Ventures, I focus on applying game-changing technologies from


    multiple, diverse domains to revolutionize healthcare. Previously, I was a Senior Fellow
    Emeritus and the Corporate Director of Global Healthcare and Life Sciences at Lockheed
    Martin. I’ve worked on a wide variety of advanced technologies in such areas as
    autonomous systems, unmanned vehicles, virtual environments, data analytics, artificial
    intelligence, healthcare, and social networking. I received my doctorate from the

    388
    University of Notre Dame in Computer Science and Engineering, am a prolific author
    and inventor, and have served on advisory boards of leading universities and
    corporations. I tend to look at the world a little differently than others and am an
    unabashed technology geek. As an advocate for children with special needs, the role I’m
    most proud of is being the father of a wonderful little boy with autism. Every day is a
    new adventure.

    The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

    The transition between adolescent to adult is a difficult process for anyone. It can be even
    more challenging for individuals on the autism spectrum, especially when it comes to
    finding a meaningful vocation. As the father of a wonderful 10-year-old boy with autism,
    much of my time is spent worrying about what opportunities will be available to him
    once he reaches adulthood. According to some estimates, the unemployment rate for
    adults on the autism spectrum exceeds 90%.

    Recently this problem has been combated with rising interest on individuals with special
    needs in the workforce. With proper training, support and opportunity these individuals
    with developmental disabilities are able to maintain and even excel at professions in the
    mainstream workforce. Some of these innovative companies are highlighted in a recent
    Forbes post, A New Business Model for Autism.

    But even if employment opportunities are available, what types of jobs are best suited to
    individuals on the autism spectrum – especially those with an interest in technology?

    Temple Grandin, one of the more famous individuals with autism and an unwavering
    advocate for autism rights, has written often about employment opportunities for
    individuals with cognitive disabilities. Autistic individuals who are both high and low
    functioning often have poor short-term working memory, but often have much better
    long-term memory that typical individuals. Any job search activity certainly needs to take
    this into account.

    Grandin tends to break down job categories into two groups: (1) individuals with strong
    visual / spatial learning skills or visual thinking, and (2) individuals who are not strong
    visual thinkers who, nevertheless may be strong at such skills as mathematics, music, or
    fact memorization. Below, Grandin provides examples of technical jobs in each of these
    areas.

    Good Occupational Choices for Visual Thinkers

     Equipment Designer: Design is intrinsically visual in nature. Often a person starts


    as a draftsman and then moves into designing more complex equipment.
     Computer Repair: Individuals in this field can usually visualize problems in
    computers and networks.
     Web Site Design: The ability to visualize is paramount to design work. It helps to
    find a good niche market and can also be done as freelance work.

    389
     Computer Graphics / Animation: Visual thinkers would be very good at this
    profession, but there is much more competition here than in business or industrial
    computer programming domains.
     Auto Mechanic: Visual thinking individuals can visualize how the entire car
    works and therefore could make excellent mechanics.
     Drafting: Engineering drawings and computer aided drafting can offer many
    opportunities for visual thinkers. Drafting is an excellent portal of entry for many
    interesting technical jobs.

    Though famed autism advocate Temple Grandin made her career in the area of animal
    sciences, she also has insights for individuals with autism wanting to enter the tech
    sector.  (Image Credit: Steve Jurvetson via Wikimedia Commons)

    Good Occupational Choices for Non-Visual Thinkers

     Computer Programming: This is a diverse field with many different job types
    available, including industrial automation, software design, business
    communications and network systems. There is almost always a shortage of good
    programmers in business and industrial fields.
     Engineering: Electrical, electronic and chemical engineering are all good choices
    for those skilled in quantitative and mathematical thinking.
     Laboratory technician: Modifying and building specialized lab equipment as well
    as operating said equipment is a good fit for non-visual thinkers.
     Statistician: A talent with numbers can lead to work in many different fields such
    as research, industrial quality control, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, the census
    bureau, etc.

    390
     Physicist or Mathematician: These jobs, especially in an academic environment,
    are quite competitive and difficult to get.  However, if one is able to make the cut,
    the potential exists for an extremely satisfying career.
     Data Entry: Depends on the strengths of the individual. Would not be a good job
    for individuals with fine motor skill problems.

    Regardless of the career chosen, the most important factor for those on the autism
    spectrum is the same as it is for anyone; understanding individual strengths and
    weaknesses can lead to a good career fit. And for those on the spectrum it can mean
    finding an employer who knows and appreciates that special needs often comes with
    special abilities.

    Source:- https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertszczerba/2015/06/08/the-best-tech-jobs-for-
    individuals-with-autism/#41061897185d

    11 Famous People With Autism


    DRESDEN SHUMAKER

    When celebrities are open about their private lives, they do us all a favor by raising
    awareness about various health issues and causes. John Wayne, for example, is
    considered a trailblazer in Hollywood for coming forward about having cancer during an
    era when celebrities typically did not speak of such things.

    “Leo Kanner first described autism almost 70 years ago, in 1944. Before that, autism
    didn’t exist as far as clinicians were concerned, and its official prevalence was, therefore,
    zero. There were, obviously, people with autism, but they were simply considered
    insane.” — Discover

    Autism is considered a new developmental disorder as it did not clinically exist until
    1944. This list of famous people with autism includes the full spectrum of the diagnosis.
    There are many celebrities and famous people that are just now being diagnosed as
    adults. Here are a few well-known celebrities of today as well as other classic figures
    from the past.

    391
    1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Image Source: Wikimedia

    Mozart is said to have had repeated facial expressions and was in need of constant motion
    of his hands and feet. His hearing was also very sensitive. By studying letters between the
    musician and his family, historians have shared that one day Mozart was having a bit of a
    bored moment so he jumped up and hurdled over tables and chairs, meowed like a cat
    and did somersaults.

    392
    2. James Durbin

    Image Source: PCN

    James was a hero to many when he competed on Season 10 of American Idol and was
    open about his Tourettes and Asperger’s syndromes. James’ debut album, Memories of a
    Beautiful Disaster, was released in 2011 and got solid reviews.

    393
    3. Daryl Hannah

    Image Source: PCN

    Daryl has said that being diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome nearly ruined her career in
    Hollywood. “I never went on talk shows, never went to premieres,” she says. “Going to
    the Academy Awards was so painful for me. I’d almost faint just walking down the red
    carpet. I was so socially awkward and uncomfortable that I eventually got blacklisted.”

    394
    4. Tim Burton

    Image Source: PCN

    Tim’s wife, Helena Bonham Carter, diagnosed him with Asperger’s syndrome. While she
    was researching for a film she had a bit of an “a-ha moment” when so many of the
    symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome lined up with the traits that she loves in her husband.
    Helena says: “We were watching a documentary about autism and he said that’s how he
    felt as a child. Autistic people have application and dedication. You can say something to
    Tim when he’s working and he doesn’t hear you. But that quality also makes him a
    fantastic father, he has an amazing sense of humor and imagination. He sees things other
    people don’t see.”

    395
    5. Andy Warhol

    Image source: Getty Images

    We all know the soup cans, right? The simple, repeating pattern defined an entire era of
    art. Dr Judith Gould, director of Eliot House, Britain’s leading diagnostic center for
    autism and Asperger’s syndrome, suggests that Warhol’s love of repetition was actually a
    symptom of autism.

    396
    6. Dan Harmon

    Image Source: Wikimedia

    Dan is the creator and writer of the hit TV show Community. While developing one of
    the characters on his show, he began researching Asperger’s syndrome and realized that
    he related to the character’s pathology. In a fantastic interview with Wired Magazine,
    Dan shares his self-diagnosis of Asperger’s: “I started looking up these symptoms, just to
    know what they are. And the more I looked them up, the more familiar they started to
    seem. Then I started taking these Internet tests.”

    397
    7. Marty Balin

    Image Source: Wikimedia

    Marty Balin founded the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane in 1965. There are
    many casual references online to him as a “singer who overcame partial autism as a
    young child.” He has also recorded a song and intro to a short film about children with
    autism.

    398
    8. Lewis Carroll

    Image Source: Wikimedia

    Did Lewis Carroll have Asperger’s syndrome? Historians aren’t exactly sure. Professor
    Michael Fitzgerald, of Dublin’s Trinity College compared the behavior of his patients
    with Asperger’s syndrome with that described in the biographies of several famous men
    and determined that they would have been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. Lewis
    was on his list.

    399
    9. Courtney Love

    Image Source: PCN

    In a biography by Poppy Z, we learn that Courtney was was diagnosed by one of her
    therapists as mildly autistic.

    400
    10. Temple Grandin

    Image Source: Wikimedia

    “The thing about being autistic is that you gradually get less and less autistic, because
    you keep learning, you keep learning how to behave. It’s like being in a play; I’m always
    in a play.” – Temple Grandin

    You can watch the movie about Temple (yes, the one where Claire Danes won a ton of
    well deserved rewards) on DVD.

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    11. Dan Aykoyrd

    Image source: Getty Images

    According to a 2007 article in The Guardian, as a child, actor Dan Aykroyd was expelled
    from two schools for acting up and a psychiatrist had diagnosed him with a mild
    Asperger’s syndrome. He also had a few tics and had shown signs of obsessive
    compulsive disorder.

    Source:- https://www.babble.com/entertainment/famous-people-with-autism-2/

    402
    Teaching Students with Down Syndrome
     Share
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    A young boy enjoys participating in a theater troupe with typically developing peers.
    KETV

    For Educators
     Special Education
    o Engaging Students
    o Basics
    o Applied Behavior Analysis
    o Classroom Management
    o Assessments & Testing
    o Strategies & Lesson Plans
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    403
    o Individual Education Plans
     Becoming a Teacher
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    View More
    by Sue Watson
    Updated June 21, 2016

    Down Syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality and the most common genetic condition,
    and occurs in approximately one in every seven hundred to one thousand live births.
    Down Syndrome accounts for approximately 5-6 per cent of intellectual disabilities (until
    recently also called retardation.)  Most students with Down's Syndrome are between the
    mild to moderate range of cognitive impairment.

    Down's Syndrome has also been known as Mongolism due to the physical characteristics
    of the disorder, which presents in slanted eyes, much like the Asian epicanthal folds of
    typical Asian eyes.

     Physically, a student with Down's Syndrome is easily recognizable due to characteristics


    like a smaller overall stature, flat facial profile, thick epicanthal folds in the corners of
    their eyes, protruding tongues and muscle hypotonia - low muscle tone.

    Cause

    First identified as a discrete disorder with a set of similar of symptoms/characteristics


    which are related to the presence of an extra chromosone 21.  Those characteristics
    include:

     Short stature and shortened bones.


     Thick tongues and small oral cavities.
     Moderate to mild intellectual disabilities.
     Low or inadequate muscle tone. 

    Best Practices

    404
     Inclusion: Students with special needs should be full members of age appropriate
    inclusional classes to the extent they can be. Effective inclusion means that the
    teacher must be fully supportive of the model. The strategies you use to reach and
    teach the Down's student will often be beneficial to many learners in the
    classroom. See the inclusional checklist Inclusion is a good practice for students
    with Down's Syndrome. The inclusional environment is less likely to stigmatize
    and provide a much more natural environment for the students. There are more
    opportunities for peer relationships to occur and much of the research states that
    full integration works better.

     Self-Esteem: The physical characteristics of a Down's student will often result in


    a lowered self-esteem which means you will need to take every opportunity to
    boost self confidence and instill pride through a variety of strategies.
     Intellectual: Down's students usually face many intellectual challenges.
    Strategies that work for mildly retarded students and or students with significant
    learning disabilities will also work with Down's students. Much literature have
    stated that most individuals with Down syndrome do not progress beyond the
    intellectual capabilities of a normal developing six to eight year old (Kliewer
    1993). However, always strive to move the child progressively along the learning
    continuum, never assume the child isn't capable. Solid intervention and high
    quality instruction have been proven to lead to improved academic achievement
    for Down's students. Use a multi-modal approach which works best for all
    students. Use as many concrete materials and real world authentic situations as is
    possible. Use language appropriate for student understanding and speak slowly
    when necessary. Always break tasks into smaller steps and provide instruction for
    each step. Remember, a student with Down's Syndrome will usually have a good
    short term memory.

     Short attention spans are also prevalent among students with Down's. Direct
    instruction in short periods of time along with smaller chunks of activities will
    help to support learning. Introducing new material slowly, sequentially and in a
    step by step fashion will help to ensure maximum learning occurs.
     Distractibility: Down's students are ofen easily distracted. You'll need to employ
    strategies that work to minimize distractions such as keeping the student away
    from the window, using a slightly more structured environment, keeping the noise
    level down and having an orderly classroom where students are free from
    surprises and know what your expectations, routines and rules are.
     Speech and Language: Down's students all suffer from serious problems such as
    hearing difficulties and articulation problems. Sometimes they will require
    speech/language intervention and a great deal of direct instruction. In some cases,
    augmentative or facilitated communication will be a good alternative for
    communication. Use patience and model appropriate interactions at all times.
     Behavior Management Techniques used for other students should not differ for
    the student with Down's Syndrome. Again, positive reinforcement is a much
    better method than anything punitive. Reinforcers need to be meaningful.

    405
    Todays classroom has many special needs students, and the inclusional model is often the
    best model and one supported by research. The inclusive classrooms lets all students
    learn what it means to be a full member of a school community. Treat all students as
    valued learners. Although many teachers don't have experience with Down's Syndrome,
    they have been teaching these students very well for a long time.

    Source:- https://www.thoughtco.com/teaching-students-with-down-syndrome-3110772

    Down Syndrome Characteristics - Strengths and Needs


    A Chromosomal Aberration Affecting Cognition, Physiology and
    Motor Strength
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    Student with Down Syndrome. Sigrid Gombert/Getty Images

    406
    For Educators
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    View More
    by Jerry Webster
    Updated June 26, 2016

     Biological Foundation of Down Syndrome

    407
    Over the years individuals with the common chromosomal aberration in the 21st
    chromosome have been identified as being mongoloid, cretins, and finally, in the late
    19th century, Down Syndrome, after John Langdon Down, an English Physician who
    first described the set of characteristics that have long been associated with the genetic
    abnormality. 

    The chromosomal aberration is an additional full or partial copy of the 21st chromosome
    which causes a change in the developmental arch of the organism (child) and therefore
    the developmental differences.

     There is no definite cause for the presence of Down Syndrome than the random presence
    of this mutation.  There is a higher incidence of Down Syndrome births to mothers as
    their age increases, but there is no familial or genetic component.

    Physical Traits

    Short stature:  Often a child can be diagnosed based on the ratio of length and width of
    the bones in the finger.  Adult males average a height of five foot one inch and adult
    females average four foot eight inches.   The stature issue is also reflected in difficulty
    with balance, short, broad fingers and hands and later motor.  

    A Flat Nasal Ridge: a flattening of the face and large tongue often contribute to sleep
    apnea.  

    Wide Spread Feet:  Students with Down Syndrome usually have an extra large space
    between their big and second toes.   This creates some challenges for coordination and
    mobility.  

    Neurological Traits

    Intellectual deficits:  Children with Down Syndrome have mild (IQ or Intelligence
    Quotient of 50 to 70) or moderate (IQ of 30 to 50) intellectual disabilities, although a few
    have severe intellectual disabilities with an IQ from 20 to 35.

    Language:  Children with Down Syndrome often have stronger receptive


    (understanding, comprehension) language than expressive language.  In part it is because
    the facial differences (flat nose ridge, a thick tongue, often attached to the bottom of the
    mouth requiring a simple surgery.  

    Children with Down Syndrome are capable of making intelligible language, but require
    speech language therapy and lots of patience in order to master articulation.

     There physical differences create articulation challenges, but children with Down
    Syndrome are often anxious to please and will work hard to create clear conversation.

    408
    Social Traits

    Unlike other disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorders which create difficulties
    with social skills and attachment, children with Down Syndrome are often enthusiastic to
    engage other people, and are very social.  It is a reason that inclusion is a valuable part of
    a child with Down Syndrome's educational career, since they are often very motivated to
    interact with typical peers, will benefit from participating in a general education classes.  

    Students with Down Syndrome are often very affectionate, and may benefit from social
    training that includes helping students identify socially appropriate and inappropriate
    interactions.  .

    Motor and Health Challenges

    Weak gross motor skills and a tendency of parents to isolate their children may lead to
    long term health problems, including obesity and a lack of aerobic and gross motor skills.
    Students with Downs Syndrome will benefit from physical education programs that
    encourage aerobic activity and builds their social skills in a new, athletic setting. 

    As children with Down Syndrome age, they will have health challenges related to their
    physical difference.

     They are prone to arthritis due to the skeletal stresses related to their short stature and
    their low muscular tone.  They often do not get enough aerobic education and can often
    suffer from heart disease. 

    Co-Morbidity

    Often students with disabilities will have more than a single (primary) disabling
    condition.  When this occurs, it is referred to as "Co-Morbidity."  Although some sort of
    co-morbidity is common in all disabilities, some disabilities are more likely to have co-
    morbid pairs.  With Down Syndrome, it can include schizophrenia, depression and
    obsessive compulsive disorders.  Being attentive to the symptoms is essential to
    providing the best sort of educational support. 

    Sources:- https://www.thoughtco.com/down-syndrome-characteristics-strengths-and-
    needs-4057710

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    Including children with Down
    syndrome (Part 1)
    Sue Buckley and Gillian Bird
    This article provides guidelines to good practice in developing the inclusive school,
    considering the importance of the role of the Headteacher and managers in developing
    school philosophy, values and culture, school organisation, staff training and the
    management of resources. We then consider the role of the teacher in developing
    inclusive classrooms and finally the role of all the pupils in developing peer support.

    Buckley SJ, Bird G. Including children with Down syndrome (Part 1). Down Syndrome
    News and Update. 1998;1(1);5-13.

    doi:10.3104/practice.139

    Getting the culture right

    Why inclusion?

    Why should you, as a headteacher, school governor, teacher or parent, be concerned


    about how well your school is meeting the needs of children with significant special
    educational needs?

    Firstly, because the evidence is that the individual schools who are the most successful at
    including and educating these children are also the best schools for all the other children
    in them (1).

    Secondly, where whole education systems have shifted to be fully inclusive and to
    provide for all children within mainstream schools, they report that the quality of
    education has improved over time for all children (2).

    The implication of these statements is that if we want our schools to provide the best
    possible education for all our children we need to explore what makes the inclusion of

    410
    children with significant special educational needs successful. We also need to ask why
    mainstream school systems improve when changing to successfully meet the challenge of
    educating these children.

    The first part of the article provides guidelines to good practice in developing the
    inclusive school, considering the importance of the role of the Headteacher and managers
    in developing school philosophy, values and culture, school organisation, staff training
    and the management of resources. We then consider the role of the teacher in developing
    inclusive classrooms and finally the role of all the pupils in developing peer support.

    Developing inclusive schools

    For us, the opportunity to go to a school in the community in which you live, with the
    other children who live in your neighbourhood, regardless of disability or special
    educational need is a human rights issue. We do not expect all readers to agree with us
    but we do hope that this article will challenge some of the current assumptions about the
    roles of schools in our society and that it will provoke discussion with your staff and
    colleagues.

    In this article we will explore these issues, sharing the experiences that we have gained
    from developing inclusive placements for children with Down syndrome in the UK over
    the last ten years - children who would otherwise have been placed in special schools.
    During this time we have learned a great deal about the school factors which lead to
    success or failure. With other colleagues in The Sarah Duffen Centre and in the
    Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, we have also been studying the
    cognitive, social and behavioural progress of these children in inclusive placements in
    some detail. This work has relevance to a wide range of children and will be reviewed in
    part 2 of this article.

    We are psychologists specialising in working with children with moderate to severe


    learning difficulties and between us we have some 45 years of experience. However, until
    we became involved in the implementation of the 1981 Act in the late 80s, all our
    experience had been in special education settings.

    Promoting mainstreaming

    411
    The last ten years have been the most rewarding and exciting of our careers. We have
    been most impressed by the ways in which children with Down syndrome and significant
    special needs have been welcomed in the majority of mainstream schools and by the
    skills, enthusiasm and professionalism of the majority of mainstream teachers with whom
    we have worked. We have seen successful placements and great progress for the majority
    of the children during most of their school years. Some have had good and bad
    experiences as they have moved up the school and we will return to the reasons for this
    later in the article.

    We have been involved in the direct support of many individual children from the start of
    their school careers through to secondary school. We have also provided INSET training
    around the country and offered advice on individual placements at particular points in
    time. Much of the content of this article draws on our extensive opportunities to learn
    alongside the teachers who are successfully including and educating children with
    significant learning difficulties or disabilities in their classrooms (3).

    At the start of our involvement with mainstreaming, we made links with research groups
    and education programmes in other countries in order to learn from their experience. We
    are confident that our experience is valid as success or failure in our placements has been
    the result of the same criteria reported by others in places where they are further down the
    road towards fully inclusive education systems.

    We use the term mainstreaming deliberately to describe our early experience. When we
    began to ask schools to accept a child with severe learning difficulties in their school, we
    were asking them to take a child with the support of an untrained Learning Support
    Assistant into the regular classroom environment with little or no preparation. The
    teacher had to try to meet this child's needs without time to think about changing the
    classroom environment or teaching styles or to learn new skills. This is what our
    American colleagues in Madison, Wisconsin call the "dump and hope" phase! In Madison
    they closed their last segregated special school site in 1976 (4) so they have more than
    twenty tears of experience to draw on.

    Moving to inclusion

    412
    Inclusion is more than mainstreaming. It is the result of rethinking the role of education
    and usually requires a change in school and classroom culture and organisation.

    Over time we have seen a shift in the UK towards the development of inclusive school
    cultures but this is still mostly because individual schools have developed their skills and
    changed their beliefs about the role of schools. It is rarely the result of planning for an
    inclusive system by Local Educational Authorities. In these inclusive schools there is
    more awareness of the individual needs of all children, more flexibility in the curriculum
    and a valuing of diversity. This shift has been particularly noticeable over the last few
    years, since the establishment of Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator's and the
    implementation of the Code of Practice, following the special needs legislation in the
    1993 Education Act.

    There are very few UK Education Authorities that have actually embraced an inclusive
    philosophy and actively managed change. The London Borough of Newham is one
    example where an inclusive policy is in place. It has received much of its impetus from
    effective lobbying by parents of children with disabilities and special educational needs.
    The Wisconsin changes were also driven by parent pressure in the early years. In both the
    Newham and the Wisconsin situations, change has progressed in the same way. Both
    replaced segregated special schools with special units or special resources on some
    mainstream sites. Both found that these could be phased out over time as all teachers
    increased their range of skills and all schools became more confident at meeting a variety
    of needs. The specialist skills of the teachers who used to work only on segregated sites
    become available to all children in the system and to colleagues and this helps the process
    of change as well as benefiting many more children.

    Whole school issues and the role of the headteacher

    School philosophy and culture

    The schools that we would rate as the most successful have established an inclusive
    culture. They have thought about and explicitly embraced a philosophy that values all
    children equally and celebrates the diversity of the human population. They believe that
    the role of education is broad and would accept Lou Brown's definition that it is the task

    413
    of schools "to prepare children to live, work and play in an inclusive society". (Lou
    Brown is the Professor of Special Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison(4)).

    Schools as agents of change

    A school has the opportunity to establish a community that demonstrates the values that
    we might wish to see expressed in the wider society outside school.

    We can use the example of disability to explore this argument further. It is common for
    adults with disabilities to observe that their lives are far more restricted by the attitudes of
    the non-disabled majority towards them than by the limits actually imposed by their
    disability. One reason for this may be the lack of contact with people with disabilities that
    most of the non-disabled population have as a result of mainly segregated schooling and
    segregated services for children and adults with disabilities. This has lead to a society
    where the majority of individuals do not understand the needs of people with disabilities
    nor feel at ease in relating to or working with them.

    The decisions that are made about the design of our schools, work places, transport and
    communication facilities take little account of the needs of those with physical or sensory
    impairments. Access to the daily opportunities that the rest of us take for granted is
    therefore denied to most children and adults with disabilities. Until recently, all children
    with identifiable disabilities experienced this lack of access from earliest childhood, when
    they were denied the opportunity to benefit from the same educational experiences as
    other children. This resulted in two main disadvantages - a restricted access to the
    curriculum and no opportunity to be part of the ordinary social world of childhood. In
    other words, most children with disabilities experienced both social and educational
    deprivation during childhood, leading to social isolation, under achievement and
    impoverished lives as adults.

    If all children are able to grow and learn together, the child with special needs has the
    optimal opportunity to reach his or her potential, to make friends and to become fully
    integrated into mainstream society.

    The other children have the opportunity to learn to understand the effects of disability and
    to learn how to care for and support children with a variety of needs. They will learn that

    414
    all children with disabilities are children first, with the same psychological, emotional
    and social needs as all other children. Like the rest of us, significant relationships with
    others are central to their well-being as children and adults and the opportunity to
    establish and maintain friendships during childhood is important preparation for
    successfully developing these relationships in adult life. The non-disabled students will
    become better friends, neighbours, workmates and bosses for people with disabilities in
    their adult lives.

    This may require schools to recognise that social development should be an explicit part
    of the curriculum, giving children the opportunity to think about friendships, loneliness
    and social isolation (5).

    The experience of communities who have had fully inclusive education systems for a
    generation is that these gains do occur. Attitudes do change throughout the community
    and opportunities become more equal. More young adults with significant disabilities are
    able to work, live independently, establish their own families and enjoy the same leisure
    facilities as everyone else. More of the young adults who, though not disabled, were in
    the less able third of the mainstream school population in terms of academic progress,
    also do better in these inclusive school systems.

    The skills developed by all teachers as they are required to meet the educational needs of
    those with the most significant difficulties benefit many others who have always been in
    the mainstream but not always had their needs met. Teachers learn how to address social
    and behavioural needs more effectively and to extend access to the curriculum to a wider
    range of children.

    However, these benefits will only be the outcome if inclusion is done well.

    The individual educational needs of all children must be met as well as they would be in
    separate facilities. Mixing with children with significant disabilities can result in other
    children becoming less tolerant and sympathetic if the experience is unpleasant for any
    reason, so how do we move forward successfully?

    415
    Strategies for success

    Valuing diversity and building self-esteem

    The successful schools see all their pupils as individuals and value them equally. They
    encourage their students to recognise that we are all individuals and to recognise that we
    all have strengths and weaknesses.

    Healthy adjustment in adult life is likely to come from a realistic appraisal of oneself,
    therefore setting goals that are achievable and appropriate and which lead to a positive
    self concept - feeling good about oneself. Building positive self-esteem in all pupils
    should be a primary goal for all teachers (6). This is no easy task. It means helping all
    students to identify their strengths and their limitations so that they choose to develop
    their strengths.

    It means that those schools with authoritarian cultures need to change, and that ridicule
    and humiliation of children should have no part in the school culture or in any teacher's
    repertoire. One of us (SB) has had the opportunity to travel extensively and experience
    the atmosphere in schools where building self-esteem is a primary goal. We do
    experience this in some of our UK schools, but not to the extent that is common in parts
    of North America and Canada.

    Our experience in the UK is that the culture and philosophy in schools can be very
    different, even in neighbouring schools. We can illustrate this with a real example. The
    student's name has been changed to preserve confidentiality in this and later case
    examples.

    Several years ago one of us (SB) received a phone-call from a distressed parent, asking if
    one of us could attend a review meeting with her and her husband, as she feared that the
    school no longer wanted her daughter as a pupil. Her daughter Sally was 13 years old and
    had Down syndrome. She had received all her education to that time in mainstream
    school with full time non-teaching support provided. She was nearing the end of her
    second year in secondary education and the school were expressing considerable concern
    about her progress both educationally and socially.

    416
    SB arranged to arrive at the school in time to meet Sally and to talk with the staff before
    the review meeting. It was quickly apparent that the staff had no positive commitment to
    meeting this student's needs. The Head of Learning Support made clear to SB that she
    and her staff did not have the time to differentiate work for Sally, seeing this an
    inappropriate use of their time. They were also concerned that she was becoming
    increasingly socially isolated. They did not want advice from us on how they could
    change this state of affairs and make the placement successful. This would of course
    mean accepting that the school might be failing Sally. Their perception of the situation
    was that Sally should not be in their school. All the difficulties they were experiencing
    were the result of her disability and she should be in a special school. They even
    expressed negative views about her in her presence and seemed to have no sensitivity to
    the probable effect of their attitudes towards her on her progress or happiness within the
    school.

    The review meeting was a formal affair involving the Headteacher, Head of Learning
    Support and five other professionals from local and county LEAs and chaired by the
    Deputy Head. The Head was visibly annoyed by SB's presence and did his best to prevent
    her from contributing to the discussion. The meeting had clearly been called with one aim
    - to agree to remove Sally from the school and put her where this Head made plain he
    thought that she belonged - in a school for children with severe learning difficulties. He
    seemed to have little understanding of the social influences on any child's performance
    and progress. He saw Sally's present difficulties in his school as entirely her problem, the
    result of her disability. He certainly did not want any advice. For him, the last straw was
    when SB secured the agreement of the LEA to continue to the same level of Learning
    Support Assistant support for Sally if we found her another mainstream placement as this
    clearly implied that she believed this school was failing Sally.

    With Sally's parents, SB approached another mainstream school near her home. This
    school expressed a willingness to accept her and a visit was arranged. The contrast in the
    two school's philosophies and cultures was extreme. The Headteacher of the new school
    greeted SB warmly and informed her that he would be delighted to accept Sally in his
    school. He explained that this was a community school - in name and in philosophy. He
    wanted all the children in the neighbourhood to be welcome in his school and had been
    developing his learning support resources accordingly, since coming to the school as

    417
    Head four years earlier. He then took SB to meet the Head of Learner Support. She
    explained that she had no previous experience of teaching a child with Down syndrome
    but that she had given some thought to our request and was looking forward to supporting
    Sally in the school. She added that she had considered what she would have wanted if
    Sally had been her daughter and knew that she would have wanted an education with
    mainstream peers within her own community for her.

    At this point SB knew that this placement was going to be a success. She was then asked
    about Sally's achievements in literacy and numeracy and was told that there were other
    students of her age working at the same level so she could join their groups. The Head
    then asked SB what year group Sally should join. SB said that she was unsure as Sally
    was probably less socially and emotionally mature than other girls of her age. The Head
    laughed and said that some girls of her age were more like 18 year olds in social and
    emotional development, others more like 9 year olds - he felt sure she would be fine in
    her correct year group!

    At this time, we had little experience of secondary schools and this case made us feel that
    we were on a steep learning curve! SB was quite shaken by the contrast in the attitudes
    and beliefs of the two headteachers and their staff. One school had told her that Sally
    could never fit in, as she was so different from their other pupils. Another school just
    down the road had no problem seeing Sally as happily fitting in to their school
    community and pointing out that her needs were not different from those of some of the
    other mainstream pupils in the school, either academically or socially. Could the
    populations of children in the two schools really be that different or was it the way the
    staff perceived their children that was different?

    The evidence on the school intakes supported the latter view. We cannot help worrying
    about the educational experience of many of the other children in the first school, not just
    those less academically able, but also those with social and emotional needs. In both
    these schools it seemed that the Headteacher was determining the culture and values of
    the whole school, for good or ill.

    We would ask all Heads and managers to reflect on their own personal attitudes to
    disability and to children with special needs. It is likely that your personal attitudes and

    418
    your emotional reactions to disability will be influencing the decisions that you are
    making and will be apparent to your staff and to your pupils. You might also reflect on
    what educational and social opportunities you would want for your own child, if you had
    a child with a disability.

    Staff attitudes

    In our experience, the single most important predictor of success for placements is staff
    attitude. If the staff believe that the child is appropriately placed in their school, the
    placement will be a success. We have seen very disabled children, with significant
    dependency needs, flourish in schools were they are wanted. We have seen children with
    obvious disabilities but academic progress within the norms for their age, fail in schools
    that do not want them - or should we say failed by schools that do not want them.

    The evidence in favour of the importance of staff attitude is particularly striking when a
    pupil flourishes in one school but has a miserable time in the next school.

    We have had this experience with several children whom we know well. One young
    friend of ours, Gerry, is now 11 years old. Gerry has Down syndrome. He went to the
    same mainstream nursery as his brother and then into the infant school where he made
    extremely good progress. The school had given much thought to meeting his needs and
    the staff were rightly proud of his achievements.

    In Gerry's last year in this school, his class teacher was sharing her experiences at a
    training day at our Centre. She described how, as Gerry's strengths were his literacy skills
    and his computer skills, he was spending some time each week helping children in the
    reception class and in Year 1, listening to them read and showing them how to use the
    computer. This teacher had deliberately constructed opportunities to build Gerry's self-
    confidence and self-esteem. These situations also showed the other children that, despite
    his disability, Gerry had strengths and could help others as well as benefit from their help
    at other times. His literacy skills were within the range of his classmates.

    Imagine our concern when he moves to the junior school with these peers the very next
    term and the new class teacher phones us expressing the view that he has no place in their
    school - he should be in a school for children with severe learning difficulties! Before

    419
    long Gerry was showing his distress by bedwetting, something he had not done since the
    age of three years. We were able to improve this situation somewhat but it continued to
    be less than satisfactory by our standards.

    At this time, we were supporting another lad with Down syndrome of the same age and
    with a very similar profile of abilities and special needs in a nearby school. The contrast
    was dramatic. This junior school had two children with Down syndrome on the school
    roll and all the staff were immensely proud of the progress of both of them. We would
    observe that the two schools had different atmospheres and different attitudes to all their
    children, confirming what we had read and have stated at the start of this article.

    The schools that are best for all children are the best for those with very special needs.

    Some headteachers might reflect further on the significance of this as it implies that
    schools who are not good at meeting the needs of special students may not be the best
    schools for all the other children in them either.

    We could give more examples of this kind, where a child has made very different
    progress after a school move and has been perceived and described very differently by
    Headteachers and teachers in the two schools.

    The message from this section is threefold. Firstly, successful schools clearly recognise
    the wide range of educational needs present in any year group in any school population
    and they acknowledge that it is their job to meet this wide range of educational needs.
    Secondly, successful schools develop a culture that is caring and supportive of all in the
    school

    community, aiming to value diversity and to build positive self-esteem for all its pupils.
    Thirdly, successful schools appreciate the effect of being valued and feeling liked by staff
    and other pupils on the progress of all children.

    School organisation and the use of resources

    If schools are to succeed in meeting this wide range of needs successfully, there needs to
    be flexibility within the classroom, within the year group and across year groups.

    420
    Flexibility in the classroom is easier to achieve in the primary years when small group
    working is often the norm within the class. This enables children to work at their own
    pace within the class. A statemented child in the class with the support of an Learning
    Support Assistant can provide a bonus for other children in the class. This was one of the
    things that we learned as soon as we began to place children with Down syndrome in
    infant schools with a full-time Learning Support Assistant. The Learning Support
    Assistant could often work with a group of children, all of whom benefited from the extra
    help.

    After a year, we suggested to our LEA that it would be cheaper to give every reception
    class an additional Learning Support Assistant than bother to try assessing children for
    Statements before they were in school. There are only a finite number of different special
    educational needs and we argued that all schools should be able to meet the needs of the
    four and five year olds in their community, with an Learning Support Assistant in the
    class and appropriate peripatetic advisory or teaching input. We also argued that
    assessing the child's educational needs once they were in a school environment might
    lead to more valid and useful Statements. Our advice was not taken!

    We are not in favour of special classes or units as we feel these are not usually necessary
    and carry the risk of segregating children again. They also do not recognise that all
    children are children first, regardless of disability or other special needs. There is no
    reason why any child cannot be a member of an ordinary class, in the correct year group,
    even if his or her educational programme has to be provided on an individual or small
    group basis.

    This is the model that we see working well in many secondary schools. All children are
    members of ordinary classes and ordinary tutor groups even when they have considerable
    special educational needs. Their educational programme is then worked out for them as
    an individual, just as it for the other pupils as they make their choices of subjects that
    they wish to study. It then becomes no more stigmatising or isolating to have a lesson in
    the Learning Support Centre than it does to study Spanish rather than physics. Nor is it
    any more difficult to staff an expert Learning Support Centre than an English or
    Mathematics Department.

    421
    In Wisconsin, regular schools not only have expert special educators on their staff but
    also speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists as well.
    This means that their expertise is available to all children in the community, in a much
    more accessible way than in the UK at present.

    While we try to support children's learning within the classroom in the early years, to
    ensure maximum social integration and access to the curriculum, there should be no rigid
    rules about this. Every school, especially every junior school, would benefit from a
    learning resource centre, where children can have the benefit of individual or small group
    work.

    One of the best examples of planning such a centre that we have come across was in a
    secondary school, where the learning resource centre had been deliberately sited right in
    the centre of the school. In addition to providing for those with special educational needs,
    it housed the school's best computer resources so that it really was a learning resource for
    all pupils. This meant that any pupil could use the centre without embarrassment and that
    one was as likely to find a gifted child working there as a child needing special additional
    teaching or adapted resources.

    The role of Learning Support Assistants

    The success of many of the placements that we have supported has been due in large part
    to the skill and commitment of the Learning Support Assistant assigned to support the
    child. However, many of the schools that we have worked with do not know how to
    support and make full use of their Learning Support Assistants. While recognising that
    the work of Learning Support Assistants is critical to the access to mainstream school for
    many children in the UK at the present time, we are building a system on the cheap as
    most are poorly paid, have minimal training and no career progression open to them.

    This situation highlights the lack of real policy commitment to or planning for inclusion
    in this country. Some other countries, Italy for example, provide extra training for
    qualified teachers so that they can become facilitators for inclusion. This recognises the
    importance of changing the whole philosophy and culture in many schools and in
    classrooms, if they are to become truly inclusive communities. Is there a message here for
    our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator's and their training?

    422
    Many of our children would not have made the academic progress that they have without
    the one-to-one teaching provided by their Learning Support Assistant. However, striking
    the right balance between supporting the child and encouraging independence is not easy.
    Too much one-to-one support for learning can make the child dependent on adult support.
    The child needs to learn as part of a group and to work independently. Too much adult
    support can also make the child seem more different to the other children than is
    necessary and prevent them offering support to the special child in ways that may come
    quite naturally to the children.

    In some schools, Learning Support Assistant's have a very difficult time. They have no
    professional training or status and are sometimes not treated well. We have been to
    schools asking for advice for a child, where the Learning Support Assistant was not
    allowed to talk with us, the clear message being that she could not have any useful views
    and must not be allowed to get above her station! More commonly, we find Learning
    Support Assistant's who are given too much responsibility for the education of the child
    they are supporting either because the school feels no commitment to the child or because
    they do not know how to plan an educational programme for them. The class teacher
    must recognise that he or she has the responsibility for the education of a statemented
    child and that they have the same right to be a full member of the class as any other child.

    Another difficulty an Learning Support Assistant can encounter is the responsibility of


    knowing that a child is not receiving an appropriate educational programme in the school
    but not having the status to do anything to change the situation. They may also be the
    main link between school and family, party to the concerns of both sides but without the
    power to solve any conflicts of opinion. This can be very stressful for the Learning
    Support Assistant.

    These are matters for the Headteacher to be alert to and in many schools the status of the
    Learning Support Assistant's has improved. Many are highly valued and well supported
    by their Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator's. Training programmes for Learning
    Support Assistants are improving.

    Working with parents

    423
    Many parents of children with special educational needs have become experts. They will
    be experts in their knowledge of the effects of the child's disability on their development
    and experts in teaching their own child. Parents of children with identifiable disabilities
    often join parent support groups and quickly access a wide range of information on their
    child's condition.

    Parents are likely to have been actively recruited into early intervention programmes by
    the time their child was one year old. In these programmes they will have been treated as
    equal partners by the professionals and expected to be their child's main educator. Most
    early intervention programmes recognise that home is the most significant learning
    environment for any child's development and that parents can be the child's best teachers,
    so they actively pass on their skills and knowledge to parents. Parents choose learning
    goals and set priorities based on their view of the child's needs and their awareness of the
    whole family's needs and resources.

    This parent-professional partnership approach has been very successful in pre-school


    years but parents often find that schools do not know how to form the same effective
    partnerships. Teachers in the mainstream are not always good at forming a positive
    relationship with parents of children with special needs. Teachers do not always
    recognise the contribution that parents can make in helping the teacher to realise the
    child's full potential, if only teacher and parent could work together.

    Most parents know that their child will benefit if they continue to teach them or help
    them to consolidate skills out of school hours, but they need to know the teacher's current
    goals for the child. They may also need materials or ideas for activities to be provided
    from school, though often parents could supply materials for use in the classroom. We
    know many who create wonderful learning materials and games at home that children in
    the class would all benefit from. Bringing in such games can raise the self-esteem of the
    special child, as they are used and enjoyed by others in their class.

    Many parents have valuable specialist knowledge of their child and their condition to
    share with their child's teacher if given the opportunity. We often meet frustrated parents
    who cannot offer the information they know the teacher would find useful because the
    teacher will not accept it. It seems that many teachers do not know how to establish a

    424
    partnership with parents. Too often, we come across situations where the teacher seems
    to feel threatened and to fear loss of face if he or she admits that parents could know
    some things that she does not. This is an important issue which may need to be addressed
    by training and staff development in many schools.

    Peer support

    In our experience, many schools fail to realise that the biggest resource that they have
    available to them to support children with special educational needs is the other children
    in the school.

    If a child needs more help, the first reaction is to send for another adult, either an
    assistant or external specialist. The use of strategies such as peer tutoring, cross-age
    tutoring, co-operative group learning and team projects is not as widely developed in the
    UK as in North America. All children benefit from these activities as they all learn how
    to teach and to co-operate with others. These are very valuable skills to take to the adult
    work place (7).

    Explicit use of peers to prevent social isolation and to build circles of friends increases all
    children's sensitivity to how others feel if ignored or actively rejected. Many
    academically able children do not make friends easily, so all children in the school will
    benefit when involved in projects to help friendships. Most teachers would benefit from
    some training in the techniques of developing peer support systems for teaching and for
    social support.

    Behaviour

    Effective behaviour management is another area where some staff training would be
    beneficial in the majority of schools we visit. While children with learning difficulties
    may be particularly at risk for developing behaviour problems as a result of frustration or
    failure, any child can present such difficulties. In the past few years, a variety of good
    written resources to support good behaviour management have become available.

    425
    Like developing the school culture and values, this is a whole school issue. All staff need
    to have consistent, positive behaviour management strategies, not just the special needs
    staff.

    Staff training

    We have mentioned staff training a number of times already. Staff development is clearly
    the responsibility of the Headteacher and in most schools, teachers are able to access a
    variety of training opportunities. However, if you want to change the school culture and
    become an inclusive school, creating the optimal learning environment for all, then some
    whole school training will be necessary. You must have your whole school staff signed
    up to creating the social culture you are aiming at (8).

    In our experience, training sessions for the whole staff team are extremely valuable in
    giving an opportunity to debate these issues and make them explicit in everyone's
    thinking. You will be very fortunate if all your staff have positive attitudes towards a
    truly inclusive culture, but it is useful for the whole staff team to be aware of the attitudes
    and prejudices of colleagues. It can also be salutary for those with negative views to
    realise that they are in a minority. In addition to a programme of training for your whole
    staff aimed at developing an inclusive culture throughout the school, for the benefit of all
    your pupils, it is important to consider the preparation of staff and other pupils for the
    arrival of a pupil with a particular disability.

    We find that a session on Down syndrome, for example, for the whole staff team, before
    the child arrives at school, is very helpful in preparing the way for successful placement.
    We can answer questions about the condition, often clearing away myths, and we can
    explain how and why this placement will really benefit this child. It is not appropriate to
    expect the special needs staff to educate the rest of the staff team or to expect them to
    succeed in an atmosphere where a majority of staff do not think that they have any
    responsibility for children with special needs in the school.

    Preparation of pupils is also important if a child with obvious special needs is coming
    into a school with no other similarly disabled pupils. We would suggest both a whole
    school approach and a class approach. The whole school approach might use an assembly
    to make clear to all children the welcome and support expected for the child, and

    426
    therefore reinforcing explicit awareness of the school's values. The class approach can
    include discussion of explicit strategies for welcome and for peer support for the child as
    well as giving children an opportunity to be informed about the specific disability so that
    they can understand the child's needs and respond sensitively.

    Financial Resources

    We have deliberately left the issue of costs until the end of the article as, while we
    recognise that additional support for children with special needs costs money, our value
    system would lead us to argue that children with special needs have the same right to
    share in the community's resources as all other children. They have a right to be part of
    the ordinary world of childhood in their community - and that means a right to go to
    school with the children in their neighbourhood.

    On a national, or on an area education authority scale, it does not cost more to put the
    resources into mainstream rather than special segregated school. In fact many would
    argue that it is a fairer use of specialist resources (since, when specialist teachers and
    therapists are moved to mainstream sites, their expertise is available to many more
    children). But this requires a full commitment to inclusion and a total reorganisation of
    the education system. It certainly costs more to include statemented children while still
    maintaining special schools.

    We would argue that the challenge for an education authority or a school is to make the
    best use of its resources in an equitable way for all its pupils. Lack of money should
    never be an excuse for not allowing access to a statemented child - this amounts to
    discrimination on the basis of disability (as do the other clauses allowing exclusion in our
    legislation!).

    Conclusions

    In this article, we have emphasised the effect of social opportunities on the development
    of all children and the role of the school in providing a social world that promotes the
    values we would like to see expressed in our society at large. We have argued that such a
    school will provide the environment for all children to flourish, socially, emotionally and
    academically.

    427
    References
    1. Ainscow, M (Ed.) (1991) Effective Schools for All. London: Fulton.
    2. Brown, L., Long, E., Udvari-Solner, A., Schwartz, P., VanDeventer, P., Ahlgren,
    C., Johnson, F., Gruenewald, L. & Jorgensen, J. (1989) Should students with severe
    intellectual disabilities be based in regular or special education classrooms in home
    schools. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 14(1), 8-12.
    3. Bird, G. & Buckley, S. (1994) Meeting the Educational Needs of Children with
    Down Syndrome: A handbook for teachers. University of Portsmouth.
    4. Brown. L. (1994) Inclusion in Education and Employment. Paper presented at the
    5th World Congress on Down Syndrome. Orlando, USA.
    5. Roffey, S., Tarrant, T. & Majors, K. (1994) Young Friends: School and
    Friendship. London: Cassell.
    6. Lawrence, D. (1996) Enhancing Self-Esteem in the Classroom. Paul Chapman
    Publishing.
    7. Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, R.T. (1994) Learning Together and Alone. Boston:
    Allyn & Bacon.
    8. Ainscow, M. (1993a) Teacher education as a strategy for developing inclusive
    schools. In R. Slee (Ed.) Is There a Desk with My Name On It? The Politics of
    Integration. London: Falmer.

    Bibliography
     Ainscow, M., Hopkins, D., Southworth, G. & West, M (1994) Creating the
    Conditions for School Improvement. London: Fulton.
     Clark, C., Dyson, A. & Millward, A. (Eds.) (1995) Towards Inclusive Schooling.
    London: Fulton.
     Carpenter, B., Ashdown, R. & Bovair, K. (Eds.) (1996) Enabling Access:
    Effective Teaching and Learning for Pupils with Learning Difficulties. London: Fulton.
     Garner, P., Hinchcliffe, V. & Sandow, S. (1995) What Teachers Do:
    Developments in Special Education. Paul Chapman Publishing Limited.
     O'Brien, J. & Forest, M. (1989) Action for Inclusion. Inclusion Press.
     Wong, B. Y. L. (1996) The ABC's of Learning Disabilities. Academic Press.

    428
    The Authors

    Sue Buckley is Professor of Developmental Disability at the Department of Psychology


    at the University of Portsmouth, UK. She is also Director of The Centre for Disability
    Studies at The University of Portsmouth and Director of Research and Information
    Services and at The Down Syndrome Educational Trust. She also serves as a Non-
    Executive Director of the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire District Health
    Authority and on the boards of the European Down Syndrome Association and the
    International Down Syndrome Federation.

    Gillian Bird is Director of Consultancy and Education Services at The Down Syndrome
    Educational Trust and has been been supporting children with Down syndrome in
    mainstream school placements for the past 10 years.

    Both Sue Buckley and Gillian Bird regularly provide consultancy and training for schools
    and LEAs through Down Syndrome Education International

    Source:- https://www.down-syndrome.org/practice/139/

    Down Syndrome: Other FAQs


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    Basic information for topics, such as “What is it?” and “How many people are
    affected?” is available in the Condition Information section. Frequently Asked
    Questions (FAQs) that are specific to a certain topic are answered in this
    section.
     Is there a cure for Down syndrome?
     How can parents and providers help teens and young adults with Down syndrome
    transition into adulthood?
     What are the health issues for adults with Down syndrome?

    Is there a cure for Down syndrome?


    Currently, there is no cure for Down syndrome. However, researchers are
    exploring a number of ways to address and correct many aspects of the
    syndrome.

    429
    For example, NICHD researchers have used mouse models to test treatments
    for preventing the intellectual and developmental disabilities associated with
    Down syndrome. One study found that mice with Down syndrome who were
    treated in the womb with specific chemicals had no delay in achieving several
    developmental milestones.1 Another study found that specific chemicals
    prevented learning deficits in adult mice who had Down syndrome.2
    Learn more about NICHD research on Down syndrome.
    [top]

    How can parents and providers help teens and young adults with Down
    syndrome transition into adulthood?

    More and more youth and young


    adults with Down syndrome are achieving some of the same milestones as
    other young people, such as driving a car and finishing high school. As they
    start to live more independently, young people with Down syndrome get
    jobs, move into group homes or individual housing, or pursue further
    education, often at community colleges. Families may need to be advocates
    to ensure that their young adult children don’t “fall through the cracks.”

    430
    Sometimes, young people with Down syndrome in the midst of these
    transitions start to do worse in school or undergo major mood changes. In
    these cases, additional school assistance or evaluation for hypothyroidism or
    depression may be appropriate.
    Many adolescents and adults with Down syndrome find success in jobs. The
    Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it illegal for an employer of more
    than 15 individuals to discriminate against people with disabilities who are
    qualified to carry out a particular job, and the law requires employers to
    provide reasonable accommodation. When considering whether their older
    child with Down syndrome might be ready to look for work, parents should
    keep several factors in mind: Success depends on a healthy sense of self-
    esteem, the ability to complete tasks without help, a willingness to separate
    emotionally from family, and access to personal recreational activities. 3
    Assistive electronic devices can help, too.
    Adolescents often switch from care by a pediatrician to adult care, and this
    change can be difficult for young people with Down syndrome. Families and
    young people with Down syndrome often have strong bonds of trust with
    their pediatricians, and adult health care providers may be poorly prepared
    to meet the needs of maturing patients with Down syndrome. Individuals
    who receive care at special Down syndrome clinics that provide lifelong care
    might prefer to stay with the providers at these clinics as adults. 4, 5
    Teenagers with Down syndrome undergo hormonal changes like any other
    teen. Parents should encourage their teenagers with Down syndrome to
    develop independent skills in hygiene and self-care, to be aware of privacy
    issues, and to manage their behavior appropriately. Teenagers with Down
    syndrome also should be educated about puberty, sexuality, sexual activity,
    and the consequences of such activity. Males with Down syndrome generally
    have a reduced sperm count and are usually unable to father children. In
    contrast, females with Down syndrome have regular menstrual periods and
    can get pregnant and carry a baby to term. Therefore, health care providers
    and families should consider having discussions with their teens with Down
    syndrome about birth control and preventing sexually transmitted diseases
    (STDs).
    [top]

    What are the health issues for adults with Down syndrome?

    431
    The life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increased
    substantially in the last few decades, to an average age of 50 years and
    beyond. In addition to living longer, people with Down syndrome now live
    fuller, richer lives than ever before as family members and contributors to
    their community. Many adults with Down syndrome form meaningful
    relationships and eventually marry. Now that people with Down syndrome
    are living longer, the needs of adults with Down syndrome are receiving
    greater attention. With assistance from family and caretakers, many adults
    with Down syndrome have developed the skills required to hold jobs and to
    live independently well into later adult life.
    Increased life expectancy in individuals with Down syndrome puts them at
    risk as they age for developing mental health issues, such as depression.
    Death of parents, changes in caregivers, and medical issues often contribute
    to such changes in mental health. Individuals with Down syndrome seem to
    respond well to treatment with medication, but it is important that they
    follow instructions for taking these medications closely.6
    Premature aging is a characteristic of adults with Down syndrome, as is
    dementia, memory loss, and impaired judgment similar to that occurring in
    individuals with Alzheimer disease.6 Although much has been learned about
    Alzheimer disease as it affects individuals with Down syndrome, effective
    treatments and diagnostic tools that can identify early stages of dementia or
    the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment are still needed. Currently,
    changes in behavior may be the best indicators of dementia in people with
    Down syndrome. Families should look for associations between the type of
    behavior, how often the behavior occurs, when the behavior occurs, and the
    persistence of specific behaviors as a way to check for dementia and memory
    loss in a person with Down syndrome.6,7 Family members and caretakers may
    need to step in if the individual begins to lose the skills required for
    independent living.
    Other medical issues associated with aging in individuals with Down
    syndrome include high cholesterol (which can be treated with medications),
    obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cataracts and other visual problems,
    and early menopause. In contrast, individuals with Down syndrome appear
    to be "protected" from certain diseases that are common in the elderly: they
    do not develop hardening of the arteries; they have fewer solid tumor
    cancers (for example, breast cancer), and they have low blood pressure. 8,9,10,11

    432
    Longitudinal studies of aging in Down syndrome (some ongoing for more
    than 25 years) reveal that healthy aging occurs in most individuals with Down
    syndrome if they continue to receive routine medical care and attention to
    their special needs.
    [top]

    1. Toso, L., Cameroni, I., Roberson, R., Abebe, D., Bissell, S., & Spong, C. Y.
    (2008). Prevention of developmental delays in a Down syndrome mouse model.
    Obstetrics and Gynecology, 112, 1242–1251. [top]
    2. Incerti, M., Toso, L., Vink, J., Roberson, R., Nold, C., Abebe, D., & Spong, C. Y.
    (2011). Prevention of learning deficit in a Down syndrome model. Obstetrics and
    Gynecology, 117, 354–361. [top]
    3. Roizin, N. J. (2007). Down Syndrome., in: Batwhaw, M. L., Pellegrino, L.,
    Roizin, N. J. (Eds.) Children with Disabilities. Brookes (Baltimore), 264–273.
    [top]
    4. American Academy of Pediatrics. (2002). A consensus statement on health care
    transitions for young adults with special health care needs. Pediatrics, 110, 1304–
    1306. [top]
    5. Schrander-Stumpel, C. T., Sinnema, M., van den Hout, L., Maaskant, M. A., van
    Schrojenstein Lantman-de Valk, H. M., Wagemans, A., Schrander, J. J., et al.
    (2007). Healthcare transition in persons with intellectual disabilities: general
    issues, the Maastricht model, and Prader-Willi syndrome. American Journal of
    Medical Genetics Part C: Seminars in Medical Genetics, 145C, 241–247. [top]
    6. Urv, T. K., Zigman, W. B., & Silverman, W. (2010). Psychiatric symptoms in
    adults with Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. American Journal on
    Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 115, 265–276. [top]
    7. Krinsky-McHale, S. J., Devenny D. A., Kittler, P., & Silverman, W. (2008).
    Selective attention deficits associated with mild cognitive impairment and early
    stage Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome. American Journal of
    Mental Retardation, 113, 369–386. [top]
    8. Draheim, C. C., Geijer, J. R., & Dengel, D. R. (2010). Comparison of intima-
    media thickness of the carotid artery and cardiovascular disease risk factors in
    adults with versus without the Down syndrome. American Journal of Cardiology,
    106, 1512–1516. [top]
    9. Rodrigues, A. N., Coelho, L. C., Goncalves, W. L., Gouvea, S. A., Vasconcellos,
    M. J., Cunha, R. S., & Abreu, G. R. (2011). Stiffness of the large arteries in
    individuals with and without Down syndrome. Journal of Vascular Health Risk
    Management, 7, 375–381. [top]
    10. Ehara, H., Ohno, K., & Ito H. (2011). Benign and malignant tumors in Down
    syndrome: Analysis of the 1514 autopsied cases in Japan. Pediatrics
    International, 53, 72–77. [top]
    11. Kwak, H. I., Gustafson, T., Metz, R. P., Laffin, B., Schedin, P., & Porter W. W.
    (2007). Inhibition of breast cancer growth and invasion by single-minded 2s.
    Carcinogenesis, 28, 259–266. [top

    433
    Source:- https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/down/conditioninfo/Pages/faqs.aspx

    What conditions or disorders are commonly associated


    with Down syndrome?
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    In addition to intellectual and developmental disabilities, children with Down


    syndrome are at an increased risk for certain health problems. However,
    each individual with Down syndrome is different, and not every person will
    have serious health problems. Many of these associated conditions can be
    treated with medication, surgery, or other interventions.
    Some of the conditions that occur more often among children with Down
    syndrome include:

    Heart defects. Almost one-half of babies with Down syndrome have congenital
    heart disease (CHD), the most common type of birth defect. CHD can lead to high
    blood pressure in the lungs, an inability of the heart to effectively and efficiently
    pump blood, and cyanosis (blue-tinted skin caused by reduced oxygen in the
    blood). For this reason, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee
    on Genetics recommends infants with Down syndrome receive an
    echocardiogram (a sound “picture” of the heart) and an evaluation from a
    pediatric cardiologist. Sometimes, the heart defect can be detected before birth,
    but testing after birth is more accurate. Some heart defects are minor and may be
    treated with medication, but others require immediate surgery.1

    Vision problems. More than 60% of children with Down syndrome have vision
    problems, including cataracts (clouding of the eye lens) that may be present at
    birth. The risk of cataract increases with age. Other eye problems that are more
    likely in children with Down syndrome are near-sightedness, “crossed” eyes, and
    rapid, involuntary eye movements. Glasses, surgery, or other treatments usually
    improve vision. The AAP recommends that infants with Down syndrome be
    examined by a pediatric eye specialist during the newborn period, and then have
    vision exams regularly as recommended.1

    Hearing loss. About 70% to 75% of children with Down syndrome have some
    hearing loss, sometimes because of problems with ear structures. The AAP
    recommends that babies with Down syndrome be screened for hearing loss at
    birth and have regular follow-up hearing exams. Many inherited hearing problems
    can be corrected. Children with Down syndrome also tend to get a lot of ear
    infections. These should be treated quickly to prevent possible hearing loss.1,2

    Infections. People with Down syndrome are 12 times more likely to die from
    untreated and unmonitored infections than other people. Down syndrome often
    causes problems in the immune system that can make it difficult for the body to

    434
    fight off infections, so even seemingly minor infections should be treated quickly
    and monitored continuously. Caregivers also should make sure that children with
    Down syndrome receive all recommended immunizations to help prevent certain
    infections. Infants with Down syndrome have a 62-fold higher rate of pneumonia,
    especially in the first year after birth, than do infants without Down syndrome, for
    example.2

    Hypothyroidism. The thyroid is a gland that makes hormones the body uses to
    regulate things such as temperature and energy. Hypothyroidism, when the
    thyroid makes little or no thyroid hormone, occurs more often in children with
    Down syndrome than in children without Down syndrome. Taking thyroid
    hormone by mouth, throughout life, can successfully treat the condition. A child
    may have thyroid problems at birth or may develop them later, so health care
    providers recommend a thyroid examination at birth, at 6 months, and annually
    throughout life.1,3 Routine newborn screening may detect hypothyroidism at birth.
    However, some state newborn screening programs only screen for
    hypothyroidism one way, by measuring free thyroxine (T4) in the blood. Because
    many infants with Down syndrome have normal T4, they should be screened for
    levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in these states as well.4

    Blood disorders. Children with Down syndrome are 10 to 15 times more likely
    than other children to develop leukemia (pronounced loo-KEE-mee-uh), which is
    cancer of the white blood cells. Children with leukemia should receive
    appropriate cancer treatment, which may include chemotherapy.5 Those with
    Down syndrome are also more likely to have anemia (low iron in the blood) and
    polycythemia (high red blood cell levels), among other blood disorders. These
    conditions may require additional treatment and monitoring.1

    Hypotonia (poor muscle tone). Poor muscle tone and low strength contribute to
    the delays in rolling over, sitting up, crawling, and walking that are common in
    children with Down syndrome. Despite these delays, children with Down
    syndrome can learn to participate in physical activities like other children.6

    Poor muscle tone, combined with a tendency for the tongue to stick out, can also
    make it difficult for an infant with Down syndrome to feed properly, regardless of
    whether they are breastfed or fed from a bottle. Infants may need nutritional
    supplements to ensure they are getting all the nutrients they need. Parents can
    work with breastfeeding experts and pediatric nutritionists to ensure proper
    nutrition.7 In some cases, the weak muscles can cause problems along the
    digestive tract, leading to various digestive problems, from difficulty swallowing
    to constipation. Families may need to work with a gastroenterologist to overcome
    these problems.

    Problems with the upper part of the spine. One or two of every ten children
    with Down syndrome has misshapen bones in the upper part of the spine,
    underneath the base of the skull. These misshaped bones can press on the spinal
    cord and increase the risk for injury. It is important to determine if these spinal
    problems (called atlantoaxial [pronounced at-lan-to-AK-se-al] instability) are
    present before the child has any surgery because certain movements required for
    anesthesia or surgery could cause permanent injury. In addition, some sports have

    435
    an increased risk of spinal injury, so possible precautions should be discussed
    with a child's health care provider.1

    Disrupted sleep patterns and sleep disorders. Many children with Down
    syndrome have disrupted sleep patterns and often have obstructive sleep apnea,
    which causes significant pauses in breathing during sleep. A child's health care
    provider may recommend a sleep study in a special sleep lab to detect problems
    and determine possible solutions.1 It might be necessary to remove the tonsils or
    to use a continuous positive airway pressure device to create airflow during sleep.

    Gum disease and dental problems. Children with Down syndrome may develop
    teeth more slowly than other children, develop teeth in a different order, develop
    fewer teeth, or have misaligned teeth compared to children who do not have
    Down syndrome. Gum disease (periodontal disease), a more serious health issue,
    may develop for a number of reasons, including poor oral hygiene. Health care
    providers recommend visiting the dentist within 6 months of the appearance of the
    child's first tooth or by the time the child is 1 year old.8

    Epilepsy. Children with Down syndrome are more likely to have epilepsy, a
    condition characterized by seizures, than those without Down syndrome. The risk
    for epilepsy increases with age, but seizures usually occur either during the first 2
    years of life or after the third decade of life. Almost one-half of people with Down
    syndrome who are older than age 50 have epilepsy. Seizures can usually be
    treated and controlled well with medication.9,10

    Digestive problems. Digestive problems range from structural defects in the
    digestive system or its organs, to problems digesting certain types of foods or
    food ingredients. Treatments for these problems vary based on the specific
    problem. Some structural defects require surgery. Some people with Down
    syndrome have to eat a special diet throughout their lifetime.1,3

    Celiac disease. People with celiac disease experience intestinal problems when
    they eat gluten, a protein in wheat, barley, and rye. Because children with Down
    syndrome are more likely to have celiac disease, health care providers recommend
    testing for it at age 2 or even younger if the child is having celiac symptoms.3

    Mental health and emotional problems. Children with Down syndrome may
    experience behavioral and emotional problems, including anxiety, depression, and
    Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. They might also display repetitive
    movements, aggression, autism, psychosis, or social withdrawal. Although they
    are not more likely to experience these problems, they are more likely to have
    difficulty coping with the problems in positive ways, especially during
    adolescence. Treatments may include working with a behavioral specialist and
    taking medications.11,12

    The conditions listed above are ones that are commonly found in children
    with Down syndrome. Adults with Down syndrome may have many of these
    as well as additional health issues. Visit the What are the health issues for
    adults with Down syndrome? section on the Other FAQs page for more
    information.13

    436
    1. Bull, M. J., & the Committee on Genetics. (2011). Health supervision for children
    with Down syndrome. Pediatrics, 128, 393–406. [top]
    2. So, S. A., Urbano, R. C., & Hodapp, R. M. (2007) Hospitalizations of infants and
    young children with Down syndrome: Evidence from inpatient person-records
    from a statewide administrative database. Journal of Intellectual Disability
    Research, 51, 1030–1038. [top]
    3. Davidson, M. A. (2008). Primary care for children and adolescents with Down
    syndrome. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 55, 1099–1111. [top]
    4. Hardy, O., Worley, G., Lee, M. M., Chaing, S., Mackey, J., Crissman, B., et al.
    (2004). Hypothyroidism in Down syndrome: screening guidelines and testing
    methodology. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 124A(4), 436-437. [top]
    5. Khan, I., Malinge, S., & Crispino, J. (2011). Myeloid leukemia in Down
    syndrome. Critical Reviews in Oncogenesis, 16, 25–36. [top]
    6. Winders, P. C. (n.d.). Gross motor development and Down syndrome. Retrieved
    June 11, 2012, from the NDSS website: http://www.ndss.org/en/Education-
    Development--Community-Life/Therapies--Development/Physical--
    Occupational-Therapy/#gross [top]
    7. NDSS. (n.d.). Early intervention. Retrieved June 11, 2012, from
    http://www.ndss.org/en/Education-Development--Community-Life/Early-
    Intervention/Early-Intervention [top]
    8. Debord, J. (n.d). Dental issues and Down syndrome. Retrieved June 11, 2012,
    from the National Down Syndrome Society website:
    http://www.ndss.org/en/Healthcare/Associated-Conditions/Dental-Issues-and-
    Down-Syndrome [top]
    9. Lujić, L., Bosnjak, V. M., Delin, S., Duranović, V., & Krakar, G. (2011). Infantile
    spasms in children with Down syndrome. Collegium Antropologicum, 35, 213–
    218. [top]
    10. Goldberg-Stern, H., Strawsburg, R. H., Patterson, B., Hickey, F., Bare, M.,
    Gadoth, N., & Degrauw, T. J. (2001). Seizure frequency and characteristics in
    children with Down syndrome. Brain & Development, 23, 375–378. [top]
    11. Munir, K. (n.d). Mental health issues and Down syndrome. Retrieved June 11
    2012, from the NDSS website: http://www.ndss.org/Resources/Health-
    Care/Associated-Conditions/Mental-Health-Issues--Down-Syndrome/ [top]
    12. Capone, G., Goyal, P., Ares, W., & Lannigan, E. (2006) Neurobehavioral
    disorders in children, adolescents, and young adults with Down syndrome.
    American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part C, Seminars in Medical Genetics,
    142C, 158–172. [top]
    13. NDSS. (n.d.). Alzheimer's and Down syndrome. Retrieved June 22, 2012, from
    http://www.ndss.org/Resources/Health-Care/Associated-Conditions/Alzheimers-
    Disease--Down-Syndrome/ [top]

    Source:-
    https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/down/conditioninfo/Pages/associated.aspx

    437
    Life After High School
     24 0  5 11 48

    We are all constantly transitioning throughout our lives. We go from one grade
    to the next, from one job to another, or from living at home to living on our own.
    While all of us handle change in our own way, major transitions often give rise to
    conflicting feelings. For example, we might look forward to new experiences, yet
    worry about the unknown. Taking adequate time to prepare and planning well
    are the best ways to alleviate the stresses that can accompany transition.

    With that in mind, it is important for individuals with Down syndrome and their
    families to begin thinking about one of the most important transitions of all —
    the move from high school to life after high school — and to encourage them to
    start making plans as early as possible.

    The period of time following high school graduation can present many
    challenges. But it can also be a time of excitement, productivity and great
    satisfaction. Planning for this transition from an early age can help the individual
    with Down syndrome mature into an adult who is as independent as possible. A
    well-developed transition plan ensures that the student has steps in place to
    reach his or her goals after high school.

    What Will Change After High School?

    While in school, most, if not all, of the resources that make up a student's
    principal support system of special education and related services are mandated
    by law. Upon graduation, the student will no longer be eligible for many of the
    services, and the responsibility of identifying, locating and coordinating
    appropriate resources will fall mainly upon the individuals and their families.

    With proper planning, many important resource links can already be in place by
    the time the student graduates. There are many options available to individuals
    with Down syndrome after high school, but the best way to ensure a successful
    transition is to start planning for it long before graduation.

    What Does Transition Planning Involve?

    Transition planning involves looking towards the future and envisioning all the
    skills and preparations that will be needed to lead the most fulfilling life

    438
    possible. Looked at in this way, all training and education received during
    childhood and adolescence are part of transition planning.

    However, formal transition planning involves a document called a transition


    plan, which is required by law to form part of a student's Individualized
    Education Plan (IEP) starting at age 14.

    Initially, the IEP can include general transition goals, but by age 16, the
    Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that the IEP contain a
    statement of "transition services," or postsecondary agency or services links,
    that the student needs in order to transition successfully.

    Transition planning is, therefore, a right that exists for all students with
    disabilities. It is important that individuals with Down syndrome be as involved
    as possible in making decisions about their future. Transition goals should
    reflect a student's interests, abilities and dreams, and the plan should outline
    specific objectives to help him or her achieve those goals.

    What Kinds of Opportunities Are Available After High School for


    Individuals with Down Syndrome?

    There are many opportunities for individuals with cognitive disabilities after
    graduation, but the three areas most frequently considered are: postsecondary
    education, employment and housing. Today, there are more opportunities than
    ever before for individuals with Down syndrome to pursue goals in these areas.

    Successful transitioning will not only depend on a good understanding of the


    individual's personal strengths and interests, but also on knowledge of what
    options and services are available in the community.

    Postsecondary Education

    Individuals with Down syndrome have the opportunity to participate in a variety


    of postsecondary education programs, such as:
    Academic programs or courses at a community college or other college or
    university; Vocational or training programs, such as apprenticeships and trade
    schools; or Innovative programs that combine these two types of education.

    Programs and schools vary widely in terms of what they offer with respect to
    academics, independent living skills training, residential options, and the type of
    diploma or certificate earned. Even though IDEA requires that all schools make
    proper accommodations for their students with disabilities, it is very important

    439
    to find a school whose staff clearly respects the student's learning style and is
    willing to go the extra mile to meet his or her needs. As many of these
    postsecondary education programs have eligibility or entrance requirements
    and are not necessarily located in your community, it is important to start
    researching early. Knowledge of existing programs and entrance requirements
    can help identify specific goals to include in the transition plan. For example,
    students can plan to take certain courses in high school as preparation for
    particular programs. Or, they might secure part-time jobs or volunteer work in a
    specific field of interest.

    Deciding which program to enroll in is just like researching any college or


    program. It is important to find a good fit between the individual and the school.

    Employment

    In general, there are three types of employment options available to individuals


    with Down syndrome: competitive, supported and sheltered.

    In competitive employment, the individual secures employment in the


    community — for example, by responding to ads or job postings or proactively
    approaching businesses — and works independently without any support
    services.

    More common is supported employment, in which the individual works in an


    integrated setting and receives support services from a job coach. The job coach
    accompanies the individual to the workplace to enable him or her to learn the
    necessary job skills and to prepare to work independently. Usually, the job coach
    works with the individual full-time at first, and moves toward the goal of
    providing only periodic support such as visiting the job site to assist in training
    the individual for new assignments.

    In sheltered employment, individuals work in self-contained settings with others


    who have disabilities without the integration of non-disabled workers. Sheltered
    employment is often obtained through agencies, and wages for this type of work
    are typically lower than for other types of jobs. Sheltered employment usually
    involves manual labor tasks such as assembling goods. In addition to these
    types of employment, there are also many innovative programs that focus on
    business ownership and entrepreneurship for individuals with disabilities. These
    businesses may include artistic or creative ventures that allow the individual to
    focus on a specific talent or ability, such as photography or public speaking.

    440
    Regardless of the type of employment that is pursued, the challenge will often
    be locating a job and coordinating appropriate support services. There are laws
    and government agencies that aid individuals with disabilities in defining their
    employment goals, locating jobs, and obtaining the services they need to
    perform those jobs successfully.

    Housing

    Individuals with Down syndrome and their families often explore possible
    changes in living arrangements as part of the transition to adulthood and the
    move towards greater independence. Not every student will want, need or be
    able to move from the family's home to more independent housing. Still, the
    question of where the student will live must be addressed in transition planning.

    There are many housing options available:

     The individual might maintain the status quo and continue living
    with his or her family.

     Individuals enrolled in postsecondary education programs may


    reside in student housing, such as dormitories.
     Some individuals may choose supportive living arrangements, in
    which they can live in a home of their own, with or without
    roommates, and receive support services as needed.
     Others may choose a group living situation, in which they share a
    home with other individuals with disabilities and have a 24-hour
    support staff.

    The transition plan should identify not only where the student will live, but also
    which skills he or she will need to develop to successfully manage that
    arrangement. Such skills can include caring for personal hygiene, managing
    finances and preparing meals. They might also include learning how to drive or
    how to navigate public transportation to get to and from school, work or other
    activities.

    In making decisions about living arrangements, families must weigh the desires
    of the individual, his or her independent living skills, and available resources.

    What Are the Components of a Transition Plan?

    The IEP's transition plan is the creative roadmap that a student will follow to
    prepare for life after high school. It identifies the individual's postsecondary

    441
    education, employment and housing goals, and outlines specific steps to achieve
    them.

    There are no hard and fast rules regarding transition plans, but in general, the
    transition team should set out to achieve the following: Assess, or identify the
    student's strengths, needs and preferences in terms of postsecondary
    education, employment and housing; Develop an awareness of various options
    in these areas and of the skills needed; Match the student to a desired
    postsecondary educational program, job and/or living arrangement; Train and
    prepare the student for the planned course of action; and help the student
    achieve a successful placement and ensure that appropriate support services
    are in place.

    To accomplish all of this, the transition plan needs to describe specific long-term
    goals and identify smaller, measurable steps that will help achieve each goal. A
    good plan will include strategies to learn specialized skills such as operating a
    particular piece of equipment or completing a certain course, as well as basic
    skills such as punctuality and working well with others. Transition plans also
    identify who is responsible for each step and set target dates for each objective.

    Who Is Responsible for Developing the Transition Plan?

    Because parents are in the position to know their child best, and to be their
    child's greatest advocate, ultimate responsibility for good transition planning
    falls on them. However, since the transition plan is part of the IEP, the entire IEP
    team works together to develop the document.

    The IEP team includes the student, teachers, parents (or legal guardians), school
    administrators and representatives of any other agency that may be responsible
    for providing transition services.

    The process of developing a transition plan requires both creativity and


    coordination. It is a cooperative venture that requires input and participation by
    the entire team. While the role of each team member is important, the individual
    with Down syndrome should be as involved as possible in all decision-making,
    and efforts should remain focused on his or her needs and desires.

    What General Skills Should the Transition Plan Address?

    The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities identifies the
    following four skills as critical for individuals making a successful transition to life
    after high school:

    442
     The ability for self-assessment - An awareness of the
    accommodations that they need because of their disability

     Knowledge of their legal rights to these accommodations - Self-


    advocacy skills to express their needs in the workplace and the
    community

    Parents can get their children off to a good start by helping them begin to
    develop these general skills at an early age. The transition plan should reflect
    specific strategies for further strengthening the skills the individual has
    developed over time, and for helping him or her acquire those missing or
    underdeveloped skills.

    Can a Transition Plan Be Changed?

    Yes! A transition plan must be flexible. It is designed to be a working document


    that can change as needed. Changes may be the result of any number of
    reasons - an individual may have already acquired certain skills and is ready to
    focus on new ones, or he or she may have developed different interests and
    goals.

    To make the best decisions as to when and how to modify a transition plan, it is
    important to develop solid evaluation criteria and to regularly review the
    individual's progress against these criteria.

    How Do I Know if the Transition Plan Is Working?

    The goals and objectives stated in the plan should be clearly measurable in
    order to determine success. Evaluation of the plan may include observation,
    discussion and interaction with the student, team members, and relevant
    professionals.

    The input of all team members and most importantly, the individual with Down
    syndrome, is key to making the determination of how well the plan is working.
    This input will provide valuable insights into the kinds of modifications that may
    need to be made to ensure that goals are met.

    Transition Skills Checklist

    Vocational Skills

    Can your child:

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     Get to and from work, on time

     Perform work satisfactorily


     Work cooperatively with others
     Take break or lunch appropriately
     Wear suitable clothing
     Use appropriate safety procedures
     Follow directions
     Accept supervision
     Community Skills

    Can your child:

     Use public transportation

     Shop for groceries, clothing


     Make necessary appointments
     Use a phone
     Use bank accounts
     Be safe in traffic, among strangers
     Know how to seek help
     Handle money
     Use an ATM
     Use vending machines (laundry machines, fare cards, and so on)

    Domestic Skills

    Can your child:

     Plan menus

     Make shopping list from menus


     Prepare breakfast, lunch, supper, snack, or pack a lunch
     Wash dishes, pots, and pans
     Clean up apartment (bathroom, living areas, kitchen, and so on)
     Clean own room
     Do laundry: use washer, dryer, and iron

    Social & Personal Skills

    Can your child:

     Supply appropriate personal identification

    444
     Greet people appropriately
     Use contemporary style of dress, hair, make-up
     Use good grooming, hygiene skills consistently
     "Talk" with friends and coworkers
     Be courteous
     Be responsible
     Be happy

    Recreation & Leisure Skills

    Can your child:

     Use free time for pleasure

     Choose reasonable activities


     Pick a hobby
     Perform required activities
     Use community resources
     Call friends to make plans with them

    Other Useful Skills

    Can your child:

     Use a cell phone

     Use a datebook
     Take prescriptions as directed
     Use over-the-counter medications appropriately
     Use sunscreen when needed
     Use insect repellent when needed

    Sample IEP Transition Goals

    Long-term postsecondary education goal:

    Student would like to enroll in a teaching assistant certification program at


    community college.

    Possible short-term objectives

    Person/Agency Responsible
    Visit or contact local colleges to learn about course/program offerings

    445
    Research entrance requirements and pre-requisites
    Ensure student is enrolled in courses that will prepare him/her for college
    requirements
    Student, parents
    Student, guidance counselor
    Teacher-advisor, guidance
    department and student
    Long-term postsecondary education goal:

    After graduation, student would like to have paid employment, but is not yet
    sure what kind of work he or she would like to do.

    Possible short-term objectives Person/Agency Responsible


    Enroll student in a career investigation course.
    Locate volunteer opportunities in one or more area(s) of interest.
    Or, find part-time employment that will give student a chance to develop general
    job skills
    Teacher-advisor, guidance
    department and student
    Student, parents, guidance department
    Transition service provider, student, teacher-advisor, parents
    Long-term housing goal:

    Student wants to eventually live on his or her own and share an apartment with
    a roommate.

    Possible short-term objectives Person/Agency Responsible


    Enroll student in course that will help him or her develop independent-living
    skills.
    Student will take on new responsibilities/chores at home.
    Teacher-advisor, guidance
    department and student
    Student, parents

    Things to keep in mind:

     Transition plan goals for postsecondary education, employment


    and housing often overlap.

     Short-term objectives can be general or very specific. However, it is


    important to set measurable goals.
     The IEP must include a target date for each short-term objective.

    446
    It is very important to make sure that all related factors be considered in
    planning for a goal. For example, a goal of working part-time must address the
    question of how the student will get to and from work. Similarly, a student's goal
    to live on his or her own must address how expenses such as rent, utility bills
    and groceries will be paid for.

    Source:- http://www.ndss.org/Resources/Transition-and-Beyond/Life-After-High-School/

    9 successful people with Down syndrome who prove life


    is worth living
    By Nancy Flanders | November 8, 2014 , 10:20am

    FacebookTwitterGoogle+EmailShare

    Ninety percent of people diagnosed with Down syndrome are never allowed to be born.
    This is a staggering statistic that we hear quite often. Lives are struck down before they
    ever have a chance to fulfill their missions, succeed at their dreams, or even flash a smile
    at their parents.

    447
    This all started when people began to believe that those with Down syndrome are better
    off never being born. It’s the most judgmental action our society does – deciding that
    someone’s life isn’t worth living. It’s time we stop believing that lie. These nine
    individuals with Down syndrome prove that joy and success are attainable to anyone.

    1. Angela Bachiller. In 2013 in Valladolid, Span, Angela became the first person


    with Down syndrome ever to be elected councilwoman. She worked for three years
    in Social Welfare and Family as an administrative assistant, and loves reading and
    traveling. She hopes to shine a light on the normalcy of life with Down syndrome
    and make a difference in the lives of those with disabilities.
    2. Megan McCormick. The first person with Down syndrome to graduate with
    honors from a technical college, Megan attended Bluegrass Community Technical
    College. She wants to work in education at the elementary level. She proves that
    with the right support and resources, people anywhere can reach their goals, Down
    syndrome or not.
    3. Tim Harris. Tim is the owner of his own restaurant called Tim’s Place. In high
    school he was elected homecoming king (by the highest margin of votes in the
    school’s history), and was named Student of the Year as well. He dreamed of
    owning a restaurant, so he found jobs in the industry to learn as much as he could.
    And, according to the Tim’s Place web site, former employer Red Robin says that
    the store’s revenue went up during Tim’s shifts. He graduated from college with
    certificates in Food Services, Office Skills, and Restaurant Hosting. In addition,
    Tim recently created Tim’s Big Heart Foundation to help other people with
    disabilities start their own businesses.
    4. Pablo Pineda.  Pablo earned a bachelor’s degree in educational psychology and
    has gone on to be a writer, speaker, and actor. Born in Spain, he is a successful
    actor in his home country, receiving the Silver Shell award for his acting skills as
    well as the San Sebastian International Film Festival’s “Concha de Plata” as best
    actor of 2009 for his lead role in the film Yo Tambien.
    5. Christian Royal. School never came easy to Christian, but that is just fine
    because he holds a skill many of us admire. Christian is highly talented at making
    pottery. He sells his beautiful dishes and bowls online and at an art gallery in South
    Carolina.
    6. Bernadette Resha. Bernadette is also an artist who has made a name for
    herself. She and her work have been featured on television shows, in music videos,
    commercials, and magazines. In addition to creating beautiful paintings, she is a
    public speaker and violinist as well.
    7. Michael Johnson. A painter, Michael is a self-taught Naïve Folk Artist. He has
    painted more than 500 commissioned portraits and had a solo exhibition at
    Vanderbilt University in 2001. His art has been featured in posters and on the cover
    of the American Journal of Public Health.
    8. Sujeet Desai. A musician, Sujeet graduated from high school with a 4.3 grade
    average and went on to graduate from the Berkshire Hills Music Academy. He
    plays seven instruments including the violin, piano, trumpet and saxophone. He has

    448
    received numerous awards and was even featured in the Wall Street Journal and
    Time Magazine as well as on 20/20 and the Oprah Winfrey Show. In 2006 he
    married Carolyn Bergeron who also has Down syndrome.
    9. Melissa Reilly. Melissa has accomplished quite a lot in her life. She has
    travelled the country as an inspirational speaker. She is a decorated, gold medal
    winning skier, cycler, and swimmer and she has interned for a state senator.
    Melissa also teaches reading and math to preschoolers with Down syndrome. She
    says she loves her life 100%, and she proves that you can have a very fulfilling life
    with Down syndrome.

    The world is a very different place for people with Down syndrome than it was 50 years
    ago, in both positive and negative ways. People with Down syndrome are no longer
    automatically placed in group homes, but instead are raised by their parents who nurture
    their child’s talents and abilities rather than focusing on any disabilities.

    However, in this day and age, a person with Down syndrome is lucky to be born at all
    due to prenatal testing and recommendations from uninformed doctors to abort.
    Thankfully there are many successful and happy people with Down syndrome sharing
    their story so that fewer and fewer parents who receive a prenatal Down syndrome
    diagnosis will be pressured into aborting their child.

    Source:- http://www.liveaction.org/news/9-successful-people-with-down-syndrome-who-
    prove-life-is-worth-living/

    Famous People with Down Syndrome


    Life
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    Introduction
    8 Famous People with Down Syndrome
    1 Luke Zimmerman
    2 Lauren Potter
    3 Tommy Jessop
    4 Chris Burke
    5 Edward Barbanell
    6 Jamie Brewer
    7 Angela Bachiller
    8 Michael Johnson

    449
    Myths About Down Syndrome Debunked
    1 Myth: Down syndrome children are only born to older parents.
    2 Myth: Having a Down syndrome child can place strain on a relationship.
    3 Myth: Siblings are negatively affected.
    4 Myth: Down syndrome people have a shorter life expectancy.
    5 Myth: They are limited physically.
    6 Myth: They cannot read or write.
    7 Myth: They cannot attend regular school.
    8 Myth: Those with Down syndrome don't feel pain.
    9 Myth: The all look alike.
    10 Myth: They are all overweight.
    11 Myth: They are unable to have children.
    12 Myth: They have poor memories.

    Xinyi

    8 Famous People with Down Syndrome

    Myths About Down Syndrome Debunked

    Down syndrome is a genetic condition that is caused by an extra chromosome in the body's
    cells. People with Down syndrome have characteristic facial and other physical features.
    There is a degree of mental disability associated with this condition. However, this varies
    from individual to individual. There may also be some other inherent problems with some
    organs of the body like the heart, lungs, ears or intestines. Most people with Down syndrome
    can live normal, happy lives with the correct care and support.

    8 Famous People with Down Syndrome


    The more educated and informed society is made on Down syndrome, the better these
    individuals are understood and incorporated into everyday life. Just because they look
    different doesn't mean they have no valuable impact to make on society. This is clearly
    illustrated in Hollywood, which has seen a few great actors with Down syndrome elevate the
    art of acting.
    1

    Luke Zimmerman

    450
    He starred in the series called The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Although he had
    been involved in acting for most of his life, the role of the adopted older brother in this family
    series is what catapulted him into celebrity status.

    Lauren Potter
    Lauren Potter is one of the famous people with Down syndrome. This blonde actress gained
    popularity on the TV show Glee.

    451
    3

    Tommy Jessop
    A star in his own right in the British Documentary Growing Up Down's. This documentary
    follows 3 individuals with Down syndrome and their daily ups and downs as they produce the
    Shakespeare play, Hamlet. This British actor has been acting since 2007.

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    4

    Chris Burke
    Christ Burke is the National Down Syndrome Society's Goodwill Ambassador since 1994. He
    has used his celebrity status to bring awareness to Down syndrome worldwide. He is famous
    for his role as the beloved brother, Corcky of the Thacher family, in the popular TV show Life
    Goes On. His other TV appearances include: ER, Touched by an Angel and the successful
    movie Mona Lisa Smile.

    453
    454
    5

    Edward Barbanell
    Edward Barbanell, a comedian who has appeared in productions like The Ringer,
    Workaholics and The New Normal. He has also made a guest appearance in Johnny
    Knoxville's Jackass 3D.

    Jamie Brewer
    Jamie Brewer is another one of the famous people with Down syndrome. He plays the
    clairvoyant witch Nan in the popular TV show American Horror Story: Coven.

    455
    7

    Angela Bachiller
    Angela Bachiller became the first person with Down syndrome to be elected a councilwoman
    in her native Spain. Prior to that, she worked as an administrative assistant in the department
    of Social Welfare and Family. Her favorite pastime activities include reading and travelling.
    Her hope is to make a difference to the lives of people with disabilities and educate people
    on the normality of those with Down syndrome.

    456
    8

    Michael Johnson
    Michael Johnson is a famous painter who has exhibited his artwork at Vanderbilt University.
    He has created more than 500 commissioned paintings and has had his art featured on the
    cover of American Journal of Public Health.

    457
    Myths About Down Syndrome Debunked
    Apart from the famous people with Down syndrome, there are also common people with
    Down syndrome who need understanding. Here are more truths about Down syndrome.

    Myth: Down syndrome children are only born to older


    parents.
    Truth: Whilst the chances of having a baby with an extra chromosome increase after the age
    of 35, it has been found that 80% of children with this condition are born to women under the
    age of 35.

    Myth: Having a Down syndrome child can place strain on a


    relationship.
    Truth: The American Association of Intellectual Disabilities published a recent study which
    suggested that rates of divorce are lower in families with Down syndrome.

    Myth: Siblings are negatively affected.

    458
    Truth: Another study conducted found that siblings of people with Down syndrome actually
    are more tolerant, compassionate individuals compared to their peers.

    Myth: Down syndrome people have a shorter life


    expectancy.
    Truth: An individual with Down syndrome has an average life expectancy of 60 years. Some
    have been known to exceed this number and survived well into their 80's.

    Myth: They are limited physically.


    Truth: Problem with walking is not an inherent problem of Down syndrome. Physical therapy
    as a child can help with agility and physical prowess. There are Special Olympics that cater
    to these individuals in the form of the Special Olympics.

    Myth: They cannot read or write.


    Truth: Well-trained staffs are able to teach children to read and write quite proficiently.

    Myth: They cannot attend regular school.


    Truth: In countries like the US, it is required by law to accept a child with Down syndrome.
    They are required to provide appropriate education to suit the child's needs.

    Myth: Those with Down syndrome don't feel pain.


    Truth: This is absolutely untrue and medical practitioners should provide the same level of
    pain medication as for other people. People with Down syndrome may be slow to react to
    pain stimuli but they still feel it to the same extent as others.

    Myth: The all look alike.


    Truth: Not all individuals share the same physical characteristics like almond-shaped eyes
    and a shorter height. They usually resemble their families.

    Myth: They are all overweight.


    Truth: Studies have found that Down syndrome individuals have thyroid and metabolic
    problems which could predispose them to obesity. This can be rectified by eating a healthy
    diet and exercising moderately.

    Myth: They are unable to have children.


    Truth: Older studies have suggested that males with Down syndrome are infertile but there
    have been documented cases of males having fathered children. Women are fertile and are
    able to bear children.

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    Myth: They have poor memories.
    Truth: This is untrue and the degree of memory retention depends on the individual, as is the
    case with other typical people.

    Source:- https://www.enkivillage.org/famous-people-with-down-syndrome.html

    Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)


    Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), which affects 6.8 million adults or 3.1 percent of
    the U.S. population, is characterized by persistent and excessive worry about a number of
    different things.  Individuals with GAD find it difficult to control their worry.  They may
    worry more than seems warranted about actual events or may expect the worst even when
    there is no apparent reason for concern.

    People with the disorder, which is also referred to as GAD, experience excessive anxiety
    and worry, often expecting the worst even when there is no apparent reason for concern.
    They anticipate disaster and may be overly concerned about money, health, family, work,
    or other issues. GAD is diagnosed when a person finds it difficult to control worry on
    more days than not for at least six months and has three or more symptoms. Learn more
    symptoms.
     Request a brochure.
     Screen yourself or a loved one for an anxiety disorder.
    Sometimes just the thought of getting through the day produces anxiety. They don’t know
    how to stop the worry cycle and feel it is beyond their control, even though they usually
    realize that their anxiety is more intense than the situation warrants.

    GAD affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population, in any given year.
    Women are twice as likely to be affected.

    The disorder comes on gradually and can begin across the life cycle, though the risk is
    highest between childhood and middle age. Although the exact cause of GAD is
    unknown, there is evidence that biological factors, family background, and life
    experiences, particularly stressful ones, play a role.

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    When their anxiety level is mild, people with GAD can function socially and be gainfully
    employed. Although they may avoid some situations because they have the disorder,
    some people can have difficulty carrying out the simplest daily activities when their
    anxiety is severe.

    Source:- https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad

    Symptoms
    People with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) experience excessive anxiety and worry,
    often about health, family, money, or work. This worrying goes on every day, possibly all
    day. It disrupts social activities and interferes with work, school, or family.

    GAD is diagnosed in adults when they experience at least three of the symptoms below
    on more days than not for at least six months; only one symptom is required in children.

    Symptoms of GAD include the following:

     restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge


     being easily fatigued
     difficulty concentrating or mind going blank
     irritability
     muscle tension
     sleep disturbance (difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying
    sleep)
    (Source: DSM-5)

    Source:- https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/generalized-anxiety-disorder-
    gad/symptoms

    Panic Disorder & Agoraphobia


    Panic disorder is diagnosed in people who experience spontaneous seemingly out-of-the-
    blue panic attacks and are preoccupied with the fear of a recurring attack. Panic attacks
    occur unexpectedly, sometimes even during sleep.

    461
    Learn the symptoms of a panic attack, also known as an anxiety attack.
    About six million American adults experience panic disorder in a given year. Typically
    developing in early adulthood, women are twice as likely as men to have panic disorder.

     Request a brochure.
    Many people don't know that their disorder is real and highly responsive to treatment.
    Some are afraid or embarrassed to tell anyone, including their doctors and loved ones,
    about what they experience for fear of being considered a hypochondriac. Instead they
    suffer in silence, distancing themselves from friends, family, and others who could be
    helpful or supportive.

    Facing Panic: Learn seven self-help steps to break the cycle of panic


    and regain control of your life. This book includes techniques and exercises to manage
    and overcome panic attacks and panic disorder. Download the charts found in Facing
    Panic, Self-Help for People with Panic Attacks to help you practice and track the skills
    you learn to overcome your panic.
     Download the charts found in this book to help you practice and track the skills
    you learn to overcome your panic.
    The disorder often occurs with other mental and physical disorders, including other
    anxiety disorders, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, or substance abuse. This
    may complicate of getting a correct diagnosis.

    Agoraphobia

    Some people stop going into situations or places in which they've previously had a panic
    attack in anticipation of it happening again.

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    These people have agoraphobia, and they typically avoid public places where they feel
    immediate escape might be difficult, such as shopping malls, public transportation, or
    large sports arenas. About one in three people with panic disorder develops agoraphobia.
    Their world may become smaller as they are constantly on guard, waiting for the next
    panic attack. Some people develop a fixed route or territory, and it may become
    impossible for them to travel beyond their safety zones without suffering severe anxiety.

    Read this March 28, 2017 US News & World Report article about agoraphobia featuring
    ADAA member Karen Cassiday

    Source:- https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/panic-disorder-agoraphobia

    The Panic Attack Symptoms


    Nobody Talks About
    Shares

    I’ve lived with panic attacks for five years now. I’ve had so many panic attacks, I’ve
    stopped counting. Memories of my worst attacks stick in my mind like bad nightmares.
    The time I was house-sitting for my friend. The countless attacks in my college dorm
    room. I will never forget them.

    When I have panic attacks, I have the symptoms everyone always mentions. These are
    the symptoms you can quickly find with a Google search of “What is a panic attack?”
    The rapid, pounding heartbeat that feels like a giant bird is stuck in my chest, the sweaty
    palms, the nausea and the trembling. These are the terrifying physical symptoms of panic
    attacks, and chances are most people can say they’ve experienced something close to this
    at least once in their life.

    Panic attacks are more than a sudden feeling ofanxiety. They’re much more than the
    feeling you get when someone scares you and you say without thinking, “You almost

    463
    gave me a panic attack!” Panic attacks can be incredibly traumatic experiences that
    happen over and over.

    What people don’t realize is the physical experience of panic attacks isn’t always the
    worst part. There are some pretty terrifying things that can go on inside your head.
    Some of my worst panic attacks involve two symptoms no one really talks about
    when they talk about panic disorder: derealization and depersonalization.

    Derealization is a fancy word for feeling like you are detached from your surroundings.
    When I experience this during panic attacks, everything around me feels unfamiliar. I
    could be in my bedroom, surrounded by things I’ve seen many times, like my cat, my bed
    or my clothes. Yet, I feel like I’m in a strange world. I feel like an alien who was beamed
    down into a random house.

    RELATED STORIES

     The Panic Attack Symptoms Nobody Talks About


     The Internal Monologue of Someone Having a Panic Attack

    Not only this, but things around me appear foggy and fake. Becoming detached like this
    is terrifying. My brain is doing something incredibly strange I don’t understand and I’m
    stuck in my body, trying to make sense of it. During panic attacks, I need something to
    hold onto that I can rely on. The familiar is what I crave, but my mind makes seeing the
    familiar difficult.

    The people I love feel like strangers to me during panic attacks. It’s because of
    derealization that I worry about traveling to unfamiliar places. I love traveling, but the
    fear of unraveling can be enough to hold me back.

    Depersonalization is a completely different sensation than derealization. Sometimes, the


    two happen at the same time. Depersonalization is the “out of body” experience. I feel
    detached from myself, like I’m looking at myself from afar. It’s tough to remember
    what’s important to me during this experience. I’m just going through the motions with
    no purpose.

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    Panic attacks leave me exhausted and searching for reminders of who I am and what
    makes me feel comfortable in my skin. A panic attack like this is a journey to find myself
    again. When I have them frequently, it’s like I’m constantly having to affirm who I am.

    For me, depersonalization and derealization are the most terrifying sensations because I
    know they are coming from my brain instead of my body. They’re the symptoms no one
    else can see and this makes them even scarier. Both sensations are met with this
    overwhelming feeling of going “crazy” and losing control over everything.

    Sometimes, I have a strange feeling that the entirety of the world’s problems, the news
    stories I hear daily, are on my shoulders. My panic attacks have themes like this. This
    feeling and the fear of going “crazy” make the panicking worse. I fall into a terrible cycle
    of panic that makes it hard to stop.

    RELATED STORIES

     What It's Like to Have a Panic Attack, From 24 People Who've Been
    There
     When I Realized the 'Weirdest Hangover I've Ever Had' Was Actually a
    Panic Attack

    I wish people understood panic attacks aren’t always just a pounding heart. They aren’t
    always a prolonging of that startled feeling when someone spooks you. The solution isn’t
    always to relax and breathe slowly. Sometimes, it is to hold on for dear life to what you
    know is real and remind yourself the people and things around you are familiar. It means
    trying not to freak out even more and wait patiently until the sensations pass, even though
    you want to scream and cry.

    During panic attacks, the body is doing what it knows to do when afraid and this can
    mean disconnecting from the world for a little while. I like to remind myself of this
    because it makes the panic attacks feel controllable. The body is doing what it needs to
    do.

    465
    Panic attacks are a delicate dance between reality and fantasy. Although
    depersonalization and derealization are terrifying, I know they will pass. I know I will
    eventually get back to who I am and the people I love.

    My panic attacks can feel like a long and treacherous journey back to normalcy.
    Although I might feel “crazy” and out of control for a little while, the journey has a finish
    line. I try to remind myself of this when my heart starts pounding.

    Source:- https://themighty.com/2016/08/derealization-and-depersonalization-mental-
    symptoms-of-panic-attacks/

    Social Anxiety Disorder


    It’s the extreme fear of being scrutinized and judged by others in social or performance
    situations: Social anxiety disorder can wreak havoc on the lives of those who suffer from
    it. This disorder is not simply shyness that has been inappropriately medicalized: Read
    about the difference.
    Symptoms may be so extreme that they disrupt daily life. People with this disorder, also
    called social phobia, may have few or no social or romantic relationships, making them
    feel powerless, alone, or even ashamed.

     About 15 million American adults have social anxiety disorder


     Typical age of onset: 13 years old
     36 percent of people with social anxiety disorder report symptoms for 10 or more
    years before seeking help
    Although they recognize that the fear is excessive and unreasonable, people with social
    anxiety disorder feel powerless against their anxiety. They are terrified they will
    humiliate or embarrass themselves.

     Request a brochure.
     Screen yourself or a loved one for an anxiety disorder.
    The anxiety can interfere significantly with daily routines, occupational performance, or
    social life, making it difficult to complete school, interview and get a job, and have
    friendships and romantic relationships.

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    Social anxiety disorder usually begins in childhood or adolescence, and children are
    prone to clinging behavior, tantrums, and even mutism.
     When Young People Suffer Social Anxiety Disorder: What Parents Can Do
    Triumph Over Shyness: Conquering Social Anxiety Disorder,
    Second Edition
    Exclusively from ADAA, this book is full of practical tips, helpful techniques, and more
    to help manage anxious thoughts and physical symptoms of social anxiety disorder.

    Look inside: Read an excerpt of Triumph Over Shyness: Conquering Social Anxiety
    Disorder.
    Using humor, warmth, and language that is easy to understand, authors Murray Stein,
    MD, MPH, and John Walker, PhD, explain what causes social anxiety disorder, how it
    impacts social and romantic relationships, and what treatments work. Order your copy
    today.

    Source:- https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/social-anxiety-disorder

    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children


    Updated: Sep 22, 2016 
     Author: Roy H Lubit, MD, PhD; Chief Editor: Caroly Pataki,
    MD  more...

    Practice Essentials
    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents
    occurs as a result of a child’s exposure to 1 or more traumatic events:
    actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. The victim
    may experience the event, witness it, learn about it from close family
    members or friends, or experience repeated or extreme exposue to
    aversive details of the event. Potentially traumatic events include
    physical or sexual assaults, natural disasters, and accidents.
    The impact of single-incident trauma (such as a car accident or being
    beaten up) is different from that of chronic trauma such as ongoing child
    abuse. In addition to the symptoms of PTSD, sexual assaults have
    widespread impacts on the victim's psychological functioning and
    development. Abuse by a caretaker also creates special problems.  
    The impact of traumatic events on children is often more far reaching
    than trauma on an adults, not simply because the child has fewer

    467
    emotional and intellectual resources to cope, but because the child's
    development is adversely affected. If an adult suffers trauma and a
    deterioration in functioning, after time when the person heals, he can
    generally go back to his previous state of functioning, assuming that he
    has not done serious damage to his relationships, studies, and work. A
    child, however, will be knocked off of his developmental path and after
    healing from the trauma will be out of step with his peers and school
    demands. He will therefore suffer ongoing frustration and
    disappointments even when he has healed from the trauma.
    Many individuals who suffer traumatic events develop depressive or
    anxiety symptoms other than PTSD. An individual who has some
    symptoms of PTSD but not enough to fulfill the diagnostic criteria is still
    adversely affected. The diagnosis of Unspecified Trauma- and Stressor-
    Related Disorder should be considerred. [1]
    Roughly, 15% to 43% of children suffer a traumatic incident. Of these
    children, 3% to 15% of girls and 1% to 6% of boys develop PTSD.
    Rates of PTSD are higher for interpersonal violence. Higher-intensiity
    events have a greater risk to induce PTSD.
    See Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a Critical Images slideshow,
    to help recognize the symptoms of PTSD and to determine effective
    treatment options.
    Signs and symptoms
    The most common symptoms of PTSD include the following:
     Reexperiencing the trauma (nightmares, intrusive recollections,
    flashbacks, traumatic play)
     Avoidance of traumatic triggers, memories and situations that
    remind the child of the traumatic event
     Exaggerated negative beliefs about onself and the world arising
    from the event
     Persisitent negative emotional state or inability to experience
    positive emotions
     Feelings of detachment from people
     Marked loss of interest in or participation in significant activities
     Inability to remember part of the traumatic event
     Sleep problems
     Irritability
     Reckless or self-destructive behavior
     Hypervigilence
     Exaggerated startle
     Concentration problems

    468
    Children may reexperience traumatic events in various ways, such as
    the following:
     Flashbacks and memories
     Behavioral reenactment
     Reenactment through play
    No specific physical signs of PTSD exist; however, various physical
    findings have been noted in children with PTSD, including the following:
     Smaller hippocampal volume
     Altered metabolism in areas of the brain involved in threat
    perception (eg, amygdala)
     Decreased activity of the anterior cingulate
     Low basal cortisol levels
     Increased cortisol response to dexamethasone
     Increased concentration of glucocorticoid receptors and, possibly,
    glucocorticoid receptor activity in the hippocampus
    See Presentation for more detail.
    Diagnosis
    The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical
    Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), lists the following diagnostic criteria for
    PTSD in adults, adolescents, and children older than 6 years:
     Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual
    violence (any undesired sexual activity is sexual violence.
     Presence of 1 or more specified intrusion symptoms in
    association with the traumatic event(s)
     Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic
    event(s)
     Negative alterations in cognitions and mood associated with the
    traumatic event(s)
     Marked alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the
    traumatic events(s)
     Duration of the disturbance exceeding 1 month
     Clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of
    functioning
     Inability to attribute the disturbance to the physiologic effects of a
    substance or another medical condition
    DSM-5 criteria for PTSD in children aged 6 years or younger are as
    follows:
     Directly experiencing the traumatic event, witnessing the event, or
    learning it occurred to a parent or caregiver

    469
     Intrusion symptoms associated with the event (recurrent
    memories, distressing dreams, dissociative reactions, marked
    distress or physiological reaction in response to exposure to
    traumatic triggers)
     Avoidance of situations or things that arouse recollections of the
    trauma OR negative alterations in cognitions (increased negative
    emotions, decreased interest in significant activities, social
    withdrawal, decreased positive emotions)
     Alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the traumatic
    events (two of irritability, hyperigilance, exaggerated startle,
    concentration problems, sleep disturbance )
     Duration of the disturbance exceeding 1 month
     Clinically significant distress or impairment in relationships with
    parents, siblings, peers, or other caregivers or in school behavior
     Inability to attribute the disturbance to the physiologic effects of a
    substance or another medical condition
    There are no specific laboratory studies or specific imaging studies that
    establish the diagnosis of PTSD. Several psychological tests may be
    helpful in PTSD, including the following:
     Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment: Life Events
    Section and PTSD Module (CAPA-PTSD)
     Children’s PTSD Inventory (CPTSDI)
     Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS)
     Abbreviated UCLA PTSD Reaction Index
     Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC)
     Impact of Events Scale
     Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)
     Beck Depression Inventory
     Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD
    See Overview and Workup for more detail.
    Management
    The initial goals of treatment for children with PTSD are as follows:
     Provide a safe environment
     Reasurance, emotional support, nurturance
     Attend to urgent medical needs
    Psychological therapy for PTSD in children involves the following:
     Helping the child gain a sense of safety
     Addressing the multiple emotional and behavioral problems that
    can arise
    Nonpharmacologic forms of therapy include the following:

    470
     Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), especially trauma-focused
    CBT (TF-CBT) 
     Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
     Relaxation techniques (eg, biofeedback, yoga, deep relaxation,
    self-hypnosis, or meditation; efficacy unproven)
     Play therapy
    In children who have persistent symptoms despite CBT or who need
    additional help with control of symptoms, pharmacologic treatment may
    be considered, as follows:
     Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - Medications of
    choice for managing anxiety, depression, avoidance behavior, and
    intrusive recollections; however, not specifically approved by the
    FDA for treatment of PTSD in the pediatric population
     Beta blockers (eg, propranolol)
     Alpha-adrenergic agonists (eg, guanfacine and clonidine)
     Mood stabilizers (eg, carbamazepine and valproic acid)
     Atypical antipsychotics (infrequently used)
    See Treatment and Medication more detail.
    Next: Background

    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children


    Updated: Sep 22, 2016 
     Author: Roy H Lubit, MD, PhD; Chief Editor: Caroly Pataki, MD  more...

    Practice Essentials
    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents occurs as a
    result of a child’s exposure to 1 or more traumatic events: actual or threatened
    death, serious injury, or sexual violence. The victim may experience the event,
    witness it, learn about it from close family members or friends, or experience
    repeated or extreme exposue to aversive details of the event. Potentially
    traumatic events include physical or sexual assaults, natural disasters, and
    accidents.
    The impact of single-incident trauma (such as a car accident or being beaten
    up) is different from that of chronic trauma such as ongoing child abuse. In
    addition to the symptoms of PTSD, sexual assaults have widespread impacts on
    the victim's psychological functioning and development. Abuse by a caretaker
    also creates special problems.  
    The impact of traumatic events on children is often more far reaching than
    trauma on an adults, not simply because the child has fewer emotional and
    intellectual resources to cope, but because the child's development is adversely

    471
    affected. If an adult suffers trauma and a deterioration in functioning, after time
    when the person heals, he can generally go back to his previous state of
    functioning, assuming that he has not done serious damage to his relationships,
    studies, and work. A child, however, will be knocked off of his developmental
    path and after healing from the trauma will be out of step with his peers and
    school demands. He will therefore suffer ongoing frustration and
    disappointments even when he has healed from the trauma.
    Many individuals who suffer traumatic events develop depressive or anxiety
    symptoms other than PTSD. An individual who has some symptoms of PTSD
    but not enough to fulfill the diagnostic criteria is still adversely affected. The
    diagnosis of Unspecified Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorder should be
    considerred. [1]
    Roughly, 15% to 43% of children suffer a traumatic incident. Of these children,
    3% to 15% of girls and 1% to 6% of boys develop PTSD. Rates of PTSD are
    higher for interpersonal violence. Higher-intensiity events have a greater risk to
    induce PTSD.
    See Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a Critical Images slideshow, to help
    recognize the symptoms of PTSD and to determine effective treatment options.
    Signs and symptoms
    The most common symptoms of PTSD include the following:
     Reexperiencing the trauma (nightmares, intrusive recollections,
    flashbacks, traumatic play)
     Avoidance of traumatic triggers, memories and situations that remind the
    child of the traumatic event
     Exaggerated negative beliefs about onself and the world arising from the
    event
     Persisitent negative emotional state or inability to experience positive
    emotions
     Feelings of detachment from people
     Marked loss of interest in or participation in significant activities
     Inability to remember part of the traumatic event
     Sleep problems
     Irritability
     Reckless or self-destructive behavior
     Hypervigilence
     Exaggerated startle
     Concentration problems
    Children may reexperience traumatic events in various ways, such as the
    following:
     Flashbacks and memories

    472
     Behavioral reenactment
     Reenactment through play
    No specific physical signs of PTSD exist; however, various physical findings
    have been noted in children with PTSD, including the following:
     Smaller hippocampal volume
     Altered metabolism in areas of the brain involved in threat perception
    (eg, amygdala)
     Decreased activity of the anterior cingulate
     Low basal cortisol levels
     Increased cortisol response to dexamethasone
     Increased concentration of glucocorticoid receptors and, possibly,
    glucocorticoid receptor activity in the hippocampus
    See Presentation for more detail.
    Diagnosis
    The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,
    Fifth Edition (DSM-5), lists the following diagnostic criteria for PTSD in
    adults, adolescents, and children older than 6 years:
     Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence
    (any undesired sexual activity is sexual violence.
     Presence of 1 or more specified intrusion symptoms in association with
    the traumatic event(s)
     Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event(s)
     Negative alterations in cognitions and mood associated with the
    traumatic event(s)
     Marked alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the traumatic
    events(s)
     Duration of the disturbance exceeding 1 month
     Clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of
    functioning
     Inability to attribute the disturbance to the physiologic effects of a
    substance or another medical condition
    DSM-5 criteria for PTSD in children aged 6 years or younger are as follows:
     Directly experiencing the traumatic event, witnessing the event, or
    learning it occurred to a parent or caregiver
     Intrusion symptoms associated with the event (recurrent memories,
    distressing dreams, dissociative reactions, marked distress or physiological
    reaction in response to exposure to traumatic triggers)
     Avoidance of situations or things that arouse recollections of the trauma
    OR negative alterations in cognitions (increased negative emotions,

    473
    decreased interest in significant activities, social withdrawal, decreased
    positive emotions)
     Alterations in arousal and reactivity associated with the traumatic events
    (two of irritability, hyperigilance, exaggerated startle, concentration
    problems, sleep disturbance )
     Duration of the disturbance exceeding 1 month
     Clinically significant distress or impairment in relationships with
    parents, siblings, peers, or other caregivers or in school behavior
     Inability to attribute the disturbance to the physiologic effects of a
    substance or another medical condition
    There are no specific laboratory studies or specific imaging studies that
    establish the diagnosis of PTSD. Several psychological tests may be helpful in
    PTSD, including the following:
     Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment: Life Events Section and
    PTSD Module (CAPA-PTSD)
     Children’s PTSD Inventory (CPTSDI)
     Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS)
     Abbreviated UCLA PTSD Reaction Index
     Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC)
     Impact of Events Scale
     Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED)
     Beck Depression Inventory
     Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD
    See Overview and Workup for more detail.
    Management
    The initial goals of treatment for children with PTSD are as follows:
     Provide a safe environment
     Reasurance, emotional support, nurturance
     Attend to urgent medical needs
    Psychological therapy for PTSD in children involves the following:
     Helping the child gain a sense of safety
     Addressing the multiple emotional and behavioral problems that can
    arise
    Nonpharmacologic forms of therapy include the following:
     Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), especially trauma-focused CBT
    (TF-CBT) 
     Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
     Relaxation techniques (eg, biofeedback, yoga, deep relaxation, self-
    hypnosis, or meditation; efficacy unproven)
     Play therapy

    474
    In children who have persistent symptoms despite CBT or who need additional
    help with control of symptoms, pharmacologic treatment may be considered, as
    follows:
     Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - Medications of choice
    for managing anxiety, depression, avoidance behavior, and intrusive
    recollections; however, not specifically approved by the FDA for
    treatment of PTSD in the pediatric population
     Beta blockers (eg, propranolol)
     Alpha-adrenergic agonists (eg, guanfacine and clonidine)
     Mood stabilizers (eg, carbamazepine and valproic acid)
     Atypical antipsychotics (infrequently used)
    See Treatment and Medication more detail.

    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children


    Updated: Sep 22, 2016 
     Author: Roy H Lubit, MD, PhD; Chief Editor: Caroly Pataki,
    MD  more...

    Background
    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents occurs as a
    result of a child’s exposure to one or more traumatic events that were perceived
    to threaten serious injury to self or others and led the child to feel intense fear,
    helplessness, or horror. Traumatic events can take many forms, including
    accidents, painful medical procedures, physical or sexual assaults, natural
    disasters, traumatic death or injury of a loved one, and emotional abuse or
    neglect. [2, 3, 4, 5]
    A 2005 survey of mental health clinicians who treat pediatric patients found
    interpersonal victimization to be the most prevalent form of trauma exposure;
    this includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse, as well as
    exposure to domestic violence and the disorganization that results from parental
    substance abuse in the household. [6] The prevalence of childhood exposure to
    noninterpersonal trauma (eg, accidents, disasters, or illness) is significantly
    less. [7]
    Traumatic events overwhelm the individual’s ability to cope and leave the child
    or adolescent feeling that the world is dangerous and out of control. The
    traumatic event deeply affects the child or adolescent’s view of himself or
    herself and of the world. The memory of the event is encoded differently from
    normal memories. Rather than thinking about it, the person reexperiences it
    when it comes to memory. The pain of reexperiencing leads the individual to be
    afraid of the memory, and not simply afraid of the event.

    475
    The key elements of PTSD are the intrusive recollections, numbing and
    withdrawal, cognitive changes, and hyperarrousal. Many individuals develop
    depression or an anxiety disorder after a traumatic event, rather than PTSD.
    There are other impacts as well. Suffering a traumatic event or events fosters an
    external locus of control. The individual feels that he or she is at the mercy of
    the world rather than the master of one’s own fate. This has serious
    implications for how the individual leads his or her life in the future. Learned
    helplessness, a tendency to fail to escape from dangerous situations when
    escape is possible, also often results. Decreased resilience and increased
    vulnerability to future traumatic events also results.
    Traumatic experiences, especially repeated ones, as occurs in child abuse,
    greatly increases the risk for the development of borderline personality
    disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and depression in
    adult years. Studies have shown a marked increase in medical costs in children
    who suffered abuse in childhood. Sexual abuse has wide-ranging impacts on
    the child’s ability to have stable and fulfilling romantic relationships during
    adult years. Dissociative disorders can also result.
    Females are twice as likely to develop PTSD as males are, whereas males are
    more likely to exhibit conduct disorder, antisocial behavior, or criminal
    behavior after significant violent trauma.  [8]
    The main pathogenic elements in PTSD are the loss of control, the
    unpredictability, and the extremely aversive nature of the event(s). Most
    traumatized children do not develop long-term sequelae as a result of the
    trauma, but a significant minority respond in a way that has a long-lasting
    major impact on their emotions and behaviors. These children are at risk for
    PTSD, regardless of whether the trauma arose from a single event or from an
    ongoing pattern of abuse.
    The family is known to pay a vital role in determining the eventual impact of
    the traumatic experience on the child, and parental support is often a key
    mediating factor in how the child experiences and adapts to the victimizing
    circumstances. [7]The support of a child’s family, along with adequate coping
    and emotional functioning of the child’s parents, may very well militate against
    the development of PTSD in a child exposed to trauma.
    Severe emotional trauma has widespread effects on children’s development.
    These effects include undermining children’s sense of security in a reasonable
    and safe world in which they can grow and explore, as well as rendering them
    unable to believe that their parents can protect them from harm. The premature
    destruction of these beliefs can have profound negative consequences on
    development.
    Traumatized children and adolescents are frequently preoccupied with danger
    and vulnerability, and this preoccupation sometimes leads to misperceptions of

    476
    danger, even in situations that are not threatening. Multiple researchers (eg,
    Kardiner and van der Kolk [9] ) note that once posttraumatic stress symptoms
    emerge, PTSD leads to neurophysiologic correlates that impact brain function
    in developing children and adolescents.
    Some forms of child maltreatment result in actual physical injuries that may
    call for intensive medical treatment that can be painful and frightening for the
    child. In such cases, the psychological impact encompasses the experiences of
    both the physical abuse and the medical treatment required. Accordingly, it is
    left to the child victim to define an event or experience as traumatic; the role of
    the health care professional who seeks to help such a child is to shoulder the
    responsibility of treatment and assistance.
    For further information on the problem of child and adolescent maltreatment
    and disordered parent-child relationships, see Child Abuse & Neglect: Physical
    Abuse, Child Abuse & Neglect: Sexual Abuse, and Child Abuse & Neglect:
    Reactive Attachment Disorder.
    Diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) in individuals older than 6 years
    In the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual,
    Fifth Edition (DSM-5), there are 8 specific diagnostic criteria for PTSD in
    adults, adolescents, and children older than 6 years.  [1]
    The first criterion is exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or
    sexual violation in 1 or more of the following ways:
     Direct experience of the traumatic events(s)
     In-person witnessing of the event(s) occurring to others
     Learning that the event(s) occurred to a close family member or close
    friend (in cases of actual or threatened death, the event[s] must have been
    violent or accidental)
     Experience of repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the
    traumatic event(s) (eg, first responders collecting human remains or police
    officers repeatedly exposed to details of child abuse)
    The second criterion is the presence of 1 or more of the following intrusion
    symptoms in association with the traumatic event(s), beginning after the
    event(s) occurred:
     Recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories of the
    traumatic event(s); in children older than 6 years, repetitive play may
    occur in which themes or aspects of the traumatic event(s) are expressed
     Recurrent distressing dreams in which the content or affect of the dream
    is related to the event(s); children may have frightening dreams without
    recognizable content

    477
     Dissociative reactions (eg, flashbacks) in which the individual feels or
    acts as if the traumatic event(s) were recurring; children may carry out
    trauma-specific reenactment during play
     Intense or prolonged psychological distress at exposure to internal or
    external cues that symbolize or resemble any aspect of the traumatic
    event(s)
     Marked physiologic reactions to internal or external cues that symbolize
    or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event(s)
    The third criterion is persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the
    traumatic event(s), beginning after the event(s) occurred, as evidenced by either
    or both of the following:
     Avoidance of or efforts to avoid distressing memories, thoughts, or
    feelings about or closely associated with the traumatic event(s)
     Avoidance of or efforts to avoid external reminders (eg, people, places,
    conversations, activities, objects, or situations) that arouse distressing
    memories, thoughts, or feelings about or closely associated with the
    traumatic event(s)
    The fourth criterion is the presence of negative alterations in cognitions and
    mood associated with the traumatic event(s), beginning or worsening after the
    event(s) occurred, as evidenced by 2 or more of the following:
     Inability to remember an important aspect of the traumatic event(s)
    (typically a consequence of dissociative amnesia and not of factors such as
    head injury, alcohol or drugs)
     Persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs or expectations about self,
    others, or the world
     Persistent distorted cognitions about the cause or consequences of the
    traumatic event(s) that lead individuals to blame themselves or others
     Persistent negative emotional state (eg, fear, horror, anger, guilt, or
    shame)
     Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
     Feelings of detachment or estrangement from others
     Persistent inability to experience positive emotions (eg, happiness,
    satisfaction, or loving feelings)
    The fifth criterion is the development of marked alterations in arousal and
    reactivity associated with the traumatic events(s), beginning or worsening after
    the event(s) occurred, as evidenced by 2 or more of the following:
     Irritable behavior and angry outbursts (with little or no provocation),
    typically expressed as verbal or physical aggression toward people or
    objects
     Reckless or self-destructive behavior
     Hypervigilance

    478
     Problems with concentration
     Exaggerated startle response
     Sleep disturbance (eg, difficulty in falling or staying asleep or
    restlessness during sleep)
    The sixth criterion is that the duration of the disturbance must exceed 1 month.
    The seventh criterion is that the disturbance causes clinically significant
    distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of
    functioning.
    The eighth and final criterion is that the disturbance cannot be attributed to the
    physiologic effects of a substance (eg, a medication or alcohol) or another
    medical condition.
    Additional specifiers that may be used include the following:
     With dissociative symptoms - The patient shows persistent or recurrent
    symptoms of depersonalization or derealization
     With delayed expression - Full diagnostic criteria are not met until 6
    months after the traumatic event (though some symptoms may develop
    immediately)
    Diagnostic criteria (DSM-5) in children aged 6 years or younger (preschool
    subtype)
    DSM-5 list 7 specific diagnostic criteria for PTSD in children aged 6 years or
    younger. [1]
    The first criterion is exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or
    sexual violation in 1 or more of the following ways:
     Direct experience of the traumatic events(s)
     In-person witnessing of the event(s) occurring to others, especially
    primary caregivers
     Learning that the event(s) occurred to a parent or caring figure
    The second criterion is the presence of 1 or more of the following intrusion
    symptoms in association with the traumatic event(s), beginning after the
    event(s) occurred:
     Recurrent, involuntary, and intrusive distressing memories of the
    traumatic event(s); spontaneous and intrusive memories may not
    necessarily appear distressing and may be expressed as play reenactment
     Recurrent distressing dreams in which the content or affect of the dream
    is related to the event(s); it may not be possible to establish that the
    frightening content is related to the traumatic event
     Dissociative reactions (eg, flashbacks) in which the child feels or acts as
    if the traumatic event(s) were recurring; children may carry out trauma-
    specific reenactment during play

    479
     Intense or prolonged psychological distress at exposure to internal or
    external cues that symbolize or resemble any aspect of the traumatic
    event(s)
     Marked physiologic reactions to reminders of the traumatic event(s)
    The third criterion is the presence of 1 or more of the following symptoms,
    representing either persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma
    (the first 2 symptoms) or negative alterations in cognition and mood associated
    with the traumatic event(s) or worsening after the trauma (the last 4 symptoms):
     Avoidance of or efforts to avoid distressing memories, thoughts, or
    feelings about or closely associated with the traumatic event(s)
     Avoidance of or efforts to avoid people, places, conversations, or
    interpersonal situations that arouse recollections of the traumatic event(s)
     Increased frequency of negative emotional states (eg, fear, horror, anger,
    guilt, or shame)
     Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities,
    including constriction of play
     Socially withdrawn behavior
     Persistent reduction in expression of positive emotions
    The fourth criterion is the development of alterations in arousal and reactivity
    associated with the traumatic events(s), beginning or worsening after the
    event(s) occurred, as evidenced by 2 or more of the following:
     Irritable behavior and angry outbursts (with little or no provocation),
    typically expressed as verbal or physical aggression toward people or
    objects (including extreme temper tantrums)
     Hypervigilance
     Exaggerated startle response
     Problems with concentration
     Sleep disturbance (eg, difficulty in falling or staying asleep or
    restlessness during sleep)
    The fifth criterion is that the duration of the disturbance must exceed 1 month.
    The sixth criterion is that the disturbance causes clinically significant distress
    or impairment in relationships with parents, siblings, peers, or other caregivers
    or in school behavior.
    The seventh and final criterion is that the disturbance cannot be attributed to the
    physiologic effects of a substance (eg, a medication or alcohol) or another
    medical condition.
    Additional specifiers that may be used include the following:
     With dissociative symptoms - The patient shows persistent or recurrent
    symptoms of depersonalization or derealization

    480
     With delayed expression - Full diagnostic criteria are not met until 6
    months after the traumatic event (though some symptoms may develop
    immediately)

    Source:- http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/918844-overview#a2

    Responding to Students with PTSD in Schools


    Sheryl Kataoka, MD, MSHS,a,b Audra Langley, PhD,c Marleen Wong, PhD,d Shilpa Baweja,
    MA,e and Bradley Stein, MD, PhDf,g

    Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ►

    The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am

    See other articles in PMC that cite the published article.

    The prevalence of trauma exposure among youth is a major public health concern, 6 with
    a third of adolescents nationally reporting that they have been in a physical fight in the
    past twelve months and 9% having been threatened or injured with a weapon on school
    property. 7 Studies have documented the broad range of negative sequelae of trauma
    exposure for youth, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other anxiety
    problems, depressive symptoms, and dissociation.17,23,31,44 In addition, decreased IQ and
    reading ability, lower grade-point average (GPA), more days of school absence, and
    decreased rates of high school graduation have been associated with exposure to
    traumatic events.11,35 Evidence suggests that youth exposed to trauma have decreased
    social competence and increased rates of peer rejection.43 Therefore, students who have
    experienced a traumatic event are at increased risk for academic, social, and emotional
    problems as a result of these experiences. Schools can be an ideal setting for mental
    health professionals to intervene with traumatized students, by supporting both their
    trauma-related psychological problems and their ability to learn in the classroom. The
    President’s New Freedom Commission Report on Mental Health also highlights the need
    to improve access to services that address trauma-related mental health problems,
    especially in naturalistic settings such as schools where youth can readily receive these
    services.49

    Types of traumatic events that affect students


    Students can experience a wide range of traumatic events that can impact their
    functioning in school. Some traumas can affect students more individually such as
    assaults, serious accidents, abuse, community or domestic violence. Other traumatic
    events impact the entire school community, such as a school shooting, terrorist attack,
    natural disaster, or a traumatic incident that occurs on campus. Differences in the type of
    traumatic experience may also influence whether the choice of an approach. is a school-
    wide intervention, an individual or group treatment, or something targeted for certain
    school staff or students, each of which will be discussed in more detail later in this
    chapter. Understanding the types and extent of traumatic events students have

    481
    experienced,, as well as which events are perceived by the student to be the most salient
    can be a critical first step in the treatment process.

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)


    Although students may experience significant traumatic events, not everyone will
    develop PTSD. For some, brief distress following a trauma without significant
    impairment in functioning may be characterized as a normal reaction to the event. For
    others, trauma-related symptoms will occur in the immediate period following a
    traumatic event, and if symptoms similar to PTSD are present within the first month
    following the trauma along with significant distress or impairment, a diagnosis of Acute
    Stress Disorder may be warranted.
    It is estimated that approximately 4–6% of youth in the general population nationwide
    will meet criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD following a traumatic event, including
    symptoms such as poor concentration and intrusive thoughts, which can also severely
    interfere with school functioning.17,23,31,38,44,47 Since 1987, the childhood manifestations of
    PTSD symptoms have been described in the Diagnostic Symptom Manual (DSM) and
    have included specific characteristics that can be seen in children. Further refinement of
    the PTSD diagnostic criteria are being discussed for DSM-V, such as developmental
    manifestations of PTSD.3,36 Currently, for a diagnosis of PTSD the student must
    experience a traumatic event in which he/she perceives a threat to either self or others and
    must experience distress (horror, fear, helplessness).2 For children, this distress can
    manifest in disorganized behavior or agitation. The three symptom clusters for PTSD
    include re-experiencing (for children, this can repetitive play or re-enacting the trauma in
    play), numbing and avoidance (such as avoiding traumatic reminders and talking about
    trauma, not participating in activities previously enjoyed), and hyperarousal (such as
    irritability, anger, difficulty sleeping).
    Following exposure to a traumatic event, some students may be more likely to develop
    PTSD than others. Risk factors for PTSD include characteristics of the trauma exposure
    (greater trauma severity, proximity to the event), individual factors (female gender,
    history of psychopathology), and parent characteristics (parental psychopathology
    including PTSD and other trauma-related symptoms, lack of parental support following
    the trauma). Those students who have had multiple traumatic events and those who
    experience interpersonal trauma such as an assault, can also be at increased risk for
    developing PTSD.17,23,31,38,44,45,47
    Of those with PTSD, 75% have additional mental health problems such as other anxiety
    disorders,15,33,44depressive symptoms,23,28,31,34 dissociation,35 substance use,27 and aggressive
    and delinquent behavior.5,12,14,17,18,24,31 Students exposed to violence subsequently may be
    violent themselves resulting in them perpetrating violence on others.4,13,16,19
    Go to:

    482
    Evidence-based treatments for students with PTSD
    The most well-studied treatments for PTSD in youth have been cognitive behavioral
    therapy (CBT) approaches. Studies have documented that CBT effectively treats PTSD
    due to child sexual abuse,9 intimate partner violence,10 single incident trauma,1,30 co-
    morbid PTSD and substance abuse32 and more general community
    violence.26,42,46 According to the practice parameters outlined by the American Academy of
    Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2010),8 when treating PTSD in children, the
    interventions should include core components of cognitive behavioral therapy including
    direct exploration of the trauma, stress management techniques, and correction of
    cognitive distortions. Treatment should also include collateral sessions with parents for
    optimal treatment outcomes.8 One intervention that has been identified as potentially
    harmful following a traumatic event is holding therapy that forcibly restricts children who
    have experienced severe and chronic trauma.
    Psychopharmacological treatments have been understudied. A recent review by Strawn
    and colleagues (2010) conclude that pharmacological agents should not be used as first
    line treatment for PTSD in youth.48SSRI’s may be helpful, although a recent RCT found
    no difference compared to placebo.37 Only open trials currently exist for other
    medications such as antiadrenergic agents, antipsychotic medications, and mood
    stabilizers.
    School-based services may be particularly important for underserved ethnic minority
    youth who traditionally are less likely to receive such services. For example, a
    randomized study comparing two efficacious treatments for youth with posttraumatic
    stress symptoms in post-Katrina New Orleans found that 91% of the youth completed the
    school-based intervention compared to only 15% who completed the clinic-based
    intervention.21
    The Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) program, a brief,
    ten-session group school-based program, has been studied in a quasi-experimental trial
    (Kataoka) and randomized controlled trial (Stein), both delivered by school-based
    clinicians. Findings have demonstrated improvements in posttraumatic stress disorder
    (PTSD) and depressive symptoms among elementary and middle school students exposed
    to violence who have received CBITS compared to those on a waitlist.26,46 Preliminary
    findings also suggest that this program may have effects on school performance, with
    students who receive CBITS early in the school year doing better in math and language
    arts grades than students who receive the intervention later that same academic
    year.25 The CBITS program was developed in collaboration and partnership with school
    and community leaders and was specifically designed for school-based delivery for
    greater fit and sustainability within the school environment. Support for Students
    Exposed to Trauma (SSET), is an adaptation of CBITS which can be delivered by non-
    mental health trained school staff (teachers, school counselors).22 Results of a small
    randomized controlled trial suggest that SSET can be delivered by school staff
    effectively, resulting in modest improvements in trauma-related mental health symptoms.
    Given the lack of mental health resources typically found in schools and the tremendous
    need for access to trauma interventions, SSET is a promising early intervention that can
    be feasibly delivered in schools.

    483
    Other trauma interventions have also been developed and studied in the context of
    schools. The Multimodality Trauma Treatment (MMTT) or Trauma-Focused Coping is a
    14 session group intervention program that adapts basic cognitive behavioral techniques
    for students who have experienced a single incident trauma. Grounded in social learning
    theory, MMTT utilizes peer modeling of effective coping, storybooks, narrative
    exposure, and cognitive games to alleviate trauma resulting from a natural disaster,
    exposure to violence, murder, suicide, fire, and accidents. The program is not suitable for
    children with chronic abuse related PTSD because the school-based protocol does not
    incorporate family sessions necessary to address interpersonal victimization.30 Controlled
    studies conducted in elementary, middle and high school demonstrate a marked reduction
    in PTSD, depression, anxiety, and anger symptoms following the treatment
    intervention.1,30
    The University of California Trauma Grief Component Treatment (TGCT) program is
    designed for adolescents exposed to multiple types of violence and traumatic loss.39 This
    intervention includes an extensive assessment protocol followed by 16–20 group
    psychotherapy sessions to mitigate functional impairment associated with PTSD,
    depression, and grief reactions. Results of a randomized controlled trial conducted with
    adolescents in post-war Bosnia indicate notable improvement in PTSD, depression, and
    complicated grief symptoms.29 Another promising intervention implemented with war-
    exposed children in Israel is Stress-Inoculation Training (SIT). This school-based
    universal prevention program aims to prevent PTSD by teaching adaptive coping skills
    and fostering resilience. The curriculum is integrated into mainstream classrooms and
    teacher implemented. In a school-matched controlled study, results indicated lower levels
    of symptoms of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety in those who received the
    intervention compared to those on a waitlist.50
    Go to:

    Practical Approaches

    Supporting school personnel following a school-wide trauma


    A trauma that affects the school campus can be a sudden, unexpected, or unanticipated
    event that not only can disrupt the school’s daily functioning, but can involve short-term
    turmoil such as shock, confusion, and fear. Although each student, teacher, parent or
    other school community member experiences each crisis differently, a school-wide
    trauma can have a broad and immediate impact on many children and adults sufficient to
    interfere with teaching, learning, attendance, and behavior. A trauma that impacts a
    school can affect a single building or an entire district or community. The following are
    examples of school-wide traumatic events: an accident on or near the school grounds, a
    violent incident or crime on campus or near a school that jeopardizes the safety of
    students and staff, a suicide of a student or staff member, the sudden death of a student,
    staff member or one of their family members, a natural disaster such as an earthquake,
    hurricane or tornado, a man-made disaster such as a terrorist attack.
    The impact of these traumatic events can be manifested at three distinct levels: the
    individual (student or staff), the school system, and/or the surrounding school

    484
    community. The most obvious impact and easiest to identify are physical injuries to
    students are/or staff. Psychological and cognitive disruptions also occur frequently, but
    may be more difficult to identify. For example, interference with the ability of students
    and staff to focus on learning is a common reaction to a school-wide traumatic event.
    Disruptions to the school system frequently occur following a traumatic event with
    changes to regular school functions and routines (i.e changes to safety protocols). In
    addition, traumatic events often raise significant concerns from parents and when not
    properly addressed, may prolong the disruption to regular school routines. Large scale
    events may garner concentrated attention from the community and news media. This can
    lead to prolonged disruptions across the broader community, with repeated exposure to
    media coverage potentially causing significant trauma-related symptoms in students.
    One important role that the mental health professional on campus can play is being part
    of a multi-disciplinary school crisis team, often also composed of a school administrator,
    school counselors, school psychologists, nurses, lead teachers, a custodian, and other
    school or district personnel. Their collective skills can ensure that critical services are
    provided for the school and the greater community such as: assessing the range of crisis
    interventions needed for a specific crisis situation; limiting the exposure to scenes of
    trauma, injury or death; advising and assisting the principal and teachers on how to
    restore regular school functions and routines as efficiently and quickly as possible; and
    providing psychological first aid to students.

    Psychological First Aid for Schools


    Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA) are key skills that can be delivered by school
    staff following a traumatic event to help students acknowledge how the traumatic event
    has been disruptive to the school environment and to their own emotional equilibrium. By
    teaching school staff how to respond to students following a trauma, PFA helps stabilize
    the emotions and behaviors of students, school staff, and parents. It also allows students
    to return to a safe environment and calm routine in an improved psychological and
    emotional state. Through PFA, students are able to re-establish “social connectedness”
    with family, teachers and peers, as wells as minimize the negative effects of trauma to all
    involved. The skills students acquire through PFA enable them to identify personal and
    commonly experienced trauma-related emotions and reactions. PFA can also improve the
    social support on the school campus, leading to constructive coping behaviors and
    resilience of students, parents and teachers, which can ultimately facilitate student
    attendance and participation in the learning process. Finally, PFA can help establish
    systems on campus to prepare students and teachers for future challenges and adjustments
    following the traumatic event that are frequently confronted by schools after a trauma.
    The widespread use of Psychological First Aid (PFA) is evidenced by the fact that the
    Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), an international humanitarian assistance
    forum, has developed Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in
    Emergency Settings that recommend, “All aid workers provide very basic psychological
    first aid.”20 The IASC guidelines further define the components of PFA to include among
    many others, the following actions:
     Protect survivors from further physical or psychological harm;

    485
     Identify and provide support for those most distressed;
     Reestablish social supports:
     Return to school and familiar routines;
     Facilitate communication among families, students and community agencies;
     Educate those affected about the expectable psychological responses, and basic
    coping tools, to stressful and traumatic events;
     Identify basic practical needs and ensure that these are met;
     Ask for people’s concerns and try to address these;
     Encourage participation in normal daily routines (if possible) and use of positive
    means of coping; and
     As appropriate, refer to locally available support mechanisms or to trained
    clinicians.

    Listen, Protect, Connect (LPC): An Evidence- Informed Model. 40,41


    In keeping with IASC’s guidelines, LPC is a form of PFA strategies focusing on children,
    parents, families and community members. LPC uses parents, teachers, primary care and
    “neighbor-to-neighbor” providers to give basic psychological support. A version of PFA
    specifically designed for children to be used by educators and other adult staff in schools
    is available. In the immediate aftermath and during the early phases of recovery in this
    version, “Psychological First Aid for Students and Teachers: Listen, Protect, Connect—
    Model & Teach,” (hereafter, LPC—Model & Teach) is a five-step crisis response
    strategy designed to reduce the initial distress of students or adults and to help students
    return to school, stay in school and resume their learning. It is not a single session recital
    of events, but a model that can guide the interactions of students and educators over time
    through the process of their recovery. Teachers, counselors and other adults can use their
    discretion to apply these guiding principles in a flexible manner.

    Step 1: Listen
    During step one, teachers or adult school staff should provide students with an
    opportunity to share their experiences and express feelings of worry, anxiety, fear or
    other concerns about their safety. Speaking with students can occur one-on-one if a
    teacher and student find themselves in a relatively private place to talk. The adult should
    convey interest, empathy and availability, and let students know they are ready to listen.
    The teacher can open the discussion by acknowledging what has happened and letting
    students know that it is not only acceptable to share their experiences, and establishing
    that the school is a safe place to do this.
    Adults should avoid making judgments and predictions, such as “You’ll get over it,” or
    “Only the strong survive.” It is important to validate the students’ life experiences
    without probing students for more details than they are willing to share. Forcing students
    to go over their experiences in too much detail, especially immediately after the crisis,
    can re-traumatize the student and may cause more emotional and psychological distress
    to themselves and to others who may hear additional details about the event.

    Step 2: Protect

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    For this second step in the LPC—Model & Teach intervention, adults should try to
    reestablish students’ feelings of both physical and emotional safety. They can honestly
    inform students about events surrounding the crisis, such as sharing with them
    information about what is being done in the community and school to keep everyone
    safe. This information should be provided in a developmentally and age-appropriate
    manner. In the classroom, or around school, adults should maintain structure, stability
    and predictability, and make efforts to reestablish routines, expectations and rules. For
    example, bell schedules should return to normal as soon as possible. If shortened days are
    required, keep them to a minimum. Traumatized students may experience more confusion
    when disruption comes to their school routines, including after school activities, by too
    many changes to their regular schedules. Concerns about separation from parents or
    caregivers are frequently children’s paramount concern. Parents can help stabilize
    children’s reactions by resuming mealtime, homework, and bedtime routines as well as
    community or church activities disrupted by the crisis or emergency. It is also important
    at this phase to protect students from further physical harm or psychological trauma
    which can occur through their viewing or hearing repetitive media reports on the incident
    or through bullying by peers at school.

    Step 3: Connect
    One of the most common reactions to trauma or fear is emotional and social isolation and
    the sense of loss of social supports. It can occur automatically, without students or adults
    realizing that they are withdrawing from their teachers or peers, respectively. The third
    objective of LPC—Model & Teach is to help students reestablish their normal social
    relationships and stay connected to others in order to experience social support. Restoring
    and building connections promotes stability, recovery and predictability in students’
    lives. A student’s classroom and school is a safe place to begin restoring normalcy during
    a crisis or disaster. Through the eyes of children, adults can identify the “systems of care”
    that are part of their everyday life, move from beyond the classroom and school to the
    family and then to other community anchors including preexisting faith and cultural
    supports. This objective serves to help students reconstitute the relationships between the
    key community systems or “anchors” in their lives. Teachers or other school staff that
    reach out and check in with students on a regular basis can do this reconstitution,
    sometimes several times a day Students also can be encouraged to interact, share
    “recovery” activities and take on team projects with other students, friends or teachers.
    With this type of interaction, students feel the caring and consistent support of adults in
    their lives, even during a difficult time of coping.

    Step 4: Model Calm and Optimistic Behavior


    Adults can model calm and optimistic behavior in many ways, including the following:
     Maintain level emotions • and reactions with students to help them achieve
    balance;
     Take constructive actions to assure student safety, such as engaging in a safety
    drill to remind them of how to stay safe, or planning a project that improves the
    physical or social climate of the school;

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     Express positive thoughts for the future, like “Recovery from this disaster may
    take some time, but we’ll work on improving the conditions at our school every
    day;” and
     Help students to cope with day-to-day challenges by thinking aloud with them
    about ways they can solve their problems.

    Step 5: Teach
    To support and facilitate the coping process, it is important to help students understand
    the range of normal stress reactions. School counselors, nurses, psychologists or social
    workers can take on this task. They can help students become familiar with the range of
    normal reactions that can occur immediately after a traumatic event or disaster and teach
    relevant coping and problem solving skills.
    With early intervention and psychological first aid, the majority of students and adults
    may be able to resume a new normality of function and routine. However, those with a
    “trauma history” of previous exposure and experience with violence may require follow-
    up care and treatment for PTSD, depression, severe behavioral disorders, or suicidal
    ideation.
    School staff must be made aware of the risk factors that may indicate a mental health
    evaluation is warranted. These risks factors include:
     Loss of a family member, schoolmate or friend
     Fear for their lives, observing serious injury or the death of another person
     Family members or friends missing after the event
     Getting sick or becoming hurt due to the event
     Home loss, family moves, changes in neighborhoods, changes in schools or loss
    of belongings
     Being unable to evacuate quickly
     Past traumatic experiences or losses
     Pet loss
     Past history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety or mood disorders
    coupled with any of the above

    Talking to Parents about PTSD


    Parents and other caregivers play an important role in supporting school efforts to help
    children with PTSD and other sequelae of trauma exposure. In this section we highlight
    some of the information that is most useful to share with parents to help them in
    supporting the efforts of schools to assist their traumatized children.
    When a child is suffering from PTSD or other trauma exposure, it is helpful for parents to
    understand that their child’s behavior can be affected in a variety of different ways, not
    all of which are obviously related to the experience. In preschool aged children, in
    addition to the classic symptoms of PTSD, parents may notice the child exhibiting
    separation anxiety from parents or teachers, regressing in previously mastered stages of
    development such as bedwetting, having difficulty at naptimes or bedtime, and having

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    increased physical complaints or new fears. Elementary school aged children may also
    exhibit many of these same symptoms, as well as asking questions about death and dying,
    having more difficulty with authority and overreacting to criticism, being more jumpy,
    and showing less trust in others. Parents of older children in middle and high school may
    also notice their children having more physical complaints and difficulties with authority
    and criticism, as well as noticing that their child may appear to be more focused on topics
    of death and dying as well as being less optimistic about their own future. Parents of
    older children should also be aware that their child is at greater risk for using alcohol and
    illicit drugs.
    Parents of children suffering from PTSD or other sequelae of traumatic events should
    know that they can play a very important role in supporting school efforts to assist their
    child. Things that parents can do to support their child with PTSD include helping their
    child to reestablish a sense of safety, providing their child with the opportunity to talk
    about their experience in a safe, supportive environment, by expressing positive thoughts
    about the future, by helping their child to cope with day to day problems, and by
    providing predictable routines, clear expectations, consistent rules, and immediate
    feedback.
    Parents should also be aware that they can also be affected by their child’s PTSD, both
    through helping their child cope with their experience, as well as if they were also
    exposed to the same trauma that their child was. Sometimes parents find that they can’t
    stop thinking or dreaming about their child’s experience. In other cases parents may have
    trouble concentrating or sleeping, are more irritable than normal, or find that they are
    feeling numb or detached. In these situations, it is important that the parent seek someone
    to help them with their own feelings.

    Clinical strategies in working with students with PTSD


    As described above, evidence-based models for treating childhood PTSD typically
    include the cognitive behavioral components described below. First, it may be helpful to
    think about a case example.
    Veronica, a 12 year old middle school student, is referred to the school-based mental
    health clinician-by her Language Arts teacher. Her teacher explains that Veronica is
    typically a conscientious student, especially in language arts, and has a number of friends.
    Over the last few months, however, her teacher has noticed that Veronica has begun to
    miss class, which is negatively impacting her grades. Her teacher reports that she seems
    withdrawn from her friends, sad, and distracted in class. When the teacher provided
    minor verbal feedback on an assignment, Veronica became tearful and angry and
    subsequently asked for a pass to the nurse’s office saying that she felt sick to her
    stomach. When you meet with Veronica, you ask if she has recently experienced any
    frightening, difficult, or very stressful events and she replies that 3 months ago, she and
    her friends witnessed a boy being beaten up and held at gunpoint by a gang in the park.
    Since then, she can’t stop thinking about what happened and worrying that it could
    happen to her, her friends, or her family and feeling sick to her stomach. She feels upset
    each time she sees her friends and feels sad and alienated from her peers in general.
    “How do they expect me to concentrate on grammar and essays when I can’t stop

    489
    thinking about the boy with a bloody face and the gun in the gang member’s hand when
    he spotted us before we ran?”

    Working with the parent


    During your initial meeting and assessment with Veronica, you find that she meets
    criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. You get permission from her mother to provide her with
    mental health treatment at school. Although her mother is not aware of this incident, she
    knows that they live in a neighborhood with gang activity, and also shares that the family
    has been struggling financially since her husband lost his job last year. She also reports
    that Veronica has been more sad and tired, has been asking for medicine to calm her
    stomach over the last few months, easily loses her patience with siblings, and does not
    like to go to school. She agrees that she would like Veronica to receive support and learn
    coping skills so she can feel better. Her mother works 2 jobs and has 2 younger children,
    making it feel impossible to accompany Veronica or provide transportation for services,
    so she is grateful that she can receive such services at school and free of charge. While
    you have her on the phone, you provide Veronica’s mother with brief information about
    the treatment components likely to be included in your work with Veronica, and convey
    that it will be helpful to have her mother involved to the extent possible. She agrees to do
    her best to get time off to attend 1–2 sessions and to support Veronica’s practice of
    coping skills at home as she progresses through treatment. You give her your contact
    information and ask her to provide you with any alternative contact information for her
    and best times to contact her if needed.
    Creative approaches to communicating with parents can help overcome obstacles
    associated with parents being able to come to the school for sessions. Information may be
    conveyed via telephone calls, exchanging notes and treatment materials (back and forth)
    and/or via the child sharing and even demonstrating treatment elements for their parents
    and caregivers. If parents transport their children to or from school, you may be able to
    catch them at drop off or pick up times or arrange to meet briefly during those times in
    advance. It is also helpful to identify times when parents may already be on campus, such
    as for a school assembly or evening performance, open house, or a school-wide parent
    meeting. For example, with Veronica’s mom, you arrange to meet on one of her days off
    just after drop off. You review common reactions to stress and trauma, have her engage
    in the same relaxation training exercises you will do with Veronica, discuss the link
    between thoughts, feelings and behaviors and the rationale for the PTSD treatment, and
    review problem solving. You highlight the issue of avoidance and why it is important for
    youth to be able to process and digest their traumatic experiences by telling their stories.
    You emphasize that Veronica will be practicing skills between sessions at home, and may
    need support in doing so, especially as she works toward getting back to doing things that
    she may have been avoiding.

    Treatment Rationale and Psychoeducation


    One way to convey the rationale for cognitive behavioral intervention for PTSD to
    students is to create a triangle with thoughts, feelings, and behaviors at each of the
    corners and discuss that scary or traumatic events affect everything about us-all 3 of these
    things-- and provide an example of how they are linked and affect each other. For

    490
    example, given the experience that Veronica has had, she can see how she
    now thinks that if she goes to the park with her friends or family, one of them could get
    beaten up or shot and that makes her feel very nervous and afraid, so she doesn’t hang out
    with his friends anymore near the park or want her family to go out of the house
    (behaviors). You validate that those thoughts and feelings and behaviors make sense
    given went Veronica has been through. You can impart the idea that the intervention you
    are providing helps students who have been through difficult things like Veronica to
    think and feel and act in a way that makes them feel better so they can get back to doing
    what they like and need to do that is safe. You ask Veronica about the goals that she has
    for treatment and agree together on a treatment plan including information about the
    different treatment components so that Veronica knows what to expect. You provide
    Veronica with information about common reactions to stress and trauma and explore
    what symptoms have been coming up for her and hope for how treatment may help it
    improve. For example, Veronica offers that she has not wanted to go places or see people
    that remind her of what happened. You state that “avoidance is common and makes sense
    because you may feel better for the moment, but just like not wanting to talk or think
    about the trauma, avoiding situations or people that remind you of the gang incident in
    the park can keep you from doing normal things that are an important part of your life,
    right? In treatment, we’ll be learning about how to cope with some of these bad feelings
    so you can get back to doing those things.” You ask Veronica to share a worksheet on
    common reactions to stress and trauma with her mother and to share some of the
    symptoms that she has been experiencing. You leave a space where her mother can add
    any comments or questions that Veronica can bring back to you.

    Relaxation Training
    Teaching different forms of relaxation training, such as deep breathing, progressive
    muscle relaxation, positive imagery, and/or mindfulness can help students with affect
    regulation as they manage their PTSD symptoms. Moreover, it is an easy skill to transfer
    over to the classroom setting and for young people to practice in the classroom and at
    home when they are struggling with anxiety, frustration, or irritability/anger. You explain
    the idea of a feeling thermometer (0–10; where 0 is feeling okay and 10 is feeling very,
    very upset/anxious/scared) and ask for ratings before and after the relaxation exercises.
    Veronica is asked to practice the different relaxation techniques during the week and to
    teach mom how to do them with her at home, if possible. Veronica quickly recognizes
    that relaxation could also be something she could try when her stomach is bothering her
    at school, before asking for a pass to go to the bathroom or the nurse’s office.

    Cognitive Restructuring
    Cognitive restructuring for children and adolescents with PTSD focuses on ways in
    which the experience of traumatic events may have affected the young person’s
    cognitions about him or herself, other people, and the world around him/her. These
    negative or threat cognitions can generalize to many people, situations, and things which
    can lead to a great deal of functional impairment in school, socially and within the
    family. It is important to allow students to practice first being aware of the automatic
    thoughts that they have in various situations (including those that are anxiety provoking)

    491
    and how those thoughts can fuel their feelings and actions. Then, students can practice
    replacing negative thoughts with more helpful and accurate thoughts and logging
    situations where they are able to do so between sessions. You can ask students to write
    down a couple of helpful thoughts on a small card to carry with them and pull out in
    situations when their thoughts may be getting in their way. Veronica became so familiar
    with these statements that she would just touch the card inside her pocket to remind
    herself to check her thoughts and see if she needed to replace them with a more helpful or
    realistic thought.

    Trauma Narrative
    Developing a narrative of the child’s traumatic experience enables them to process and
    digest their story and what they have been through. It is not uncommon that this
    opportunity in treatment is the first the child has had to recount their story. The trauma
    narrative can be done in writing and/or pictures and then read and processed aloud or it
    can be a verbal recounting of the trauma memory. In either case it is important that the
    child is able to tell or review their story several times in order to decrease the amount of
    anxiety that the trauma memory provokes at present. Explaining that being able to talk
    about what happened and work through some of the thoughts and feelings associated with
    parts of the story as it was happening and in the present time, can make it less difficult to
    think or talk about what happened now. As a clinician, you are able to bear witness to the
    child’s memory of their experience, providing support and assistance in reframing some
    of his or her maladaptive thoughts about what happened and his/her role in it. You will
    need to determine the number of sessions to focus on the trauma narrative, but you
    typically don’t want it to be more than a third of the total sessions, so that many sessions
    focus on the present and skill-building for the future. By the second session of the trauma
    narrative with Veronica, she has created some drawings and narrated her traumatic
    experience several times and it is much easier for her to talk about what she went
    through. Veronica thinks that she is ready to share her story with her mother. You help
    her think through and plan a good time to talk to her mother and role play how it might
    go. You let her know that you will be calling mom to give her an update on Veronica’s
    progress and that you will talk to mom about how to be supportive if/when Veronica
    shares the story with her. You also offer to invite her mother to join you for a session
    next week in case she doesn’t find a time to do it herself during the week, or after she has
    shared the information, either way. You encourage Veronica to do something fun this
    week to take care of herself because she has been working through difficult issues.

    In Vivo Gradual Exposure to Trauma Reminders


    This component focuses on the creation of a hierarchical list of things that the student
    may be avoiding since their traumatic event. Students make a list of things they have
    been avoiding that they would like to be able to do again and you assist them in refining a
    hierarchy of gradual approach steps, getting feeling thermometer ratings for each of the
    steps. Each week you can assist the student in selecting 1–2 things that can feasibly be
    practiced over the next week that are rated at 3–4 or under on their feeling thermometer.
    Typically once a student gains mastery over the items lower on their list they are ready to
    move onto items that were once rated a bit higher. This is something you want to start by

    492
    the mid point in treatment so that there are several weeks of in vivo exposure practice and
    a sense of accomplishment in moving up the hierarchy. For example, Veronica has
    stopped letting her siblings play outside when she cares for them, which is frequently due
    to mom’s work schedule. After assessing for the safety of having siblings play outside
    (“Do other children in the neighborhood play outside?” “Did they used to be able to play
    outside safely?” “Is there a place it is safest to be while playing outside?” “Is it safe to do
    so during the day/evening/weekends?”), you help Veronica list the following steps for
    allowing the kids to play outside and she assigns each a rating of how anxious it will
    make her feel to do so (at present):

    Siblings outside in yard while Veronica is inside (weekdays) 8

    Siblings outside in yard with Veronica (weekdays) 6

    Siblings outside in yard while Veronica is inside (weekends) 5

    Siblings outside in yard with Veronica (weekends) 4

    Siblings play outside at cousin’s house 3

    Imagine siblings playing outside with Veronica supervising 2

    Veronica decides that this week she will practice letting her siblings play outside at her
    cousin’s house 1–2 times. She will also imagine them playing outside with her a few
    times over the week.

    Problem Solving
    Teaching problem solving skills can be a key part of intervening with students with
    PTSD. Clearly, the physiological arousal, hypervigilance, increased anger and irritability,
    and cognitive threat bias associated with PTSD can sometimes lead students to react with
    increased aggression or impulsivity. Also, given the real problems that children and
    adolescents may face, taking the time to look at options for handling difficult situations,

    493
    and managing social, academic, or familial problems can be a powerful tool that can start
    having an impact right away. In session(s) covering problem solving you will again link
    feelings, thoughts and actions by working through examples and listing potential actions
    one could take and making links to the underlying thoughts and feelings. You will want
    to ascertain the problems that the student may be encountering in daily life. Examples of
    these types of situations may include: someone tagging something bad about you on the
    bathroom wall, a teacher yelling at you, and parents fighting with each other. You then
    engage the student in brainstorming options/solutions, rating each option in terms of how
    effective it may be in solving the problem with as few negatives as possible (i.e., without
    hurting anyone or getting themselves in trouble), and selecting potential actions to try for
    the situation.
    Go to:

    Conclusions
    Intervening with traumatized youth on school campuses is a much needed role for the
    school mental health consultant. As this chapter illustrates, there are important roles in
    terms of working with the school staff and addressing the needs of children and families
    following a traumatic event. Whether a trauma occurs on the school campus, in the
    surrounding community, or to individual students and families, teachers and
    administrators may be uncertain how to best support the affected students. A key role that
    a mental health professional can play is giving school staff the tools in which to support
    and refer students who may be suffering with PTSD and other trauma-related mental
    health conditions. School-based clinicians can and should be aligned with the educational
    mission of schools. By providing early intervention services to students who have PTSD
    symptoms, clinicians can not only help in improving the social-emotional well-being of
    students, but also their academic performance in the classroom.
    Go to:

    Acknowledgments
    This work was supported by Grant No. Center grant, NIMH R21, SAMHSA grant
    Go to:

    Notes
    This paper was supported by the following grant(s):
    National Institute of Mental Health : NIMH P30 MH082760-03 || MH.
    Go to:

    Footnotes
    The authors have nothing to disclose.

    Go to:

    494
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    Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2008;47:1048. [PubMed]
    30. March JS, Amaya-Jackson L, Murray MC, et al. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy
    for children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder after a single-incident
    stressor. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998;37:585. [PubMed]
    31. Martinez P, Richters JE. The NIMH Community Violence Project: II. Children’s
    distress symptoms associated with violence exposure. Special Issue: Children and
    violence. Psychiatry. 1993;56:22. [PubMed]
    32. Najavits LM, Gallop RJ, Weiss RD. Seeking safety therapy for adolescent girls with
    PTSD and substance use disorder: A randomized controlled trial. J Behav Health Serv
    Res. 2006;33:453. [PubMed]
    33. Osofsky JD, Wewers S, Hann DM, et al. Chronic community violence: what is
    happening to our children? Psychiatry. 1993;56:36. [PubMed]

    496
    34. Overstreet S, Braun S. Exposure to community violence and post-traumatic stress
    symptoms: mediating factors. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2000;70:263. [PubMed]
    35. Putnam FW, Trickett PK. Psychobiological effects of sexual abuse. A longitudinal
    study. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1997;821:150. [PubMed]
    36. Pynoos RS, Layne CM, Briggs EC, et al. DSM-V PTSD diagnostic criteria for
    children and adolescents: a developmental perspective and recommendations. J Trauma
    Stress. 2009;22:391. [PubMed]
    37. Robb AS, Cueva JE, Sporn J, et al. Sertraline treatment of children and adolescents
    with posttraumatic stress disorder: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Child
    Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2010;20:463.[PubMed]
    38. Saigh PA, Bremner JD. The history of postraumatic stress disorder. Needham
    Neights, MA: Allyn & Bacon; 1999.
    39. Saltzman WR, Pynoos RS, Layne CM, et al. Trauma-and grief-focused intervention
    for adolescents exposed to community violence: Results of a school-based screening and
    group treatment protocol. Group Dyn. 2001;5:291.
    40. Schreiber M, Gurwitch R, Wong M. Listen, Protect, Connect—Model & Teach:
    Psychological First Aid (PFA) for Students and Teachers. US Department of Education,
    Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance
    Center; 2008.
    41. Schreiber M, Gurwitch R, Wong M. Listen, Protect, Connect—Model &
    Teach:Psychological First Aid (PFA) for Students and Teachers. 2006.
    42. Schultz D, Barnes-Proby D, Chandra A, et al. Technical Report. Santa Monica, CA:
    The RAND Corporation; 2010. Toolkit for Adapting Cognitive Behavioral Intervention
    for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) or Supporting Students Exposed to Trauma (SSET) for
    Implementation with Youth in Foster Care.
    43. Schwartz D, Proctor LJ. Community violence exposure and children’s social
    adjustment in the school peer group: the mediating roles of emotion regulation and social
    cognition. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2000;68:670. [PubMed]
    44. Singer MI, Anglin TM, Song L, et al. Adolescents’ exposure to violence and
    associated symptoms of psychological trauma. JAMA. 1995;273:477. [PubMed]
    45. Stein BD, Jaycox LH, Kataoka SH, et al. Prevalence of child and adolescent exposure
    to community violence. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2003;6:247. [PubMed]
    46. Stein BD, Jaycox LH, Kataoka SH, et al. A mental health intervention for
    schoolchildren exposed to violence: a randomized controlled
    trial. JAMA. 2003;290:603. [PubMed]
    47. Stein BD, Zima BT, Elliott MN, et al. Violence exposure among school-age children
    in foster care: relationship to distress symptoms. J Am Acad Child Adolesc
    Psychiatry. 2001;40:588. [PubMed]
    48. Strawn JR, Keeshin BR, DelBello MP, et al. Psychopharmacologic treatment of
    posttraumatic stress disorder in children and adolescents: a review. J Clin
    Psychiatry. 2010;71:932. [PubMed]
    49. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; DHHS. Final Report. Rockville,
    MD: Department of Health and Human Services; 2003. New Freedom Commission on
    Mental Health: Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America.

    497
    50. Wolmer L, Hamiel D, Laor N. Preventing children’s posttraumatic stress after
    disaster with teacher-based intervention: a controlled study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc
    Psychiatry. 2011;50:340. [PubMed]

    Source:- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3287974/

    A school-based mental health program for


    traumatized Latino immigrant children.
    Kataoka SH1, Stein BD, Jaycox LH, Wong M, Escudero P, Tu W, Zaragoza C, Fink A.
    Author information
    Abstract
    OBJECTIVE:
    To pilot-test a school mental health program for Latino immigrant students who have been
    exposed to community violence.

    METHOD:
    In this quasi-experimental study conducted from January through June 2000, 198 students in
    third through eighth grade with trauma-related depression and/or posttraumatic stress
    disorder symptoms were compared after receiving an intervention or being on a waitlist. The
    intervention consisted of a manual-based, eight-session, group cognitive-behavioral therapy
    (CBT) delivered in Spanish by bilingual, bicultural school social workers. Parents and
    teachers were eligible to receive psychoeducation and support services.

    RESULTS:
    Students in the intervention group ( = 152) had significantly greater improvement in
    posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms compared with those on the waitlist
    ( = 47) at 3-month follow-up, adjusting for relevant covariates.

    CONCLUSIONS:
    A collaborative research team of school clinicians, educators, and researchers developed
    this trauma-focused CBT program for Latino immigrant students and their families. This pilot
    test demonstrated that this program for traumatized youths, designed for delivery on school
    campuses by school clinicians, can be implemented and evaluated in the school setting and
    is associated with a modest decline in trauma-related mental health problems.

    Source:- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12595784

    Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2012 Jan;21(1):105-18, ix. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2011.08.011.

    498
    Treating adolescents with social anxiety disorder in
    schools.
    Ryan JL1, Warner CM.
    Author information
    Abstract
    As is evident from the topic of this issue, schools can play an important role in addressing
    the unmet mental health needs of youth. Social anxiety disorder is particularly suited to being
    treated in the school setting. This article describes an empirically supported school-based
    intervention for social anxiety disorder, skills for academic and social success, and provides
    specific strategies to school counselors, teachers and community practitioners for
    implementing these methods. This article focuses on practical approaches for working with
    socially anxious adolescents in the school setting and how to increase awareness of social
    anxiety with parents and school personnel.
    Source:- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22137815

    Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2004 Dec;7(4):241-9.

    Skills for social and academic success: a school-


    based intervention for social anxiety disorder in
    adolescents.
    Fisher PH1, Masia-Warner C, Klein RG.
    Author information
    Abstract
    This paper describes Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS), a cognitive-
    behavioral, school-based intervention for adolescents with social anxiety disorder. Clinic-
    based treatment studies for socially anxious youth are reviewed, and a strong rationale for
    transporting empirically-based interventions into schools, such as SASS, is provided. The
    SASS program consists of 12, 40-min group sessions that emphasize social skills and in-vivo
    exposure. In addition to group sessions, students are seen individually at least twice and
    participate in 4 weekend social events with prosocial peers from their high schools. Meetings
    with teachers provide information about social anxiety and facilitate classroom exposures for
    socially anxious participants. Parents attend 2 psychoeducational meetings about social
    anxiety, its treatment, and approaches for managing their child's anxiety. Initial findings
    regarding the program's effectiveness are presented. We conclude by discussing the
    challenges involved in implementing treatment protocols in schools and provide suggestions
    to address these issues.

    499
    Source:- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15648278

    News
    Jamaica’s crime stats among
    highest worldwide, despite reduction
    Monday, February 08, 2016     137 Comments

    BUNTING ... even when we have cut crime in half, it still leaves us with the highest categories
    worldwide

    ALTHOUGH all the categories of serious and violent crimes have been on a decline locally,
    Jamaica still records some of the highest crime stats worldwide.

    Minister of National Security Peter Bunting made the revelation while speaking recently at the
    launch of the Next GENDERation toolkit — an initiative led by the World Bank to support efforts to
    stem Jamaica’s epidemic of violent crimes.

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    Bunting said that despite efforts to curb these numbers, the Caribbean and Central America
    continue to top the charts in violent crimes, adding that the problem isn’t only one of law
    enforcement.

    “Violent crime is largely a youth-based phenomenon in terms of the perpetrators and in terms of
    the victims. If I were to look at one of the primary indicators of gender-based violence, which is
    rape, and I were to go back five years, we have seen rapes in year to date January at about a
    third of what they were five years ago,” Bunting said.

    So we’ve seen a 60-odd-percent decline in that regard. It has not happened purely by accident’ it
    has happened by aggressive enforcement work by agencies like CISOCA, OCA, CDA, OCR, and
    through a lot of the social intervention programmes that have been running by a wide range of
    agencies across the society.

    “But, [though] all the categories of serious and violent crimes have been on a decline — a long-
    term trend — the challenge is we started from such a high level that even when we have cut it in
    half, it still leaves us with the highest categories worldwide.

    “Our region unfortunately, the Caribbean and Central America, is the region with the highest level
    of violent crimes in the world. It is really a development imperative not just for Jamaica, but for the
    entire region.”

    The national security minister said one contributing factor that needs to be addressed in the “most
    urgent and profound way” is the impact of ‘fatherlessness’ on our children.

    Bunting, who was quoting statistics he said he received from Dr Michael Coombs, founder of the
    National Association of the Family, said that based on research done in the United States, United
    Kingdom and the Caribbean, fatherless children may be the reason for the crime epidemic.

    “It indicates that fatherless boys, for example, that’s 50 per cent of our boys in Jamaica, are 11
    times more likely to display violent behaviour, nine times more likely to run away from home and
    become victims or perpetrators of crime, twice as likely to drop out of school, nine times more
    likely to become gang members, and six times more likely to end up in prison,” he said.

    Added Bunting: “Fatherless girls are more than twice as likely to experience teenage pregnancies
    and nine times more likely to be victims of sexual abuse.”

    Subsequently, he said making this one adjustment and getting fathers involved in the lives of their
    children could significantly create a shift in the existing social paradigm, leading to a phenomenal
    change.

    Additionally, Bunting said he has recognised the influence that gender dynamics has on violence,
    and his ministry has engaged a gender specialist in phase three of their Citizens Security and
    Justice Programme to ensure gender sensitivity and equity in all its intervention activities.

    “We want to ensure that we have a better understanding of how the risk of violence affects young
    men and young women differently and to implement that in our various outreach programmes,”
    he said.

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    Bunting maintained that he, along with the Ministry of National Security, is commited to working
    with its partners — the world bank, other international and multilateral partners, private sector and
    civil society — to change the negative social norms that have so deeply scarred many of our
    young men and young women.

    — Kimberley Hibbert

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Jamaica---s-crime-
    stats-among-highest-worldwide--despite-reduction-_1107

    Jamaica homicides jump 20 per


    cent, highest level in 5 years
    Monday, January 11, 2016     47 Comments

    KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Violent rivalries among Jamaica’s lottery scam rings have
    helped to drive the Caribbean island’s homicide rate to the highest level in five years,
    according to police.

    The Jamaica Constabulary Force said the country had at least 1,192 slayings in 2015, a roughly
    20 percent increase from the previous year. There were 1,005 killings in 2014, the lowest annual
    total since 2003 in this country that has long struggled with violent crime.

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    Jamaica had about 45 slayings per 100,000 people in 2015, keeping it ranked among the most
    violent countries in the world. In recent years, the UN listed the island as having the world’s sixth-
    worst homicide rate. The World Bank ranked Jamaica in the top five in 2013.

    By comparison, Chicago, which has roughly the same population as Jamaica at 2.7 million, had
    468 killings in 2015.

    Last year’s total is a long way from National Security Minister Peter Bunting’s goal of reducing the
    annual homicide numbers to 320 killings by 2017. He first stated this goal shortly after starting as
    national security minister in early 2012.

    Bunting, who had called the reduction in 2014 a breakthrough in the fight against crime, said
    officials “will not be deterred or daunted by this setback”.

    Authorities attribute the rise in killings to clashes among lottery scam rings over money and “lead
    lists” containing identity information about targets living abroad, mostly in the United States.
    Fighting between gangs has long been blamed for the majority of Jamaica’s homicides.

    Herbert Gayle, an anthropologist of social violence at Jamaica’s University of the West Indies,
    Mona, said Wednesday that authorities have not addressed the root cause of violence in
    Jamaica, so it was only a matter of time before killings ticked upward.

    While killings increased last year, other crimes, such as rape, aggravated assault, robberies and
    larcenies, decreased.

     Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Jamaica-homicides-jump-20-per-cent--highest-
    level-in-5-years_48331

    Women March Against Violence


    By Marlon Tingling February 7, 2017
      
      

     Email

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    +
    Photo: Marlon TinglingGovernment Senator, Charles Sinclair (centre), joins women in a peaceful protest
    against violence against women and children held in Sam Sharpe Square today (February 6).

    Story Highlights

     Scores of women drawn from all sectors of society staged a peaceful march in Montego Bay

    on Monday (Feb.6) to call for an end to violence against women and children.
     The placard-bearing women, accompanied by a small contingent of men including

    Government Senator Charles Sinclair, marched from Barnett Street into the historic Sam

    Sharpe Square, where they blended their voices in a unified call for an end to violence.

     Senator Sinclair said as a citizen of Montego Bay, and councillor in the St. James Municipal

    Corporation he had to come out in support of the march.

    Scores of women drawn from all sectors of society staged a peaceful march in Montego Bay
    on Monday (Feb.6) to call for an end to violence against women and children.

    The placard-bearing women, accompanied by a small contingent of men including


    Government Senator Charles Sinclair, marched from Barnett Street into the historic Sam
    Sharpe Square, where they blended their voices in a unified call for an end to violence.

    The placards had messages such as “end violence now”, “save our children”, “protect our
    girls and women”, and “enough is enough.”

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    Chief organiser, Natasha Wilson, told JIS News that the march was aimed at sending a
    strong message to the perpetrators of crimes against women as well as to the relevant
    authorities that the women and, by extension, the country was at a breaking point.

    She said the march was also aimed at moving the conversation about violence against
    women and children from the social medial platforms to public spaces.

    “The women’s movement has decided to stand up against what is happening against women
    and children. Persons share these situations on social media and they made individual calls
    to their friends but we need to stand up in the public and say no to what is happening,” she
    said.

    She is also calling on citizens to pay closer attention to domestic or other forms of violence
    being committed in their homes and communities.

    “We need to start from within our homes and our communities, these small areas that are
    personal to us. In your homes, persons see the abuse. In your communities, you know about
    the neighbours, who are being abused…you need to speak out,” Ms. Wilson said.

    Meanwhile, Senator Sinclair said as a citizen of Montego Bay, and councillor in the St.
    James Municipal Corporation he had to come out in support of the march.

    “I would support …any coming together of law-abiding citizens against violence generally,
    and violence against vulnerable persons. I am here …to show that we can bond together as
    a community and make our voices heard,” he said.

    Senator Sinclair expressed confidence that the cries of the women in St. James will be heard
    by the relevant authorities, who must now move to not only address the scourge of crime and
    violence, but to bring some form of comfort to those who are affected and grieving.

    He invited a delegation from the organising group to attend the regular monthly meeting of
    the St. James Municipal Corporation on Thursday (Feb. 9) to seek the full support of the
    local authorities in their call for an end to crime and violence, particularly against women.

    http://jis.gov.jm/women-march-violence/

    JAMAICA 2016/2017
    Unlawful killings and extrajudicial executions continued. Violence against women and
    discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people
    persisted. Children continued to be detained in violation of international standards.

    Background
    In February, the Jamaica Labour Party won the general election and Andrew Holness
    became Prime Minister.

    Despite committing to the establishment of a national human rights institution, Jamaica had
    not established the mechanism by the end of the year.

    Jamaica continued to have one of the highest homicide rates in the Americas.

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    Police and security forces
    In June, a Commission of Enquiry published its much-anticipated report into the events that
    took place in Western Kingston during the state of emergency, declared on 23 May 2010,
    which left at least 69 people dead. Almost 900 pages long, the report identified a number of
    cases of possible extrajudicial execution and produced a number of important
    recommendations for police reform.1

    In an official response, the Jamaica Constabulary Force accepted a number of


    recommendations, such as committing to hold administrative reviews into the conduct of
    officers named in the Commissioners’ report. However, the police continued to refuse to
    accept any responsibility for human rights violations or extrajudicial executions during the
    state of emergency. By the end of the year, the government had still not officially indicated
    how it would implement the recommendations of the Commissioners.

    While the number of killings by police have significantly reduced in recent years, 111 people
    were killed by law enforcement officials in 2016, compared with 101 in 2015. Women whose
    relatives were killed by police, and their families, experienced pervasive police harassment
    and intimidation, and faced multiple barriers to accessing justice, truth and reparation.

    Violence against women and girls


    According to local NGOs, national legislation to address violence against women remained
    inadequate. For example, the Sexual Offences Act continued to narrowly define rape as non-
    consensual penile penetration of a woman’s vagina by a man, and to protect against marital
    rape in certain circumstances only. By December, over 470 women and girls had reported
    rape during the year, according to the police.

    Criminalization of women engaged in sex work continued to place them at risk of


    discrimination, arbitrary arrest and violence by the police. 2

    Children’s rights
    The NGO Jamaicans for Justice reported that children were still being detained in police
    lockups for being “uncontrollable”, often for illegal periods and in inhumane conditions.

    Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people


    There remained no legal protection against discrimination based on real or perceived sexual
    orientation or gender identity. Young LGBTI people continued to face bullying and
    harassment in the absence of legal protection. Consensual sex between men remained
    criminalized.

    Between January and June, 23 people reported to the LGBTI rights NGO J-FLAG that they
    had been physically assaulted or attacked because of their real or perceived sexual
    orientation or gender identity.

    A survey published by J-FLAG found deeply homophobic attitudes. For example, only 36%
    of Jamaicans surveyed said they would allow their gay child to continue to live at home.
    Almost 60% of respondents said they would harm an LGBTI person who approached them.

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    In June, the Attorney General used social media to criticize the US Embassy for flying a
    Pride flag after the killings of LGBTI people in a nightclub in Orlando, USA.

    In August, for the second year in a row, J-FLAG held activities to celebrate Pride Week.

    International Justice
    Jamaica again failed to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, signed in
    September 2000, nor had it adhered to the UN Convention against Torture or the
    International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

    1. Jamaica: State of Emergency 2010 – ten things the government must learn, and ten
    things it must do (AMR 38/4337/2016)

    "I feel scared all the time": A Jamaican sex worker tells her story (News story 27 May 2016)

    https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/jamaica/report-jamaica/

    CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT STILL ON THE


    RISE IN JAMAICA
    OCTOBER 8, 2016
    BREAKING NEWSJAMAICAN NEWS
    A high level of abuse, neglect and behavioural problems of children is on the rise in
    Jamaica, according to government officials.
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    There is a high level of abuse and neglect of children in the society


    of Jamaica, according to the Child Development Agency (CDA).

    From parishes to major cities and urban centres, children are being abused all over
    the island nation.

    The cases range from physical, sexual, emotional, parental neglect, trafficking, child
    labour, children in need of care and attention and children exhibiting behavioural
    problems.

    Audrey Budhi, the director of children and family programmes at the CDA, who was
    speaking recently at a seminar, revealed some of the common issues found are learning
    disorders, enuresis, depression, suicide ideation, and attention deficit hyperactivity
    disorder among children who have been abused or neglected.

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    She said that those symptoms are usually linked to several factors such as abuse, post-
    traumatic stress, developmental delays, fear, anxiety and trauma.

    With cases of child abuse rising at an alarming rate, it is no more an issue that can be
    tackled solely by the government or with the assistance of few support groups. It is a call
    for the whole nation to unify and act as a committed force to wipe out these sinful
    practices.

    According to Missing Children Statistics Report 2015 (OCR), 1077 reports on child
    abuse were registered out of which 870 have been recovered, 5 are deceased and 202 are
    still missing. There are thousands of cases that go unreported.

    “Reports that we get we see what we call ‘hot spots’ such as


    Westmoreland. The whole belt from just near Savana-La- Mar,
    Negril, going back to Green Island, Hanover is a hot spot. We see
    right now in Westmoreland alone 500 active cases of reports that are
    being investigated,” said an official at the CDA during a march to
    lobby in 2015.

    Other hot spots to which the CDA pointed were St Ann; May Pen and hilly areas of
    Clarendon; Kingston and St Andrew; and St Thomas.

    Following are some of the steps to address the issue:

    Enforcement of existing laws: Laws such as Child Care and Protection Act, The sexual
    offences Act, Offences against the person Act are all there but how promptly are they
    being imposed “when required” is the real question. The government has to be vigorous
    regarding data collection and monitoring of child abuse offences. We have to optimise
    the use of existing laws.

    Public Education: Masses should be educated on how not to entertain any incident of


    child abuse around them. They should be reminded that being silent is a crime in itself.
    Education can be provided in schools, colleges, churches, private and public sectors.
    Educators should familiarise themselves with signs of abuse in children. Since they are
    the ones students spend their majority of the time with, they can immediately report such
    cases.

    Eliminate Parental Neglect: Parental neglect can be eliminated by asking parents to


    monitor their children from an early age and identify signs of sudden change in their
    behaviour. Often parental neglect is seen due to poor family planning accompanied by a
    lack of financial resources.

    Under the Jamaica’s amended “Domestic Violence Act 2004” single mothers are to be
    protected and financially maintained and the visiting partner shall provide maintenance to
    her children, whether or not he is their biological father. More such amendments and
    budgetary support from the government can eliminate parental neglect.

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    Advocacy for Child abuse on social and cultural grounds: A lot of cases of sexual
    abuse are a result of cultural and social factors. An old cultural norm of father’s to take
    their daughter’s virginity is still prevailing in not only the parishes but major cities as
    well. In many cases, the perpetrator is someone from within or very close to the family.
    These cases go unreported due to cultural and social circumstances. Such cases should
    not be ignored.

    Counselling and therapy sessions: The recovered cases need to be backed by


    counselling and therapy sessions for the victims of child abuse. A child undergoes not
    only physical but immense emotional trauma in such cases. Voluntary organisations or
    adding a counselling cell to every existing support group can add a new meaning to their
    life.

    Source:- https://hypelifemagazine.com/newsreports/jamaica-child-
    abuse-neglect-rising-high-level/

    News
    16,790 cases of sexual abuse
    against children recorded in eight
    years
    Friday, May 13, 2016 | 2:27 PM     5 Comments

    509
    Executive Director of the JASL, Kandasi Levermore

    KINGSTON, Jamaica – Over an eight year period, from 2007 to 2015, approximately 16,790
    reports of sexual abuse against children were recorded by the Office of Children Registry.

    These incidents, according to the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL), increase the risk for
    sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which
    leads to AIDS.

    Executive Director of the JASL, Kandasi Levermore remarked that, “as we celebrate the
    importance of the growth and development of our children this Child’s Month, let’s also remember
    to place their safety and security front and centre.”

    Data from the Ministry of Health shows that the youth are significantly affected by HIV. Girls,
    however, account for the larger percentage of cases in the 10 – 29 age range. In the age group
    15 – 19 years, four times more girls have reported cases of AIDS than boys. In many of the
    reported cases, young girls are forced into sex, therefore resulting in various health issues.

    According to the JASL, in a recent report a 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by three men.
    Upon further investigation it was discovered that the young girl was homeless after her mother
    kicked her out because she did not believe her daughter’s accusation that her father raped and
    physically assaulted her. The matter was reported to the relevant authorities.

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    JASL recently launched its ‘End Violence Against Women & Girls’ media campaign to raise
    awareness about the effect of violence and the spread of HIV nationally. The campaign aims to
    stem the prevailing attitudes and behaviours in the Jamaican society that condone violence
    against girls.

    “We all need to develop a mind-set of zero tolerance to all kinds of abuse, but especially when it
    involves our children. Everyone has a role to play and a duty to report any act of violence
    involving a child,” Levermore said.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/16-790-cases-of-
    sexual-abuse-against-children-recorded-in-eight-years

    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)


    This page is brought to you by nOCD. Download this mobile tool
    for  free!

    Obsessive-compulsive disorder, commonly called OCD, appears in different ways, and


    not every person has the same symptoms; many people have combinations of various
    OCD symptoms. In general, those who have OCD suffer from unwanted and intrusive
    thoughts that they can't seem to get out of their heads (obsessions), often compelling
    them to repeatedly perform ritualistic behaviors and routines (compulsions) to try and
    ease their anxiety.
    If you or a loved one suffers from OCD, you’re not alone. Millions of people have it, and
    it doesn’t discriminate: This disorder affects men, women, teens, and children from every
    background, race, and ethnicity. But with the appropriate treatment, you are most likely
    to find relief. 

    Most adults who have OCD are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are
    irrational, yet they feel powerless to stop them. They may spend several hours every day
    focusing on obsessive thoughts and performing seemingly senseless rituals involving
    hand-washing, counting, or checking to ward off persistent, unwelcome thoughts,
    feelings, or images. These can interfere with a person's normal routine, schoolwork, job,
    family, or social activities. Trying to concentrate on daily activities may be difficult.

    Untreated OCD can be detrimental to all aspects of life, so getting proper treatment is
    essential to taking control over the illness and gaining relief. Learning about the disorder
    is critical to finding the right treatment and overcoming frequently incapacitating

    511
    symptoms.
     
    Unlike adults, children and teens with OCD may not realize that their obsessions and
    compulsions are excessive or even view their symptoms as a disorder that can be treated.

    Learn about related disorders: trichotillomania and Tourette syndrome.


    Source:- https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/obsessive-
    compulsive-disorder-ocd

    Information for Parents: Behaviors That Could


    Be Symptoms of OCD
    In some cases, children with OCD exhibit symptoms that may not immediately be
    associated with the disorder. Or their behavior may mimic symptoms of other disorders.

    Here are examples of some of these behaviors:

    Eating Rituals

    Some children with OCD may need to eat foods in a certain order; chew a certain number
    of times; refuse to eat certain foods (that they may have eaten in the past) because they
    are afraid; cut food into a specific number of pieces; or tap their fork or spoon a certain
    number of times before eating. If they are unable to complete these rituals, they may
    refuse to eat. It’s important to differentiate these OCD symptoms from symptoms of
    anorexia nervosa, bulimia, other eating disorders; these may occur at the same time as
    OCD.

    Inability to Make Decisions

    In some cases, young people experience serious concerns in making a selection. The
    result may be an inability or serious reservations about making any decisions at all.

    Extreme Separation Anxiety

    Some children, especially younger ones, may have overwhelming fears of being left
    alone or that their parents or caregivers will never return. While this behavior is

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    reminiscent of separation anxiety disorder, it may also signal OCD in a child fearing that
    his or her parents will be harmed or even die.

    Unusual Secretiveness

    Children with OCD sometimes hide their activities or make their rooms or possessions
    off limits to siblings and parents. Frequently embarrassed by their rituals, young people
    want to keep them hidden so they carry them out in secret. Also, children who have
    contamination fears may not want anyone to touch anything in their rooms or their
    possessions.

    Temper Tantrums

    When a normal routine or a seemingly regular activity is disrupted, some children may
    have a temper tantrum; for example, inflexibility to the point of a tantrum if a small part
    of a bedtime ritual or other household routines are changed.  For some children, rituals
    must be repeated a certain or “magic” number of times. If a child’s magic number
    happens to be 11, and he is interrupted at repeating number 10, he will have to start over
    from the beginning while experiencing a great deal of frustration. Also, children who
    experience fears of harm to themselves or loved ones may become panicked if their
    rituals that are intended to prevent harm are interrupted.

    It’s important that great care be taken when observing and documenting a child’s
    behavior to make an accurate diagnosis.

    Finding Therapist: What to Ask

    A cognitive-behavior therapist should be agreeable to speaking with you about your


    child’s OCD and answering all your questions. You need to be comfortable with the
    therapist, because he or she will be guiding you through every step of your child’s
    treatment. He or she will also be giving you advice, ideas and directions to help you
    manage your child’s progress between sessions. It’s also extremely important that your
    child and the therapist are a good match, or “click.”
    State-of-the-art treatment for OCD is cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), which involves
    exposure and response prevention (ERP) and cognitive therapy (CT), sometimes in

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    combination with medication. It cannot be stressed strongly enough that your child’s
    therapist actually be trained in CBT.
    There is no evidence to support the use of talk therapy, however, to treat OCD. If the
    therapist tells you that he or she treats OCD using talk therapy or role playing, walk
    away. Keep in mind that supportive therapy (e.g., counseling) may help children manage
    conflicts due to OCD, including difficulties with school, peers and family members.
    Family members may also benefit from supportive therapy; most CBT approaches
    involve families in treatment. You should also walk away if you’re told that your
    parenting actions have caused your child’s OCD. In addition, the therapist should be able
    to assess all of your child’s symptoms to determine if your child has OCD and any other
    coexisting disorders that require treatment.

    Here are some questions to ask a prospective therapist:


     Do you have a background in child and family therapy?
     What techniques do you use to treat this specific form of OCD? (You’re looking
    for responses that include CBT and cognitive therapy.)
     Are you trained to use CBT, including ERP, to treat OCD?
     Where did you obtain your training? (You’re looking for them to tell you about an
    established training program in CBT.)
     Are you licensed to practice in this state? (Beware of unlicensed therapists.)
     How many children (or teens) with OCD have you successfully treated?
     Will you conduct therapy sessions (if necessary) by telephone, online or via
    Skype; are you willing to evaluate and treat OCD in the setting in which it usually
    occurs (e.g., home, school)?
     Are you willing to work with other professionals such as the primary care
    physician, school counselor or social worker to ensure a coordinated approach to
    treatment?
     How do you involve the family in the treatment of OCD? (You want a therapist
    who will teach parents how to monitor and support the homework assignments given
    to the child or teen.)
    Avoid a treatment provider who…
     Believes that OCD is caused by childhood trauma, toilet training, self-esteem
    issues or family dynamics;

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     Claims that the main technique for managing OCD is relaxation, talk therapy or
    play therapy;
     Blames parents or one’s upbringing for OCD;
     Seems guarded or angry at questions about treatment techniques;
     Claims that medication alone is a treatment for OCD; or
     Suggests your child will need years of therapy: CBT is not intended to go on
    indefinitely.
    Source:- https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/obsessive-
    compulsive-disorder-ocd/symptoms/info-for-parents

    17 Quotes That Prove OCD Is So


    Much More Than Being Neat
    7k
    Shares

    For many, obsessive compulsive disorder is synonymous with hand-washing, organizing,


    color-coding and cleaning. And while associating OCD with these habits isn’t
    exactly wrong, it leaves out an important part of the picture. It’s easy to look at these
    behaviors and think, Oh, that’s not so bad. I would love to keep my room so
    clean. Or, Oh, I hate when my room is a mess. I’m so OCD too. 

    But what you don’t see, and what puts the “D” in OCD, are the thought processes behind
    the compulsive actions. People with OCD don’t organize because it brings them joy.
    They don’t clean because it’s one of their hobbies. And sometimes, people with OCD
    don’t clean or organize at all. OCD manifests itself in so many different ways, and
    likening it to a quirk can be hurtful for those who live with it every day.

    So, with the help of the International OCD Foundation, The Mighty asked people with
    OCD to explain what it’s really like.

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    Here’s what it’s like to have OCD, from people who live with it: 

    1. “OCD is like having a bully stuck inside your head and nobody else can see it.”
    — Krissy McDermott

    RELATED STORIES

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     26 Pictures That Show What OCD Really 'Looks' Like
     17 Quotes That Prove OCD Is So Much More Than Being Neat

    2. “You lose time. You lose entire blocks of your day to obsessive thoughts or actions. I
    spend so much time finishing songs in my car before I can get out or redoing my entire
    shower routine because I lost count of how many times I scrubbed my left arm.” — Kelly
    Hill

    3. “[It’s] like that song that plays over and over in your head, only you can’t get rid of it.”
    — Kimberly Matthews-Cifra

    4. “It’s like having mental hiccups. Mostly, we can function despite the ‘hiccups,’ but
    we’re exhausted attempting to carry on as if they didn’t exist.” — Sheila Cavanaugh

    5. “It’s like being controlled by a puppeteer. Every time you try and just walk away he
    pulls you back. Are you sure the stove is off and everything is unplugged? Back up we
    go. Are you sure your hands are as clean as they can get? Back ya go. Are you sure the
    doors are securely locked? Back down we go. How many people have touched this
    object? Wash your hands again.” — Toni Neville

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    RELATED STORIES

     I Have OCD. This Is What It’s Like to Be in My Mind for 3 Minutes.


     When I Realized I Was Not the 'Cure' for My Daughter’s OCD

    518
    6. “A physical sensation crawls up my arm as I avoid compulsions. But if I complete it,
    the world resets itself for a moment like everything will be just fine. But only for a
    moment.” —  Mardy M. Berlinger

    7. “For me, it’s like someone else has control of your brain. Like you’re being forced to
    do an endless number of completely random, pointless tasks you don’t want to do. It’s so
    exhausting and emotionally draining — like your brain needs an off switch!” — Clarissa
    Chay

    8. “It’s like a broken machine. Thoughts go in your head, get stuck and keep going
    around and around.” —  Megan Flynn

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    9. “Ever seen ‘Inside Out’? With OCD, it’s like Doubt has it’s own control console.”
    — Josey Eloy Franco

    10. “It can look like still waters on the outside while a hurricane is swirling in your
    mind.” — Marcie Barber Phares

    11. “Imagine all your worst thoughts as a soundtrack running through your mind 24/7,
    day after day.” — Adam Walker Cleveland

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    12. “Picture standing in a room filled with flies and pouring a bottle of syrup over
    yourself. The flies constantly swarm about you, buzzing around your head and in your
    face. You swat and swat, but they keep coming. The flies are like obsessional thoughts —
    you can’t stop them, you just have to fend them off. The swatting is like compulsions —
    you can’t resist the urge to do it, even though you know it won’t really keep the flies at
    bay more than for a brief moment.” — Cheryl Little Sutton

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    13. “For me, it’s an ever-present nagging feeling that something is just ‘not right.’ I
    can never really, truly ‘make it right.’ I have to learn to live with the all-consuming
    feeling of mental discomfort.” — Laura McCarthy

    14. “It’s like looking through a magnifying glass that only picks up on the potentially
    dangerous, harmful and scary.” — Laura

    15. “It means constantly questioning whether what I’m thinking or feeling is me or the
    OCD. The decision is usually a crap shoot. And then you question the decision over, and

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    over, and over, and over and over, trying to come up with the ‘right’ answer.” —  Anna
    Stinson

    16. “It’s like listening to a CD with an invisible scratch.” — Penny Hare

    17. “It’s like you have two brains — a rational brain and an irrational brain. And they’re
    constantly fighting.” — Emilie Ford

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    Bipolar Disorder
    Most people feel anxious at times and have their ups and downs. It is natural for a mood
    to change or anxiety level to rise when a stressful or difficult event occurs.

    But some people experience feelings of anxiety or depression or suffer mood swings that
    are so severe and overwhelming that they interfere with personal relationships, job
    responsibilities, and daily functioning. These people may be suffering from an anxiety
    disorder, bipolar disorder, or both.
    It is not uncommon for someone with an anxiety disorder to also suffer from bipolar
    disorder. Many people with bipolar disorder will suffer from at least one anxiety disorder
    at some point in their lives.

    The good news is that the disorders are treatable separately and together.

    General Info
    Co-Occuring Anxiety Disorder and Bipolar Disorder
    The Course of Bipolar Disorder
    Treatment
    Getting Help
    MoodNetwork
    More Steps to Reduce Anxiety and Regulate Mood
    Helping Others
    Helping Your Child
    Find Out More 
    General Info

    Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes
    unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function.

    The mood episodes associated with the disorder persist from days to weeks or longer, and
    can be dramatic, with periods of being overly high and/or irritable to periods of persistent
    sadness and hopelessness.

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    Severe changes in behavior go along with the mood changes. These periods of highs and
    lows, called episodes of mania and depression, can be distinct episodes often recurring
    over time, or they may occur together in a so-called mixed state. Often people with
    bipolar disorder experience periods of normal mood in between mood episodes.

    A manic episode is diagnosed if an elevated mood occurs with three or more primary
    symptoms most of the day, nearly every day, for at least one week. With an irritable
    mood, four additional symptoms must be present for a diagnosis.
    Signs and symptoms of a manic episode can include the following:

     Increased energy, activity, and restlessness


     Excessively high, overly good, euphoric mood
     Extreme irritability
     Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another
     Distractibility, inability to concentrate well
     Little sleep needed
     Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers
     Poor judgment
     Spending sprees
     A lasting period of behavior that is different from usual
     Increased sexual drive
     Abuse of drugs, particularly cocaine, alcohol, and sleeping medications
     Provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior
     Denial that anything is wrong
    A depressive episode is diagnosed if five or more primary depressive symptoms last
    most of the day, nearly every day, for a period of two weeks or longer.
    Signs and symptoms of a depressive episode can include the following:

     Lasting sad or empty mood


     Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
     Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
     Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, including sex
     Decreased energy, a feeling of fatigue or of being "slowed down"

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     Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
     Restlessness or irritability
     Sleeping too much, or having trouble sleeping
     Change in appetite or unintended weight loss or gain
     Thoughts of death or suicide, or 
     Suicide attempts
    It can be helpful to think of bipolar disorder as a spectrum of moods.

    At one end is severe depression, above which is moderate depression, and then mild low
    mood, which may be called the blues when it is short-lived and dysthymia when it is
    chronic.

    Next is normal or balanced mood, then hypomania (mild mania that may feel good and be
    relatively brief and less severe), and then severe mania, which can include hallucinations,
    delusions, or other symptoms of psychosis.

    Some people may experience symptoms of mania and depression together in what is
    called a mixed bipolar state. Symptoms often include agitation, trouble sleeping,
    significant change in appetite, psychosis, and suicidal thinking. A person may have a very
    sad hopeless mood even while feeling extremely energized.

    Read more about bipolar disorder in adults and find out about the illness in children and
    teens. 
    Co-Occurring Anxiety Disorder and Bipolar Disorder

    According to Naomi M. Simon, MD, Associate Director of the Center for Anxiety and
    Traumatic Stress Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor in
    psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, making a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder plus
    bipolar disorder can be confusing, and it is best to seek help from a mental health
    professional.

    But, Dr. Simon says, a few clues may suggest the presence of both an anxiety disorder
    and bipolar disorder:

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     The presence of panic attacks, significant anxiety, nervousness, worry, or fearful
    avoidance of activities in addition to periods of depression and mania or hypomania.
     The development of symptoms as a child or young adult, which people with both
    disorders are more likely to report.
     Significant problems with sleep and persistent anxiety even when not in a manic
    state, and lack of response to initial treatment.
     Increased sensitivity to initial side effects of medication, and sometimes a longer
    time frame for finding the right medication combination and dosing.
    Suffering from an anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder has been associated with
    decreased functioning and quality of life and an increased likelihood of substance abuse
    and suicide attempts. Insomnia, a common anxiety disorder symptom, is a significant
    trigger for manic episodes.

    Many children with bipolar disorder also suffer from at least one co-occurring anxiety
    disorder. The age of onset for an anxiety disorder often precedes the age of onset for
    bipolar disorder. The co-occurrence of an anxiety disorder with bipolar disorder can
    worsen the symptoms and course of each disorder, so it’s essential that both are treated.

    Sometimes severe mood episodes, extreme irritability, and other pronounced symptoms
    of bipolar disorder mask underlying obsessive thoughts, compulsions, worries, or other
    anxiety symptoms. It’s recommended that children with bipolar disorder are also assessed
    for an anxiety disorder.

    The Course of Bipolar Disorder


    Episodes of mania and depression typically recur across the life span. Between episodes,
    most people with bipolar disorder are free of symptoms, but as many as one-third find
    that some linger. A small percentage experience chronic unremitting symptoms despite
    treatment.

    Bipolar I disorder is the classic form of the illness, which involves recurrent episodes of
    mania and depression. People with bipolar II disorder never develop severe mania;
    instead they experience episodes of hypomania that alternate with depression.
    When four or more episodes of illness occur within a twelve-month period, a person is
    said to have rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. Some people experience multiple episodes
    within a single week, or even within a single day. Rapid cycling tends to develop later in
    the course of illness and is more common among women than among men.

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    Most people with bipolar disorder can lead healthy and productive lives when the illness
    is properly treated. Without treatment, however, the disorder tends to worsen. Over time
    a person may suffer more frequent and more severe manic and depressive episodes than
    when the illness first appeared.

    Some people with bipolar disorder become suicidal. Risk for suicide appears to be greater
    earlier in the course of the illness. A person with bipolar disorder, or anyone thinking
    about committing suicide, needs immediate attention from a mental health professional or
    a physician. 
    Treatment
    To achieve wellness, it is essential that people receive treatment for a co-occurring
    anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder. Treatment for both, however, is more complex than
    treatment for one.

    Carefully consider all treatment options with your doctor or mental health provider:
    medication, therapy, or a combination. With proper treatment, anxiety disorders and
    bipolar disorder can be overcome.

    Medications
    When treating a co-occurring anxiety and bipolar disorder with medication, most doctors
    first prescribe a mood stabilizer to address the bipolar disorder.
    Starting an antidepressant (a common medication approach for anxiety disorders) before
    mood stabilization is achieved may worsen the bipolar disorder symptoms. However, an
    antidepressant can trigger manic episodes, even while taking a mood stabilizer.

    For this reason, doctors sometimes avoid prescribing antidepressants or prescribe them at
    a low dose for patients with co-occurring disorders, and they monitor carefully any
    patients who are taking a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant.

    Because benzodiazepines (a class of drugs often used to treat anxiety disorders) do not
    appear to have negative effects on bipolar disorder, they may be used for anxiety in
    patients with co-occurring bipolar disorder. However, they may cause side effects,
    including physical dependence and tolerance (a need for more medication over time), and
    there is some risk of abuse among people suffering from bipolar disorder, particularly
    those who have experienced alcohol or substance abuse.

    People may need to try a few different combinations to find the most effective
    medications.

    Types of Therapy
    People with bipolar disorder should receive medication for mood stabilization. But
    therapy also plays an important role.
    Using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or another evidence-based psychotherapy
    instead of medication for an anxiety disorder addresses concerns about side effects from
    taking mood stabilizers with anti-anxiety medications.

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    Below are forms of therapy with varying levels of research evidence for anxiety
    disorders:

     Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Many therapists use cognitive and behavior


    therapies, often referred to as CBT, which is a short-term form of
    psychotherapy. Learn more about CBT.
     Family Therapy. This form of therapy uses strategies to reduce the level of
    distress within a family that may either contribute to an ill person’s symptoms or
    result from them.
     Relaxation Techniques. These techniques may help people develop the ability to
    cope more effectively with the stresses that contribute to anxiety and mood, as well as
    with any associated physical symptoms. Breathing re-training, progressive muscle
    relaxation, and exercise are among the techniques.
     Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy. Effective for bipolar disorder, this
    treatment program stresses maintaining a regular schedule of daily activities and
    stability in personal relationships. Patients record the timing of their activities, moods,
    and levels of social stimulation. As treatment progresses, they work to keep stable
    social rhythms (when to sleep, exercise, eat, etc.), anticipate events that could disrupt
    rhythms, and develop plans for continued mood and social rhythm stability. 
    Getting Help
    Find a therapist who treats anxiety disorders.
    Consider asking the following questions during your initial consultation:

     What training and experience do you have in treating anxiety disorders and
    bipolar disorder?
     What is your basic approach to treatment?
     Do you recommend treating the anxiety first or the bipolar disorder?
     How do you manage treatment if I am seeing another doctor/therapist for
    treatment as well?
     Can you prescribe medication or refer me to someone who can?
     How long is the course of treatment?
     How frequent are treatment sessions and how long do they last?
     Do you include family members in therapy?
     Will it be possible to reach you after hours in the event of an emergency or crisis?
     What is your fee schedule, and do you have a sliding scale for varying financial
    circumstances?
     What kinds of health insurance do you accept? 

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    MoodNetwork

    If you have have experienced depression and bipolar disorder,


    you will be able to track your progress, share information, ask questions, and evaluate
    your treatments. How? Become a participant in the MoodNetwork. Participants will also
    be contributing to the largest pool of data ever collected about mood disorders, which
    will lead to evaluating treatments and helping to set priorities for future research studies.
    With the goal of transforming the lives of nearly 54 million Americans affected by
    depression and bipolar disorder, the MoodNetwork is creating a community of patients,
    researchers, and clinicians. Participants will get involved in their own treatment as well
    as research for new treatments.
    Mood disorders are complex conditions, and effective treatments can offer people
    substantial improvements. But clinicians are unable to match patients to treatments, and
    more research is needed to create personalized care. MoodNetwork needs your
    experience and your help.

     Read our blog post about the benefits of joining the MoodNetwork.
      Join here.  
     
    More Steps to Reduce Anxiety and Regulate Mood
    Join a support group. Search for one here. Learn about other self-help groups at
    the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) website.
    Exercise regularly. Exercise can have a beneficial effect on anxiety, bipolar disorder,
    and depression because chemicals released during exercise have a stabilizing effect on
    mood. Set a goal of 30 minutes of activity three to five times a week: Jog, walk, bike, or
    dance.
    Get a good night’s sleep. Sleep deprivation is never beneficial. As noted above,
    insomnia can be a trigger for manic episodes. Learn more about anxiety and sleep
    disorders[LINK to new page].
    Avoid alcohol and drugs. Alcohol and drugs that have not been prescribed can
    aggravate anxiety, trigger panic attacks, and worsen episodes of mood disorders. Find out
    more about anxiety disorders and substance abuse.

    Helping Others
    The support of family and friends is important to the recovery process for anyone
    diagnosed with co-occurring anxiety and bipolar disorders. Taking these steps can help a
    loved one:
     Learn about the disorders.
     Recognize and praise small accomplishments.
     Modify expectations during stressful periods.

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     Measure progress on the basis of individual improvement, not against some
    absolute standard.
     Be flexible and try to maintain a normal routine.
     Keep track of symptoms. Loved ones may notice a change in behavior or
    symptoms before the person suffering from them does, and treatment modification
    based on these changes may help stave off a severe episode.
     Provide ongoing encouragement during the treatment process, and help your
    loved ones consistently take their medication and keep therapy appointments,
    particularly when they are not feeling well. Be aware that it may take awhile to find
    the best individual treatment plan.
     Make a clear plan for emergency situations should symptoms become severe or
    hospitalization become necessary.
     Keep in mind that the recovery process is stressful for family and friends. Try to
    build a support network of relatives, friends, and therapists, if necessary. 
    Helping Your Child
    Consult a mental health provider or physician as soon as possible if your child exhibits
    symptoms of an anxiety or bipolar disorder.

    Find out more information about helping your child, including suggestions to find the
    right mental health professional. The Balanced Mind Foundation website provides
    information about finding a therapist.
    NOTE: This information is not intended to provide a diagnosis or specific clinical advice
    to individuals about their psychiatric condition, nor to the family members or friends of
    individuals with psychiatric conditions. Anyone seeking to rule out or establish a
    diagnosis or anyone seeking immediate help for a psychiatric condition should contact a
    mental health professional. 

    Source:- https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/related-
    illnesses/bipolar-disorder-3

    Teaching Strategies For


    Children With Bipolar
    Disorder



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    Bipolar disorder is a condition that causes a child to suffer from severe mood changes
    and behavior.  Children will present different symptoms than adults with this condition,
    and their symptoms can often occur many times a day.  Due to the fact that these children
    have these sudden mood changes, are typically anxious and easily frustrated, there needs
    to be specific teaching strategies for children with bipolar disorder in place.

    There actually have been findings in recent studies that brains in children suffering from
    bipolar disorder differ biologically from other children.  The disorder affects learning in a
    variety of ways due to the symptoms of the condition, but also often because of the
    medications they are taking as well.

    The condition will cause problems with learning due to difficulties in paying attention,
    remembering information, inability to think critically, lack of problem solving skills,
    problems with eye hand coordination skills, impulsiveness, being easily distracted,
    feeling withdrawn and unmotivated – depending on the child”s mood at the time.

    Some of the most important teaching adaptations that must be implemented for children with
    bipolar disorder include:
    ·               Flexibility.  It is important to remember that these children will have difficulty in the
    more structured curriculum and lesson plans, so it will be necessary to adapt assignments
    and lessons to allow for their differences.
    ·               Tolerance and patience.  These traits will be extremely important for teaching the
    child with this condition.  Minor problems need to be overlooked and positive behavior needs
    to be properly recognized and praised.
    ·               Consistent schedules.  These children need to have schedules that are made up
    of many breaks to help them continue to focus and stay positive.
    ·               Few distractions.  Distractions can cause more disruptive behaviors and can
    seriously influence the child”s ability to focus.
    ·               Shorter assignments.  Focusing on the quality of the work they present is far
    more important than worrying about the quantity that they have completed.
    ·               Good communication between schools, parents and doctors.  It is important
    to keep the lines open and be ready to adapt and try different approaches for the child if
    something is not working.
    ·               Safe place.  Children suffering from bipolar disorder need at least one person and
    place that they can go when they begin to feel overwhelmed.  These children can very often
    be unsure with how to deal with the intensity of their emotions at times, and they need to
    know that there is a place that they can go when they begin to feel like they are out of
    control.
    Teaching strategies for children with bipolar disorder focus on helping the child to adapt and
    offering them room to have some control over their situations.  They will require a patient
    hand and an ability to adapt and try new approaches to help them learn and grow.

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    Read more: Teaching Strategies for Children with Bipolar
    Disorder https://www.healthstatus.com/health_blog/add-adhd-attention-deficit/teaching-
    strategies-for-children-with-bipolar-disorder/#ixzz4e9JkWNjs 
    #HealthStatus 
    Follow us: @glwHealthStatus on Twitter | healthstatuscom on Facebook

    Suggestions for Teaching a Bipolar Child


    For those teaching a child with bipolar disorder, it is often difficult to not only see, but understand, how
    the illness is affecting their lives.

    Children with bipolar disorder have many symptoms that can interfere with their ability to work:

     irritability
     impulsivity
     racing thoughts
     sudden mood changes
     distractibility
     intense energy or lack of energy
     difficulty with transitions
     difficulty with multi-step tasks

    Additionally, a child with bipolar disorder may experience symptoms from medication such as nausea,
    increased appetite, spacey feelings, headaches, and fatigue. Possible side effects of medications and
    symptoms of bipolar disorder are all things that those working with children with bipolar disorder
    should keep in mind when wondering why the child isn't working at what the teacher would consider a
    "normal" mode.

    Teachers and school staff should also keep in mind that children with bipolar disorder are extremely
    sensitive and often feel things much more intensely than their peers. They very much want to be
    accepted and just like everyone else - they expend a large amount of energy in just trying to be
    "normal" and keep things together as best they can.

    Frequently, children with bipolar disorder are unable to admit and communicate to teachers and school
    staff when they are getting frustrated, behind on work, don't understand something, or need help. It is
    important to continually monitor both their work and their progress. There may be times when it is

    533
    extremely difficult for the child to stay on task, absorb details, and complete their work.

    Teachers should always communicate with parents as soon as possible when a child with bipolar
    disorder is struggling with work or is getting out of control. What sometimes may appear to be a
    student who just doesn't want to do the work or is acting out, is often the sign of something much
    more serious in a child with bipolar disorder.

    SCHOOL PROGRAM MODIFICATIONS

    From the beginning, it is extremely important that effective lines of communication are developed and
    fostered between school personnel and parents. If a school-based counselor or psychologist who has an
    understanding of the illness is available, he or she can be an invaluable asset in explaining the impact
    and effects of the child's illness within the various areas of the academic setting.

    Teachers and school staff should also look to the parents who know their child best to discover what
    works or doesn't work with the child. Parents can also be an invaluable resource to teachers as they
    may have information that can be shared with teachers to help them better understand both childhood
    bipolar disorder and their child.

    There are several practical strategies that can be implemented. Recommendations can include some or
    all of the following, based upon the student's indivdual needs.

    1. REDUCED ACADEMIC LEVEL: Due to attention, cognitive, and memory-related issues, students
    often find advanced level courses too difficult. General level courses may be more appropriate. Some
    may feel that taking classes of a lower academic standing is undesirable, but what we want for these
    children is a successful outcome, which is even more important.
    2. TAILORED COURSES: Offering courses that focus on the strengths and interests of a child with
    bipolar disorder may be more appropriate than taking a general curriculum. It should be noted that
    courses, like math, that require a high level of concentration may be exceptionally difficult.
    3. REDUCED COURSE LOAD: Children with bipolar disorder often experience problems with fatigue
    and concentration. A reduced course load, or offering courses requiring higher amounts of
    concentration should be offered at times when the child is functioning at their highest level.
    Afternoons are typically periods where functioning and concentration are lower.
    4. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHERS: Teachers with a calm demeanor who provide structure but
    can maintain flexibility often work best with children with bipolar disorder. Teachers who are very
    detail-oriented or demanding may increase the anxiety level of the child. Careful matching of student
    to teacher is a very helpful strategy, but will require the cooperation of school administrators.
    5. TIME-OUTS: With the various medication side effects and symptoms of the illness experienced by
    children with bipolar disorder, students may need brief breaks or time-outs from the classroom.
    These should be set up in a structured or scheduled fashion in order to minimize disruption to
    classmates and limit attention to the child's difficulties.
    6. TIME EXTENSIONS: Additional time may be needed for timed tasks and test due to issues such as
    slower working/processing memory and medication-related writing difficulties like hand tremors.
    7. ORAL TESTS: Issues from hand tremors, fine motor skills, or thought expression and writing may
    require the presentation of content orally.
    8. INDIVIDUALIZED PROGRAMS/PROGRAM CHANGES: Allowing the student to work at his/her
    own pace can be very beneficial as well as providing flexibility in the evaluation process.

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    TECHNIQUES THAT CAN HELP STUDENTS WITH CHRONIC NEUROBIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS

    1. Keep the "I" in IEP (Individualized Education Plan). This means to individualize the IEP plan. As each
    child is unique and different, no IEP should be the same. Try and give the student activities and
    classes that he/she loves and enjoys. On the other hand, if the child has a strong dislike for
    something or it is difficult for them, try and avoid it.
    2. Linear progression from the student should not be expected. A severe chronic neurobiological
    disorder, like bipolar disorder, is a chronic, physical medical illness, which implies relapses and
    remissions. Be just as understanding of this student as you would one with other illnesses or
    diseases.
    3. Be flexible. If one method doesn't work, try something else. Keep trying until you find something
    that does work. Remember the same method will not work, even for the same child.
    4. Work with the student to help him/her manage symptoms of his/her illness and that he/she has
    some control.
    5. If the student is agitated, anxious, lethargic, paranoid, or otherwise suffering from symptoms of
    his/her illness, let him/her take some space or even lie down for a while.
    6. If the student is angry, talk to him/her in a non-judgmental way. Do not attempt to "find" reasons
    for why he/she is feeling this way. Do ask the child what they think might help.
    7. If, for whatever reason, the student is having a hard time focusing and doing his/her work well, try
    to make the task easier. Tell the student "do what you can" or " it is okay to work at your own pace".

    8. Arrange for regularly scheduled check-in times that coincide with the teacher's schedule. The
    scheduled check-in times can be for 5 every 1 to 2 hours or for 10 minutes twice per day, during
    which the student can talk to a designated, sympathetic adult who understands the nature of the
    student's illness. This person can listen and offer support and advice to the student as needed.

    Source:- http://www.bipolarchildsupport.com/teachingbipolarchild.html

    535
    Reduction in Number of Missing
    Children
    By Marlon Tingling May 1, 2015

    +
    Photo: Marlon TinglingRegistrar at the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR), Mr. Greig Smith.

    Story Highlights

     Registrar at the Office of the Children’s Registry, Mr. Greig Smith, said there was a 10 per

    cent reduction in the number of missing children in 2014.


     This reduction, Mr. Smith said, was achieved by the OCR working closely with a number of

    state agencies, including the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

     Comparing data for the first quarter of 2015 with the similar period for 2014, Mr. Smith said

    there has also been a reduction in the number of children being reported missing.

    Registrar at the Office of the Children’s Registry, Mr. Greig Smith, said there was a 10 per
    cent reduction in the number of missing children in 2014.

    This reduction, Mr. Smith said, was achieved by the OCR working closely with a number of
    state agencies, including the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

    536
    He was speaking on April 30 at a ceremony where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
    was signed between the OCR and the Savanna-la-Mar-based cable provider, Cabletron
    Network Systems, for the airing of Ananda Alerts on missing children.

    The function was held at the National Centre for Youth Development in Savanna-la-Mar,
    Westmoreland.

    “During 2014, some 1,984 children were reported missing, while a total of 2,205 were
    reported missing for the year 2013,” Mr. Smith informed.

    Comparing data for the first quarter of 2015 with the similar period for 2014, Mr. Smith said
    there has also been a reduction in the number of children being reported missing.

    “We are also making strides as indicated by preliminary data for the period January to March
    2015. When compared to that quarter of 2014 we would have seen 559 children for January
    to March 2014 being reported missing, compared to 505 for January to March 2015. We are
    hopeful that this trend will continue,” he said.

    Mr. Smith said since the OCR began operation on January 1, 2007, it has received reports of
    over 37,000 cases of child abuse.

    The OCR Head expressed the view that with some 26 children murdered since the start of
    the year, there could be a link between child abuse and reports of children going missing.

    “The data suggest that there ought to be a link between child abuse and missing children.
    There is also the suggestion that some children leave home because of disagreements with
    their parents,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Mr. Smith said the partnership between the OCR and Cabletron Network
    Systems will bolster the efforts being made to bring public attention to reports of children
    going missing.

    He noted that the OCR has been working with the Jamaica Library Service, Parish Councils,
    Post Offices and other Government and Non-Government entities to ensure that all reports
    of missing children get to the public.

    Source:- http://jis.gov.jm/reduction-number-missing-children/

    THE MYSTERY OF MISSING CHILDREN


    IN JAMAICA
    by | Jun 15, 2016 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

    The issue of missing children in Jamaica has been a topic of concern for the
    society. Children go missing in Jamaica every day. And it is reported that the
    number of females missing is far more than the number of males. Also, the
    children who go missing are usually between the ages of 12 to 17 years.

    537
    There are various factors that have caused the crisis of missing children in
    Jamaica. Jamaica faces many challenges such as human trafficking, sexual
    exploitation, child abuse, child labour, unemployment, crime, drug trade and
    much more. All these reasons are responsible for the problem Jamaica is
    facing.
    The key problem
    The root of all the reasons is one- human trafficking, which has been a major
    problem in Jamaica. Jamaica has been prominently involved in trafficking
    women and children, who are exploited as labourers or forced into
    prostitution.
    Many of the people who had become a prey of human trafficking knew their
    exploiters directly and had left home in search of opportunities. In other
    cases, children are kidnapped or lured by their captives. The future of these
    children often ends up in prostitution or forced labour.
    In extreme situations, these children have to go through forced marriages,
    work in unhealthy conditions, beg on the streets, or the worst, their organs
    are sold.
    Most of the girls trafficked are below 18 years of age. Their tender age and
    ignorance work in favour of their captives. These women are often lured by
    several job prospects which finally lead them into prostitution.
    Tourist-prostitution is another reason that has led to the increasing number
    of missing children in Jamaica.
    The problem within Jamaica
     One of the root reasons children go missing in Jamaica lies within the
    family. The issues of family conflict, mental illness, financial difficulties and
    peer pressure are of primary concern and need to be paid heed.
    Most Jamaican households face financial difficulties which lead to various
    problems within the household. Family conflicts often result in troublesome
    situations which may disturb people mentally and physically.
    In such a situation, people especially children leave their homes out of
    rebellion. These children, unaware of the cruelty of the world outside, land
    up in unfavourable places where they are abused as labourers and
    prostitutes.
     Another major issue of concern in Jamaica is sexual abuse. Jamaica has
    reported many cases where children as young as 18 months old were abused
    by family members or known persons.

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    The disturbing situation of child abuse within the family has been prevalent
    in the Jamaican society and has depressing consequences. It not only affects
    the mental health of the children but also results in various diseases.
    Children are often silenced and don’t know who to approach. They loose on
    their self-esteem and in many cases are led in the wrong direction. They run
    away from their homes to escape the society and often fall prey to the
    human traffickers who promise them a good life.
     Family breakdown and peer pressure are also influential in leading
    children in the wrong direction. It is difficult for single parents to deal with
    family issues and financial crisis. They often unknowingly neglect their
    children which lead them to enter into harmful situations.
    These children because of peer pressure and to fulfill their needs are
    influenced by the traffickers and kidnappers who lead them into dangerous
    circumstances.
    Working together to bring back our children
    The issue of missing children in Jamaica requires a high degree of attention.
    Other than giving counselling to families the society needs to be aware of the
    causes and consequences of children going missing.
    Various measures need to be taken to deal with the problem of missing
    children in Jamaica. Some of these are:
     Counselling: Families of missing children should be provided guidance
    and support to deal with the crisis. They should be given moral support and
    information on how they should proceed further to locate their children.
    Also, single parents should be given appropriate counselling on how they
    should manage their resources and provide their children with a safe
    environment.
     Increasing investigative resources: There should be a proper
    investigation in cases of missing children. Lawmakers should take this issue
    seriously and work towards it. Authorities must encourage people to report
    cases of abuse, missing children and other related crimes.
     Coordination between local and international agencies: The
    missing children can be trafficked to any part of the world. It is thus
    important for the local intelligence agencies to work in coordination with
    international agencies in tracking their children.

    539
    The government must support the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund
    for Victims of Trafficking in Persons as a step towards supporting the issue
    of missing children in Jamaica.
    The problem of missing children in Jamaica is heart-breaking and must be
    uprooted. To eradicate this evil in the society Hear the Children’s Cry has
    been working for over a decade to provide assistance and counselling to the
    families of missing children and to the missing children who have returned.
    It also started a Missing Children’s Support Programme in association with
    Jamaica Yellow Pages. The organization publishes photos and details of
    missing children on the site. Their aim is to provide support and
    encouragement to the children of Jamaica.
    FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pinterest

    Source:- http://www.hearthechildrencryja.com/2016/06/15/the-mystery-of-
    missing-children-in-jamaica/

    Child Month Fact – How Many


    Children Have Been Reported
    Missing?
    Posted on May 11, 2015 by  diGJamaica — 0 Comments
    0

    540
    Despite this alarming number, Jamaica is leading the region in sustainable mechanisms implemented
    to deal with the issue of missing children, according to Katia Dantas, policy director for Latin
    America and the Caribbean with the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

    Source:- http://digjamaica.com/blog/2015/05/11/child-month-fact-how-many-
    children-have-been-reported-missing/

    541
    Stress
    Everyone experiences stress and anxiety at one time or another. The difference between
    them is that stress is a response to a threat in a situation. Anxiety is a reaction to the
    stress.

    Whether in good times or bad, most people say that stress interferes at least moderately
    with their lives. Chronic stress can affect your health, causing symptoms from headaches,
    high blood pressure, and chest pain to heart palpitations, skin rashes, and loss of sleep.
    But you can learn how to reduce the impact of stress and manage your symptoms.

    Physical activity is a proven way to reduce stress. Regular participation in aerobic


    exercise has been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood,
    and improve sleep and self-esteem. Other effective methods include mind-body
    practices of breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation.
    Relaxation techniques have been used to assist in the treatment of phobias, panic
    disorder, and depression, as well as providing relief for people in stressful situations. Find
    out more about complementary and alternative medicine.
    Try these tips when you're feeling stressed or anxious.
    This fact sheet from the National Institute of Mental Health explains the different types of
    stress, the effect on your health, and how to manage it.

    https://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/related-illnesses/stress

    News
    60 children murdered, 99 shot and
    injured in past 16 months
    Monday, June 02, 2014     8 Comments

    542
    Penda Honeyghan reads to children from Craig Town, Kingston who are participating in
    mentorship programme managed by students of the AZ Preston Hall at University of the
    West Indies.

    Sixty children were murdered and 99 shot and injured by criminals between January 2013 and May 2014,
    according to the latest data from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Statistics Department.

    Police report that, in the last two months alone, seven children between the ages of 7seven and 17 years
    were murdered, while one was shot and injured.

    The Police High Command, in response to the brutal attacks has issued a call on all Jamaicans to redouble
    their efforts to safeguard the nation’s youth.

    The police said they were also concerned about the number of youths becoming involved in gun-related
    crimes, citing statistics to show that, for the period January 1, 2013 to May 25, 2014, some 44 children
    were charged with murder, 40 with shooting and 94 with breaches of the Firearms Act.

    “Police intelligence suggests that gangs continue to co-opt children in their criminal organisations to
    commit crimes," the Police High Command reported.

    "Children are routinely found to be armed with weapons of all kinds — knives, machetes, even cleverly
    made home-made firearms, which are believed to be supplied by criminal gangs," the police said.

    While the police continue to enforce the law and employ policing strategies to dissuade young people from
    a life of crime, parents, caregivers and communities were being urged to care for children and to seek the

    543
    assistance of the police, the Child Development Agency, or other appropriate authorities where necessary.
    The Plolice also urged citizens to report any abuse of children or their involvement in crimes.

    "Children are too precious a resource for well-thinking Jamaicans to stand by and do nothing to help them.
    Now more than ever, Jamaicans must unite for change; it is our civic duty to care for and protect our
    children," the police said.

    — Kimmo Matthews

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/60-children-murdered--99-shot-and-
    injured-in-past-16-months

    Gunmen murder two children, man in


    Hanover
    BY HORACE HINES Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com

    Friday, January 20, 2017     131 Comments

    A resident cries on Thursday after two children and a man were killed Wednesday night
    when gunmen invaded the community of Williamsfield in Hanover. Photos: Philp
    Lemonte 

    WILLIAMSFIELD, Hanover — Two children and a man were Wednesday night shot dead in
    seemingly connected incidents when heavily armed men invaded this rustic

    community, leaving a trail of grief and horror in their wake.

    The deceased have been identified as Hopeton Lee, 34; five-year-old Kimani Johnson and one-
    year-old Daquan Davidson, all of Williamsfield in Dias, Hanover.

    The Hanover police reported that the armed thugs shot and killed Lee about 11:05 pm after
    gaining entry to his house by kicking open a door.

    The assailants’ rampage did not stop there as they later went to a board house, about half-mile
    away, and peppered the building with bullets.

    544
    After the shooting subsided, the two children, along with three others, were discovered with
    multiple gunshot wounds.

    They were rushed to a hospital, where Kimani and Daquan were pronounced dead and the others
    admitted in serious condition.

    The police believe that the killings were linked to the murder of a woman in the community last
    November.

    The cops theorise that Lee might have been killed because he had witnessed that killing, despite
    later declining to participate in an identification parade.

    “What we theorise is that there is a correlation with that (last year’s incident). Lee was a witness
    to a murder and when the person was taken into custody, he backed out to say he was a
    Christian now,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Ainsley McCarthy told reporters.

    “If you witness a murder, come forward because backing out does not mean that you will be
    spared,” he added. “Because here it is that he backed out of the identification parade and he
    ended up dead, and we are theorising that it is from the same incident that he was killed.”

    Lee was said to have been a close friend of the occupants of the house where the second
    shooting occurred.

    At the same time, DSP McCarthy disclosed that the police had kept a close eye on the once-
    peaceful community after residents became petrified following a second murder in December, last
    year.

    “There was a second murder in December and the citizens showed some sort of fear, so the
    police were here with them. Over the weekend we had a special bike patrol in the area because
    of the terrain,” DSP McCarthy said.

    Yesterday, residents of the community said they were in fear. Both houses where the shootings
    occurred were empty.

    Member of Parliament for Hanover Western Ian Hayles wept openly upon visiting the vacant,
    bullet-riddled house where the two children were killed.

    “You ask them (children) to say a prayer at nights and go to bed. You ask God to keep them safe
    and ensure that they wake up and they can go to school today. Those kids can’t go to school
    today (yesterday), because they are at a morgue and they are at a morgue because someone
    went and sprayed their house with over 30 bullets,” the parliamentarian lamented.

    “It is a single mother with two kids; no man live in the house. And if you see how the bullets were
    sprayed on to the house. They sprayed from top to bottom. Even if the kids went under the bed,
    they still would have lost their lives,” he added.

    Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Youth and Information Floyd Green also expressed
    dismay and anger following the killing of the two children.

    “Today is another sad day in the history of our country; these wanton, callous and senseless acts
    of violence against our children must be brought to an end,” Green was quoted in a news release
    from the ministry. “As a society we cannot sit back and allow this to be the new norm...

    545
    “Someone knows who committed this act and must give the information to the police; these
    villains must have nowhere to hide,” Minister Green said.

    Minister Green also said that a team from the Child Development Agency was on the scene
    yesterday working with the other children in the family.

    The residents, whose faces were etched with grief, were tight-lipped about the incident and
    requested that their pictures not be taken, telling the

    Jamaica Observer that they feared for their lives.

    One elderly man, who said he heard the explosions Wednesday night, claimed he will not cower
    and run away from the community.

    “Mi born here and them have to kill me right here because I am not leaving,” the elderly man
    stated. “Me can always dead now.”

    In the meantime, Hayles is calling on the Police High Command to beef up police presence in the
    area and upgrade the fleet of motor vehicles in the Hanover Police Division.

    “Hanover was promised some vehicles from last year. We are yet to receive those vehicles from
    the Ministry of National Security. We need more resources, in terms of boots on the ground. If
    you look at the number of police officers in Hanover, it has been dwindling without any
    replacement,” Hayles said.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Gunmen-murder-two-children--man-in-
    Hanover-_87058

    Understanding Dissociative
    Identity Disorder in Children
    Signs and symptoms of DID in children
    Posted Dec 27, 2013

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    Source:

    Leigh was four years old the first time she came to therapy. Her father and step-
    mother thought she should see a therapist because Leigh had recently begun
    complaining about nightmares and ear pain (with no physical origin) and had
    become very clingy. Leigh’s behaviour varied a lot from session to session, she
    was sometimes aggressive, kicking and cursing at the therapist, insisting her
    name was Melissa, and at other times Leigh sat quietly, as if in her own world.

    During one particular session Leigh had an aggressive tantrum, where she threw
    a vase at the therapist and ran out of the room. When she came back, quiet
    and shy, she asked the therapist what happened to her arm and could not
    remember what had just transpired. After a few months of therapy, the clinician
    discovered that Leigh had resumed contact with her biological mother, who had
    abandoned her at the age of two, and whenever she went to visit her biological

    547
    mother’s home, her step-father’s nine year-old son secretly sexually abused her.
    Soon, Leigh was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder.

    The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation characterizes
    Dissociative Identity Disorders (DID; previously known as Multiple Personality
    Disorder) by the presence of more than one distinct identity or personality, each
    of which takes control of the person’s behaviour at different times. There is a
    striking inability to recall important personal information. Each personality state
    can have a distinct name, past, identity, age, and even various abilities and
    disabilities. Most of us are familiar with DID in adults, as depicted in film or TV.
    However, DID can also be seen in children since the disorder usually starts early
    due to severe neglect, abuse or trauma that occurred in childhood.

    Psychiatrist Frank Putnam, National Institute of Mental Health, supports this view


    of the disorder’s etiology. Young children faced with severe sexual or physical
    abuse or neglect, have no effective way of fighting or avoiding the offender. To
    escape the painful reality, the only tool available during the abusive incident is
    that of dissociation. Separating mind from physical experience provides a sense
    of protection. In addition, dissociation interferes with the process of memory
    encoding, so that sometimes there is little or no memory of the traumatic event.

    Although dissociation may help children cope with maltreatment in the short run,
    it can become problematic. Some traumatized children use dissociation to cope
    with stress in a wide variety of settings, including the classroom, playground, and
    at home. Frequent dissociation of memories, emotions, and thoughts interferes
    with normal functioning and results in socialization problems.

    Accurately diagnosing children with DID can be a challenge. And often, children
    are misdiagnosed with more common mental illnesses such
    as depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, leading to incorrect
    treatment.

    Jeffrey Haugaard, a professor of human development at Cornell University


    outlines some symptoms in children with DID. Common signs are frequent
    trance-like states (“spacing out” or daydreaming), as well as the child reporting

    548
    that people often become angry or upset with them for unknown reasons. Or, the
    child shows dramatic changes in preferences, such as food, games, or clothes,
    as well as changes in language, accent, or even voice or handwriting style. The
    child may experience recurrent periods of amnesia or missing blocks of time,
    such as having no memory of the previous day, which may include denying
    behaviours that others have personally witnessed the child do. These could be
    negative behaviors, but may also include behaviours that the child would appear
    to have little motivation to deny. Additional common signs in children with DID
    are having an imaginary friend well into school-age, as well as unprovoked rages
    and violent behaviour that may seem to come out of nowhere.

    Lise McLewin, a psychologist practicing in Victoria, British Columbia suggests a


    few differences between the imaginary play of typically developing children and
    those with DID. Children with DID are much more likely to develop imaginary
    friends at a younger age (two or three years old), and often have more of them.
    These friends seem very real to the child with a great deal of reality confusion
    and persistent impersonation. The imaginary friend does not always “act” in the
    best interest of the child. And, the child may be truly unable to remember
    misbehaviours, blaming it on the imaginary friend.

    Typically developing children better appreciate the difference between real and
    pretend, and that their imaginary friends are not real. They also tend to
    discontinue this kind of play by the age of ten.

    Individuals with DID are treated mostly with psychotherapy. Nonverbal forms of


    psychotherapy such as hypnosis, art, and play therapy are also common
    because they help the patient express the trauma when it is too difficult to
    express verbally. Children with DID are easier to treat than adults and have
    higher recovery rates, so it is important to bring to the attention of healthcare
    professionals and parents the signs of this disorder so that it can be treated early
    on.

     Contributing Writer: Noga Lutzky Cohen, The Trauma & Mental Health Report

    -- Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma & Mental Health Report

     Copyright Robert T. Muller

    Source:- https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-about-
    trauma/201312/understanding-dissociative-identity-disorder-in-children

    549
    4 Truths About Children Showing
    Signs of “Multiple Personality
    Disorder”
    By Támara Hill, MS, LPC 
    ~ 9 min read

    Photo by apdk

    At what age did you (or someone you know) have an imaginary friend as a child? Were you
    able to “see” this imaginary friend and hear his or her voice? At what age did this imaginary
    world begin and end? For many adults, a child’s imaginary friends and world are the epitome
    of a great early childhood experience. It’s a normalized part of childhood development. In
    fact, it’s a normal part of development throughout the lifespan. Most parents become greatly
    concerned if their child doesn’t have a fantasy world at some point during the early years.
    Even more, many of us adults enjoy the fantasy world of Walt Disney World and Disney
    Land fictional characters. Some of us would spend our entire paycheck just to see Mickey
    and Minnie Mouse! But we know that these fictional characters are just that, they’re fictional.
    For children who are showing signs and symptoms of something more severe such as a
    psychotic disorder, the fantasy world is not a fantasy, but a very real part of their lives. This
    article will explore and discuss dissociative symptoms and psychotic symptoms that could
    eventually become “multiple personality disorder” (or as it is referred to today Dissociative
    Identity Disorder – DID). In the questions and answers section, I would love to hear your
    thoughts on whether or not you believe the disorder of multiple personality disorder or DID
    actually exists. It continues to be very controversial.

    550
    It is important to mention at the start of this article that multiple personality disorder is not a
    common diagnosis in children. In fact, there is very little to no literature that explores the
    diagnosis of multiple personality disorder in children or teens. Most clinical studies have
    involved adults who had very traumatizing childhoods. However, there are research studies
    focusing on childhood symptoms such as dissociation that can eventually become a multiple
    personality disorder in adulthood. Multiple personality disorder is a very controversial
    diagnosis and it has been since its birth in the 3rd edition of the DSM which was around
    1980. It wasn’t until 1994 that multiple personality disorder was changed to DID –
    Dissociative Identity Disorder. This title change not only de-stigmatizes the so-called
    illness but also captures the essence of the disorder’s main characteristic, which is the
    dissociative symptoms that removes the person from reality. Dissociation has been defined
    as a separation from reality or an unconsciousness that disrupts memory, identity, or sense of
    self for a temporary period of time. It is a more severe and complicated form of daydreaming
    and tends to occur under stress, fear, a history of severe abuse and trauma, or anxiety. For
    many people, dissociation occurs on a spectrum in which there are mild forms and severe
    forms requiring medication and therapy. In some severe and rare cases, hospitalization or
    placement is required. As I have explained in previous articles on this topic, some cultures
    refer to dissociation as a “possession” or a “possession trance.” Possession trance is a term
    more frequently used in Asia and India and refers to a transient alteration whereby one’s
    normal identification is replaced by a spirit, ghost, or other similar entity. This view of
    dissociation is culture-bound but can offer a great deal of insight into what some people feel
    they actually experience.
    For the purposes of keeping this subject simple and to the point, I will use the former term
    multiple personality disorder throughout this article. It is very difficult for many of us to
    imagine what a multiple personality disorder could look like. We don’t typically see
    examples of this in daily life and many psychiatrists and other mental health professionals
    stray away from discussing this topic, diagnosing the disorder, or educating the public about
    it. It’s highly controversial, research is lacking for certain populations such as children and
    teens, and many mental health professionals have not been trained to treat it or provide
    education on it. Sadly, society has been left to learn about the diagnosis through television or
    movies which tend to sensationalize the illness. However, some professionals have had the
    rare experience of having a client who exhibits traits of multiple personality disorder (or
    DID) which makes identification of similar clients a bit easier. Such an experience occurred
    in my agency some years ago. I was assigned a case of a child who had experienced a
    significant amount of trauma while growing up in an orphanage in Russia. The child was
    brought to my agency for behavioral problems in the home, school, and community.

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    Behavioral problems were severe and often included extreme outbursts toward family and
    friends, refusal to complete schoolwork, and oppositional behaviors. Tantrums were severe,
    behaviors were threatening, and verbal aggression became increasingly more difficult over
    time. But what really stood out about this client was that his so called “bad self” was named
    “Billy.” “Billy” was the child who would grab knives from the kitchen at night to kill his
    mother, he was the child who would refuse to do schoolwork because he was powerful
    enough not to receive consequences, and who would hurl so many insults and curse words
    that one bar of soap wouldn’t stop it. “Billy” would mysteriously appear during restraints in
    the agency, during moments where this child would not listen to staff or comply with rules or
    routine. “Billy” was also the child who would refuse to have individual and family sessions
    because ‘ “Billy” only had so many hours he would be here with me.’ My client identified
    himself so much with this other person that other therapists in the agency began to refer to
    “Billy” as an alter ego, a different version of the child or the opposite side of his personality.
    But the truth was that this “Billy” person did not appear to be an alter ego of some kind but
    rather a a highly entwined component of my client’s overall identity. An alter ego is basically
    a personality that might reflect opposite behaviors, desires, or emotions than your true
    personality. Sometimes we will dress according to the way in which we believe our alter ego
    would have us dress. For example, you might dress very conservatively during the workweek
    and dress very down during the weekend. Your work attire might reflect a clam, laid back
    business person. But your weekend attire might reflect a 90s pop style or very much like me,
    you might enjoy wearing your converse shoes, curly hair, and hip jeans to the grocery story.
    An alter ego is another aspect of your steady personality. It is not psychotic, it is not
    abnormal.

    An individual with a multiple personality disorder can be difficult to understand because the
    “different personality” causes noticeable changes in attitude, dressing style, language, writing
    style, memory, and even tone of voice. The above client would sometimes report to therapy
    with a very confident and arrogant attitude one week and return the next week very irritable
    and self-conscious. This child did not exhibit a different tone of voice, accent, or attitude, but
    called on “Billy” when he felt trapped, unsafe, challenged, or afraid. Once “Billy” would
    appear, my client would appear extremely intuitive, calm, and in control. At times, staff
    would have to restrain him as “Billy” would become violent and challenging. Once the
    incident of being restrained was over, the child would “forget” everything and report that he
    was “gone for a little bit so Billy could take over and protect me.” His adoptive parents
    thought that he had an imaginary friend that he fantasized as his rescuer. But when this idea
    fell to the ground, they then began to think that perhaps Billy was an excuse for negative

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    behaviors and a way to control others. After 90 days of observing this child, I began to
    suspect that “Billy” was actually a component of the client’s self that is stronger and less
    afraid than he himself. During the extreme trauma of his early childhood years, he had no
    way of escape but to dissociate from the fear, the pain, the trauma. His “dissociation” created
    a “stronger self” that exited at opportune times to protect his fragile inner-self. Whether this
    was a true “DID” remains to be seen, but he certainly created “two selves” to cope with his
    trauma.

    For many people, including mental health professionals, the idea of multiple personality
    disorder is not only complicated but hard to believe. Even as a professional, I wrestle with
    questions of my own such as “why doesn’t most people who experience severe trauma
    exhibit this pattern of behavior? or “why do we see this pattern of behavior in adults and not
    children as much?” or “why have we stayed away from diagnosing children with DID (even
    when they exhibit symptoms that are very similar) if we believe the disorder truly exists? Of
    course, I am not the only professional in this field who asks these questions. You must
    understand that mental health professionals are always in search of answers to life’s most
    complicated situations. But reality is that we don’t always have the answers and if we do find
    what appears to be the answer, we can guarantee that there are more questions to be
    answered. It’s a very complex dichotomy. Even clergymen and theologians struggles to find
    answers to this “diagnosis.” For many laypeople, the diagnosis does not exist. There are so
    many opinions and views on this single diagnosis.

    After having worked with a few children who exhibit very similar behaviors to DID, I found
    specific ways to challenge myself to identify what could possibly be going on. There are
    4 signs that a child could possibly be exhibiting signs of severe dissociation. You want to
    remember that:
    1. It is not schizophrenia: Dissociative symptoms can look very much like
    schizophrenia or some kind of psychotic disorder. Some parents have asked me what
    the differences are due to the behavior appearing “psychotic” and very similar. I
    agree. But the difference is that dissociation is a split-off from reality into another
    realm of existence that can often be accompanied by a change in appearance, tone of
    voice, writing style, or attitude and behavior. A hallucination is a perception of
    something that is not present such as a figure or voice. For example, a visual
    hallucination is the perception of a figure or person or “ghost” that others cannot see.
    An auditory hallucination is hearing things others cannot see. Dissociation is a
    splitting off from reality (a severe form of daydreaming or zoning out).

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    2. It is not a delusion: A delusion is a false belief held to be true despite evidence to
    the contrary. It is a belief that something is truly happening that is not happening. For
    example, a delusional belief could be that you will one day marry your favorite
    celebrity and that he/she has been sending you signals through their movies or music
    that you are their chosen one. You might go so far as to try to track this celebrity
    down or send he/she letters. Despite being arrested, having a PFA put on you, or
    being told by family and friends that you need psychiatric treatment, you believe you
    will one day be married. Severe dissociation can result in false beliefs but again, a
    delusion is not dissociation.
    3. It is not a state that someone can “snap out of”: For those of us who don’t fully
    understand dissociative symptoms, it can be very frustrating to live with this person
    or even provide therapy. It’s as if you are trying to provide therapy to or live with a
    totally different person. Some parents, like the parents above in the example case,
    yell “snap out of it would you?” to their children on a daily basis. But the reality is
    that this state of existence is not one that someone can just snap out of. It is a part of
    who they are. It’s their reality.
    4. It could be a good excuse for negative behaviors: Some kids, primarily those who
    are developing sociopathic or antisocial traits, are very good at manipulating
    situations for their benefit. Manipulation might include trying to convince others that
    they are “crazy” or not able to function appropriately or understand expectations.
    Some highly resistant children come to therapy and sit there, staring at everyone.
    Some kids are asked questions about their severe behaviors and kids often respond
    “what?” “What did you say, I didn’t hear you.” These kids often have a noticeable
    “blank stare” on their faces or you often feel as if you are not being listened to. This
    is not dissociation. It’s resistance.
     

    It’s important to understand that self-diagnosis will never help you understand symptoms, but
    seeking professional input will. Because diagnosing someone can take weeks to months to
    years and require multiple tests, it’s truly difficult to compare symptoms online or take online
    tests to get answers. It’s best to seek out someone who has experience with DID or
    dissociation and ask for a consultation or meeting to discuss concerns. In many cases, you
    will have to do your own research and search for people who understand the specific
    symptoms you are observing (in yourself or someone else). Self-knowledge is extremely
    important and I encourage you to educate yourself, your family, and even the sufferer.
     

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    Do you know someone, possibly a child, who could have symptoms of multiple personality
    disorder? Why do you think multiple personality could be the diagnosis? Do you even
    believe this is a true diagnosis?

    As always, I wish you well

    Please share with your friends:

    About Támara Hill, MS, LPC

    Támara Hill, MS, LPC, is a licensed therapist and certified trauma professional who specializes in working with

    children and adolescents who suffer from mood disorders, trauma, and disruptive behavioral disorders. Hill strives to

    help clients to realize and actualize their strengths in their home environments and in their relationships within the

    community. She credits her career passion to a “divine calling” and is internationally recognized for corresponding

    literary works as well as appearances on radio and other media platforms. She is an author, family consultant, and

    founder of Anchored in Knowledge.com. Visit her at Anchored-In-Knowledge or Twitter.


    APA Reference 
    Hill, T. (2015). 4 Truths About Children Showing Signs of “Multiple Personality Disorder”. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 13, 2017, from
    https://blogs.psychcentral.com/caregivers/2015/04/4-truths-about-children-showing-signs-of-did/
    Last updated: 2 May 2015
    Views expressed are those solely of the writer and have not been reviewed. 
    Originally published on PsychCentral.com on 29 Apr 2015. All rights reserved.
     

    Source:- https://blogs.psychcentral.com/caregivers/2015/04/4-truths-about-children-
    showing-signs-of-did/

    The Differences Between Bipolar


    Disorder, Schizophrenia and
    Multiple Personality Disorder
    By John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
    ~ 5 min read

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    Pages: 1 2All
    Sometimes people confuse three mental disorders, only one of which could be referred to as
    “common” within the population — bipolar disorder (also known as manic-
    depression), schizophrenia, and multiple personality disorder (also known by its clinical
    name, dissociative identity disorder). This confusion has largely resulted from the common
    use of some of these names in popular media, and as short-hand by people referring to
    someone who is grappling with a mental health issue. The disorders, however, have little in
    common other than the fact that many who have them are still stigmatized by society.
    Bipolar Disorder
    Bipolar disorder is a fairly common mental disorder compared with the other two disorders.
    Bipolar disorder is also well-understood and readily treated by a combination of medications
    and psychotherapy. It is characterized by alternating moods of mania and depression, both of
    which usually last weeks or even months in most people who have the disorder. People who
    are manic have a high energy level and often irrational beliefs about the amount of work they
    can accomplish in a short amount of time. They sometimes take on a million different
    projects at once and finish none of them. Some people with mania talk at a faster rate and
    seem to the people around them to be constantly in motion.
    After a manic mood, a person with bipolar disorder will often “crash” into
    a depressive mood, which is characterized by sadness, lethargy, and by a feeling that there’s
    not much point in doing anything. Problems with sleep occur during both types of mood.
    Bipolar disorder affects both men and women equally and can be first diagnosed throughout a
    person’s life.
    Bipolar disorder can be challenging to treat because, while a person will take
    an antidepressant medication to help alleviate a depressed mood, they are less likely to
    remain on the medications which help reign in the manic mood. Those medications tend to
    make a person feel “like a zombie” or “emotionless,” which are feelings most people
    wouldn’t want to experience. So many people with bipolar disorder find it difficult to
    maintain treatment while in their manic phase. However, most people with bipolar disorder
    function relatively well in normal society and manage to cope with their mood swings, even
    if they don’t always keep on their prescribed medications.
    For more information about bipolar disorder, please see our Bipolar Guide.
    Schizophrenia
    Schizophrenia is less common than bipolar disorder and is usually first diagnosed in a
    person’s late teens or early to late 20’s. More men than women receive a diagnosis of

    556
    schizophrenia, which is characterized by having both hallucinations and delusions.
    Hallucinations are seeing or hearing things that aren’t there. Delusions are the belief in
    something that isn’t true. People who have delusions will continue with their delusions even
    when shown evidence that contradicts the delusion. That’s because, like hallucinations,
    delusions are “irrational” — the opposite of logic and reason. Since reason doesn’t apply to
    someone who has a schizophrenic delusion, arguing with it logically gets a person nowhere.

    Schizophrenia is also challenging to treat mainly because people with this disorder don’t
    function as well in society and have difficulty maintaining the treatment regimen. Such
    treatment usually involves medications and psychotherapy, but can also involve a day
    program for people who have more severe or treatment-resistant forms of the disorder.

    Because of the nature of the symptoms of schizophrenia, people with this disorder often find
    it difficult to interact with others, and conduct normal life activities, such as holding down a
    job. Many people with schizophrenia go off of treatment (sometimes, for instance, because a
    hallucination may tell them to do so), and end up homeless.

    For more information about Schizophrenia, please see our Schizophrenia Guide.


    Multiple Personality Disorder (Dissociative Identity Disorder)
    This disorder used to be known as multiple personality disorder (and is still commonly
    referred to as such in the media), but is now known by its newer clinical name, dissociative
    identity disorder (DID). DID is characterized by a set of one or more distinct identities that a
    person believes to exist within themselves. These identities can talk to the person, and the
    person can answer back. The identities often are formed to help a person cope with different
    parts of their life, and seem to have distinct personalities that are unique and different than
    the person’s core personality.

    Sometimes, people with DID will lose track of time or will be unable to account for blocks of
    time during their day. This occurs when one of the identities within the person takes control
    of the individual and engages in behaviors that the core personality would otherwise not
    engage in. For instance, the person with DID may be unable to be assertive in a situation with
    her boss, so the assertive identity takes over for the important meeting to ensure the
    individual is assertive.

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    Dissociative identity disorder is not commonly diagnosed within the population, and is not
    well understood by mental health professionals and researchers. Treatment typically involves
    psychotherapy to help integrate all of the identities into the core personality and can take
    years when successful.

    For more information about Multiple Personality Disorders, please see our Multiple
    Personality Disorder Guide.
    Contrasting the Three Very Different Disorders
    People with bipolar disorder usually can lead fairly “normal” lives, hold down a regular job,
    have a happy relationship and family, even be very successful in a career. People with bipolar
    disorder do not hear voices that aren’t there, and they do not have multiple personalities in
    their bodies. People with bipolar disorder do best when they stick to some treatment regimen.

    Many people with schizophrenia often have a more difficult time functioning in normal
    society. Because of the nature of the disorder, people with schizophrenia often have a hard
    time staying in treatment, and an even harder time with social relationships, family, friends,
    and work. Still one of the most stigmatized disorders in mental health, help in many
    communities can be hard to come by and many people with schizophrenia end up homeless
    and forgotten by their family and society.

    People with schizophrenia who have strong community and family support and resources do
    well, and can lead happy, healthy, fulfilling lives, with rewarding family and social
    relationships. People with schizophrenia can be depressed or manic, but it is usually as a
    result of the schizophrenia itself (e.g. they are depressed because they have schizophrenia). If
    a person hears voices (not all people with schizophrenia do), they do not recognize the voices
    as being a part of themselves.

    People with multiple personality disorder, or dissociative identity disorder (DID), can often
    lead successful, “normal” lives with healthy, happy relationships with others. While, like
    people with schizophrenia, they can “hear voices” in their head, the voices are recognized by
    the person as different identities within themselves (not as external voices from outside
    themselves). Such identities may help the person function in life, and may allow the person to
    live their lives with only disruption. Others with DID have a more difficult time, because the
    identities take over parts of their life, making accounting for time throughout the day
    challenging and frustrating. While a person may become depressed with DID, it is secondary

    558
    to the DID symptoms themselves (e.g., the person is depressed because they are trying to
    cope with their DID).

    People seem to most often confuse someone who is suffering from schizophrenia with
    someone who has dissociative identity disorder. While both are chronic, serious mental
    health concerns, the differences between these two disorders are stark. People with
    schizophrenia hear or see things that aren’t there and believe things that aren’t true, often tied
    into a complex, irrational belief system. They do not have multiple identities or personalities.
    People with DID do not have delusion beliefs, outside of their multiple personalities or
    identities. The only voices they hear or talk to are these identities.

    Source:- https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-differences-between-bipolar-disorder-
    schizophrenia-and-multiple-personality-disorder/2/

    Teaching and Understanding Students with


    Schizophrenia
    Copyright 2006 by mgscmwa
    Schizophrenia Definition
    Schizophrenia is a mental disorder or illness that affects as many of 2 million
    Americans each year. It is a mental disorder that cannot be cured and can
    have severe and even disabling symptoms that can affect individuals their
    entire lives. Many people estimate that as many as one percent of the world
    population is affected by schizophrenia. Many believe that the disorder can
    effect men and women equally; but most would agree that men are often
    effected at earlier ages and often more severely than women. (Grohol, n.d.).
    Some others think that the numbers of people affected by Schizophrenia are
    closer to nearly 1 in every 100 people, as does Professor John McGrath of
    Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research. There is a strong believe by
    some that schizophrenia does occur more often in males than it does in
    females and that in different areas of the world the numbers of cases of
    schizophrenia differ. (Prevalence of, 2005). The only thing that the
    professional seem to agree fully on is that that is no clear cause for this
    disorder. 

    Symptoms
    As is true with most mental illnesses or disorders, symptoms do not always
    fit exactly and can actually represent a variety of illnesses and disorders; so
    it is very important to rule out all possible physical problems and ailments
    before considering schizophrenia as a diagnosis. Also it is worth noting that
    many mental illnesses and disorders share common symptoms, and
    schizophrenia is no different in this respect. There are several symptoms

    559
    associated with Schizophrenia. 
    * Distorted perceptions of Reality. Because schizophrenics live an existence
    that includes delusions and hallucinations, they often have a much skewed
    view of reality. They often find themselves living in their own world or
    reality. 
    * Hallucinations and Illusions. Hallucinations and illusions are very common
    for people suffering from schizophrenia. Hallucinations can occur by use of
    any sense perception, but auditory (hearing voices) is the most common for
    of hallucination for schizophrenics. These voices can talk to the
    schizophrenic, advice them, carry on regular conversations with them, and
    direct them to do certain things. An Illusions is a real sensory stimulus, but
    one that the schizophrenic individual interrupts wrongly. 
    * Delusions. A delusion is considered a false belief that has no rational basis.
    A person with schizophrenia may have feeling of being persecuted or spied
    upon. 
    * Disordered thinking. The schizophrenic is often not able to think clearly or
    "think straight". 
    * Emotional Expression. Those suffering from schizophrenia often show little
    to no emotion and even go as far as changing their speech patterns to
    expression filled speech to a monotone flat speech. 
    * Normal versus Abnormal degrees. Though everyone that is considered
    normal may exhibit some of the symptoms listed above some of the time;
    schizophrenics exhibits at least 2 or more of the symptoms in a more chronic
    or persistent manner. (Grohol, n.d.)

    Types of Schizophrenia
    There different types of sub-categories of schizophrenia. All of the sub-
    categories of schizophrenia are defined and recognized by their main
    characteristic or symptoms. 
    * Paranoid Schizophrenia. The main symptoms that are exhibited in this sub-
    category are feeling of persecution or conspiracy and auditory hallucinations. 
    * Disorganized Subtype. This sub-category is characterized with severe
    inability to organize and arrange daily living activities such as bathing,
    dressing, and eating. Hallucinations and delusions are usually less seen in
    this sub-category. 
    * Catatonic Subtype. This sub-category is one of the most severe degrees of
    schizophrenia. An example of the sub-category might be a person lying in the
    fatal position and able to respond to any stimulus. This state of schizophrenia
    can also include repetitive and meaningless sounds and movements though.
    In other words, the person can be void of any real communication but still
    make mimicking sounds or movements mocking those people around. 
    * Undifferentiated subtype. This sub-category is used for individuals with a
    diagnosis of schizophrenia, but that do not fit clearly into one of the other
    sub-categories. It is a sort of "catch all" sub-category. 
    * Residual subtype. This sub-category refers to individuals with a
    schizophrenic diagnosis, but that are not currently exhibiting any of the

    560
    severe symptoms associated with the illness. These could be persons on
    medication or persons with a period of a type of remission or rather absence
    of the more severe symptoms. (Bengtson, 2001).

    Treatment
    As with most mental illnesses and disorders, schizophrenics benefit from a
    variety of treatments and medications. There seems to be two main issues to
    first address when caring for someone with schizophrenia and those are;
    make sure the person is taking their medication regularly and try to provide
    a safe and secure home environment. Those are just the beginning steps and
    there are more specific treatments that are available. 

    In all cases of schizophrenia, antipsychotic medications are almost always


    utilized. Some of the older medications have been available since the 1950's.
    These drugs; Thorazine, Haldol, Prolixin, Navane, and others were referred to
    as "neuroleptics" because they caused neurological side effects and had little
    effect on the emotional expressiveness of the patients. Since 1989 a new
    series of medications have been introduced including; Clozaril, Risperdal,
    Zyprexa, Abilify, and some others. These medication generally take two to
    four weeks to really take effect and have fewer side effects neurologically,
    but they all do still have some and varied side effects. It may take time to
    adjust the medication to obtain the correct dosage for each individual. One
    major draw back to these new medications is that failure to use them or
    irregular use can cause the schizophrenic individual to relapse more quickly.
    Still with all of the side effects and problems, antipsychotic medications are
    required for most schizophrenic patients. 

    Schizophrenics often have problems with daily living skills, relationships,


    communication skills and motivation. For these reasons it is almost
    imperative that schizophrenics get some type of psychosocial assistance.
    Sessions with psychologists or psychiatrists are very important to these
    patients' social growth. This is even more so important since the majority of
    cases begin at the early teen ages when social growth is so important. Family
    counseling with the patient in a group setting is also important. Between
    medications and proper counseling, most schizophrenics are able to live near
    normal lives. (Schizophrenia, 2006). 

    Educating Individuals with Schizophrenia


    To this point we have discussed what people diagnosed with schizophrenia
    can do to help themselves, and even what family and relations can do to
    help; but there is still the issue of how to educate these individuals in our
    classrooms. There are several good suggestions as to how educators can
    address the problems faced with teaching students with schizophrenia. The
    first and foremost important issue for the educator placed in this position is
    to be well educated about the illness. Be ware of available treatments,
    causes, and symptoms so that you can discuss intelligently with parents or
    students issues concerning education. Reduce stress in the room as much as
    possible. Work with the student with schizophrenia to help them set realistic

    561
    academic and social goals. Establish regular meetings with the family or
    student to discuss issues, problems, or successes. As much as possible,
    encourage participation and interaction between the student with the illness
    and other students. (Basic facts, 2001). 

    Accommodations and Modifications


    With many disorders, disabilities, and illnesses there can be a variety of
    problems and learning problems associated with the person. Many
    schizophrenics can have learning disabilities in connection with their mental
    disorders. Addressing accommodations and modifications for individuals with
    schizophrenia is as individual as each person. There are many
    accommodations that can be used to make the schizophrenic's academic
    experience a positive one. 

    Stress seems to be one thing that can worsen the schizophrenic's chances for
    success. Relieving stress from the environment is one thing that should be
    used. Allowing the student to have a quiet secluded place to complete
    assignments and tests is one way to provide the student with a stress free
    environment. Internet courses are also a way for these students to be able to
    complete courses in a safe and stress free environment. The main
    accommodation that can be provided is priority registration. With priority
    registration students can choose times and teachers that will best fit into
    their routine and fit their needs. These are just a very few accommodations
    that are readily available for these students. 

    Schizophrenia is an illness that affects many Americans and people world


    wide. It is an illness that can be disabling if not treated appropriately; but
    can be just a minor hindrance if treated properly and addressed early. With
    the number of cases growing and with the prime time for onset of
    schizophrenia being generally early teens and early twenties, school age
    students are greatly affected. It becomes important for educators to become
    more aware of the disease and more aware of how to address this illness and
    the students that have it. 

    Copyright 2006 by mgscmwa

    Source:- http://www.articlesforeducators.com/article.asp?aid=93#.WO-2F0XyvIU

    562
    How to Teach Schizophrenic
    Students
    By Dahloan Hembree
    Teaching a student with Schizophrenia can be a challenge for teachers. The student
    with this mental disability falls under the Educable Mentally Handicapped category
    of the Emotionally or Behaviorally Handicapped Student (EH). This is an industry-
    wide criteria that assists teachers in knowing what a child's needs are. Teaching the
    student includes putting together an Individual Educational Plan (IEP) or specific
    learning guide for each student. An IEP often calls for accommodations and
    modifications for the student who has schizophrenia. Some specific
    accommodations and modifications would include using graphic organizers for
    comprehension and mnemonic devices to aid memory recall.

    Step 1
    Create an Individual Educational Plan (IEP). This is a plan that is created specifically
    for each student with a disability, including students who are schizophrenic. A
    meeting should be held with all teachers who teach the students, the school
    psychologist, therapists, a guidance counselor, parents, and the student if they are
    old enough and able to comprehend. At this meeting, staff will create a plan for the
    student including any accommodations or modifications that will help the student.
    Some of these changes might include using graphic organizers, mnemonic devices
    or using a different text book.

    Step 2
    Use accommodations for your student with schizophrenia. Accommodations simply
    means changes are made in how the student learns. Students with schizophrenia
    often have problems with comprehension and memory recall. Graphic organizers are
    a visual map of ideas or concepts that a student should comprehend. They are
    worksheets used to organize thoughts. They help a student to comprehend what
    they are reading. Please click on the "Graphic Organizers" link in the reference
    section for a good place to find graphic organizers. Students are first taught how to
    use the graphic organizer, then practice using it with a study or lesson. The student
    can then use these in later assignments to help with comprehension.

    Another accommodation is to teach the student how to use mneomonic devices.


    Most people remember a mnemonic device they learned in math: Please Excuse My
    Dear Aunt Sally, which gives the order of operations in math (paranthesis, exponents,
    multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction). These devices help a student
    remember a list, information, or a process order. Some of these can be found by

    563
    clicking on the link associated with "Mneomonic Devices" in the reference section of
    this article.

    Step 3
    Put in place modifications for the student. A modification is a change to what the
    student is expected to learn and how they will be tested and graded. If a student is
    placed in a regular classroom, there will be little, if any, modifications. The student
    will learn what other students are learning. A modification has more value in a
    special education classroom. Students who are schizophrenic will have
    modifications which include working on a lower grade level book. A student who
    takes a different, easier standardized test, would also be taking advantage of a
    modification.

    Source:- http://classroom.synonym.com/teach-schizophrenic-students-5626126.html

    Schizophrenia
    WHAT IS IT?
    Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately 1
    percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime—more
    than 2 million Americans suffer from the illness in a given year. Although
    schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency, the disorder often
    appears earlier in men, usually in the late teens or early twenties, than in women,
    who are generally affected in the twenties to early thirties. People with
    schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices
    not heard by others, or believing that other people are reading their minds,
    controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. These symptoms may leave
    them fearful and withdrawn. Their speech and behavior can be so disorganized
    that they may be incomprehensible or frightening to others. Available treatments
    can relieve many symptoms, but most people with schizohphrenia continue to
    suffer some symptoms throughout their lives; it has been estimated that no more
    than one in five individuals recovers completely.

    This is a time of hope for people with schizophrenia and their


    families. Research is gradually leading to new and safer medications and
    unraveling the complex causes of the disease. Scientists are using many
    approaches from the study of molecular genetics to the study of populations to
    learn about schizophrenia. Methods of imaging the brain’s structure and function
    hold the promise of new insights into the disorder.

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    Schizophrenia as an Illness
    Schizophrenia is found all over the world. The severity of the symptoms and long-
    lasting, chronic pattern of schizophrenia often cause a high degree of disability.
    Medications and other treatments for schizophrenia, when used regularly and as
    prescribed, can help reduce and control the distressing symptoms of the illness.
    However, some people are not greatly helped by available treatments or may
    prematurely discontinue treatment because of unpleasant side effects or other
    reasons. Even when treatment is effective, persisting consequences of the illness
    —lost opportunities, stigma, residual symptoms, and medication side effects—
    may be very troubling.

    The first signs of schizophrenia often appear as confusing, or even shocking,


    changes in behavior. Coping with the symptoms of schizophrenia can be
    especially difficult for family members who remember how involved or vivacious
    a person was before they became ill. The sudden onset of severe psychotic
    symptoms is referred to as an “acute” phase of schizophrenia. “Psychosis,” a
    common condition in schizophrenia, is a state of mental impairment marked by
    hallucinations, which are disturbances of sensory perception, and/or delusions,
    which are false yet strongly held personal beliefs that result from an inability to
    separate real from unreal experiences. Less obvious symptoms, such as social
    isolation or withdrawal, or unusual speech, thinking, or behavior, may precede,
    be seen along with, or follow the psychotic symptoms. Some people have only one
    such psychotic episode; others have many episodes during a lifetime, but lead
    relatively normal lives during the interim periods. However, the individual with
    “chronic” schizophrenia, or a continuous or recurring pattern of illness, often
    does not fully recover normal functioning and typically requires long-term
    treatment, generally including medication, to control the symptoms.
    Making a Diagnosis
    It is important to rule out other illnesses, as sometimes people suffer severe
    mental symptoms or even psychosis due to undetected underlying medical
    conditions. For this reason, a medical history should be taken and a physical
    examination and laboratory tests should be done to rule out other possible causes
    of the symptoms before concluding that a person has schizophrenia. In addition,
    since commonly abused drugs may cause symptoms resembling schizophrenia,
    blood or urine samples from the person can be tested at hospitals or physicians’
    offices for the presence of these drugs.

    At times, it is difficult to tell one mental disorder from another. For instance,
    some people with symptoms of schizophrenia exhibit prolonged extremes of

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    elated or depressed mood, and it is important to determine whether such a
    patient has schizophrenia or actually has a manic-depressive (or bipolar) disorder
    or major depressive disorder. Persons whose symptoms cannot be clearly
    categorized are sometimes diagnosed as having a “schizoaffective disorder.”
    Can Children Have Schizophrenia?
    Children over the age of five can develop schizophrenia, but it is very rare before
    adolescence. Although some people who later develop schizophrenia may have
    seemed different from other children at an early age, the psychotic symptoms of
    schizophrenia—hallucinations and delusions—are extremely uncommon before
    adolescence.
    The World of People With Schizophrenia
    Distorted Perceptions of Reality
    People with schizophrenia may have perceptions of reality that are strikingly
    different from the reality seen and shared by others around them. Living in a
    world distorted by hallucinations and delusions, individuals with schizophrenia
    may feel frightened, anxious, and confused.

    In part because of the unusual realities they experience, people with


    schizophrenia may behave very differently at various times. Sometimes they may
    seem distant, detached, or preoccupied and may even sit as rigidly as a stone, not
    moving for hours or uttering a sound. Other times they may move about
    constantly—always occupied, appearing wide-awake, vigilant, and alert.
    Hallucinations and Illusions
    Hallucinations and illusions are disturbances of perception that are common in
    people suffering from schizophrenia. Hallucinations are perceptions that occur
    without connection to an appropriate source. Although hallucinations can occur
    in any sensory form—auditory (sound), visual (sight), tactile (touch), gustatory
    (taste), and olfactory (smell)—hearing voices that other people do not hear is the
    most common type of hallucination in schizophrenia. Voices may describe the
    patient’s activities, carry on a conversation, warn of impending dangers, or even
    issue orders to the individual. Illusions, on the other hand, occur when a sensory
    stimulus is present but is incorrectly interpreted by the individual.
    Delusions
    Delusions are false personal beliefs that are not subject to reason or contradictory
    evidence and are not explained by a person’s usual cultural concepts. Delusions
    may take on different themes. For example, patients suffering from paranoid-

    566
    type symptoms—roughly one-third of people with schizophrenia—often have
    delusions of persecution, or false and irrational beliefs that they are being
    cheated, harassed, poisoned, or conspired against. These patients may believe
    that they, or a member of the family or someone close to them, are the focus of
    this persecution. In addition, delusions of grandeur, in which a person may
    believe he or she is a famous or important figure, may occur in schizophrenia.
    Sometimes the delusions experienced by people with schizophrenia are quite
    bizarre; for instance, believing that a neighbor is controlling their behavior with
    magnetic waves; that people on television are directing special messages to them;
    or that their thoughts are being broadcast aloud to others.
    Disordered Thinking
    Schizophrenia often affects a person’s ability to “think straight.” Thoughts may
    come and go rapidly; the person may not be able to concentrate on one thought
    for very long and may be easily distracted, unable to focus attention.

    People with schizophrenia may not be able to sort out what is relevant and what
    is not relevant to a situation. The person may be unable to connect thoughts into
    logical sequences, with thoughts becoming disorganized and fragmented. This
    lack of logical continuity of thought, termed “thought disorder,” can make
    conversation very difficult and may contribute to social isolation. If people cannot
    make sense of what an individual is saying, they are likely to become
    uncomfortable and tend to leave that person alone.
    Emotional Expression
    People with schizophrenia often show “blunted” or “flat” affect. This refers to a
    severe reduction in emotional expressiveness. A person with schizophrenia may
    not show the signs of normal emotion, perhaps may speak in a monotonous
    voice, have diminished facial expressions, and appear extremely apathetic. The
    person may withdraw socially, avoiding contact with others; and when forced to
    interact, he or she may have nothing to say, reflecting “impoverished thought.”
    Motivation can be greatly decreased, as can interest in or enjoyment of life. In
    some severe cases, a person can spend entire days doing nothing at all, even
    neglecting basic hygiene. These problems with emotional expression and
    motivation, which may be extremely troubling to family members and friends,
    are symptoms of schizophrenia—not character flaws or personal weaknesses.
    Normal Versus Abnormal
    At times, normal individuals may feel, think, or act in ways that resemble
    schizophrenia. Normal people may sometimes be unable to “think straight.” They

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    may become extremely anxious, for example, when speaking in front of groups
    and may feel confused, be unable to pull their thoughts together, and forget what
    they had intended to say. This is not schizophrenia. At the same time, people with
    schizophrenia do not always act abnormally. Indeed, some people with the illness
    can appear completely normal and be perfectly responsible, even while they
    experience hallucinations or delusions. An individual’s behavior may change over
    time, becoming bizarre if medication is stopped and returning closer to normal
    when receiving appropriate treatment.

    Are People With Schizophrenia Likely To Be


    Violent?
    News and entertainment media tend to link mental illness and criminal violence;
    however, studies indicate that except for those persons with a record of criminal
    violence before becoming ill, and those with substance abuse or alcohol
    problems, people with Schizophrenia are not especially prone to violence.

    Most individuals with schizophrenia are not violent; more typically, they are
    withdrawn and prefer to be left alone. Most violent crimes are not committed by
    persons with schizophrenia, and most persons with schizophrenia do not commit
    violent crimes.

    Substance abuse significantly raises the rate of violence in people with


    schizophrenia but also in people who do not have any mental illness. People with
    paranoid and psychotic symptoms, which can become worse if medications are
    discontinued, may also be at higher risk for violent behavior. When violence does
    occur, it is most frequently targeted at family members and friends, and more
    often takes place at home.
    Substance Abuse
    Substance abuse is a common concern of the family and friends of people with
    schizophrenia. Since some people who abuse drugs may show symptoms similar
    to those of schizophrenia, people with schizophrenia may be mistaken for people
    “high on drugs.” while most researchers do not believe that substance
    abuse causes schizophrenia, people who have schizophrenia often abuse alcohol
    and/or drugs, and may have particularly bad reactions to certain drugs.
    Substance abuse can reduce the effectiveness of treatment for schizophrenia.
    Stimulants (such as amphetamines or cocaine) may cause major problems for
    patients with schizophrenia, as may PCP or marijuana. In fact, some people
    experience a worsening of their schizophrenic symptoms when they are taking

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    such drugs. Substance abuse also reduces the likelihood that patients will follow
    the treatment plans recommended by their doctors.
    Schizophrenia and Nicotine
    The most common form of substance use disorder in people with schizophrenia is
    nicotine dependence due to smoking. While the prevalence of smoking in the U.S.
    population is about 25 to 30 percent, the prevalence among people with
    schizophrenia is approximately three times as high. Research has shown that the
    relationship between smoking and schizophrenia is complex. Although people
    with schizophrenia may smoke to self medicate their symptoms, smoking
    interferes with the response to antipsychotic drugs. Several studies have found
    that schizophrenia patients who smoke need higher doses of antipsychotic
    medication. Quitting smoking may be especially difficult for people with
    schizophrenia, because the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal may cause a
    temporary worsening of schizophrenia symptoms. However, smoking cessation
    strategies that include nicotine replacement methods may be effective. Doctors
    should carefully monitor medication dosage and response when patients with
    schizophrenia either start or stop smoking.

    What About Suicide?


    Suicide is a serious danger in people who have schizophrenia. If an individual
    tries to commit suicide or threatens to do so, professional help should be sought
    immediately. People with schizophrenia have a higher rate of suicide than the
    general population. Approximately 10 percent of people with schizophrenia
    (especially younger adult males) commit suicide. Unfortunately, the prediction of
    suicide in people with schizophrenia can be especially difficult.

    WHAT CAUSES SCHIZOPHRENIA?


    There is no known single cause of schizophrenia. Many diseases, such as heart
    disease, result from an interplay of genetic, environmental, and behavioral
    factors; and this may be the case for schizophrenia as well. Scientists do not yet
    understand all of the factors necessary to produce schizophrenia, but all the tools
    of modern biomedical research are being used to search for genes, critical
    moments in brain development, and environmental factors that may lead to the
    illness.
    Is Schizophrenia Inherited?

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    It has long been known that schizophrenia runs in families. People who have a
    close relative with schizophrenia are more likely to develop the disorder than are
    people who have no relatives with the illness. For example, a monozygotic
    (identical) twin of a person with schizophrenia has the highest risk—40 to 50
    percent—of developing the illness. A child whose parent has schizophrenia has
    about a 10 percent chance. By comparison, the risk of schizophrenia in the
    general population is about 1 percent.

    Scientists are studying genetic factors in schizophrenia. It appears likely that


    multiple genes are involved in creating a predisposition to develop the disorder.
    In addition, factors such as prenatal difficulties like intrauterine starvation or
    viral infections, perinatal complications, and various nonspecific stressors, seem
    to influence the development of schizophrenia. However, it is not yet understood
    how the genetic predisposition is transmitted, and it cannot yet be accurately
    predicted whether a given person will or will not develop the disorder.

    Several regions of the human genome are being investigated to identify genes
    that may confer susceptibility for schizophrenia. The strongest evidence to date
    leads to chromosomes 13 and 6 but remains unconfirmed. Identification of
    specific genes involved in the development of schizophrenia will provide
    important clues into what goes wrong in the brain to produce and sustain the
    illness and will guide the development of new and better treatments. To learn
    more about the genetic basis for schizophrenia, the NIMH has established a
    Schizophrenia Genetics Initiative that is gathering data from a large number of
    families of people with the illness.
    Is Schizophrenia Associated With a Chemical Defect in the
    Brain?
    Basic knowledge about brain chemistry and its link to schizophrenia is expanding
    rapidly. Neurotransmitters, substances that allow communication between nerve
    cells, have long been thought to be involved in the development of schizophrenia.
    It is likely, although not yet certain, that the disorder is associated with some
    imbalance of the complex, interrelated chemical systems of the brain, perhaps
    involving the neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate. This area of research is
    promising.
    Is Schizophrenia Caused by a Physical Abnormality in the
    Brain?
    There have been dramatic advances in neuroimaging technology that permit
    scientists to study brain structure and function in living individuals. Many
    studies of people with schizophrenia have found abnormalities in brain structure

    570
    (for example, enlargement of the fluid-filled cavities, called the ventricles, in the
    interior of the brain, and decreased size of certain brain regions) or function (for
    example, decreased metabolic activity in certain brain regions). It should be
    emphasized that these abnormalities are quite subtle and are not characteristic
    of all people with schizophrenia, nor do they occur only in individuals with this
    illness. Microscopic studies of brain tissue after death have also shown small
    changes in distribution or number of brain cells in people with schizophrenia. It
    appears that many (but probably not all) of these changes are present before an
    individual becomes ill, and schizophrenia may be, in part, a disorder in
    development of the brain.

    Developmental neurobiologists funded by the National Institute of Mental Health


    (NIMH) have found that schizophrenia may be a developmental disorder
    resulting when neurons form inappropriate connections during fetal
    development. These errors may lie dormant until puberty, when changes in the
    brain that occur normally during this critical stage of maturation interact
    adversely with the faulty connections. This research has spurred efforts to
    identify prenatal factors that may have some bearing on the apparent
    developmental abnormality.

    In other studies, investigators using brain-imaging techniques have found


    evidence of early biochemical changes that may precede the onset of disease
    symptoms, prompting examination of the neural circuits that are most likely to
    be involved in producing those symptoms. Scientists working at the molecular
    level, meanwhile, are exploring the genetic basis for abnormalities in brain
    development and in the neurotransmitter systems regulating brain function.

    HOW IS IT TREATED?
    Since schizophrenia may not be a single condition and its causes are not yet
    known, current treatment methods are based on both clinical research and
    experience. These approaches are chosen on the basis of their ability to reduce
    the symptoms of schizophrenia and to lessen the chances that symptoms will
    return.
    What About Medications?
    Antipsychotic medications have been available since the mid-1950s. They have
    greatly improved the outlook for individual patients. These medications reduce
    the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia and usually allow the patient to
    function more effectively and appropriately. Antipsychotic drugs are the best

    571
    treatment now available, but they do not “cure” schizophrenia or ensure that
    there will be no further psychotic episodes. The choice and dosage of medication
    can be made only by a qualified physician who is well trained in the medical
    treatment of mental disorders. The dosage of medication is individualized for
    each patient, since people may vary a great deal in the amount of drug needed to
    reduce symptoms without producing troublesome side effects.

    The large majority of people with schizophrenia show substantial improvement


    when treated with antipsychotic drugs. Some patients, however, are not helped
    very much by the medications and a few do not seem to need them. It is difficult
    to predict which patients will fall into these two groups and to distinguish them
    from the large majority of patients who do benefit from treatment with
    antipsychotic drugs.

    A number of new antipsychotic drugs (the so-called “atypical antipsychotics”)


    have been introduced since 1990. The first of these, clozapine (Clozaril®), has
    been shown to be more effective than other antipsychotics, although the
    possibility of severe side effects—in particular, a condition called agranulocytosis
    (loss of the white blood cells that fight infection)—requires that patients be
    monitored with blood tests every one or two weeks. Even newer antipsychotic
    drugs, such as risperidone (Risperdal®) and olanzapine (Zyprexa®), are safer
    than the older drugs or clozapine, and they also may be better tolerated. They
    may or may not treat the illness as well as clozapine, however. Several additional
    antipsychotics are currently under development.

    Antipsychotic drugs are often very effective in treating certain symptoms of


    schizophrenia, particularly hallucinations and delusions; unfortunately, the drugs
    may not be as helpful with other symptoms, such as reduced motivation and
    emotional expressiveness. Indeed, the older antipsychotics (which also went by
    the name of “neuroleptics”), medicines like haloperidol (Haldol®) or
    chlorpromazine (Thorazine®), may even produce side effects that resemble the
    more difficult to treat symptoms. Often, lowering the dose or switching to a
    different medicine may reduce these side effects; the newer medicines, including
    olanzapine (Zyprexa®), quetiapine (Seroquel®), and risperidone (Risperdal®),
    appear less likely to have this problem. Sometimes when people with
    schizophrenia become depressed, other symptoms can appear to worsen. The
    symptoms may improve with the addition of an antidepressant medication.

    Patients and families sometimes become worried about the antipsychotic


    medications used to treat schizophrenia. In addition to concern about side
    effects, they may worry that such drugs could lead to addiction. However,

    572
    antipsychotic medications do not produce a “high” (euphoria) or addictive
    behavior in people who take them.

    Another misconception about antipsychotic drugs is that they act as a kind of


    mind control, or a “chemical straitjacket.” Anti-psychotic drugs used at the
    appropriate dosage do not “knock out” people or take away their free will. While
    these medications can be sedating, and while this effect can be useful when
    treatment is initiated particularly if an individual is quite agitated, the utility of
    the drugs is not due to sedation but to their ability to diminish the hallucinations,
    agitation, confusion, and delusions of a psychotic episode. Thus, antipsychotic
    medications should eventually help an individual with schizophrenia to deal with
    the world more rationally.
    How Long Should People With Schizophrenia Take
    Antipsychotic Drugs?
    Antipsychotic medications reduce the risk of future psychotic episodes in patients
    who have recovered from an acute episode. Even with continued drug treatment,
    some people who have recovered will suffer relapses. Far higher relapse rates are
    seen when medication is discontinued. In most cases, it would not be accurate to
    say that continued drug treatment “prevents” relapses; rather, it reduces their
    intensity and frequency. The treatment of severe psychotic symptoms generally
    requires higher dosages than those used for maintenance treatment. If symptoms
    reappear on a lower dosage, a temporary increase in dosage may prevent a full-
    blown relapse.

    Because relapse of illness is more likely when antipsychotic medications are


    discontinued or taken irregularly, it is very important that people with
    schizophrenia work together with their doctors and family members to adhere to
    their treatment plan. Adherence to treatment refers to the degree to which
    patients follow the treatment plans decided upon with their doctors. Good
    adherence involves taking prescribed medication at the correct dose and proper
    times each day, attending clinic appointments, and/or carefully following other
    treatment procedures. Treatment adherence is often difficult for people with
    schizophrenia, but it can be made easier with the help of several strategies and
    can lead to improved quality of life.

    There are a variety of reasons why people with schizophrenia may not adhere to
    treatment. Patients may not believe they are ill and may deny the need for
    medication, or they may have such disorganized thinking that they cannot
    remember to take their daily doses. Family members or friends may not
    understand schizophrenia and may inappropriately advise the person with

    573
    schizophrenia to stop treatment when he or she is feeling better. Physicians, who
    play an important role in helping their patients adhere to treatment, may neglect
    to ask patients how often they are taking their medications, or may be unwilling
    to accommodate a patient’s request to change dosages or try a new treatment.
    Some patients report that side effects of the medications seem worse than the
    illness itself. Further, substance abuse can interfere with the effectiveness of
    treatment, leading patients to discontinue medications. When a complicated
    treatment plan is added to any of these factors, good adherence may become even
    more challenging.

    Fortunately, there are many strategies that patients, doctors, and families can use
    to improve adherence and prevent worsening of the illness. Some antipsychotic
    medications, including haloperidol (Haldol®), fluphenazine (Prolixin®),
    perphenazine (Trilafon®) and others, are available in long-acting injectable
    forms that eliminate the need to take pills every day. A major goal of current
    research on treatments for schizophrenia is to develop a wider variety of long-
    acting antipsychotics, especially the newer agents with milder side effects, which
    can be delivered through injection. Medication calendars or pill boxes labeled
    with the days of the week can help patients and caregivers know when
    medications have or have not been taken. Using electronic timers that beep when
    medications should be taken, or pairing medication taking with routine daily
    events like meals, can help patients remember and adhere to their dosing
    schedule. Engaging family members in observing oral medication taking by
    patients can help ensure adherence. In addition, through a variety of other
    methods of adherence monitoring, doctors can identify when pill taking is a
    problem for their patients and can work with them to make adherence easier. It is
    important to help motivate patients to continue taking their medications
    properly.

    In addition to any of these adherence strategies, patient and family education


    about schizophrenia, its symptoms, and the medications being prescribed to treat
    the disease is an important part of the treatment process and helps support the
    rationale for good adherence.
    What About Side Effects?
    Antipsychotic drugs, like virtually all medications, have unwanted effects along
    with their beneficial effects. During the early phases of drug treatment, patients
    may be troubled by side effects such as drowsiness, restlessness, muscle spasms,
    tremor, dry mouth, or blurring of vision. Most of these can be corrected by
    lowering the dosage or can be controlled by other medications. Different patients

    574
    have different treatment responses and side effects to various antipsychotic
    drugs. A patient may do better with one drug than another.

    The long-term side effects of antipsychotic drugs may pose a considerably more
    serious problem. Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a disorder characterized by
    involuntary movements most often affecting the mouth, lips, and tongue, and
    sometimes the trunk or other parts of the body such as arms and legs. It occurs in
    about 15 to 20 percent of patients who have been receiving the older, “typical”
    antipsychotic drugs for many years, but TD can also develop in patients who have
    been treated with these drugs for shorter periods of time. In most cases, the
    symptoms of TD are mild, and the patient may be unaware of the movements.

    Antipsychotic medications developed in recent years all appear to have a much


    lower risk of producing TD than the older, traditional antipsychotics. The risk is
    not zero, however, and they can produce side effects of their own such as weight
    gain. In addition, if given at too high of a dose, the newer medications may lead to
    problems such as social withdrawal and symptoms resembling Parkinson’s
    disease, a disorder that affects movement. Nevertheless, the newer antipsychotics
    are a significant advance in treatment, and their optimal use in people with
    schizophrenia is a subject of much current research.
    What About Psychosocial Treatments?
    Antipsychotic drugs have proven to be crucial in relieving the psychotic
    symptoms of schizophrenia—hallucinations, delusions, and incoherence—but are
    not consistent in relieving the behavioral symptoms of the disorder. Even when
    patients with schizophrenia are relatively free of psychotic symptoms, many still
    have extraordinary difficulty with communication, motivation, self-care, and
    establishing and maintaining relationships with others. Moreover, because
    patients with schizophrenia frequently become ill during the critical career-
    forming years of life (e.g., ages 18 to 35), they are less likely to complete the
    training required for skilled work. As a result, many with schizophrenia not only
    suffer thinking and emotional difficulties, but lack social and work skills and
    experience as well.

    It is with these psychological, social, and occupational problems that psychosocial


    treatments may help most. While psychosocial approaches have limited value for
    acutely psychotic patients (those who are out of touch with reality or have
    prominent hallucinations or delusions), they may be useful for patients with less
    severe symptoms or for patients whose psychotic symptoms are under control.
    Numerous forms of psychosocial therapy are available for people with
    schizophrenia, and most focus on improving the patient’s social functioning—

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    whether in the hospital or community, at home, or on the job. Some of these
    approaches are described here. Unfortunately, the availability of different forms
    of treatment varies greatly from place to place.
    Schizophrenia Is Not "Split Personality"
    There is a common notion that schizophrenia is the same as "split personality"—a
    Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde switch in character.

    This is not correct.


    Rehabilitation
    Broadly defined, rehabilitation includes a wide array of non-medical
    interventions for those with schizophrenia. Rehabilitation programs emphasize
    social and vocational training to help patients and former patients overcome
    difficulties in these areas. Programs may include vocational counseling, job
    training, problem-solving and money management skills, use of public
    transportation, and social skills training. These approaches are important for the
    success of the community-centered treatment of schizophrenia, because they
    provide discharged patients with the skills necessary to lead productive lives
    outside the sheltered confines of a mental hospital.
    Individual Psychotherapy
    Individual psychotherapy involves regularly scheduled talks between the patient
    and a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric
    social worker, or nurse. The sessions may focus on current or past problems,
    experiences, thoughts, feelings, or relationships. By sharing experiences with a
    trained empathic person—talking about their world with someone outside it—
    individuals with schizophrenia may gradually come to understand more about
    themselves and their problems. They can also learn to sort out the real from the
    unreal and distorted. Recent studies indicate that supportive, reality-oriented,
    individual psychotherapy, and cognitive-behavioral approaches that teach coping
    and problem-solving skills, can be beneficial for outpatients with schizophrenia.
    However, psychotherapy is not a substitute for antipsychotic medication; it is
    most helpful once drug treatment first has relieved a patient’s psychotic
    symptoms.
    Family Education
    Very often, patients with schizophrenia are discharged from the hospital into the
    care of their family; so it is important that family members learn all they can
    about schizophrenia and understand the difficulties and problems associated

    576
    with the illness. It is also helpful for family members to learn ways to minimize
    the patient’s chance of relapse—for example, by using different treatment
    adherence strategies—and to be aware of the various kinds of outpatient and
    family services available in the period after hospitalization. Family
    “psychoeducation,” which includes teaching various coping strategies and
    problem-solving skills, may help families deal more effectively with their ill
    relative and may contribute to an improved outcome for the patient.
    Self-Help Groups
    Self-help groups for people and families dealing with schizophrenia are becoming
    increasingly common. Although not led by a professional therapist, these groups
    may be therapeutic because members provide continuing mutual support as well
    as comfort in knowing that they are not alone in the problems they face. Self-help
    groups may also serve other important functions. Families working together can
    more effectively serve as advocates for needed research and hospital and
    community treatment programs. Patients acting as a group rather than
    individually may be better able to dispel stigma and draw public attention to such
    abuses as discrimination against the mentally ill.

    Family and peer support and advocacy groups are very active and provide useful
    information and assistance for patients and families of patients with
    schizophrenia and other mental disorders. A list of some of these organizations is
    included at the back of this booklet.

    HOW CAN OTHER PEOPLE HELP?


    A patient's support system may come from several sources, including the family,
    a professional residential or day program provider, shelter operators, friends or
    roommates, professional case managers, churches and synagogues, and others.
    Because many patients live with their families, the following discussion
    frequently uses the term "family." However, this should not be taken to imply
    that families ought to be the primary support system.

    There are numerous situations in which patients with schizophrenia may need
    help from people in their family or community. Often, a person with
    schizophrenia will resist treatment, believing that delusions or hallucinations are
    real and that psychiatric help is not required. At times, family or friends may
    need to take an active role in having them seen and evaluated by a professional.
    The issue of civil rights enters into any attempts to provide treatment. Laws
    protecting patients from involuntary commitment have become very strict, and

    577
    families and community organizations may be frustrated in their efforts to see
    that a severely mentally ill individual gets needed help. These laws vary from
    state to state; but generally, when people are dangerous to themselves or others
    due to a mental disorder, the police can assist in getting them an emergency
    psychiatric evaluation and, if necessary, hospitalization. In some places, staff
    from a local community mental health center can evaluate an individual's illness
    at home if he or she will not voluntarily go in for treatment.

    Sometimes only the family or others close to the person with schizophrenia will
    be aware of strange behavior or ideas that the person has expressed. Since
    patients may not volunteer such information during an examination, family
    members or friends should ask to speak with the person evaluating the patient so
    that all relevant information can be taken into account.

    Ensuring that a person with schizophrenia continues to get treatment after


    hospitalization is also important. A patient may discontinue medications or stop
    going for follow-up treatment, often leading to a return of psychotic symptoms.
    Encouraging the patient to continue treatment and assisting him or her in the
    treatment process can positively influence recovery. Without treatment, some
    people with schizophrenia become so psychotic and disorganized that they
    cannot care for their basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter. All too often,
    people with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia end up on the streets or
    in jails, where they rarely receive the kinds of treatment they need.

    Those close to people with schizophrenia are often unsure of how to respond
    when patients make statements that seem strange or are clearly false. For the
    individual with schizophrenia, the bizarre beliefs or hallucinations seem quite
    real—they are not just "imaginary fantasies." Instead of “going along with ” a
    person's delusions, family members or friends can tell the person that they do not
    see things the same way or do not agree with his or her conclusions, while
    acknowledging that things may appear otherwise to the patient.

    It may also be useful for those who know the person with schizophrenia well to
    keep a record of what types of symptoms have appeared, what medications
    (including dosage) have been taken, and what effects various treatments have
    had. By knowing what symptoms have been present before, family members may
    know better what to look for in the future. Families may even be able to identify
    some "early warning signs" of potential relapses, such as increased withdrawal or
    changes in sleep patterns, even better and earlier than the patients themselves.
    Thus, return of psychosis may be detected early and treatment may prevent a
    full-blown relapse. Also, by knowing which medications have helped and which

    578
    have caused troublesome side effects in the past, the family can help those
    treating the patient to find the best treatment more quickly.

    In addition to involvement in seeking help, family, friends, and peer groups can
    provide support and encourage the person with schizophrenia to regain his or her
    abilities. It is important that goals be attainable, since a patient who feels
    pressured and/or repeatedly criticized by others will probably experience stress
    that may lead to a worsening of symptoms. Like anyone else, people with
    schizophrenia need to know when they are doing things right. A positive
    approach may be helpful and perhaps more effective in the long run than
    criticism. This advice applies to everyone who interacts with the person.

    WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK?


    The outlook for people with schizophrenia has improved over the last 25 years.
    Although no totally effective therapy has yet been devised, it is important to
    remember that many people with the illness improve enough to lead
    independent, satisfying lives. As we learn more about the causes and treatments
    of schizophrenia, we should be able to help more patients achieve successful
    outcomes.

    Studies that have followed people with schizophrenia for long periods, from the
    first episode to old age, reveal that a wide range of outcomes is possible. When
    large groups of patients are studied, certain factors tend to be associated with a
    better outcome—for example, a pre-illness history of normal social, school, and
    work adjustment. However, the current state of knowledge does not allow for a
    sufficiently accurate prediction of long-term outcome.

    Given the complexity of schizophrenia, the major questions about this disorder—
    its cause or causes, prevention, and treatment—must be addressed with research.
    The public should beware of those offering "the cure" for (or "the cause" of)
    schizophrenia. Such claims can provoke unrealistic expectations that, when
    unfulfilled, lead to further disappointment. Although progress has been made
    toward better understanding and treatment of schizophrenia, continued
    investigation is urgently needed. As the lead Federal agency for research on
    mental disorders, NIMH conducts and supports a broad spectrum of mental
    illness research from molecular genetics to large-scale epidemiologic studies of
    populations. It is thought that this wide-ranging research effort, including basic
    studies on the brain, will continue to illuminate processes and principles
    important for understanding the causes of schizophrenia and for developing
    more effective treatments.

    579
    Source:- https://www.naset.org/schizophrenia2.0.html

     
    An aspect of the Center for Children and Families

    Topic: Childhood Schizophrenia
    Researched and written by:  Martina Miller 
                                                    I attest that the following report is a product of my own original
    work.

    Summary
    Full Report
    Related Websites
    References 
     

    Summary 
     

    Abstract

    Childhood schizophrenia is a disorder of the brain that is characterized by

    hallucinations, delusions, thought disturbances, disorganized behavior,

    inappropriate or flat affect, and significant impairment in

    580
    functioning.  Childhood schizophrenia has a gradual onset with significant

    impairment in social and academic competence and the symptoms usually stay

    with them into adulthood.  Childhood schizophrenia is very rare in children

    under 12; it affects 1 in 40,000 children.  Onset is usually not before age

    5.  Medication has, in most cases, been the most successful in treating childhood

    schizophrenia, although there can be side-effects.  The best programs for

    treating childhood schizophrenia in the classroom seem to be behavioral in

    nature.  Therefore the best treatment is a combination of medicine and a

    behavioral therapy program.   


     
    Full Report

    Overview/Definition of Childhood Schizophrenia

    Childhood – onset schizophrenia is a disorder of the brain that is characterized by

    hallucinations, delusions, thought disturbances, disorganized behavior, inappropriate or flat

    affect, and significant impairment in functioning (Mash & Wolfe, 2002).  Childhood

    schizophrenia can be diagnosed with the same criteria as adult schizophrenia and it seems to be

    a more severe form than adults.  In the early phases, children may begin to lose sleep and have
    difficulty concentrating.  The child may start to avoid friends and stop doing well in

    school.  They may start to have delusions and hallucinations, believe they have powers or think

    they are being watched.  These children could become violent and have suicidal

    thoughts.  Childhood schizophrenia has a gradual onset with significant impairment in social

    and academic competence and the symptoms usually stay with them into adulthood (Mash &

    Wolfe, 2002). 

     Adolescents with mild schizophrenia tend to be anxious and tired.  They are more

    irritable than normal, and could be depressed and suicidal.  They show less empathy toward

    581
    others.  Like childhood-onset schizophrenia, adolescent schizophrenia is better treated if it is

    discovered earlier and adolescents usually respond well to antipsychotic drugs (Bauer & Bauer,

    1982).

    Many people confuse schizophrenia in children with autism.  There are, however, a few

    ways to tell the two apart.  With schizophrenia, the problem develops at a later age, there is less

    intellectual impairment, social and language deficits are not as severe, hallucinations and

    delusions are present as the child gets older, and there are more relapses and remissions (The

    National Institute of Mental Health, 2003).  Some disorders are commonly misdiagnosed as

    childhood onset schizophrenia.  Children having bi-polar disorder, autism, attention-deficit

    hyperactivity disorder, mental retardation, major depressive disorder, mood disorders, organic

    disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder often get this label (Werry, 1992).  The most

    common comorbid disorders are conduct/oppositional defiant disorder and major

    depression.       

    Statistics

                Childhood schizophrenia is very rare in children under 12; it affects 1 in 40,000

    children.  Usually it is not diagnosed before the age of 5, but if it is diagnosed before 5 then it

    usually occurs in males ages 2-4.  It occurs 100 times more frequently in adults. The prognosis

    is usually not good for children with schizophrenia.  In research done by Kydd and Werry

    (1982), they found that 40 percent of the cases in their study were in remission, which was good

    compared to previous research that only had a 20 percent result.  Childhood schizophrenia is

    twice as common in boys as it is in girls.  This difference seems to disappear in

    adolescence.  Research has shown that childhood schizophrenics come from less educated

    families and patients have a low-average to average range of intelligence (Yates, 2003).  There

    is little information about socioeconomic class, cultural patterns and childhood schizophrenia. 

    582
    Eighty percent of children have auditory hallucinations and 50 percent have

    delusions.  The National Institute of Mental Health (2003), did research on 49 patients that did

    not respond to conventional therapy.  They found that 55 percent had language difficulties, 57

    percent had motor abnormalities, 55 percent had social abnormalities, and 63.3 percent had

    either failed a grade or required placement in special education.  The participants’ families had

    high rates of personality disorders, 45 percent had at least one relative with a personality

    disorder.  Seventy-seven percent of the patients whose family members had a personality

    disorder had already been diagnosed with a language abnormality (Yates, 2003).

    Characteristics of Childhood Schizophrenia

                For a diagnosis of childhood schizophrenia at least two or more of 5 characteristics must

    be met.  The first characteristic is delusions which are strong beliefs that somebody is after you,

    spying on you or following you when this is not true.  The second characteristic is hallucinations

    which are seeing, hearing, or sensing that things are there when they really are not, such as bugs

    are crawling on the wall, or the devil is telling you to kill someone.  A third characteristic is

    disorganized speech, which is talking about things that do not make sense or just saying words

    that do not go together.  An example would be saying “I am going to the fifth kingdom, only I’m

    allowed there and the spiders are coming with me.” The fourth characteristic is grossly

    disorganized or catatonic behavior, which is performing behaviors such as sitting still for hours

    at a time in the same position, this would be catatonic.  Disorganized behaviors would be taking

    all the puzzle pieces out of a box then putting them back in a hundred times.  The fifth

    characteristic is negative symptoms, like affective flattening, alogia, or avolition (Mash &

    Wolfe, 2002).  Affective flattening is when someone shows no emotions.  Alogia is when

    someone does not speak very much.  Avolition is when someone can not start or complete a

    job.  These characteristics need to be significantly taking over a child’s life for a month or more

    583
    (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). 

                DeCesare, Pellegrino, & Yuhasz (No Date), said there are other characteristics that

    maybe associated with childhood schizophrenia.  Usually children with schizophrenia will have

    poor language abilities, poor coordination, poor or nonexistent social skills, and poor

    psychomotor and executive functioning.  There are different phases of schizophrenia, the first

    being the prodromal phase which occurs prior to developing acute psychotic symptoms.  This

    phase happens when the child starts to perform poorly on things at school and has no friends,

    and everything seems different and starts to go wrong.  The second phase is the acute phase

    which is when a child goes for treatment; this usually happens when psychotic symptoms are

    present and level of functioning goes down.  The third phase is the recovery phase which is

    marked by the active phase and psychotic symptoms are still present with confusion,

    disorganization, and/or dysphoria.  The fourth and last phase is the residual phase where positive

    psychotic symptoms are minimal, but negative ones are still there (DeCesare, Pellegrino, &

    Yuhasz, No Date).  Positive symptoms are a presence of unusual perceptions, thoughts, or

    behaviors, such as, delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thought or speech, and disorganized

    or catatonic behavior.  Negative symptoms involve the absence of behaviors, rather than the

    presence of behaviors, such as affective flattening, alogia, and avolition (Nolen-Hoeksema,

    2004).

                Other signs of childhood schizophrenia are low cognitive functioning, low

    socioeconomic class, immature thinking and behaving, low academic success, low social

    interactions, less likely to live independently as an adult, increased risk for substance abuse,

    increased suicide rates, increased anxiety, family problems, attention problems, and bizarre

    thoughts (DeCesare, Pellegrino, & Yuhasz, No Date).

    Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia in the Classroom/Treatment for the Classroom

    584
                Martin, England, Kaprowy, Kilgour, & Pilek, (1968) did a study with autistic children’s

    behavior in the classroom.  Children with autism and schizophrenia can show similar behaviors

    so the treatment for autism could also be effective with certain schizophrenic behaviors.  One

    child in their study was named Peter and he had a lot of tantrums which they believe were

    reinforced by attention from whoever was around him.  They did the therapy sessions at

    the Manitoba Training School.  The sessions were for 1 ½ hours in the morning and afternoon

    with each session having a 15 minute break.  They used the child’s breakfast and lunch as

    reinforcers.  In the first week the trainers conducted session in a small room with one trainer per

    child and arranged it so the children could not get up and leave easily.  They focused on

    reducing tantrum behavior, sitting quietly, teaching more words, and using a token system.  In

    the second week the session in the morning was still in the same room and the afternoon session

    was in a regular classroom.  They still had one trainer per child and tried to reduce the

    disturbance of moving to the regular classroom.  In the third week, to the sixth week, they

    moved the desks to look like a normal classroom and increased the number of children in the

    class to seven.  Also, the child had more trainers with him or her for certain tasks in the

    classroom.  In the seventh through twelfth weeks the children had to begin with sitting quietly in

    their classroom.  One trainer gave verbal training to seven children for 30 minutes.  Some of the

    children went to other rooms for 30 minute periods to learn matching, tracing, or copying.  The

    children who were left in the class were taught by one trainer on verbal skills and commands

    (Martin et al., 1968). 

                The researcher found with initial behavior problems, such as tantrums, by ignoring this

    behavior and eliminating the attention given, the tantrums were almost completely

    eliminated.  In order to use tokens as reinforcers, the researchers had to first pair a token with

    food, then they worked as reinforcers and when the child received five tokens they could cash

    them in for a piece of food.  Then they used the tokens to reinforce sitting quietly.  They

    585
    received a token for sitting still for 15 seconds.  After several reinforced periods of time the

    seconds it took to get a token were increased.  By the end of three week most of the children

    would sit still and quietly in their seats (Martin et al., 1968). 

    Next they looked at the verbal training and they used something called fading.  Fading is

    basically teaching a child to respond to something and switching it so they respond to a different

    set of stimuli.  An example would be point to your nose and say nose enough times so the child

    says nose when you point to it.  Now start saying what is this and point to your nose, then say

    nose.  Keep doing this until the child can say nose when you ask what is this.  This procedure

    worked for most of the children and helped them gain a small naming vocabulary.  Next the

    researchers measured tracing and copying abilities.  In these procedures they taught the children

    to trace lines and figures and then copy them from a picture.  First, the researchers guided the

    child’s hand while tracing a shape.  Then eventually faded out holding the child’s hand.  After

    they traced the line correctly then were asked to trace a picture that had dotted lines.  This

    procedure was not as successful with all the children.  Some traced the lines and copied pictures

    and others did not.  Next they taught the children how to match two things that were alike.  They

    would show pictures of objects and ask the child to show them, one shoe then two shoes.  Two

    of the children acquired this skill, but the remaining children did not (Martin et al., 1968). 

    One thing that made this program effective was the reinforcement program they

    used.  Another thing they thought was effective was the control they had over the children’s

    food before breakfast.  After the end of this study, the researchers implemented the following

    changes, the breakfast and lunch were eventually eliminated as reinforcers and replaced with

    candy, chips, and popcorn.  Instead of using poker chips for tokens, they used stars, and the

    children began meeting as a group with a kindergarten teacher at the Manitoba School for a 1 ½

    a day.  The researchers concluded that the children were not close to being able to be in a

    normal kindergarten class, but they could sit still and respond with only one teacher (Martin et

    586
    al., 1968).

    Riester (1986) did research on how to teach the schizophrenic child.  He developed a

    questionnaire that he used to interview teachers.  Five questions were about behaviors shown by

    schizophrenic children and 1 question was about the teacher’s personal attributes.  The teachers

    chosen to answer these questions had worked with schizophrenic children and emotionally

    disturbed children for years and were considered experts.  Together they came up with a

    summary of the things they considered to work best with teaching the schizophrenic child

    (Riester, 1986). 

    These teachers found one of the most important things to be having a very clearly

    defined system and rules.  Intervention for impaired reality testing, in school, causes poorly

    oriented time and space and the children are unable to set limits and boundaries.  One suggestion

    they gave for this problem is to have clear rules and consequences, and to give the child a highly

    structured learning environment.  Another problem is children with schizophrenia have selective

    attention.  A way to increase selective attention is to put a student in a desk that is free of

    distractions, and divide longer assignments into shorter ones.  Another problem that

    schizophrenic children have in school is not having any friends or the ability to make them.  A

    way to help with this is to engage in frequent interactions to gain trust, and tell how friends

    interact with one another (Riester, 1986).   

    Having poor organization skills and not setting schedules occur often in children with

    schizophrenia.  To help this, they suggested putting up schedules in the class and keeping the

    classroom organized.   The last problem the teachers talked about was verbal and nonverbal

    behavior does not match the conversation and these children do not learn interpersonal

    skills. Ways to improve this are to use positive reinforcement and model and teach appropriate

    behavior.  Riester (1986) concludes with saying these intervention strategies are not certain, but

    587
    they do seem to be effective.  He believes that in the future students in college going for

    teaching should have a class on teaching the schizophrenic child. 

    Rangaswamy and Jalaludeen (1982) did research on treating schizophrenic

    children.  They developed a treatment program and used one child as a case study.  There were

    three goals in this program, the first being to improve emotional relationships with others. The

    second was to get rid of habit behaviors, behavior problems, and phobias.  The third was to

    improve his academic skills.  The researchers used eye contact training and imitation

    training.  The children were taught to share, to reduce habit disorders, and repetitive

    behaviors.  They treated phobias and improved their academic abilities using token

    reinforcers.  Finally the children were taught to manage their classroom problems.  It is

    important to include parents in training and teaching.  Nine months after treatment the child still

    maintained his achievements.  The researchers concluded that overall, his academic abilities

    improved dramatically (Rangaswamy & Jalaludeen, 1982).

    In Alaska, Konopasek (1984) did research on their only residential psychiatric facility

    for children.  At this place they have a school staff to teach the children when they are

    admitted. They have a two teachers and an aide.  When the child is admitted the staff assesses

    their level of academic functioning and decides what classroom they will be in.  Konopasek

    (1984) says early signs of schizophrenia are deteriorating academic functioning and psychotic

    episodes.  When a child becomes psychotic a change in medicine is usually needed.  The

    children start school at the same time everyday and with the same teacher, and they follow the

    same schedule each day.  It is important for the teachers to be aware of the side-effect of the

    medicine.  Medicine could make the child appear tired or not interested.  Usually the child is

    interested and does not want to be tired, but the side effects cause them to be that way.  Teachers

    should conform to each individual student’s need to help with academic performance.  Another

    suggestion in the classroom is arranging the child’s desk to be free of distractions.  Children that

    588
    are having delusions or hallucinations need support.  Not support for their delusions and

    hallucinations, but to know they are safe and help to see their thoughts and beliefs are not

    real. Teachers need to know what their student’s hallucinations and delusions are and plan the

    lessons so they do not bring on these hallucinations or delusions.  These interventions are

    intended to be useful in general classroom and are not a prevention or cure. They are only

    intended to help assist with a child during a psychotic period (Konopasek, 1984).

    Medication has, in most cases, been the most successful in treating childhood

    schizophrenia, although there can be side-effects.  The most serious side effect is tardive

    dyskinesia, but it is usually rare and with children very rare.  Tardive dyskinesia seems to

    progress with age.  Most patients do well on medicine although it may take a while to find the

    right combination and dose level.  One problem with medication is some people are unwilling to

    take it (Werry, 1992).  Combining antipsychotic drugs with these behavior programs in school

    will turn out to be the best possible treatment for children with schizophrenia.

    In conclusion, the best programs for treating childhood schizophrenia in the classroom

    seem to be behavioral in nature.  They seem to share in common some sort of point or token

    system with positive reinforcement.  All of the programs also suggest clearly defining the rules

    in the classroom and what is expected from the child with the token system.  Another suggestion

    for treating schizophrenia is make sure to know how long the child has been experiencing it and

    how often the child has relapsed.  For childhood schizophrenia, an absolute in treatment is

    always medicine.  The stress and pain on the families of children with childhood schizophrenia

    is devastating.  There is still so much to learn about this very complex, rare disorder, therefore

    more research should be done in the future.

    Source:- http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/EC/childhoodschizophrenia.html

    589
    Church robbed of $700,000 in equipment
    by
    George Henry
    November 07, 2016

     Photo

    Thieves went on a rampage in the fast developing town of Spaldings in


    Clarendon on the weekend, robbing a church, a Western Union outlet, and a
    service station of more than $3 million.
    Worshippers who turned up at the Spaldings New Testament Church of God in
    Clarendon for early morning prayer meeting on Saturday discovered that the
    church was broken into and several pieces of equipment were missing.
    Pastor of the church, Bishop Donovan Knight, told THE STAR that robbers
    entered the church by cutting burglar bars, and removed equipment valued more
    than $700,000. He said the equipment included a keyboard, speaker boxes, a
    flat-screen monitor, and several ceiling fans.
    Church members have started a nine-day fast, the number of days they are
    giving the robbers to return what they stole.“The God who is a merciful God is
    also a God of wrath. So take back what is God’s before He starts His action. All
    the things taken are marked,” warned Knight.
    He said the crime was reported to the Spaldings police.

    590
    The police also reported that robbers broke into the Western Union outlet by
    removing burglar bars and taking $750,000 in cash. They also said that a vault
    that held $1.5 million in cash was removed from the service station, which is
    adjacent to the Western Union outlet. The thieves also took several bottles of
    liquor. 

    Source:- http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20161107/church-robbed-700000-equipment

    News
    Church robbers make off with $1M
    worth of equipment
    BY ALESIA EDWARDS Observer staff reporter alesiae@jamaicaobserver.com

    Saturday, February 06, 2010    

    Rev Dr Cecil Fisher points to a section of the grille which was cut by robbers to gain
    entry to the church. (Photo: Alesia Edwards)

    OCHO RIOS, St Ann —Thieves this week broke into the New Testament Church in Harris Town, near this
    resort town, and made off with more than $1 million worth of equipment.

    591
    The thieves, church officials told the Observer, gained entry to the building through a side door after they
    broke off the lock and cut the grille. They then forced open doors to the offices and storage areas and
    removed the items.

    The items were discovered missing Wednesday morning when the church secretary turned up to find the
    offices and storage areas ransacked.

    The church's pastor, Rev Dr Cecil Fisher, said among the items stolen were two amplifiers valued at over
    $200,000; a mixer board, worth approximately $100,000; a generator and keyboard, also worth more than
    $200,000.

    The robbers also stole a computer, scanner, printer, camcorder, floodlights, music speakers, processors,
    microphones and standing fans.

    A drum set, tambourines and old speaker boxes which were of little value were left behind.

    "They didn't even leave me with one of the fans in my office; we just spend $1.6 million to upgrade the
    church," Dr Fisher said.

    He had a warning for the culprits: "People who take vessels of God out of God's house are in jeopardy of
    losing their lives, the Bible tells us that."

    "... We had break-ins before; one particular gentleman who took doors from the church hanged himself on
    the very door that he took from the church," Dr Fisher said.

    Said the pastor: "We work with this community, bury their dead, marry their couples, bless their babies,
    help with senior citizens and children going to school and look what has been done to the church."

    Dr Fisher said the items are of great importance to the church and work of God and has appealed to the
    robbers to return them.

    "I would just appeal to them, to their good sense, to bring back the items to the church yard; this is a
    community church that helps the people in the community so when they take these items we have nothing
    to work with," said the pastor.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Church-robbed---p3-----feb-6--pr_7393515

    592
    News
    Robbery turns away US church group
    KARYL WALKER, Crime/Court co-ordinator walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com

    Tuesday, July 01, 2008    

    A US-based church mission has cancelled plans to come to Jamaica after 39 of its
    colleagues were roused from their beds and robbed at gunpoint at the Salvation Army at
    Mannings Hill Road in St Andrew hours before dawn on Monday.

    According to Major Ward Matthews, secretary for business administration for the Salvation Army
    in the Caribbean, the robbers gained access to a secure area where the Americans were
    sleeping at the rear of the School for the Blind compound.

    "There were three armed men who ordered everybody to hand over their wallets, hand bags,
    digital cameras and cellular phones. They escaped over a wall at the back," Matthews told the
    Observer yesterday.

    The robbers also stole an American passport but the travel document was later found near a wall
    at the back of the premises, Matthews said.

    "Thankfully, that person got their passport back," he said. "It seems they were not interested in
    that."

    News of the robbery has caused another mission from the Adventures in Missions charity group
    to take an about turn from Jamaica. The group was scheduled to arrive in the island on July 15.

    "They are now trying to go somewhere else. This is a group of young people in their late teens to
    early 20s," Matthews said. "It's shameful that we all live in fear, and that friends from the United
    States who come to help us improve our work among the poor are targeted."

    The robbery victims consisted of members of three churches based in the states of Washington,
    Ohio and North Carolina and were in the island to offer medical assistance to the students of the
    School for the Blind and several elderly persons who are housed at the Francis Ham Home for
    the aged.

    While the three gunmen were busy relieving the foreigners of their valuables, two others were
    reportedly attempting to saw through a grille to a residence occupied by Salvation Army officers
    who were assigned here from Canada. That attempt was, however, unsuccessful.

    593
    Head of the St Andrew North police division, Superintendent Anthony Morris, said the police
    would be leaving no stone unturned in bringing the robbers to justice.

    'We expect to make a breakthrough soon, as these things have a way of surfacing," Morris said.

    Yesterday, cops searched several premises in the Sherlock Crescent area but came up empty-
    handed.

    Earlier in the day, a 2004 Toyota Hiace assigned to The Salvation Army's College, which trains
    Salvation Army officers to serve throughout the Caribbean, was stolen in Montego Bay.

    The Salvation Army has been assisting the poor and needy in Jamaica since 1887 and has set up
    a number of orphanages, old age homes and the School for the Blind, the only institution in the
    island to offer residential schooling for blind and visually impaired children.

    The theft of the bus left Matthews upset.

    "The bus was clearly marked as an official Salvation Army vehicle," he said. "The thieves knew
    they were targeting and stealing from The Salvation Army."

    The Salvation Army property at Mannings Hill Road has been targetted by petty thieves and
    cocaine addicts who steal regularly from the property.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/137318_Robbery-turns-away-US-church-group

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    2nd arrest in double
    murder of U.S.
    missionaries in
    Jamaica

    Randy Hentzel

     
     CBS AFFILIATE KCCI

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    595
     

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    NEW YORK -- Jamaican authorities announced Wednesday that a


    second man has been charged with murder in the deaths of two American
    missionaries found shot on April 30.

    Police say Dwight Henry and Andre Thomas, both 25, killed Randy Hentzel
    and Harold Nichols during a robbery in St. Mary's Parish Jamaica, where
    the two American missionaries have lived for years.

    Both were shot, but a coroner determined that one of the victims
    succumbed to machete wounds suffered after the shooting, according to
    Jamaica Constabulary Force Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay.

    Hentzel and Nichols had both worked for a Pennsylvania-based religious


    organization called Teams for Medical Missions. The two men and their
    families did evangelism and Bible ministry and built homes.

    Thomas was charged on June 23. Police detained Henry the next day, but
    he was not charged until Wednesday. Both men faces counts of murder and
    illegal firearm possession.

    Court dates have not yet been set for the suspects.
    © 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    Source:- http://www.cbsnews.com/news/2nd-arrest-in-double-murder-of-u-s-missionaries-in-
    jamaica/

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    Dissociative Disorders
     Overview
     Treatment
     Support
     Discuss

    Dissociative disorders are characterized by an involuntary escape from reality


    characterized by a disconnection between thoughts, identity, consciousness and
    memory. People from all age groups and racial, ethnic and socioeconomic
    backgrounds can experience a dissociative disorder.
    Its estimated that 2% of people experience dissociative disorders, with women
    being more likely than men to be diagnosed. Almost half of adults in the United
    States experience at least one depersonalization/derealization episode in their
    lives, with only 2% meeting the full criteria for chronic episodes.
    The symptoms of a dissociative disorder usually first develop as a response to a
    traumatic event, such as abuse or military combat, to keep those memories
    under control. Stressful situations can worsen symptoms and cause problems
    with functioning in everyday activities. However, the symptoms a person
    experiences will depend on the type of dissociative disorder that a person has.
    Treatment for dissociative disorders often involves psychotherapy and
    medication. Though finding an effective treatment plan can be difficult, many
    people are able to live healthy and productive lives.

    Symptoms
    Symptoms and signs of dissociative disorders include:
     Significant memory loss of specific times, people and events
     Out-of-body experiences, such as feeling as though you are watching a
    movie of yourself
     Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and thoughts of
    suicide
     A sense of detachment from your emotions, or emotional numbness
     A lack of a sense of self-identity

    The symptoms of dissociative disorders depend on the type of disorder that has
    been diagnosed. There are three types of dissociative disorders defined in
    the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM):
     Dissociative Amnesia. The main symptom is difficulty remembering
    important information about one’s self. Dissociative amnesia may
    surround a particular event, such as combat or abuse, or more rarely,

    597
    information about identity and life history. The onset for an amnesic
    episode is usually sudden, and an episode can last minutes, hours, days,
    or, rarely, months or years. There is no average for age onset or
    percentage, and a person may experience multiple episodes throughout
    her life.
     Depersonalization disorder. This disorder involves ongoing feelings of
    detachment from actions, feelings, thoughts and sensations as if they are
    watching a movie (depersonalization). Sometimes other people and things
    may feel like people and things in the world around them are unreal
    (derealization). A person may experience depersonalization, derealization
    or both. Symptoms can last just a matter of moments or return at times
    over the years. The average onset age is 16, although depersonalization
    episodes can start anywhere from early to mid childhood. Less than 20%
    of people with this disorder start experiencing episodes after the age of
    20.
     Dissociative identity disorder. Formerly known as multiple personality
    disorder, this disorder is characterized by alternating between multiple
    identities. A person may feel like one or more voices are trying to take
    control in their head. Often these identities may have unique names,
    characteristics, mannerisms and voices. People with DID will experience
    gaps in memory of every day events, personal information and trauma.
    Women are more likely to be diagnosed, as they more frequently present
    with acute dissociative symptoms. Men are more likely to deny symptoms
    and trauma histories, and commonly exhibit more violent behavior, rather
    than amnesia or fugue states. This can lead to elevated false negative
    diagnosis.

    Causes
    Dissociative disorders usually develop as a way of dealing with trauma.
    Dissociative disorders most often form in children exposed to long-term physical,
    sexual or emotional abuse. Natural disasters and combat can also cause
    dissociative disorders.

    Diagnosis
    Doctors diagnose dissociative disorders based on a review of symptoms and
    personal history. A doctor may perform tests to rule out physical conditions that
    can cause symptoms such as memory loss and a sense of unreality (for
    example, head injury, brain lesions or tumors, sleep deprivation or intoxication). If
    physical causes are ruled out, a mental health specialist is often consulted to
    make an evaluation.
    Many features of dissociative disorders can be influenced by a person’s cultural
    background. In the case of dissociative identity disorder and dissociative

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    amnesia, patients may present with unexplained, non-epileptic seizures,
    paralyses or sensory loss. In settings where possession is part of cultural beliefs,
    the fragmented identities of a person who has DID may take the form of spirits,
    deities, demons or animals. Intercultural contact may also influence the
    characteristics of other identities. For example, a person in India exposed to
    Western culture may present with an “alter” who only speaks English. In cultures
    with highly restrictive social conditions, amnesia is frequently triggered by severe
    psychological stress such as conflict caused by oppression. Finally, voluntarily
    induced states of depersonalization can be a part of meditative practices
    prevalent in many religions and cultures, and should not be diagnosed as a
    disorder.

    Treatment
    Dissociative disorders are managed through various therapies including:
     Psychotherapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical
    behavioral therapy (DBT)
     Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
     Medications such as antidepressants can treat symptoms of related
    conditions

    Related Conditions
    Because dissociative disorders appear on the trauma spectrum, many patients
    may have conditions associated with trauma, as well as additional trauma-based
    conditions.
     Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
     Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
     Substance abuse
     Depression
     Anxiety
    - See more at: http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-
    Conditions/Dissociative-Disorders#sthash.ds6yP15A.dpuf

    Source:- http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Dissociative-
    Disorders

    Review - Dissociative Children


    Bridging the Inner and Outer Worlds
    by Lynda Shirar
    W W Norton & Company, 1996
    Review by Vicki Jung, M.A., CMHC
    Jun 29th 1999 (Volume 3, Issue 26)

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    Everyone dissociates.  Dissociation is a common defense mechanism that is available to all of us. 
    Children quite commonly use dissociative defenses and most dissociative disorders start in
    childhood.  Yet, many clinicians are unaware of how prevalent dissociative disorders are or even
    how to assess them.  Dissociative Identity Disorder was formerly known as Multiple Personality
    Disorder and was considered to be rare.  Only Sybil and Eve suffered from it according to the
    majority of psychiatrists and psychologists.  When we look at the prevalence of sexual abuse,
    domestic violence, and child abuse, it makes sense that there are many more people who suffer
    from dissociative disorders than are diagnosed.

    Having worked for 10 years with adults who suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorders, it has
    become apparent to me that these adults didn't wake up one morning as an adult with multiple
    personalities!  In listening to their stories, each one of them had started dissociating as children;
    but nobody knew it.  Consequently they continued to dissociate into their adult years leaving a trail
    of pain and suffering for not only them,  but for those intimately around them as well.  If they were
    fortunate enough to be diagnosed as adults, their healing process became even more complex
    because of the many years of not being properly diagnosed.

    Dissociative Children educates the readers as to what dissociation is and how it works.  Lynda Shirar
    also teaches us of the difficulty in distinguishing behaviors that often get mis-diagnosed as Attention
    Deficit Disorders, oppositional or conduct disorders, anxiety and panic disorders, Post Traumatic
    Stress Disorders, depression and suicidal ideation, and substance abuse.  As adults, the most
    common mis-diagnosis is Borderline Personality Disorder.  If for no other reason than to learn how
    to recognize and properly diagnose children, Dissociative Children is worth reading.  For if we do not
    properly diagnose these children, how can we help them?

    Beyond teaching how to recognize and diagnose dissociation, the author also provides treatment
    plans and techniques useful in helping to work with Dissociative Children.  She emphasizes the
    importance of helping a child to remember and resolve the trauma from their history of abuse in
    order for them to heal and function as an adult.  Included in the book is a dissociative checklist
    along with the common signs and symptoms which are helpful in identifying these children who so
    desperately need someone who can start them on the path to healing.  The drawings included are
    an added bonus.  They help us to see how the children see their world and of the importance of art
    therapy in the healing process.

    When counseling children who have dissociative disorders, family involvement is imperative. Shirar
    addresses that issue and gives specific direction in how to educate parents and how to assess
    families as to whether they will be able to help their child integrate. Diagnosing is not enough. 
    Parents must become educated and take an active part in order for the child to heal.  Without the
    support of the parents, the prognosis of healing as a child becomes less likely to happen.

    Realizing the prevalence of diagnosing children with ADHD and medicating them with Ritalin, I often
    wonder how many of them are improperly diagnosed.  I believe it is time to take a closer look at
    some of these children and ask, " Could it be that this child is dissociating...and if so, why?"  It is
    becoming all to easy to say they are hyperactive and pop 'em a pill.

    Reading Shirar's book made me stop and think differently about the way I work with the children in
    my practice.  What I have learned is that the majority of them are dissociating from their feelings. 
    As they continue to disconnect from their feelings, they have repressed their hurt and pain which
    eventually develops into anger and often rage.  If not addressed, that anger can sometimes be the
    path to acting out suicidal fantasies or murderous rage.  We only have to listen to the news or read
    the paper to be aware of the prevalence of violence in our society by children.  As clinicians, we
    have a responsibility to identify these children as early as possible to help them reconnect with their
    feelings and work through their pain.  Maybe they don't have multiple personalities that have

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    developed, but teaching children and their parents about dissociation and the problems that can
    develop in continuing to use it as the primary defense mechanism is a must.

    Perhaps the most powerful paragraph in the book is on page 27, where the author says, "The
    penalty of childhood trauma and the necessary dissociative coping become increasingly costly for
    the child growing up, even after the trauma itself has stopped.  Any child who has dissociative
    symptoms, whether, mild or severe, can benefit from identification and treatment of those
    symptoms.  Given the opportunity, children can heal while they are still children."

    Think about how drastically this could change our society in the reduction of pain and suffering and
    violence when children can see the world through healed eyes.  I highly recommend this book to not
    only clinicians, but teachers and parents.  It is clearly written and easily understood.  Any adult who
    relates to children on a regular basis would benefit from reading Dissociative Children. 
     

    Vicki has been in the field of mental health for over 16 years. 
    Since  1990 she has worked in  private practice through Jung,
    Jung and Associates in Bothell, Washington.  As co-founder of
    the Youth Suicide Prevention Center in 1985, she counseled
    over 450 youths-at-risk of suicide through group intervention
    until it closed in 1990.  Her work has a broad range of
    experience including not only suicide and self-harm behaviors,
    but grief and loss, survivors of sexual abuse, victims of crime,
    anger and violence, marriage and family counseling, Post
    Traumatic Stress Disorders, and Dissociative Disorders. 
    Through her career she has worked extensively with
    individuals, couples, and groups including children,
    adolescents, and adults.  In addition to traditional therapeutic
    skills, she utilizes art and sand tray therapy and has a special
    interest in pet-facilitated therapy.  Her Chihuahua, Sarina
    Marie, works as her co-therapist.

    Source:- http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?
    type=book&id=92&cn=393

    CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
    Assignments
    Psychological Trauma-Based Presentation and Paper Assignment by Bethany Brand, Ph.D.
    Trauma Reflection Essays by Bethany Brand, Ph.D.

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    Lesson  Ideas
    TED Talk Discussion: How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a
    Lifetime [1]
    Summary: “Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke
    Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or
    substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a
    lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart
    disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and
    treatment of trauma, head-on.”

    A meaningful class discussion could be based around this video. A few sample discussion questions are
    outlined below:

     What is your opinion on the ACE studies? Do you think they are representative of the population?
    Do you think the results are a product of “science” or simply a rough childhood?
     Why do you think children are especially susceptible to trauma?
     Do you think it health care professionals should be required to screen patients for trauma as a part
    of an intake packet, such as part of the initial screening when patients meet with therapists such as
    psychologists or social workers? Is screening for trauma an invasion of privacy?
     Do you think it should be mandated that all health professionals receive education about the effects
    of trauma and how to assess for trauma?
    PsychologyTools: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder [2]
    Wonderfully informative website that has CBT based worksheets for PTSD, treatment guidelines,
    assessment/evaluation tools, intervention guides, general information, grounding techniques,
    lectures/workshops, key papers, complex PTSD information, and more.

    These tools could be useful for multiple lessons related to PTSD. For example, students can be directed to
    read a case study about PTSD or to watch a movie about someone who is traumatized and asked to complete
    the form on this site titled “Cognitive Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

    Posttraumatic Stress Disorder of Victims of Violent Crimes Activity [3]


    Through this lesson, students will be able to understand the intersection of PTSD and violent crimes,
    understand the importance of emotional management, and analyze how art may play a role in soothing the
    mind and body. This lesson is based on the documentary, The Interrupters.

    Students will analyze and discuss appropriate texts to build upon the key concepts raised throughout the
    lesson. Students will apply their knowledge by drawing, analyzing artistic works of art, and engaging in
    reflective activities.

    These assignments can be altered depending on the experience and education level of the audience. The
    lessons as they are written on this website are particularly well-suited for high school students and college
    students, but the documentary, The Interrupters, and the related assignments, could easily be adapted for
    graduate students. The third lesson, Building Vocabulary, is particularly helpful for less advanced students.
    Mini Trauma Activity [4]
    This is a very simple, yet powerful way for students to begin understanding what it is like to experience a
    traumatic event. It will be important to set aside some time to talk to students about their reactions to doing
    this exercise. It is also important to consider giving students the option to not participate if they feel this

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    activity might be distressing to them. Let students know in advance that they do not need to share any
    information that they feel uncomfortable discussing.

    INSTRUCTIONS:
     Ask students to write down the name of a very close loved one
     Ask students to write down their favorite activity
     Ask them to write down their favorite place to go
     Ask them to write down (or simply think about) a secret they have that is embarrassing to the point
    very few, if no one, knows about it (they can use a symbol if they don’t want to write it down or
    simply think of it without writing anything). Assure students that the papers will not be collected.
    READ PROMPT:
     Imagine you have now become a victim of the crime. Take paper 1 and rip it up, because this
    person doesn’t exist to you: you learned that they have been a victim to a homicide and are
    deceased.
     Now rip up paper 2 because you just learned the homicide occurred during the time you were
    involved in your favorite activity. This activity is no longer enjoyable to you because it reminds you
    of the loss of your loved one so this activity doesn’t exist for you anymore.
     Now rip up paper 3. Your favorite place is gone now too because this is where the murder occurred.
    This place no longer exists for you because you cannot go there without thinking of the loss of your
    loved one and the incident surrounding their death.
     Now what you have left is a secret. Something that makes you feel ashamed, and blaming yourself
    and helpless. This is similar to the feelings you might have for not being able to save your loved
    one. This is what you have left. Each victim has a personal experience and reaction. As a supporter
    and loved one of a victim, the closer you are, the more real it becomes.
     Discussion: Discuss what they have learned about how it would feel to lose someone they love to a
    violent crime. What reactions did they have that surprised them? What do they think would help
    victims of violent crime recover from such a powerful and painful experience? What would be
    unhelpful for people to say to them? What would be helpful for people to say to them?
    NPR Discussion: To Head Off Trauma’s Legacy, Start Young [5]
    Summary: Health professionals discuss the importance of supporting parents to help break generational
    cycles of trauma and abuse and measuring childhood adversity.

    A meaningful class discussion could be based around this video. A few sample discussion questions are
    outlined below:

     Why do you think it is important to measure childhood adversity? At what age should children
    begin to screened for childhood adversities?
     Do you think it would be helpful or hurtful to label a child with an “adversity score”? Would a label
    potentially create more problems or create opportunities to help children with high adversity
    scores?
     Do you think it is ethical or unethical to let the parents know about their child’s adversity score if
    asked? What if the parent is the cause?
    NPR Discussion: Exploring Multiple Personalities In ‘Sybil Exposed’ [6]
    Summary: Writer Debbie Nathan reports that she reviewed archived material documenting the experiences
    of a patient known as “Sybil” who reportedly suffered from multiple personality disorder in her book, Sybil
    Exposed. Ira Flatow and guests, Debbie Nathan, Paul McHugh, M.D., and dissociation expert, Bethany
    Brand, Ph.D., discuss multiple personality disorder and its modern equivalent—dissociative identity disorder
    (DID).

    A meaningful class discussion could be based around this video. A few sample discussion questions are
    outlined below:

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     Is there a way for mental health professionals to know if a now deceased patient such as Sybil
    actually had DID?
     What research supports the existence of DID and its treatment? What evidence is offered in support
    of the view that DID is created by therapists or other cultural influences?
     What are the points of view offered by each guest? Which guest(s) provide scientific evidence to
    support their point of view?
    NPR Discussion: In ‘The Evil Hours,’ A Journalist Shares His Struggle
    With PTSD [7]
    Summary: War correspondent and former Marine David Morris discusses the history and science of PTSD,
    as well as his own struggle with the disorder after encountering multiple traumatic events overseas.

    A meaningful class discussion could be based around this video. A few sample discussion questions are
    outlined below:

     Davies and Morris discuss Prolonged Exposure Treatment and the controversy surrounding it.
    What is your opinion on this treatment? Is this treatment more beneficial or harmful? Should it only
    be used on a case-by-case basis or routinely administered?
     Morris states that he personally found alcohol in moderation to be one of the “best PTSD drugs
    ever invented” and that other survivors have agreed with him. What do you think of this statement?
    Is this a slippery slope? If you were speaking with Morris, how would you reply to him?
     Why do you think Morris’ symptoms of PTSD became more exaggerated after a period of two
    years? Why do you think some individuals develop PTSD symptoms while others do not, even
    when faced with the same situation?

    [1] Harris, N. B. (2014). How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime. Retrieved from
    https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma
    _affects_health_across_a_lifetime
    [2] Psychology Tools. (2015). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Retrieved from
    http://psychology.tools/ptsd.html
    [3] Swope, M. (2015). Post traumatic stress disorder of victims of violent crimes. Retrieved from
    http://interruptviolence.com/assets/uploads/site/The-Interrupters-Curriculum-Lessons,Module-6.pdf
    [4] Harwood, B. & Haas, S. (2012). Your duty to crime victims: Know the right, do the right. Adapted from
    http://www.mdle.net/pdf/crimeviclesplan2012.pdf
    [5] Starecheski, L. (2015). To head off trauma’s legacy, start young. Retrieved from
    http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/03/09/377569414/to-head-off-traumas-legacy-start-young
    [6] Flatow, I., Nathan, D., McHugh, P., & Brand, B. (2011). Exploring multiple personalities in ‘Sybil
    Exposed’. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2011/10/21/141591185/exploring-multiple-personalities-in-
    sybil-exposed
    [7] Davies, D. & Morris, D. (2015). In ‘The Evil Hours’, a journalist shares his struggle with PTSD.
    Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2015/01/20/378586235/in-the-evil-hours-a-journalist-shares-his-
    struggle-with-ptsd
    Source:- http://www.teachtrauma.com/educational-tools/classroom-activities/

    The Effects of DID on Children of Trauma


    Survivors
    Home / Resources / For Survivors and Loved Ones / The Effects of DID on Children of Trauma Survivors

    604
    By Esther Giller President, The Sidran Institute Reprinted with permission from CASA Connection, vol.
    2, no. 2, Spring 1995.
     
    One of the significant mental health issues of the 1990s concerns the recognition of trauma as the root
    cause of some psychiatric conditions. Until recently, Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) and other
    Dissociative Disorders (DDs) have been considered to be rare and extraordinary phenomena. It is now
    understood that these conditions can be common effects of severe trauma in early childhood, most typically
    extreme, repeated physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse. In 1994, with the publication of the American
    Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, the name and some of
    the diagnostic criteria for Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) were changed to Dissociative Identity
    Disorder (DID), reflecting changes in professional understanding of the disorder. To make this article
    easier to read, I will use the acronym DID throughout; the points made, however, may apply to a variety of
    dissociative conditions.
    Parenting is difficult under the best of circumstances, but parents who have trauma disorders have
    particular challenges. Advocates who work with children of people with dissociative or other trauma
    disorders can be more effective if they appreciate the unique stressors faced by parents and children in
    these often troubled families. The intergenerational effects of dissociative and other trauma disorders is an
    area of study that is truly on “the cutting edge” for clinicians, researchers, and the legal and social service
    fields. Although several institutions are currently studying the effects on children of living with a
    dissociative parent, there is as yet very little data on the children themselves. For this reason, much of this
    article focuses on the parents, in the hope of shedding light on the dynamics within the families.
    People who chronically dissociate often refer to the experience as “spacing out” or “trancing.” Technically,
    dissociation is a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person’s thoughts, memories,
    feelings, actions, or sense of identity. When a person is dissociating, certain information is not associated
    with other information as it normally would be. For example, during a traumatic experience, a person may
    dissociate the memory of the place and circumstances of the trauma from his ongoing memory, resulting in
    a temporary mental escape from the fear and pain of the trauma and, in some cases, a memory gap
    surrounding the experience. Because this process can produce changes in memory, people who frequently
    dissociate often find their senses of personal history and identity are affected.
    Most clinicians believe that dissociation exists on a continuum of severity. This continuum reflects a wide
    range of experiences and/or symptoms. At one end are mild dissociative experiences common to most
    people, such as daydreaming, highway hypnosis, or “getting lost” in a book or movie, all of which involve
    “losing touch” with conscious awareness of one’s immediate surroundings. At the other extreme is
    complex, chronic dissociation, which may result in serious impairment or inability to function.
    It is important to understand, however, especially in light of implications for parenting, that many people
    with DID can hold highly responsible jobs and contribute to society in a variety of professional, artistic,

    605
    and service-oriented ways. To family members, co-workers, and neighbors with whom they interact daily,
    they apparently function normally. Any evaluation of a person’s ability to be a successful parent should be
    based on the circumstances of each particular case, and not on the fact that a person has been diagnosed
    with a dissociative disorder. People who have DID can be responsible, loving parents.
    Dissociative disorders develop under fairly consistent circumstances. When faced with overwhelmingly
    traumatic situations from which there is no physical escape, a child may resort to “going away” in his or
    her head. This ability is typically used by children as an extremely effective defense against acute physical
    and emotional pain, or anxious anticipation of that pain. By this dissociative process, thoughts, feelings,
    memories, and perceptions of the traumatic experiences can be separated off psychologically, allowing the
    child to function as if the trauma had not occurred.
    Dissociation is often referred to as a highly creative survival technique because it allows individuals
    enduring “hopeless” circumstances to preserve some areas of healthy functioning. Over time, however, for
    a child who has been repeatedly physically and sexually assaulted, defensive dissociation becomes
    reinforced and conditioned. Because the dissociative escape is so effective, children who are very practiced
    at it may automatically use it whenever they feel threatened or anxious—even if the anxiety-producing
    situation is not abusive. Often, even after the traumatic circumstances are long past, the left-over pattern of
    defensive dissociation remains. Chronic defensive dissociation may lead to serious dysfunction in work,
    family, social, and daily activities. Repeated dissociation may result in a series of separate entities, or
    mental states, which the trauma survivor may perceive as having identities of their own. These entities may
    become the internal “personality states” of a DID system. Changing between these states of consciousness
    is described as “switching.”
    People with dissociative disorders may experience any of the following: depression, mood swings, suicidal
    tendencies, sleep disorders (insomnia, night terrors, and sleep walking), panic attacks and phobias
    (flashbacks, reactions to stimuli or “triggers”), alcohol and drug abuse, compulsions and rituals, psychotic-
    like symptoms (including auditory and visual hallucinations), and eating disorders. In addition, individuals
    with DID can experience headaches, amnesias, time loss, trances, and “out of body experiences.” Some
    people with dissociative disorders have a tendency toward self-persecution, self-sabotage, and even
    violence (both self-inflicted and outwardly directed). Parents debilitated by trauma disorders share common
    family difficulties with other parents who have mental illnesses. These parents may be emotionally
    unavailable to their children, may neglect them, and may be unable to model responsible adult behavior.
    Often in such families, young children become “parentified,” taking on the nurturing parental role, caring
    for younger children and for the disabled parent, as well.
    The vast majority (as many as 98 to 99%) of individuals who develop DID have documented histories of
    repetitive, overwhelming, and often life-threatening trauma at a sensitive developmental stage of childhood
    (usually before the age of nine), and they may possess an inherited biological predisposition for
    dissociation. In our culture the most frequent precursor to DID is extreme physical, emotional, and sexual

    606
    abuse in childhood, but survivors of other kinds of trauma in childhood (such as natural disasters, invasive
    medical procedures, war, and torture) have also reacted by developing DID.
    Survivors of extreme trauma may also have additional parenting problems different from those of people
    with other psychiatric disabilities. For example, although a minority admit to being abusive, adults who
    grew up in violent, abusive families typically have no experience with parenting behavior other than that
    which is violent and abusive. All parents live vicariously, to some extent, through the experiences and
    activities of their children. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for a dissociative parent to functionally
    decompensate when their own children reach the age at which he or she was traumatized. Even if the parent
    does not become functionally impaired, the child’s age, appearance, and behavior may act as a “trigger,”
    reminding the parent of his or her own childhood abuse and subconsciously causing the parent to respond
    in a non-nurturing way.
    People often ask whether individuals diagnosed with DID actually have more than one personality. The
    answer is yes, and no. One reason for the name change from Multiple Personality Disorder to Dissociative
    Identity Disorder is that “multiple personalities” is a somewhat misleading term. A person diagnosed with
    DID perceives having within her two or more entities, or personality states, each with its own independent
    way of relating, perceiving, thinking and remembering about herself and her life. These entities previously
    were often called “personalities,” even though the term did not accurately reflect the common definition of
    the word. Other terms often used by therapists and survivors to describe these entities are: “alternate
    personalities”, “alters,” “parts,” “states of consciousness,” “ego states,” and “identities.” It is important to
    keep in mind that although these alternate personality states may appear to be very different, they are all
    manifestations of a single person.
    The fluctuations of alternate personality states may be a particular problem for the children of parents with
    DID. Most parents who have dissociative disorders perceive themselves as “good” mothers or fathers, and
    most have nurturing parental alters. A minority, however, are frankly abusive or deliberately hurtful:
    children may be injured when they are misperceived as someone else, or when an aggressive alter becomes
    hostile. More commonly, dissociative parents may elope for periods of time, fail to protect their children,
    and model inappropriate and non-nurturing behavior.
    Even in the best of cases, the children are often so attuned to the changes in the dissociative parent’s alters
    that they accommodate their own behavior accordingly. For example, children may learn to promote
    parental dissociation, encouraging permissive personalities to allow questionable activities, or using periods
    of parental amnesia to cover misbehavior. In many families with a dissociative parent, the inconsistencies
    of values, disciplinary codes, memory of daily routines, etc., can severely compromise the safety of the
    children and the level of function within the family.
    One complex aspect of the mental health picture in regard to children with a dissociative disorder is the
    recently recognized phenomenon of secondary traumatic stress. Children can be vicariously traumatized by
    living with a dissociative parent who may be self-destructive or prone to flashbacks of trauma experiences.

    607
    In addition, trauma survivors often find themselves in circumstances that are revictimizing, and their
    children may also be victimized in these situations. For example, it is not uncommon for people with
    histories of childhood victimization to connect with partners who are abusive, patterns which increase the
    risk to children and step-children.
    The standards of practice guidelines of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation
    suggests that the children of dissociative parents also be evaluated by a professional familiar with the
    indicators for dissociative disorders and child abuse. These are children who are at risk for a wide variety of
    psychiatric disabilities due to the instability in these families, risk of exposure to violence, and possible
    genetic factors. There is some evidence for a biological predisposition to dissociation. Because children of
    dissociative parents may have been left with extended family members who may be abusive, careful history
    taking regarding childcare arrangements is essential. Case studies of children of dissociative parents
    suggest that even without extreme abuse histories, these children may rely on fantasy and dissociative
    defenses for coping. Fortunately, if dissociative disorders are diagnosed in children, treatment tends to be
    quick and successful.
    Psychoeducation for children, to familiarize them with their parent’s problems, is an important
    intervention. Parents may have involved children too much, or conversely withheld information from them.
    Children need to learn to regard the parent’s dissociative behavior as a manifestation of an illness, rather
    than something to be imitated or manipulated. Many children in dissociative households have been placed
    in parent-like roles in the family to take care of parents who may regress. Family therapy to reestablish
    appropriate boundaries is important. Individual therapy for the child should focus on ambivalent feelings
    about the parents, and deal with traumatic exposure to family violence or witnessing of parental suicide
    attempts. Other therapeutic interventions might include confirmation of a child’s perception of their
    parent’s changeability and inconsistency; reality-orientation; and crisis intervention (focusing on fears,
    ambivalence, confusion over a parent’s bizarre behavior, and guilt over wished-for removal of the parent).
    Dissociative disorders are highly responsive to individual psychotherapy, or “talk therapy,” as well as
    medications, hypnotherapy, and adjunctive therapies such as art or movement therapy. In fact, DID may be
    the psychiatric condition that carries the best prognosis, if proper treatment is undertaken and completed.
    The course of treatment is long-term, intensive, and invariably painful, as it generally involves
    remembering and reclaiming the dissociated traumatic experiences. Nevertheless, individuals with DID
    have been successfully treated by therapists of all professional backgrounds working in a variety of
    settings.
    Sometimes DID parents involved in custody disputes are portrayed by their partners as “hopelessly
    mentally ill” and their utilization of therapy is portrayed as a weakness rather than as a strength. In legal
    proceedings it is extremely important to evaluate each case based on its own merits, using experts as
    necessary. Many DID patients are excellent parents who have made commitments not to recreate the
    patterns of abuse that existed in their families of origin. After a proper course of treatment specifically for

    608
    dissociative disorders, it is possible that even people who have had periods of compromised parenting can
    be successful and nurturing parents.
     
    References
    International Society for the Study of Dissociation, Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder
    (Multiple Personality Disorder) in Adults, Chicago, IL: ISSD, 1994
    Kluft, R., Clinical Perspectives on Multiple Personality Disorder, Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric
    Press, 1993.
    Putnam, F.W., Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder, New York, NY: Guilford Press,
    1989.
    General Reading about Dissociative Disorders
    Cohen, B., Giller, E., and W., L., Multiple Personality Disorder from the Inside Out, Baltimore, MD:
    Sidran Institute Press, 1991.
    Rivera, M., Multiple Personality Disorder: An Outcome of Child Abuse, Toronto, ON:
    Education/Dissociation, 1991.
    Speigel, D., Dissociative Disorders: A Clinical Review, Baltimore, MD: Sidran Institute Press, 1993.
    For Children of Parents with Dissociative Disorders
    Boat, B., and Peterson, G., Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) Explained for Kids, Chapel Hill, NC: The
    Childhood Trust, 1991.
    Sessions, D., My Mom Is Different, Baltimore, MD: Sidran Institute Press, 1994.
    These titles and other books, brochures, videotapes, and DVDs about trauma and dissociation are available
    from Sidran Institute. Visit www.sidran.org.

    Source:- https://www.sidran.org/resources/for-survivors-and-loved-ones/the-
    effects-of-did-on-children-of-trauma-survivors/

    Dissociative Parenting: Memory,


    Mistakes, and Middle School
    T H U R S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 9 2 0 1 0  H O L L Y G R A Y
     Print
     
    Share
    Yesterday was a big day for me and my son. He started middle school. I received a
    painful reminder that I’d be a better mother if I didn’t have Dissociative Identity
    Disorder and the unique memory problems that go with it. I knew it’d be a stressful day
    for him. The first day of the school year is always a little nerve-racking. Ratcheting up the
    tension was the newness of middle school – lockers, changing classrooms, six teachers

    609
    instead of one. I really wanted him to have a good first day. I made sure he had all of his
    school supplies and some new clothes. I took him to an orientation last week where he
    got his schedule, toured the school, and met his teachers. We talked about what to
    expect and how he felt. I dropped him off at 8am yesterday, satisfied that I’d done all I
    could to make his first day go smoothly.

    Photo by House Of Sims

    I Forgot I’m Parenting with A Handicap Called


    Dissociative Identity Disorder
    “How was it?” I asked as he got in the car after school. He didn’t look at me, but I could
    see he was trying not to cry. I shifted into empathetic mother mode and got ready to
    save the day. I took my cape off when he said, voice breaking:

    I missed the first day of school. It was yesterday. My friends asked me where I
    was and I thought it was a prank. It wasn’t. Everybody knew what they were doing
    but me. It was embarrassing.

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    There’s plenty about Dissociative Identity Disorder that’s painful, but nothing hurts
    like failing my child. I know mistakes are part of parenting. And I know that you don’t
    have to have DID to take your kid to the first day of middle school on what is actually the
    second day. Normal parents with reasonably cohesive identities occasionally forget
    really important things. But I’m not a normal parent with a reasonably cohesive identity.
    And mine aren’t your garden variety memory problems. When things like this happen, I
    don’t smack my forehead and say, “Oh that’s right! I forgot!” Because I didn’t forget. I
    never knew. I didn’t know yesterday was the first day of school.

    When I Say Memory Problems …


    People with Dissociative Identity Disorder don’t forget in the same way the rest of the
    world forgets. My brain’s default setting is compartmentalization to a degree that most
    people don’t experience or understand. Information comes in, but I may never see it
    before it’s stored somewhere that’s inaccessible to me. Without outsourcing memory to
    tools like calendars and cell phone alerts, everything – including parenting – is a
    crapshoot. I rely on those and other tools to tell me what to do because so often I don’t
    know what to do. Still, they’re not foolproof. Evidence of that is on my desk in the form
    of my calendar, open to Wednesday, September 8. Written in large, bold letters are the
    words, “First day of school!”

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    Tags:
    dissociation, dissociative identity disorder, Memory, mistakes, Parenting - TV Show Blog
    Dissociative Identity Disorder Video: Negotiating with Alters
    Disclosing Dissociative Identity Disorder

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

     
    Holly Gray
    Holly Gray

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    10 thoughts on “Dissociative Parenting: Memory,
    Mistakes, and Middle School”

    1. Lori says:

    September 9, 2010 at 1:33 pm

    611
    Hi,

    I too have a mental illness, but complicating that is I also have a very challenging
    special needs and mentally ill 13 year old child. So you put the two of us together
    and the recipe is not great.

    I have suffered much guilt over what I have not been able to do, to follow all the
    many suggestions given to me by the experts on how to parent my son – I do
    give him love and a stable home – all of my health and my time has gone into
    researching ways to help him, fighting for resources, for which now I have
    received basically all of them. Then all of the input and suggestions pushed me
    over the edge – I ended up having to say no, push the experts away and ask
    them to please leave us alone.

    I believe my son may have done better if I could have kept up the consistancy of
    all of their suggestions – remained tough enough to withstand all of his
    resistance, oppositional and anger, but my mental illness of bipolar depression
    exacerbated with the enormous amount of stress involved trying to parent this
    extremely challenging child.

    I’m supposed to be consistant with getting my two children to do chores, put


    more energy into balanced nutrition, brushing their teeth, more productive
    activities, but I barely have enough emotional and physical energy to provide for
    their basic needs, which is to be there for them, make sure they have food, love,
    stable home. That’s all I can do. Just basic survival. I feel I have short-changed
    them – time is spent with experts, appointments, extra time needed to try to
    help my son, plus the experts want me to find some “me” time. That’s mostly
    possible with someone without a mental illness, who doesn’t have the extra
    challenges I have.

    There is no opportunity to be able to take for granted what other families appear
    to be able to take for granted – normal children who are not mentally
    challenged, who can take part in normal activities, children who don’t suffer from
    depression and are constantly sad, angry and negative. We cannot live as a
    family – my husband is the primary caregiver for my 13 year old son – I am the
    primary caregiver for my 10 year old daughter. We cannot do anything as a
    family, go out, have people over, even sit at the dinner table together – my son is
    too ill.

    I try to relish the rare moments of calm when there is not a tornado going on in
    our home, one in which each of us suffers. I try to look ahead to a few years
    from now, hoping there will be an end to this, and wishing for the old difficult
    life, not realizing how my life was to become a lot more difficult.

    Sorry to sound like such a whiner.

    Reply

    612
    1. Holly Gray says:

    September 11, 2010 at 5:20 pm

    Hi Lori,

    I really can’t imagine what it would be like to not only parent with
    Dissociative Identity Disorder, but parent a mentally ill child with
    Dissociative Identity Disorder. Parenting, and life in general, would be far
    more difficult, I’ve no doubt.

    Even so, I can certainly relate to some of what you’ve shared.

    “I’m supposed to be consistant with getting my two children to do chores,


    put more energy into balanced nutrition, brushing their teeth, more
    productive activities, but I barely have enough emotional and physical
    energy to provide for their basic needs, which is to be there for them,
    make sure they have food, love, stable home.”

    My child isn’t mentally ill, but the above resonates so well with my
    experience as a mother I could have written it myself.

    Those of us who don’t have mentally ill children probably do take some
    things for granted now and then. And a little perspective goes a long way
    towards reminding us to be grateful for what we have. With that in mind,
    I’d like to thank you for commenting and sharing some of your story. But
    I’d also like to point out that though many families may take things like
    well children for granted, many also struggle privately with other
    challenges that make life exceedingly difficult, though in different ways.
    It’s also worth noting that grief and frustration does not preclude
    gratitude. In other words, even if a family truly does have the easiest
    possible existence, and even if they sometimes give voice to complaints
    and grievances that seem comparatively trivial, it doesn’t mean they’re
    not also capable of recognizing their good fortune.

    And for what it’s worth, your comment doesn’t read as whining to me at
    all.

    Reply

    2. Lori says:

    September 14, 2010 at 11:35 am

    Hi Holly,

    613
    Thank you for your kind comment. As I read back what I wrote, I can see where I
    made a blanket statement regarding normal children. That was just my
    bitterness and jealousy coming through and it was good for me to have a reality
    check through your responses. Of course most parents are aware and grateful
    their children are well, plus they have their own private struggles, and out of my
    own pain, my comment was somewhat narrow-minded to say the least.

    Your blog really hit home when you wrote about your experience trying to
    parent your child while suffering from a mental illness. I sit here paralyzed by my
    illness, feeling guilty for not being more involved in my other child’s life (my ill
    child refuses to have anything to do with me). Yet my well child, 10 year old
    daughter is the opposite – trying to compensate for her brother? She’s cheerful,
    spirited, positive, loving and we are almost joined at the hip. Because I am not
    well right now, she sits there right along with me and watches Dallas reruns.

    In a perfect world, I would like to be teaching her cooking, to clean her room,
    help with chores, be involved with her school. It started out that way – until my
    son got so ill and brought me down with him.

    My friends and family don’t understand, and it’s hard to try to get together with
    them, and try to talk about normal things, to hide all the pain I’m in – they’ve
    heard it from me all before – it gets so tiresome to be the one taking and not
    able to be giving. I don’t want to call anyone because I’ll break down into tears
    just hearing their kind voices. I just do want to do that AGAIN!! That old merry go
    round has to stop!!

    I should mention I am a psychiatric nurse working here in British Columbia,


    Canada. I get the rewards from work instead of the constant failures, frustrations
    and disappointments from home. I have a different face and another tank that is
    not empty and I can give and inspire from my heart, my education and
    experience.

    I had a wonderful, lively conversation with a group of patients all mentally ill
    enough to be hospitalized. They were all higher educated, more intelligent and
    knowledgeable than I was. The theories and opinions they all had, all university
    educated, some more than with one degree, yet too ill at this time to be able to
    function in their day to day lives.

    I am able to sound more optimistic than this, I am just having a low moment.
    Thank goodness for this blog – a place where I am not speaking a foreign
    language and people understand, plus I am no longer the only one, I can now
    speak about myself.

    You and I have different illnesses – myself bipolar depression, but the outcome is
    still the same – pain, guilt and frustration.

    Reply

    614
    1. Holly Gray says:

    September 16, 2010 at 11:50 am

    Lori –

    Your earlier comment didn’t read as narrow-minded to me at all. I just


    wanted to share a version of that oft repeated caution against
    “comparing your insides with other people’s outsides.” It’s a little
    simplistic, I know, and it irritates me sometimes because I believe there’s
    true value in comparisons. But particularly when I feel defeated by my
    limitations in some area – like I did about parenting the day I wrote this
    post – it helps me to remember that I cannot know anyone’s private
    struggles like I know my own. Mental illness brings with it real isolation,
    and I certainly don’t mean to gloss that over with a peppy, “Well,
    everyone has struggles!” There is no denying that your situation as a
    parent is not something most people can relate to. And that’s lonely and
    it makes the day-to-day struggle that much harder. It just helps me to
    remember that everyone knows some sort of struggle, even if they don’t
    or are unwilling to understand mine. I guess it makes me feel like a
    human being, a fallible member of the human race.

    “In a perfect world, I would like to be teaching her cooking, to clean her
    room, help with chores, be involved with her school. ”

    I definitely relate to feeling like you’re shortchanging your child because


    of the demands and limitations of mental illness. I worry about that
    often. My mother did a great job with that kind of stuff – teaching those
    basic skills like how to do laundry, cook, etc. Meanwhile my son will be
    twelve tomorrow and doesn’t know how to properly wash a dish.

    “You and I have different illnesses – myself bipolar depression, but the
    outcome is still the same – pain, guilt and frustration.”

    That’s for sure.

    Thanks, Lori, for commenting.

    Reply

    3. Pilgrim says:

    May 31, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    615
    I have the worst memory in the world. I’m so absent-minded that I feel
    downright stupid sometimes. This sounds like something I would do, miss the
    1st day of school. Information goes into my head (supposedly) and I dont know
    where it goes.

    Reply

    4. Holly Keller says:

    March 1, 2015 at 5:34 pm

    Greetings to all,
    I was so excited when I stumbled across this blog. I could identify with
    everything. I too am bi-polar along with personality disorder.
    I was blaming my memory problems on the side affect from being on chemo for
    a year after being diagnosed with melanoma. I knew it was more than a little
    memory problem when I woke up to see my sister, with whom I live with getting
    dressed; I asked where she was going and she replied, “to work” with a confused
    look on her face and I said, “what happened to Saturday and Sunday”? I didn’t
    remember where I went, what I ate or even what I wore! I knew this was more
    than a little memory problem. My short term memory is nonexistent! It’s scary,
    embarrassing because I can’t hold a normal conversation with people and
    frustrating to say the least. My world revolves around calendars, post-it notes
    and phone reminders. I have not been diagnosed professionaly but after reading
    these blogs I am Definately going to talk to my doctor. Thanks to all of you who
    were brave enough to share your stories.

    Reply

    5. Jess says:

    February 5, 2016 at 12:15 pm

    I was looking through Internet resources for parenting with DID and I found this.
    I’m soon to be a young mom with DID. I’m only 25 and my child is due in August.
    My husband, of course, is supportive of me and my alters but I haven’t a clue
    how this whole parenting thing is going to go.

    I like to think I have a healthy handle on my disorder but the memory problems
    drive me insane. I always repeat myself because I don’t remember telling people
    what I just said. I ask the same questions over and over because I can’t
    remember what the answer was or even if I asked the question. I have to leave
    bills on the fridge and remove them as they get paid and check them each day to

    616
    make sure I don’t miss the due dates. I feel like someone with early dementia
    because I just can’t remember sometimes.

    So I guess the question is, what are your effective ways to keep track of
    important dates. I don’t work right now so I don’t have a system set up but I
    know I’m really going to need one. I’m going to try and remember important
    dates but like you told, it doesn’t always work. So I’m going to need a good
    system. What works for you?

    Reply

    6. Linda says:

    February 14, 2016 at 11:24 am

    Hi Jess,
    It helps me to put everything on my phone with alarms. My therapist and my
    instructor at college think I’m very detail oriented and organized, but my kids
    would laugh if they heard it. Before the smart phone I would miss appointments,
    despite having a calendar and white board in the hallway to remind me. It
    worked to an extent, but the alarms dinging work better for me.

    Reply

    7. Mama86 says:

    June 5, 2016 at 6:21 pm

    I have DID. Ive known for years but have kept it to myself. I stopped going to
    therapy when they suggested it. I was and still am afraid. I wanted to have a
    normal life, you know, with kids and a husband and a house with a white fence
    and such. It seems my hidden self has made it very difficult to find my
    happyness. Im married, but every day is a fight. He doesnt understand why one
    day i say and do and dress one way, then the next i seem to have forgotten all
    about it and am “another person” he loves one of me and hates another and has
    no patience for the third. Worst yet, he does not believe in mental illness which i
    thought was a blessing so he would never guess my secret, but now that ive tried
    explaining in order to save our failing relationship, i see it for the curse it is. On
    top of that, one of me hates him and just keeps hurting him and i can make up
    for it any more. Added to the mix, we have two boys 5 and 2 who both have ASD
    and my oldest Exhibits signs of DID. His alter is mean and violent and hurts
    himself sometimes. Now he has another someone who seems to be female. My
    husband insists there is no such thing as mental illness and says our sons are

    617
    just trying to get attention. I still dont want to come out with my illness because
    im afraid someone will use it to take my boys from me and regardless of my
    alters, we love our sons more than life. I know if my boys were not here, i would
    have killed myself long ago. I know in the face of immenent divorce, i need help,
    but can anyone tell me, if i do get help, can it be used against me to take my kids
    away?

    Reply

    8. kari says:

    October 16, 2016 at 10:02 pm

    I lose track of time everyday. A couple of years ago i noticed stuff would appear
    in my home. It’s been nerve racking today because I’ve noticed changes have
    been in the weirdest places. It’s as if they moved on there own or that I’m not
    alone. It only happens as far as i know a couple times a month. It’s getting really
    difficult for me to find a doctor to listen to me and to actually admit i have DID. I
    have talked to doctors about it all my life and everyone has a different
    diagnoses.

    Source:-
    http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/dissociativeliving/2010/09/dissociative-
    parenting-memory-mistakes-and-middle-school/

    Gunmen invade Cumberland High in


    search of students
    1:16 pm, Wed November 9, 2016

    618
    A heavy contingent of police officers responded to a chaotic scene at
    Cumberland High School in Portmore, St. Catherine on Wednesday morning as
    gunmen reportedly invaded the institution in search of certain students. 
        
    RJR News has been informed that the incident is connected to last week's
    murder of a student, Deandre Erlington, in Windsor Heights.
         
    It is believed the gunmen came on the school compound in search of his friends
    who still attend Cumberland High.
         
    The police in response flooded the panic-filled school.
         
    Students were reportedly traumatised, with some fainting.
          
    Parents are reportedly picking up their children
    Source:- http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/gunmen-invade-cumberland-high-in-
    search-of-students

    Advertisement

    Gunmen invade St. Catherine school


    5:16 pm, Thu November 11, 2010

    619
    Teachers at the Spring Gardens All-Age School in St. Catherine have been left
    shaken after gunmen entered the institution during devotions Wednesday
    morning.

    It is reported that two men entered the school compound about 7o'clock but were
    spotted by students who alerted the teachers.

    The police were notified and a team was sent to the school but by that time the
    men had already left the compound.

    Not long after the cops left, it is reported that the men returned, and again the
    police were alerted.

    On their second visit, the police had a brief meeting with the students and staff.

    The two men are suspected to have carried out a robbery at the school a few
    months ago.

    During that incident, two men robbed the occupants of a vehicle that was
    delivering buns to the school.

    The teachers are calling for increased security presence at the school.

     
    Source:- http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/gunmen-invade-st-catherine-school

    News
    Gunmen invade Manchester school
    BY MARK CUMMINGS Observer staff writer cummingsm@jamaicaobserver.com

    Wednesday, July 14, 2010 | 4:25 PM    

    GUNMEN invaded the McIntosh Memorial Primary School in Williamsfield, Manchester this
    afternoon and stole an undetermined sum of money, laptop computers and other items, after gun-
    butting two teachers.

    620
    Principal of the school Sheron Anderson, told the Observer that at about 1:40 pm armed men
    entered the classrooms where the teachers were working, gun butted them and stole their hand
    bags containing money and other items, as well as laptop computers before escaping on foot.

    Anderson said it was the second time in two months that the school was robbed.

    Six weeks ago, she said, thieves cut the roof in a section of canteen and stole food items valued
    at over $60,000.

    The police have confirmed both incidents.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Gunmen-invade-Manchester-school

    10-year-old robbed on his way to school


    by
    Andre Williams
    December 01, 2016

     Photo

    The Stadium Gardens police are seeking a man who held up and robbed a 10-
    year-old student of his cell phone while he was making his way to school
    yesterday morning.
    Information reaching THE STAR is that shortly after 6:30 a.m., the grade-five
    student of Excelsior Primary was approached by a man on a bicycle, who
    demanded his cell phone.

    621
    expressed concern
    The incident reportedly, took place on Courtney Avenue a few metres away from
    the school.
    Novelette Smith-Rickets, the child's mother, told THE STAR yesterday evening
    about the incident, and expressed concern not just for her son, but for other
    children.
    "He is very shaken up and sad. I spoke to him about the student who was
    stabbed to death a few weeks ago for a cell phone so he told me he did not resist
    when the robber requested the phone," she said.
    "Everybody was touched by what happen and how that child died, so we all fear
    for the children," she added.
    THE STAR was told that following yesterday's robbery, the child cried his way to
    school and notified personnel there about what transpired.
    Our news team gathered that Smith-Rickets was summoned to the school and
    took her son to the police to file a report.
    "We were interviewed by two officers who took a signed statement from him.
    They said the matter is simple larceny," said Smith-Rickets.
    The Stadium Gardens police confirmed an official report was made and the
    matter is being investigated.
    This incident comes after third- form Jamaica College student Nicholas Francis
    was killed in late October after he was robbed of his cell phone.
    Just days later, a Camperdown High student was stabbed and robbed of his
    phone as well.
    Source:- http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20161201/10-year-old-robbed-his-way-school

    More students robbed in Corporate Area


    since JC student's killing
    12:27 pm, Tue November 1, 2016

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    Errol Holmes, PTA President at Jamaica College

    It has revealed that there have been more attacks on students in the Corporate
    Area, following last week's fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Jamaica College student
    Nicholas Francis.    
      
    Errol Holmes, President of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at Jamaica
    College, has shared information that at least two other attacks have taken place,
    which involved students from the institution, as well as Ardenne High and
    Kingston College.
       
    Mr. Holmes made the disclosure following Monday's silent protest at Jamaica
    College against violence affecting children. 
      
    He is pushing for an exclusive JUTC school bus service for the Corporate Area
    during peak hours or for legislative changes to be made, which will force public
    transport operators to have video recording devices in their vehicles.

    Source:- http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/more-students-robbed-in-corporate-area-
    since-jc-students-killing

    623
    Vere Tech students robbed at
    gunpoint on school's dormitory
    By KARYL WALKER Editor - Crime/court desk walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com

    Thursday, September 26, 2013     9 Comments

    A section of the dormitory where gunmen held up nine students of the Vere Technical
    High School early yesterday. (PHOTO: KARL MCLARTY

    THE Clarendon police were yesterday maintaining a presence at the Vere Technical High School
    at Hayes in the parish following the armed robbery of nine students on the school's dormitory
    yesterday morning.

    Police report that four men barged into the dormitory about 2:15 am, armed with handguns and
    high-powered rifles, and robbed the students at gunpoint.

    The gunmen made off with cellular phones, laptop computers, bags, and books.

    None of the students were injured.

    Yesterday, staff at the school were tight-lipped about the incident and refused to speak with the
    Jamaica Observer.

    However, one student said the victims were traumatised.

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    "The man dem shaken up bad. The gunman dem point dem guns at them and some a dem still
    scared," the student said.

    A resident of Hayes told the Observer that this was the second time in recent months that
    students at the school were being robbed.

    "Is mus' be people who know the area do this. Is the second time now this happen at Vere. Every
    school under threat because time get hard and the robber dem on the loose," the resident said.

    The dormitory area of Vere Technical is located at the back of the school compound, very close
    to an area with heavy brush. There is no wall or fence behind the buildings.

    It is suspected that the gunmen made their escape through the bushes.

    Another student said the fear factor was very high.

    "People are very afraid and we are very concerned for our fellow students who went through that
    terrible ordeal. I am just glad that no one was hurt. I hope whoever do it get catch because it
    wrong to rob schoolchildren whose parents work hard to make them comfortable," the student
    said.

    An officer at the Hayes Police Station said an investigation into the incident had begun.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Vere-Tech-students-robbed-at-
    gunpoint-on-school-s-dormitory_15139304

    News
    School plagued by theft, other
    problems, in need of help
    BY JEDIAEL CARTER Sunday Observer reporter carterj@jamaicaobserver.com

    Sunday, February 07, 2016     4 Comments

    625
    A section of the school that is slowly being eaten away by soil erosion.

    The age-old proverb ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ is generally accepted as
    sound advice. But in an environment where there is little room for play, students of Mount
    Hermon Primary School have had to adapt.

    “We have lots of unsafe areas,” teacher Cynthia Wolfe Anderson told the Jamaica Observer last
    Friday during a tour of the small compound which has approximately 20 out-of-bounds areas
    labelled ‘Unsafe Area’.

    According to Wolfe Anderson, safety is one of the school’s major concerns as landslides and soil
    erosion have been getting the better of the terrain.

    “All of this is going,” Wolfe Anderson said, pointing to the edge of the property in Riversdale, St
    Catherine. “We’re trying to hold it back with the planting of grass, but weathering is just making it
    difficult.”

    When asked how the children were controlled, Anderson shivered and said the security guard
    and other members of staff watch them as they play during the break periods.

    The concern for safety is underlined by the fact that the property is not fenced, a project that the
    school has been hoping to get under way for a while now.

    “The persons from the Ministry of Education came and they looked at it for the rails. They said
    that the rails would have been put up for about a year now [but] there are [still] no rails,” Wolfe
    Anderson lamented.

    She said the lack of fencing has led to incidents of theft from the property. This, she added, has
    stifled the school’s initiative in poultry rearing.

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    “We put chickens in it (the coop) [but] we had to stop because over the holidays what persons do,
    because security is not 24 hours [and] teachers and students are out, the coop is left
    unsupervised [and] people come help themselves,” the educator told the

    Sunday Observer.

    The school also experiences water theft, due to the fact that the community suffers from a
    shortage of the commodity. In addition, furniture and other school amenities are stolen.

    “We got some chairs and desks from Food For the Poor and it was a trailer-load of desks and
    chairs and... some of the times you come, three suites gone, that is a desk and a chair,” she said.

    “I brought a new bin into my classroom and I left it, you know, because we have the water
    shortage in the community. I came back Monday morning, the bin was gone. They moved with
    the cover, the bin, everything,” Wolfe Anderson said.

    But theft and eroding terrain are not the only setbacks for Mount Hermon Primary. According to
    Wolfe Anderson, there is a decline in the school’s population because of the increase in parents’
    concern for the safety of their children when travelling to school.

    In the rural community children usually walk to school, but the loneliness of the road has caused
    parents to reconsider that mode of travel.

    “We don’t have enough taxis on this route to say okay, they will get taxi to come. There are only
    two, sometimes one regular taxi driver, that’s on this route, so to get the children up [here] they
    have to walk. Parents are saying, ‘no Mount Hermon’ because they can’t take for them to be
    walking on the lonely road,” she told the Sunday Observer.

    The school currently has 103 students enrolled, with the largest class numbering 28. When asked
    to make a juxtaposition of what the population once was, Wolfe Anderson said when she started
    working at the school there were over 400 students enrolled.

    She also highlighted a need for computers and other high technology items to help enhance the
    children’s learning experience and save the school money. Mount Hermon Primary is currently
    without functioning computers and only has one small functional printer.

    This was underlined by principal Alvin Walker’s response when asked what was the main thing he
    would lobby for as headmaster. “One of the main things that we actually lobby for is computers,
    because we are living in a technological age and children tend to have an affinity to technology.
    They like technology and that will go a far way in enhancing students’ learning. Everybody is into
    tablets and such things, we have no such,” he said.

    “So we would like to have a computer lab, and even the regular desktop computers, hardly
    anybody uses those anymore or really go for those, so if we could get some laptops, some
    tablets, trust me, that would really enhance our effort a whole lot,” he said.

    The school has a few computers set up for display in strategic areas, but unfortunately they don’t
    work. “These are just models for the children,” Wolfe Anderson told the Sunday Observer as she
    guided the newspaper through the computer lab.

    “The computers you see, we got as a donation,” she explained. “They worked for about two
    months or something and stopped. We tried to fix some, but the cost was too much, so they are
    just here stored.”

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    When asked how test papers were printed, the teacher stated that private institutions are utilised.

    “We collect donations from children towards it, and then we’d go out and print, or a teacher would
    take his or her printer from home and we use it. There is only one functioning printer which is
    used in the guidance office,” she explained.

    Echoing the call for technology, the principal also highlighted the need for a photocopying
    machine to assist the school during test periods.

    The school has also been without Internet access for the past year, courtesy of vandals who have
    stolen the phone lines which have not been replaced. According to Wolfe Anderson, the school
    has since adapted and has been using teachers’ cellphones to circulate administrative and other
    school-related matters.

    Walker also noted the need for an additional tank to store drinking water for children, as the five
    tanks on the compound are used to store rain water, which is not safe for drinking.

    “The water that we have at the school, the children are not allowed to drink it. They have to carry
    their own when they come to school. Who don’t carry, drink juice,” Wolfe Anderson told
    the Sunday Observer.

    The stored water is sufficient to maintain the canteen and the bathrooms, but during the drought
    periods water use and distribution become problematic.

    “We pray that there isn’t a drought, because when it’s drought we have to depend on the truck...
    and we have to wait weeks upon weeks upon weeks and then you see the truck finally roll in,”
    Wolfe Anderson said.

    But staff at Mount Hermon Primary are not daunted by their reality and continue to work to
    improve student performance.

    “We have to see school as a business these days, because there is competition. Everybody
    pretty much is going for the best in the area, so if we don’t perform on par with them, and even
    better than them, then we will always be losing our students to them,” the headmaster said in
    reference to the declining population.

    He said that last year there was an increase in the school’s numeracy and literacy rates, noting
    that they have made tremendous strides in recent times.

    “For 2015 we improved our numeracy rate from 41 per cent to 55 per cent, and literacy from 71 to
    85, that’s commendable, so we just want to continue to improve in that area; go in the right
    direction,” he said.

    He admitted that Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) pass rates are a challenge, but said efforts
    and changes are being made to improve this,especially because in the education ministry’s
    recently released results, Mount Hermon Primary’s averages were below the regional and
    national averages.

    But the principal has been using his background in Mathematics training to help strengthen the
    math grades of the sixth grade boys – the ones considered the weakest in that area. What he
    does is take them from class for an hour daily and tutors them. Additionally, he hosts a Saturday
    class for all GSAT students.

    628
    “We have a lot of potential, but we just need to put the effort in and we have been putting the
    effort in to rise to the level where we want to reach,” he noted.

    “So, in order to be able to have the enrolment of the school from where it is now, we have to look
    more at improving the performances in the academics, as well as the co-curricular activities. So
    we have our 4H club, our Red Cross, JCDC [Jamaica Cultural Development Commission],
    spelling, all those things. So we are trying to do our best in these areas because we want to
    attract the children, even if it’s not from this area,” he continued.

    The National Education Inspectorate report done recently labelled the school a failing institution
    for its poor infrastructure. But with over half the population on PATH (the Government programme
    that provides assistance to needy Jamaicans), the school has had difficulty collecting its
    development fund from parents – a mere $1,500 annually – which would assist in infrastructural
    improvement.

    That, Walker said, is due to the fact that many parents in the farming community are not working.
    “Just a few persons pay in spite of us encouraging them to pay, even in small instalments,”
    Walker said.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/School-plagued-by-theft--other-
    problems--in-need-of-help_50951

    Robberies choking Walkerswood All-


    Age
    Computers, toilets, food items taken in 8th break-in since 2011

    BY RENAE DIXON Sunday Observer staff reporter dixonr@jamaicaobserver.com

    Sunday, January 26, 2014     5 Comments

    629
    The school proudly displays portraits of Jamaica’s National heroes and Heroine.
    (PHOTOS: RENAE DIXON)

    WALKERSWOOD, St Ann — Parents, teachers and other staff members of the Walkerswood All-
    Age School in St Ann have stated that they are fed up with a series of robberies which has been
    plaguing the institution.

    The most recent robbery occurred some time over last weekend, with thieves removing food
    items from the school's canteen valuing at over $7,000.

    According to school officials, items bought last week totalled over $7,000; however, there were
    other items in the canteen before that purchase.

    The school has lost several items in eight robberies which have occurred since May 2011, with
    six robberies within the last six months. Among the items lost are three toilet boils which were
    removed from the students' restroom. The discovery of the missing toilets was made as the
    school prepared for the new term earlier this month.

    Two weeks later, the school was to make another depressing find. Five gallons of oil, a half-a-bag of
    cornmeal, along with several other food items, including eggs which were to be used to prepare meals for
    the students during the course of last week, were taken.

    The string of robberies has been disheartening for the teachers. According to Principal Marsha Henry,
    during a staff meeting on Tuesday morning, January 21, teachers openly cried.

    630
    "We have to start all over. We had a meeting this morning and teachers were crying," Henry said.

    "It is as if the effort we have made is not appreciated," she added.

    The school is still trying to recover from previous robberies which saw all six computers owned by the
    institution being removed, along with an HP laser jet printer, a camera, an IBM laptop, laptop bag, a
    television and a Toshiba DVD Player. A refrigerator was also taken from the school.

    "Everything that can use to enhance teaching and learning has been taken away," Henry told the Jamaica
    Observer during

    an interview.

    She said that all the computers used in the library to help to enhance the children's reading were taken,
    along with the one computer in the administrative office.

    "We are back at square one," she said. "All the computers that the school has ever owned were taken."

    Henry said that she has to be doing things the old way; getting letters done by hand, for example.

    Several of the items stolen were donated by Coldax Mart through the Digicel Foundation. Thieves have
    also made off with a Literacy Cart donated by the Foundation. The cart was one of 50 donated to schools
    across the island.

    A safe at the institution, with important documents, was stolen last year. Henry said that she was preparing
    for national inspection and had put all her documents together when the safe was removed.

    She believes that the culprits may have thought that the box contained money.

    Materials bought to be used to make tablecloths in a dinning area for the school's 147 students were also
    stolen.

    Following several robberies at the school in 2013, the Ministry of Education ensured that the school had
    adequate lighting and that all classrooms had doors. However, that has not deterred criminals who have
    repeatedly picked the locks and entered the school to remove items.

    What has been even more unsettling for Henry and her staff is the way the criminals have been operating.

    "They close back the doors, the windows and grilles when they leave, so you do not know that there has
    been a robbery until you actually go inside," she explained.

    631
    She pointed out that with the robbery of the toilets, she only found out that they were missing when the
    janitor went to clean the restroom, as the culprits had closed back the door and turned off the water leading
    to the facility.

    During the robberies, charts and several other items used by teachers were also destroyed.

    With work being done on the institution, workmen had left plyboard in a classroom at the institution, some
    of which were also stolen.

    The school currently has no security guard or watchman and is not fenced and so it is forced to continue to
    operate at risk, until the situation is addressed.

    "There is nothing we can do but try and protect ourselves," Henry stated.

    She said students are depending on the school for meals, and so food items will still have to be bought
    although there is no guarantee that they will not be stolen.

    Henry and her team are now awaiting plans by the ministry to have the school secured.

    According to her, Regional Director Maxine Headlam, head of Region Three, and other personnel have
    been very supportive. She explained that Headlam is now looking to have security personnel placed at the
    institution.

    Henry said that she has written a letter to the ministry outlining the urgency with which the matter needs to
    be addressed.

    Parents staged a peaceful demonstration at the institution on Tuesday. They said that if nothing is done to
    address the issues faced by the school they will mount a bigger demonstration.

    Henry said that the school has been receiving assistance from the Jamaica Defence Force, which has
    collaborated with the Ministry of Education to get work at the institution done. The Ferncourt High School
    has also been assisting with metal work to increase the security at the school.

    "A number of persons have offered to assist," Henry said.

    Source:- http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Robberies-choking-Walkerswood-
    All-Age_15865978

    632
    UPDATE - 11 year old accused of killing
    14 year old in police custody
    8:20 am, Tue April 4, 2017

    The 11 year old boy who allegedly chopped to death 14 year old, Orane Johnson
    in Low River in Wait-A-Bit, Trelawny yesterday is in police custody.

    The 11 year old was taken to the Wait-A-Bit Police Station by family members
    Monday night.
      
    Along with the police, family members  found the 11 year old in the bushes.
     
    "He'll be interviewed... you know he's a very young man," said Acting
    Commanding Officer for the Trelawny Police, Deputy Superintendent Carlos
    Russell.
     
    Orane was a student of Albert Town High School.

    633
    http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/update-11-year-old-accused-of-killing-14-year-old-
    in-police-custody

    Brothers chopped to death by nephew in


    Clarendon
    12:17 pm, Fri December 16, 2016

    Two brothers were chopped to death Thursday evening during a dispute with
    their nephew in Pennants, Clarendon.
       
    They have been identified as 67-year-old farmer Desmond McKenzie and 50-
    year-old mechanic Cecil McKenzie, otherwise called Dean. Both men are from of
    John Austin in Clarendon.
       
    Their nephew is in custody.
     
    According to the Clarendon police, shortly before 7:00 p.m., the accused
    removed furniture from a family house.
        
    He was about to drive out with the items when his uncles and two cousins drove
    up to the gate in a car.

    634
        
    The men reportedly alighted with handguns and attacked him. He retaliated by
    chopping them with a machete.
        
    His uncles were pronounced dead at the Chapelton Hospital. One of his cousins
    has been admitted in stable condition.
        
    The other cousin, who reportedly fired several rounds at the accused, escaped.
        
    It is believed that the incident stemmed from a dispute over the family house.
        
    The police say Desmond McKenzie was released from prison two years ago after
    serving 20 years for murder.
        
    His brother, Cecil McKenzie, was featured in an RJR Newscast on Wednesday,
    when he spoke of his business being displaced during the construction of a
    bridge in Pennants by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).
        
    Hours before his death on Thursday, Mr. McKenzie met with the National Works
    Agency's Communication Manager during a tour of the area.
    Source:- http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/brothers-chopped-to-death-by-nephew-in-
    clarendon

    NEWS

    Man says he chopped teens to death because they stole


    from his farm
    Friday, March 17, 2017 

    635
    KINGSTON, Jamaica — The man accused of killing two St Elizabeth students in
    January 2014 was yesterday convicted on two counts of murder.

    The accused, 26-year-old Alton Baker, was charged after allegedly chopping to
    death 15-year-old boys Desrick Williams, a student of Balaclava High School and
    Ashnell Coke of Maggotty High on January 8, 2014.

    The Director of Public Prosecutions, in a release today, outlined that on the


    afternoon of their deaths, Williams and Coke went to a river in the community of
    Thornton in St Elizabeth to catch shrimp. However, when the youngsters did not
    return home their fathers and other community members went in search of them.

    Their bodies were found about 10:00pm that night by a river in a farmland known
    as Jackass Pasture, covered with bushes, with several gaping chop wounds to
    their heads.  The scene was processed and their bodies were moved to the
    morgue.

    Baker was arrested about 3:00 am the following morning.

    When confronted with the allegations he told the investigating officer: “Mi ketch
    dem a tief out mi grung; a long time dem a dweet so mi give dem two outta mi
    machete,” the DPP reported.

    Baker gave an unsworn statement during trial and nine witnesses were called.

    636
    He will be sentenced in the St Elizabeth Circuit Court on March 30th.
    Leave your comments below...

    Source:- http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/news/Man-says-he-chopped-
    teens-to-death-because-they-stole-from-his-farm

    End

    Women march against violence in


    MoBay
    Monday, February 06, 2017 | 7:24 PM     28 Comments

    Protesters in Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay, today during a peaceful protest against
    violence against women and children. (Photo: JIS)

    ST JAMES, Jamaica (JIS) — Scores of women drawn from all sectors of society staged a
    peaceful march in Montego Bay on Monday to call for an end to violence against women and
    children.

    The placard-bearing women, accompanied by a small contingent of men including Government


    Senator Charles Sinclair, marched from Barnett Street into the historic Sam Sharpe Square,
    where they blended their voices in a unified call for an end to violence.

    637
    The placards had messages such as “end violence now”, “save our children”, “protect our girls
    and women”, and “enough is enough.”

    Chief organiser, Natasha Wilson, told JIS News that the march was aimed at sending a strong
    message to the perpetrators of crimes against women as well as to the relevant authorities that
    the women and, by extension, the country was at a breaking point.

    She said the march was also aimed at moving the conversation about violence against women
    and children from the social medial platforms to public spaces.

     “The women’s movement has decided to stand up against what is happening against women and
    children. Persons share these situations on social media and they made individual calls to their
    friends but we need to stand up in the public and say no to what is happening,” she said. 

    She is also calling on citizens to pay closer attention to domestic or other forms of violence being
    committed in their homes and communities.

    “We need to start from within our homes and our communities, these small areas that are
    personal to us. In your homes, persons see the abuse. In your communities, you know about the
    neighbours, who are being abused…you need to speak out,” Wilson said.

    Meanwhile, Sinclair said as a citizen of Montego Bay, and councillor in the St. James Municipal
    Corporation he had to come out in support of the march.

    “I would support …any coming together of law-abiding citizens against violence generally, and
    violence against vulnerable persons. I am here …to show that we can bond together as a
    community and make our voices heard,” he said.

    Sinclair expressed confidence that the cries of the women in St James will be heard by the
    relevant authorities, who must now move to not only address the scourge of crime and violence,
    but to bring some form of comfort to those who are affected and grieving.

    He invited a delegation from the organising group to attend the regular monthly meeting of the St
    James Municipal Corporation on Thursday to seek the full support of the local authorities in their
    call for an end to crime and violence, particularly against women.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Women-march-against-violence-
    in-MoBay

    638
    News
    Over 1,400 perpetrators of crime
    against women, children arrested —
    Grant
    Wednesday, February 08, 2017 | 7:23 PM     19 Comments

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Acting Commissioner of Police Novelette Grant has disclosed that the
    police have arrested just over 1,400 perpetrators of crimes against women and children over the
    past 13 months.

    Speaking at a press conference called by Prime Minister Andrew Holness at Jamaica House this
    afternoon, Grant said the 1,442 people who were held between January 1 last year and Saturday
    (February 4), fall within the category of assault or property crimes involving women and children.

    639
    Holness and a team of Government and security personnel addressed the media during a break
    of Cabinet discussions on crime fighting recommendations, which were made by the National
    Security Council (NSC).  

    Grant outlined that 86 people were held for shooting, 67 for murder and 252 for rape. Some of the
    perpetrators for rape, she noted, were facing multiple charges.

    In the meantime, 280 arrests were made for robbery, 202 for sexual offences/ indecent assault
    and 237 for sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16.

    A total of 169 people were arrested for break-ins while 54 were held for larceny under the
    category of crimes against women and children, the acting commissioner disclosed.

    The figures come amidst public outcry for authorities to implement measures to stem the surge of
    crime and violence, especially those involving women and children.

    An announcement is expected to be made on Cabinet-approved crime fighting measures after


    careful deliberation and assessment of options suggested by the NSC that can be immediately
    implemented.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Over-1-400-perpetrators-of-
    crime-against-women--children-arrested---Grant

    Jamaicans wear black to protest


    violence against women and
    children
    BY:  JULIAN RICHARDSON
    19:50, February 6, 2017
    1578 VIEWS

    640
    Thousands of Jamaicans wore black clothing on Monday in widespread protest to

    bring attention to spiralling violence against women and children on the island.

    The protest followed a string of reports of females and children being murdered over the last
    week, including 15-year-old Green Pond High student Shineka Gray, 30-year-old Hanover
    resident Tasha Gordon, and 23-year-old Denham Town resident Nile Brown.
    Jamaicans from all walks of life on Monday united in silent protest against the terrifying
    development. 
    Tishan Lee, head of marketing at Jamaica Public Service Company,
    was instrumental in organising and galvanising support for the initiative even though the
    protest wasn't her original idea. Having received an invitation, via Whatsapp, to join in
    the protest by wearing black, Lee enhanced the movement through the creation of an
    artwork that included the names of victims and instructed participants to wear black for the
    specific deceased individuals. 
    Lee believes the protest will "ignite an important conversation". 
    "I wear black for our women and children. Not because I think my dress code will solve our
    problems, but because I believe this statement will ignite an important conversation. I wear

    641
    black as my personal commitment to not let this conversation die, as so many others before
    it, but to play my part, no matter how small, in taking it from dialogue to meaningful and
    sustainable action," Lee told Loop News. 
    She added, "We are powerful beyond measure; it’s time we step into our purpose, own our
    strength and make this time count or live with the consequences of our silence." 
    Digicel Foundation's Krystal Tomlinson, who also wore black in solidarity with the movement,
    shared Lee's sentiments.
    "It is important for women to see themselves in a place of power and understand that they
    can do better," Tomlinson said, adding "Let them understand that we are with them and are
    willing to speak out on their behalf if they can't speak for themselves."
    The bodies of Gray and Gordon were found days apart last week after both went missing - in
    separate incidents - for a period of time. Brown was found stuffed in a barrel in St Thomas on
    Sunday; she was reported missing on Friday after she failed to turn up to work at Burger
    King Cross Roads.
    More than two dozen women were reportedly killed across the island in 2016, the majority by
    their former lovers.
    Loop News joined in the silent protest on Monday and will launch its own campaign against
    gender-based violence in March.
    Camille West, marketing manager at Loop News publisher Trend Media Group,
    explained: "At Loop, we see first-hand the reports of gruesome crimes committed with
    women of all ages as targets. The No More Abuse Campaign is a social challenge launching
    this March across all of Loop’s platforms.
    "It will not only shine the light on the abuse that often goes unreported, but will seek to raise
    funds for the Women’s Resource Outreach Centre (WROC) - an organization dedicated to
    empowering women who are at risk or victims of abuse," West said.
    FEATURED PHOTO: Staff members of Trend Media Group, publisher of Loop News,
    joined in the silent protest on Monday.

    642

    Model: Gianna Photo: Michael Gordon)
    Violence against women: the full story
    ALL WOMAN Monday, November 30, 2009 ,

    643
    VICIOUS attacks against women continued unabated this year as a number of women were raped, assaulted, shot and
    murdered. Just two weekends ago, news broke of the death of Manchester resident, 58-year-old Doreen Roach and
    bartender Nikesha Hewitt who were murdered in separate incidents.

    Roach was allegedly chopped several times two Fridays ago during a dispute with her 55-year-old husband at their
    home in Christiana. Hewitt's attack occurred the Saturday following this incident. She was allegedly stabbed to death
    by her boyfriend and the father of her two children while walking home with him from work. The attack was reportedly
    fuelled by jealousy.

    In January this year, a pregnant woman, 25-year-old Antoinette Gooden was among three persons fatally shot by
    gunmen at Varma Road, Kingston 11.

    And earlier this month a 90-year-old woman was killed in an arson attack in a section of Newlands, Portmore.

    Police statistics showed that in just September alone of this year, 16 women were killed in comparison to 11 during the
    same time last year. There were also incidents of decomposing bodies presumably of females found.

    From all indications, it seems 2009 is turning out to be just as bad or worst than 2008 for women. Police statistics show
    that there were 610 carnal abuse cases, 849 rape cases and 45 incest cases last year. Six women committed suicide,
    1,315 were wounded and 2,615 were assaulted. In addition to this, 151 women were shot and 165 females were either
    killed.

    In recognition of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 16 days of activism against
    violence began on Wednesday, Nov 25 and ends December 10 - International Human Rights Day.

    The theme is 'Commit, Act, Demand: Women and Men Unite to End Violence Against Women'.

    The period is being used to educate a wide cross-section of persons on issues relating to gender-based violence; to
    empower persons to assist in dealing with victims of gender-based violence; and to foster collaboration with partners
    towards the elimination of all forms of violence against women and the girl-child.

    Here is a guide for women as we observe this period.

    Resources for women

    If you are a woman involved in a violent relationship, you don't have to suffer alone. There are a number of
    organisations that have been established to assist women like yourself who feel that there is just no way out.

    Woman Inc

    This is a non-profit organisation that provides assistance to victims of rape, incest, domestic violence and sexual
    harassment at the workplace. The organisation operates a crisis centre where women can receive individualised
    counselling and a crisis shelter for abused women. The crisis centre has been in existence since 1985 and with the co-

    644
    operation of volunteer counsellors, has given hope to countless women over the years. The centre operates a 24-hour
    hotline in Kingston and one in Montego Bay between 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The crisis shelter was introduced by Woman
    Inc in 1988 in Kingston and is the only facility of its kind in Jamaica. The shelter provides emergency housing for
    women to get them out of their abusive settings. Woman Inc also networks with police rape units and professional legal
    and medical volunteers who also assist victims.

    The Bureau of Women's Affairs

    The Bureau of Women's Affair is an organisation mandated by the Government to address the problems encountered by
    women in Jamaica, such as abuse and sexual harassment. The main objective is to enable women to reach their full
    potential and this is done through public education and training, the planning and monitoring of projects and research
    and development. Although the organisation does not offer counselling services, it helps with the referral of women to
    other organisations that do so. It has also helped women to gain skills and access to employment so that women might
    become independent. By becoming independent, women will no longer have to stay in abusive relationships for the
    sole purpose of wanting to be financially secure.

    Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation

    Although the primary focus of this group is to provide some form of intervention to girls who have dropped out of
    school as a result of their pregnancies, the organisation also offers counselling services to children, adolescents and
    young adults. Victims of carnal abuse are given the opportunity to continue their schooling and also receive skills
    training to empower themselves. The girls are then assisted in getting back into the formal school system after their
    pregnancy.

    Victim Support Unit (Ministry of Justice)

    This unit has a group counselling programme known as 'Overcomers in action' that provides healing and restoration to
    women who are being abused physically, emotionally or sexually through group therapy. These counselling sessions
    are offered by professional counselors who address the needs of women regardless of their age. The services are free of
    cost and are confidential. The aim of the programme is to provide strength to victimised women through the
    encouragement and support of other persons who have been in their situation and through releasing bitterness and hurt
    brought on by their abuse.

    Women's Media Watch

    With the objective of reducing violence against women and promoting a more gender-aware media, the WMA offers
    workshops, multi-media presentations and seminars to educate and train persons about gender-sensitive issues among
    other things. The non-government organisation provides a multi-faceted approach to dealing with violence and works
    with media organisations, schools, youth and service clubs, churches and other women's groups to advocate and lobby
    for women rights. They also provide information to women on what they can do to counteract abuse through the issuing
    of brochures.

    The Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA)

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    CISOCA is the arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, which is mandated to investigate sexual offences and
    offenders. CISOCA also offers counselling and support to sexually abused victims and conducts medical examinations
    to gather evidence which might lead to the prosecution of perpetrators.

    Women's Resource and Outreach Centre

    This non-government organisation helps to promote gender equity and empowerment of women through social,
    economic and advocacy programmes. The organisation operates a clinic, which sees a number of women getting help
    with medical issues twice per week. They also have a counselling programme that benefits women who have
    relationship issues and might need help dealing with certain issues such as abuse.

    10 stances to take to protect your rights

    WOMEN have been struggling for years to be recognised and treated with the same respect that is often meted out to
    men. Time and time again their rights have been violated in one way or the other. Below are 10 stances women can
    take ensure their rights are protected, as supplied by Hilary Nicholson of Women's Media Watch.

    1. Knowledge is power, and as such, your best weapon is learning what rights you have under the law. You can't
    protect your rights unless you know what they are.

    2. Understand what is meant by 'human rights'.

    3. Learn what some of the laws and policies are to protect your rights - laws against domestic violence, sexual offences,
    as well as laws to protect workers' rights.

    4. Learn about reproductive rights and sexual rights

    5. Learn about specific laws related to women, so that just because we're women, we cannot be discriminated against -
    like the right to maternity leave.

    6. Believe in gender equality!

    7. Nobody has the right to dominate, coerce or abuse another person. Never believe that you did something to deserve
    abuse. Abusers have to take responsibility for their actions.

    8. Believe in yourself, develop self-worth and self-esteem, so that you will have the confidence to protect yourself and
    claim your rights.

    9. Develop supportive, respectful friendships with other women - there is strength in unity - so that you can together
    seek protection or claim your rights.

    10. Never buy into that silly saying that woman is woman's worst enemy. This is not true, we are our best supporters
    and friends!

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    Violence around the world

    MILLIONS of women and girls around the world encounter rape, domestic abuse, mutilation and other forms of
    gender-based violence daily. While measures are sometimes in place to prevent or lessen these crimes, abuse against
    women continues to take its toll. This year was no exception, as all around the world as women fell prey to violence
    committed against them.

    Here are some examples.

    . Woman stabbed in front of police

    In what police called a tragedy, a woman was killed by her former boyfriend, who was then killed by officers in Los
    Angeles, USA last month. The woman, Flor Medrano, 30, had just filed a domestic abuse complaint and officers were
    outside her home waiting for her abuser when she was fatally stabbed. Information is that police went to her home but
    did not find the man, who they suspected was in the area. They then waited outside in an unmarked police vehicle
    hoping to catch the man. The officers eventually called the house to make sure Medrano was safe and let her know they
    were about to leave. The cellphone call was interrupted, and when the connection was re-established, the officers heard
    Medrano screaming. The officers rushed into the building and they observed through the window Medrano being
    stabbed by her ex.

    . Female Genital Mutilation

    In the middle east, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Mauritania and other countries, Female
    Genital Mutilation (FGM) is carried out with knives, scissors, scalpels, pieces of glass or razor blades. Anaesthetic and
    antiseptics are not generally used. According to a World Health Organisation report, an estimated 100 to 140 million
    girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM. In Africa, about three million girls are
    at risk for FGM annually.

    If a man hits you once, he'll do it again.

    Source:- http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/allwoman/Violence-
    against-women--the-full-story

    Jamaica still has a lot to answer for on the treatment of women and girls by

    society and institutions. When it comes to violence against women, Jamaica is

    still woefully behind other countries in terms of actions against this social

    problem. Thirty years ago, in 1984, wife beating and rape were the main crimes

    against women. Now crimes against women have escalated to include

    abduction, rape, murder, domestic violence, and other acts of violence.

    647
    According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) intimate partner and sexual

    violence against women were major public health concerns and violations

    against the human rights of women.

    The official numbers of reported cases of violence against women reflect only the tip

    of the iceberg as such numbers identify those victims who spoke up. The fact is that

    violence against women continues with the silence of victims. One statistic suggests

    that more than 30 percent of victims never report the assault; but as more women

    are employed and laws are put in place to protect them more victims are making

    reports. It is however still shameful how the police treat domestic violence incidents

    when these are reported to them by victims who are brave enough to come forward.

    The lack of action that usually follows such reports because it is �family business�

    creates the impetus for continued abuse of women in the home.

    Information from the Bureau of Gender Affairs (formerly the Bureau of Women's

    Affairs) indicate that most incidents of domestic violence involve male anger against

    their female partners. The difference between genders may be deeply rooted in how

    they are socialised. The World Health Organisation also noted that in terms of global

    prevalence of violence against women, approximately 35 percent of women

    worldwide have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual violence committed

    by non-partners during their lifetime. The same source also found that an average of

    30 percent of women who have ever been in a relationship have experienced some

    form of sexual and physical violence by their partner. Crime victimisation surveys

    carried out by the Ministry of National Security also show a predominance of female

    victims of violence.

    Is this OK though? The United Nations Population Fund has placed it on the table

    that to end gender-based violence must involve a change in cultural concepts

    surrounding masculinity. Such a process must actively involve men at every level, be

    it at the policy making level to within the domestic sphere. The way men and boys

    648
    view masculinity and the way they view women must change in order to remove the

    tacit acceptance of violence against women as a norm. Male attitudes are not the

    only thing that needs changing, however, as female acceptance of the violence,

    especially within the family, should also be addressed. The Government of Jamaica

    has recently developed a National Strategic Action Plan to Eliminate Gender-Based

    Violence (2014 � 2024). This Action Plan was put together after intensive

    consultations with key stakeholders including the civil society groups, the police,

    men's and women's groups and academia. The �five P� approach to gender

    based violence, namely � Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and investigation,

    Punishment and Provision of redress have been adopted within this Action Plan to

    strengthen Jamaica's legal framework.


    Source:- http://www.onlyinnajamaica.com/2014/10/24/violence-against-women-
    still-a-problem-in-jamaica/

    A Self-Regulatory Model of Behavioral Disinhibition in Late


    Adolescence: Integrating Personality Traits, Externalizing
    Psychopathology, and Cognitive Capacity
    Tim Bogg and Peter R. Finn

    Author information ► Copyright and License information ►

    The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at J Pers

    See other articles in PMC that cite the published article.

    Abstract
    Behavioral disinhibition refers to a pattern of antisocial, impulsive, norm-violating,
    sensation-seeking, and externalizing tendencies and problems (e.g., substance use,
    attention deficit; Iacono et al., 1999), which has been shown to be a primary
    psychological substrate of several of the leading behavioral contributors to mortality (i.e.,
    alcohol, drug, and firearms-related deaths; Bogg & Roberts, 2004; Mokdad et al., 2004).
    Researchers index behavioral disinhibition using a variety of constructs, including
    personality traits related to impulsivity and socialization (Clark & Watson,
    1999; Donovan, Jessor, & Costa, 1991), sensation-seeking (Justus, Finn, & Steinmetz,
    2000), externalizing psychopathology (alcohol, marijuana, and other drug
    problems; Krueger & Markon, 2006), and, less frequently, as cognitive ability variables,

    649
    such as intelligence, short-term memory, and working memory (Finn, Justus, Mazas, &
    Steinmetz, 1999). Although these and other indicators of behavioral disinhibition have
    and continue to be targets of inquiry, a more complete model of the self-regulatory
    influences fundamental to behavioral disinhibition remains somewhat obscured by a lack
    of integration across these disparate research traditions (cf. Finn, 2002).
    To address the need for a clearer articulation of the relations among disinhibited
    personality traits, externalizing problems, and cognitive capacity, the current study
    addresses two major goals: 1) model the associations among the related domains of
    disinhibited personality traits and externalizing psychopathology and; 2) investigate the
    resultant model’s relations to cognitive capacity outcomes previously found to be
    associated with various indicators of behavioral disinhibition. Compared to previous
    research, which has focused on a limited set of personality traits or externalizing
    problems, and has often excluded important cognitive capacity constructs, the approach
    of the current study attempts to provide a more comprehensive depiction of a self-
    regulatory model of behavioral disinhibition in late adolescence.

    Disinhibited Personality Traits and Externalizing Psychopathology


    Recent research demonstrates the presence of an underlying continuum of
    psychopathology and personality traits related to impulsivity and socialization that can
    help explain the multi-morbidity of externalizing problems (e.g., Kendler, Prescott,
    Myers, & Neale, 2003; Krueger & Markon, 2006). Specifically, research has shown that
    adolescent antisocial behavior, conduct disorder, alcohol dependence, drug dependence,
    and the personality trait of constraint share a common etiologic (primarily genetic) origin
    (Krueger et al., 2002). In addition, statistical modeling has shown this externalizing factor
    to be dimensional, rather than categorical in nature (Krueger, Markon, Patrick, & Iacono,
    2005; Markon & Krueger, 2005). Taken together, the findings of a common genetic
    influence and a latent trait model for antisocial behavior and substance use problems
    indicate a coherence that can be conceptualized as a liability or spectrum for
    externalizing problems.
    Although substantial progress has been made in understanding the meaning of the multi-
    morbidity of various externalizing disorders and their relation to disinhibited personality
    traits (cf. Krueger et al., 2007), it remains unclear how the structure of a more full
    account of disinhibited factors—a structure that would include multiple personality trait
    indicators of impulsivity and socialization, as well as externalizing disorder problems—
    might be related to important cognitive capacity outcomes. The structure of these
    multiple self-regulatory influences on behavioral disinhibition is important given
    that Krueger et al. (2002) have shown these traits (measured more narrowly as constraint
    in their work), while sharing a common additive genetic etiology with externalizing
    disorder problems, also have a significant component of additive genetic variance that is
    independent of that shared with externalizing problems. That is, there is a meaningful
    portion of the additive genetic variance of traits related to impulsivity and socialization
    that is unique to a source other than that which is shared with the externalizing disorder
    problems. In fact, in behavior genetic research, Krueger et al. (2002) found only 22
    percent of the variance in constraint to be accounted for by the externalizing factor. This

    650
    finding suggests that traits related to impulsivity and socialization, while sharing
    meaningful psychological (and biological) space with externalizing problems, are not
    wholesale components of an externalizing liability. In part, the current research is
    designed to further elucidate the relations among the components and subsequently
    examine how these components of behavioral disinhibition are related to multiple
    indicators of cognitive capacity.

    Cognitive Capacity, Self-Regulation, and Behavioral Disinhibition


    Working memory is an important component of a system of inter-related executive
    cognitive functions (Zelazo & Frye, 1998), including attentional capacity, attentional
    control, and attention shifting (Cowan, 1999), that plays a critical role in self-regulation
    and decision-making (Barkley, 1997, 2001, Bechara & Martin, 2004; Finn,
    2002; Kimberg & Farah, 1993). As it pertains to self-regulation, increased working
    memory capacity enables fluid shifting of attention during the decision-making process
    from more salient proximal (immediate) to less salient distal (long-term) outcomes and
    allows for appropriate weighting and consideration of long-term consequences of
    decisions (i.e., less impulsive decisions; Finn, 2002; Finn & Hall, 2004; Oberauer, 2002).
    By contrast, reduced working memory capacity is related to general behavioral
    disinhibition (Barkley; 1997; 2001; Finn, 2002; Finn & Hall, 2004; Hinson, Jameson, &
    Whitney, 2003), which reflects the basic dispositional processes underlying externalizing
    problems (Finn, 2002; Krueger et al., 2002; Slutske et al., 2002). More generally,
    working memory is required for activated self-directed speech, self-reflection, and
    maintaining representations for the purpose of problem solving to guide socially adaptive
    behavior (Barkley, 2001; Finn, 2002; Oberauer, 2002).
    In the present research, multiple measures of working memory capacity are included
    because working memory is complex, involving several inter-related processes associated
    with behavioral regulation, including short-term memory capacity, resistance to
    distraction, mental manipulation, attentional control in divided attention/dual task
    contexts, and maintenance of memory traces over time (Baddeley & Logie, 1999; Cowan,
    1999; Engle et al., 1999; Finn, 2002). Engle et al. (1999) and Finn (2002) proposed
    multidimensional models of working memory capacity that distinguish a short-term
    capacity dimension, indicated by performance on simple span tasks, from a working
    memory capacity dimension, indicated by performance on complex, dual-task, span tasks
    requiring attention-shifting and maintenance. Engle et al. (1999) showed that these two
    dimensions of working memory were distinct from measures of intelligence. The current
    research uses this three-dimensional model of short-term memory, working memory, and
    intelligence and tests its viability using confirmatory factor analyses.
    Recent research suggests that diminished executive cognitive capacities involved in
    working memory, short-term memory, and intelligence contribute to the development and
    maintenance of externalizing problems (Aytaclar, Tarter, Kirisci, & Lu 1999; Finn &
    Hall, 2004; Harden & Pihl, 1995; Pihl, Peterson & Finn, 1990; Poon, Ellis, Fitzgerald, &
    Zucker, 2000). Diminished capacity in these domains of cognitive ability also is thought
    to reflect a general predisposition to disinhibited, poorly regulated behavior rather than a
    vulnerability to a specific disorder (Finn, 2002, Finn & Hall, 2004; Giancola, Zeichner,

    651
    Yarnell, & Dickenson, 1996; Harden & Pihl, 1995). In turn, this disinhibited
    predisposition can be made manifest as externalizing behavior, such as alcohol
    dependence, childhood conduct problems, adult antisocial behavior, or other substance
    abuse (Barkley, 1997; 2001; Finn, 2002; Finn & Hall, 2004; Krueger et al., 2002). As
    such, these indicators of cognitive capacity represent integral components of a systematic
    approach to modeling self-regulatory influences on behavioral disinhibition. It should be
    noted that incentive (i.e., reward) structures, delay of reward components, or learning
    components are absent from these cognitive tasks. The tasks used in the current study
    assess general cognitive capacity in the absence of contextual manipulations.
    Similarly, the current study did not incorporate an appetitive or incentive (i.e., reward)
    structure or component to the cognitive tasks. Unlike the Iowa gambling task (Bechara,
    Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994), for example, the short-term memory and
    working memory tasks are not designed to assess or account for the influence of
    appetitive influences that call upon self-control for optimal performance. Instead, the
    tasks are agnostic in regard to such influences and are intended to assess decontextualized
    cognitive capacity (e.g., performance not influenced by monetary gains or losses).

    The Present Study


    The primary aim of the present research is to examine the structure of a self-regulatory
    model of behavioral disinhibition. Although other personality trait domains are relevant
    to behavioral disinhibition (e.g., agreeableness, hostility, emotional stability), we focus
    on traits related to impulsivity and socialization, as well as externalizing problems, as
    important and related components of behavioral disinhibition (e.g., Bogg & Roberts,
    2004; Finn, 2002; Iacono et al., 1999; McGue, Iacono, & Krueger, 2006). Two large-
    scale community samples are used to model the relations among these disinhibited (i.e.,
    related to impulsivity and socialization) personality traits and externalizing problems.
    Aside from modeling the relations among disinhibited personality traits and externalizing
    problems, we examine how the resulting model is related to cognitive capacity (Engle et
    al., 1999); a set of abilities which research has shown differentiate individuals who meet
    diagnostic criteria for externalizing disorders from those who do not (Aytaclar et al.,
    1999; Finn & Hall, 2004; Harden & Pihl, 1995). Specifically, we attempt to clarify these
    relations by examining three competing models of the structure of disinhibited traits and
    externalizing problems in late adolescent/young adult samples. Previous research
    indicates individuals in late adolescence and emerging adulthood are establishing patterns
    of behavioral disinhibition, while remaining somewhat developmentally and
    neurologically malleable, and are well suited for addressing self-regulatory questions
    whose answers can provide needed perspective on early intervention and treatment for at-
    risk individuals (Lubman, Yücel, & Hall, 2007; Monti et al., 2005; Zucker et al., 2006).
    Based in part on the behavior genetic research of Krueger et al. (2002), we expect the
    initial structure to yield separable components of disinhibited personality traits and
    externalizing problems, rather than a single factor. Three approaches guided the modeling
    process.
    First, in line with the idea of an underlying dimension of behavioral disinhibition
    (e.g., Iacono et al., 1999), a measurement model consisting of one latent variable (with

    652
    ten indicators—four comprised of lifetime externalizing problem counts and six of
    disinhibited personality trait scales) was examined. If it best represented the data, then
    this one-factor model of disinhibited personality traits and externalizing problems would
    maximize parsimony while indicating that the covariance shared among the ten indicators
    did, in fact, represent a single dimension of behavioral disinhibition that accounted for
    the multi-morbidity of externalizing disorders and explained the interrelations of traits
    related to impulsivity and socialization and externalizing problems.
    The second approach to modeling was guided, in part, by research examining the factor
    structure of personality scales and inventories related to the Big Five personality trait
    domain of conscientiousness (Roberts, Chernyshenko, Stark, & Goldberg, 2005).
    Inherent in the domain of conscientiousness is a consideration of disinhibition,
    which Clark and Watson (1999) in their “Big Three” model of personality traits describe
    as disinhibition versus constraint, wherein “disinhibited individuals are impulsive and
    somewhat reckless and are oriented primarily toward the feelings and sensations of the
    immediate moment; conversely, constrained individuals plan carefully, avoid risk or
    danger, and are controlled more strongly by the longer-term implication of their behavior
    (p. 403).” This definition maps neatly onto a similar framework outlined by Pickering
    and Gray (1999; see also Zuckerman (2003; 2005)), who label this constellation of facets
    impulsive sensation-seeking. Consistent with these conceptions, Roberts et al.
    (2005) factor-analyzed 36 conscientiousness-related scales from seven personality
    inventories and found a six-factor structure labeled order, self-control, responsibility,
    industriousness, traditionalism, and virtue. Based on this six-factor structure, the
    impulsivity and socialization-related scales included in the current study load onto the
    factors of self-control and responsibility. In line with the definition of Pickering and Gray
    (1999), we take a more expansive view of self-control, and use the label impulsive
    sensation-seeking for the personality scales aligning with this factor (i.e., the impulsivity
    subscale of the Eysenck impulsivity/venturesomeness scale, the control subscale of the
    Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, and the disinhibition and boredom
    susceptibility subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale). Conversely, although there are
    aspects of irresponsibility in the measures of socialization used in the current study, this
    factor is more accurately labeled anti-sociality/unconventionality, reflecting the more
    heterogeneous content of the scales used to assess this factor (i.e., the socialization
    subscale of the California Psychological Inventory and the psychopathic deviate scale of
    the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2). A third factor representing
    externalizing problems (i.e., lifetime alcohol, marijuana, other drug, and
    conduct/antisocial personality disorder problem counts) was examined in conjunction
    with impulsive sensation-seeking and anti-sociality/unconventionality to provide
    representation of the subclinical and clinical symptomatic expression of behavioral
    disinhibition that might be distinguished from disinhibited personality trait tendencies.
    Finally, in keeping with the idea of an overlying tendency, a latent superfactor,
    behavioral disinhibition, was modeled and indicated by the impulsive sensation-seeking,
    anti-sociality/unconventionality, and externalizing problems factors. If it best represented
    the data, then this hierarchical four-factor model would provide an intuitive dimensional
    system of disinhibited personality traits and externalizing tendencies made manifest by
    the expression of impulsive, antisocial, and externalizing tendencies and problems,
    organized under a general disposition for behavioral disinhibition.

    653
    The third approach to modeling was derived from previous research examining the
    structure of traits related to disinhibition (Justus et al., 2000). The findings of Justus et al.
    (2000) revealed a structure consisting of, 1) impulsivity (comprised of the impulsivity
    subscale of the Eysenck impulsivity/venturesomeness scale and the control subscale of
    the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire; 2) social deviance proneness (comprised
    of the socialization subscale of the California Psychological Inventory, the psychopathic
    deviate scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2, and a total count of
    antisocial problems); and 3) excitement seeking (comprised of the disinhibition and
    boredom susceptibility subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale). In the current research,
    a fourth factor related to substance use problems (indicated by lifetime alcohol,
    marijuana, and other drug problem counts) is examined in conjunction with the three
    factors described above to provide an account of the covariance among the alcohol,
    marijuana, and other drug problems that might be distinguishable from antisocial
    personality and conduct problems (in contrast to the lower-order externalizing factor
    described in the second approach). Similar to the second approach outlined above, a fifth
    overlying factor, behavioral disinhibition, was modeled and indicated by the impulsivity,
    social deviance proneness, excitement seeking, and substance use problems subfactors. If
    it best represented the data, then this hierarchical five-factor model would serve to
    replicate and extend the research of Justus et al. (2000) and would suggest a more
    thoroughly segmented framework with multiple related dimensions of disinhibited traits
    and externalizing problems, organized under a general disposition for behavioral
    disinhibition.
    Assuming replication of one of the above structural models of disinhibited personality
    traits and externalizing problems from the first sample to the second, the final model
    including correlations to cognitive capacity should represent a more coherent self-
    regulatory system of behavioral disinhibition; one that accounts for the interrelations
    among externalizing problems and personality traits related to impulsivity and
    socialization, while allowing for unique relations from these domains to cognitive
    capacity outcomes.
    Go to:

    Method

    Participants

    Sample 1
    We recruited a community sample (n = 541) of adolescents and young adults with a
    mean age of 20.7 (SD = 1.87) years. The sample was sex-balanced (48.1 % women) and
    most participants were European-American/Caucasian (81.9 %), followed by
    Asian/Asian-American (9.4 %), African-American (3.5 %), Hispanic (2.9 %), and Native
    American (2.2 %). At the time of assessment, the sample averaged 14.1 years of
    education (SD = 1.66 years), indicating an over-representation of college students in the
    sample. Nearly half of the Study 1 sample participants met diagnostic criteria for alcohol
    dependence (47 %), 36.2 % for marijuana dependence, and 43.1 % for other drug

    654
    dependence. Additionally, 36.9 % met diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder, and 23.3
    % for antisocial personality disorder. Slightly more than one-third of the sample (34.1 %)
    did not meet diagnostic criteria for any of the above problems.

    Sample 2
    We recruited a community sample (n = 463) of adolescents and young adults with a
    mean age of 21.98 (SD = 2.85) years. The sample was sex-balanced (46.4 % women) and
    most participants were European-American/Caucasian (76.9 %), followed by African-
    American (12.5 %), Asian/Asian-American (6.5 %), Hispanic (3.5 %), and Other (.6 %).
    At the time of assessment, the sample averaged 13.81 years of education (SD = 1.99
    years), indicating an over-representation of college students in the sample. More than half
    of the Study 2 sample participants met diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence (56.4
    %), 36.1 % for marijuana dependence, and 22.9 % for other drug dependence
    Additionally, 49 % met diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder and 16 % for antisocial
    personality disorder. Slightly less than one-third of the sample (30.2 %) did not meet
    diagnostic criteria for any of the above problems.

    Assessment Materials

    Diagnostic interviews
    Substance dependence (i.e., alcohol, marijuana, and other drug) diagnoses and problem
    counts were ascertained from responses on the Semi-structured Assessment for the
    Genetics of Alcoholism (Bucholz et al., 1994) using criteria from the Diagnostic and
    Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV, American Psychiatric
    Association, 1994). Histories and lifetime problem counts for childhood conduct and
    antisocial personality disorders also were ascertained from responses to the SSAGA, also
    using DSM-IV criteria. In subsequent analyses, lifetime problem counts for conduct
    disorder and ASPD were summed to form a CDASPD variable that reflected a lifetime
    history of antisocial behavior problems and tendencies. Because of their skewed
    distributions, all problem counts were Blom transformed for subsequent
    analyses.1 Descriptive statistics for the raw lifetime problem counts are presented in Table
    1.

    Table 1
    Descriptive Statistics for Externalizing Problem Counts and Disinhibited Personality
    Trait Scale Scores

    Sample 1 Mean (SD) Sample 2 Mean (SD)

    Lifetime alcohol problems 19.67 (16.82) 27.99 (21.70)

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    Sample 1 Mean (SD) Sample 2 Mean (SD)

    Lifetime marijuana problems 3.34 (4.18) 10.04 (11.71)

    Lifetime other drug problems 2.66 (6.10) 14.37 (26.37)

    Lifetime CDASPD problems 13.13 (8.87) 26.54 (16.33)

    CPI Socialization 31.95 (6.80) 28.78 (8.04)

    EYS Impulsiveness 9.17 (4.72) 10.28 (4.61)

    MMPI-2 Psychopathic Deviate 19.43 (5.49) 21.89 (6.31)

    MPQ Control 12.43 (6.36) 11.44 (6.01)

    SSS Boredom Susceptibility 3.81 (1.98) 3.71 (2.05)

    SSS Disinhibition 4.27 (1.79) 4.42 (1.65)

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    Note. Problems are lifetime history problem counts from the Semi-structured Assessment for the Genetics
    of Alcoholism (SSAGA). CDASPD = Sum of lifetime 

    Personality trait indicators


    Six well-validated personality scales were used to assess traits related to impulsivity and
    socialization: The Impulsivity scale from the Eysenck Impulsivity-Venturesomeness test
    (EYS-IMP; Eysenck & Eysenck, 1978), the Control subscale of the Multidimensional
    Personality Questionnaire (MPQ-Control; Tellegen, 1982), the Disinhibition (DIS) and
    Boredom Susceptibility (BS) subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS; Zuckerman,
    1979), the Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
    Inventory-2 (MMPI-2-Pd; Hathaway & McKinley, 1989), and the Socialization (So)
    scale of the California Psychological Inventory (Gough, 1969).2 The EIV-IMP scale is
    comprised of 19 items (e.g., “Do you need to use a lot of self-control to keep out of
    trouble?”) using a dichotomous response scale (i.e., “yes” or “no”; sample 2, α = .83).
    The MPQ-Control scale is comprised of 24 items (e.g., “When faced with a decision I
    usually take time to consider and weigh all aspects.”) using a dichotomous response scale
    (i.e., “true” or “false”; sample 2, α = .87). High EIV-IMP scores and low MPQ-Control
    scores reflect low self-control, spontaneity, recklessness, and a lack of planning and
    foresight. The SSS-DIS scale is comprised of 10 forced-choice items (e.g., “I like “wild”
    uninhibited parties” versus “I prefer quiet parties with good conversation”; sample 2,
    α = .53) and the SSS-BS is comprised of 10 forced-choice items (e.g., “I enjoy looking at
    home movies or travel slides” versus “Looking at someone’s home movies or travel
    slides bores me tremendously”; sample 2, α = .55).3 Three items that directly referred to
    drinking or drug use were dropped from the DIS scale: “I often like to get high (drinking
    liquor or smoking marijuana)”; “Keeping drinks full is the key to a good party”; and “I
    feel best after taking a couple of drinks.” The MMPI-2-Pd scale is comprised of 50 items
    (e.g., “What others think of me does not bother me,” “Sometimes when I was young I
    stole things,” “No one seems to understand me”) using a dichotomous response scale
    (i.e., “true” or “false”: sample 2, α = .76). High scores on the MMPI-2-Pd scale indicate
    impulsivity, problems with authority, antisocial acts, and alienation (Almagor & Koren,
    2001). One item (“I have used alcohol excessively”) was dropped from the Pd scale
    because of contamination with the lifetime alcohol problem counts. The CPI-So scale is
    comprised of 54 items (e.g., “I often act on the spur of the moment without stopping to
    think,” “I keep out of trouble at all costs,” “As a youngster in school, I used to give the
    teachers lots of trouble”: sample 2, α = .80). Low scores on the CPI-So scale reflect
    under-socialized and norm-violating tendencies. All the personality scales have shown
    relations with behaviors and outcomes related to substance use and antisocial behaviors
    and problems (Bogg & Roberts, 2004). Descriptive statistics for the six personality scales
    are presented in Table 1.

    Intelligence
    Intelligence was measured using the Shipley Institute of Living Scale estimates of IQ
    (Zachary, 1986). The Shipley is a self-administered measure of intelligence that strongly
    correlates (median correlation = .79) with the WAIS Full Scale IQ (Zachary, 1986). As
    with other abbreviated measures of general intelligence, the Shipley does not include a
    component for testing memory.

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    Short-term memory capacity
    Short-term memory capacity was assessed with the digits forward and backward scales of
    the Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-
    R; Wechsler, 1981). Digits forward and backward are commonly used measures of STM
    capacity and general attentional capacity in working memory system studies (Engle et al.,
    1999; Finn, 2002). Short-term memory capacity also was assessed with the letter-number
    sequencing task from the WAIS-III (Wechsler, 1997). The letter-number sequencing task
    involves the presentation of increasingly larger sets of letters and numbers (e.g., G-6-B-2)
    to the participant who, at the end of each set, is asked to verbally recall the numbers in
    numerical order (e.g., 2–6) and the letters in alphabetical order (e.g., B-G). Set sizes vary
    from 2 to 8 items.

    Working memory capacity


    Working memory functions of dual task ability, divided attention, and maintenance
    capacity were assessed with the Operation-Word Span test (OPWS; Conway and Engle,
    1994) and a modified version of the Auditory Consonant Trigram test (ACT: Brown,
    1958). The OPWS involves competition for attentional resources (divided attention) and
    the maintenance of activation of mental representations in a dual task context. This task
    requires the participant to solve a simple mathematical operation while remembering a
    word (6/3 + 2 = 4 DOG). The participant reads the math operation aloud, responds “yes”
    or “no” to indicate if the answer is correct or not and then says the word. One half of the
    mathematical operations are correct. After a series of operation-word pairs, the
    participant is asked to recall the words (series vary from 2 to 6 operation/word pairs). The
    total number of correctly recalled words is the variable derived from the OPWS.
    The ACT was modified to include four and five nonsensical strings of consonants, in
    addition to the original three-string (trigram) consonant stimuli, to increase the overall
    load on the working memory system. The ACT requires the experimenter to read aloud a
    string of consonants at a rate of one letter per second, and immediately following the
    string, to read aloud a random three-digit number. The participant is then asked to begin
    counting aloud backwards in increments of three from the random three-digit number for
    an interval of 18 or 36 seconds, at which time the participant is asked to stop counting
    and recall the original consonant string. This task taps divided attention and the strength
    of the maintenance/decay of the contents of working memory over time (Brown,
    1958; Stuss et al., 1987). Counting backwards is used to prevent rehearsal of the
    consonant string. The task included four different three, four, and five consonant strings.
    For each string length, two were followed by 18-second delay intervals and two were
    followed by 36-second delay intervals. The dependent variable is the total number of
    correct consonants recalled across all string lengths and delay intervals.
    Single-factor and correlated three-factor models of the cognitive capacity variables were
    compared to assess the appropriateness of the three-factor model indicated by Engle et al.
    (1999) and Finn (2002). As suggested by a more negative BIC value and a lower AIC
    value (the fit indices are described in greater detail below), the three-factor model
    provided better fit [χ2(7, N = 463) = 13.10, p = .07, RMSEA = 0.043, BIC = −42.14, AIC
    = −0.90] than the one-factor model [χ2(9, N = 463) = 117.56, p < .05, RMSEA = .162,

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    BIC = 62.32, AIC = 99.56] and was used in subsequent correlation analyses. The
    correlated three-factor model was comprised of 1) Shipley IQ (IQ); 2) short-term memory
    (indicated by letter number, digits forward, and digits backward scores); and 3) working
    memory (indicated by operation word-span and auditory consonant trigram scores).

    Procedure
    Participants were recruited from the community by screening telephone responses to
    advertisements placed in local newspapers and around the local community.
    Advertisements were designed using Widom’s (1977) approach to attract responses from
    individuals varying in terms of the level of disinhibited traits and tendencies. Highly
    disinhibited participants were targeted with advertisements asking for responses from
    “adventurous, carefree individuals who have led exciting and impulsive lives,” “daring,
    rebellious, defiant individuals,” “individuals on probation or who have been in trouble
    with the law,” as well as “persons with a drinking problem,” and “social drinkers.”
    Participants with average or low levels of disinhibited traits were targeted with
    advertisements asking for responses from “persons interested in psychological research”
    or “quiet, reflective and introspective persons.” Participants were excluded if they were
    not between 18 and 25 years of age, were taking any psychotropic or antihistamine
    medications, had never consumed alcohol, had a history of heart disease or psychosis,
    were not able to speak or read English, or had less than a grade 6 education level.
    Participants were asked to refrain from excessive use of alcohol or drugs for the 24-hour
    period prior to each session, to refrain from any use for at least 12 hours prior to testing,
    and to eat a meal within three hours of testing. Prior to testing, participants were
    administered a breath-alcohol test using an AlcoSensor-III (Intoximeters, Inc.) to ensure
    that their breath-alcohol level (BAL) was 0.00%.
    Participants completed a questionnaire asking about when they had last eaten food, their
    drug use in the past 24 hours, and their level of fatigue. If a participant had a BAL greater
    than 0.00%, reported taking any other psychoactive drugs the day the testing, appeared to
    be high the day of testing, or was extremely fatigued, then the participant was
    rescheduled. Participants read and signed an informed consent to participate, were free to
    refuse any procedure, and were paid $7.00 per hour. The diagnostic interview was
    administered first, followed by an interspersed ordering of the personality trait and
    cognitive capacity measures. The total time of assessment was approximately 2–3 hours
    in sample 1 and 3–4 hours in sample 2.

    Analyses
    In samples 1 and 2, the three measurement models of the covariance among the four
    problem-count indicators (alcohol, marijuana, other drug, and CDASPD) and the six
    personality trait indicators were analyzed using structural equation modeling (via AMOS
    7). A single latent factor model (i.e., behavioral disinhibition), a hierarchical four-factor
    model (i.e., impulsive sensation-seeking, anti-sociality/unconventionality, externalizing
    problems, and behavioral disinhibition superfactor), and a hierarchical five-factor model
    (i.e., impulsivity, social deviance proneness, excitement-seeking, substance use problems,
    and behavioral disinhibition superfactor) were analyzed.

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    In the one-factor and four-factor models, residual terms for the substance use problem
    variables (i.e., alcohol, marijuana, other drug) were allowed to freely co-vary to take into
    account the unique variance of these variables that was not shared with the other
    indicators. It was anticipated that the residual variance of the substance use indicators
    reflected meaningful components of substance use variance that were not captured by
    covariation with the personality trait indicators and/or the CDASPD indicator in the one-
    and four-factor models. The residual terms for each substance use variable were expected
    to represent unique components of substance use problems that would correlate with the
    residual terms of the other substance use variables in the context of other non-substance-
    use indicators. In the five-factor model, the three substance use variables indicated a
    separate and ‘clean’ substance-use latent variable, thereby negating the need to allow for
    their residual terms to freely co-vary in that model.
    The three models were compared using the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) and the
    Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) as the primary arbiters of appropriateness in the
    process of selecting one model over the others. Both BIC and AIC aid in selecting models
    by identifying which model among competing models reproduces the observed variances
    and covariances with the fewest estimated parameters (i.e., with the most parsimony).
    Lower (i.e., more negative) BIC values indicate better comparative fit in terms of the
    odds of one model being superior to the other (Raftery, 1995). Specifically, a difference
    of 10 points between two given models indicates that the odds are approximately 150:1
    that the model with the lower (i.e., more negative) BIC value provides a better fit than the
    model with the higher (i.e., less negative) BIC value (Raftery, 1995). Lower AIC scores
    also indicate better comparative fit (Akaike, 1987), but are not interpreted as odds. The
    Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) also is reported, but is not used for
    comparative purposes. Rather it is used to quantify the closeness of fit of each model in
    relation to its degrees of freedom (Browne & Cudeck, 1993), with values approaching
    zero indicating close fit. Browne and Cudeck (1993) advise that a RMSEA value of
    approximately .08 indicates a reasonable error of approximation. Similarly, the
    Comparative Fit Index (CFI; Bentler, 1990) is reported. CFI scores range from 0–1,
    where a score of .85, for example, means that 85 % of the covariation in the data is
    reproduced by a tested model. A CFI score above .90 suggests adequate fit.
    Using only sample 2, correlations were examined between the latent factors of the
    selected measurement model found in sample 1 and replicated in sample 2 and the three-
    factor model of cognitive capacity.
    Go to:

    Results

    Intercorrelations among trait and problem count indicators


    Table 2 displays the intercorrelations among the disinhibited personality trait scales and
    the lifetime externalizing problem counts for both samples.

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    Table 2
    Intercorrelations Among Lifetime Externalizing Problem Counts and Disinhibited
    Personality Traits

    Other
    ALC MARJ Drug CDASPD CPI- EYS- MMPI- MPQ- SSS- SSS-
    Problems Problems Problems Problems Soc Imp PD Contr BS Dis

    ALC -- .55 .55 .56 −.45 .34 .35 −.33 .27 .23
    Problems

    MARJ .64 -- .56 .45 −.44 .24 .36 −.26 .17 .25
    Problems

    Other .53 .54 -- .45 −.39 .21 .32 −.19 .15 .12
    Drug
    Problems

    CDASP .69 .60 .52 -- −.74 .48 .57 −.43 .38 .32
    D
    Problems

    CPI-Soc −.56 −.51 −.48 −.66 -- −.53 −.71 .52 −.39 −.32

    EYS-Imp .49 .37 .33 .51 −.54 -- .41 −.74 .41 .33

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    Other
    ALC MARJ Drug CDASPD CPI- EYS- MMPI- MPQ- SSS- SSS-
    Problems Problems Problems Problems Soc Imp PD Contr BS Dis

    MMPI- .53 .40 .39 .62 −.73 .46 -- −.33 .28 .21
    PD

    MPQ- −.45 −.31 −.26 −.39 .46 −.73 −.38 -- −.38 −.32
    Contr

    SSS-BS .21 .15 .12 .23 −.28 .35 .24 −.40 -- .39

    SSS-Dis .27 .16 .09 .24 −.22 .36 .12 −.37 .37 --

    Note. Sample 1 (N = 541) correlations above diagonal, Sample 2 (N = 463) correlations below diagonal.
    ALC Problems = Sum of alcohol problem counts from the Semi-structured Assessment for the Genetics of
    Alcoholism (SSAGA), MARJ Problems = Sum of marijuana problem counts from the SSAGA, Other Drug
    Problems = Sum of other drug problem counts from the SSAGA, CDASPD = Sum of problem counts for
    conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder from the SSAGA, CPI-Soc = Socialization scale from
    California Psychological Inventory, EYS-Imp = Impulsivity scale from Eysenck Impulsivity-
    Venturesomeness test , MMPI-PD = Psychopathic Deviate scale form Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
    Inventory-2, MPQ-Contr = Control subscale from Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, SSS-BS =
    Boredom Susceptibility scale from the Sensation Seeking Scale, SSS-Dis = Disinhibition scale from the
    Sensation Seeking Scale. All correlations are statistically significant at p < .05.

    Sample 1 Model Comparisons


    Table 3 displays the fit statistics and indices associated with the one-, four-, and five-
    factor models in sample 1. As is indicated by its more negative BIC value and lower AIC
    value, the hierarchical four-factor model of impulsive sensation-seeking,
    antisociality/unconventionality, externalizing problems, and behavioral disinhibition
    provided the best comparative fit among the models.4 In addition, the RMSEA score of
    the hierarchical four-factor model indicated a reasonable error of approximation. The CFI
    score also suggested good fit, indicating more than 96 % of the covariation in the data
    was reproduced by the four-factor model

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    Table 3
    Four-Factor Hierarchical Model of Disinhibited Personality Traits and Externalizing
    Problems Provides Best Fit Across Samples 1 and 2

    Fit Statistics and Indices

    χ2 df RMSEA CFI BIC AIC

    Sample 1 (N = 541)

    One-Factor 405.14* 32 .147 .854 203.75 341.14


    Model 

    Four-Factor 115.05* 29 .074 .966 −67.46 57.05


    Model 

    Five-Factor 339.68* 32 .133 .880 138.29 275.68


    Model 

    Sample 2 (N = 463)

    One-Factor 434.17* 32 .165 .832 237.76 370.17


    Model 

    Four-Factor 95.85* 29 .071 .972 −82.14 37.85

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    Fit Statistics and Indices

    χ2 df RMSEA CFI BIC AIC

    Model 

    Five-Factor 351.76* 32 .147 .867 155.35 287.76


    Model 

    Note. RMSEA = Root Mean Square Error of Approximation; CFI = Comparative Fit Index; BIC =
    Bayesian Information Criterion; AIC = Akaike Information Criterion. Lower RMSEA indicates better
    closeness of fit for each model in relation to its own degrees of freedom. CFI above .90 indicates good fit
    (i.e., covariation in the data is reproduced by the model). Lower (i.e., more negative) BIC scores and lower
    AIC scores indicate better comparative fit.

    Figure 1 shows path weights (single arrows) of three sets of endogenous indicators for
    impulsive sensation-seeking, anti-sociality/unconventionality, and externalizing
    problems, as well as the path weights for the three subfactors from the behavioral
    disinhibition superfactor (all p < .05). The expected pattern of covariation between the
    residual terms of the substance use indicators was found. The correlations for the residual
    terms of the substance use indicators are illustrated by the double arrows among the
    residual terms (small circles) in Figure 1.

    Figure 1

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    Hierarchical four-factor structure of disinhibited personality traits and externalizing
    problems for sample 1 (N = 541). EYS-Imp = Impulsivity scale from Eysenck
    Impulsivity-Venturesomeness test , MPQ-Contr = Control subscale from
    Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, SSS-BS = Boredom Susceptibility scale
    from the Sensation Seeking Scale, SSS-Dis = Disinhibition scale from the Sensation
    Seeking Scale, CPI-Soc = Socialization scale from California Psychological Inventory,
    MMPI-PD = Psychopathic Deviate scale form Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
    Inventory-2, CDASPD = Sum of problem counts for conduct disorder and antisocial
    personality disorder from the Semi-structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism
    (SSAGA), ALC problems = Sum of alcohol problem counts from the SSAGA, MARJ
    Problems = Sum of marijuana problem counts from the SSAGA, Other Drug Problems =
    Sum of other drug problem counts from the SSAGA. All paths (single-arrowed lines) and
    correlations (double-arrowed lines) are statistically significant (p < .05).

    Images in this article

    Sample 2 Model Comparisons


    Table 3 also displays the fit statistics and indices associated with the one-, four-, and five-
    factor models in sample 2. As is indicated by its more negative BIC value and lower AIC
    value, the hierarchical four-factor model of impulsive sensation-seeking,
    antisociality/unconventionality, externalizing problems, and behavioral disinhibition
    provided the best comparative fit among the models. In addition, the RMSEA score of the
    hierarchical four-factor model indicated a reasonable error of approximation. The CFI
    score also suggested good fit, indicating more than 97 % of the covariation in the data
    was reproduced by the four-factor model. These results replicate the findings from

    665
    sample 1, which also indicated the comparative superiority of the hierarchical four-factor
    model.

    Sample 2 Correlated Model of Behavioral Disinhibition and Cognitive


    Capacity
    Figure 2 shows the path weights of impulsive sensation-seeking, anti-
    sociality/unconventionality, and externalizing problems from the behavioral disinhibition
    superfactor (all p < .05). The initial correlated model from the hierarchical four-factor
    model to the cognitive capacity variables designated bi-directional paths from the higher-
    order behavioral disinhibition factor to IQ, short-term memory, and working memory
    [χ2(93, N = 463) = 195.39, p < .05, RMSEA = 0.05], all of which resulted in significant
    correlations (p < .05). Three subsequent models examined bi-directional paths from the
    residual terms of the three subfactors (i.e., impulsive sensation-seeking, anti-
    sociality/unconventionality, and externalizing problems) to the cognitive capacity
    variables. None of these models resulted in statistically significant correlations (rs = .01
    to −.11, all p > .05). As a result, the final predictive model depicted in Figure 2 excludes
    these nonsignificant paths. The final model shows that increased behavioral disinhibition,
    as indicated by impulsive sensation-seeking, anti-sociality/unconventionality, and
    externalizing problems, is associated with reduced cognitive capacity in the forms of
    reduced working memory capacity, lower IQ, and reduced short-term memory capacity.

    Figure 2

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    Final correlated model of Behavioral Disinhibition and the cognitive capacity constructs
    for sample 2 (N = 463). ACT = Auditory Consonant Trigram score, OPW = Operation
    Word Span score, DIG FOR = WAIS-R digits forward score, DIG BAC = WAIS-R digits
    backward score, LTR NMBR = WAIS-III letter-number sequencing score. All paths
    (single-arrowed lines) and correlations (double-arrowed lines) are statistically significant
    (p < .05).

    Discussion
    The goal of the present research was to evaluate a self-regulatory model of behavioral
    disinhibition in late adolescence/early adulthood. Two large samples were administered
    multiple personality scales assessing impulsive, norm-violating, and sensation-seeking
    tendencies (i.e., disinhibited personality traits) and were assessed for externalizing
    problems. Structural modeling identified a hierarchical four-factor structure of impulsive
    sensation-seeking, antisociality/unconventionality, externalizing problems, and a higher-
    order superfactor of disinhibition across both samples. Furthermore, a negative
    association between behavioral disinhibition and multiple domains of cognitive capacity
    was found, including IQ and indicators of short-term memory and working memory. The
    approach used in the current study augments the burgeoning literature examining

    667
    psychopathology using continuous models of problems and symptoms by incorporating
    components of the larger system of self-regulatory influence that are known to be
    integrally related to behavioral disinhibition; namely, disinhibited personality traits and
    executive cognitive capacity.
    The hierarchical four-factor structure of disinhibited personality traits and externalizing
    psychopathology found in the present research conforms to previous research on the
    etiology of these traits and problems (Krueger et al., 2002). Although these traits and
    problems have been shown to share a component of additive genetic influence, it also has
    been shown that the traits (measured as constraint) retain a substantial component of
    unique additive genetic influence. The modeling of the current research reflects these
    findings in the parsing of the various indicators as distinguishable factors of impulsive
    sensation-seeking, antisociality/unconventionality, and externalizing problems.
    The finding of the divisibility of impulsive/sensation-seeking and antisocial traits also
    supports, in part, previous research on the lower-order structure of the personality trait
    domain of conscientiousness (Roberts et al., 2005), as well as theoretical positions and
    empirical evidence related to the division and content of the scales used in the present
    study. Specifically, narrative and factor-analytic depictions of the content of the CPI-
    Socialization and MMPI-2 Psychopathic Deviate scales converge on a description of
    these scales as assessing a heterogeneous pattern of alienated, antisocial, and norm-
    violating tendencies (Almagor & Koren, 2001; Gough, 1994), while Reinforcement
    Sensitivity Theory suggests the cluster of approach-oriented, uninhibited, and
    undercontrolled traits assessed via the MPQ-Control, EIV-Impulsiveness, SSS-Boredom
    Susceptibility, and SSS-Disinhibition scales represents a coherent domain (Pickering &
    Gray, 1999). The anti-sociality/unconventionality and impulsive sensation-seeking
    factors identified in the current research reflect these perspectives and provide some
    support for the separation of disinhibited traits along these two dimensions.
    Although the structure of the subfactors represents a defensible division of related
    disinhibited tendencies, the results of the correlation analyses in sample 2 point to the
    important role of a behavioral disinhibition superfactor in an account of reduced
    cognitive capacity in the forms of working memory, short-term memory, and IQ. These
    results suggest that it is not any of the subfactors per se that is significantly related to the
    cognitive capacity outcomes, but the covariation among the subfactors. Consistent
    with Iacono et al.’s (1999) view of behavioral disinhibition as a generalized risk factor
    for various problems and disorders, the current research shows that it is a broad
    disposition of behavioral disinhibition that is associated with reduced working memory
    and short-term memory capacity, as well as lower IQ.
    Keeping in mind the self-regulatory influence of working memory, the implication of this
    relation is that being behaviorally disinhibited means, in part, having a decreased capacity
    to keep something in mind (e.g., a behavioral norm) while being required to monitor and
    make decisions about the environment (e.g., a situational distraction that might interfere
    with keeping a behavioral norm in mind). Greater behavioral disinhibition increases the
    likelihood of an individual experiencing reduced capacity in his or her ability to retain
    sufficient attentional control to mitigate the influence of persistent distractions. An

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    individual with greater behavioral disinhibition also is more likely to have reduced
    attentional capacity, as well as lower general cognitive ability.
    More generally, the structural and correlated modeling results suggest behavioral
    disinhibition: 1) is a coherent global dispositional tendency, with strongly related
    components and manifestations; 2) demonstrates a global pattern of relations to three
    interrelated components of cognitive capacity; and 3) via its pattern of relations to the
    cognitive capacity constructs, provides a useful depiction of a larger system of self-
    regulatory influences, one which recognizes that cognitive capacity, disinhibited
    personality traits, and externalizing psychopathology are mutually informing and
    reinforcing.

    Limitations and Conclusions


    The current research is not without limitations and caveats. Primary among them is its
    cross-sectional design. The analyses in sample 2, in particular, do nothing to establish the
    predictive primacy of behavioral disinhibition or cognitive capacity. The predictive status
    that might be afforded these domains requires a longitudinal design. Such a design would
    1) better account for cumulative development and transactions among disinhibited
    personality traits, externalizing psychopathology, and cognitive capacity; and 2) establish
    the predictive ordering of one or more sets of these constructs—assuming such an issue
    proves relevant. In addition to the limitation of a cross-sectional design was the targeted
    sampling scheme used in the current study. Although the sampling procedure was
    successful in recruiting disinhibited individuals, the resulting samples do not reflect the
    prevalence of these trait levels or problems in a ‘natural’ population. A large-scale,
    population-based longitudinal design would be better suited to establish a more precise
    structure as well as better estimates of the magnitude of the relations within that structure.
    A second limitation concerns the network of individual difference constructs appropriate
    for inclusion in a depiction of relevant self-regulatory factors underlying behavioral
    disinhibition. Although somewhat more comprehensive than most previous research
    investigating aspects of behavioral disinhibition, the assessment of disinhibited
    personality traits, externalizing psychopathology, and cognitive capacity in the current
    research does not provide full coverage of the self-regulatory influences underlying
    behavioral disinhibition. Additional relevant individual differences factors include
    agreeableness, hostility/irritability/trait anger, neuroticism, and negative
    affect/emotionality, among others (Bettencourt, Talley, Benjamin, & Valentine,
    2006; Elkins, King, McGue, & Iacono, 2006; Ohannessian & Hesselbrock, 2008).
    Similarly, the current study did not incorporate an appetitive or incentive (i.e., reward)
    structure or component to the cognitive tasks. Unlike the Iowa gambling task (Bechara,
    Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994), for example, the short-term memory and
    working memory tasks are not designed to assess or account for the influence of
    appetitive influences that call upon self-control for optimal performance. The inclusion of
    such tasks would undoubtedly aid in a more contextualized understanding of the
    relationship between cognitive capacity and behavioral disinhibition. Moreover, in any
    modeling of factors affecting the expression of any observable psychological features,
    one must also take into account the interplay of genetic and environmental influences.

    669
    The above concerns do not invalidate the approach or findings of the present research so
    much as call attention to the array of influences underlying behavioral disinhibition—
    most of which could not possibly be assessed in a single design, but which deserve
    further integration so as to arrive at a better understanding of the self-regulatory substrata
    of behavioral disinhibition.
    In spite of the limitations, the results of the studies suggest three important trends. First,
    across two samples, a dimensional approach to behavioral disinhibition yielded a
    structure of impulsive sensation-seeking, anti-sociality/unconventionality, and
    externalizing problems, with a behavioral disinhibition superfactor, that reflects the
    empirical and conceptual rendering of these tendencies found in diagnostic interviews
    and manuals, the findings of etiologic and factor-analytic research, and long-standing
    theoretical perspectives. Second, the behavioral disinhibition superfactor, but not the
    subfactors, was directly associated with reduced cognitive capacity in the forms of IQ,
    short-term memory, and working memory, revealing the global relations of this broad
    disposition. This second trend resulted from the finding that it was the covariation among
    the three lower-order latent indicators (represented as the behavioral disinhibition
    superfactor) that was related to cognitive capacity, rather than the indicators themselves.
    Third, and more broadly, the integration of disinhibited personality traits, externalizing
    problems, and cognitive capacity illuminates a larger system of interrelated self-
    regulatory influences underlying behavioral disinhibition—one of the most individually
    and interpersonally problematic patterns of behavioral expression.
    Go to:

    Acknowledgments
    This research was supported by National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
    grants R01 AA13650 and R01 AA10120 to Peter R. Finn.
    Go to:

    Notes
    This paper was supported by the following grant(s):
    National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism : NIAAA R01 AA013650-07 || AA.
    Go to:

    Footnotes
    1
    Blom transformations rank order raw scores (settling ties by using the mean of the contested ranks)
    and then transform the ranks to z scores using the normal distribution. Simulation research comparing
    various transformations has shown that a Blom transformation of psychiatric symptom count data
    allowed for a more accurate selection of a true model from a set of alternative models (van den Oord
    et al., 2000).
    2
    The sample 1 assessment was conducted in the mid-1990s. Subsequently, and as part of the process
    of culling older data sets, data from the sample 1 assessment were compiled into a summary database
    that did not retain individual item responses. This process was implemented without foresight for the
    emergence of dimensional models of externalizing problems and disinhibited personality traits (and the

    670
    subsequent desire to conduct reliability analyses). Consequently, alpha coefficients for sample 1 are
    not reported.
    3
    The DIS and BS scales, and not the Experience Seeking (ES) and Thrill and Adventure (TAS) scales,
    were used because research indicates that the DIS and BS scales reflect an underlying subfactor of
    sensation seeking with common genetic origins (Koopmans, Boomsma, Heath, & van Doornen, 1995)
    that better reflects excitement seeking (Finn et al., 2000). The TAS scale reflects low harm avoidance,
    rather than excitement seeking (Finn et al., 2000; 2002) and the ES scale reflects a preference for
    different types of experiences, rather than excitement seeking per se (Finn et al., 2000; 2002).
    4
    Although the approach for modeling the disinhibited personality scales and lifetime problem counts
    was guided by conceptual and/or theoretical arguments (i.e., confirmatory approach), one could argue
    that an exploratory approach is an appropriate alternative or complement. To address this concern,
    two exploratory approaches were used to investigate other possible structures of the personality
    scales and lifetime problem counts. The first approach used principal components analysis with
    oblique (Oblimin) rotation to identify two factors (via visual examination of the scree plot and
    Eigenvalues > 1.0) that explained 60–64 % of the variance across the two samples. The first factor
    was comprised of lifetime CDASPD, alcohol, marijuana, other drug problem counts, as well as the
    MMPI-PD and CPI-Soc scales; the second factor was comprised of the MPQ-Control, EIV-Imp, SSS-
    BS, and SSS-Dis scales. When analyzed in a latent variable framework, this correlated two-factor
    structure demonstrated poorer model-specific (RMSEA > .12, CFI < .91) and relative fit (ΔBIC > 10)
    than the hierarchical four-factor model examined using confirmatory analyses. The second exploratory
    approach used exploratory two-factor model specification searches (i.e., all possible indicator-factor
    combinations are analyzed—where 10 indicator variables and two latent variables yield 1,048,576
    possible models). The searches produced inconsistent models across the two samples (likely due to
    sensitivity to smaller effects in these larger samples), as well as poorer model-specific and relative fit
    than the hierarchical four-factor model analyzed using the confirmatory approach. As a result of the
    poorer fit and inconsistent pattern of results for the exploratory approaches, and in keeping with the a
    priori conceptual rationales guiding the approaches to modeling the personality scales and lifetime
    problem counts, only the results of the confirmatory analyses are presented and discussed in the body
    of the report. Interested readers are invited to contact the first author regarding the specific findings
    (e.g., factor loadings) of the exploratory analyses.

    Go to:

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    Symptoms of Disinhibited Social


    Engagement Disorder
    By John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
    ~ 1 min read

    The primary defining feature of Disinhibited Social


    Engagement Disorder is a person’s pattern of behavior that involves culturally inappropriate,
    overly familiar behavior with relative strangers. This behavior violates the ordinary social
    customs and boundaries of the culture.
    Specific Symptoms of Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder

    676
    1. A pattern of behavior in which a child actively approaches and interacts with unfamiliar
    adults and exhibits at least 2 of the following:

     Reduced or absent reticence in approaching and interacting with unfamiliar adults.

     Overly familiar verbal or physical behavior (that is not consistent with culturally
    sanctioned and with age-appropriate social boundaries).

     Diminished or absent checking back with adult caregiver after venturing away, even
    in unfamiliar settings.

     Willingness to go off with an unfamiliar adult with minimal or no hesitation.

    2. The above behaviors are not limited to impulsivity (as in attention deficit hyperactivity
    disorder) but include socially disinhibited behavior.
    3. The child has experienced a pattern of extremes of insufficient care as evidenced by at
    least one of the following:

     Social neglect or deprivation in the form of persistent lack of having basic emotional
    needs for comfort, stimulation, and affection met by caregiving adults.

     Repeated changes of primary caregivers that limit opportunities to form stable


    attachments (e.g., frequent changes in foster care).

     Rearing in unusual settings that severely limit opportunities to form selective


    attachments (e.g., institutions with high child-to-caregiver ratios).

    4. The care in the above behaviors (#3) is presumed to be responsible for the disturbed
    behavior in #1 — e.g., the behaviors in #1 began after the care in #3.

    5. The child has a developmental age of at least 9 months old.

    Specify if:
    Persistent: The disorder has been present for more than 12 months.
     

    New diagnosis to the DSM-5. Code: 313.89 (F94.2)

    Source:- https://psychcentral.com/disorders/symptoms-of-disinhibited-social-
    engagement-disorder/

    677
    Disinhibition
    Disinhibition can be described as the partial to complete loss of restraint in governing
    normal behavior and decision-making processes. It is manifested by impulsivity, poor risk
    assessment, and disregard for social conventions. A person with drug-induced disinhibition
    will experience a decreased ability to control and manage their immediate impulsive
    responses to the external environment.
    For the most part, disinhibition simply allows one to overcome emotional apprehension and
    suppressed social skills in a manner that is quite controllable for the average person. In
    many cases, the disinhibited individual may be unable to or have a lack of desire to disguise
    their emotional responses, sometimes at the expense of politeness, sensitivity, or social
    appropriateness. This lack of constraint can be positive or negative depending on the group
    or individual. The removal of social filter generally cannot be regarded as an alteration of
    one's views; it is simply an increased ease at displaying how one already feels.
    Disinhibition often occurs along with amnesia and anxiety suppression. It is also a defining
    characteristic of alcohol and benzodiazepines.
    Psychoactive substances
    Compounds within our psychoactive substance index which may cause this effect include:
    (please follow imbedded links.

     1,4-Butanediol
     2-FA
     2-FMA
     2-Fluorodeschloroketamine
     2-Oxo-PCE
     2M2B
     3-FPM
     3-MeO-PCE
     3-MeO-PCMo
     3-MeO-PCP
     4-FMA
     4-MeO-PCP
     A-PHP
     A-PVP
     Alcohol
     Alprazolam
     Carisoprodol
     Clonazepam
     Cocaine
     Deschloroetizolam
     Deschloroketamine
     Dextromethorphan
     Diazepam
     Diclazepam
     Diphenhydramine

    678
     Diphenidine
     Efavirenz
     Ephenidine
     Etizolam
     Experience:3-MeO-PCP, LSD, Clonazolam, and Amphetamine - Excessive Amounts
    and Excessive Confusion
     F-Phenibut
     Flubromazepam
     Flubromazolam
     GBL
     GHB
     Hexedrone
     Hexen
     Ketamine
     Lorazepam
     Mephedrone
     Methaqualone
     Methoxetamine
     Methoxphenidine
     Metizolam
     N-Ethyl-(nor)-Pentedrone
     Nifoxipam
     PCE
     PCP
     Pentedrone
     Pentobarbital
     ... further results

    See also

     Responsible use
     Subjective effects index
     Psychedelics - Subjective effects
     Dissociatives - Subjective effects
     Deliriants - Subjective effects
     Benzodiazepines
     Alcohol

    Source:- https://psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Disinhibition

    Responding to Inappropriate Sexual Behaviors Displayed by


    Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders
    Jenny Tuzikow, Psy.D., BCBA-D
    Adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may exhibit many challenging
    behaviors during puberty. Similar to adolescents without ASD, adolescents with ASD
    experience hormonal changes and sexual curiosity during this time. One major difference

    679
    is that individuals with ASD experience these changes in addition to communication,
    socialization, and behavior difficulties. It is important for parents to recognize that it is
    common for individuals with ASD to display sexual behaviors (Van Bourgondien,
    Reichle, & Palmer, 1997). The majority of parents of adolescents with ASD experience
    the challenge of teaching their adolescents to behave in an appropriate sexual manner.
    Act Early
    Although it may be difficult, it is critical for parents to identify inappropriate sexual
    behaviors early on and respond accordingly. The longer a parent waits to intervene, the
    more difficult it will be to address the behavior. Frequently reported inappropriate sexual
    behaviors include touching self, touching others, masturbation in public, and disrobing
    (Haracopos & Peedersen, 1992; Ruble & Dalrymple, 1993). If appropriate social skills,
    self-care skills, and language skills have not been learned prior to puberty, parents may
    have difficulty responding to their child’s inappropriate sexual behaviors in a positive and
    productive manner.
    Ideally, parents should seek treatment from a qualified professional in order to address
    their concerns and to develop an individualized treatment plan to reduce their child’s
    inappropriate behaviors. Parents are encouraged to contact their child’s school
    psychologist, a licensed psychologist with training or expertise in behavior assessment
    and management, or a certified behavior analyst to obtain services (see www.bacb.com
    for a registry of Board Certified Behavior Analysts). Individuals with ASD possess a
    range of skills and cognitive abilities. Therefore, an individualized plan is the most
    appropriate option available in order to meet the needs of the individual.
    Many adolescents with ASD may benefit from a sexual education-training program,
    however other adolescents with limited expressive and receptive skills may benefit from
    a more intensive behavior modification program. Regardless of the type of program
    developed for an adolescent with ASD, there are some general strategies that are evident
    in most quality programs.
    Using Environmental Modifications to Improve Behavior
    An initial step in addressing inappropriate sexual behaviors is to determine what, if any,
    environmental changes can be made to reduce the likelihood that an inappropriate sexual
    behavior will occur. Parents are often very creative in their attempts to modify
    environments, and these simple modifications can frequently prevent inappropriate
    behaviors. For example, some parents have reported that purchasing different types or
    styles of undergarments or clothing reduced the likelihood that their child would engage
    in inappropriate behaviors. Other parents have reported that insisting that their child wear
    a belt has reduced their child’s attempts to engage in inappropriate self-touching. If a
    specific object is frequently associated with the behavior, limiting the adolescent’s access
    to the object can also be effective. Modifications such as these can produce immediate
    results and are often implemented with minimal effort.

    680
    Saying Yes to Appropriate Behaviors
    Another effective strategy involves telling an adolescent what to do as opposed to what
    not to do. Often, an initial reaction is for parents to tell their child to "stop" engaging in
    the behavior, however this is only part of the answer. Based on the teaching principals of
    applied behavior analysis (ABA), when attempting to decrease any behavior, it is most
    effective to teach a behavior to replace the inappropriate behavior. Therefore, telling a
    child to "stop" may result in the child questioning, "What do I do instead?" and may
    result in the child engaging in another inappropriate behavior. An example of a mother
    implementing this strategy in the grocery store would involve her asking her son to push
    the cart when she observed him attempting to touch himself inappropriately. If he is told
    to push the cart, he is aware of the desired appropriate behavior and unable to touch
    himself since both hands are on the cart.
    For behaviors that the parents deem appropriate in private places, but not in public places,
    adolescents can be taught to discriminate between private places (e.g. bedroom) and
    public places (e.g. outside, living room, etc.). Once adolescents can discriminate between
    acceptable and unacceptable locations, they can be taught to engage in the sexual
    behavior only in the private/acceptable location. All attempts to engage in the behavior in
    public locations should be interrupted immediately. This procedure allows adolescents to
    engage in the sexual behavior while also teaching them that it is unacceptable in public.
    Additionally, it is not only important to teach the adolescents to discriminate between
    locations, but also between people. For example, parents may believe that it is
    appropriate for adolescents to be affectionate towards familiar people, but not towards
    strangers. Therefore, adolescents need to be taught the difference between a stranger and
    a familiar person with whom affection is appropriate, before they can be expected to
    know why affection is only sometimes appropriate.
    Be Consistent
    Consistency is an additional factor that plays a critical role in addressing inappropriate
    displays of sexual behavior. Everyone who has a relationship with the adolescent needs to
    be consistent when responding to inappropriate behavior. If an adolescent receives
    inconsistent feedback, he or she will have more difficulty learning what is and what is not
    acceptable. For example, treatment of an adolescent who engages in disrobing would
    require the adolescent’s parents and teachers to enforce the rule of remaining dressed
    throughout the day, every day. By having consistent expectations, parents and teachers
    may avoid difficult experiences in the future.
    Remember the Potential for Inadvertent Outcomes
    Think ahead. When implementing any intervention, it is essential to consider how it will
    generalize to other settings. Often, professionals and parents strive for the generalization
    of skills. When a child is taught to say "please" during requesting, professionals and
    parents expect the child to eventually say "please" at home, at school, and with his or her

    681
    parents, siblings, and teachers. Generalization is often a desirable outcome. However, it
    can also be undesirable. This occurs when a child is allowed to engage in sexual
    behaviors in the bathroom at home and then begins to engage in the same behaviors in the
    bathroom at school. For this reason, parents and professionals should use a great deal of
    consideration when choosing appropriate interventions.
    It is vitally important to teach adolescents to refrain from engaging in inappropriate
    sexual behaviors. Adolescents who are able to manage their sexual behaviors
    appropriately have access to a greater number of vocational, social, and educational
    opportunities, and are less likely to be involved in situations which could lead to
    irreparable consequences. Professionals are available to help, and effective interventions
    do exist. Addressing concerns with professionals and seeking effective treatment for an
    adolescent child’s inappropriate behaviors can make a significant difference in the child’s
    success.
    References
     Haracopos, D. & Pedersen, L. (1992). Sexuality and autism: Danish report.
    United Kingdom: Society for the Autistically Handicapped.
     Ruble, L.A. & Dalrymple, N.J. (1993). Social/sexual awareness of person’s
    with autism: A parental perspective. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22(3),
    229-240.
     Van Bourgondien, M.E., Reichle, N.C., & Palmer, A. (1997). Sexual
    behavior in adults with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental
    Disorders, 27(2), 113-125.
    Dr. Jenny Tuzikow is a licensed psychologist and certified behavior analyst at the New
    York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities on Staten Island.
    She can be reached at Jenny.Tuzikow@opwdd.ny.gov.

    Source:-
    https://opwdd.ny.gov/opwdd_community_connections/autism_platform/parents_corner/re
    sponding_to_inappropriate_sexual_behaviors

    682
    Moments Of Memory- Charlie Smith High School, A Holding Center & Not
    By Choice An Institution Of Learning-Is Cumberland High School Any
    Better Off?

    It would be normal to assume that any institution which claims to be a high school,
    designed for teaching and learning would have been so equipped as to fulfill that mission.
    Sadly:-
     Charlie Smith High School in the early 1990s was a high school, which had all the
    plumbing fixtures required of a high school but with no water in the pipes. One
    can but imagine the state of the students’ wash rooms.
     Charlie Smith High School as a school which was attended also by students, who
    were illiterate, did not have a single remedial teacher on staff.
     Charlie Smith High School did not have science lab.
     Charlie Smith High School did not have a music room.
     Charlie Smith High School did not have an auditorium where students could
    assemble.
     And one can go on listing what should have been there for its normal functioning
    as a high school. Let simple say that a parent could make the effort and sacrifices
    needed to send a child through basic school, primary school and high school and
    that child leave the school system practically illiterate. The leadership of schools
    which falls under the direct influence of the political directorate and its
    functionaries cannot go lodging complaints or protesting working conditions; in
    Jamaica of 2017 that remains unthinkable and dangerous to ones career and future
    employment.

    683
    Sexual behavior and drinking style among teenagers: a
    population-based study in Finland 
    Hanna M. Lavikainen
     
    Tomi Lintonen
     
    Elise Kosunen
    Health Promot Int (2009) 24 (2): 108-119.
     

    SUMMARY
    In this large-scale study, we examined the relationship between an adolescent’s sexual
    behavior and drinking style. Three aspects of sexual risk-taking were included: early
    activity, unprotected sexual intercourse and having sex with multiple partners. A
    distinction was made between different drinking styles, i.e. alcohol drinking and
    drunkenness-related drinking. Cross-sectional school survey data from the School Health
    Promotion Study was collected in Finland in 2002–2003. The national sample consisted
    of adolescents from the eighth and ninth grades (n = 100 790). The mean ages were 14.8
    and 15.8 years. Using logistic regression analysis, we investigated the association
    between sexual behavior and drinking style among teenagers. The likelihood of engaging
    in sexual intercourse increased with the frequency of alcohol use. In particular, frequent
    drunkenness-related drinking increased the probability that the teenager had experienced
    sexual intercourse. The likelihood of engaging in unprotected sex and/or having multiple
    sexual partners was many-fold for adolescents drinking frequently until they were in a
    state of drunkenness. Particularly for girls, weekly drunkenness-related drinking was
    associated with multiple partners. The vast majority of sexually experienced under-aged
    adolescents drink alcohol, many of them until they are drunk. Thus, it could be effective
    to combine both alcohol education and sex education, including contraceptive counseling,
    in early adolescence.
    adolescence, sexual behavior, risk-taking, alcohol use
    Topic:
     
     ethanol 
     alcohol intoxication 

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     adolescent 
     alcohol drinking 
     coitus 
     finland 
     sex behavior 
     sexual partners 
     risk-taking behavior 
     unprotected sexual intercourse
    Issue Section:
     Original Papers

    INTRODUCTION
    Sexual activity and alcohol use in early and middle adolescence are often regarded as
    risky behaviors even in liberal and secularized western cultures (Plant and Plant,
    1992; Udry and Bearman, 1998; Windle, 2003), and this behavior largely causes concern
    in a society. On the other hand, it has been emphasized that risk-taking among
    adolescents is to a certain extent normal (Plant and Plant, 1992). Experimenting both with
    intimate relationships and alcohol drinking belong to a life-style typical of many
    teenagers, and initiations of these behaviors often overlap. The timing of these events
    partly depends on biological maturation: early initiation of sexual intercourse (Capaldi et
    al., 1996; Zimmerman-Gembeck et al., 2004) and advanced alcohol (Lintonen et al.,
    2000a; Bratberg et al., 2005; Costello et al., 2007) use are both linked to early maturation
    age.
    There is a generally liberal attitude towards sex in the Nordic countries, and attitudes to
    adolescent sexuality are quite permissive. Among Finnish adolescents, around one-third
    of girls and one-quarter of boys have their first sexual intercourse before the age of 16
    (Kosunen and Ritamo, 2004). In Western Europe, adolescents experience their first
    sexual intercourse at the mean age of 17–18 (Bajos et al., 2003). Concurrently, the vast
    majority of adolescents under the minimum legal drinking age have consumed alcoholic
    beverages in most European countries (Hibell et al., 2004). National surveys in the USA
    indicate that under-aged alcohol use is common among American adolescents as well
    (Johnston et al., 2006).
    Alcohol drinking, especially drunkenness-related drinking in adolescence has been
    generally acknowledged to be a major public health problem. Alcohol use is known to be

    685
    related to a variety of short- and long-term harms and risk-taking behaviors (Wechsler et
    al., 1995). According to recent studies, alcohol drinking is particularly linked to sexual
    risk-taking behavior (Halpern-Felsher et al., 1996; Fergusson and Lynskey,
    1996; Zimmerman-Gembeck et al., 2004; Parkers et al., 2007; Lavikainen et al., in
    press), which commonly consists of early age of first intercourse, unprotected sexual
    intercourse exposing the adolescent to sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV,
    teenage pregnancies and sexual intercourse with multiple partners (Tapert et al.,
    2001; Buhi and Goodson, 2007).
    In Finland, convergent trends in adolescent sexual health and alcohol use have been
    identified during the last 10 years. Rates of chlamydia infections and induced abortions
    began to increase among 15-19-year-old girls in the mid-1990s (Hiltunen-Back et al.,
    2003; Gissler, 2004). Similarly, adolescent alcohol drinking and drunkenness-related
    drinking in particular increased right after the early 1980s up to the end of the 1990s.
    Come the turn of the millennium, the increasing trends in alcohol use among 14-18-year-
    old adolescents came to a halt. (Lintonen et al., 2000b; Rimpelä et al., 2006) From the
    year 2002 onward, a decline has been seen in indicators for both induced abortions and
    substance use (i.e. frequency of drinking and drunkenness, tobacco smoking and social
    exposure to illegal drugs). This outstanding congruence between the trends of adolescent
    sexual health and alcohol use is of interest.
    Previous results pertaining to the association between adolescents’ sexual risk-taking,
    especially non-use of contraceptives, and alcohol use, have been somewhat contradictory
    (Morrison et al., 2003; Parkers et al., 2007), possibly because drinking is often measured
    only as the frequency of alcohol use. Thus, only a little is known about the influence of
    drinking style on adolescent sexual behavior, i.e. alcohol use and drunkenness-related
    drinking should be regarded as separate elements of drinking style. Drunkenness has been
    largely connected with the concept of disinhibition as people may become less inhibited
    under the influence of alcohol (Plant and Plant, 1992). Among adolescents, for instance,
    being drunk may both increase reckless behavior and the likelihood of failing to use
    condoms. The main motive for adolescents to drink alcohol might actually be to become
    ‘disinhibited’ (Abel and Plumridge, 2004).

    686
    In this large-scale study, we investigate the associations between sexual behavior, namely
    engaging in sexual intercourse, engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse and having
    multiple sexual partners and drinking style among teenagers. Instead of analyzing
    adolescent alcohol use as such, we have made a distinction between different drinking
    styles: the difference between frequencies of alcohol drinking and drunkenness-related
    drinking.

    MATERIAL AND METHODS


    The School Health Promotion Study (SHPS) is a national cross-sectional survey
    concerned with health, health behavior and school experiences of adolescents in eighth
    and ninth grades in secondary school. The SHPS has been carried out from 1996 onwards
    in two parts: even-numbered years in provinces in Southern Finland, Eastern Finland and
    Lapland and odd-numbered years in provinces in Western Finland, Oulu and Åland.
    Participation has been based on voluntariness and the interest of each municipality and
    the schools within the area (Luopa et al., 2005).

    The data utilized in this paper was obtained from SHPS surveys in 2002 and 2003.
    During that period 374 out of 448 Finnish municipalities fell into the data collection
    areas. Participation was good: in 2002, 149 municipalities (out of a possible 155) and in
    2003, 207 municipalities (out of a possible 219) took part. The total number of
    adolescents here was 100 790, while one birth cohort in Finland was around 60 000
    during those years (i.e. adolescents born in 1987–1989) (Statistics Finland). Of the
    respondents, 51 698 were eighth-graders (mean age 14.8, SD 0.4) and 49 092 ninth-
    graders (mean age 15.8, SD 0.4).

    Data was gathered by an anonymous classroom inquiry, thus the student questionnaire
    did not include name or any other information that would identify respondent
    individually. The structured questionnaire was completed during a school lesson under
    the supervision of a teacher. To assure confidentiality, all questionnaires per classroom
    were enclosed in an envelope directed to the SHPS research group. Adolescents absent on
    the day of survey were not contacted. Based on the information on SHPS data collections,
    10–15 percentages of adolescents are absent each day (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2003).

    687
    Sexual behavior
    Adolescents were classified as being sexually experienced if they had answered ‘yes’ to
    the following question: ‘Have you ever experienced sexual intercourse?’ Further,
    adolescents who had answered in addition or only to either of the questions: ‘How many
    times have you had sexual intercourse?’ and ‘What kind of contraception did you use in
    the most recent intercourse?’ were considered as sexually experienced. After re-checking
    the data manually, nonsensical responses to the questions of sexual experience were
    excluded.

    The number of sexual partners in a lifetime was asked by the question ‘With how many
    different partners have you had sexual intercourse?’ The original alternatives were ‘one’,
    ‘two’, ‘three or four’ and ‘five or more’. For the analysis, the number of sexual partners
    was dichotomized (one to two partners/three or more partners). The concept of multiple
    partners is regarded as ambiguous, given that the number of partners considered high, in a
    word multiple, differ from study to study (Fergusson and Lynskey, 1996; Herlitz and
    Ramstedt, 2005; Stuave and O’Donnell, 2005). In this present study, we consider three or
    more different partners as multiple.

    Referring to the question of used contraception in the most recent intercourse, the original
    alternatives were ‘none’, ‘condom’, ‘oral contraceptives’, ‘condom and oral
    contraceptives’ and ‘other method’. The open-ended option, ‘other method’, included
    answers primarily relating to methods of natural family planning (withdrawal and
    calendar method) which were classified as non-use of contraceptives. For analyzing
    purposes, the use of contraceptives was dichotomized (protected intercourse/unprotected
    intercourse). Options involving condom use, oral contraceptives or both (i.e. double
    contraception) formed the category ‘protected intercourse’, while options ‘none’ and
    ‘other method’ were grouped together to form the category ‘unprotected intercourse’. In
    this present study, we consider non-use of contraceptives as sexual risk-taking behavior.

    Maturation

    688
    Information concerning adolescents’ maturation was assessed by asking ‘How old were
    you when you had your first menstruation or ejaculation?’ Alternative responses were ‘10
    years or younger’, ‘11 years’, ‘12 years’, ‘13 years’, ‘14 years’, ‘15 years or older’ and ‘I
    have not yet experienced menstruation/ejaculation’. For the analysis, the two lowest
    categories were combined into ‘11 years or younger’ and the three highest categories
    were combined into ‘14 years or older or no menstruation/ejaculation yet’. Categories ‘12
    years’ and ‘13 years’ were kept as such.

    Drinking style
    Adolescents’ drinking style was based on two questions. The first question covered the
    frequency of alcohol drinking: ‘How often do you use alcohol altogether, e.g. half a
    bottle of beer or more’. Original alternatives were: ‘I don’t drink alcohol’, ‘rarely’, ‘about
    once a month’, ‘a couple of times a month’ and ‘once a week or more often’.
    Subsequently, the categories ‘I don’t drink alcohol’ and ‘rarely’ were combined for the
    analysis. The second question covered the frequency of drunkenness: ‘How often do you
    use alcohol until you are really drunk’, with four alternatives: ‘never’, ‘rarely’, ‘one to
    two times a month’ and ‘once a week or more often’. The concept ‘being really drunk’ is
    well understood among Finnish adolescents, referring to the consumption of around 100
    g of pure ethanol (e.g. six bottles of medium strength beer) (Lintonen and Rimpelä,
    2001).

    Response activity concerning the questions of adolescents’ sexual experience, sexual


    partners, used contraception, maturation and drinking styles was substantially high: only
    2–3% of the adolescents in the eighth and ninth grades had left the question open.

    Statistical analysis
    The prevalence of adolescents’ sexual experience was calculated separately for boys and
    girls within different grade levels. Cross-tabular analyses were performed between
    gender/grade level and sexual behavior (i.e. number of sexual experiences, number of
    sexual partners and the use of contraceptives), maturation (i.e. onset of menstruation and
    ejaculation) and drinking style (i.e. frequency of drinking and drunkenness). Pearson’s

    689
    chi-square test was applied to examine the differences between sexually experienced and
    non-experienced adolescents.

    The study has three main outcomes: for the logistic regression models all outcomes
    ‘Experienced at least one sexual intercourse’, ‘Engaged in unprotected sexual
    intercourse’ and ‘Had three or more sexual partners’ were dichotomized (yes/no). Given
    that pubertal maturation may vary with gender, analyses were run separately for boys and
    girls. Regarding the first outcome, all adolescents were included. Subsequently,
    adolescents with two or more sexual experiences were included for the further logistic
    regression analysis, i.e. outcomes two and three. The rationale behind this decision lies in
    following assumptions (i) first sexual intercourse is often unplanned and thus, more often
    unprotected than later encounters, (ii) multiple partners is possible only if one has
    experienced at least two sexual intercourses.

    Given that grade level and maturation were adjusted for, logistic models for all outcomes
    included two explanatory variables, namely frequency of alcohol drinking and
    drunkenness-related drinking. In the univariate model (Model 0), one explanatory
    variable at a time was entered into the model. In the second model (Model 1),
    explanatory variables were adjusted for grade and maturation age. The third model
    (Model 2) included all variables, which were entered in one block. Odds ratios (OR) and
    their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated for each logistic model. All the
    analyses were carried out by using SPSS version 15.0 for Windows.

    Frequency of alcohol drinking and drunkenness-related drinking were included in all


    logistic regression models as separate variables for a reason: consequently, sole use of
    alcohol (i.e. ‘alcohol drinking’) may be interpreted as an indicator of frequency of use
    and ‘drunkenness’ as an indicator of drinking style (i.e. drunkenness-related drinking)
    (Lavikainen et al., in press).

    RESULTS

    One-third of the girls and 27% of the boys in the ninth grade had engaged in sexual
    intercourse at least once (Table 1). For the eighth-graders the figures were 18 and 16%,

    690
    respectively. More than half of the sexually experienced girls in the ninth grade reported
    engaging in sexual intercourse 10 times or more often, whereas in other sub-groups this
    percentage proportion varied between 34 and 41% (Table 1).

    Table 1:
    Experience of sexual intercourse among 14-16-year-old adolescents and
    distribution of sexual behavior (%) among sexually experienced adolescents by grade
    and gender

    8th grade 9th grade

    Sexual behavior     

      Girls  Boys  Girls  Boys 

    Total number of adolescents, n  25 075  25 494  23 555  24 577 

    Adolescents experienced sexual


    intercourse % ( n)  18 (4391)  16 (4120)  34 (7973)  27 (6629) 

    Total number of sexual


    intercourses (distribution %)  a         

    One     22  26  15  20 

    2–4     27  28  19  27 

    5–9     15  13  12  13 

    10 or more     37  34  55  41 

    Total (  n)  100 (4324)  100 (3911)  100 (7909)  100 (6460) 

    Total number of sexual partners


    (distribution %)  a         

    691
    8th grade 9th grade

    Sexual behavior     

      Girls  Boys  Girls  Boys 

    One     52  49  46  46 

    Two     22  19  21  21 

    3–4     15  13  20  16 

    5 or more     10  19  14  17 

    Total (  n)  100 (4344)  100 (4020)  100 (7931)  100 (6560) 

    Use of contraceptives at the most


    recent intercourse (distribution
    %)  a         

    Yes/Protected   b  80  76  84  80 

    No/Unprotected   c  20  24  16  20 

    Total (  n)  100 (4340)  100 (4024)  100 (7941)  100 (6563) 

    Among sexually experienced adolescents; bCondom or contraceptive pill or


    a

    condom+contraceptive pill; cNo contraception used or no information.

    Approximately half of the sexually experienced adolescents reported only one sexual
    partner (Table 1). Nevertheless, 25% of the girls in the eighth grade and 34% in the ninth
    grade reported that they had had at least three partners. Among boys, the figures were 29
    and 33%. While 80% of the adolescents reported having used contraception during their
    most recent intercourse, the proportion of unprotected intercourse varied between 16 and
    24% in eighth and ninth grade boys/girls. Boys reported non-use of contraceptives
    somewhat more often than girls did (Table 1).

    692
    When comparing sexually experienced adolescents with their non-experienced peers, age
    at the onset of menstruation/ejaculation was lower among adolescents with sexual
    experience (Table 2). Similarly, sexually experienced adolescents were different from
    their non-experienced peers in terms of alcohol drinking: the frequency of drinking and
    drunkenness-related drinking was higher among adolescents with sexual experience. The
    majority of their non-experienced peers reported abstinence or minor alcohol use
    (Table 2).

    Table 2:
    Explanatory variablesa (%) among adolescents who have experienced sexual
    intercourse and among those who do not have such experience

    8th grade 9th grade

         

    Girls Boys Girls Boys

             

    Experienced Experienced Experienced Experienced


    sexual sexual sexual sexual
    intercourse intercourse intercourse intercourse

             

      Yes %  No %  Yes %  No %  Yes %  No %  Yes %  No % 

    Maturation (i.e.
    onset of
    menstruation/eja
    culations)                 

    ≤11 year-old   7  8  20  13  5  4  17  8 

    12 year-old   29  14  22  12  24  14  22  12 

    693
    8th grade 9th grade

         

    Girls Boys Girls Boys

             

    Experienced Experienced Experienced Experienced


    sexual sexual sexual sexual
    intercourse intercourse intercourse intercourse

             

      Yes %  No %  Yes %  No %  Yes %  No %  Yes %  No % 

    13 year-old   40  34  28  26  40  32  30  25 

    ≥14 year-old or
    has not began
    yet   25  45  30  49  31  51  32  56 

    100 100 (20 100 100 (20 100 100 (15 100 100 (17
    Total (n)  (4316)  403)  (3976)  619)  (7879)  407)  (6418)  327) 

    Frequency of
    drinking                 

    Don’t drink
    alcohol or drink
    rarely b  19  70  25  70  21  63  17  57 

    About once a
    month   16  12  13  10  18  16  13  14 

    Couple of times
    a month   38  15  31  14  36  17  34  20 

    694
    8th grade 9th grade

         

    Girls Boys Girls Boys

             

    Experienced Experienced Experienced Experienced


    sexual sexual sexual sexual
    intercourse intercourse intercourse intercourse

             

      Yes %  No %  Yes %  No %  Yes %  No %  Yes %  No % 

    Once a week or
    more often   27  4  30  6  25  4  36  9 

    100 100 (20 100 100 (21 100 100 (15 100 100 (17
    Total (n)  (4364)  615)  (4084)  264)  (7943)  532)  (6588)  884) 

    Drunkenness-
    related drinkingc                 

    Never   10  65  16  63  10  55  10  48 

    Less frequently
    than once a
    month   43  27  35  27  51  35  37  36 

    1–2 times a
    month   35  8  32  9  31  9  37  14 

    Once a week or
    more often   11  1  17  1  8  1  16  2 

    695
    8th grade 9th grade

         

    Girls Boys Girls Boys

             

    Experienced Experienced Experienced Experienced


    sexual sexual sexual sexual
    intercourse intercourse intercourse intercourse

             

      Yes %  No %  Yes %  No %  Yes %  No %  Yes %  No % 

    100 (20 100 (21 100 (15 100 (17


    Total (n)  100 (4366)  577)  100 (4084)  212)  100 (7935)  521)  100 (6579)  848) 

    Statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between sexually experienced


    and non-experienced adolescents was detected regarding all explanatory
    variables.
    a
    The percentage of missing data per explanatory variable varies between 2 and
    3%; bDon’t drink any alcohol or have drunk rarely (e.g. times when tasted or
    consumed only a small amount of alcohol); cDrinking until really intoxicated.

    First, the multiple logistic regression analysis was performed for all adolescents to
    examine the relationship between sexual experience and drinking style (Table 3). Higher
    levels of alcohol drinking and drunkenness-related drinking were related to increased
    likelihood of having sexual experience among both genders. Compared with adolescents
    abstaining from alcohol and drinking or rarely being drunk, frequent drinkers, especially
    those with a drunkenness-related drinking style, were more likely to engage in sexual
    intercourse. This association remained evident after adjusting for grade and maturation in
    boys and girls (OR = 14.1) (Table 3, Model 2).

    Table 3:

    696
    Logistic regression models of sexual experience among all adolescents, expressed as odds
    ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI)

    Girls Boys
     

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

      OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI 

    Grade                         

    8th
    grade 
      1        1    1        1   

    9th
    grade  2.31– 2.16– 1.83– 1.43–
      2.41  2.51      2.27  2.39  1.92  2.00      1.51  1.58 

    Onset
    of
    menstr
    uation/
    ejacula
    tions                         

    ≥14
    year-
    old or
    has not
    began
    yet   1        1    1        1   

    13 1.97  1.87–     1.94  1.83– 1.87  1.77–     1.50  1.41–


    year- 2.07  2.06  1.98  1.60 

    697
    Girls Boys
     

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

      OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI 

    old  

    12
    year- 2.93– 3.00– 2.93– 2.16–
    old   3.11  3.29      3.17  3.39  3.12  3.32      2.32  2.65 

    ≤11
    year- 1.38– 1.99– 2.61– 2.26–
    old   1.52  1.66      2.22  2.48  2.79  2.98      2.45  2.65 

    Freque
    ncy of
    drinkin
    g                         

    Don’t
    drink
    alcohol
    or
    drink
    rarely
     d  1    1    1    1    1    1   

    About
    once a
    month  4.03– 3.71– 1.48– 3.18– 2.90– 1.32–
      4.30  4.59  3.97  4.25  1.60  1.72  3.43  3.69  3.13  3.38  1.43  1.56 

    698
    Girls Boys
     

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

      OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI 

    Couple
    of
    times a
    month  7.36– 7.11– 2.27– 5.85– 5.25– 1.87–
      7.79  8.25  7.54  8.00  2.45  2.63  6.22  6.60  5.59  5.94  2.03  2.19 

    Once a
    week
    or
    more
    often  20.15– 19.45– 4.39– 14.02– 11.71– 2.71–
      21.72  23.40  21.03  22.73  4.87  5.40  14.98  16.01  12.55  13.44  2.98  3.27 

    Drunke
    nness-
    related
    drinkin
    g                         

    Never 
      1    1    1    1    1    1   

    Less
    freque
    ntly
    than
    once a
    month  9.00– 8.14– 5.30– 5.05– 4.65– 3.32–
      9.60  10.25  8.70  9.31  5.71  6.17  5.40  5.77  4.98  5.34  3.59  3.88 

    699
    Girls Boys
     

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

      OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI  OR  95% CI 

    1–2
    times a
    month  20.91– 19.91– 7.71– 13.23– 11.55– 5.69–
      22.52  24.25  21.49  23.20  8.49  9.36  14.20  15.24  12.43  13.38  6.26  6.89 

    Once a
    week
    or
    more
    often  51.82– 51.40– 11.93– 40.82– 33.19– 12.33–
      59.21  67.64  59.04  67.81  14.08  16.63  45.39  50.48  37.06  41.37  14.14  16.22 

    Univariate model, i.e. one variable at the time; bBoth frequency of drinking and
    a

    drunkenness-related drinking style are adjusted for grade and maturation; cAll


    variables at the time; dDon’t drink any alcohol or have drunk rarely (e.g. times
    when tasted or consumed only a small amount of alcohol).

    Table 4 presents the results of models regarding the relationship between unprotected


    intercourses and drinking style among adolescents having experienced intercourse at least
    twice. After adjusting for grade and maturation, weekly drunkenness-related drinking
    among boys was strongly associated with engaging in unprotected sexual intercourses,
    whereas among girls both weekly alcohol drinking and frequent drunkenness-related
    drinking increased that likelihood (Model 2). In general, higher level of drunkenness-
    related drinking was associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in unprotected
    intercourse. Maturation prior to the age of 12 increased the likelihood of non-use of
    contraceptives, notably among boys. (Table 4).

    700
    Table 4:
    Logistic regression models of engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse among
    adolescents who had engaged in two or more sexual intercourses, expressed as odds
    ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI)

    Girls Boys

         

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

    95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95%


      OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI 

    Grade                         

    8th
    grade   1        1    1        1   

    9th 0.73– 0.77– 0.72– 0.77–


    grade   0.81  0.90      0.86  0.97  0.80  0.90      0.86  0.97 

    Onset of
    menstru
    ation/eja
    culation
    s                         

    ≥14
    year-old
    or has
    not
    began
    yet   1        1    1        1   

    13 year- 0.91  0.80–     0.90  0.78– 1.08  0.92–     1.11  0.94–

    701
    Girls Boys

         

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

    95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95%


      OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI 

    old   1.04  1.03  1.28  1.31 

    12 year- 0.82– 0.80– 0.94– 0.93–


    old   0.94  1.09      0.92  1.07  1.12  1.33      1.11  1.32 

    ≤11
    year-old  1.12– 1.04– 3.37– 2.84–
      1.39  1.72      1.30  1.63  3.94  4.60      3.34  3.92 

    Frequen
    cy of
    drinking                         

    Don’t
    drink
    alcohol
    or drink
    rarely 
    d
      1    1    1    1    1    1   

    About
    once a
    month  0.87– 0.90– 0.84– 0.61– 0.65– 0.65–
      1.06  1.29  1.10  1.34  1.03  1.28  0.75  0.93  0.81  1.00  0.83  1.05 

    Couple 1.33  1.13– 1.37  1.16– 1.17  0.96– 0.69  0.58– 0.72  0.61– 0.69  0.55–

    702
    Girls Boys

         

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

    95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95%


      OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI 

    of times
    a
    month 
      1.57  1.61  1.42  0.81  0.86  0.86 

    Once a
    week or
    more 2.02– 2.06– 1.24– 1.30– 1.16– 0.67–
    often   2.38  2.80  2.43  2.87  1.54  1.92  1.51  1.75  1.36  1.60  0.84  1.07 

    Drunken
    ness-
    related
    drinking                         

    Never 
      1    1    1    1    1    1   

    Less
    frequent
    ly than
    once a
    month  0.83– 0.83– 0.76– 0.47– 0.53– 0.59–
      1.02  1.27  1.04  1.29  0.96  1.21  0.57  0.70  0.64  0.79  0.74  0.93 

    1–2 1.68  1.35– 1.70  1.37– 1.36  1.05– 0.76  0.63– 0.80  0.66– 1.00  0.77–
    times a 2.08  2.12  1.76  0.91  0.98  1.30 

    703
    Girls Boys

         

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

    95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95%


      OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI 

    month 
     

    Once a
    week or
    more 2.55– 2.52– 1.63– 1.73– 1.48– 1.56–
    often   3.23  4.10  3.21  4.08  2.19  2.95  2.09  2.53  1.82  2.23  2.07  2.76 

    a
    Univariate model i.e. one variable at the time; bBoth frequency of drinking and
    drunkenness-related drinking style are adjusted for grade and maturation; cAll
    variables at the time; dDon’t drink any alcohol or have drunk rarely (e.g. times
    when tasted or consumed only a small amount of alcohol). Bold face values
    indicate the significance with p < 0.05.

    Table 5 presents the results of models regarding the relationship between having had
    multiple sexual partners and drinking style. Among girls and boys, higher frequency of
    alcohol use and drunkenness-related drinking were both associated with an increased
    likelihood of having had three or more sexual partners. Drunkenness-related drinking
    was, however, associated with multiple partners more evidently than frequent alcohol
    drinking (Model 2). Particularly for girls, weekly drunkenness-related drinking increased
    that likelihood (OR = 4.21) (Table 5, Model 2).

    Table 5:

    704
    Logistic regression models of having three or more sexual partners among adolescents
    who had engaged in two or more sexual intercourses, expressed as odds ratios (OR) and
    their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI)

    Girls Boys

         

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

    95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95%


      OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI 

    Grade                         

    8th
    grade 
      1        1    1        1   

    9th
    grade  1.17– 1.37– 0.87– 0.90–
      1.28  1.40      1.51  1.66  0.96  1.05      1.00  1.10 

    Onset
    of
    menstru
    ation/ej
    aculatio
    ns                         

    ≥14
    year-old
    or has
    not
    began
    yet   1        1    1        1   

    705
    Girls Boys

         

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

    95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95%


      OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI 

    13 year- 1.12– 1.16– 1.02– 0.99–


    old   1.25  1.38      1.30  1.45  1.16  1.31      1.12  1.28 

    12 year- 1.39– 1.51– 1.45– 1.10–


    old   1.56  1.74      1.70  1.91  1.31  1.49      1.26  1.44 

    ≤11
    year-old  1.66– 1.89– 3.16– 2.62–
      1.98  2.37      2.28  2.76  3.62  4.15      3.02  3.48 

    Frequen
    cy of
    drinking                         

    Don’t
    drink
    alcohol
    or drink
    rarely 
    d
      1    1    1    1    1    1   

    About
    once a
    month  1.17– 1.21– 0.97– 0.77– 0.79– 0.72–
      1.36  1.58  1.41  1.65  1.14  1.34  0.92  1.09  0.94  1.13  0.88  1.07 

    706
    Girls Boys

         

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

    95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95%


      OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI 

    Couple
    of times
    a
    month  1.84– 1.97– 1.43– 1.05– 1.04– 0.86–
      2.09  2.38  2.24  2.55  1.65  1.91  1.20  1.38  1.20  1.38  1.03  1.22 

    Once a
    week or
    more 3.90– 4.17– 2.35– 2.13– 1.93– 1.11–
    often   4.45  5.08  4.77  5.45  2.78  3.29  2.43  2.77  2.22  2.54  1.34  1.62 

    Drunke
    nness-
    related
    drinking                         

    Never 
      1    1    1    1    1    1   

    Less
    frequent
    ly than
    once a
    month  2.17– 2.23– 1.77– 0.80– 0.86– 0.83–
      2.62  3.18  2.71  3.29  2.17  2.67  0.95  1.11  1.02  1.21  1.00  1.21 

    1–2 4.43  3.64– 4.82  3.95– 2.76  2.21– 1.40  1.19– 1.45  1.23– 1.30  1.05–

    707
    Girls Boys

         

    Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c Model 0a Model 1b Model 2c

                 

    95% 95% 95% 95% 95% 95%


      OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI  OR  CI 

    times a
    month 
      5.38  5.88  3.44  1.64  1.71  1.61 

    Once a
    week or
    more 7.41– 8.07– 3.24– 3.04– 2.70– 1.94–
    often   9.25  11.56  10.13  12.71  4.21  5.48  3.64  4.34  3.25  3.91  2.47  3.15 

    a
    Univariate model, i.e. one variable at the time; bBoth frequency of drinking and
    drunkenness-related drinking style are adjusted for grade and maturation; cAll
    variables at the time; dDon’t drink any alcohol or have drunk rarely (e.g. times
    when tasted or consumed only a small amount of alcohol). Bold face values
    indicate the significance with p < 0.05.

    DISCUSSION

    In this large-scale study, we used school-based data collected in 2002 and 2003. The
    nationally representative samples comprised a total of 100 790 Finnish adolescents in
    both eighth and ninth grades. The main finding of this study was that drunkenness-related
    drinking substantially increased the likelihood of engaging in sexual risk-taking
    behaviors compared with alcohol drinking. In particular, recurrent drunkenness among
    both boys and girls was associated with engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse and
    having multiple sexual partners. Apparently, the association was especially strong in the
    context of having had multiple sexual partners.

    708
    In this study, we investigated separately three aspects of sexual risk-taking: early activity,
    unprotected sexual intercourse (being exposed to sexually transmitted infections and
    pregnancies) and having sex with multiple partners (Tapert et al., 2001; Buhi and
    Goodson, 2007). In the large population-based sample our results confirmed earlier
    findings of the association between alcohol use and the initiation of sexual intercourse
    (Capaldi et al., 1996; Fergusson and Lynskey, 1996; Windle, 2003). Our study also
    showed that this association is straightforward: the more frequently drinking occurred,
    the more probable it is that teenagers, both boys and girls, had experienced sexual
    intercourse at an early age. Moreover, this study clearly showed the importance of
    drunkenness-related drinking style in this context. In both genders, the risk of engaging in
    sexual intercourse was many-folded even if an adolescent was drunk only every now and
    then, less than once a month. The risk was very high (14-folded) if this happened every
    week.
    Regarding the aspect of having had multiple sexual partners, we set the limit at three
    partners given that our participants were young, the mean age being <16 years. There is
    no unambiguous definition for what ‘multiple sex partners’ means, and it greatly depends
    on cultural terms. Also here, our findings are congruent with those of others, indicating
    that frequent drinking is significantly related to an increased number of sexual
    partners. Valois et al. (1999) found that alcohol use was significantly and consistently
    linked to an increase in the number of sexual partners for all race and gender groups.
    However, we did not find any difference between genders in our secondary school
    sample. Based on a large US high school study (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance), boys
    are more likely to have multiple partners than girls (Valois et al., 1999).
    Our study showed that drunkenness was associated with non-use of contraception. This
    refers to condom use, in the first place, because it is the most important method of
    contraception in early stages of sexual activity. In line with our findings, regular
    substance use has been linked with decreased condom use at the age of 16 (Parkers et al.,
    2007). The study of Parkers and others has also showed that being drunk at the time of
    sexual intercourse explained the non-use of condoms among adolescent substance users
    (Parkers et al., 2007). On the contrary, a diary study among American adolescents aged
    14–19 suggests that alcohol drinking is not associated with condom non-use (Morrison et

    709
    al., 2003). Inconsistent findings may result from the used measurements of alcohol use.
    As our study showed, both frequency of alcohol drinking and drunkenness-related
    drinking are needed when measuring the link between alcohol use and certain risky
    behavior among adolescents.

    One of the study’s strengths is that it is based on a large and representative sample of the
    Finnish adolescent population aged 14–16 years. The coverage of secondary schools was
    remarkably good in both years under study (2002–2003). Our study has showed the
    relationship between adolescent sexual behavior and drinking style, by using two
    different measures for the style, i.e. alcohol drinking and drunkenness-related drinking.
    For the most part, studies concerning adolescent sexual health and behavior have focused
    on girls; we have, however, included both genders. Given that adolescents’ gender, grade
    level and maturation might influence both sexual behavior and drinking style, we ran
    analyses separately for boys and girls.

    When interpreting the findings of this study, some limitations should, however, be noted.
    First, causality cannot be assumed from this cross-sectional survey data. Second, only
    Finnish data have been used. Both sexual behavior and alcohol use are culture-sensitive
    phenomena; thus our results illustrate the Finnish adolescent population. For instance,
    socio-cultural aspects regarding adolescent sexuality may vary from country to country:
    in the Nordic countries attitudes are more liberal (Edgardh, 2002), whereas in the United
    States a more restrictive sexual culture is seen (Ponton and Judice, 2005). Conversely,
    trends in adolescents’ alcohol use have been rather similar in Western Europe and the
    United States (Hibell et al., 2004; Monitoring the Future, 2006).
    In addition, the questionnaire used in the SHPS study required us to employ the
    experience of at least two intercourses as a cut-off point in logistic regression models
    (outcomes two and three). While a number of studies have focused on the conditions of
    an adolescent’s first intercourse (Stone and Ingham, 2002; Manlove et al., 2003), we
    included adolescents with experience of two or more intercourses to detect particularly
    those with the possibility to report the used contraception and multiple partners. Finally,
    information concerning adolescent sexual behavior and alcohol use has been gathered by
    self-reports. Particularly among adolescents, it is a challenging task to assess these

    710
    private behaviors. Therefore, it should be noted that surveys may be biased by inaccurate
    self-reports and by a reluctance to co-operate (Bagnall, 1991). Nevertheless, recent
    research suggests that self-reports of adolescent alcohol drinking and drunkenness may
    be regarded as valid (Lintonen et al., 2000b; Lintonen and Rimpelä, 2001).

    CONCLUSION

    To conclude, we found that the vast majority of sexually experienced teenagers drink
    alcohol and drinking is drunkenness-oriented for many of them. Our findings suggest that
    drinking style is strongly associated with adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior.
    Accordingly, drunkenness-related drinking style is associated not only with the increased
    likelihood to engage in sexual intercourse but to engage in unprotected intercourse and to
    have multiple partners as well. These harmful aspects warrant special attention: in
    particular it would be important to effectively combine both alcohol education and sexual
    education in school settings to reduce both adolescents’ alcohol use and various harms.

    FUNDING

    This work was supported by the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies (H.L.), Jenny
    and Antti Wihuri Foundation (H.L.), and Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation (5454 to H.L.).

    REFERENCES:- Please follow link to the article, pasted here:-


    https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/24/2/108/569645/Sexual-behavior-and-drinking-
    style-among-teenagers

    © The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights


    reserved. For Permissions, please email:
    journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

    Timing of Alcohol and Other Drug Use And Sexual Risk


    Behaviors Among Unmarried Adolescents and Young
    Adults
    John S. Santelli,Guttmacher InstituteLeah RobinNancy D. BrenerRichard
    Lowry
    First published online: September 1, 2001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1363/3320001

    711
    Context: Although alcohol and drug use by young people has been associated with sexual
    risk behavior in some research, detailed data are lacking on the timing of substance use in
    relationship to sexual risk-taking.

    Methodology: Cross-sectional data on 7,441 unmarried young people aged 14-22 from
    the 1992 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (household supplement) were used in the analysis.
    Alcohol and other drug use at last sexual intercourse, substance use in the past 30 days
    (recent use), the number of different substances ever used (lifetime use) and age at
    initiation of alcohol use are examined here. The outcome variables assessed through
    multivariate regression analyses were condom use at last intercourse and more than one
    sexual partner in the past three months.

    Results: Failure to use a condom was strongly associated with the lifetime substance-use
    scale or, alternatively, with age at initiation of alcohol. Once the number of substances
    ever used was controlled for, neither substance use at last sexual intercourse nor recent
    use was associated with the likelihood of using a condom at last coitus. Among young
    men and women, recent substance use and use of either alcohol or drugs at last
    intercourse were both strongly associated with having had more than one sexual partner
    in the past three months. For females only, lifetime use also increased the probability of
    recent multiple partners.

    Conclusions: The relationships between alcohol and other drug use and two sexual
    behaviors—condom use and multiple partners—suggest distinct mechanisms of influence
    and the need for different prevention strategies.

    Family Planning Perspectives, 2001, 33(5):200-205


    Of the estimated 12 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) diagnosed
    among Americans each year, three million involve people younger than age 20, and
    another four million occur among 20-25-year-olds.1 Among adolescents, key behavioral
    risk factors for STD infection are initiating sexual intercourse, having multiple concurrent
    or sequential sexual partners, having a partner who has had multiple partners and failing
    to use barrier contraceptives.2 Although condom use among adolescents increased
    dramatically in the 1980s and 1990s,3 many young people still do not use them correctly
    and consistently. In addition, adolescents tend to have multiple sexual partners,4 since
    adolescent relationships are frequently brief; the median duration of a romantic
    relationship among male adolescents (including both the sexual and nonsexual
    relationships) is about 10 months.5
    In some studies, adolescents' use of alcohol and other drugs has been associated with
    certain sexual risk behaviors. The relationship between alcohol and other drug use and
    first sexual intercourse is well established; longitudinal studies have shown that prior
    substance use increases the probability that an adolescent will initiate sexual activity.6 A
    reciprocal relationship is also found in these studies: Adolescents who have initiated
    intercourse are more likely to begin substance use. In addition, having multiple partners
    has been associated with both ever-use and current use of alcohol or other
    substances.7Studies examining alcohol and other drug use among adolescents have found
    mixed evidence of an association with condom use.8

    712
    The association between substance use and sexual behavior may reflect situational factors
    such as disinhibiting effects, cognitive impairment, social modeling (i.e., learning from
    others by observing and copying their actions) or the fact that substance use and sexual
    risk-taking often occur in the same social venues.9 This association may also reflect
    individual or personality characteristics.10 Personality characteristics may include
    "unconventionality" (as described in problem behavior theory11), a tendency toward
    "sensation-seeking" (as described by Zuckerman12) or normal developmental exploration.
    The mechanism by which alcohol and other drugs influence sexual risk-taking has
    important implications for STD and HIV prevention programs.

    Previous studies of this relationship between alcohol and drug use and sexual risk-taking
    have not examined the impact of lifetime use and current use simultaneously. Using data
    from the 1992 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a follow-back supplement to the
    National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), we explored whether the timing of alcohol and
    other drug use (i.e., ever-use, current use within the past month and use at last
    intercourse) influenced condom use and multiple sexual partners among unmarried,
    sexually experienced youths. For respondents aged 18 and older, we also examined the
    association between age at initiation of the use of alcohol (a common drug for initiation
    of substance use) and the two sexual behavior outcomes.

    METHODS
    The NHIS, an annual household interview survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized
    U.S. population, uses a multistage probability cluster sample design to obtain nationally
    representative data.13 Racial and ethnic minorities were oversampled in the 1992 NHIS.

    The NHIS enumerated all youths aged 12-21 from sampled households, including those
    who were married or who lived away from their family. From this list, 12-21-year-olds
    were randomly selected, and youth who were no longer in school were oversampled.

    The 1992 YRBS supplement was conducted as a follow-back survey to that year's NHIS;
    12-21-year-olds enumerated in the NHIS were surveyed approximately two months after
    the NHIS. A weighting factor was applied to each YRBS record to adjust for
    oversampling and nonresponse. The final sample was weighted to be representative of all
    12-21-year-olds residing in U.S. households.

    Respondents privately listened with headphones to a tape recording of the questionnaire


    and entered their responses onto a standardized answer sheet. This technique was used to
    address young people's concerns about the confidentiality of in-home interviewing. They
    reported most data themselves, but race, ethnicity, residence and marital status were
    reported by the adult who completed the NHIS interview.

    Of the 13,789 young people selected who were aged 12-21 when the NHIS survey was
    conducted, 10,645 (77%) were successfully located and agreed to be interviewed. Of
    these, 5,253 were male and 5,392 were female. Our analysis excludes 12- and 13-year-
    olds (N=2,385), because the questionnaire for this age-group did not ask about sexual
    activity. We also excluded married young people (214 males and 542 females). Of those

    713
    who remained, 63 had missing data on various demographic variables. Since the YRBS
    sample included 51 men and 50 women who were aged 21 at the time of the NHIS survey
    but had turned 22 by the time of the YRBS survey, the final sample thus included 7,441
    14-22-year-olds—3,758 unmarried males and 3,683 unmarried females.

    Of these young people, 2,338 males and 2,133 females had ever had sexual intercourse
    (i.e., defined as sexually experienced), and 1,744 males and 1,731 females had had sexual
    intercourse in the three months preceding the survey (i.e., defined as currently sexually
    active). Analyses involving condom use and multiple partners were limited to sexually
    active respondents. Respondents were asked to report whether they had used a condom at
    their last sexual intercourse. The multiple sexual partners variable was defined as having
    had two or more partners in the past three months.

    Scales were created and tested for both lifetime use of alcohol and other drugs, and for
    recent use (within the past 30 days). Cronbach's alphas measuring the degree of internal
    consistency were .75 and .74 for males and females, respectively, for the lifetime use
    scale, and .77 and .72 for males and females, respectively, for the recent-use scale.

    The six-point lifetime use scale (scores of 0-5) reflects a common sequence of drug use
    initiation14 distributed in the following way—zero points for never use, and then one point
    each for ever having used each additional substance (alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana,
    cocaine and other illicit drugs). The five-point recent-use scale (0-4) quantifying use
    within the past 30 days was calculated as zero points for no recent use and then one point
    each for any recent drink of alcohol, for binge drinking of five drinks in a row, for
    driving after drinking and for marijuana use. (Recent use of other drugs was relatively
    rare.)

    The scores on the lifetime use scale were normally distributed, with a mean of 2.6, a
    median of 1.4 and a mode of two among both sexually active males and females. On the
    recent-use scale, scores were skewed toward zero, and sexually active males had a mean
    score of 1.7, a median of 1.2 and a mode of zero; among sexually active females, the
    corresponding values were 1.5, 1.1 and zero, respectively.

    Among sexually active respondents, the correlation (R) between scores on the scales for
    recent use and lifetime use was .56 for males and .52 for females. The correlation
    between alcohol and other drug use at last intercourse and scores on the recent-use scale
    was .41 for males and .36 for females. Finally, the correlation between scores on the
    lifetime-use scale and age at initiation of alcohol use was -.50 for males and -.52 for
    females.

    Alcohol and other drug use at last intercourse was based on responses to a single
    question: "Did you drink alcohol or use drugs before you had sexual intercourse the last
    time?" For condom use at last intercourse, any association between condom use and
    substance use at last intercourse represents event-specific use only. If a respondent
    reported multiple partners over the past three months, we interpreted condom use at last
    intercourse to be a marker for use at other recent acts of intercourse.

    714
    For age at initiation of alcohol use, we created a five-part variable with "never used" as
    the reference category; age at initiation was grouped as 17 or older, 15-16, 11-14 and 10
    or younger. Because the age at which young people initiate a behavior is correlated with
    age itself, analyses with this variable were conducted among 18-22-year-olds only.

    We used logistic regression techniques to estimate the independent influence of each


    substance-use variable, while controlling for background demographic variables (age and
    race or ethnicity). Separate models were created for males and females. We retained age
    and race or ethnicity in each multivariate model because they were associated with both
    independent and dependent variables. Age was entered as a continuous variable; race or
    ethnicity was considered as a categorical variable (i.e., non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic
    black, Hispanic and "other"). In the models, we first entered the following sexual risk
    behaviors simultaneously—recent-use score, lifetime-use score and alcohol or other drug
    use at last intercourse—while controlling for age and race or ethnicity. We then added
    age at initiation of alcohol use to each model, but limited the sample to older youths (i.e.,
    those aged 18-22).

    Regression analyses were performed using SUDAAN to account for the complex,
    weighted sampling design. We assessed interactions between race or ethnicity and each
    significant independent variable in each final logistic model. Logistic regression in
    SUDAAN was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

    RESULTS

    Analytic Approach

    Our results section presents three types of analyses. In the first subsection, we provide
    some descriptive statistics about the sample, including the relationships among the
    independent variables. The second subsection examines the bivariate relationships
    (unadjusted for any differences in background variables) between the four measures of
    alcohol and other drug use and two types of sexual behavior. Finally, in the third
    subsection, we present the results of the logistic regression models, including some
    alternative models examining the influence of age at initiation of alcohol use.

    Descriptive Data

    Overall, 62% of males and 57% of females in this sample of unmarried 14-22-year-olds
    had ever had sexual intercourse. Among those with such experience, 74% of males and
    81% of females were currently sexually active—i.e., they reported having had intercourse
    in the previous three months.

    Among respondents who had had any sexual experience, 46% of males and 67% of
    females reported having had one partner in the past three months. Sizable proportions of
    these young men and women reported no partners in that time (26% and 19%,
    respectively). Among sexually active respondents, 38% of males and 18% of females
    indicated that they had had two or more (multiple) partners in the previous three months;

    715
    and 57% and 41% of men and women, respectively, used a condom the last time they had
    intercourse.

    Among sexually active males, the number of sexual partners was not related to condom
    use at last intercourse. For example, 56-58% of young men—whether they had had one,
    two or three or more partners—reported having used a condom at last intercourse.
    Among sexually active females, in contrast, the number of sexual partners was negatively
    associated with condom use at last intercourse: Forty-three percent of young women with
    just one partner reported condom use at last intercourse, but only 33% of those with two
    and 36% of those with three or more did so.

    Consistent with findings from previous research on young people's use of alcohol and
    other drugs, there were several significant relationships between the independent
    variables.15 For example, among sexually active respondents, age was positively
    correlated with both lifetime use of alcohol and other drugs (R=.24 for males, R=.14 for
    females) and with recent use (R=.14 and R=.11, respectively). Race or ethnicity was also
    associated with both of these substance-use measures, with whites having relatively high
    scores, blacks having relatively low scores and Hispanics having intermediate scores.
    Adolescents and young adults who reported initiating alcohol use earlier were also more
    likely to score higher on the lifetime-use scale (R=-.50 for males and -.52 for females),
    and on the recent-use scale (R=-.39 and -.38 for males and females, respectively).

    Bivariate Analyses
    •Males. The unadjusted data for sexually active males show that condom use at last
    intercourse declined with age, from 77% among 14-15-year-olds to 45% among 20-22-
    year-olds (Table 1); the proportion of young men who had had more than one sexual
    partner did not differ by age. Condom use at last intercourse was higher among young
    black men and among those of other races (64% and 67%, respectively) than among
    whites or Hispanics (54% each). In addition, young black men and those of other races
    were more likely to report having had at least two partners (55% and 53%, respectively)
    than were young Hispanic (38%) and white men (30%).

    Condom use at last intercourse declined with increasing scores on the recent alcohol and
    other drug behaviors scale (from 64% to 42%), and it declined even more markedly with
    increasing number of substances ever used (from 78% to 35%). The proportion of
    adolescents reporting two or more partners increased with increasing number of recent
    substance-use behaviors (from 26% to 56%) and of substances ever used (from 22% to
    37%).

    Use of alcohol and other drugs at last intercourse was not associated with condom use.
    However, substance use at last intercourse was strongly related to having had multiple
    partners: Among those who used a substance at last intercourse, 61% had had multiple
    partners, compared with only 32% of those who did not use drugs or alcohol the last time
    they had sex.

    716
    Among 18-22-year-old men only,* an earlier age at initiation of alcohol use was
    negatively associated with condom use at last intercourse and was positively associated
    with having had multiple partners.
    •Females. Condom use at last intercourse also declined with age among females, from
    52% among 14-15-year-olds to 32% among 20-22-year-olds (see Table 1). The
    proportion of young women who had had more than one partner was highest at ages 14-
    15 (23%), and varied little among older females (16-18%). Condom use was highest
    among young black women (52%) and varied little between whites (39%) and Hispanics
    (35%). In contrast to the patterns found among young men, the proportion of young
    women who had had multiple partners did not differ by their race or ethnicity.

    Condom use did not decline consistently with an increase in the recent alcohol and drug
    use score, although the proportion of young women who used a condom at last
    intercourse was lowest among those with the greatest number of recent-use behaviors
    (i.e., four). Condom use declined, however, with increasing number of different
    substances ever used (from 67% to 23%). The proportion of females with multiple
    partners in the past three months increased as the number of recent substance-use
    behaviors rose (from 8% to 48%) and as the number of different drugs ever used rose
    (from 6% to 35%).

    Overall, substance use at last intercourse was not related to condom use at last intercourse
    among young women (i.e., 36% of those who had used drugs or alcohol used a condom
    versus 42% of those who had not). However, use at last intercourse was strongly
    associated with the likelihood of having had multiple partners in the past three months:
    Forty-four percent of young women who had taken drugs or alcohol at last intercourse
    had had two or more partners, compared with only 14% of those who had not used drugs
    or alcohol at last coitus.

    Among young women aged 18-22, an earlier age at initiation of alcohol use was
    associated with the likelihood of having had multiple partners, but it was not clearly
    related to the likelihood of condom use at last coitus.

    Multivariate Analyses
    •Males. Once age and race or ethnicity were controlled for, the number of different
    substances ever used (lifetime use score) was strongly and negatively associated with
    condom use at last intercourse among young adult men (odds ratio, 0.8, Table 2). Neither
    the number of recent substance-use behaviors (recent-use score) nor the use of a
    substance at last intercourse was independently associated with condom use at last coitus,
    however.

    On the other hand, both recent substance use and the use of drugs or alcohol at last
    intercourse independently increased the likelihood of having had multiple partners (odds
    ratios of 1.5 and 2.7, respectively). The number of substances ever used (lifetime use
    score) was not independently associated with having had multiple partners, however.

    717
    Further, in general we found no interactions between race or ethnicity and ever-use of
    different substances in predicting condom use. In the model with multiple partners as the
    dependent variable, a single significant interaction was found between black race and
    substance use at last intercourse (not shown). When we explored this interaction term in
    separate models, however, we found that, among blacks, substance use at last intercourse
    was not independently associated with the likelihood of having had multiple partners.

    Age at initiation of alcohol use was not significant when it was added to either model (not
    shown). We also constructed an alternative logistic model in which age at initiation of
    alcohol was substituted for the number of substances ever used; in that model, age at
    initiation of alcohol use was highly predictive of condom use at last coitus (not shown).

    •Females. The influence of alcohol and other drug use on the two sexual behavior
    outcomes analyzed was mostly similar among young women. As among males, the
    number of different substances young women ever used in their lifetime significantly
    lowered their odds of condom use at last intercourse (0.7). However, recent substance-use
    behaviors and substance use at last intercourse did not independently affect the likelihood
    of condom use. Also as with males, the recent-use score and whether young women had
    used drugs or alcohol at last intercourse increased their odds of having had multiple
    partners (1.5 and 3.1, respectively).

    Females differed from males, however, in that their lifetime substance-use score
    independently predicted the likelihood of having had multiple partners (1.2). Moreover,
    among young women, we found no significant interactions between race or ethnicity and
    substance-use behaviors in predicting condom use or multiple partners.

    As with the findings for males, the age at initiation of alcohol use was also not significant
    for females when it was added to models (not shown). However, when we substituted age
    at initiation of alcohol use for the ever-use scale, we found a significant association
    between age at initiation and condom use at last intercourse.

    DISCUSSION

    Review of Findings

    Our data suggest that different aspects of the timing of substance use have distinct
    relationships with the likelihood of condom use and of multiple sexual partners. These
    different relationships, in turn, suggest distinct mechanisms of action. We found that
    recent substance use and use at last sexual intercourse were strongly associated with the
    likelihood of multiple sexual partners, and that the number of substances ever used was
    strongly associated with the likelihood of condom use at last intercourse. Despite the
    correlations among these three measures of the timing of substance use (R=.36-.56), the
    relationships between them and the two sexual behaviors seemed quite specific.

    Possible mechanisms of action underlying this relationship include a pharmacological


    disinhibiting effect of alcohol, a disinhibitory response based upon psychological

    718
    mechanisms, cognitive effects of specific substances, an individual's risk-taking
    tendencies or personality, social modeling, and the fact that substance use and sexual
    risk-taking often occur in the same social venues.16
    The associations between having had at least two recent sexual partners and both recent
    alcohol and other drug use and use at last intercourse (after controlling for ever-use)
    suggest these substances exert a disinhibitory effect or that social situational mechanisms
    are at work in the selection of new sexual partners. Substance use before intercourse
    could directly impair judgment. For example, adolescents and young adults may also
    drink or use drugs to give themselves "permission" to engage in risk-taking.17 In addition,
    social environments that support the use of alcohol and other drugs may also support the
    meeting of new sexual partners. These processes could result in intercourse with new or
    casual sexual partners or could result in earlier initiation of intercourse within a
    relationship with a new romantic partner.
    The strong relationship between the number of different substances ever used and
    condom use at last intercourse suggests alternative mechanisms. The lack of a
    relationship between condom use and either recent substance use or use at last intercourse
    suggests that disinhibition or social situational effects do not play prominent roles. On the
    contrary, it suggests a more general mechanism of taking risks, perhaps reflecting
    individual or personality characteristics of the adolescent or young adult,18such as a desire
    for "unconventionality" (as described in problem behavior theory19) or a developmentally
    mediated tendency to explore one's sexuality.
    Theories of sensation-seeking suggest that certain people have a biological predisposition
    to seek sensation, and are thus more likely than others to engage in a variety of risky
    behaviors.20 The development of risk behaviors is a complex process, one that is
    influenced by a variety of biological, social, environmental, perceived environmental,
    personality and behavioral factors.21
    Our data are consistent with a variety of recent studies that have found no, or only
    equivocal, effects of recent alcohol use on condom use,22 but a strong relationship
    between condom use and ever-use of substances.23 Our data are also consistent with those
    from a study suggesting that in terms of HIV risk, alcohol and other drug use may pose
    less of a threat from their effect on condom use compared with their influence on the
    likelihood of having sex.24
    Researchers have questioned simplistic assumptions about the mechanism behind the
    relationship between alcohol use and sexual risk-taking.25 Both condom use and selection
    of new partners are mediated by complex sets of social and individual factors; clearly, we
    need to know more about these factors.

    Limitations
    The YRBS provides little information about peer norms, personality factors or factors
    such as social context that may also influence sexual risk behaviors. In addition, the
    survey provides no information at all about same-sex sexual behaviors. As is true for all
    survey data, self-reports may underestimate or inflate true risk behaviors. The YRBS
    shows good test-retest reliability,26 however, and the use of audiocassettes in surveys
    improves young people's comprehension and sense of privacy.27 An important limitation
    of all cross-sectional studies is that they can suggest associations, but not prove causality.

    719
    A variety of methodological issues confront researchers who examine the relationship
    between alcohol and other drug use and sexual risk-taking.28 Clearly, there are limitations
    to examining associations between global measures of substance use and sexual risk
    behavior. Examining behaviors that occur at specific acts of coitus is one way to address
    this limitation. Although event-specific use data were available for substance use and
    condom use at last intercourse in the YRBS, event-specific use could not be obtained for
    sexual partners. Diary studies would provide a more specific way to measure alcohol and
    other drug use and the acquisition of new sexual partners,29 although these measures are
    difficult to use with adolescents in national studies.

    Implications

    Health care practitioners and health educators need to build prevention messages that
    stress the specific relationships between substance use, multiple sexual partners, failure to
    use condoms, and STD and HIV infection. The distinct set of associations we found
    between different temporal aspects of substance use and these two sexual behaviors
    suggests that discrete prevention strategies may be needed to address them.

    For example, if substance-induced disinhibition is causing sexual risk-taking, education


    and counseling should warn young people about the potential dangers of alcohol and
    other drugs on judgment, and should underline the connection between substance use and
    risky sexual behaviors in certain social contexts. Such education and counseling should
    help young people recognize the social cues involved and help them avoid the social
    situations that may lead to sexual risk behavior. If disinhibition is primarily influencing
    intercourse with new sexual partners, education and counseling should specifically stress
    this outcome and its relationship to the heightened risk of STD and HIV infection.

    But if personality or individual factors are driving sexual risk-taking (e.g., failure to use a
    condom), we need to target adolescent risk-takers to design specific prevention messages
    for this group, and to channel potentially destructive risk-taking impulses into less-
    damaging activities. A variety of HIV prevention programs have shown success in
    targeting specific at-risk populations with tailored prevention messages.30 Our data
    suggest that the prevention of sexual risk-taking via substance use risk-reduction will
    require a variety of strategies.
    FOOTNOTES
    *Because of the association between age and age at initiation of alcohol use, we limited
    the denominator in this part of the analysis to 18-22-year-olds.
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    diseases, Urologic Clinics of North America, 1992, 19(1):1-12.
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    males: 1988 to 1995, American Journal of Public Health, 1998, 88(6):956-959; Abma JC

    720
    et al., Fertility, family planning, and women's health: new data from the 1995 National
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    and Singh S, The sexual and reproductive behavior of American women, 1982-
    1988, Family Planning Perspectives, 1990, 22(5):206-214; and Santelli JS et al.,
    Adolescent sexual behavior: estimates and trends from four nationally representative
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    4. Santelli JS et al., Multiple sexual partners among U.S. adolescents and young
    adults, Family Planning Perspectives, 1998, 30(6):271-275.
    5. Udry JR and Bearman PS, New methods for new research on adolescent sexual
    behavior, in: Jessor R, ed., New Perspectives on Adolescent Risk Behavior, New York:
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    6. Rosenbaum E and Kandel DB, Early onset of adolescent sexual behavior and drug
    involvement, Journal of Marriage and the Family,  1990, 52(3):783-798; and Mott FL
    and Haurin RJ, Linkages between sexual activity and alcohol and drug use among
    American adolescents, Family Planning Perspectives, 1988, 20(3):128-136.
    7. Santelli JS et al., 1998, op. cit. (see reference 4); and Lowry R et al., Substance use and
    HIV-related sexual behaviors among US high school students: are they
    related? American Journal of Public Health, 1994, 84(7): 1116-1120.
    8. Lowry R et al., 1994, op. cit. (see reference 7); Fortenberry JD et al., Sex under the
    influence: a diary self-report study of substance use and sexual behavior among
    adolescent women, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 1997, 24(6):313-319; Fergusson DM
    and Lynskey MT, Alcohol misuse and adolescent sexual behaviors and risk
    taking, Pediatrics, 1996, 98(1):91-96; Halpern-Felsher BL, Millstein SG and Ellen JM,
    Relationship of alcohol use and risky sexual behavior: a review and analysis of
    findings, Journal of Adolescent Health,  1996, 19(5):331-336; Fortenberry JD,
    Adolescent substance use and sexually transmitted diseases risk: a review, Journal of
    Adolescent Health, 1995, 16(4):304-308; and Leigh BC, Alcohol and unsafe sex: an
    overview of research and theory, in: Seminara D, Watson RR and Pawlowski A,
    eds., Alcohol, Immunomodulation, and AIDS, New York: Alan R. Liss, 1990.
    9. Fergusson DM and Lynskey MT, 1996, op. cit. (see reference 8); and Leigh BC, 1990,
    op. cit. (see reference 8).
    10. Fergusson DM and Lynskey MT, 1996, op. cit. (see reference 8); and Leigh BC,
    1990, op. cit. (see reference 8).
    11. Donovan JE and Jessor R, Structure of problem behavior in adolescence and young
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    12. Zuckerman M, Sensation seeking: a comparative approach to a human
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    RJ, 1988, op. cit. (see reference 6); Lowry R et al., 1994, op. cit. (see reference 7); and
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    periods of risk for initiation, continued use, and discontinuation, American Journal of
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    17. Leigh BC, 1990, op. cit. (see reference 8).
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    1990, op. cit. (see reference 8).
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    cit. (see reference 12).
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    and action, Journal of Adolescent Health, 1991, 12(8):597-605.
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    MT, 1996, op. cit. (see reference 8); Halpern-Felsher BL, Millstein SG and Ellen JM,
    1996, op. cit. (see reference 8); Fortenberry JD, 1995, op. cit. (see reference 8); and Leigh
    BC, 1990, op. cit. (see reference 8).
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    behavior, International Journal of the Addictions, 1992, 27(2):129-146.
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    (see reference 8).
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    Questionnaire, American Journal of Epidemiology, 1995, 141(6):575-580.
    27. Adams PF et al., 1995, op. cit. (see reference 13).
    28. Leigh BC, 1990, op. cit. (see reference 8).
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    AUTHORS' AFFILIATIONS

    John S. Santelli is branch chief, Program Services and Development Branch,


    Division of Reproductive Health; and Leah Robin is a health scientist, Nancy D.
    Brener is a research psychologist and Richard Lowry is a medical epidemiologist
    with the Division of Adolescent and School Health, all at the Centers for Disease
    Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta. The research on which this article is based
    was funded by CDC. An institutional board at CDC reviewed and approved the
    collection of these data.

    DISCLAIMER
    The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Guttmacher
    Institute.

    Source:- https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/psrh/2001/09/timing-alcohol-and-
    other-drug-use-and-sexual-risk-behaviors-among-unmarried

    722
    1.4.6 Assessment of Harmful Sexual Behaviour in Children
    and Young People
    SCOPE OF THIS CHAPTER

    This guidance is intended to help workers identify sexual behaviours in children and young people which are
    a cause for concern. It should be read in conjunction with Abuse by Children and Young People who
    Display Sexually Harmful Behaviour (West Yorkshire Consortium Procedures Manual).

    Contents
    1. Introduction

    2. How to use these Guidelines

    3. Part I - Deciding if there is a Cause for Concern and the Level of Seriousness

    4. Part II - If it is a Cause for Concern - Where to Next?

    5. Part III - Further Stages of Assessment

    1. Introduction

    The aim of this guidance is to help workers evaluate the information they have, in order to make a more
    informed judgement about whether a child/young person's sexual behaviour is a cause for concern.

    Part I is divided along age lines because different issues apply due to the difference in development
    between pre-adolescent children and adolescents. Workers should refer to the section which most fits the
    child's developmental level rather than the child's age.

    2. How to use these Guidelines

    There are three sections:-

    Part I - deciding if there is a cause for concern and the level of seriousness

    1. Pre-adolescent children

    o Introduction to the issues relating to pre-adolescents;

    o Criteria for assessing the context of the information;

    o Detailed checklist for gathering information;

    o References.

    2. Adolescents

    o Introduction to the issues relating to adolescents;

    723
    o Criteria for assessing the context of the information;

    o Detailed checklist for gathering information;

    o References.

    Part II - If it is a cause for concern - where to next?

     Flow chart of where to go with the information;

     Child protection procedures;

     Consultation.

    Part III - Further stages of assessment

     Different types of assessment which follow the initial identification of a cause for concern;

     Information required about the family context which is relevant to all assessments and age groups;

     Information required for PSR reports.

    3. Part I - Deciding if there is a Cause for Concern and the Level of


    Seriousness

    Pre-Adolescent Children

    Introduction

    Identifying Sexually Inappropriate and Sexually Abusive Behaviour in Pre-Adolescent Children

    A number of factors may make it more difficult to identify problematic behaviours in younger children.

    1. Society often views childhood as a time of innocence. Sexual issues and child sexuality in
    particular are rarely openly discussed. Professionals may well feel inhibited therefore in expressing
    their views about what is appropriate or inappropriate sexual behaviour;

    2. Inappropriate sexual behaviour encompasses a broad spectrum of behaviours. There may be


    general agreement on what constitutes healthy sexual development, at one end of the spectrum,
    and coercive aggressive sexual abuse at the other, but less certainty about the range of behaviours
    in between;

    3. Concern about labelling young children as 'abusers', can lead to minimising the problem;

    4. Lack of strategies to deal with problematic sexual behaviours may lead to our feeling
    disempowered and reluctant to flag up the problem in the first place.

    What follows is not intended to provide all the answers, but hopefully will be of help in increasing workers'
    confidence in identifying sexually abusive and inappropriate behaviours in pre-adolescent children. Labelling
    the behaviour in this way, rather than the child, avoids damming the child.

    What Causes Sexually Inappropriate and Sexually Abusive Behaviour in Young Children?

    724
    There is growing evidence that many pre-adolescent children who exhibit sexually abusive behaviour have
    experienced or witnessed sexual activity themselves, or live in a highly sexualised environment.

    In general, the younger the child displaying sexually abusive behaviour, the greater the likelihood that the
    child has been sexually abused or lives in a highly sexualised environment. Therefore the initial investigation
    needs to be structured in such a way as to not only assess the risks the child poses to others, but also to
    assess the child as a vulnerable child in their right. A Child Protection Conference is particularly relevant
    when working with younger children who display abusive behaviour.

    Whilst these findings from research are important, it is important to state that not all children in these
    situations or experiencing sexual abuse will develop problematic behaviours and abuse others. In addition
    not all children who initially display problematic sexual behaviour will develop an abusive career path.
    Research has shown that some children who displayed these behaviours when followed up at a later stage
    no longer displayed these behaviours, others appear to have certain behaviours stop and resurface again in
    adolescence while others continue through to adulthood.

    There is less certainty about what makes some abused children go on to display abusive behaviours
    themselves, while others do not. Research has identified a number of risk factors which may make sexually
    abused children more likely to go on to abuse others, and factors which increase their chances of coping
    with abuse or adverse factors in their environment.

    Risk factors associated with child's experience of sexual abuse

     Nature of abuse - repeated, long duration, greater severity;

     Perpetrator - close relatives, multiple perpetrators;

     Age of child - impact is greater the younger the child;

     Action following disclosure - rejection/blame by family and significant others.

    Risk factors independent of own sexual abuse

     Experience of persistent physical violence within the family as victim and/or witness;

     Lack of attention to the children's emotional needs;

     Separation from important attachment figures and rejection by the family;

     Whether there are protective processes at work i.e. whether the children have had opportunities to
    learn how to cope with the effects of their sexual abuse;

     Family characteristics - high rates of poverty, schedule I offenders in wider extended family,
    criminality, poor attachments between parents and children.

    Factors associated with children coping with abuse or adverse factors in their environment

    When carrying out an assessment, workers also need to consider protective or mitigating factors:

     Secure relationships - positive, stable attachments;

     Emotional expressiveness - the ability to convey/understand own and others emotions, develops
    from the long term positive relationships in families, peer groups and community settings;

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     Positive role models - connections to people who serve as confidants and positive models of
    conduct. Could be peers as well as adults;

     Positive self identity - self esteem, as well as one's own culture/ethnic group.

    Theoretical Models

    These are some of the theoretical models writers have used to understand why children display sexually
    abusive behaviour.

    1. Finkelhor and Brown's Traumagenic Model (1986)

    Finkelhor and Brown suggest that sexual abuse traumatises children through four distinct mechanisms,
    which may account for the response the individual has to that abuse. Most relevant here is the concept of
    traumatic Sexualisation which is based on learning theory, and suggests that children learn to behave in
    sexually inappropriate ways through repeated conditioning with positive reinforcement (attention/affection in
    exchange for sex). Children who have been sexually abused become highly eroticised and the difference
    between sexual relationships and affection becomes blurred.

    2. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

    This model applies to trauma generally, but applied to children who have been abused, their sexually
    aggressive behaviour is viewed as a response to their own previous trauma.

    In order to process traumatic material, children re-enact their experiences through play or action. Their
    behaviour is seen as an attempt to recreate their own abuse in ways which allow them mastery and control
    over their feelings. This may be because children have fewer alternative coping strategies open to them and
    their cognitive abilities are more limited.

    3. Projective Identification

    This is a concept from psychoanalytic theory which describes as maladaptive defence mechanism. Applied
    to abused children, projective identification with the aggressor is a way of relieving feelings of helplessness,
    fear and shame associated with the original abuse. Aggressive sexual acting out (doing what was done to
    them) becomes the compulsive behaviour which replaces, if temporarily, the unbearable emotional pain with
    feelings of power and omnipotence. Sexually aggressive behaviour may become the child's way of resolving
    situations in the present which arouse feelings of anger, distress or anxiety.

    Age Appropriate / Healthy Behaviours

    "It is important to assert that children are sexual beings, capable of demonstrating a positive, healthy,
    creative and spirited interest in sexuality". (Gil)

    "Two things about childhood sexuality can be said with certainty: (1) sexual curiosity, interest,
    experimentation, and behaviour is progressive over time and (2) sexual development is affected by a
    number of variables (Gil). Martinson (1991) describes these variables as "cultural norms and expectations,
    familial interactions and values, and the interpersonal experiences encountered"

    The section below are sexual behaviours defined by Eliana Gil and Toni Cavanagh Johnson (1993) which
    could be expected at various ages and stages of development.

    726
    Pre -schoolers 0 - 4 years old

    Children in this category have limited peer contact and tend to be involved in self exploration. They discover
    the fact that they can achieve pleasurable sensations by stimulating themselves. This behaviour is likely to
    happen randomly and sporadically.

    They tend to be disinhibited and it can also be an exhibitionist stage, where they show their genitals to
    others or are interested in other's bodies. They begin to imitate life around them and this can lead to them
    "copying" adult behaviour either out of curiosity or because of the reactions they get from those around
    them. Games such as "mummies and daddies" and "doctors" are prevalent at this stage.

    Young school-age children 5 - 7 years old

    These children now have more access to peers and more inter-active sexual exploration can take place both
    with the same gender and opposite gender peers. This is the questioning stage and children will be
    fascinated with bodies and sexual behaviour. Overt displays of affection such as kissing can cause great
    hilarity and expressions of disgust. Children may also find great pleasure in the telling of "rude jokes", some
    of which they may not understand but they like the reactions particularly of the adults around them.

    Self masturbation is less random now and there is more exploration around different ways of achieving
    these pleasurable sensations. This information may be shared with peers possibly of the same sex. Feelings
    about privacy and inhibitions about showing their bodies can begin to develop around this time.

    Latency aged children 8 - 12 years old

    At this stage most young people are entering puberty. Their bodies are changing and the active hormone
    changes create a range of physical and emotional sensations. They may become more absorbed with
    masturbatory activities and begin to experiment with other sexual behaviours. They may go through periods
    of inhibition and disinhibition.

    More sharing of information, comparing of bodies and competing particularly with regard to masturbation
    begins with peers, usually on a single sex basis. Relationships and sexual experimentation with the same
    and opposite sex may begin.

    Characteristics of Age Appropriate and Problematic Sexual Behaviours

    a) Characteristics of age appropriate behaviours

    Gil describes the dynamics of age appropriate sexual behaviours as including "spontaneity, joy, laughter,
    embarrassment and sporadic levels of inhibition and disinhibition".

    Age appropriate behaviour is also about mutuality, consent, curiosity, with no intent to cause hurt. The
    children involved engage in the behaviour freely and can disengage when they choose.

    b) Characteristics of problematic behaviours

    Gil describes problematic sexual behaviours as having "themes of dominance, coercion, threats and force.
    Children seem agitated, anxious, fearful or intense. They have higher levels of arousal and the sexual
    activity. It is as though no other activity gives the same degree of pleasure, comfort, or reassurance, and it

    727
    becomes the focus for the child's life. This behaviour is usually extremely unresponsive to any parental or
    caretaker limits or distractions.

    Using the frameworks of Groth and Laredo (1981) and Sgrol and colleagues who studied adolescent sex
    offenders, Eliana Gil proposed a set of criteria for assessing whether the sex play between children is age-
    appropriate or a cause for concern.

    However she warns "When making assessments, the professional cannot consider a single criterion, but
    must appraise the situation along several criteria before reaching a conclusion. Using a single criterion can
    lead to over or under-reacting". 

    Criteria for assessment of problematic behaviours

    Problematic Sexual Behaviours

    Johnson (1999), offers the following characteristics of problematic sexual behaviour in children that will alert
    us to possible problems with their sexual development and merit further assessment. The characteristics at
    the beginning of the list are less worrying than those towards the end.

     The children engaged in the sexual behaviours do not have an on-going mutual play relationship;

     Sexual behaviours that are engaged in by children of different ages or developmental levels;

     Sexual behaviours that are out of balance with other aspects of the child's life and interests;

     Children who seem to have too much knowledge about sexuality and behave in ways more
    consistent with adult sexual expression;

     Sexual behaviours that are significantly different than those of other same age children;

     Sexual behaviours that continue despite consistent and clear messages to stop;

     Children who appear unable to stop themselves participating in sexual activities;

     Children's sexual behaviours that elicit complaints from other children and/or adversely affect other
    children;

     Children's sexual behaviours that are directed at adults who feel uncomfortable receiving them;

     Children (over 4 years) who do not understand their rights or the rights of others in relation to
    sexual contact;

     Sexual behaviours that progress in frequency, intensity, or intrusiveness overtime;

     When fear, anxiety, deep shame, or intense guilt is associated with the sexual behaviours;

     Children who engage in extensive, persistent mutually agreed upon adult-type behaviours with
    other children;

     Children who manually stimulate or have oral or genital contact with animals;

     Children sexualise non-sexual things, or interactions with others, or relationships;

     Sexual behaviours that cause physical and/or emotional pain or discomfort to self or others;

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     Children who use sex to hurt others;

     When verbal and/or physical expressions of anger precede, follow, or accompany the sexual
    behaviour;

     Children who use distorted logic to justify their sexual actions;

     When coercion, force, bribery, manipulation, or threats are associated with sexual behaviours.

    Johnson, (Gil and Johnson 1993, Chapter 3), identifies definable groups of children based on a continuum of
    the level of sexual disturbance. Each group includes a wide range of children, with some on the borderline
    between groups, or those who move between groups over a period of time.

    In summary these groups are:

     Group One - Normal Sexual Exploration;

     Group Two - Children who are sexually reactive.

    Children who are sexually reactive will display more sexual behaviour than children with healthy sexual
    development. Their focus on sexual behaviour is out of balance. Most of the children in this group will have
    been sexually, physically and/or emotionally abused and those who haven't been directly abused will have
    been exposed to sexually overwhelming environments. These children are likely to be confused and
    overwhelmed by sex and sexuality and this leads to more frequent and visible sexual behaviours, as they
    are unable to absorb or fit their experiences into their developing sexuality.

    Behaviours that characterise this group of children are solitary sexual behaviour such as excessive
    masturbation and sexual behaviour with other children and sometimes adults. This behaviour is often not in
    the child's control. The child does not use coercion or force or attempt to maintain secrecy and any harm or
    discomfort to others is not intentional. The sexual behaviours of these children appear compulsive and are
    often linked with deep shame, guilt and a pervasive anxiety. Many children in this group may be suffering
    from Post traumatic Stress Disorder caused by their own abuse.

     Group Three - Extensive Mutual Sexual Behaviours

    Children in this group are typically children who have suffered physical, sexual and emotional abuse and
    neglect. Many will have been physically and emotionally abandoned and many will be in substitute
    care. They have learnt that adults hurt them and are distrustful of relationships with adults. They frequently
    associate sex with love and caring and they look to other children to help meet their emotional needs
    through sexual behaviour. These children do not use force or coercion but find other similarly lonely and
    abused children to engage in a full range of sexual behaviours with. The behaviour gives them, if only
    momentarily, a sense of being close to someone and to relieve their feelings of despair.

    Children in this group do not show emotion about their sexual behaviour unlike the children in
    group two who feel shame and guilt and those in group four who show anger and aggression. They seem to
    have a matter of fact attitude towards acting sexually with other children. These children will have started in
    group two as sexually reactive children and have begun to use sex as a coping mechanism. They may move
    into group four.

     Group Four - Children Who Molest

    729
    Children in this group show sexual behaviours, which are beyond developmentally appropriate
    behaviours. They may engage in a full range of adult type behaviours. In a similar way to children in group
    two, they are preoccupied with sex and sexual behaviour and there is an impulsive and aggressive quality to
    their behaviour. Anger, rage, loneliness and fear often characterise their feelings around sexual
    behaviour. These children sometimes use physical aggression towards their victims and will always use
    coercion and seek out children who are vulnerable to bribes, to being fooled or to force and threats. These
    children will always be in a position of power over their victims, whether through size, age, status, intellectual
    ability etc. These children often display behaviour problems, have few friends and few interests. They have
    difficulties with impulse control and few coping skills. Their sexual behaviours increase over time and form a
    pattern. They rarely if ever show any empathy for their victims.

    Children who molest may have been sexually abused, virtually all will have sexual abuse in their families,
    will have suffered emotional and probably physical abuse and will have witnessed extreme physical violence
    between their primary caretakers. These children are at high risk for continuing and escalating their sexual
    behaviours.

    Detailed Checklist for Referral, Initial Investigation and Establishing Cause for Concern with
    Younger Children

    Checklist for under 10's

    a. What type of sexual activity has the child been engaging in?

    b. What is the frequency of the behaviour?

    c. How persistent is the child's behaviour?

    d. What is the relationship of the children involved in the sexual behaviour?

    e. What is the context that the sexual behaviour occurs in?

    f. What is the response of the other children?

    g. Can the child talk about these behaviours?

    h. What is the child's emotional response to the behaviour?

    i. Does the child take any responsibility for these behaviours?

    j. Is the child willing to work on managing their behaviour?

    References

    Bentouin., Williams. (1998) 'Children & Adolescents: Victims Who Become Perpetrators' in (APT (1998) Vol
    4 Page 101)

    Cavanagh Johnson, Toni. (1998) Treatment Exercises for Child Abuse Victims and Children who
    Sexually Abuse Others Sage Press

    Cunningham, Carolyn., MacFalane, Kee. (1991) When Children Molest Children The Safer Society Press.

    De, Carol., Print, Bobbie., (1992) ' Young children who exhibit sexually abusive behaviour'. In From Hearing
    to Healing. Ed. Anne Bannister. Longman Books.

    730
    Gil, Eliana., Cavanagh Johnson, Toni. (1993) Sexualised Children Launch Press.

    Pither, William D., Gray, Alison., Cunningham, Caroline., Lane, S. (1993) From Trauma to Understanding.
    The Safer Society Press.

    Ryan, G>D, Lane, S>L., (1991) eds. Juvenile Sexual Offending - Causes, Consequences and
    Corrections Lexington Books.

    Adolescents

    Identifying Sexually Inappropriate and Sexually Aggressive Behaviours in Adolescents

    Adolescence is a term generally applied to the transitional period between childhood and adulthood and it is
    a period of significant physical and emotional sexual development. There have been profound changes in
    sexual behaviour since the 1960's and this has affected the adolescent population as much as any other
    group. Sex education is mandatory in schools but only the biological aspects are compulsory. Adolescents
    are exposed to a wide range of environmental influences, from peers, TV, internet, magazines etc.,
    portraying messages about sex as well as those they receive from their family. Interest and curiosity in
    sexual activity is normal and healthy for adolescents - young people will want to experiment - but it must be
    remembered that most young people deal with this without abusing other people.

    Because of the unique developmental aspects of adolescence it is important to differentiate between


    adolescents and:

    a. Those younger children who sexually act out but who research and clinical experience identifies as
    having different characteristics and needs;

    b. Adult offenders who are developmentally mature.

    What causes inappropriate and sexually aggressive behaviour in adolescents?

    Sexual behaviour is learned and shaped by many factors including environment, social learning, family,
    inter-personal relationships and experiences, psychological and biological influences, and these factors are
    unique in each case. There are no single factor explanations, and adolescent sexual abusers are not an
    homogenous group. Adolescent sexual abuse is reinforced by low self-esteem, poor social skills, distorted
    thinking, sexual fantasy and masturbation, and without intervention such behaviour is more likely to escalate
    than diminish.

    Age Appropriate Sexual Behaviours

    Because there are a wider variety of sexual behaviours within adolescence it is more difficult to determine
    what the 'norm' would be. However a useful checklist by O'Callaghan and Print is included below which has
    been adapted from Ryan and Lane (1991) (in Morrison et al 1994).

    Normal behaviours

     explicit sexual discussion amongst peers, use of swear words, obscene jokes;

     interest in erotic material and its use in masturbation;

     expression through sexual innuendo, flirtations and courtship behaviours;

    731
     mutual consenting non-coital sexual behaviour (kissing, fondling, etc);

     mutual consenting masturbation;

     mutual consenting sexual intercourse.

    Behaviours that suggest monitoring, limited responses or assessment

     sexual preoccupation/anxiety;

     use of hard core pornography;

     indiscriminate sexual activity/intercourse;

     twinning of sexuality and aggression;

     sexual graffiti relating to individuals or having disturbing content;

     single occurrences of exposure, peeping, frottage or obscene telephone calls.

    Behaviour that suggest assessment/intervention

     compulsive masturbation if chronic or public;

     persistent or aggressive attempts to expose others' genitals;

     chronic use of pornography with sadistic or violent themes;

     sexually explicit conversations with significantly younger children;

     touching another's genitals without permission;

     sexually explicit threats.

    Behaviours that require a legal response, assessment and treatment

     persistent obscene telephone calls, voyeurism, exhibitionism or frottage;

     sexual contact with significantly younger children;

     forced sexual assault or rape;

     inflicting genital injury;

     sexual contact with animals.

    Assessment of concern

    Adolescents are above the age of criminal responsibility i.e. 10 years old, and sexually aggressive behaviour
    is likely to constitute a criminal offence and involve a Police enquiry. This clearly indicates a cause for
    concern. In some circumstances the Police may not be involved but similar criteria might be applied in
    assessing whether the behaviour is appropriate. For this purpose the following definition of "the adolescent
    sex offender" is useful:

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    The adolescent sex offender has been defined as a minor who commits a sexual act with a person of any
    age:

    a. Against the victim's will;

    b. Without consent;

    c. In an aggressive, exploitative or threatening manner (Ryan and Lane 1991).

    In assessing the distinction between acts that are experimental in nature and those that are exploitative the
    context of the behaviour needs to be considered and the notions of consent, equality and authority can be
    applied as assessment criteria.

    Consent is seen as having four elements:

    1. Understanding the proposal;

    2. Knowing the standard of behaviour;

    3. Awareness of possible consequences;

    4. Respect for agreement or disagreement.

    Equality can be thought of at a number of levels in relation to perceived differentials of power - which can
    be affected by: age, size, race, gender, power of peer popularity, strength often previously demonstrated in
    non-sexual behaviour, self-image difference, arbitrary labels such as leader/boss etc., and fantasy labels in
    the context of play such as Leeds United Captain (picking players for the team).

    Authority is to do with control and coercion. Ryan (1991) identifies a continuum of control in sexual acts
    ranging from:

     Normal - no coercion, activity done in fun;

     Manipulation/peer pressure at a subtle non-physical level;

     Coercion by threats and bribes;

     Physical force, weapons and other direct threats.

    Legal Process

    Involvement in the legal process will bring the young person into contact with other agencies. The possibility
    of a pending prosecution is likely to enhance any denial (often on the advice of a solicitor) thus making some
    aspects of assessment difficult. Liaison with Youth Justice Services is important, particularly if some formal
    assessment work is needed to inform a Pre-Sentence Report.

    Detailed Checklist for Referral, Initial Investigation and Establishing Cause for Concern with
    Adolescents

    1. Why has the young person's behaviour caused concern and to whom?

    2. Was the behaviour appropriate to the age, intellectual, emotional and social functioning of the
    young person?

    733
    Does the activity involve sexual knowledge on the part of the young person over and above what
    would be considered age appropriate?

    3. In what context did the behaviour occur?

    What preceded the behaviour? Was it planned or spontaneous?

    4. How frequently has the behaviour occurred?

    The more frequent the behaviour the more concern.  Is there any evidence of escalating
    behaviour?

    5. What is the nature of the social relationship between those involved?

    Are they related? Is there a power imbalance in terms of size, power, ability and authority? Is one
    ore assertive? What is the age difference?

    6. Did the other person give informed consent? 

    Was the other person precluded from this by age? Was there any evidence of protest, avoidance
    or physical resistance which suggested consent was not given? Did the young person attempt to
    ensure secrecy?

    7. What was the experience of the victim?

    How has the person who experienced the behaviours perceive them? Do they see them as
    abusive? Do they blame themselves? Are they able to consent to the activity even if they have
    expressed no concerns?

    8. Have those involved tried to ensure that the behaviour remains secretive?

    If so, how far have they done this and why? Is it because the abuser has threatened the victim? 

    9. What are the reactions of family members?

    Are they dismissive of the behaviour or attempting to minimise it?

    10. Has the child been confronted about his/her behaviour previously?

    Do any records contain information on sex education needs/therapeutic input?

    References

    Araji, S.K., (1997) Sexually Aggressive Children - Coming to Understand Them Sage Press

    Calder, M.C., (1997) Juveniles and Children Who Sexually Abuse: A Guide to Risk
    Assessment Russell

    Dale. F., (1997) 'Troubles of Sexuality' in Varma, V., Ed. Troubles of Children and Adolescents Kingsley

    Gil, E., Cavanagh Johnson, T., (1993) Sexualised Children Sage Press

    Hoghugi, M.S., (1997) Working with Sexually Abusive Adolescents Sage Press

    Khan Timothy J., (1990) Pathways - A guide for parents of youths beginning treatment Safer Society
    Press

    Morrison, T., Erooga, M., Beckett, R.C., (1994) Sexual Offending Against Children Routledge

    734
    Ryan, G.D., Lane, S.L., (1991) Juvenile Sexual Offending (Causes, Consequences and
    Corrections) Lexington Books

    Terre, L., Burkhard, B., (1996) 'Problem Sexual Behaviours in Adolescence' in Bau, G.M., Gullotta,
    T.P., Adolescent Dysfunctional Behaviour Sage Press

    4. Part II - If it is a Cause for Concern - Where to Next?

    Where to Next Flowchart for Action

    Useful Contacts

    Useful Contacts for discussion/consultation

    Advanced Practitioner

    Area Youth Offending Team

    Therapeutic Social Work Team - 2143301

    5. Part III - Further Stages of Assessments

    The purpose of this document is to provide information to aid workers carrying out the Child and Family
    Assessment. Full comprehensive risk assessments are the next stage of the process.

    Following the identification of sexually inappropriate/aggressive/abusive behaviour a Child and Family


    Assessment will be undertaken. The following areas should be considered:

    1. What are the risks to other children in the same household or in the community – are immediate
    protection measures needed? i.e. is it safe for the child/young person to remain at home;

    2. Assessment of the child/young person's own needs both as a Perpetrator and as a vulnerable
    child, which is offence specific, looking at their risk to others and at risk to themselves;

    3. Assessments for Court which are offence specific and will be determined by any criminal
    proceedings and need further treatment. For details on what needs to be included in a Pre-
    Sentence Report on a young sex offender, please contact the Youth Offending Team.

    Any further assessment undertaken has to be seen in the context of the child/young person's family as well
    as in the identification of sexually inappropriate/abusive behaviour.

    Child and Family Assessment

    1. Why do we need to assess families?

    Because the family is so influential, and because for many children and young people their abusive
    behaviour will have happened whilst they are living within their families. It is vitally important, therefore, to
    understand the family setting and dynamics.

    735
    The assessment should help to give information about whether the family have participated either overtly or
    covertly in shaping the abusive behaviour of the child/young person. It will also inform an assessment of the
    family's acceptance of the need to change the child's behaviour and their awareness of the need for
    protection for the child and other siblings/children.

    2. What needs to be included in the family assessment?

    Child and Family Assessment should include:-

    a. Family members perceptions of the abusive behaviour - what happened, how, what should the
    consequences be any why, what are the levels of denial or minimisation shown by the family, who
    knows and who doesn't know about the behaviour?

    b. Reaction of family to disclosure - who do they support and why, are they taking adequate steps to
    support and protect the victim or potential victim, do they want help for the child/young person  who
    has displayed the problematic behaviour?

    c. Reaction of extended family or significant others - who do they support and why, what is the nature
    oft heir relationship with the child/young person and immediate family, what potential resources or
    unhealthy influences do they bring?

    3. Using the Child and Family Assessment to evaluate risk and plan further intervention

    The Child and Family Assessment will give a better understanding of the child and family's circumstances,
    the nature and scope of the problems in the family, the immediate risk factors and areas of future work with
    the family.

    If the family are dismissive of or minimise the child's behaviour, blame the victim(s), refuse to participate in
    assessment or treatment, then the prognosis for change is poor.

    If the family are appropriately concerned, would support the child/young person in receiving help and see
    themselves as an integral part of the process, then the prognosis is correspondingly more positive. If the
    child/young person remains at home it is vital that parents/carers are able and willing to provides sufficient
    supervision and external controls on the child/young person's behaviour, to create a safe environment in
    which work with the child/young person can begin.

    Checklist for the Fuller Family Assessment

    Child Developmental Needs

    1. What sexual material is available in the home to adults and children?

    2. How does the family discuss sexual issues? E.g. is there permission to discuss sex and is the
    information provided age appropriate for the children's level of understanding?

    3. Is there information given about privacy, right to their bodies, not to be touched?

    Parenting Capacity

    1. What are the limits on behaviour which are set out and what methods of reprimanding are used?

    2. How are the rules of the family communicated and enforced?

    3. Are there age appropriate expectations of the children in terms of their role in the family generally?

    4. Is parenting handed over to the older children?

    736
    5. What is the adults understanding of age appropriate sexual behaviour for children and how children
    conceptualise this?

    6. What boundaries are set for physical interaction between members of the family and between them
    and others?

    7. What is the family's view of protection issues and how they are put into practice?

    8. What are the family's attitude to jokes and teasing about sex and sexuality?

    Family and Environment

    1. How are the interactions between children and siblings; and children and adults characterised? E.g.
    affectionate, aggressive, touching.

    2. What sort of language is used in the home? How do the family communicate with each other? E.g.
    warmly, positively, put downs etc. Is sexualised language used?

    3. How do the family show affection to each other?

    4. What is the family's belief system about children and sexuality? Is this in keeping with generally
    accepted beliefs within the family's cultural background?

    Assessment of the Child/Young Person's own needs both as a Perpetrator and as a


    Vulnerable Child

    For this type of assessment three elements need to be assessed - the offence itself, the risk the child/young
    person poses to others and the risks they are exposed to themselves.

    Wenet & Clark's Juvenile Sexual Offender Decision Criteria (1986)

    Evaluation

    Low Risk

     First documented offence, without evidence of a developing pattern;

     Offender willing to explore offence in a non-defensive manner;

     Offender acknowledges and understands the negative impact of the offence on victim (empathy);

     Offender willing to accept responsibility for committing the offence without blaming others or
    circumstances;

     Offender is guilty and remorseful because of the negative impact of offence on victim;

     Offender understands the exploitative nature of the offence and reasons for its wrongfulness;

     Offender admits to committing entire offence for which he/she was charged;

     Parents/guardians acknowledge and understand the negative impact of the offence upon the
    victim;

     Parents/guardians hold adolescent responsible for the offence without externalising blame onto
    others or circumstances;

     Parents/guardians acknowledge adolescent committed entire offence for which he/she was


    charged;

    737
     Offender has healthy attitudes about sexuality;

     Offender has no history of behaviour disorder involving physical aggression;

     Offender's family unit is functional;

     Family supportive of treatment and willing to become involved in therapy;

     Family identifies problems within the family unit and among members other than the deviant sexual
    behaviour of offender;

     Offender has adequate social adjustment, including presence of a peer support group and
    participation in peer group activities;

     Offender has no history of behavioural and/or academic school problems.

    Moderate Risk

     Offender has committed two or more documented offences;

     Discontinuation of offence behaviour if/when victim showed distress;

     Offender resists describing and exploring offence in a non-defensive manner;

     Offender does not understand the exploitative nature of the offence;

     Offender minimises the negative impact of the offence on victim (little empathy);

     Offender has little or no guilt or remorse because of the impact of the offence on victim;

     Offender externalises blame for the offence onto others or extraneous circumstances;

     Offender minimises extent of involvement in the offence, admitting to only part of the offence;

     Offender resists participation in the evaluation without refusing;

     Parents/guardians minimise the negative impact of the offence on the victim;

     Parents/guardians externalise blame for the offence onto others or extraneous circumstances;

     Parents/guardians minimise extent of offender's involvement in offence, holding him/her


    responsible for only part of the offence;

     Parents/guardians resist participation in the evaluation without refusing altogether;

     Offender has negative self-esteem;

     Offender has depressive symptomatology;

     Offender has unhealthy attitudes about sexuality;

     Offender has been a victim of sexual or physical abuse, though this has not been a chronic or
    repetitive pattern;

     Mother or father is a sexual offender;

     Mother or father has been a victim of sexual and/or physical abuse;

    738
     Family unable to identify problems within family unit or among members other than the deviant
    sexual behaviour of offender;

     Family is dysfunctional in response to transient situational factors, such as life cycle changes or
    other crises;

     Offender has history of behaviour disorder involving physical aggression;

     Offender shows poor social adjustment, including isolation from peers and few peer group
    activities;

     Offender has history of behavioural and/or academic school problems.

    High Risk

     Offender has been treated for commission of a previous sexual offence;

     Offence was predatory;

     Offence was ritualistic;

     Offence was sophisticated, involving precocious knowledge of sexual behaviour;

     Offence resulted in physical injury to the victim;

     Offence was associated with use of drugs or alcohol;

     Offence involved violence, physical force, use of weapon, or threat to use weapon;

     Continued offence behaviour despite victim's expressions of distress;

     Evidence of progressive increase in the use of force used to commit repeated offences;

     Offender completely refuses to participate in the evaluation;

     Offender completely denies the referral offence;

     Parents/guardians refuse to participate in the evaluation;

     Parents/guardians deny that the offender committed the offence;

     Parents/guardians deny that the offender has any psychosocial problems;

     Offender engages in compulsive masturbatory fantasies involving deviant sexuality or offensive


    behaviour;

     Evidence of thought disorder;

     History of fire setting;

     History of torturing animals;

     History of chronic substance abuse;

     Offender has been a victim of chronic and repetitive sexual and/or physical abuse;

     Offender's family unit is chronically dysfunctional.

    739
    Code risk for re-offending: (1) low risk, (2) moderate risk, (3) high risk

    Code prognosis/amenability of treatment outcome: (1) good, (2) fair/moderate, (3) poor

    In addition to those factors identified by Wenet and Clark there are a number of other factors that re
    considered to be indicators of high risk:

     Incest offenders;

     Institutional history;

     For rapists the first 12 months after treatment;

     Assaults on both male and female;

     History of truancy and/or absconding;

     Unchanged cognitive distortions following treatment.

    From Wenet & Clark (1988) in "Oregon Report on Juvenile Sex Offenders", Children Services Division, Dept
    of Human Resources State of Oregon, Salem OR97310

    Assessment to Inform a Pre Sentence Report

    Where a young person is being prosecuted for sexual offences and is admitting some culpability, it may be
    appropriate to carry out assessment work to inform the PSR. This may be undertaken by, or in conjunction
    with the Youth Offending Team, either in several individual sessions with the young person or by their
    attendance at a group. The assessment would determine the young person's:

    1. Sexual knowledge and attitudes to sexuality;

    2. General understanding of acceptable sexual behaviour and boundaries;

    3. Understanding of the nature of the offence and the reason for its wrongfulness;

    4. Willingness to accept responsibility;

    5. Level of victim empathy;

    6. Willingness to co-operate with a programme of work;

    7. Motivation to actively work towards changing abusive behaviour.

    Additionally, there would be some evaluation of the level of support available from the young person's
    primary carers and their understanding, willingness and ability to co-operate with us.

    End

    Source:-
    http://leedschildcare.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_init_assess_sex_beh.html

    740
    Understanding the link between early sexual initiation and
    later sexually transmitted infection: Test and replication in two
    longitudinal studies
    Marina Epstein,a Lisa E. Manhart,b Karl G. Hill,a Jennifer A. Bailey,a J. David Hawkins,a Kevin P.
    Haggerty,a andRichard F. Catalanoa

    Author information ► Copyright and License information ►

    The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at J Adolesc Health

    See other articles in PMC that cite the published article.

    Abstract
    Sexually transmitted infections (STI) are among the most commonly occurring infections
    in the United States. Approximately 20 million new cases occur every year, nearly half of
    which are among young adults aged 18–24 [1]. Despite prevention efforts, there has been
    little reduction in rates of Chlamydia trachomatis and other common STI [2], suggesting
    current prevention approaches are not sufficiently effective.
    Early sexual initiation is one of the most robust predictors of STI among adolescents and
    young adults [3–6], making this an attractive target for prevention efforts. Prevention
    programs promoting abstinence or delay of sexual activity among adolescents, however,
    have had mixed results in reducing STI [7, 8]. Other prevention approaches, focused on
    decision making, proper condom use, and negotiation skills, have been shown to reduce
    sexual risk behavior [9], but have short-lived and moderate effects [10]. Given the strong
    links between early sexual debut and later STI, more robust and sustainable intervention
    targets may be identified by examining mechanisms for this relationship.
    Three potential mechanisms for this link have shown promise. The first focuses
    exclusively on sexual behaviors and assumes a single causal pathway, from pubertal age,
    to early sexual initiation, and subsequently number of lifetime sexual partners by young
    adulthood, assuming the effect of early sex is mediated by the number of sexual partners.
    Ample literature links pubertal timing, early sex, and number of sexual partners [4, 11–
    15]. Studies have further linked number of sexual partners and STI [13, 16, 17]. James
    [14] used path modeling to show the causal chain between pubertal timing, age of
    initiation, and sexual risk behavior, but did not evaluate the effect on STI itself.
    The second mechanism examines a role of behavioral disinhibition and alcohol use in
    exacerbating STI risk [17–19]. Adolescents who initiate intercourse early are more likely
    to use alcohol and to report alcohol problems compared to their peers who delay sex
    [e.g., 20]; conversely, adolescent alcohol use is associated with STI [for review, see 21].
    A tendency toward behavioral disinhibition, indicated by impulsivity and sensation
    seeking, has commonly been theorized to explain the comorbidity in problem behaviors,
    such as the link between alcohol use, sexual risk behaviors, and STI [22]. This suggests a
    pathway from behavioral disinhibition, to early sex and early alcohol use, followed by
    having sex under the influence, and subsequently, STI.

    741
    The third explanatory mechanism hypothesizes that early environmental antecedents
    common to early alcohol use and early sexual debut explain increased risk for STI [23].
    In the family domain, monitoring of child activities is an especially important factor in
    adolescent sexual risk taking and STI [24–28]. Peer delinquency and school bonding
    have also been found to predict risky sexual behavior and STI acquisition [26, 29–31].
    Since these same environmental factors have been linked to substance-related risk
    behaviors [32], they may account for the apparent relationship between early alcohol use
    and early sex and also between early sex and STI.

    Current study
    The current study employed an innovative test-and-replicate strategy using two
    longitudinal datasets to test these hypothesized explanations of the early sexual debut–
    STI link. First, the three discrete mechanisms were tested in the Seattle Social
    Development Project (SSDP) longitudinal dataset. The first hypothesis posited that it is
    the cumulative exposure to multiple sexual partners, permitted by earlier sexual initiation,
    that predicts STI risk. Thus, early sexual debut was hypothesized to be a marker for
    number of lifetime sexual partners, increasing risk for STI. Hypotheses 2 and 3
    postulated that early sex and early alcohol use have common antecedents that explain
    their co-occurrence in adolescence. The same antecedents predict risky sexual practices
    (e.g., having sex under the influence) in young adulthood, and subsequent STI.
    Hypothesis 2 tested the effect of childhood behavioral disinhibition as a common
    individual-level antecedent, whereas Hypothesis 3 examined the effects of environmental
    antecedents in the family, peer, and school domains. Because Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 are
    not mutually exclusive, a final step combined them into a single omnibus model using the
    SSDP dataset and tested the model’s stability through replication in another longitudinal
    sample, the Raising Healthy Children (RHC) study.
    Go to:

    Methods

    Participants
    The Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP) and Raising Healthy Children (RHC) are
    two longitudinal studies of youth development. In 1985, the SSDP recruited 808 fifth
    graders (mean age 10.70, SD = 0.52) from 18 Seattle public schools, many of which
    served low-income households. Participant surveys used in this study were conducted
    annually from ages 10 to 16, with follow-up at ages 18, 21, and 24 (collected in 1999).
    Interviews with parents were conducted annually when youth were aged 10 to 16. Data
    collection continues, and retention rates for the sample have remained high (>90%) since
    the age 14 interview in 1989.
    The 1040 participants of RHC were drawn from a suburban school district near Seattle.
    Participants were enrolled in first (younger cohort) or second grade (older cohort) in 1993
    and 1994, and were then followed annually in the spring until 2011, when the younger
    cohort was age 24, and the older cohort was 25 years old. Additional interviews were

    742
    conducted in the fall of 2004, 2005, and 2006 during the two years post high school.
    Parent interviews were conducted annually through age 18. Retention rates for the RHC
    sample have also remained high (85% and higher) since study inception. Both studies
    were approved by the University of Washington Human Subjects Review Committee.

    Measures

    Lifetime sexually transmitted infection (STI)


    Participants reported whether they were ever told by a doctor or nurse that they had an
    STI. In SSDP, the questionnaire included two items regarding diagnosis of HIV/AIDS
    and “sexually transmitted disease (STD or VD, other than HIV/AIDS), such as
    gonorrhea, genital warts, chlamydia, trich, herpes, or syphilis” (age 21, 24). The RHC
    questionnaire included a question about HIV/AIDS and 12 additional items naming
    specific STI (ages 19–24). Only five participants reported HIV/AIDS diagnosis, so this
    was combined with other STI. Diagnosis was coded as 1 if a participant responded “yes”
    in any interviews and 0 if they responded “no” in all interviews (or had no sexual
    partners). STI diagnosis was modeled as a binary (categorical) variable in the analyses.

    Young adult predictors (ages 18–24)


    Number of sexual partners. Lifetime number of sexual partners was assessed at age 24 in
    SSDP and 22–24 in RHC (highest number across the assessments, capped at 20) and
    modeled as normally distributed. Sex under the influence assessed how often participants
    engaged in sexual intercourse after drinking alcohol or using drugs (1 “never” to 5 “every
    time.”) Drinking alcohol before having sex more than half of the time and/or ever using
    illicit drugs before having sex was coded as 1 (otherwise coded as 0). The number of
    assessments from age 18 to 24 during which participants reported having sex under the
    influence (i.e., chronicity) was used as a risk score and modeled as a categorical variable.

    Adolescent predictors
    Early sexual initiation. Past-year sexual behavior was self-reported and collected
    prospectively. Additionally, in SSDP, age at first sexual initiation was self-reported
    retrospectively at ages 18 and 24. Sexual initiation was coded as 1 (early) if participants
    reported age of debut earlier than 15, a definition used in previous studies [11], and 0 if
    sex was initiated at age 15 or later. Initiation of sexual activity prior to age 10 was coded
    as missing due to concerns about nonconsensual sexual activity. The variable was
    modeled as binary. Early alcohol use reflected the chronicity (number of years) of
    alcohol use between ages 10 and 14 in SSDP and 10 and 15 in RHC and modeled as a
    categorical risk index.

    Childhood predictors (ages 10–14)


    A behavioral disinhibition (BD) measure (five items per wave in SSDP, three in RHC)
    assessed impulse-control problems and was modeled as a continuous variable. Examples
    include “How often do you do what feels good, regardless of the consequences?” and
    “How often do you do something dangerous because someone dared you to do it?” Items

    743
    were scored on a 5-point scale (1 “never” to 6 “once a week or more”) and summed for a
    single risk score. Family management was assessed in the parent interview and included
    items on parental monitoring, rules, discipline, and rewards (six in SSDP, five in RHC).
    Items were summed and modeled as continuous. Response options were 1 “NO!” 2 “no”
    3 “yes” 4 “YES!” where greater values correspond to more monitoring of child
    activities. School bonding (eight in SSDP, five in RHC) reflected liking school, classes,
    teachers, and school assignments, and was modeled as a continuous variable. Response
    options ranged from 1 “NO!” to 4 “YES!” with higher values reflecting greater school
    bonding. Participants’ self-report of Antisocial peers included five items per wave
    measuring friends being in trouble with teachers, police, school suspension/expulsion, or
    gang activities (close friends and other peers). Response options included “yes/no”, count
    of antisocial peers, and 4-point scale (1 “NO!” to 4 “YES!”). Because of the differently
    scaled items, variables were standardized at each age prior to averaging; higher values
    represented more antisocial peers. Age of pubertal onset was self-reported retrospectively
    (ages 18, 24 in SSDP; 17–18 in RHC).

    Demographics
    Gender and ethnicity were self-reported. Ethnicity in SSDP was categorized as Black,
    Asian, and Native American (reference: White). In RHC, the racial/ethnic categories are
    White (vs. Non-White) because individual minority groups were too small to permit
    generalization. Eligibility for the National School Lunch/Breakfast program from school
    records was used as a proxy for childhood socioeconomic status. Parent age at birth of
    target child determined if participants were born to teenage parents.

    Statistical Analyses
    We first evaluated the relationship between STI and the potential predictors using probit
    regression to generate “baseline” beta coefficients (adjusted for demographics). We then
    tested three models of specific mechanisms by which early sexual initiation and STI
    diagnosis may be linked using path modeling [33]. Path modeling, which is a type of
    structural equation modeling (SEM), is a powerful methodology that examines how
    multiple predictors are related to STI as well as to each other by estimating multiple
    simultaneous regressions between variables in the model. We chose this methodology
    over traditional regression analysis in order to explicitly test mediators, such as number
    of sexual partners, which may explain the relationships between early sex and STI. Path
    model coefficients are interpreted as standardized regression betas ranging from −1 to 1
    and represent change in units of an outcome per one standard deviation change in the
    predictor. We also calculated the change in beta (Δβ), defined as the “baseline” beta for a
    predictor minus the beta for that same predictor in a given path model, to determine how
    much of the effect was accounted for by the other variables in the model.
    Models were estimated using Mplus 7 [34]. Hypotheses 1 through 3 were tested in the
    SSDP dataset; the omnibus model was first estimated in SSDP and then estimated and
    assessed for potential replication in RHC. Appendix 1 contains unstandardized and
    standardized coefficients and standard errors for the omnibus models. Bivariate
    correlations between all variables are presented in Appendix 2. Each model was

    744
    saturated, meaning that direct paths were estimated between each predictor and each
    outcome variable. Because both studies included an intervention in early childhood [for
    study designs see 35, 36], intervention status was included as a covariate in all analyses.
    All models were adjusted for demographic variables (gender, ethnicity, being a child of a
    teenage parent, childhood SES) and cohort membership (in RHC) to control for
    differences in mean levels of the variables, such as gender differences in STI prevalence.
    Checks of model comparability showed no differences in structural paths by treatment
    condition, gender, or ethnicity, meaning that associations between variables did not vary
    by these groups and analyses stratified by these groups were not necessary.

    Appendix 1
    Unstandardized and standardized parameters for Model 4: SSDP and RHC samples

    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Structural paths

    Pubertal age → Early −.21 .04 −.26*** −.16 .04 −.18***


    sex 

    Behavioral disinhibition .33 .10 .21** .33 .05 .32***


    → Early sex 

    Family management → −.41 .19 −.11* −.14 .14 −.05

    745
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Early sex 

    School bonding → Early .11 .16 .04 −.08 .16 −.02


    sex 

    Antisocial peers → Early .52 .16 .18*** .62 .11 .29***


    sex 

    Child of teen parent → .15 .15 .04 .30 .18 .07+


    Early sex 

    Male → Early sex  .68 .14 .25*** −.48 .12 −.19***

    White → Early sex  - - - −.04 .12 −.01

    Black → Early sex  .27 .44 .09 - - -

    746
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Asian → Early sex  −.56 .55 −.17*** - - -

    Native → Early sex  .48 .78 .08 - - -

    Free lunch → Early .19 .19 .07 .36 .11 .14**


    sex 

    Older cohort → Early - - - −.36 .11 −.14**


    sex 

    Treatment → Early −.45 .18 −.16** −.02 .11 −.01


    sex 

    Pubertal age → Early −.03 .03 −.05 −.03 .02 −.04

    747
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    alcohol use 

    Behavioral disinhibition .16 .05 .12** .20 .04 .20***


    → Early alcohol use 

    Family management → −.33 .16 −.10* −.50 .10 −.17***


    Early alcohol use 

    School bonding → Early −.30 .14 −.13* −.34 .12 −.10**


    alcohol use 

    Antisocial peers → Early .31 .13 .12* .56 .08 .27***


    alcohol use 

    Child of teen parent → −.13 .13 −.04 −.25 .13 −.06*


    Early alcohol use 

    748
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Male → Early alcohol −.10 .10 −.04 −.16 .08 −.07*


    use 

    White → Early alcohol - - - −.05 .09 −.02


    use 

    Black → Early alcohol −.44 .75 −.17 - - -


    use 

    Asian → Early alcohol −.75 .85 −.27 - - -


    use 

    Native → Early alcohol −.26 3.26 −.05 - - -


    use 

    749
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Free lunch → Early −.28 .35 −.12 .19 .08 .08*


    alcohol use 

    Older cohort → Early - - - −.20 .07 −.08**


    alcohol use 

    Treatment → Early .04 .15 .02 .04 .08 .02


    alcohol use 

    Early sex → Lifetime 1.65 .34 .34*** 1.62 .33 .31***


    sex partners 

    Early alcohol use → .65 .29 .11* .41 .25 .08+


    Lifetime sex partners 

    750
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Pubertal age → Lifetime −.04 .17 −.01 −.10 .15 −.02


    sex partners 

    Beh. disinhibition → .76 .33 .10* .61 .22 .11**


    Lifetime sex partners 

    Family management → −.16 .77 .01 .28 .56 .02


    Lifetime sex partners 

    School bonding → −.34 .57 −.03 .29 .64 .02


    Lifetime sex partners 

    Antisocial peers → Li  .62 .66 .04 .67 .46 .06


    fetime sex partners

    751
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Child of teen parent → .69 .63 .04 1.69 .74 .07*


    Lifetime sex partners 

    Male → Lifetime sex 1.47 .55 .11** .12 .46 .01


    partners 

    White → Lifetime sex - - - −.46 .45 −.03


    partners 

    Black → Lifetime sex −.52 1.18 −.04 - - -


    partners 

    Asian → Lifetime sex −.77 1.36 −.05 - - -


    partners 

    752
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Native → Lifetime sex −.42 3.78 −.01 - - -


    partners 

    Free lunch → Lifetime −.43 .66 −.03 .31 .42 .02


    sex partners 

    Older cohort → Lifet  - - - −.99 .44 −.08*


    ime sex partners

    Treatment → Lifetime .59 .82 .04 .03 .41 .00


    sex partners 

    Early sex → Sex under .21 .09 .24** .05 .07 .06
    the influence 

    753
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Early alcohol use → Sex .01 .08 .01 .19 .05 .20***
    under the influence 

    Pubertal age → Sex .00 .04 .00 −.02 .03 −.03


    under the influence 

    Beh. disinhibition → Sex .18 .07 .13** .18 .04 .20***


    under the influence 

    Family mgmt. → Sex −.19 .15 −.05 .08 .10 .03


    under the influence 

    School bonding → Sex .10 .13 .04 −.06 .13 −.02


    under the influence 

    754
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Antisocial peers → Sex .30 .14 .12* .21 .09 .11*


    under the influence 

    Child of teen parent → −.04 .14 −.01 .19 .14 .05


    Sex under the infl. 

    Male → Sex under the .39 .13 .16** −.14 .09 −.06
    influence 

    White → Sex under the - - - .08 .09 .03


    influence 

    Black → Sex under the −.11 .57 −.04 - - -


    influence 

    755
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Asian → Sex under the −.77 .64 −.26 - - -


    influence 

    Native → Sex under the −.16 2.56 −.03 - - -


    influence 

    Free lunch → Sex under .00 .26 .00 −.11 .08 −.05
    the influence 

    Older cohort → Sex - - - −.25 .08 −.11**


    under the influence 

    Treatment → Sex under .08 .18 .03 −.11 .08 −.05


    the influence 

    756
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Lifetime sex partners → .05 .01 .27*** .04 .01 .21***


    STI diagnosis 

    Sex under the influence .09 .08 .09 .14 .06 .13*
    → STI diagnosis 

    Early sex → STI .14 .09 .15 .17 .09 .18*


    diagnosis 

    Early alcohol use → STI .10 .07 .09 .02 .06 .02
    diagnosis 

    Pubertal age → STI −.01 .04 −.01 .00 .04 .00


    diagnosis 

    757
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Beh. disinhibition → STI −.15 .09 −.10+ .03 .06 .03


    diagnosis 

    Family management → −.17 .19 −.05 −.18 .14 −.06


    STI diagnosis 

    School bonding → STI −.19 .13 −.08 .17 .17 .05


    diagnosis 

    Antisocial peers → STI .31 .15 .12* −.02 .12 −.01


    diagnosis 

    Child of teen parent → −.05 .15 −.02 .12 .17 .03


    STI diagnosis 

    Male → STI diagnosis  −.71 .15 −.29*** −.92 .12 −.37***

    758
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    White → STI - - - −.07 .12 −.03


    diagnosis 

    Black → STI .41 .15 .15** - - -


    diagnosis 

    Asian → STI −.01 .23 .00 - - -


    diagnosis 

    Native → STI −.10 .89 −.02 - - -


    diagnosis 

    Free lunch → STI .25 .14 .10+ .10 .11 .04


    diagnosis 

    759
    SSDP sample RHC sample

    Unstand. Standardized Unstand. Standardized


    Parameter Estimate SE Estimate Estimate SE Estimate

    Older cohort → STI - - - .21 .11 .09*


    diagnosis 

    Treatment → STI −.24 .20 −.10 −.11 .10 −.04


    diagnosis 

    Correlational paths

    Early alcohol use ↔ −.01 .08 −.01 .21 .06 .21***


    Early sex 

    Sex under the infl. ↔ 1.56 .29 .27*** 2.53 .24 .44***
    Lifetime sex partners 

    +
    p < .10,
    *
    p<.05,
    **
    p<.01,
    ***
    p<.001

    760
    Appendix 2
    Model variable intercorrelations

    Lifet Sex Earl


    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    1. - .36*** .26*** .17** . −.16 −.19* .30*** −.16* .14* −.15 .12* n/a . −.22 .00 .14** n/a −.19*
    Lif 35*** ** * * ***
    27** ***

    *
    eti
    me
    STI
    dia
    gno
    sis

    2. .36*** - .47*** . . −.13 −.18* .28*** −.14* . . .10** n/a .07+ −.21 .03 −.05 n/a −.05
    Lif 21*** 45*** *** ** **
    33*** 23*** ***

    eti
    me
    part
    ner
    s

    3. .29*** .60*** - . . −.15 −.16* .34*** −.11* . . .08+ n/a . −.35 .04 −.04 n/a −.05
    Sex 18*** 45*** ** **
    36*** 26*** 13** ***

    und

    761
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    er
    infl
    uen
    ce

    4. .16*** .25*** .30*** - .15** −.15 −.26* .21*** −.09* . .01 −.04 n/a −.0 −.28 .01 −.19 n/a −.02
    *** ** *
    Ear 26*** 7+ *** ***

    ly
    alc
    oho
    l
    use

    5. .35*** .44*** .29*** . - −.22 −.20* .44*** −.31* . . . n/a . −.30 .09+ .08+ n/a −.22**
    Ear 38*** *** ** **
    42*** 28*** 19*** 24** ***

    *
    ly
    sex

    6. −.11* −.13* −.15* −.35 −.24 - .34*** −.28** −.01 −.20 −.11 −.02 n/a .04 −.08 .00 −.08 n/a .14**
    ** ** *** *** * *** *** * *
    Fa
    mil
    y

    762
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    mg
    mt.

    7. −.01 −.11* −.17* −.30 −.20 . - −.24** .09* −.23 −.13 −.02 n/a −.0 . .01 .08* n/a .20***
    ** ** *** ***
    Sch 43*** * *** ***
    1 21***
    ool
    bon
    din
    g

    8. .09* .28*** .31*** . . −.41 −.40* - −.08* . . . n/a . −.19 .00 .09* n/a −.10*
    Ant 44*** 44*** *** **
    46*** 17*** 16*** 26** ***

    *
    iso
    cial
    pee
    rs

    9. −.11* −.14* −.10* −.09 −.26 .03 .03 −.11** - −.15 .12** −.11 n/a −.0 . −.01 −.01 n/a .01
    ** ** *** * *** **
    Pub 7* 14***
    erta
    l

    763
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    age

    10. .13** .32*** .32*** . . −.24 −.26* .49*** −.11* - . .05 n/a .04 −.22 .05 −.06 n/a .00
    BD 35*** 46*** *** ** **
    15*** ***

    11. −.37* .03 .02 .08* −.05 −.06 −.13* .27*** .04 . - .02 n/a .00 .04 −.07 −.05 n/a −.03
    ** + **
    Ma 26*** +

    le

    12. .09* .11*** .06 −.04 .11* .06+ .02 .02 −.04 .03 −.04 - n/a . −.11 −.03 . n/a −.16**
    Tee 22** **
    13***
    *
    n
    par
    ent

    13. −.05 −.05 .03 −.03 −.04 .03 −.06+ −.04 .06+ .05+ .03 −.01 - n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
    Wh
    ite

    14. n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a - −.31 −.14 . n/a −.10*

    764
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    ***
    Bla 27***
    ck

    15. n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a - −.13 . n/a .07
    Asi 16***
    an

    16. n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a - .06 n/a .07
    Nat
    ive

    17. .11* .12*** .01 .08* . .01 .09** .09** −.04 .01 .00 . −.19 n/a n/a n/a - n/a −.01
    Fre 19*** 11*** ***

    e
    lun
    ch

    18. .01 −.11* −.10* −.07 −.12 .03 .02 .02 .02 .07* .04 −.08 .01 n/a n/a n/a −.08 - n/a
    * * * ** * *
    Old
    er
    coh

    765
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    ort

    19. −.08+ −.01 −.04 .03 −.03 −.05 −.07* .01 .02 −.02 .04 −.03 .00 n/a n/a n/a −.10 −.04 -
    **
    Tre
    atm
    ent

    View it in a separate window


    Note.
    +
    p < .10,
    *
    p < .05,
    **
    p < .01,
    ***
    p < .001
    Correlations for the SSDP dataset are presented above the diagonal. Correlations for RHC are below the
    diagonal

    Appendix 2
    (please see table in original paper, link provided at bottom of article
    Model variable intercorrelations

    766
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    1. - .36*** .26*** .17** . −.16 −.19* .30*** −.16* .14* −.15 .12* n/a . −.22 .00 .14** n/a −.19*
    Lif 35*** ** * * ***
    27** ***

    *
    eti
    me
    STI
    dia
    gno
    sis

    2. .36*** - .47*** . . −.13 −.18* .28*** −.14* . . .10** n/a .07+ −.21 .03 −.05 n/a −.05
    Lif 21*** 45*** *** ** **
    33*** 23*** ***

    eti
    me
    part
    ner
    s

    3. .29*** .60*** - . . −.15 −.16* .34*** −.11* . . .08+ n/a . −.35 .04 −.04 n/a −.05
    Sex 18*** 45*** ** **
    36*** 26*** 13** ***

    und
    er
    infl
    uen

    767
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    ce

    4. .16*** .25*** .30*** - .15** −.15 −.26* .21*** −.09* . .01 −.04 n/a −.0 −.28 .01 −.19 n/a −.02
    *** ** *
    Ear 26*** 7+ *** ***

    ly
    alc
    oho
    l
    use

    5. .35*** .44*** .29*** . - −.22 −.20* .44*** −.31* . . . n/a . −.30 .09+ .08+ n/a −.22**
    Ear 38*** *** ** **
    42*** 28*** 19*** 24** ***

    *
    ly
    sex

    6. −.11* −.13* −.15* −.35 −.24 - .34*** −.28** −.01 −.20 −.11 −.02 n/a .04 −.08 .00 −.08 n/a .14**
    ** ** *** *** * *** *** * *
    Fa
    mil
    y
    mg
    mt.

    768
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    7. −.01 −.11* −.17* −.30 −.20 . - −.24** .09* −.23 −.13 −.02 n/a −.0 . .01 .08* n/a .20***
    ** ** *** ***
    Sch 43*** * *** ***
    1 21***
    ool
    bon
    din
    g

    8. .09* .28*** .31*** . . −.41 −.40* - −.08* . . . n/a . −.19 .00 .09* n/a −.10*
    Ant 44*** 44*** *** **
    46*** 17*** 16*** 26** ***

    *
    iso
    cial
    pee
    rs

    9. −.11* −.14* −.10* −.09 −.26 .03 .03 −.11** - −.15 .12** −.11 n/a −.0 . −.01 −.01 n/a .01
    ** ** *** * *** **
    Pub 7* 14***
    erta
    l
    age

    769
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    10. .13** .32*** .32*** . . −.24 −.26* .49*** −.11* - . .05 n/a .04 −.22 .05 −.06 n/a .00
    BD 35*** 46*** *** ** **
    15*** ***

    11. −.37* .03 .02 .08* −.05 −.06 −.13* .27*** .04 . - .02 n/a .00 .04 −.07 −.05 n/a −.03
    ** + **
    Ma 26*** +

    le

    12. .09* .11*** .06 −.04 .11* .06+ .02 .02 −.04 .03 −.04 - n/a . −.11 −.03 . n/a −.16**
    Tee 22** **
    13***
    *
    n
    par
    ent

    13. −.05 −.05 .03 −.03 −.04 .03 −.06+ −.04 .06+ .05+ .03 −.01 - n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
    Wh
    ite

    14. n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a - −.31 −.14 . n/a −.10*
    ***
    Bla 27***
    ck

    770
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    15. n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a - −.13 . n/a .07
    Asi 16***
    an

    16. n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a - .06 n/a .07
    Nat
    ive

    17. .11* .12*** .01 .08* . .01 .09** .09** −.04 .01 .00 . −.19 n/a n/a n/a - n/a −.01
    Fre 19*** 11*** ***

    e
    lun
    ch

    18. .01 −.11* −.10* −.07 −.12 .03 .02 .02 .02 .07* .04 −.08 .01 n/a n/a n/a −.08 - n/a
    * * * ** * *
    Old
    er
    coh
    ort

    19. −.08+ −.01 −.04 .03 −.03 −.05 −.07* .01 .02 −.02 .04 −.03 .00 n/a n/a n/a −.10 −.04 -

    771
    Lifet Sex Earl
    ime Lifet unde y Fam Scho Tee Fre Old
    STI ime r alco Ear ily ol Antis Pube n e er
    diag part influ hol ly Mg bon ocial rtal Mal par Whi Bla Asi Nati lunc coh Treat
    nosis ners ence use sex mt. ding peers age BD e ent te ck an ve h ort ment

    **
    Tre
    atm
    ent

    View it in a separate window


    Note.
    +
    p < .10,
    *
    p < .05,
    **
    p < .01,
    ***
    p < .001
    Correlations for the SSDP dataset are presented above the diagonal. Correlations for RHC are below the
    diagonal

    Results
    Both study samples were gender-balanced, but participants in SSDP were racially and
    ethnically more diverse (47% Caucasian versus 75% in RHC; Table 1). Over half of
    participants (52%) in SSDP received free or reduced-price lunch in fifth to seventh grade,
    whereas this was true for 38% of RHC participants. Approximately one third (36.7%) of
    SSDP participants, but only 17.9% of RHC youth reported early sexual initiation (before
    age 15), but by ages 24/25, a fifth of each sample had self-reported an STI. In SSDP, the
    STI rate was 32.5% for early initiators of sex compared to 16.6% later initiators
    (Pearson’s χ2 p<.001); rates in RHC were comparable (34.4% vs. 15.8%; p<.001).

    Table 1
    Characteristics of study samples

    772
    Self-report measure SSDP RHC
    N = 808 n (%) reporting > 0 N = 1040 n (%) reporting > 0
    behaviors or mean (SD) behaviors or mean (SD)

    Demographic variables

    Women  39 (49.0%) 492 (47.3%)

    White  381 (47.2%) 783 (75.3%)

    African American  207 (25.6%) 36 (3.5%)

    Native American  43 (5.3%) 24 (2.3%)

    Asian/Pacific Islander  177 (21.9%) 70 (6.7%)

    Mixed  - 127 (12.2%)

    Treatment condition  156 (19.3%) 562 (54.0%)

    Received free lunch  423 (52.4%) 395 (38.0%)

    773
    Self-report measure SSDP RHC
    N = 808 n (%) reporting > 0 N = 1040 n (%) reporting > 0
    behaviors or mean (SD) behaviors or mean (SD)

    Child of a teen parent  127 (15.7%) 96 (9.2%)

    Model variables

    Sexually transmitted 176 (21.8%) 199 (19.1%)


    infection 

    Sex under the influence  446 (32.9%) 442 (42.5%)

    Early sexual initiation  295 (36.5%) 186 (17.9%)

    Early alcohol use † 2.04 (1.68) 1.31 (1.41%)

    No. of lifetime sexual 7.93 (6.61) 7.94 (6.58)


    partners †*

    Pubertal age † 12.48 (1.63) 12.76 (1.45)

    Behavioral 1.81 (.86) 2.90 (1.21)

    774
    Self-report measure SSDP RHC
    N = 808 n (%) reporting > 0 N = 1040 n (%) reporting > 0
    behaviors or mean (SD) behaviors or mean (SD)

    disinhibition †

    Family management † 3.50 (.38) 3.31 (.42)

    School bonding † 2.93 (.50) 3.24 (.36)

    Antisocial peers † .01 (.45) .00 (.59)

    Note.
    *
    Number of lifetime sexual partners capped at 20. At age 24, 94% of all participants in SSDP and RHC
    reported at least one sexual partner.
    †
    mean (SD).

    In probit regression analyses, early sexual debut was associated with increased risk of
    STI, with “baseline” betas of .33 in SSDP and .37 in RHC (Table 2). In both samples,
    lifetime number of sex partners, behavioral disinhibition, early alcohol use, sex under the
    influence, and antisocial peers were also associated with increased risk of STI. Older
    pubertal age and higher levels of family management and school bonding were associated
    with decreased risk.

    Table 2
    Baseline beta coefficients reflecting association of individual predictors of STI, adjusted
    for demographics a

    775
    SSDP RHC
    βb βb

    Pubertal age −.10* −.08+

    Early sex .33*** .37***

    Lifetime number of sexual partners .39*** .36***

    Behavioral disinhibition .14** .23***

    Early alcohol use .20** .20***

    Sex under influence .27*** .30***

    Family management −.17*** −.14**

    School bonding −.17** −.07

    Antisocial peers .25*** .20***

    a
    Analyses adjusted for gender, ethnicity, SES, treatment condition, being the child of a teen parent, and
    cohort (RHC only)
    b
    Unexponentiated standardized beta coefficients from probit regression analyses

    776
    Note.
    +
    p < .10,
    *
    p < .05,
    **
    p < .01,
    ***
    p < .001

    The model testing Hypothesis 1 using SSDP data is shown in Figure 1a. Results indicated
    that, consistent with expectations, earlier puberty predicted earlier sexual debut (β= −.30),
    which in turn predicted a higher number of partners (β=.41). The effect of early sexual
    debut on STI diagnosis (β=.20) remained, but was substantially attenuated from the
    “baseline” relationship in Table 2 (Δβ=.13) by number of sexual partners, suggesting
    partial but not complete mediation.

    Figure 1

    Models testing Hypotheses 1–3 in SSDP dataset


    Note. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. Coefficients in the models are partial standardized
    betas. All models are saturated, such that all dependent variables are regressed onto all
    model predictors. Where lines are not drawn, the relationships are nonsignificant at p < .
    05 level. All variables controlled for gender, childhood SES, ethnicity, and being the
    child of a teen parent. In Figure 1c, correlations between Family management (A),
    Antisocial peers (B), and School bonding (C) are as follows: AB = −.29***, BC =
    −.22***, AC = .36***.

    777
    The second hypothesis examined whether behavioral disinhibition drives risky behaviors
    like early sex, early alcohol use, and sex under the influence, which then results in STI
    acquisition (Figure 1b). Although we expected overlap between early sex and early
    alcohol use (bivariate correlation r=.15, p<.01; Appendix 2), after including behavioral
    disinhibition in the model, the two were no longer significantly related. Behavioral
    disinhibition predicted greater likelihood of both early sexual debut (β=.34) and early
    alcohol use (β=.22), and was directly related to having more sex while under the
    influence (β=.17). However, behavioral disinhibition did not predict STI directly, nor did
    it completely explain the relationship between early sex or early alcohol use and STI, as
    demonstrated by the continued presence of direct links between these factors (βearly sex=.26;
    βalcohol use=.16) and STI. Early sex predicted more sex under the influence (β=.27). Both
    early sex and early alcohol use were related to greater likelihood of STI, although the
    effect of both was somewhat attenuated from “baseline” effects (Δβ=.07, .04,
    respectively). Thus, results were somewhat consistent with Hypothesis 2 in showing that
    behavioral disinhibition increased risk-taking behavior; however, behavioral disinhibition
    did not appear to explain much of the link between early sexual initiation and STI.
    The model for Hypothesis 3 (Figure 1c) showed that environmental antecedents played a
    role in increasing the likelihood of early sex and early alcohol use, but did not directly
    predict STI. Having antisocial peers had the strongest effect on increased risk of early sex
    (β=.28) and alcohol use (β=.17). Family management appeared to buffer engagement in
    early sex (β= Δ.12) and early alcohol (β= Δ.11), and school bonding protected against
    early alcohol use (β= Δ.14). Partially consistent with Hypothesis 3, having antisocial
    peers was linked with greater likelihood of having sex under the influence (β=.15).
    Notably, after accounting for environmental antecedents, early alcohol use no longer
    predicted STI. The relationship between early sexual debut and STI remained (β=.21),
    although it was moderately attenuated from the “baseline” relationship (Δβ=.12).
    A final model examining the relative contribution of all of the predictors was tested in
    SSDP and replicated in the RHC dataset (Figures 3–4). Overall, the omnibus models
    integrated and supported findings from Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3. The strongest predictor of
    STI diagnosis was the number of sexual partners, a finding that was replicated in both
    SSDP (β=.27) and RHC (β=.21) studies. Consistent with Hypothesis 1, the effect of early
    sex was completely mediated through number of sexual partners in SSDP, whereas in
    RHC, a significant, although attenuated effect remained (β=.18; Δβ=.19). The effect of
    behavioral disinhibition on increased risky behavior in adolescence and in young
    adulthood tested by Hypothesis 2 was replicated in both models. Consistent with
    Hypothesis 2, the effect of behavioral disinhibition on STI was indirect through early
    sexual initiation, sex under the influence, and number of lifetime partners. The alcohol-
    specific pathway from early alcohol use, to sex under the influence, to STI was evident
    only in RHC. Finally, Hypothesis 3 regarding early environmental predictors’ effects on
    adolescent risk was replicated in both samples. Additionally, in SSDP, the presence of
    antisocial peers directly predicted STI diagnosis.

    778
    Figure 3

    Replication model. Childhood and adolescent predictors of STI infection at age 24 in


    RHC
    Note. + p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001
    Coefficients in the models are partial standardized betas. The model is saturated, such
    that all dependent variables are regressed onto all model predictors. Paths that are
    marginally significant at p < .10 are only shown (as dashed lines) when significant
    in Figure 2. All variables controlled for gender, childhood SES, ethnicity, and being the
    child of a teen parent.

    Discussion
    The current study examined three mechanisms that may explain the link between early
    sexual initiation and STI: number of sexual partners, behavioral disinhibition, and
    environmental antecedents. In accordance with the first mechanism, accounting for
    lifetime number of sexual partners completely explained the relationship between early
    sexual debut and STI in one dataset and significantly attenuated the relationship in the
    other. In the second mechanism, behavioral disinhibition, although not directly related to
    STI diagnosis, predicted all the other risk factors for STI, suggesting it is a common
    driver of risk. Similarly, family, school, and peer environments were linked to risk
    behaviors, and (in SSDP) antisocial peers had a direct effect on STI diagnoses in addition
    to the effect on the risk behaviors.
    Our observation that behavioral disinhibition appeared to drive sexual and alcohol-related
    risk behavior is consistent with prior findings showing that childhood behavioral
    disinhibition is related to adolescent risk behaviors, including those that are and are not
    sexual in nature [37, 38]. The absence of a direct relationship between behavioral
    disinhibition and STI diagnosis suggests that individual risk traits operate through
    intervening behaviors, such as having sex with multiple partners or under the influence of
    drugs and alcohol. Behavioral disinhibition has been linked to a number of other risk
    behaviors [e.g., delinquency 22], and interventions that successfully moderate the
    influence of this trait, if incorporated into STI prevention strategies, could have broad

    779
    effects on risk behaviors in general, beyond risky sex. For example, some broad universal
    interventions have been shown to have STI effects, especially among higher risk youths
    [28].
    Results also supported the hypothesis that environmental antecedents in family, peer, and
    school domains are related to early sex and other risk behaviors leading to STI
    acquisition. The consistent links between having antisocial peers in childhood and each
    of the risk behaviors, with paths following through to STI diagnoses in young adulthood
    in SSDP, is consistent with Henry and colleagues’ [39] observation that adolescent peer
    attitudes influenced sexual risk behavior in young adulthood. However, the pathways for
    family and school influences were not as consistently strong and not all links were
    observed in both studies. These effects may operate indirectly through behavioral
    disinhibition and antisocial peers. Altogether, findings suggest that factors earlier in life
    strongly influence STI risk, and interventions at younger ages may have long-term effects
    in preventing sexual risk behaviors and subsequent STI.
    Over and above individual or environmental factors, lifetime number of sex partners
    remained the strongest and most consistent predictor of STI. However, given the complex
    influences on this behavior, prevention messages focusing solely on partner reduction are
    unlikely to be successful. Nevertheless, lifetime number of sex partners may be an
    excellent measure of the efficacy of interventions designed to mitigate the effect of
    behavioral disinhibition or antisocial peer influences on risky sexual practices.
    The strengths of the current study include the longitudinal design and the ability to test
    mediators at different developmental stages. Testing the model for replication in another
    longitudinal study further strengthened the findings. Although the samples differed in
    ethnic and socioeconomic diversity and were over a decade apart, the uniformity of
    results speaks to the stability of the findings. Nevertheless, there are also limitations.
    First, STI diagnosis was self-reported; respondents may have elected not to report
    diagnoses and youth who were never tested may have had undetected STI. Second, we
    could not determine with precision the proximity of some risk factors to STI acquisition.
    While this limits determination of temporal sequence for some risk factors (e.g., sex
    under the influence; factors measured after sexual debut), the temporal sequence between
    behavioral disinhibition and environmental influences in childhood is clear. Finally, the
    influences on sexual risk behavior and STI are numerous and our examination was not
    comprehensive. Future studies should examine other mediators, such as peer sexual
    behavior and family attitudes toward sex among others, which are likely to affect sexual
    behavior and STI acquisition.
    In conclusion, our results suggest that programs aimed at delaying sexual initiation
    through promoting abstinence until marriage may miss important intervention targets that
    can be addressed through a broader, social-developmental approach to preventive
    intervention. For example, self-regulation training may decrease early sexual initiation, as
    may strengthening family management. Indeed, prevention programs that have been most
    successful at reducing risky sexual practices have taken multi-pronged approaches,
    focusing on contraception and STD education and also addressed other risk behaviors,
    such as substance use [40]. The current study shows that the sexual risk behaviors that
    lead to STI are affected by multiple childhood and adolescent processes. Prevention

    780
    programs must address the larger social-developmental risk and protective factors in
    addition to the proximal causes to successfully reduce sexual risk behavior and STI.

    Figure 2
    Please see orginal article using link provided at end of document.

    Implications and Contribution


    Early sexual initiation has been linked with sexual risk behavior and sexually transmitted
    infection (STI). In these analyses, behavioral disinhibition, family management, and
    antisocial peers influenced the relationship between early sex and STI. Addressing
    multiple early risk factors, rather than early sexual initiation, may more effectively reduce
    rates of STI.
    Go to:

    Acknowledgments
    Funding for this study was provided by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse
    (NIDA; R01DA009679; R01DA024411; R01DA08093) and by grant 21548 from the
    Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The authors gratefully acknowledge SSDP and RHC
    panel participants for their continued contribution to the longitudinal studies. We also
    acknowledge the SDRG Survey Research Division for their hard work maintaining high
    panel retention, and the SDRG editorial and administrative staff for their editorial and
    project support.
    Go to:

    Footnotes
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    Go to:

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    Source:- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3965628/

    Exposure to Sexual Lyrics and Sexual


    Experience Among Urban Adolescents
    Brian A. Primack, MD, EdM, MS, Erika L. Douglas, MS, Michael J. Fine, MD,
    MSc, and Madeline A. Dalton, PhD
    Author information ► Copyright and License information ►
    The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Am J Prev Med
    See other articles in PMC that cite the published article.

    Abstract
    Go to:

    Introduction
    Early sexual intercourse and the early progression of other sexual
    behaviors are of concern because of their direct relationship to sexually
    transmitted infections1–4 and costly, unwanted teenage pregnancies.4–
    6
     Recent data indicate that one fourth of all female adolescents in the
    U.S.—and one half of African-American female adolescents—have
    sexually transmitted infections.7 More than 750,000 American
    teenagers become pregnant each year,8 giving the U.S. one of the
    highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the developed world.9

    784
    During the crucial adolescent years, young people in the U.S. are
    exposed to 2.4 hours of music per day, or >16 hours per week.10 There
    are few limits to this access to music; 98% of children and adolescents
    live in homes with both radios and CD/MP3 players, and 86% of those
    aged 8–18 years have CD/MP3 players in their bedrooms.10 These
    figures have increased substantially over the past decade.10,11
    More than one third of popular songs contain explicit or strongly
    implied references to sexual activity,12 and there is strong theoretical
    and initial empirical support that exposure to such media may lead to
    early sexual activity.13,14 According to the social cognitive
    theory,15 people learn not only by direct experience but also by
    exposure to modeled and rewarded behavior, such as that represented in
    popular music.15–17 Music is well known to connect deeply with
    adolescents and to influence identity development, perhaps more so
    than any other entertainment medium.13,18–20
    References to sexual intercourse in popular music lyrics are generally
    either degrading or nondegrading (Table 1). Degrading sex is defined
    as sex that (1) is based only on physical characteristics and (2) contains
    a power differential instead of being mutually
    consensual.12,21,22 Degrading references constitute two thirds of all sexual
    references in popular music,12 and in particular may promote early
    sexual activity. This is because they may encourage youth to play out
    the described roles (sex-driven male partner and acquiescent female
    partner) rather than resolving their true desires and anxieties
    surrounding sexual activity.14,21

    Table 1
    Examples of popular music lyrics describing degrading and
    nondegrading sex

    785
    Initial reports suggest that those exposed to more-degrading sexual
    references in popular music lyrics have greater odds of initiating sexual
    experimentation at a younger age,21 but there is a need for replication of
    these results using varied methodologies and populations. In particular,
    these findings should be confirmed among African-American and
    socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Although these
    individuals are at greatest risk for the undesirable sequelae of early
    intercourse,7 prior work in this area has not focused on these more at-
    risk populations.21 Additionally, the measurement of exposure to
    sexually oriented lyrics presents an important challenge for researchers.
    Whereas prior work has measured exposure to sexual lyrics with
    Likert-type checklists,21 it may be valuable to confirm those findings
    when using more-intensive information—generated directly by students
    —that is related to music exposure.
    The purpose of this study was to determine if exposure to lyrics
    describing degrading sex is independently associated with sexual
    behavior in an urban, socioeconomically disadvantaged cohort of
    adolescents, even when using an intensively generated assessment of
    exposure to sexually descriptive lyrics. It was hypothesized that, for
    both young men and women, exposure to lyrics describing degrading
    sex in popular music would be independently associated with early
    sexual experience. It also was hypothesized that exposure to lyrics
    describing nondegrading sex would not be significantly linked to prior
    sexual experience.
    Go to:

    Methods
    Design, Setting, and Participants
    This cross-sectional analysis used baseline data from a randomized trial
    comparing two different antismoking programs. For this study, all
    students enrolled in ninth-grade health classes at three large high
    schools located in urban, low-income areas of Pittsburgh PA completed
    a survey in 2006 and 2007 (n=857). Overall, approximately 50% of
    students at these schools are African American; more than half of

    786
    students receive free or reduced-cost school lunches, and the student
    body is equally divided by gender.

    Sample
    Of the 894 students who were eligible during the first 2 years of data
    collection (i.e., they were ninth-grade health students in one of the three
    target schools during that time), 857 (96%) completed the survey. Of
    those, 711 had complete exposure data (i.e., at least one of their three
    favorite artists performed one of Billboard magazine’s top songs during
    the years 2005–2006). This represented 80% of those eligible. The final
    sample contained 54% female students and 56% African-American
    students. The average age was 15.0 years (SD=0.8; range: 13–18; Table
    2).

    Table 2
    Sample characteristics by ever having had intercourse

    Procedures
    The study was approved by the University of Pittsburgh IRB. Students
    provided assent on computer terminals, and parents were informed
    about the survey and were offered the opportunity to refuse
    participation. Students entered all information directly onto computer
    terminals in school computer laboratories. In the few instances when
    there were not sufficient computer terminals, students used paper
    copies of the survey. They did not enter their names or any other
    unique identifiers.

    Measures

    787
    Independent variables: exposure to lyrics describing degrading
    and nondegrading sex
    Students reported (1) the number of hours per day that they listen to
    music and (2) their favorite musical artists. Students were asked to
    estimate separately their exposure to popular music on weekdays,
    Saturdays, and Sundays, because prior research demonstrates that these
    exposures can be very different from one another.10,11 Through a
    detailed content analysis,12,23 the percentage was calculated of each
    artist’s most popular songs that contain lyrics describing degrading sex.
    An exposure score for lyrics describing degrading sex was then
    computed by multiplying each student’s hours of music exposure by
    the percentage of his or her favorite artist’s songs that contain lyrics
    describing degrading sex. Finally, that score was divided into tertiles:
    low exposure, medium exposure, and high exposure. Students reported
    in order their three favorite artists, whose names they typed in blank
    spaces (i.e., they did not select from a list). If a first-choice favorite
    artist was not represented in the database of top popular artists, then the
    second- or third-choice favorite was used as necessary.
    A similar algorithm was used to estimate exposure to lyrics describing
    nondegrading sex. However, such exposure could not be divided into
    tertiles, because only 20% of the sample chose favorite artists who sang
    about nondegrading sex. This was expected for two reasons: these
    artists are less popular among young people, and, compared with songs
    portraying degrading sex, far fewer songs are produced that portray
    nondegrading sex.12 Thus, to estimate exposure to lyrics describing
    nondegrading sex, a dichotomous variable was developed to distinguish
    those songs with lyrics describing nondegrading sex and those without.
    Methods for the content analysis have been previously described in
    detail.12,23 In brief, two coders independently analyzed for sexual
    material the top 535 songs from 2005 and 2006 according
    to Billboard magazine’s year-end charts. If there were multiple song
    versions (e.g., edited or explicit), the version that Billboard magazine
    reported had the greatest exposure was the one coded. First, the coders
    used a dichotomous variable to indicate if sexual intercourse—defined
    for this analysis as penile–vaginal sex, penile–anal sex, or oral sex—

    788
    was either explicit or implicit. Then, a separate variable was used by
    each coder to classify songs with sexual activity as either degrading or
    nondegrading. Table 1 contains examples of degrading and
    nondegrading sexual references. According to the Landis and Koch
    framework24 for κ values, initial coders had moderate agreement on
    sexual intercourse (κ=0.46) and substantial agreement on degrading
    versus nondegrading sexual intercourse scores (κ= 0.71).24 After an
    iterative process of adjudication, additional training, and codebook
    clarification, coders agreed on all final codes.
    Dependent variables: sexual behavior
    Sexual behavior was measured in two ways. First, a dichotomous
    measure indicated whether the participant had ever had sexual
    intercourse (yes versus no). For the survey, sexual intercourse was
    defined as when a boy puts his penis in a girl’s vagina. A validated
    scale was also used to measure an adolescent’s progression along a
    noncoital sexual continuum.25 The adolescent received a score of 0 if he
    or she had never kissed; 1 if he or she had kissed only; 2 if he or she
    had “made out” (defined for the participant in parentheses as kissed for
    a long time); 3 if the respondent had touched breasts or had breasts
    touched; 4 if he or she had touched genitals or had genitals touched;
    and 5 if he or she had given or received oral sex.25
    Covariates
    Data were collected on a number of sociodemographic characteristics
    that have been related to sexual intercourse in prior studies. These
    included age, gender, race, maternal education, and grades. Items were
    also included from validated scales measuring two dimensions of
    authoritative parenting,26 sensation seeking,27 and rebelliousness.28 All
    covariates are listed in Tables 2 and and33.

    789
    Table 3
    ORs for sexual experience based on exposure to lyrics describing
    degrading sex

    Analysis
    Descriptive analyses were used to summarize sample characteristics
    across sexual outcomes. Multivariable analyses were used to assess
    associations between independent variables (exposure to lyrics
    describing degrading and nondegrading sex) and sexual behavior
    (intercourse and, for those who had not had intercourse, progression
    along a noncoital sexual continuum). Logistic regression was used for
    the dichotomous variable (intercourse), and ordered logistic regression
    was used for the ordered categorical outcome (noncoital sexual
    continuum). By definition, analyses related to the noncoital sexual
    continuum involved only participants who did not report prior sexual
    intercourse (n=475). The primary multivariable models controlled for
    all covariates that had bivariate relationships with the outcome at or
    below the threshold of p<0.15. Additionally, to determine the
    robustness of results, all logistic regression analyses were conducted
    using stepwise backward regression, and all analyses were conducted
    using the independent variable (exposure to lyrics describing degrading
    sex) as continuous rather than categorical. For the analyses involving
    the ordered categorical outcome (noncoital sexual continuum), the
    proportional odds assumption was tested, and it was not violated.29
    In multivariable analyses, possible interactions between exposure to
    lyrics describing degrading sex and age, gender, and race were tested.
    Participants with missing data were not included in the analysis. For all
    analyses, a two-tailed α of 0.05 was used to define significance.
    Analyses were conducted in 2008.
    Go to:

    Results
    Participants were exposed to an average of 31.0 hours of popular music
    per week (SD=21.1) and an estimated 14.7 hours each week of songs
    with lyrics describing degrading sex (SD=17.0). Thirty percent (n=216)

    790
    of the 711 participants had previously had sexual intercourse. Higher
    exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex, older age, male gender,
    African-American race, lower grades, higher sensation seeking, and
    higher rebelliousness were all associated with having had sexual
    intercourse (Table 2). However, higher exposure to lyrics describing
    nondegrading sex was not associated with intercourse (p=0.67). The
    475 participants who had not had sexual intercourse reported a range of
    behaviors, with most at the stage in which they had touched breasts or
    had breasts touched. Higher exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex
    was associated with progression along the noncoital sexual continuum
    (p=0.01). However, exposure to lyrics describing nondegrading sex
    was not associated with progression along the noncoital sexual
    continuum (p=0.76).
    In analyses that controlled for all covariates that had bivariate
    relationships with the outcome at or below the threshold of p<0.15,
    exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex was independently
    associated with both sexual outcomes (Table 3). Compared to those in
    the lowest tertile, those with the most exposure to lyrics describing
    degrading sex had greater odds for having had sexual intercourse
    (OR=2.07; 95% CI=1.26, 3.41). Likewise, compared to those in the
    lowest tertile, those with the most exposure to lyrics describing
    degrading sex had greater odds for having progressed further down the
    noncoital sexual continuum (OR=1.88; 95% CI=1.23, 2.88).
    However, exposure to lyrics describing nondegrading sex was not
    significantly related to either sexual outcome. Those with exposure to
    such lyrics did not have significantly higher adjusted odds of having
    been sexually active (OR=1.15; 95% CI=0.70, 1.89) or having
    progressed along the noncoital sexual continuum (OR=1.44; 95%
    CI=0.94, 2.22).
    In the models presented in Table 3, other factors independently
    associated with intercourse included older age, male gender, African-
    American race, lower maternal education, lower grades, higher
    sensation seeking, and higher rebelliousness. Only male gender,
    sensation seeking, and rebelliousness were independently associated
    with progression along the noncoital sexual continuum in these
    multivariable analyses.

    791
    There were no significant interactions between exposure to degrading
    sexual lyrics and age, gender, or race in any of the multivariable
    models. All results were similar when analyses were conducted with
    stepwise backward logistic regression and when exposure to lyrics
    describing degrading sex and exposure to lyrics describing
    nondegrading sex was modeled as a continuous variable.
    Go to:

    Discussion
    This study demonstrates that, among this sample of young adolescents,
    high exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex in popular music was
    independently associated with higher levels of sexual behavior. In fact,
    exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex was one of the strongest
    associations with sexual activity in these models. In contrast, exposure
    to lyrics describing non-degrading sex in popular music was not
    associated with greater risk of sexual activity in any of the models.
    These findings build on those of previous studies13,30 suggesting that
    exposure to sex in media messages may be a risk factor for early sexual
    progression. Specifically, these results support previous findings21 that
    exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex in particular may be a
    stronger risk factor for early sexual progression than exposure to lyrics
    describing nondegrading sex. It is instructive that this study’s results
    were similar to those in the other studies,13,21,30 despite this sample’s
    having a greater percentage of African-American and
    socioeconomically disadvantaged participants and its using a more-
    intensive algorithm to estimate exposure to lyrics describing degrading
    and nondegrading sex.
    Although music lacks the visual elements of film and television, there
    are reasons why references in popular music may be as potent in
    relationship to sexual behavior. First, exposure to popular music is
    rapidly increasing, whereas exposure to films is much lower, and
    exposure to television is decreasing.10 Also, music is known to be
    highly related to personal identity, and young people often model
    themselves after musical figures in terms of dress, behavior, and
    identity.20,31,32 Further studies with rigorous methodology will be

    792
    necessary to more carefully determine the relative potency of exposure
    to lyrics describing sex (both degrading and nondegrading) in music.
    The relationship between exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex
    and sexual experience held equally for both young men and women,
    which is consistent with the social cognitive theory.15 Lyrics describing
    degrading sex tend to portray sex as expected, direct, and
    uncomplicated. Such descriptions may offer scripts that adolescents
    feel compelled to play out, whether they are cast in the role of either the
    female or the male partner. However, lyrics describing nondegrading
    sex may portray more of the complications and complexities of sexual
    activity, making it less likely that young people will simply and blindly
    imitate what they hear. Similarly, repeated exposure to lyrics describing
    degrading sex in music may desensitize individuals to real-life violence
    and power differentials related to sex. This possibility is consistent with
    prior studies15,33–35 showing that media messages containing sexual
    aggression toward women tend to desensitize both men and women to
    real-life sexual aggression.
    These findings may have implications for sexual health education.
    Given that exposure is common to lyrics describing degrading sex (>14
    hours each week), sexual health lessons in school and in the community
    are likely to be dwarfed in young people’s minds by the lessons they
    learn through the lyrics’ representations of sex. It may be useful for
    health educators, health professionals, curriculum designers, parents,
    and community-group leaders to become familiar with the messages
    that young people receive about sex in their music, so that they can
    more effectively counter these messages. Innovative interventions and
    creative techniques are needed to encourage young people to think
    critically about the veracity of the sex-related messages they receive in
    their media and to understand the consequences of early sexual
    behavior. One way of doing this may be to include more media literacy
    —whereby young people learn to analyze and evaluate media
    portrayals of sex—in sexual health education.36–38
    It will be important to evolve research in this area to maintain pace with
    technologic advancement; for example, MP3 players now have video
    capability. This study focused only on lyrics. Although it is likely that
    those exposed to lyrics describing degrading sex similarly are exposed

    793
    to images depicting it, there may be value for future analyses to more
    carefully assess the relationship between audio and visual messages.
    This study was limited by its cross-sectional design. The associations
    found between measures of music exposure and sexual behavior do not
    imply causality. Although it is theoretically plausible that media
    exposure precedes sexual behavior, it is also possible that engagement
    in sexual behavior causes young people to seek out media with
    particular sexual messages. Thus, longitudinal research is needed to
    more completely explore these associations. This effort was also
    limited in that the estimated exposure to lyrics describing degrading sex
    was based on only one favorite artist. It is possible that an adolescent’s
    favorite artist does not represent total exposure, either because the
    adolescent lacks access to that artist’s music (for financial or other
    reasons) or because the adolescent listens to a wide variety of music.
    However, because adolescents generally listen to a narrow range of
    musical genres,10 it is likely that the content of an adolescent’s favorite
    artist is largely representative of his or her overall exposure. Finally, it
    should be noted that the coding of elements such as sexual behavior can
    be subjective. For this reason, this study employed a complex coding
    methodology and ensured that inter-rater agreement was adequate.
    In summary, adolescents are heavily exposed to lyrics describing
    degrading sex in popular music, and this exposure is associated with
    early sexual experience among them in an urban population of youth at
    high risk for risky sexual behavior. These results provide further
    support for the need for additional research and educational
    intervention in this area.
    Go to:

    Acknowledgments
    Dr. Primack is supported in part by a Physician Faculty Scholar Award
    from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; a career development
    award from the National Cancer Institute (K07-CA114315); and a grant
    from the Maurice Falk Foundation. The authors would like to thank
    Steven Martino, PhD, for his editorial input and his assistance with
    study design. Dr. Primack had full access to all the data in the study

    794
    and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of
    the data analysis.
    Go to:

    Footnotes
    No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.

    Go to:

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    7. Forhan SE, Gottlieb SL, Sternberg MR, et al. Prevalence of sexually
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    non-degrading sex in popular music: a content analysis. Public Health
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    13. Brown JD, L’Engle KL, Pardun CJ, Guo G, Kenneavy K, Jackson
    C. Sexy media matter: exposure to sexual content in music, movies,
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    behavior. Pediatrics. 2006;117:1018–27. [PubMed]
    14. Escobar-Chaves SL, Tortolero SR, Markham CM, Low BJ, Eitel P,
    Thickstun P. Impact of the media on adolescent sexual attitudes and
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    article] [PubMed]
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    25. Miller KS, Clark LF, Wendell DA, et al. Adolescent heterosexual
    experience: a new typology. J Adolesc Health. 1997;20:179–
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    26. Jackson C, Henriksen L, Foshee V. The authoritative parenting
    index: predicting health risk behaviors among children and
    adolescents. Health Educ Behav. 1998;25:319–37. [PubMed]
    27. Stephenson MT, Hoyle RH, Palmgreen P, Slater MD. Brief
    measures of sensation seeking for screening and large-scale
    surveys. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2003;72:279–86. [PubMed]
    28. Smith GM, Fogg CP. Psychological antecedents of teenage drug
    use. In: Simmons R, editor. Research in community and mental health:
    an annual compilation of research. Greenwich CT: JAI Press; 1979.
    29. Williams RA. Generalized ordered logit/partial proportional odds
    models for ordinal dependent variables. Stata Journal. 2006;6:58–82.
    30. Collins RL, Elliott MN, Berry SH, et al. Watching sex on television
    predicts adolescent initiation of sexual
    behavior. Pediatrics. 2004;114:e280–9. [PubMed]
    31. Keen AW. Using music as a therapy tool to motivate troubled
    adolescents. Soc Work Health Care. 2004;39:361–73. [PubMed]
    32. Took KJ, Weiss DS. The relationship between heavy metal and rap
    music and adolescent turmoil: real or
    artifact? Adolescence. 1994;29:613–21. [PubMed]
    33. Krafka C, Linz D, Donnerstein E, Penrod S. Women’s reactions to
    sexually aggressive mass media depictions. Violence Against
    Women. 1997;3:149–81. [PubMed]
    34. Linz DG, Donnerstein E, Penrod S. Effects of long-term exposure
    to violent and sexually degrading depictions of women. J Pers Soc
    Psychol. 1988;55:758–68. [PubMed]
    35. Mullin CR, Linz D. Desensitization and resensitization to violence
    against women: effects of exposure to sexually violent films on

    797
    judgments of domestic violence victims. J Pers Soc
    Psychol. 1995;69:449–59.[PubMed]
    36. Thoman E. Skills and strategies for media education. Malibu CA:
    The Center for Media Literacy; 2003.
    37. Buckingham D. Media education: literacy, learning, and
    contemporary culture. Malden MA: Blackwell Publishing; 2003.
    38. Primack BA, Gold MA, Switzer GE, Hobbs R, Land SR, Fine MJ.
    Development and validation of a smoking media literacy scale. Arch
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    Source:- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3008595/

    Teenage sexual behaviour: attitudes towards and


    declared sexual activity.
    Burack R1.
    Author information
    Abstract
    Although the teenage pregnancy rates in the UK are falling in the 16 to 19 year old range,
    they are still rising in the 13 to 15 year olds. Overall, they remain one of the highest within
    Western Europe. Teenagers continue to present a challenge to the health services due to
    the increase in their sexual risk taking behaviour, the earlier age at which they are starting
    sexual activity and a reluctance to utilise services available to them. In an attempt to develop
    current services and make them more 'user friendly', a sexual health needs assessment was
    carried out on teenagers, part of which looked at their attitudes towards risk taking sexual
    behaviour and their declared sexual behaviour. A quantitative survey, using a questionnaire
    in schools, was answered by 1500 pupils aged between 13 and 18 years old, and showed
    that the majority of teenagers had declared some form of sexual contact with a partner with a
    degree of sexual activity increasing with age. Twenty per cent of 13 year olds reported that
    they had already had either full or oral sexual intercourse with a partner. Feeling peer
    pressure, not knowing the facts about sexual risk taking and a declared intent that would
    increase the likelihood of putting themselves or others at risk sexually were significantly more
    likely in the younger teenage boys surveyed. This study confirms that there remain many
    different factors involved in teenagers' decision-making processes, about their developing
    attitudes towards sex and their resultant behaviour. Despite a lack of maturity, such opinions
    and attitudes are bringing about definite views and sexual behaviour patterns in teenagers
    as young as 12 or 13 years old who are becoming fully sexually active. In particular teenage

    798
    boys are becoming fully sexually active at a younger age than the girls and are taking risks in
    doing so. They are being influenced by peer pressure, condoning promiscuity and are
    declaring the intent to practice unsafe sexual intercourse. Their level of maturity would
    appear to be inadequate for them to comprehend the implications and consequences of their
    actions. This study has shown a need for developing adequate education and provision of
    sexual health services for teenagers, particularly for teenage boys, and that this may go
    some way in helping to address the imbalances found.

    PIP:
    A needs assessment conducted by the Barking and Havering Health Authority (England)
    focused on the sexual attitudes and behaviors of British adolescents. 1500 young people 13-
    18 years old completed a questionnaire. 78% of respondents reported some form of sexual
    contact with a partner and 23% had experienced sexual intercourse. 38% of male
    respondents and 11% of females indicated that their peers pressured them to regard sex as
    the most important thing in a relationship. 10% of teens indicated they would be
    embarrassed to suggest condom use to a partner and 37% were concerned about appearing
    clumsy when using a condom. 23% of males and 9% of females claimed they would be
    willing to have sexual intercourse without use of a condom, despite awareness of the risks
    involved. Sexually active youth under 16 years old were significantly less likely to use
    condoms than their older counterparts. Although these findings suggest that teenage boys
    are at especially high risk of sexual promiscuity and non-use of contraception, service
    provision remains focused on teenage girls.

    Source:- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10023100

    Tutorial: Impulsiveness / Disinhibition

    WHAT IS IMPULSIVENESS?

    An individual who is impulsive has difficulty inhibiting strong responses, desires, or emotions,
    stopping an ongoing activity, and inhibiting competing responses during delays or quiet times in
    activities. Everybody has trouble inhibiting impulses from time to time – certainly anybody who
    has ever been on a diet recognizes impulse-control problems as the powerful force that they
    can be. Young children are perhaps the best example of impulsiveness or lack of inhibition.
    Toddlers, for example, explore everything in their environment regardless of danger to
    themselves or vulnerability of what they are exploring. Their environment needs to be strictly
    controlled to keep them safe and under control.

    Adequate impulse control implies that an individual is able to control observable behavior, as
    well as thoughts and emotions. Individuals who are impulsive have difficulty inhibiting their
    emotions and have difficulty quieting their emotions when they occur. For example, a student

    799
    who lacks impulse control may react to teasing from others with anger followed by
    uncontrolled escalating anger. These poorly controlled inner emotions then easily lead to
    poorly controlled, impulsive reactive behavior.

    Individuals who are impulsive also have difficulty controlling their impulsive thinking. These
    impulsive thoughts lead to “one-stop shopping” in academic work. For example, a student may
    respond to a teacher’s question or test item with the first thought that enters her mind, only
    to belatedly consider the long-term outcomes of the approach taken.

    Impulse control problems can lead to many other difficulties. For example, impulsive
    individuals have difficulty formulating goals (other than immediate goals), creating plans to
    achieve the goals, and implementing the plans. They often have difficulty deferring
    gratification, accepting some small immediate reward rather than waiting for a larger pay-off.
    They often have severe organizational problems, both organizing their things (e.g., items in
    their desk at school) and organizing their thoughts. Their expressive language – spoken and
    written – might be rambling and disconnected, with no logical order. They may have a weak
    sense of time, not recognizing, for example, that the test on Friday is coming quickly, requiring
    action now.

    Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common disability diagnoses
    in childhood. The most highly regarded theory of ADHD, advanced by Russell Barkley, is that
    impulse control problems – difficulties inhibiting emotions, thoughts, and behaviors – lie at the
    core of the disorder. Impulse control problems lead to other problems with self-regulation: (1)
    difficulty regulating emotions, arousal, and motivation, (2) difficulty organizing thoughts and
    behavior, (3) difficulty directing oneself with internal speech, and (4) difficulty holding items
    in mind long enough to reflect on them (working memory).

    WHY IS IMPULSIVENESS IMPORTANT FOR MANY STUDENTS AFTER TBI?

    Many students with TBI had a pre-injury diagnosis of ADHD. It may have been their
    impulsiveness or high activity level that placed them at risk for their injury. These children
    typically experience an increase in their ADHD symptoms after the injury.

    However, even without a pre-injury diagnosis of ADHD, many students with TBI have symptoms
    very similar to those with a diagnosis of ADHD. They have difficulty inhibiting thoughts,
    emotions, and behaviors; they are disorganized in their thinking and acting; they have
    difficulty regulating themselves with self-talk, and they have difficulty modifying their
    behavior in response consequences (rewards and punishments). These problems are associated
    with damage to the frontal lobes. Students with impulse-control problems appear to be
    immature relative to their age and relative to their other abilities.

    WHAT ARE THE MAIN THEMES IN INSTRUCTION AND SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
    WHO ARE IMPULSIVE?

    Understanding the problem

    As always, the first task for teachers and parents is to correctly understand the problem. If
    neuropsychological testing or systematic real-world exploration reveals impulse-control
    problems related to the brain injury, then the following intervention and support options
    should be considered.

    800
    Pharmacologic Intervention

    The psycho-stimulant medications often used with students with ADHD may be useful for
    students with impulse control symptoms after TBI. However, thoughtful consideration of all
    brain injury related environmental control strategies and other types of medications should be
    considered prior to a decision to treat the ADHD-like symptoms with medications.

    Environmental Control Strategies

    A. “Child Proofing” Strategies: Much of the intervention for students who are impulsive is
    environmental, that is, teachers and parents control the environmental events outside of the
    student to reduce the likelihood of negative impulsive behavior. These environmental controls
    can be understood as aspects of “child proofing” the environment, much as one “child proofs”
    the environment for the safety of a toddler. These environmental modifications should be
    understood as analogous to the ramps, lifts, and the like needed for people in wheelchairs.
    Carefully organizing the environment is not “coddling” the student, but rather implementing a
    procedure based on recognition of a genuine neurological need. In a school setting, child
    proofing the environment has the following components:

    1. Childproof the physical environment: Make sure the students are not exposed to dangerous
    situations; make sure that they are not overly tempted by readily accessible and highly
    desirable things that predictably distract them from the task at hand or elicit impulsive or
    negative behavior.

    2. Childproof the activity environment: Make sure that the students are capable of doing all
    that is expected and requested of them. If the adult is the student’s collaborator (i.e., partner
    or team member – versus tester or drill master), then the student will always be better able to
    complete the task. This approach can lead to students becoming more independent as they
    gain competence and confidence in completing a given activity.

    3. Childproof the social environment: Make sure that students are with other students with
    whom the are reasonably compatible. Prevent social interactions that are threatening or cause
    agitation. Make sure that informed and supportive adults are with the students during
    predictably difficult times and tasks.

    4. Childproof the expectation environment: Make sure that expectations for the student’s
    performance and participation are appropriately adjusted relative to abilities, stressors,
    moods, illness, tough times, and the like. For example, parents of two-year olds try hard to
    make these adjustments – and it is important in school as well, in the case of students who are
    particularly immature in self-regulation.

    5. Childproof the known stressors, such as transitions and changes in routine: Students with
    impulse-control weakness have difficulty handling transitions (even apparently simple
    transitions from, say, snack back to work) and expected as well as unexpected changes in
    routine. Try to insulate the student from such identified stressors by careful planning and
    providing needed preparation and special support during transitions and at times of change in
    routine.

    B. Behavior Management Strategies: Several critical behavior management guidelines apply to


    children who have impulse-control problems.

    1. Reliance on “Antecedent Control” Rather than Consequences of Behaviors: Students who


    are significantly impulsive do not respond effectively to behavior management systems that

    801
    rely on consequences. There are two reasons for this ineffectiveness in students with TBI. First,
    the student’s impulses typically over-ride any behavior management associations that have
    been created by previous rewards and punishments. Second, the part of the brain that enables
    humans to control their impulses (“orbito-prefrontal cortex”) is the same part of the brain that
    enables humans to learn from consequences or benefit from feedback. Therefore, behavior
    management systems that rely on learning from consequences predictably fail for these
    students. The student might “know what to do”, but nevertheless not do it. That is,
    impulsiveness creates a breakdown between knowing and doing.

    Teachers and parents should not frustrate themselves and the student by relying on
    consequences to effectively shape the behavior of these students. The golden rule should be “a
    pound of prevention for every ounce of reaction.” [See   Tutorials on Positive Behavior
    Supports; Behavior Management: Prevention Strategies]

    2. Immediate Consequences: If consequences are used in the management of behavior, the


    consequences need to be immediate since (1) the student’s attention and self-control problems
    may make it impossible to control behavior in anticipation of a distant reward and (2) the
    student’s impairments in memory may limit longer term recall of impulsive behaviors. It is
    unreasonable, for example, to expect an impulsive student to change behavior with the threat
    of losing free time later in the week or at the end of the day. The time delay is too great for
    this to have an impact. Among other problems, the student’s weak orientation to time and
    long-term memory difficulties render these consequences relatively useless.

    3. Obvious “Salient” Consequences: If consequences are used in the management of


    behavior, they should be clear, obvious, and immediate. For example, tangible rewards would
    be more likely to have an impact than verbal praise alone. For students who are both impulsive
    and hyperactive, activity rewards – being allowed to engage in special physical activity – should
    be used liberally.

    4. “A Pound of Positive for Every Ounce of Negative”: When consequences are used in


    behavior management, adults should try to ensure that the consequences are largely rewards
    for positive behavior versus punishments for negative behavior. For example, students should
    receive intense praise for raising their hands as opposed to punishment (e.g., losing points) for
    talking out of turn. Emphasis on the negative tends to breed greater negativity and a growing
    sense of self as incompetent. It has been shown that public reprimands for negative classroom
    behavior increase rather than decrease that behavior in the case of impulsive students.

    C. Other Environmental Management Strategies: In addition to the five “child proofing”


    strategies listed above, there are other environmental management strategies that might be
    useful in preventing undesirable impulsive behaviors:

    1. Well organized schedules and routines: Both at school and at home, schedules and routines
    should be as consistent as possible. Schedules may need to be represented by ordered pictures,
    or written words embedded into personal organizers. At home, the schedule should be
    organized around homework, chores, family times (e.g., meals), and the like. Students who are
    impulsive generally organize their behavior more effectively when the world around them is
    organized effectively. At the same time, too much routine may cause boredom and impulsive
    “novelty-seeking” activity for stimulation. Thus routines should be accompanied by adequate
    reward activities, humor, and other forms of valued activities to prevent boredom.

    2. Prompt Cards: Prompt cards reminding the student what to do and when to do it may be
    needed as a substitute for the “voice in the head” reminder system that highly impulsive
    students lack. These prompt cards can be controlled by the adult (teacher or parent) or
    controlled by the student as a system of self-cuing.

    802
    3. Teacher-Directed Lessons: Learning activities in which the teacher plays an active role in
    engaging the students are easier for impulsive students than quiet seat work or other student
    directed activities. The more interesting the learning projects and materials, the better. When
    self-directed seat work is required, teachers should check in regularly with impulsive students
    to ensure that they remain on task. During lectures, ask the impulsive student questions as a
    preset to listen for specific information.

    4. Reasonably Fast-Paced Tasks and Redirection of the Student: Students who are impulsive
    and distractable generally perform better when their tasks are fairly fast paced (consistent
    with their processing abilities). Pauses, down times, and low stimulation times are often
    occasions to drift off or engage in impulsive behavior. Directed refocusing is necessary when an
    impulsive student becomes distracted during a task.

    5. Clear, Repeated, and Pictured Instructions: Impulsive students tend also to be


    disorganized. Very clear and repeated instructions are necessary. Instructions may also be
    written and possibly also graphically represented (e.g., photos or symbols).

    6. Breaking Large Tasks into a Series of Small Steps: Impulsive students easily get “lost” in
    large tasks, resulting in an increase in off-task impulsive activity. The students do better with a
    series of small tasks with clear markers of completion for each step.

    7. Careful Maintenance of Topics: Impulsive, easily distracted students have difficulty


    following disorganized conversations, lectures, and the like In classroom or home discussions,
    teachers and parents should try to maintain topics rather than jumping from topic to topic.
    Topic shifts should be clearly announced ahead of time. In group discussion, provide some sort
    of physical “talking stick” that gets passed from speaker to speaker and indicates who should
    be talking at any given time. This helps prevent talking out of turn. Parents and teachers need
    to provide direct feedback to the student when he goes off topic and provide links back to the
    original topic to help the student refocus.

    8. Clear Transition Routines: [See   Tutorial on Transition Routines]

    9. Appropriate Levels of Stimulation: Some students who are impulsive and easily distracted
    do best in quiet, low stimulation environments. Other students may do better in more
    stimulating environments since these students have more difficulty with the internal
    distractions when placed in quiet environments. These student may attend and learn more
    effectively in familiar, but more stimulating environments. Identifying the appropriate level of
    stimulation may require some exploration.

    10. Peer Interaction or Teacher’s Assistant Roles: It is often useful to engage impulsive
    students positively with brief peer interaction activities during lessons or with teacher helper
    activities.

    11. Activity Breaks: Students who are impulsive are also often energetic, needing regular
    physical activity. Transitions between activities are good times to engage in some sort of
    physical activity to discharge energy and get ready for the next activity. Frequent breaks may
    be useful. Impulsive students should be given structured physical activities to complete during
    these breaks.

    12 Choices: For students who are both impulsive and oppositional, ensuring that they have
    some choices to make within their school and home routines is essential. Providing two or three
    options to choose from is often helpful for these students.

    803
    13. Organization for Large Projects: Work with the student to map out large projects into do-
    able steps, starting early and setting small deadlines towards task completion. Graphic
    organizers are very helpful in allowing students to monitor their progress in completing agreed
    upon tasks. [See   Tutorial on Organization; Graphic Organizers]

    Student Self-Management Strategies: Change the Student Versus the


    Environment

    The long-term goals for all students are not simply compliance, attention to task, and efficient
    learning. To be successful adults, students need to learn how to regulate their own behavior
    and learning without ever-present adult support. They need to become self-regulated. Thus, in
    addition to environmental strategies, home and school environments also need routines
    designed to allow a gradual increase in the student’s responsibility for self-management or
    self-regulation. As always, adults must thoughtfully identify appropriate expectations and
    levels of responsibility that can be given to the student at any given time.

    1. Self-Regulatory Routines/Scripts: See Self-Regulation/Executive Function Routines for


    information about self-regulatory self-talk and the adult-child scripts of interaction that lead
    to self-regulatory self-talk by the student. Of particular importance for impulsive students are
    the “Ready/Not Ready” script and the general “Goal-Obstacle-Plan-Do-Review” (GOPDR) script.
    A habit of asking “Am I ready?” helps to block impulsive decision making and behavior. The
    general GOPDR script helps to create a habit of planful behavior as well as self-monitoring.

    2. Self-Organized Tasks: Starting in the early elementary years and extending through high
    school, adults should engage students in collaboratively breaking large tasks into parts that can
    be organized effectively. Gradually over time the responsibility for organizing tasks should be
    turned over to the student. Logging of steps to complete each project should be written in an
    organizer and reviewed with the student to help the student gain confidence in organizing and
    following through on component steps in a project.

    3. Self-Imposed Deadlines: As with general organization of their tasks and activities, impulsive
    students should increasingly be given responsibility for creating small deadlines for when the
    steps in a task need to be accomplished. An organizer can be used to monitor the steps that
    need to be accomplished and their completion of the steps.

    4. Self-Monitoring Systems: Both at home and at school, adults should help impulsive students
    to create and use self-monitoring systems. These systems include checklists for keeping track
    of homework or household chores and organizers for long term tasks. [See   Tutorial
    on Self-Monitoring.]

    5. Self-Stimulating Activities That Do Not Disturb Others: Impulsive students who are also
    hyperactive tend to be physically active and may move or create disturbances for other
    students. However, movements may be necessary for the impulsive student to remain focused.
    Thus movement activities need to be identified that do not disturb others. For example,
    tapping a pencil that has a foam cover on the eraser end may satisfy the active student without
    bothering others.

    6. Self-Imposed “Cool Down”: Many students who are impulsive have difficulty controlling
    their emotions. Thus they may become over-emotional in school, leading to aggressive or other
    challenging behaviors. These students need help recognizing the first signs of rising emotion or
    agitation (called “triggers”), and learn to gradually take responsibility for then removing
    themselves from the potentially difficult situation. Many schools create opportunities for “self-

    804
    time-out” for these students. Initially, parents and teachers may need to be more active in
    alerting a student about their rising emotions and recommend “cool-down time” for the
    student.

    Written by Mark Ylvisaker, Ph.D. with the assistance of Mary Hibbard, Ph.D. and Timothy
    Feeney, Ph.D.

    Source:-
    http://www.projectlearnet.org/tutorials/impulsiveness_disinhibition.html

    LEARNet
    A program of the Brain Injury Association of New York State, and funded by the Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.

    Copyright 2006, by
    The Brain Injury Association of New York State
    10 Colvin Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 - Phone: (518) 459-7911 - Fax: (518) 482-5285

    805
    Decreasing Impulsive Behaviors in
    the Classroom Elem
    ADHD in School: Self-Control
    and Focus
     Behaviors that are rewarded tend to re-occur.
     Reward and Promote Self-Control, never reward impulsivity.
     Students with ADHD tend to act impulsively, not thinking about the
    consequences first.

    Dealing With Impulsive


    Behaviors in ADHD Students
    One of the hallmarks of children with attention deficits is the tendency to act
    impulsively (acting before thinking through the ramifications of behavior).
    Behaviorally, this manifests itself in a lack of understanding of cause and effect.
    Research also suggests that these students can often verbalize the rules in place
    for behavior but have difficulty internalizing them and translating them into
    thoughtful behavior. Difficulties in delaying gratification also add to the
    impulsivity. Some clinicians believe that this behavioral disinhibition (poor
    regulation and inhibition of behavior), rather than their ability to pay attention, is
    the primary manifestation of attention deficits and is more likely to discriminate
    these children from others.

      By having students think “out loud” when they are problem solving, the
    teacher will gain insights into their reasoning style and the process will slow
    them down before they respond impulsively. This will provide information
    about how they “see the world” and enable the teacher to begin to restructure
    inaccurate perceptions. Train your student’s teachers and other adults how to
    do this to provide an on going technique in the classroom setting, where
    critical incidents often occur.
      Quite often, students will continue to have difficulty with certain types of
    interactions on a regular basis; difficulty in taking turns, over interpreting
    others’ remarks as hostile, personalizing others’ actions excessively, and

    806
    misreading social cues. With the help of your student, his teacher, and his
    trusted peers, common problematic themes can be identified. Role play
    hypothetical interactions involving these behaviors, preferably with supportive
    peers, identifying and practicing positive alternative responses.
      Have your student practice these responses during the school day and
    have him and others give you feedback on their success. Identifying critical
    incidents that occur during the day will provide insights for program planning.
      The technique of “Stop Think Talk Do” is central to many cognitive
    behavioral interventions for students with attentional teaches the student how
    to “stop” before acting impulsively, “think” about the cause and effect
    relationships of his intended behavior, “say” or verbalize to themselves or
    others what they will do, and “do” the chosen behavior. Again, the purpose of
    the technique is to slow down response.
      Encourage thoughtful responding and decrease impulsivity by waiting 10
    to 15 seconds to receive responses during whole group instruction.
      Keep the classroom behavior rules simple and clear. Have the class agree
    on what the rules should be. Define and review classroom rules each day.
    Implement a classroom behavior management system. Actively reinforce
    desired classroom behaviors.
      Use self monitoring and self reinforcement on task behavior during
    independent work time. Use a kitchen timer to indicate periods of intense
    independent word and reinforce the class for appropriate behavior during this
    period. Start with brief periods (5 10 minutes) and gradually increase the
    period as the class demonstrates success.
      When necessary, develop contracts with an individual student and her/his
    parents to reinforce a few specific behaviors. Set hourly, daily, weekly, or
    monthly goals depending on the reinforcement needs of the specific student.
    Provide frequent feedback on the student’s progress toward these goals.
    Provide a changing array of backup rewards or privileges so that students do
    not “burn out” on a particular system. For example, students can earn tickets
    for a daily or weekly raffle for the display of positive behavior.
      To improve out of the classroom behavior, allow the class to earn a reward
    based on he compliments they receive on their behavior from other teachers,
    lunchroom staff, playground aides and principals. Avoid giving the whole class
    negative consequences based on the ADHD child’s behavior. The ADHD child,
    as well as the whole class, can benefit from implementation of social skills
    curriculum for the entire class.
      Modeling and requiring the children to use a systematic method of talking
    through classroom conflicts and problems can be particularly valuable for the
    ADHD child to implement this, teachers are referred to the literature on
    cognitive behavioral approaches to developing the child’s self talk and problem
    solving.
      Praise specific behaviors. For example, “I like how you wrote down all your
    assignments correctly,” rather than “Good boy!” Use visual and auditory cues
    as behavioral reminders. For example, have two large jars at the front of the

    807
    room, with one filled with marbles or some other object. When the class is
    behaving appropriately, move some marbles to the other jar and let the
    students know that when the empty jar is filled they can earn a reward.
      Frequently move about the room so that you can maximize you degree of
    proximity control.
      When appropriate, give students choices about several different activities
    that could choose to work on one at a time.
      With students who can be quite volatile and may initially refuse negative
    consequences (such as refusing to go to time out), set a kitchen timer for a
    brief period (1 2 minutes) after refusal has occurred. Explain to the child that
    the child can use the two minutes to decide if she/he will go to time out on
    her/his own or if more serious consequence must be imposed. Several
    experienced teachers insist this method has successfully reduced the extent to
    which they have had to physically enforce certain negative consequences with
    students and seems to de escalate the situation.

    DOUGLAS COWAN, PSY.D., MFT

    Source:- https://addinschool.com/decreasing-impulsive-behaviors-adhd/

    San Fran school wastes class


    time teaching students the do’s
    and dont’s of social media
    DECEMBER 5, 2013
    BY VICTOR SKINNER
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    SAN FRANCISCO – Students at San Francisco’s Abraham Lincoln High School are learning
    life lessons about social media.

    808
    The school is using curriculum created by the non-
    profit Common Sense Media to teach students about “disinhibition, reputation, and
    anonymity” as it applies to their social media activities, KQEB reports.

    “You want the kids in the homerooms to start thinking about what it means to be
    disinhibited,” said Lincoln counselor Ian Enriquez, who led a one-day workshop on the social
    media program.

    (Note: “Disinhibited” is a high-brow way of saying “impulsive.”)

    The idea is that students should learn that what they do online has consequences, and they
    should think about what they’re posting, rather than acting impulsively.

    “Enriquez, who counsels students on health, racism, homophobia, and other topics that
    aren’t purely academic, believes the district should institute a mandatory social media
    curriculum. Enriquez says cyberbullying and viral rumors have been a problem ever since
    kids posted on that once-popular site MySpace,” KQEB reports.

    “When I started at this high school 10 years ago, almost every school fight I was aware of
    occurred because of something that happened in the virtual world,” Enriquez said.

    Other area schools are already implementing semester-long courses on social media
    etiquette, the news site reports.

    Parents should ask themselves whether such coursework is really the wisest use of school
    time. It seems obvious students have a limited amount of time in the classroom each day,
    and most schools are already struggling as it is to educate students on core subjects like
    math, science, and language arts.

    And data shows teachers are having a hard time with the basics. The Program for
    International Student Assessment released results for 2012 this week that show U.S. 15-
    year-olds continue to slide farther and farther behind their peers in other developed
    countries.

    809
    With the national Common Core learning standards going into effect across the country,
    many education advocates believe the problem will only get worse.

    Even the local United Educators of San Francisco – the local teachers union – understands
    there’s more important work to be done than educating students on how to behave online.

    “All students should learn to swim, but should it be the school’s responsibility to teach them
    swimming?” union president Dennis Kelly questioned, according to KQEB.

    Source:- http://eagnews.org/san-fran-school-wastes-class-time-
    teaching-students-the-dos-and-donts-of-social-media/

    Teachers resign from an Upper Hutt school after being


    sexually harassed by students



    FAIRFAX NZ
    St Patrick's College, Silverstream rector Gerard Tully informed parents on Thursday that two female
    teachers who were filmed inappropriately by four year 9 boys had resigned. (File photo)

    Two teachers have resigned from St Patrick's College, Silverstream, after being sexually harassed by
    students, and it is understood that legal action is being taken.

    A letter sent to parents of the Upper Hutt school from rector Gerard Tully on Thursday morning said the two
    female staff members decided to resign as a result of the "considerable distress" they experienced.

    810
    Four year 9 boys were suspended from the school in early March after filming the teachers inappropriately,
    in a case the school described at the time as "most distressing".

    SUPPLIED
    Education Minister Hekia Parata said she understood legal action was being taken in respect to the case,
    and that she would expect the school's board of trustees to be concerned. (File photo)

    Education Minister Hekia Parata said on Thursday afternoon: "My understanding is that there is some legal
    action in respect of this case, and I expect that the board of the school will be concerned, and will be taking
    responsible measures." 

    READ MORE:
    * Year 9s at St Patrick's Silverstream suspended over sexual harassment of staff
    * Suspension lifted for St Pat's Silverstream boys who filmed teachers inappropriately
    Tully said in a statement: "As a result of the considerable distress experienced by two of our women staff
    members from an incident of sexual harassment in February, they have each decided that they are unable
    to continue employment at the college and have resigned.

    "We acknowledge, with thanks, their dedication and work in our community. We remain committed to
    developing within all our students the appreciation of, and respect for, the inherent dignity of each person.

    "In our particular environment, this specifically includes the appropriate and respectful treatment of women
    and girls."

    A parent with a son at the school said the resignations were a terrible move, while the boys who harassed
    the teachers remained at school.

    "I am gutted that the school has shown our sons you can get away with sexually harassing their teachers."
    Ad Feedback
    The boys' suspensions were lifted days later, and they were allowed to return to school.

    811
    Sexual abuse survivor and victim advocate Louise Nicholas said it sounded as if the teachers had been put
    in a position in which "they felt they had to leave because of what their students had done".

    She described the situation as a "hugely sad set of circumstances", and said the teachers' departure was a
    massive loss to the school and the community.

    If they had stayed, the women would have had to face almost daily the students who harassed them. "There
    would be no trust in these children – they would feel extremely uncomfortable."

    She hoped that, if they wanted to keep teaching, the women would find roles elsewhere, and that the
    Ministry of Education would help with that.

    At the time, Tully said the school's board of trustees discipline sub-committee had decided it was best the
    boys remained at the school, and "affect positive change" by working with them.

    New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) president Lorraine Kerr said she did not know the
    details of the case, but board decisions were never taken lightly.

     There was a rigorous process that all boards needed to follow, including reporting back to the Ministry of
    Education.

    "What most boards try to do is the right thing by the students and the rest of the school. But we would hope
    stand-downs, exclusions and expulsions are not used willy-nilly for boards to get rid of kids."

    Schools should instead look at acknowledging why the students were in trouble in the first place, and think
    about what they could do to help them, remembering they had an obligation to every other student in the
    school. They also had an obligation to staff, Kerr said. 

    Post Primary Teachers Association president Jack Boyle said while he could not speak to the facts of the
    case, it was critical teachers were protected and supported while teaching. Schools also needed to be safe
    places for students.

    He said it would be an incredibly difficult situation for the school to be in, and he hoped the young people
    involved had had the learning they needed following their actions. 
     - Stuff

    Source:- http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/91545627/teachers-
    resign-from-upper-hutt-school-after-being-sexually-harassed-by-
    students

    Teachers suffer sexual harassment


    and rape threats from pupils as
    young as SIX
    By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 
    UPDATED: 10:21 BST, 16 August 2010

    812
     

     

     

     

    33
    View comments

    Schoolchildren as young as six are subjecting teachers to a shocking level of


    sexual abuse - from leering and sexual comments to groping and threats of rape.

    New figures reveal that hundreds of teachers have been touched inappropriately
    or propositioned by pupils, and other reports say that children have fondled
    themselves in class in a bid to embarrass or intimidate their teacher.

    It comes as police reports reveal that children - also as young as six in some cases
    - are being arrested for serious crimes including assault and battery and robbery.

    The increasing incidence of children sexual harassing their teachers has been
    highlighted in private logs kept by local councils, which have been made available
    through the Freedom Of Information Act.

    813
    Harassment: While the majority of classrooms are relatively trouble-free, new figures
    show that teachers are being touched, threatened and intimidated

    In the youngest case a six-year-old boy made sexual remarks to a 49-year-old


    teacher  in the West Midlands, while an eight-year-old boy licked a teacher's leg
    and grabbed her breast at a school in Cambridge.

    A 16-year-old boy announced to his class in Scotland that he was going to rape his
    teacher, while other female teachers have complained about being touched on the
    bottom or breast - with one even saying that she was followed into the lavatory.

    It is not always male pupils making sexual advances,

    In one case a schoolgirl flashed her underwear at a male teacher and then
    proceeded to 'massage herself in a sexual manner' in front of him.

    These incidents were only recorded in 45 of the 206 local authorities, and
    education experts fear the true level of sexual harassment is much greater.

    814
    Shocking figures: Police say children younger that ten are committing serious crimes
    (photo posed by models)

    Police have revealed that children aged ten or younger have been arrested for
    crimes including arson, assault and battery - including a six-year-old arrested for
    robbery.

    Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act by Bedfordshire Police


    show 50 arrests of children aged ten or below since 2007.

    Of the total arrests, 42 of the children were aged ten including a child arrested for
    arson with intent to endanger life in 2008.

    Another ten-year-old was arrested for being in possession of a knife or sharply


    pointed article in 2008.

    So far this year two ten-year-olds have been arrested for assault occasioning
    actual bodily harm, one for breach of bail conditions and another for assault by
    beating or battery.

    815
    There have been a further three counts of theft charges this year involving the
    arrests of two ten-year-olds and a nine-year old.

    The youngest offender was a six-year-old arrested this year for robbery. A ten-
    year-old was arrested in 2008 for the same offence.

    The most common arrest since 2007 has been for criminal damage to property
    valued under £5,000 where 11 children aged ten have been arrested.  

    Three nine-year-olds and two ten-year-olds were arrested for breach of the peace
    in 2008 and an eight-year-old was arrested in 2007 for an attempted theft from a
    shop.   

    The greatest number of arrests - 22 children - occurred in 2008.

    The figures give no indication of the specifics of each case or how many children
    were arrested.  A child under the age of ten cannot be prosecuted for a criminal
    offence.

    A spokesman for The Children's Society, which thinks the age of criminal
    responsibility is too low, said they were campaigning for a new approach to justice
    for children.

    He said: 'We are calling on the Government to support the Youth Justice Board in
    promoting a dedicated youth justice strategy for children and young people that
    takes into account their special developmental needs and circumstances.

    'We have particular concerns about cuts in local government spending which could
    lead to the closure of innovative community schemes aimed at reducing youth
    offending.'  

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303426/Teachers-suffering-sexual-harassment-rape-threats-pupils-young-
    6.html#ixzz4eBiIlYWX 
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
    Source:- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1303426/Teachers-suffering-sexual-harassment-rape-threats-pupils-young-
    6.html

    Examples of Student-to-Teacher Harassment in the


    Traditional Classroom

    816
    Our survey asked respondents to describe conflicts they have had with students
    within the past two years. Below is a sample of the numerous stories we
    received. The text has been edited to avoid reference to specific persons or
    institutions and to enhance clarity.

    I had a very driven Asian male student in my class. He received a B+ on his


    research paper. During exam week he came to my office, which was deserted
    except for us. He demanded to know why he had a B+ for the course. We went
    back and forth for nearly an hour. He said, 'Well, why is it that in my other
    classes (math and science related courses) I'm getting Cs and Ds but I'm not
    angry with those instructors?" I answered that possibly it was because he saw
    those courses as more objective than [this one], but thinking it over later I
    wondered whether it was because his other instructors were male, but I don't
    know. At this point the student appeared very agitated and angry and I felt it
    best to move to a standing position because of the way he was hovering almost
    threateningly over me. . . . [As he was leaving the student] said, 'One of these
    days I'm going to come back and I'm going to kill you.'

    A very large male student was unhappy with his grade on a paper; he stood
    very close to me, bent down close to my face, and proceeded to speak (yell)
    loudly and threateningly. I very firmly told him that I would not discuss his
    paper grade until the next class day when he had had a chance to think about
    the paper and my comments. When he came to my office hours after the next
    class day, he very firmly closed my office door (I usually leave it open) then
    pulled his chair up close to mine. He was angry and attempting to blame me for
    his grade--'you said you wanted . . .,' etc.

    A male student tried to get me to change a grade on his essay by shouting,


    insulting, and physically intimidating me by standing too close, leaning towards
    me, and waving his arms. When I reported him to my supervisor and the
    professor (male) spoke to the student, the student exhibited none of the above
    behavior.

    I've had one clear cut case of harassment from a male student who openly
    resented the course content (we critiqued sexism in advertising, for example)
    and announced his resentment of women. In a private conference with me, he
    described his hatred of his mother, on whom he blamed all his problems, and as
    he described his feelings he invaded my personal space, raised his voice, and
    claimed he was so angry with me he could slap me.

    I was teaching basic writing, an average class. I ran into a colleague who was
    younger, shorter, quieter than myself. She said she had this student in her class

    817
    who was thoroughly obnoxious and sexist to her. She was going to have him
    moved. The university moves students in these situations at the student's
    convenience to another class at the same time. He ended up in my class. I
    thought, I'm older, taller, more experienced, have a louder voice. I will deal w/
    him better than she could. Boy, was I wrong. From day one this guy was
    belligerent and obnoxious. His fellow students learned quickly to dislike him,
    That was a mercy. He created in instant community in my class. I spoke to the
    composition coordinator. He sent a male faculty member to speak to this guy
    before my class one day. We both decided he needed to be called on the carpet
    by someone other than me. He ignored my authority, so we sent someone we
    thought he wouldn't ignore. It didn't help. I was ill one day and my husband
    took my classes. This guy had the gall to make all sorts of sexual remarks and
    jokes about me in class that day, until my husband announced that he was my
    husband. Then this guy apologized profusely. What made things worse was that
    he never turned in any work. He would come to my office and act like he had
    been a bad son and beg my forgiveness-- this lasted for 3 weeks, until he
    realized that I wasn't buying it. Then he became more belligerent in class.
    Finally, I had a conference with him and I told him I was dropping him from
    the class because he could only fail if he remained. The following morning
    before class, he showed up at my office and begged my forgiveness. When I
    refused, he got angry and threatened me. A teacher next door called the police
    and then came out and announced that the police were on their way. He left.
    The police suggested that they accompany me to class. They did. He was there.
    They removed him. In a subsequent interview w/ the dean, he complained that I
    hated men. The dean commiserated w/ him and explained that the university
    was full of angry women, so he'd better keep his head down. There, that's my
    story.

    A male student called me "stupid" in class and told me, in front of other
    students, that he only comes to class because I am pretty. The semester
    culminated when he described an attack/rape of his English teacher.

    A homework assignment from a student named 'Fu' was turned in, and in
    another color somebody had added to his name 'ck (my name)'.

    A group of young men continually gossiped together at the back of the class.
    When I asked them to share it with the class, they laughed raucously. After
    class, a female student told me they regularly discussed what I looked like
    under my dress.

    818
    A student wrote and handed in a journal entry that was sexually explicit and
    directed specifically toward me (detailed what he would like to do with/to
    various parts of my anatomy).

     While 60 percent of the female teachers who responded to our survey


    described experiences with student-to-teacher harassment, many other
    respondents said that they didn't believe student to teacher harassment could
    happen because teachers had more "power" than students. Taking a brief look
    at the official definition of sexual harassment, we can see why some may hold
    to the perspective that those in a lower position of institutional authority have
    no power to harass.

     
    Source:- http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/2.2/coverweb/julia/holex.html

    Teachers 'victims of sexist bullies in class'


    · 'Horrible stories' in survey findings, says NUT 
    · Young women begin to see it as norm, union tells MPs



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    Lucy Ward, social affairs correspondent
    Thursday 23 November 2006 00.35 GMT
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    819
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    Silicon Valley

    AI programs exhibit racial and gender biases, research reveals

    Young women teachers are increasingly seen as "fair game" by some


    pupils for sexual harassment including touching and innuendo,
    according to a report to be published tomorrow.

    A survey conducted by the National Union of Teachers finds that young


    female teachers, in particular, are frequently confronted with sexist
    language and bullying in school.

    820
    There is a growing trend for sexist language, leading to sexist bullying,
    to "enter the mainstream", with girls and women "beginning to accept
    sexist language as the norm", the study finds.

    Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent


    direct to you
     
    Read more

    Steve Sinnott, the NUT's general secretary, yesterday described the


    findings of the survey as "pretty horrendous". Some of the sexist
    language used by pupils was so bad that the report had used asterisks
    rather than spell it out, he said.

    Teachers had also told "horrible stories" of their experiences. The rise of
    sexism in the classroom was not confined to boys harassing teachers or
    female classmates, but also included the language used by girls to each
    other and to women teachers, male teachers as victims, and sexist
    behaviour within staffrooms.

    According to the findings, "younger male and female teachers, in


    particular, seem to be seen as 'fair game' to some pupils to touch, in
    some cases, and to make sexual innuendo towards".

    Details of the survey were included in a submission to an inquiry into


    bullying in schools being conducted by the Commons education and
    skills committee.

    The union told MPs that, in contrast to racist and homophobic bullying,
    sexist bullying is frequently ignored and minimised, even though
    women make up more than two-thirds of the teaching workforce in state
    schools.

    Many women teachers reported "isolation and frustration at how hard it


    is to challenge sexist language and bullying by pupils". There is no clear
    guidance for schools from government or local authorities on how to
    deal with sexist bullying between pupils or of staff, the union told MPs,
    adding that women teachers are expected to put up with a high degree of
    sexist behaviour and harassment.

    821
    Advertisement

    "Sexist messages" in the media made it harder for teachers to challenge


    sexism, according to the submission.

    The NUT warns that sexist language and bullying cannot be ignored in
    the playground because they are often the foundation for violence
    against women.

    MPs investigating bullying, in the spotlight during the current anti-


    bullying week, heard from a range of charities representing children and
    parents that schools needed a clear anti-bullying policy which was
    properly implemented.

    MPs heard from the NUT that racist bullying "remains endemic in all
    aspects of education", with targets influenced by changes in immigration
    patterns and global politics, and Muslim pupils and staff suffering
    "increasing levels of racism and racist bullying".

    Caroline Day of Barnardo's told MPs that assumptions that racist


    bullying involved white against black pupils were outdated, with conflict
    now taking place between black and ethnic minority children, and
    migrants from eastern Europe also being targeted.

    "It is becoming more about your nationality than your colour or race,"
    she said.

    Shobha Das, deputy director of Sari (Support Against Racial Incidents),


    said one 14-year-old mixed-race pupil faced such severe bullying that he
    attempted to bleach his skin to whiten it.

    Since you’re here …

    … we have a small favour to ask. More people than ever are regularly
    reading the Guardian, but far fewer are paying for it. Advertising
    revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news
    organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our
    journalism as open as we can. So we think it’s fair to ask people who
    visit us often for their help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative
    journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we
    do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well
    be your perspective, too.

    822
    If you regularly read and value our reporting, support us now and help
    make our future much more secure.

    Source:- https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/nov/23/pupilbehaviour.schools

    Hot for Teacher: Rethinking Education’s Sexual


    Harassment Policies

    By: Michelle Miller  |  From the Oct-Nov 2011 Issue

    Sexual harassment policies assume that teachers have power and


    students don’t, argues Michelle Miller. Such policies risk outlawing
    consensual relationships that are “delicious,  frightening, unruly” and
    just might reflect the excitement, even eroticism, of learning.
    In her compelling, if not totally agreeable, manifesto on school-
    based sexual harassment policies, Jane Gallop reminds us that it
    was feminists, not managers or administrators, who fought for
    harassment to be made a political and professional issue, rather
    than a personal problem. This fight was grounded in the
    understanding that sexual harassment in the workplace
    discriminates against women and other marginalized people on the
    basis of their sex, race, and gender and inhibits their ability to do
    their work, just as sexual harassment in the streets interferes with

    823
    the ability to move freely and safely in the world. Gallop thus
    clarifies the goals of sexual harassment policy in order to
    challenge administrative concerns around teacher-student
    relationships in a number of ways. Most important is that the
    criminal nature of sexual harassment is not that it relates to sex or
    to amorous or erotic relations, but that it is discrimination—the
    unfair application of power used by someone against another.

    Gallop’s book, Feminist Accused of Sexual Harassment, arose out


    of her own experience as a university professor charged with
    sexually harassing two female graduate students with whom she
    had developed close and difficult relationships. She describes in
    detail the history of her student-teacher sexual encounters, which
    involved her sleeping both with teachers as a student, and with
    students as a teacher. She reports these engagements as being
    generally positive and reasonably friendly, arising out of mutual
    desire for sex and intimacy rather than an abuse of power by the
    teacher. Although she had ceased sleeping with students at the
    time she was accused of sexual harassment, her teaching and
    learning relationships had been, and continued to be, amorous,
    personal and sexual. It seems, from Gallop’s telling, that for her
    and her students, the close nature of these relationships was,
    initially, personally and academically productive. One student’s
    academic work, for example, involved writing love letters to a
    fictional older woman teacher, certainly modelled at least in part
    after her relationship with Gallop.

    This book does not present the two students who accused Gallop
    of harassing them as being upset because of the erotic
    relationship they shared with their teacher, but rather because they
    felt Gallop wasn’t giving them the feedback they desired and felt
    they deserved. It was the withdrawal of her ability to please these
    students pedagogically, rather than the structure of a relationship
    with erotic pleasure in it, that troubled them. At least from Gallop’s

    824
    perspective, this is a story about jilted lovers who manipulated
    school-based sexual harassment policy to seek revenge for their
    dissatisfaction with an unruly relationship. Gallop revels in the
    amorous relationships she shared with these two students: she
    describes a “spectacle” of a kiss she shared with one of them at a
    bar after a conference. Simultaneously, she assures us that she
    could not have sexually harassed these students, not because she
    never slept with them but because she didn’t discriminate against
    them. She argues exactly the opposite, in fact, that as a teacher
    who is also a person, that far from sexually harassing these
    women, she engaged in deeply personal relationships with them
    both as students and as people. Each of the women (Gallop
    included) was flawed, lonely, desirous, egotistical, nervous, excited,
    and interested in working together academically. The decision to
    work in intimate ways reflected Gallop’s commitment to feminist
    pedagogy and the possibilities raised by women’s studies
    education, rather than a hope for teacher-student seduction.

    Reading about Gallop’s


    experiences with her graduate students (who, she once remarked
    in a joke that fell very flat, were her sexual preference) makes me
    think about my own relationships with teachers. As a doctoral
    student, I’ve never been theoretically against teacher-student
    relationships and have watched as my friends seduced and were
    seduced by professors both intellectually and sexually. One of my
    closest undergraduate friends dated a professor for a number of

    825
    years, and although their relationship was at times professionally
    and socially troubling (since it seemed inappropriate for her to
    accompany him to faculty luncheons or for him to join us at
    school-night keg parties), it would denigrate their very real
    relationship to call it “harassment.” I’ve never dated a teacher (or,
    now that I teach at a college, a student), although I recognize that
    some of the ways I want my professors to love me (and some of
    the ways my students want me to love them) reflect erotic desires
    for knowledge and for close human relationships, which often end
    up being rich and difficult.

    In general, my teachers make me nervous. I worry about what I’m


    going to wear when I’m going to see them. If I see them
    unexpectedly, I feel flustered. I sometimes get feedback I hate, am
    pushed to be better, and resent being told I’m not already good
    enough. I often, embarrassingly, cry during meetings with them. I
    want my work, which is about sexuality, desire, and literature, to
    bring my teachers pleasure, and I feel frustrated when it doesn’t. I
    want approval, of course, but I also want to please the brilliant
    women I work with, the way their work pleases me. The point is not
    that I have crushes on my teachers but that these crush-like
    feelings become part of my academic work, part of the conditions
    of my thinking and learning.

    The crushes I feel for my teachers are related to the kinds of


    crushes I have on my classmates and friends, crushes where I
    want to stay up all night drinking beer and talking about things we
    don’t quite understand, which delight us all the more for being
    incomprehensible. Where we wonder what it might be like to grasp
    difficult knowledge together and thrill when it seems that we might.
    Where I wonder, in abstract ways, what it might be like to do this
    thinking lying down, to put the theory together with the practice.
    That scholarly relationships might become erotic, between
    students and teachers or passionate thinkers and learners of any

    826
    position, seems natural—even unavoidable—to me. This doesn’t
    always, or even often, mean there are sex acts involved but that
    desire for knowledge is a very human type of desire. I usually fall
    head over heels in a class, whether my infatuation is for a teacher,
    a classmate, a text, or an idea. It’s these infatuations that make me
    a passionate student. They’re incredibly valuable, and I want to
    keep them going. I have more interesting ideas when I allow my
    desires to get a little wild, to exceed my expectations for what
    might be, and when I open myself to be taken aback by what ideas
    may do to me and to my relationships with others. And so I’m
    troubled by anti-harassment policies that seek to limit the ways
    adult thinkers and learners can relate to one another. After all,
    we’re adults (even as I write that, I’m confounded by the
    arbitrariness of the distinction. Don’t we all become teenagers in
    our crushes, regardless of age?). If we consent to participating in
    erotic or romantic relationships, if we seek them out or they sneak
    up on us, shouldn’t we be able to enjoy them, free of meddling from
    administrative bodies? And by “enjoying,” I don’t mean always
    having a good experience, since erotic and romantic relationships
    of all kinds, between all kinds of people, sometimes become bad
    experiences, for reasons which have nothing to do with
    harassment or discrimination and everything to do with the
    difficulty of human relationships.

    Jane Gallop points out that anti-


    harassment policies that seek to limit even consensual teacher-

    827
    student relationships actually discriminate against the students
    they seek to protect by removing from them the ability to give
    consent to, and enjoy, the emotional consequences, pleasurable
    and difficult, which accompany these decisions. Aside from how
    insulting it is for an intelligent and capable graduate or
    undergraduate student to be told that she or he has no right to
    consent to relationships she or he wants, I’m thrown off by the
    reductive assumptions around power that underlie these policies,
    which position all students, regardless of age, as being unable to
    make social and sexual decisions and as being in need of
    protection from the predatory advances of (not even always older
    and wiser) educators. These policies assume that power in
    relationships between teachers and students is dependably
    structured: teachers have it and students don’t.

    Thinking about teacher-student relationships always brings me


    back to a scene from the movie Election (based on the Tom
    Perrotta novel of the same name), which revolves around a rivalry
    between Jim McAllisor, a popular high school history teacher, and
    Tracy Flick, a very bright and driven student, during her run for
    school president. Tracy has recently had an affair with her English
    teacher, Jim’s best friend, Jack. The affair, which began as
    intimate conversations about the school’s yearbook, led to Tracy
    and Jack having (for Tracy) disappointing sex. When she
    withdraws her affection by telling her mother about the sex and
    sharing a particularly smarmy love letter he wrote her, Jack loses
    his job, his wife, and child, and his home, but he remains utterly
    smitten by Tracy. It’s important to note that Tracy is young, blonde,
    a virgin, and a student and should therefore be extremely
    vulnerable to being injured in their relationship. Except she isn’t
    injured. She’s not bitter or worried about the supposed loss of her
    innocence or disenchanted by, or distrustful of, her teachers. In a
    stand-off with McAllistor, in which he alludes to her relationship
    with Jack and reprimands her for “stepping on people” to get her

    828
    way, she responds, “I don’t know what you’re referring to, but I do
    know that if certain older and wiser people hadn’t acted like such
    little babies and gotten all mushy, everything would be okay.” In
    this exchange, and in her relationship with her teacher-turned-lover,
    Tracy is hardly disempowered, and she explicitly doesn’t demean
    her consensual relationship as discrimination. In the book version
    of this story, Tracy reports that “people kept using the term ‘sexual
    harassment’ to describe what happened, but I don’t think it applies.
    Jack never said anything disgusting and he never threatened me
    with bad grades. Most of our time together was really sweet and
    nice. I even cried a few times, it felt so good to have him hold me.”

    This example, by switching the usual trope of established,


    pompous male teacher preying on vulnerable female students who
    become ruined by the affair when the professor’s desire turns,
    offers us space to wonder what else might be possible in these
    kinds of relationships. Might students hold power in erotic or
    romantic relationships with teachers? Might teachers be thought of
    as human in their desires? It’s tricky to think about Tracy Flick,
    since she’s in high school, legally underage, and, therefore, legally
    unable to consent to a sexual relationship with any man or woman
    of her teacher’s age. I believe, however, that her own description of
    this relationship challenges commonly held beliefs about what can
    and does happen in the spaces between teachers and students.

    In my doctoral research, I am fascinated by the ways desire, sexual


    and otherwise, saturates many teacher-student relationships and
    find myself working with a number of texts that push against the
    limits of the pedagogical relationship. Mariko and Jillian Tamaki’s
    Skim, Eleanor Cattan’s The Rehearsal, and Alison Bechdel’s Fun
    Home each depict these relationships as offering more—more
    anxiety, more delight, more nuance, more frustration, more
    uncertainty—than we might initially think and certainly more than
    any blanket administrative policy could contain. These blanket

    829
    policies, by demanding that complicated issues be treated simply
    (usually by banning them) potentially close down our thinking
    about students, teachers, power relationships, desire, and the
    eroticism inherent in learning. Problematically, these policies seem
    hostile to any kind of inquiry that tries to hold together desire and
    education. While all people engaging in simultaneous professional
    and personal relationships should have protection against
    discriminatory action in the event of a conflict or a breakup (and
    this could range from students revealing personal information
    about teachers to teachers giving bad grades or writing damaging
    letters of support), we must be careful to investigate the
    assumptions about teachers, students, relationships, power and
    desire which undergird policies seeking to control the delicious,
    frightening, unruly relationships that often arise in teaching and
    learning encounters.

    Michelle Miller is a doctoral student in education at York University


    in Toronto and the author of Branding Miss G__ Third Wave
    Feminists and the Media (Women’s/ Scholar’s Press, 2008).
    Tags: sexual harassment policies

    Source:- http://www.academicmatters.ca/2011/10/hot-for-teacher-rethinking-educations-
    sexual-harassment-policies/

    Sexual Harassment at School


     117  16.8K
     Download article as a PDF
    Is your school doing all it can to both prevent and take action against
    sexual harassment by students? Until recently, teachers and
    administrators often brushed off student harassment with an "eh, it's just
    kids being kids" attitude. That attitude has changed drastically.
    After repeatedly being ignored regarding their daughter's complaints about
    being sexually harassed at school, one girl's parents finally got the
    attention of the U.S. Supreme Court. In Davis v. Monroe County Board of
    Education, the court held that obvious sexual harassment that is serious
    enough to affect a child's grades or make a child too afraid to enter certain

    830
    places in the school denies that student her right to equal protection in
    school programs under Title IX.
    If a parent brings a case against a school and wins, the school district can
    be forced to protect their child from sexual harassment. The student will
    probably even be compensated for damages that result from the school's
    failure to take appropriate action.

    Title IX Overview
    Title IX was originally enacted to prevent publicly funded schools from
    engaging in discrimination based on sex. Many people know about Title IX
    because of its positive effects on the advancement of women's athletics. It
    also shows up in employment law by protecting employees from sex
    discrimination in decisions regarding hiring, tenure, salary, and promotions.
    Since Davis, the Supreme Court has extended the scope of Title IX to
    protect students against student-to-student sexual harassment.
    The Circumstances That Led Up to the Davis Ruling
    There has not yet been a trial on the Davis claim. The Supreme Court
    simply said that Title IX applies to situations such as those outlined in the
    claim. So, what led up to this ruling?
    The plaintiff's 11-year-old daughter had always been an excellent student.
    She made good grades, was relatively active, and seemed like an overall
    happy child. Then, she began to complain about a boy harassing her. She
    told her parents that the boy made crude comments to her about wanting
    to get into bed with her; would rub up against her in the hallway; touched
    her breasts and genital area; and chased her. This didn't just happen all in
    one day. These types of behaviors were repeated day after day.
    The girl made complaints to her teachers, who dismissed her concerns
    and failed to even talk to the boy who harassed her. Even her mother got
    involved, calling the teachers and the principal to no avail. The principal did
    not investigate, but instead asked the mother why none of the other
    children had made complaints.
    It wasn't until the mother had been complaining for three months that she
    was able to even get her daughter's seat changed so that she and the boy
    were not sitting next to each other in class. This little girl was not the only
    one who was ignored. But when a group of other students addressed their
    harassment complaints to a teacher, they were not even allowed to speak
    to the principal.
    Perhaps the teachers of the school did not know what to do. After all, there
    was no training or protocol on how to handle sexual harassment at school.
    The school district did not even have a policy guiding teachers on what to
    do in such cases. Eventually, the little girl grew depressed. She dreaded

    831
    going to school, feared going into the gym or bathroom at school, and
    refused to participate in school activities. Her once excellent grades
    dropped tremendously. She even wrote a suicide note.

    Harassment vs. School-Yard Bullying


    It is true that being teased is a normal part of growing up. Sexual
    harassment at school is different, however. It is important that both
    teachers and parents know how to make the distinction.
    Sexual harassment refers to repetitive unwanted sexual advances. The
    school district is liable for violating Title IX if it fails to take reasonable
    action against serious, long-term student-to-student sexual harassment
    that the school employees knew about. The Supreme Court insisted on
    making this distinction in order to protect school districts from becoming
    liable for typical school-yard bullying. Occasional name-calling, pushing
    and shoving, and physical fights are not instances that would constitute a
    Title IX violation.
    Instead, the Supreme Court is more interested in protecting students from
    continuous and offensive behavior that interferes with the students'
    participation in their school lives. This can include things like aggressive
    sexual remarks made daily; behavior or threats that prevent students from
    using part of the school building; a pattern of repeated threats, abusive
    touching, or chasing; and abusive harassment of students identified as
    gay, regardless of whether they actually are.
    The Supreme Court has interpreted Title IX in such a way that it is actually
    easy for school districts to stay out of trouble. As long as the school
    complies with the law by making reasonable efforts to stop the harassment
    after a complaint is made, the school is probably not liable -- even if the
    harassment continues.

    Tips for Parents of Sexually Harassed Kids


    If you think your child is experiencing sexual harassment at school, you
    should first ask them for information. Get as many details as possible: who
    is involved; what they are doing; when and how often; and where. Ask if
    your child has told any authority figure and what that figure did or said. Be
    sure to get a copy of the school's sexual harassment policy and find out if
    the school faculty is familiar with the policy. Then, talk to the appropriate
    faculty member with the policy in hand, and insist that the policy be
    followed.
    If you are not taken seriously, or no action is taken, go to the principal.
    Hand the principal a written report of everything that has happened,
    including what the particular faculty member did or did not do. Emphasize

    832
    the fact that the sexual harassment is interfering with your student's school
    work. Close the report with a demand for prompt and corrective action.

    Sample Letter
    Dear Principal Smith,
    My daughter, Sierra, is in Mr. Taylor's 5th grade class and has expressed
    to me that she is suffering from sexual harassment at school. Apparently,
    another student in her class has been harassing her with sexually
    inappropriate conduct. I would rather wait and tell you his name in private.
    The specific acts of harassment he has engaged in include:
     Threatening to rape her
     Chasing her down the hallways
     Spying on her in the bathroom
     Sending her sexually obscene notes
     Telling her friends that he wants to "prong" her
    This extremely inappropriate conduct began in September of this year.
    Sierra has repeatedly insisted that the boy stop and has even, numerous
    times, told Mr. Taylor, who does nothing. The student even sits next to
    Sierra in class, and Mr. Taylor refuses to allow Sierra to move seats.
    This sexual harassment at school has seriously affected my daughter's
    ability to perform at school. She never wants to go to school, or participate
    in sports or music. As you may know, she has been on the honor roll
    consistently since the first grade. Her grades have slipped to a "C"
    average. Most upsetting, she has fallen into a sad and moody state. I am
    deeply concerned for her.
    I am leaving this note to notify you that I would like to meet with you at
    your earliest convenience. I would like to discuss with you what disciplinary
    action you plan to take to alleviate the harassment. I can be reached on
    my cell phone at 555-5252.
    Sincerely,
    Concerned Parent
    What to Do If the Principal Does Nothing
    If you still don't get anywhere, start moving up the ladder. Go to the school
    superintendent. Address this the same way you approached your principal
    and write it all down in a letter, but talk to the superintendent directly. Insist
    that the superintendent take immediate action to alleviate the problem.
    In case that still gets you nowhere, go to the school board. You may want
    to bring members of the PTA with you to emphasize the safety concern for
    all of the children. Keep in mind the nature of a sexual harassment claim
    against a child, and be sensitive to that. You don't want to appear as
    though you are attacking or defaming the child. Informing the personnel of

    833
    the details of the problem is enough. You can leave names out of it until it
    is asked of you.
    Other personnel appropriate to contact include the state board of
    education, your local government representative, or even the local paper. It
    is important to remember however, if you contact the paper, to leave
    names out in order to avoid a defamation suit.

    How Schools Should Approach Sexual Harassment at School


    Schools should compose and print a handbook that includes:
     A clear sexual harassment at school policy
     Rules and remedies
     What kinds of behaviors constitute sexual harassment
     A statement to students that sexual harassment is illegal and will not
    be tolerated
     A statement that will help kids understand what to do if they suffer
    from sexual harassment at school
    If your child's school does not have a sexual harassment policy in place,
    insist that they draft one. You could even offer to get a group of parents,
    teachers, and students together to form the policy. Once it is drafted, the
    school needs to make a commitment to continuously educate the faculty
    and students on the policy to ensure it is enforced and to help everyone
    understand what sexual harassment is and is not.
    Source:- http://education.findlaw.com/discrimination-harassment-at-school/sexual-
    harassment-at-school.html

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    834
    Sexual Harassment Guidance

    4000-01-P
    DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
    Office for Civil Rights
    Sexual Harassment Guidance: Harassment of Students by 
    School Employees, Other Students, or Third Parties
    PREAMBLE
    ACTION: Final Policy Guidance
    SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights issues a final document entitled "Sexual
    Harassment Guidance" (Guidance). Sexual harassment of students is prohibited by Title IX
    of the Education Amendments of 1972 under the circumstances described in the Guidance.
    The Guidance provides educational institutions with information regarding the standards that
    are used by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and that institutions should use, to investigate
    and resolve allegations of sexual harassment of students engaged in by school employees,
    other students (peers), or third parties.
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Howard I. Kallem. U.S. Department of
    Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 5412 Switzer Building, Washington,
    D.C. 20202-1174. Telephone (202) 205-9641. Internet address: Howard_Kallem@ed.gov
    For additional copies of this Guidance, individuals may call OCR's Customer Service Team
    at (202) 205-5413 or toll-free at 1-800-421-3481. Individuals who use a telecommunications
    device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Department's toll-free number, 1-800-421-3481, in
    conjunction with the phone company's TDD relay capabilities. This Guidance will also be
    available at OCR's site on the Internet at URL http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/ocrpubs.html.
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Purpose of the Guidance
    Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) prohibits discrimination on the basis
    of sex in education programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance. Sexual
    harassment of students can be a form of discrimination prohibited by Title IX. The Office for
    Civil Rights has long recognized that sexual harassment of students engaged in by school
    employees, other students, or third parties is covered by Title IX. OCR's policy and practice
    is consistent with the Congress' goal in enacting Title IX -- the elimination of sex-based
    discrimination in federally assisted education programs. It is also consistent with United
    States Supreme Court precedent and well-established legal principles that have developed
    under Title IX, as well as under the related anti-discrimination provisions of Title VI and Title
    VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
    The elimination of sexual harassment of students in federally assisted educational programs
    is a high priority for OCR. Through its enforcement of Title IX, OCR has learned that a
    significant number of students, both male and female, have experienced sexual harassment,
    that sexual harassment can interfere with a student's academic performance and emotional
    and physical well-being, and that preventing and remedying sexual harassment in schools is
    essential to ensure nondiscriminatory, safe environments in which students can learn.
    The Guidance applies to students at every level of education. It provides information
    intended to enable school employees and officials to identify sexual harassment and to take

    835
    steps to prevent its occurrence. In addition, the Guidance is intended to inform educational
    institutions about the standards that should be followed when investigating and resolving
    claims of sexual harassment of students. The Guidance is important because school
    personnel who understand their obligations under Title IX are in the best position to prevent
    harassment and to lessen the harm to students if, despite their best efforts, harassment
    occurs. The Guidance discusses factors to be considered in applying the standards and
    examples that are designed to illustrate how the standards may apply to particular situations.
    Overall, the Guidance illustrates that in addressing allegations of sexual harassment, the
    judgment and common sense of teachers and school administrators are important elements
    of a response that meets the requirements of Title IX.
    In addition, it is clear from the Guidance that not all behavior with sexual connotations
    constitutes sexual harassment under Federal law. In order to give rise to a complaint under
    Title IX, sexual harassment must be sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it
    adversely affects a student's education or creates a hostile or abusive educational
    environment. For a one-time incident to rise to the level of harassment, it must be severe.
    As illustrated in the Guidance, school personnel should consider the age and maturity of
    students when responding to allegations of sexual harassment. The Guidance explains that
    age is relevant in determining whether sexual harassment occurred in the first instance, as
    well as in determining the appropriate response by the school. For example, age is relevant
    in determining whether a student welcomed the conduct and in determining whether the
    conduct was severe, persistent, or pervasive. Age is a factor to be considered by school
    personnel when determining what type of education or training to provide to students in order
    to prevent sexual harassment from occurring.
    Notably, during the time that the Guidance was available for public comment, several
    incidents involving young students occurred in public schools and were widely reported in
    the press. In one incident a school reportedly punished a six-year-old boy, under its sexual
    harassment policy, for kissing a female classmate on the cheek. These incidents provide a
    good example of how the Guidance can assist schools in formulating appropriate responses
    to conduct of this type. The factors in the Guidance confirm that a kiss on the cheek by a first
    grader does not constitute sexual harassment.
    Consistent with the Guidance's reliance on school employees and officials to use their
    judgment and common sense, the Guidance offers school personnel flexibility in how to
    respond to sexual harassment. Commenters who read the Guidance as always requiring
    schools to punish alleged harassment under an explicit sexual harassment policy rather than
    by use of a general disciplinary or behavior code, even if the latter may provide more age-
    appropriate ways to handle those incidents, are incorrect. First, if inappropriate conduct does
    not rise to the level of harassment prohibited by Title IX, school employees or officials may
    rely entirely on their own judgment regarding how best to handle the situation.
    Even if a school determines that a student's conduct is sexual harassment, the Guidance
    explicitly states that Title IX permits the use of a general student disciplinary procedure. The
    critical issue under Title IX is whether responsive action that a school could reasonably be
    expected to take is effective in ending the sexual harassment and in preventing its
    recurrence. If treating sexual harassment merely as inappropriate behavior is not effective in
    ending the harassment or in preventing it from escalating, schools must take additional steps
    to ensure that students know that the conduct is prohibited sex discrimination.
    Process in Developing the Guidance
    Because of the importance of eliminating sexual harassment in schools, and based on the
    requests of schools, teachers, parents, and other interested parties, OCR determined that it
    should provide to schools a comprehensive discussion of the legal standards and related

    836
    issues involved in resolving sexual harassment incidents. While this document reflects
    longstanding OCR policy and practice in this area, it also reflects extensive consultation with
    interested parties. Even before making documents available for formal comment, OCR held
    a series of meetings with groups representing students, teachers, school administrators, and
    researchers. In these discussions, OCR gained valuable information regarding the realities of
    sexual harassment in schools, as well as information regarding promising practices for
    identifying and preventing harassment. These insights and learning are reflected in the
    Guidance.
    Issuance of the Guidance for Comment and the Format of the Final Guidance
    O
    n August 16, 1996, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights published a notice in the
    FEDERAL REGISTER (61 FR 42728) regarding the availability of a document entitled:
    "Sexual Harassment Guidance: Peer Sexual Harassment" (Peer Guidance) and inviting
    comments on the document. Subsequently, on October 4, 1996, the Assistant Secretary
    published in the FEDERAL REGISTER (61 FR 52172) a request for comments on a
    document entitled: "Sexual Harassment Guidance: Harassment of Students by School
    Employees" (Employee Guidance). Both notices stated that the guidance documents
    reflected longstanding OCR policy and practice and invited comments and recommendations
    regarding their clarity and completeness.
    The most significant change in the format of the final document is that it combines the two
    separate guidance documents into one document that addresses sexual harassment of
    students by peers, school employees, or third parties. Commenters frequently stated that a
    combined document would be clearer and easier to use. OCR agrees. Thus, the term
    "Guidance" when used in this preamble refers to the combined document that incorporates
    both the Peer Guidance and the Employee Guidance.
    Analysis of Comments and Changes
    In response to the Assistant Secretary's invitations to comment, OCR received
    approximately 70 comments on the Peer Guidance and approximately 10 comments on the
    Employee Guidance. Many commenters stated that the guidance documents provided
    comprehensive, clear, and useful information to schools. For instance, one commenter
    stated that the Peer Guidance was "a godsend...in one convenient place [it provides] the
    clear implications of the statutes, regulations, and case law." Another commenter stated that
    the Guidance "will assist universities...in maintaining a harassment-free educational
    environment."
    Commenters also provided many specific suggestions and examples regarding how the final
    Guidance could be more complete and clearer. Many of these suggested changes have
    been incorporated into the Guidance.
    The preamble discusses recurring and significant recommendations regarding the clarity and
    completeness of the document. While the invitations to comment on the Peer Guidance and
    Employee Guidance did not request substantive comments regarding OCR's longstanding
    policy and practice in the area of sexual harassment, some commenters did provide these
    comments. In instances in which OCR could provide additional useful information to readers
    related to these comments, it has done so in the preamble. Comments are grouped by
    subject and are discussed in the following sections.
    The Need for Additional Guidance
    Comments: Many commenters agreed that a document combining the Peer Guidance and
    the Employee Guidance would provide more clarity to schools. Commenters disagreed,

    837
    however, regarding whether, and what type of, additional information is needed to enhance
    schools' understanding of their legal obligations under Title IX. Some commenters asked for
    more detailed analysis regarding the applicable legal standards, including hard and fast rules
    for determining what is harassment and how a school should respond. Other commenters,
    by contrast, found OCR's guidance documents, including the extensive legal citations, to be
    too detailed and "legalistic." They expressed a need for a document that is simpler and more
    accessible to teachers, parents, school administrators, and others who need to know how to
    recognize, report, or respond to sexual harassment.
    Discussion: As the Guidance makes clear, it is impossible to provide hard and fast rules
    applicable to all instances of sexual harassment. Instead, the Guidance provides factors to
    help schools make appropriate judgments.
    In response to concerns for more analysis of the legal standards, OCR has provided
    additional examples in the Guidance to illustrate how the Title IX legal standards may apply
    in particular cases. It is important to remember that examples are just that; they do not cover
    all the types of situations that may arise. Moreover, they may not illustrate the only way to
    respond to sexual harassment of students because there is often no one right way to
    respond.
    OCR also believes that there is a legitimate concern that school administrators, teachers,
    students, and parents need an accessible document to assist them in recognizing and
    appropriately responding to sexual harassment. Accordingly, OCR has developed, in
    addition to the final Guidance, a pamphlet for conveying basic information regarding parties'
    rights and responsibilities under Title IX. The pamphlet includes information from the
    Guidance that would be most useful to these groups as they confront issues of sexual
    harassment. Concurrent with the issuance of this Guidance, the pamphlet will be issued with
    copies available from all OCR offices and an electronic posting on OCR's web site. For a
    copy of the pamphlet, individuals may call OCR's Customer Service Team at (202)205-5413
    or toll-free 1-800-421-3481. Copies will also be available from all OCR enforcement offices,
    and the pamphlet will be posted on OCR's site on the Internet at URL
    http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/ocrpubs.html.
    Additional Guidance on the First Amendment
    Comments: Many commenters asked OCR to provide additional guidance regarding the
    interplay of academic freedom and free speech rights with Title IX's prohibition of sexual
    harassment. Several of these commenters wanted OCR to announce hard and fast rules in
    this area, although commenters disagreed on what those rules should be. For instance, one
    commenter requested that OCR tell schools that the First Amendment does not prevent
    schools from punishing speech that has no legitimate pedagogical purpose.
    Another commenter, by contrast, wanted OCR to state that classroom speech simply can
    never be the basis for a sexual harassment complaint. Other commenters requested that
    OCR include specific examples regarding the application of free speech rights.
    Discussion: As the documents published for comment indicated, the resolution of cases
    involving potential First Amendment issues is highly fact-and context-dependent. Thus, hard
    and fast rules are not appropriate.
    However, in order to respond to concerns that schools need assistance in making these
    determinations, OCR has provided additional examples in the Guidance regarding the
    application of the First Amendment principles discussed there.
    Application of Guidance to Harassment by Third Parties

    838
    Comments: Several commenters stated that it was unclear whether the Guidance applies if a
    student alleges harassment by a third party, i.e., by someone who is not an employee or
    student at the school.
    Discussion: The Guidance clarifies that the principles in the Guidance apply to situations in
    which, for example, a student alleges that harassment by a visiting professional speaker or
    members of a visiting athletic team created a sexually hostile environment. The Peer
    Guidance did, in fact, discuss the standards applicable to the latter situation in which
    students from another school harassed the school's students.
    The applicable standards have not changed, but the final Guidance clarifies that the same
    standards also apply if adults who are not employees or agents of the school engage in
    harassment of students.
    Application of Guidance to Harassment Based on Sexual Orientation
    Comments: Several commenters indicated that, in light of OCR's stated policy that Title IX's
    prohibition against sexual harassment applies regardless of the sex of the harassed student
    or of the sex of the alleged harasser, the Guidance was confusing regarding the statement
    that Title IX does not apply to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
    Discussion: The Guidance has been clarified to indicate that if harassment is based on
    conduct of a sexual nature, it may be sexual harassment prohibited by Title IX even if the
    harasser and the harassed are the same sex or the victim of harassment is gay or lesbian. If,
    for example, harassing conduct of a sexual nature is directed at gay or lesbian students, it
    may create a sexually hostile environment and may constitute a violation of Title IX in the
    same way that it may for heterosexual students. The Guidance provides examples to
    illustrate the difference between this type of conduct, which may be prohibited by Title IX,
    and conduct constituting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which is not
    prohibited by Title IX. The Guidance also indicates that some State or local laws or other
    Federal authority may prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
    The Effect on the Guidance of Conflicting Federal Court Decisions
    Comments: Several commenters requested clarification of the standards to be applied to
    sexual harassment cases in States subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Court of
    Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, specifically in light of the Fifth Circuit's decision in Rowinsky v.
    Bryan Independent School District, 80 F.3d 1006 (5th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 117 S. Ct. 165
    (1996)
    .
    Discussion: One beneficial result of the Guidance will be to provide courts with ready access
    to the standards used by the agency that has been given the authority by law to interpret and
    enforce Title IX. Courts generally benefit from and defer to the expertise of an agency with
    that authority.
    Nevertheless, OCR recognizes that recent Fifth Circuit decisions add to schools' confusion
    regarding Title IX legal standards. In Rowinsky, the Fifth Circuit held that a school is not
    liable under Title IX even if it is on notice of peer sexual harassment and it ignores or fails to
    remedy it, unless it responds differently based on the sex of the alleged victim. Consistent
    with the vigorous dissent in Rowinsky, as well as with other Federal decisions contrary to the
    Rowinsky holding, OCR continues to believe that the Rowinsky decision was wrongly
    decided. In OCR's view, the holding in Rowinsky was based on a mistaken belief that the
    legal principle underpinning this aspect of the Guidance makes a school responsible for the
    actions of a harassing student, rather than for the school's own discrimination in failing to
    respond once it knows that the harassment is happening.

    839
    In two very recent decisions involving sexual harassment of students by school employees,
    the Fifth Circuit again applied Title IX law in a manner inconsistent with OCR's longstanding
    policy and practice. First, in Canutillo Indep. School Dist. v. Leija, 101 F.3d 393, 398-400 (5th
    Cir. 1996), the court held, again over a strong dissent and contrary to OCR policy, that a
    school district was not liable for the sexual molestation of a second grade student by one of
    her teachers because the student and her mother only reported the harassment to her
    homeroom teacher. The court determined that notice to the teacher was not notice to the
    school -- notwithstanding that a school handbook instructed students and parents to report
    complaints to the child's primary or homeroom teacher.
    Finally, in Rosa H. v. San Elizario Indep. School Dist., 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 2780 (Feb. 17,
    1997), the Fifth Circuit reversed a jury finding that a school district was liable under Title IX
    for a hostile environment created by the school's male karate instructor, who repeatedly
    initiated sexual intercourse with a fifteen-year-old female karate student, often during the
    school day. The court held that, while "there was no question that the student was subject to
    discrimination based on sex," a school is liable only in situations in which an employee who
    has been invested by the school board with supervisory power over the offending employee
    actually knew of the abuse, had the power to end the abuse, and failed to do so.
    Several of the decisions discuss according "appreciable deference" to OCR's interpretation
    of Title IX in appropriate circumstances and contain other indications that Title IX law is
    evolving in the Fifth Circuit. When OCR investigates complaints involving schools in States in
    the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi), it will in each case determine and follow
    the current applicable law, even if it is inconsistent with OCR policy. OCR will also participate
    where appropriate, and in conjunction with the Department of Justice, to shape the evolution
    of Title IX law in a manner consistent with the Guidance
    .
    Inconsistent decisions do not prohibit schools in States in the Fifth Circuit from following the
    Guidance. Since the Guidance assists school in ensuring that students can learn in a safe
    and nondiscriminatory educational environment, it is the better practice for these schools to
    follow the Guidance. Indeed, in light of the evolving case law in the Fifth Circuit, following the
    Guidance may also be the safest way to ensure compliance with the requirements of Title IX.
    School personnel in States in the Fifth Circuit should also consider whether State, local, or
    other Federal authority affects their obligations in these areas.
    Notice
    Comments:
    Several commenters recommended that additional guidance be provided regarding the types
    of employees through which a school can receive notice of sexual harassment. Commenters
    disagreed, however, on who should be able to receive notice. For instance, some
    commenters stated that OCR should find that a school has received notice only if
    "managerial" employees, "designated" employees, or employees with the authority to correct
    the harassment receive notice of the harassment. Another commenter suggested, by
    contrast, that any school employee should be considered a responsible employee for
    purposes of notice.
    Discussion: The Guidance states that a school has actual notice of sexual harassment if an
    agent or responsible employee of the school receives notice.
    An exhaustive list of employees would be inappropriate, however, because whether an
    employee is an agent or responsible school employee, or whether it would be reasonable for
    a student to believe the employee is an agent or responsible employee, even if the employee
    is not, will vary depending on factors such as the authority actually given to the employee

    840
    and the age of the student. Thus, the Guidance gives examples of the types of employees
    that can receive notice of harassment. In this regard, it is important for schools to recognize
    that the Guidance does not necessarily require that any employee who receives notice of the
    harassment also be responsible for taking appropriate steps to end the harassment or
    prevent its recurrence. An employee may be required only to report the harassment to other
    school officials who have the responsibility to take appropriate action
    .
    OCR does not agree with those commenters who recommend that a school can receive
    notice only through managerial or designated employees. For example, young students may
    not understand those designations and may reasonably believe that an adult, such as a
    teacher or the school nurse, is a person they can and should tell about incidents of sexual
    harassment regardless of that person's formal status in the school administration.
    Comments:
    Several commenters stated that constructive notice, or the "should have known" standard,
    puts schools in the untenable position of constantly monitoring students and employees to
    seek out potential harassers.
    D
    iscussion:
    Constructive notice is relevant only if a school's liability depends on notice and conduct has
    occurred that is sufficient to trigger the school's obligation to respond. As the examples in the
    Guidance indicate, constructive notice is applicable only if a school ignores or fails to
    recognize overt or obvious problems of sexual harassment. Constructive notice does not
    require a school to predict aberrant behavior.
    Remedying the Effects of Harassment on Students
    Comments: Several commenters expressed concern regarding the Guidance's statement
    that schools may be required to pay for professional counseling and other services
    necessary to remedy the effects of harassment on students. Some comments indicated
    confusion over the circumstances under which the responsibility for those costs would exist
    and concern over the financial responsibility that would be created. Others stated that
    schools should not be liable for these costs if they have taken appropriate responsive action
    to eliminate the harassing environment, or if the harassers are non-employees.
    Discussion: The final Guidance provides additional clarification regarding when a school may
    be required to remedy the effects on those who have been subject to harassment. For
    instance, if a teacher engages in quid pro quo harassment against a student, a school is
    liable under Title IX for the conduct and its effects. Thus, appropriate corrective action could
    include providing counseling services to the harassed student or paying other costs
    necessary to remedy the effects of the teacher's harassment. On the other hand, if a school's
    liability depends on its failure to take appropriate action after it receives notice of the
    harassment, e.g., in cases of peer harassment, the extent of a school's liability for remedying
    the effects of harassment will depend on the speed and efficacy of the school's response
    once it receives notice. For instance, if a school responds immediately and appropriately to
    eliminate harassment of which it has notice and to prevent its recurrence, it will not be
    responsible for remedying the effects of harassment, if any, on the individual. By contrast, if
    a school ignores complaints by a student that he or she is persistently being sexually
    harassed by another student in his or her class, the school will be required to remedy those
    effects of the harassment that it could have prevented if it had responded appropriately to
    the student's complaints, including, if appropriate, the provision of counseling services.

    841
    Confidentiality
    Comments: Many commenters recommended additional clarification regarding how schools
    should respond if a harassed student requests that his or her name not be disclosed. Some
    commenters believe that, particularly in the elementary and secondary school arena,
    remedying harassment must be the school's first priority, even if that action results in a
    breach of a request for confidentiality. These commenters were concerned that, by honoring
    requests for confidentiality, schools would not be able to take effective action to remedy
    harassment. Other commenters believe that if requests for confidentiality are not honored,
    students may be discouraged from reporting harassment. These commenters, therefore,
    argue that declining to honor these requests would be less effective in preventing
    harassment than taking whatever steps are possible to remedy harassment, while
    maintaining a victim's confidentiality.
    Finally, some commenters were concerned that withholding the name of the victim of
    harassment would interfere with the due process rights of the accused.
    Discussion: The Guidance strikes a balance regarding the issue of confidentiality:
    encouraging students to report harassment, even if students wish to maintain confidentiality,
    but not placing schools in an untenable position regarding their obligations to remedy and
    prevent further harassment, or making it impossible for an accused to adequately defend
    himself or herself. The Guidance encourages schools to honor a student's request that his or
    her name be withheld, if this can be done consistently with the school's obligation to remedy
    the harassment and take steps to prevent further harassment. (The Guidance also notes that
    schools should consider whether the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
    would prohibit a school from disclosing information from a student's education record without
    the consent of the student alleging harassment.) In addition, OCR has provided clarification
    by describing factors schools should consider in making these determinations. These factors
    include the nature of the harassment, the age of the students involved, and the number of
    incidents and students involved. These factors also may be relevant in balancing a victim's
    need for confidentiality against the rights of an accused harasser.
    The Guidance also has been clarified to acknowledge that, because of the sensitive nature
    of incidents of harassment, it is important to limit or prevent public disclosure of the names of
    both the student who alleges harassment and the name of the alleged harasser. The
    Guidance informs schools that, in all cases, they should make every effort to prevent public
    disclosure of the names of all parties involved, except to the extent necessary to carry out a
    thorough investigation.
    FERPA
    C
    omments: Several commenters stated that the Department should change its position that
    FERPA could prevent a school from informing a complainant of the sanction or discipline
    imposed on a student found guilty of harassment. Some commenters argued that information
    regarding the outcome of a sexual harassment complaint is not an education record covered
    by FERPA. Other commenters argued alternatively that any information regarding the
    outcome of the proceedings is "related to" the complainant and, therefore, the information
    can be disclosed to him or her consistent with FERPA. In addition, some commenters asked
    for clarification that FERPA does not limit the due process rights of a teacher who is accused
    of harassment to be informed of the name of the student who has alleged harassment.
    Discussion: As these comments indicate, the interplay of FERPA and Title IX raises complex
    and difficult issues. Regarding requests for clarification on the interplay of FERPA and the
    rights of an accused employee, the Guidance clarifies that the Department does not interpret

    842
    FERPA to override any federally protected due process rights of a school employee accused
    of harassment.
    Regarding whether FERPA prohibits the disclosure of any disciplinary action taken against a
    student found guilty of harassment, it is the Department's current position that FERPA
    prohibits a school from releasing information to a complainant if that information is contained
    in the other student's education record unless-- (1) the information directly relates to the
    complainant (for example, an order requiring the student harasser not to have contact with
    the complainant); or (2) the harassment involves a crime of violence or a sex offense in a
    postsecondary institution. However, in light of the comments received on this issue, the
    Department has determined that its position regarding the application of FERPA to records
    and information related to sexual harassment needs further consideration. Accordingly, the
    section on "Notice of Outcome and FERPA" has been removed from the Guidance.
    Additional guidance on FERPA will be forthcoming.
    Does Title IX Require Schools to Have a Sexual Harassment Policy
    Comments: Several commenters requested additional clarity regarding whether Title IX
    requires schools to have a policy explicitly prohibiting sexual harassment or to have
    grievance procedures specifically intended to handle sexual harassment complaints, or both.
    Discussion: Title IX requires a recipient of Federal funds to notify students and parents of
    elementary and secondary students of its policy against discrimination based on sex and
    have in place a prompt and equitable procedure for resolving sex discrimination complaints.
    Sexual harassment can be a form of sexual discrimination. The Guidance clearly states that,
    while a recipient's policy and procedure must meet all procedural requirements of Title IX
    and apply to sexual harassment, a school does not have to have a policy and procedure
    specifically addressing sexual harassment, as long as its non-discrimination policy and
    procedures for handling discrimination complaints are effective in eliminating all types of sex
    discrimination. OCR has found that policies and procedures specifically designed to address
    sexual harassment, if age appropriate, are a very effective means of making students and
    employees aware of what constitutes sexual harassment, that that conduct is prohibited sex
    discrimination, and that it will not be tolerated by the school. That awareness, in turn, can be
    a key element in preventing sexual harassment.
    Dated: 03/13/97
    Norma V. Cantu,
    Assistant Secretary
    for Civil Rights 

    Source:- https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/sexhar00.html

    What to Do To Stop Sexual Harassment at School


    Edward J. Mentell
    Schools must stop ignoring “adolescent behavior” and do their part to eradicate
    unacceptable talk and actions.
    Sexual harassment has been taking place in the schools for years, but only recently has it
    begun to get the attention it deserves. Some have called such attention an overreaction to
    normal adolescent behavior, but sexual harassment can inflict deep psychological damage

    843
    on young people. Two recent incidents have made it clear to me that as educators we must
    do something to stop it.
    A few weeks ago, I was patrolling the cafeteria when Jane, a 7th grader, approached me.
    “Joey's bothering me; tell him to stop it,” she complained. I was about to tell her to ignore it,
    when my mouth formed the words “What's the problem?” Only with great reluctance, she
    told me that Joey was spreading a story that she had been to the hospital to get a hot dog
    removed from her vagina (not the word the boy used).
    Joey had not been alone in harassing the young lady. After I talked with the boys involved
    and notified their parents, the boys delivered a letter of apology to Jane. Jane told them how
    upset she was to have such a story told about her. Although the boys were not being
    intentionally hateful, they were ignorant of how their actions were affecting her. They
    needed to be taught how to decide what comments were appropriate. The harassment
    occurred partly because they were adolescents and not aware of the rules that govern
    sexual interactions.
    In another recent incident, several boys and girls began calling another girl “ho” (whore),
    “slut,” and “bitch” and started spreading the rumor that she had AIDS. Although the children
    have now stopped their taunts, she has not forgotten the pain.
    A study by the American Association of University Women indicates that 85 percent of girls
    and 76 percent of boys in grades 8–11 have experienced some form of sexual harassment.
    In fact, 65 percent of girls and 42 percent of boys have actually been touched, grabbed, or
    pinched in a sexual way in school (AAUW 1993).
    That school systems have a responsibility to ensure that each student can attend school in a
    safe environment has been made clear by recent court decisions. The Supreme Court
    reinforced this responsibility when it ruled in February 1992 that students could sue and
    collect damages for harassment under Title IX of the Education Act of 1972. Students are
    making use of that right. For example, an 8th grade student in Petaluma, California, filed a
    lawsuit against her school district for failing to end harassment by her classmates. The suit
    was settled for $20,000 (Adler 1992).
    Guidelines for Administrators
    The responsibility for preserving an appropriate learning environment rests primarily with
    school administrators. Administrators can take several steps to help eliminate sexual
    harassment in their schools.
    1. Make the elimination of sexual harassment a top priority. Empower teachers to take
    a stand against inappropriate name-calling and sexual comments. Talk about the
    problem, hold inservices, and bring in guest speakers to show the entire staff that this
    issue is important and that harassment is not acceptable adolescent behavior. Elicit staff

    844
    participation in developing and implementing a plan to educate themselves, the
    students, and the parents about sexual harassment.
    2. Educate students about sexual harassment. Students must be taught the difference
    between friendly teasing and bullying, between flirting and harassment. Behavior
    expectations must be clearly defined and explained; fair and consistent consequences
    need to be outlined and reinforced.
    3. Get parents involved. Parental involvement is critical to long-term behavior
    modification. In many cases, parents will need to be educated about sexual harassment
    and its harmful effects in order to help them identify harassment and respond
    appropriately. When harassment occurs, parents of victims and perpetrators need to be
    informed of the details so that the emotional and developmental needs of both parties
    can be addressed. Family involvement and possibly outside counseling may be needed
    to avoid long-term emotional damage and to modify inappropriate behavior.
    4. Teach students how to deal with harassment. Ignoring the situation can often lead to
    a cycle of ongoing harassment and victimization. A perpetrator gets an emotional payoff
    from seeing others afraid and upset. Students must learn to be assertive and establish
    strong personal boundaries. They must tell their classmates to stop when their behavior
    is offensive and inappropriate. Bystanders, too, must speak out against harassment
    when it occurs. If students become moral spectators, there is little hope for change.

    If harassment continues, students need to seek help from teachers, counselors, and
    administrators. Students are often embarrassed to report sexual harassment because of its
    degrading nature. They need to know that the harassment is not their fault, nor is it a
    reflection on them. They need to keep asking for help until the harassment stops; it may
    take two or three interventions before the behavior is modified. That students continue to
    seek help is in the best interests of all: unresolved conflicts can emotionally damage the
    victim, harden the consciousness of the perpetrator, and possibly lead to lawsuits for the
    school system.
    Just as a lifeguard listens and looks for the signs of swimmers in danger, administrators
    must be on constant vigil to protect students from the needless suffering of sexual
    harassment. School personnel must never turn a deaf ear to students' seemingly trivial cries
    for help. Sexual harassment is not something young people need to learn to tolerate. Rather,
    it must be confronted and stopped so that schools can be safe and positive places for
    children to learn.
    References
    Adler, J., and D. Rosenberg. (October 19, 1992). “Must Boys Always Be Boys?” Newsweek, 77.
    The American Association of University Women. (June 1993). “Hostile Hallways: The AAUW
    Survey on Sexual Harassment in America's Schools.” Researched by Louis Harris and
    Associates.

    845
    Edward J. Mentell is an Assistant Principal in the Green Bay Area School District. He can be
    reached at 310 Northern Ave., Green Bay, WI 54303.

    Source:- http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
    leadership/nov93/vol51/num03/What-to-Do-To-Stop-Sexual-Harassment-at-School.aspx

    ERIC Identifier: ED448248 
    Publication Date: 2000-12-00 
    Author: Schwartz, Wendy 
    Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education New York NY. 

    Preventing Student Sexual Harassment. ERIC Digest


    Number 160.

    Peer sexual harassment among students is a complex, and


    widespread, problem with significant effects on the perpetrator, the
    victim, and the school environment. While most targets do not report
    harassment, surveys indicate that well over half of all students have
    been harassed, with females, youth of color, and gays most frequently
    targeted (American Association of University Women, AAUW, 1993;
    Gustavsson, & MacEachron, 1998; Shoop & Hayhow, 1994). Schools,
    under both social and legal pressure, are developing policies for
    keeping their environment safe for all students and procedures for
    dealing appropriately with harassment when it occurs. This digest
    reviews effective anti-harassment strategies currently employed by
    schools.

    PEER SEXUAL HARASSMENT


    Sexual harassment is considered any "unwelcome behavior of a sexual
    nature that interferes with" the life of the target(s); it is "unsolicited
    and nonreciprocal" (Shoop & Edwards, 1994, p. 17). Harassment
    includes use of sexist terms, comments about body parts, sexual
    advances, unwanted touching, gestures, taunting, sexual graffiti, and
    rumor mongering about a classmate's sexual identity or activity.
    Generally, any behavior of a sexual nature that provokes undesirable,
    uncomfortable feelings in a target can be considered harassment.
    Repeated harassment is bullying (Sexual Harassment Guidance, 1997;
    Stein & Sjostrom, 1994).

    Experts agree that sexual harassment is about power, not sex. The
    deeply ingrained societal beliefs that women should be subservient to
    men, and that "real men" are macho, foster boys' convictions that

    846
    harassment is an acceptable way to communicate with girls. The
    advertising and entertainment media perpetuate these prejudices and
    stereotypes, and family behaviors may do so as well (Shoop &
    Edwards, 1994). Further, the current practice of integrating girls into
    classes and activities previously dominated by boys can threaten boys'
    self-concept of superiority, and cause them to act out alone or in
    groups (Shoop & Edwards, 1994).

    The lives of girls targeted for harassment are often severely


    compromised. Targets may become truant and less academically
    successful. They may feel self-conscious, and even develop
    psychopathologies and physical symptoms (AAUW, 1993; Shoop &
    Hayhow, 1994).

    Legally, sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination,


    and is specifically prohibited by several Federal laws and an array of
    state laws. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has been extended
    by some courts to include peer harassment in school. Title IX of the
    Education Amendments of 1972 has been used to financially
    compensate victims of harassment in schools. Another Federal civil
    rights law, 42 U.S.C. 1983, has also been used successfully to sue
    schools that failed to protect students from peer harassment (Sexual
    Harassment Guidance, 1997).

    SCHOOL INITIATIVES ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT


    A serious effort keep a school free of sexual harassment involves the
    commitment of the whole school (and district) community and
    requires a systemic, multidimensional approach and long-term
    educational strategies. The goals are to maintain an environment that
    fosters appropriate and respectful behavior and cooperative
    interactions among students; to employ only non-sexist curriculum
    and teaching methods; to promote staff modeling of non-sexist
    behavior; and to indicate clearly that harassment will not be tolerated
    (Brandenburg, 1997; Protecting Students, 1999; Shoop & Edwards,
    1994).

    Student Education about Harassmenet

    All education about harassment needs to be age and grade


    appropriate. It should describe what types of conduct constitute
    harassment; but, to reduce the possibility of establishing a climate of
    fear, the curriculum should help students distinguish between contact
    perceived as menacing (and a violation of the target's privacy) and

    847
    flirting, which can be desired, feels good, makes the recipient happy,
    and increases self-esteem (Shoop & Hayhow, 1994; Steineger, 1997).

    A curriculum on human sexuality can easily cover harassment, but the


    problem can also be discussed in other courses: history, social
    studies, contemporary issues, English, and health education. Co-
    teaching by males and females sends "a powerful message...about the
    relevance of sexual harassment to both sexes" (Stein & Sjostrom,
    1994, p. 3). Classes should include both male and female students so
    they can gain an understanding of each other's perceptions. It is
    critical not to make the males feel threatened (Brandenburg, 1997).

    Because empowerment is one of the best ways to prevent harassment,


    schools need to build students' self-esteem. Girls can be taught
    "assertiveness skills" to enable them to express their feelings clearly
    and help them stop harassment should it occur. Boys can be taught
    how to communicate with girls in positive ways. Discussions of sex
    roles and gender stereotypes can provide valuable information about
    both sexes. Guest speakers, videos, printed materials, and web sites
    can enliven discussions. Finally, curricula should help students
    understand that engaging in harassment is a choice that someone
    makes (Brandenburg, 1997; Protecting Students, 1999; Shoop &
    Edwards, 1994).

    Anti-Harassment Policy

    Every school (and district) should have a policy that prohibits all
    forms of sexual harassment and mandates equitable treatment for all
    students. It should be comprehensive, clearly written, and sufficiently
    explicit so that students and parents, as well as educators, know what
    is expected of everyone. It should also be reevaluated and reissued
    annually.

    The policy should urge the targets of sexual harassment to report their
    victimization promptly. It should announce that all complaints will be full
    heeded, and that retaliation against complainants will be not tolerated. The
    policy should state that unbiased investigators, who are named, will conduct
    a full hearing. It should also indicate that complainants' statements will be
    kept as confidential as is possible, that complainants do not have to face
    their harassers, and that complainants can end the school's informal
    practice at any time and make a formal criminal complaint. It should also
    state that the goal of the investigation will be a fair resolution that includes,
    if warranted, appropriate and corrective action. Possible consequences for
    harassment should be specified (Shoop & Hayhow, 1994; Steineger, 1997).

    848
    A school's anti-harassment policy must be well-publicized throughout the
    school and community, through public posting and age-appropriate
    discussion. It should also be provided to families (Protecting Students, 1999;
    Shoop & Edwards, 1994).

    Responses to Harassment

    Attempts to elicit information should give everyone involved (including


    witnesses) the opportunity to describe the harassment and convey relevant
    information in their own words. The targets should be asked about the
    effects of the harassment on them personally and the solution to the
    problem that they desire, such as cessation of the offensive behavior, an
    apology, a transfer out of the class or activity where the harassment
    occurred, counseling for the harasser, school punishment of the harasser, or
    the filing of criminal charges. They should be given support, including
    counseling if warranted (Shoop & Edwards, 1994; Shoop & Hayhow, 1994).

    The consequences for harassers should include re-mediation as well as


    punishment; they need to appreciate that their actions are harmful and to
    learn more acceptable behavior (Protecting Students, 1999). Punishment
    should fit the offense in severity, both because that is fair and because
    under- or over-reactions diminish respect for the problem of harassment
    (Stein, 1999).

    Schools can also choose to use the "student empowerment approach,"


    whereby targets confront their harassers. This strategy, which prevents
    accused harassers from claiming their behavior was welcomed, can be
    effective; one-third stop their offensive behavior when directly confronted
    (Shoop & Edwards, 1994). Meetings should occur only in the presence of the
    school investigator. Alternatively, targets can write their harassers a letter,
    fully stating what they believe happened, how they feel about it, and what
    they want to happen next. Targets should never be coerced into attending a
    meeting or writing a letter; and the accused should not be forced into a
    meeting (Protecting Students, 1999; Stein, 1999).

    Professional Development

    Schools should schedule a half to a full day of interactive training on sexual


    harassment and violence, facilitated by an expert in the field, for all staff
    members. Training should cover the nature of harassment, ways to spot it
    and changes in students which suggest they are being targeted, procedures
    for reporting harassment, and strategies for dealing with the claimants and
    the accused. Staff designated as investigators and teachers whose curricula
    contain information about harassment should receive additional training

    849
    (Protecting Students, 1999; Shoop & Edwards, 1994; Stein, 1999; Steineger,
    1997).

    Family Involvement

    Children learn how to view, and respond to, the world from a variety of
    sources, especially their families, who provide a de facto education through
    their own conduct. Parents can also help their children make judgments
    about what they see and hear in the media and community, build self-esteem
    that deflects negative emotions resulting from victimization, and develop
    skills to resist personal impulses and peer pressure to behave badly. They
    can respond to the targeting of their children by believing what they say and
    helping them report incidents (Shoop & Hayhow, 1994).

    Schools can educate parents about sexual harassment through meetings and
    workshops that explain their anti-harassment policy and enlist their support
    and suggestions. They can also describe gender-fair child-rearing strategies
    and offer suggestions for parent-child discussions on related issues: sex
    education, sex equity, and sexism (Brandenburg, 1997; Stein, 1999).

    Parents who believe that their children's school does not have a
    comprehensive policy, or that its staff does not understand the relationship
    between sexual stereotyping, sexism, and sexual harassment, have an
    obligation to seek a response to their concerns.

    CONCLUSION
    While the overall climate of tolerance has been increasing in the U.S.,
    hostility--and even exhortations to violence--toward groups prone to verbal
    and physical victimization expressed in some popular music and films have
    become more pronounced. Youth are most susceptible to these messages,
    and unchecked verbal and physical sexual harassment in children can lead
    to even more destructive behavior when they become adults, such as
    domestic violence and hate crime (Shoop & Hayhow, 1994). Thus, the need
    for schools and families to deliver a strong and effective anti-harassment
    message has become even more necessary.

    REFERENCES
    American Association of University Women. (1993). Hostile hallways: The
    AAUW survey on sexual harassment in America's schools. Washington, DC:
    Author. (ED 356 186)

    Brandenburg, J.B. (1997). Confronting sexual harassment: What schools and

    850
    colleges can do. New York: Teachers College Press. Gustavsson, N.S., &
    MacEachron, A.E. (1998).Violence and lesbian and gay youth. Journal of Gay
    & Lesbian Social Services, 8(3), 41-50. (EJ 574 642)

    Protecting students from harassment and hate crime: A guide for schools
    (Revised). (1999, September). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
    Education Office for Civil Rights. (ED 431 246)

    Sexual harassment guidance: Harassment of students by school employees,


    other students, or third parties. (1997, March). Washington, DC: U.S.
    Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. (ED 405 645)

    Shoop, R.J., & Edwards, D.L. (1994). How to stop sexual harassment in our
    schools: A handbook and curriculum guide for administrators and teachers.
    Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (ED 386 794)

    Shoop, R.J., & Hayhow, J.W., Jr. (1994). Sexual harassment in our schools:
    What parents and teachers need to know to spot it and stop it. Boston: Allyn
    and Bacon.

    Stein, N. (1999). Classrooms & courtrooms: Facing sexual harassment in K-


    12 schools. New York: Teachers College Press. (ED 438 617)

    Stein, N., & Sjostrom, L. (1994). Flirting or hurting? A teacher's guide to


    student-to-student sexual harassment in schools (Grades 6 through 12).
    Washington, DC: National Education Association. (ED 380 415)

    Steineger, M. (1997). Preventing and countering school-based harassment:


    A resource guide for K-12 educators. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional
    Educational Laboratory. (ED 420 113)

    Source:- https://www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/preventing.htm

    Sexual Harassment Guidance 1997

    SEXUAL HARASSMENT GUIDANCE: HARASSMENT OF STUDENTS1 BY SCHOOL


    EMPLOYEES, OTHER STUDENTS, OR THIRD PARTIES

    851
    SUMMARY OF CONTENTS

    Introduction
    Applicability of Title IX
    Liability of a School for Sexual Harassment
    Welcomeness
    Severe, Persistent, or Pervasive
    Notice
    Recipient's Response
    Prompt and Equitable Grievance Procedures
    First Amendment
    INTRODUCTION
    Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and its implementing
    regulations, no individual may be discriminated against on the basis of sex in any education
    program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance 2. Sexual harassment of students is
    a form of prohibited sex discrimination3 under the circumstances described in the Guidance.
    The following types of conduct constitute sexual harassment:
    Quid Pro Quo Harassment--A school employee4 explicitly or implicitly conditions a student's
    participation in an education program or activity or bases an educational decision on the
    student's submission to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other
    verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature 5. Quid pro quo harassment is
    equally unlawful whether the student resists and suffers the threatened harm or submits and
    thus avoids the threatened harm. Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment--Sexually
    harassing conduct (which can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual
    favors, and other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature) 6 by an employee,
    by another student, or by a third party that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to
    limit a student's ability to participate in or benefit from an education program or activity, or to
    create a hostile or abusive educational environment 7.
    Schools are required by the Title IX regulations to have grievance procedures through which
    students can complain of alleged sex discrimination, including sexual harassment 8. As
    outlined in this guidance, grievance procedures also provide schools with an excellent
    mechanism to be used in their efforts to prevent sexual harassment before it occurs.
    Finally, if the alleged harassment involves issues of speech or expression, a school's
    obligations may be affected by the application of First Amendment principles.
    These and other issues are discussed in more detail in the following paragraphs.
    APPLICABILITY OF TITLE IX
    Title IX applies to all public and private educational institutions that receive Federal funds,
    including elementary and secondary schools, school districts, proprietary schools, colleges,
    and universities. The Guidance uses the term "schools" to refer to all those institutions. The
    "education program or activity" of a school includes all of the school's operations 9. This
    means that Title IX protects students in connection with all of the academic, educational,
    extra-curricular, athletic, and other programs of the school, whether they take place in the
    facilities of the school, on a school bus, at a class or training program sponsored by the
    school at another location, or elsewhere.
    It is important to recognize that Title IX's prohibition of sexual harassment does not extend to
    legitimate nonsexual touching or other nonsexual conduct. For example, a high school

    852
    athletic coach hugging a student who made a goal or a kindergarten teacher's consoling hug
    for a child with a skinned knee will not be considered sexual harassment 10. Similarly, one
    student's demonstration of a sports maneuver or technique requiring contact with another
    student will not be considered sexual harassment. However, in some circumstances,
    nonsexual conduct may take on sexual connotations and may rise to the level of sexual
    harassment. For example, a teacher's repeatedly hugging and putting his or her arms around
    students under inappropriate circumstances could create a hostile environment.
    Title IX protects any "person" from sex discrimination; accordingly both male and female
    students are protected from sexual harassment engaged in by a school's employees, other
    students, or third parties11. Moreover, Title IX prohibits sexual harassment regardless of the
    sex of the harasser, i.e., even if the harasser and the person being harassed are members of
    the same sex12. An example would be a campaign of sexually explicit graffiti directed at a
    particular girl by other girls13.
    Although Title IX does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation 14, sexual
    harassment directed at gay or lesbian students may constitute sexual harassment prohibited
    by Title IX. For example, if students heckle another student with comments based on the
    student's sexual orientation (e.g., "gay students are not welcome at this table in the
    cafeteria"), but their actions or language do not involve sexual conduct, their actions would
    not be sexual harassment covered by Title IX. On the other hand, harassing conduct of a
    sexual nature directed toward gay or lesbian students (e.g., if a male student or a group of
    male students target a lesbian student for physical sexual advances) may create a sexually
    hostile environment and, therefore, may be prohibited by Title IX. It should be noted that
    some State and local laws may prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
    Also, under certain circumstances, courts may permit redress for harassment on the basis of
    sexual orientation under other Federal legal authority 15.
    It is also important to recognize that gender-based harassment, which may include acts of
    verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility based on sex, but not
    involving conduct of a sexual nature, may be a form of sex discrimination that violates Title
    IX if it is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive and directed at individuals because of
    their sex16. For example, the repeated sabotaging of female graduate students' laboratory
    experiments by male students in the class could be the basis of a violation of Title IX.
    Although a comprehensive discussion of gender-based harassment is beyond the scope of
    this Guidance, in assessing all related circumstances to determine whether a hostile
    environment exists, incidents of gender-based harassment combined with incidents of sexual
    harassment could create a hostile environment, even if neither the gender-based
    harassment alone nor the sexual harassment alone would be sufficient to do so 17.
    LIABILITY OF A SCHOOL FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT

    Liability of a School for Sexual Harassment by its Employees


    A school's liability for sexual harassment by its employees is determined by application of
    agency principles18, i.e., by principles governing the delegation of authority to or authorization
    of another person to act on one's behalf.
    Accordingly, a school will always be liable for even one instance of quid pro quo harassment
    by a school employee in a position of authority, such as a teacher or administrator, whether
    or not it knew, should have known, or approved of the harassment at issue 19. Under agency
    principles, if a teacher or other employee uses the authority he or she is given (e.g., to
    assign grades) to force a student to submit to sexual demands, the employee "stands in the
    shoes" of the school and the school will be responsible for the use of its authority by the
    employee or agent20.

    853
    A school will also be liable for hostile environment sexual harassment by its employees 21, i.e.,
    for harassment that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to limit a student's ability to
    participate in or benefit from the education program or to create a hostile or abusive
    educational environment if the employee -- (1) acted with apparent authority (i.e., because of
    the school's conduct, the employee reasonably appears to be acting on behalf of the school,
    whether or not the employee acted with authority) 22; or (2) was aided in carrying out the
    sexual harassment of students by his or her position of authority with the institution 23. For
    example, a school will be liable if a teacher abuses his or her delegated authority over a
    student to create a hostile environment, such as if the teacher implicitly threatens to fail a
    student unless the student responds to his or her sexual advances, even though the teacher
    fails to carry out the threat24.
    As this example illustrates, in many cases the line between quid pro quo and hostile
    environment discrimination will be blurred, and the employee's conduct may constitute both
    types of harassment. However, what is important is that the school is liable for that conduct
    under application of agency principles, regardless of whether it is labeled as quid pro quo or
    hostile environment harassment.
    Whether other employees, such as a janitor or cafeteria worker, are in positions of authority
    in relation to students -- or whether it would be reasonable for the student to believe the
    employees are, even if the employees are not (i.e., apparent authority) -- will depend on
    factors such as the authority actually given to the employee 25 (e.g., in some elementary
    schools, a cafeteria worker may have authority to impose discipline) and the age of the
    student. For example, in some cases the younger a student is, the more likely it is that he or
    she will consider any adult employee to be in a position of authority.
    Even in situations not involving (i) quid pro quo harassment, (ii) creation of a hostile
    environment through an employee's apparent authority, or (iii) creation of a hostile
    environment in which the employee is aided in carrying out the sexual harassment by his or
    her position of authority, a school will be liable for sexual harassment of its students by its
    employees under the same standards applicable to peer and third party hostile environment
    sexual harassment, as discussed in the next section. That is, if the school fails to take
    immediate and appropriate steps to remedy known harassment, then the school will be liable
    under Title IX26. It is important to emphasize that under this standard of liability the school can
    avoid violating Title IX if it takes immediate and appropriate action upon notice of the
    harassment.

    Liability of a School for Peer or Third Party Harassment27


    In contrast to the variety of situations in which a school may be liable for sexual harassment
    by its employees, a school will be liable under Title IX if its students sexually harass other
    students if (i) a hostile environment exists in the school's programs or activities, (ii) the
    school knows or should have known of the harassment, and (iii) the school fails to take
    immediate and appropriate corrective action 28. (Each of these factors is discussed in detail in
    subsequent sections of the Guidance.) Under these circumstances, a school's failure to
    respond to the existence of a hostile environment within its own programs or activities
    permits an atmosphere of sexual discrimination to permeate the educational program and
    results in discrimination prohibited by Title IX. Conversely, if, upon notice of hostile
    environment harassment, a school takes immediate and appropriate steps to remedy the
    hostile environment, the school has avoided violating Title IX. Thus, Title IX does not make a
    school responsible for the actions of harassing students, but rather for its own discrimination
    in failing to remedy it once the school has notice.
    Sexually harassing conduct of third parties, who are not themselves employees or students
    at the school (e.g., a visiting speaker or members of a visiting athletic club) can also cause a
    sexually hostile environment in school programs or activities. For the same reason that a

    854
    school will be liable under Title IX for a hostile environment caused by its students, a school
    will be liable if third parties sexually harass its students if (i) a hostile environment exists in
    the school's programs or activities, (ii) the school knows or should have known of the
    harassment, and (iii) the school fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action 29.
    However, the type of appropriate steps the school should take will differ depending on the
    level of control the school has over the third party harasser 30. This issue is discussed in
    "Recipient's Response."

    Effect of Grievance Procedures on Liability


    Schools are required by the Title IX regulations to adopt and publish grievance procedures
    providing for prompt and equitable resolution of sex discrimination complaints, including
    complaints of sexual harassment, and to disseminate a policy against sex discrimination 31.
    (These issues are discussed in the section on "Prompt and Equitable Grievance
    Procedures.") These procedures provide a school with a mechanism for discovering sexual
    harassment as early as possible and for effectively correcting problems, as required by Title
    IX. By having a strong policy against sex discrimination and accessible, effective, and fairly
    applied grievance procedures, a school is telling its students that it does not tolerate sexual
    harassment and that students can report it without fear of adverse consequences.
    Accordingly, in the absence of effective policies and grievance procedures, if the alleged
    harassment was sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to create a hostile environment,
    a school will be in violation of Title IX because of the existence of a hostile environment,
    even if the school was not aware of the harassment and thus failed to remedy it 32. This is
    because, without a policy and procedure, a student does not know either of the school's
    interest in preventing this form of discrimination or how to report harassment so that it can be
    remedied. Moreover, under the agency principles previously discussed, a school's failure to
    implement effective policies and procedures against discrimination may create apparent
    authority for school employees to harass students 33.

    OCR Case Resolution


    If OCR is asked to investigate or otherwise resolve incidents of sexual harassment of
    students, including incidents caused by employees, other students, or third parties, OCR will
    consider whether--(1) the school has a policy prohibiting sex discrimination under Title IX
    and effective Title IX grievance procedures 34; (2) the school appropriately investigated or
    otherwise responded to allegations of sexual harassment; and (3) the school has taken
    immediate and appropriate corrective action responsive to quid pro quo or hostile
    environment harassment. (Issues related to appropriate investigative and corrective actions
    are discussed in detail in the section on "Recipient's Response.") If the school has taken
    each of these steps, OCR will consider the case against the school resolved and take no
    further action other than monitoring compliance with any agreement between the school and
    OCR. This is true in cases in which the school was in violation of Title IX, as well as those in
    which there has been no violation of Title IX35.
    WELCOMENESS
    In order to be actionable as harassment, sexual conduct must be unwelcome. Conduct is
    unwelcome if the student did not request or invite it and "regarded the conduct as
    undesirable or offensive36." Acquiescence in the conduct or the failure to complain does not
    always mean that the conduct was welcome37. For example, a student may decide not to
    resist sexual advances of another student or may not file a complaint out of fear. In addition,
    a student may not object to a pattern of sexually demeaning comments directed at him or her
    by a group of students out of a concern that objections might cause the harassers to make
    more comments. The fact that a student may have accepted the conduct does not mean that
    he or she welcomed it38. Also, the fact that a student willingly participated in conduct on one

    855
    occasion does not prevent him or her from indicating that the same conduct has become
    unwelcome on a subsequent occasion. On the other hand, if a student actively participates in
    sexual banter and discussions and gives no indication that he or she objects, then the
    evidence generally will not support a conclusion that the conduct was unwelcome 39.
    If younger children are involved, it may be necessary to determine the degree to which they
    are able to recognize that certain sexual conduct is conduct to which they can or should
    reasonably object and the degree to which they can articulate an objection. Accordingly,
    OCR will consider the age of the student, the nature of the conduct involved, and other
    relevant factors in determining whether a student had the capacity to welcome sexual
    conduct.
    Schools should be particularly concerned about the issue of welcomeness if the harasser is
    in a position of authority. For instance, because students may be encouraged to believe that
    a teacher has absolute authority over the operation of his or her classroom, a student may
    not object to a teacher's sexually harassing comments during class; however, this does not
    necessarily mean that the conduct was welcome. Instead, the student may believe that any
    objections would be ineffective in stopping the harassment or may fear that by making
    objections he or she will be singled out for harassing comments or other retaliati
    on.
    In addition, OCR must consider particular issues of welcomeness if the alleged harassment
    relates to alleged "consensual" sexual relationships between a school's adult employees and
    its students. If elementary students are involved, welcomeness will not be an issue: OCR will
    never view sexual conduct between an adult school employee and an elementary school
    student as consensual. In cases involving secondary students, there will be a strong
    presumption that sexual conduct between an adult school employee and a student is not
    consensual. In cases involving older secondary students, subject to the presumption 40, OCR
    will consider a number of factors in determining whether a school employee's sexual
    advances or other sexual conduct could be considered welcome 41. In addition, OCR will
    consider these factors in all cases involving postsecondary students in making those
    determinations42. The factors include:
     The nature of the conduct and the relationship of the school employee to the student,
    including the degree of influence (which could, at least in part, be affected by the
    student's age), authority, or control the employee has over the student.
     Whether the student was legally or practically unable to consent to the sexual
    conduct in question. For example, a student's age could affect his or her ability to do
    so. Similarly, certain types of disabilities could affect a student's ability to do so.

    If there is a dispute about whether harassment occurred or whether it was welcome -- in a


    case in which it is appropriate to consider whether the conduct could be welcome --
    determinations should be made based on the totality of the circumstances. The following
    types of information may be helpful in resolving the dispute:
     Statements by any witnesses to the alleged incident.
     Evidence about the relative credibility of the allegedly harassed student and the
    alleged harasser. For example, the level of detail and consistency of each person's
    account should be compared in an attempt to determine who is telling the truth.
    Another way to assess credibility is to see if corroborative evidence is lacking where
    it should logically exist. However, the absence of witnesses may indicate only the
    unwillingness of others to step forward, perhaps due to fear of the harasser or a
    desire not to get involved.
     Evidence that the alleged harasser has been found to have harassed others may
    support the credibility of the student claiming the harassment; conversely, the

    856
    student's claim will be weakened if he or she has been found to have made false
    allegations against other individuals.
     Evidence of the allegedly harassed student's reaction or behavior after the alleged
    harassment. For example, were there witnesses who saw the student immediately
    after the alleged incident who say that the student appeared to be upset? However, it
    is important to note that some students may respond to harassment in ways that do
    not manifest themselves right away, but may surface several days or weeks after the
    harassment. For example, a student may initially show no signs of having been
    harassed, but several weeks after the harassment, there may be significant changes
    in the student's behavior, including difficulty concentrating on academic work,
    symptoms of depression, and a desire to avoid certain individuals and places at
    school.
     Evidence about whether the student claiming harassment filed a complaint or took
    other action to protest the conduct soon after the alleged incident occurred. However,
    failure to immediately complain may merely reflect a fear of retaliation or a fear that
    the complainant may not be believed rather than that the alleged harassment did not
    occur.
     Other contemporaneous evidence. For example, did the student claiming
    harassment write about the conduct, and his or her reaction to it, soon after it
    occurred (e.g., in a diary or letter)? Did the student tell others (friends, parents) about
    the conduct (and his or her reaction to it) soon after it occurred?

    SEVERE, PERSISTENT, OR PERVASIVE


    Hostile environment sexual harassment of a student or students by other students,
    employees, or third parties is created if conduct of a sexual nature is sufficiently severe,
    persistent, or pervasive to limit a student's ability to participate in or benefit from the
    education program or to create a hostile or abusive educational environment. Thus, conduct
    that is sufficiently severe, but not persistent or pervasive, can result in hostile environment
    sexual harassment.
    In deciding whether conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive, the conduct
    should be considered from both a subjective43 and objective44 perspective. In making this
    determination, all relevant circumstances should be considered 45:
     The degree to which the conduct affected one or more students' education. For a
    hostile environment to exist, the conduct must have limited the ability of a student to
    participate in or benefit from his or her education or altered the conditions of the
    student's educational environment 46.

    .. Many hostile environment cases involve tangible or obvious injuries47. For


    example, a student's grades may go down or the student may be forced to
    withdraw from school because of the harassing behavior48. A student may
    also suffer physical injuries and mental or emotional distress49.
    .. However, a hostile environment may exist even if there is no tangible
    injury to the student50. For example, a student may have been able to keep
    up his or her grades and continue to attend school even though it was
    more difficult for him or her to do so because of the harassing behavior51. A
    student may be able to remain on a sports team, despite feeling humiliated
    or angered by harassment that creates a hostile environment52. Harassing

    857
    conduct in these examples alters the student's educational environment on
    the basis of sex.
    .. A hostile environment can occur even if the harassment is not targeted
    specifically at the individual complainant53. For example, if a student or
    group of students regularly directs sexual comments toward a particular
    student, a hostile environment may be created not only for the targeted
    student, but also for others who witness the conduct. Similarly, if a middle
    school teacher directs sexual comments toward a particular student, a
    hostile environment may be created for the targeted student and for the
    students who witness the conduct.
     The type, frequency, and duration of the conduct. In most cases, a hostile
    environment will exist if there is a pattern or practice of harassment or if the
    harassment is sustained and nontrivial 54. For instance, if a young woman is taunted
    by one or more young men about her breasts or genital area or both, OCR may find
    that a hostile environment has been created, particularly if the conduct has gone on
    for some time, takes place throughout the school, or if the taunts are made by a
    number of students. The more severe the conduct, the less the need to show a
    repetitive series of incidents; this is particularly true if the harassment is physical. For
    instance, if the conduct is more severe, e.g., attempts to grab a female student's
    breasts, genital area, or buttocks, it need not be as persistent or pervasive in order to
    create a hostile environment. Indeed, a single or isolated incident of sexual
    harassment may, if sufficiently severe, create a hostile environment 55. On the other
    hand, conduct that is not severe, persistent, or pervasive will not create a hostile
    environment; e.g., a comment by one student to another student that she has a nice
    figure. Indeed, depending on the circumstances, this may not even be conduct of a
    sexual nature56. Similarly, because students date one another, a request for a date or
    a gift of flowers, even if unwelcome, would not create a hostile environment.
    However, there may be circumstances in which repeated, unwelcome requests for
    dates or similar conduct could create a hostile environment. For example, a person
    may request dates in an intimidating or threatening manner.
     The identity of and relationship between the alleged harasser and the subject or
    subjects of the harassment. A factor to be considered, especially in cases involving
    allegations of sexual harassment of a student by a school employee, is the identity of
    and relationship between the alleged harasser and the subject or subjects of the
    harassment. For example, due to the power that a professor or teacher has over a
    student, sexually based conduct by that person toward a student is more likely to
    create a hostile environment than similar conduct by another student 57 .
     The number of individuals involved. Sexual harassment may be committed by an
    individual or a group. In some cases, verbal comments or other conduct from one
    person might not be sufficient to create a hostile environment, but could be if done by
    a group. Similarly, while harassment can be directed toward an individual or a
    group58, the effect of the conduct toward a group may vary, depending on the type of
    conduct and the context. For certain types of conduct, there may be "safety in
    numbers." For example, following an individual student and making sexual taunts to
    him or her may be very intimidating to that student but, in certain circumstances, less
    so to a group of students. On the other hand, persistent unwelcome sexual conduct
    still may create a hostile environment if directed toward a group.
     The age and sex of the alleged harasser and the subject or subjects of the
    harassment. For example, in the case of younger students, sexually harassing
    conduct is more likely to be intimidating if coming from an older student 59.

    858
     The size of the school, location of the incidents, and context in which they occurred.
    Depending on the circumstances of a particular case, fewer incidents may have a
    greater effect at a small college than at a large university campus. Harassing conduct
    occurring on a school bus may be more intimidating than similar conduct on a school
    playground because the restricted area makes it impossible for the students to avoid
    their harassers60. Harassing conduct in a personal or secluded area such as a
    dormitory room or residence hall can also have a greater effect (e.g., be seen as
    more threatening) than would similar conduct in a more public area. On the other
    hand, harassing conduct in a public place may be more humiliating. Each incident
    must be judged individually.
     Other incidents at the school. A series of instances at the school, not involving the
    same students, could -- taken together -- create a hostile environment, even if each
    by itself would not be sufficient 61.
     Incidents of gender-based, but non-sexual, harassment. Acts of verbal, nonverbal, or
    physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility based on sex, but not involving sexual
    activity or language, can be combined with incidents of sexual harassment to
    determine if the incidents of sexual harassment are sufficiently severe, persistent, or
    pervasive to create a sexually hostile environment 62.

    NOTICE
    A school will be in violation of Title IX if the school "has notice" of a sexually hostile
    environment and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action 63. A school has
    notice if it actually "knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known" about
    the harassment64. In addition, as long as an agent or responsible employee of the school
    received notice65, the school has notice
    .
    A school can receive notice in many different ways. A student may have filed a grievance or
    complained to a teacher about fellow students sexually harassing him or her. A student,
    parent, or other individual may have contacted other appropriate personnel, such as a
    principal, campus security, bus driver, teacher, an affirmative action officer, or staff in the
    office of student affairs. An agent or responsible employee of the school may have witnessed
    the harassment. The school may receive notice in an indirect manner, from sources such as
    a member of the school staff, a member of the educational or local community, or the media.
    The school also may have received notice from flyers about the incident or incidents posted
    around the school66.
    Constructive notice exists if the school "should have" known about the harassment -- if the
    school would have found out about the harassment through a "reasonably diligent inquiry 67."
    For example, if a school knows of some incidents of harassment, there may be situations in
    which it will be charged with notice of others -- if the known incidents should have triggered
    an investigation that would have led to a discovery of the additional incidents. In other cases,
    the pervasiveness of the harassment may be enough to conclude that the school should
    have known of the hostile environment -- if the harassment is widespread, openly practiced,
    or well-known to students and staff (such as sexual harassment occurring in hallways, graffiti
    in public areas, or harassment occurring during recess under a teacher's supervision) 68.
    In addition, if a school otherwise has actual or constructive notice of a hostile environment
    and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action, a school has violated Title IX
    even if the student fails to use the school's existing grievance procedures.
    RECIPIENT'S RESPONSE

    859
    Once a school has notice of possible sexual harassment of students -- whether carried out
    by employees, other students, or third parties -- it should take immediate and appropriate
    steps to investigate or otherwise determine what occurred and take steps reasonably
    calculated to end any harassment, eliminate a hostile environment if one has been created,
    and prevent harassment from occurring again. These steps are the school's responsibility
    whether or not the student who was harassed makes a complaint or otherwise asks the
    school to take action69. As described in the next section, in appropriate circumstances the
    school will also be responsible for taking steps to remedy the effects of the harassment on
    the individual student or students who were harassed. What constitutes a reasonable
    response to information about possible sexual harassment will differ depending upon the
    circumstances.

    Response to Student or Parent Reports of Harassment;


    Response to Direct Observation by a Responsible Employee or
    Agent of Harassment
    If a student or the parent of an elementary or secondary student provides information or
    complains about sexual harassment of the student, the school should initially discuss what
    actions the student or parent is seeking in response to the harassment. The school should
    explain the avenues for informal and formal action, including a description of the grievance
    procedure that is available for sexual harassment complaints and an explanation of how the
    procedure works. If a responsible school employee or agent has directly observed sexual
    harassment of a student, the school should contact the student who was harassed (or the
    parent, depending upon the age of the student) 70, explain that the school is responsible for
    taking steps to correct the harassment, and provide the same information described in the
    previous sentence.
    Regardless of whether the student who was harassed, or his or her parent, decides to file a
    formal complaint or otherwise request action on the student's behalf (including in cases
    involving direct observation by a responsible school employee or agent), the school must
    promptly investigate to determine what occurred and then take appropriate steps to resolve
    the situation. The specific steps in an investigation will vary depending upon the nature of the
    allegations, the source of the complaint, the age of the student or students involved, the size
    and administrative structure of the school, and other factors. However, in all cases the
    inquiry must be prompt, thorough, and impartial. (Requests by the student who was
    harassed for confidentiality or for no action to be taken, responding to notice of harassment
    from other sources, and the components of a prompt and equitable grievance procedure are
    discussed in subsequent sections of the Guidance.)
    It may be appropriate for a school to take interim measures during the investigation of a
    complaint. For instance, if a student alleges that he or she has been sexually assaulted by
    another student, the school may decide to immediately place the students in separate
    classes or in different housing arrangements on a campus, pending the results of the
    school's investigation. Similarly, if the alleged harasser is a teacher, allowing the student to
    transfer to a different class may be appropriate. In cases involving potential criminal conduct,
    school personnel should determine whether appropriate law enforcement authorities should
    be notified. In all cases, schools should make every effort to prevent public disclosure of the
    names of all parties involved, except to the extent necessary to carry out an investigation.
    If a school determines that sexual harassment has occurred, it should take reasonable,
    timely, age-appropriate, and effective corrective action, including steps tailored to the specific
    situation71. Appropriate steps should be taken to end the harassment. For example, school
    personnel may need to counsel, warn, or take disciplinary action against the harasser, based
    on the severity of the harassment or any record of prior incidents or both 72. A series of
    escalating consequences may be necessary if the initial steps are ineffective in stopping the

    860
    harassment73. In some cases, it may be appropriate to further separate the harassed student
    and the harasser, e.g., by changing housing arrangements 74 or directing the harasser to have
    no further contact with the harassed student. Responsive measures of this type should be
    designed to minimize, as much as possible, the burden on the student who was harassed. If
    the alleged harasser is not a student or employee of the recipient, OCR will consider the
    level of control the school has over the harasser in determining what response would be
    appropriate75.
    Steps also should be taken to eliminate any hostile environment that has been created. For
    example, if a female student has been subjected to harassment by a group of other students
    in a class, the school may need to deliver special training or other interventions for that class
    to repair the educational environment. If the school offers the student the option of
    withdrawing from a class in which a hostile environment occurred, the school should assist
    the student in making program or schedule changes and ensure that none of the changes
    adversely affect the student's academic record. Other measures may include, if appropriate,
    directing a harasser to apologize to the harassed student. If a hostile environment has
    affected an entire school or campus, an effective response may need to include
    dissemination of information, the issuance of new policy statements, or other steps that are
    designed to clearly communicate the message that the school does not tolerate harassment
    and will be responsive to any student who reports that conduct.
    In some situations, a school may be required to provide other services to the student who
    was harassed if necessary to address the effects of the harassment on that student 76. For
    example, if an instructor gives a student a low grade because the student failed to respond
    to his sexual advances, this constitutes quid pro quo harassment for which the school is
    liable under Title IX regardless of whether it knew of the harassment. Thus, the school may
    be required to make arrangements for an independent reassessment of the student's work, if
    feasible, and change the grade accordingly; make arrangements for the student to take the
    course again with a different instructor; provide tutoring; make tuition adjustments; offer
    reimbursement for professional counseling; or take other measures that are appropriate to
    the circumstances. As another example, if a school delays responding or responds
    inappropriately to information about harassment, such as a case in which the school ignores
    complaints by a student that he or she is being sexually harassed by a classmate, the school
    will be required to remedy the effects of the harassment that could have been prevented had
    the school responded promptly and appropriately.
    Finally, a school should take steps to prevent any further harassment 77 and to prevent any
    retaliation against the student who made the complaint (or was the subject of the
    harassment), against a person who filed a complaint on behalf of a student, or against those
    who provided information as witnesses78. At a minimum, this includes making sure that the
    harassed students and their parents know how to report any subsequent problems and
    making follow-up inquiries to see if there have been any new incidents or any retaliation. To
    prevent recurrences, counseling for the harasser may be appropriate to ensure that he or
    she understands what constitutes harassment and the effects it can have. In addition,
    depending on how widespread the harassment was and whether there have been any prior
    incidents, the school may need to provide training for the larger school community to ensure
    that students, parents, and teachers can recognize harassment if it recurs and know how to
    respond79.

    Requests by the Harassed Student for Confidentiality


    The scope of a reasonable response also may depend upon whether a student, or parent of
    a minor student, reporting harassment asks that the student's name not be disclosed to the
    harasser or that nothing be done about the alleged harassment. In all cases a school should
    discuss confidentiality standards and concerns with the complainant initially. The school

    861
    should inform the student that the request may limit the school's ability to respond. The
    school also should tell the student that Title IX prohibits retaliation and that, if he or she is
    afraid of reprisals from the alleged harasser, the school will take steps to try to prevent
    retaliation and will take strong responsive actions if retaliation occurs. If the student
    continues to ask that his or her name not be revealed, the school should take all reasonable
    steps to investigate and respond to the complaint consistent with that request as long as
    doing so does not preclude the school from responding effectively to the harassment and
    preventing harassment of other students. Thus, for example, a reasonable response would
    not require disciplinary action against an alleged harasser if a student, who was the only
    student harassed, insists that his or her name not be revealed, and the alleged harasser
    could not respond to the charges of sexual harassment without that information.
    At the same time, a school should evaluate the confidentiality request in the context of its
    responsibility to provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all students. The
    factors a school may consider in this regard include the seriousness of the alleged
    harassment, the age of the student harassed, whether there have been other complaints or
    reports of harassment against the alleged harasser, and the rights of the accused individual
    to receive information about the accuser and the allegations if a formal proceeding with
    sanctions may result80.
    Although a student's request to have his or her name withheld may limit the school's ability to
    respond fully to an individual complaint of harassment, other means may be available to
    address the harassment. There are steps a recipient can take to limit the effects of the
    alleged harassment and prevent its recurrence without initiating formal action against the
    alleged harasser or revealing the identity of the complainant. Examples include conducting
    sexual harassment training for the school site or academic department where the problem
    occurred, taking a student survey concerning any problems with harassment, or
    implementing other systemic measures at the site or department where the alleged
    harassment has occurred.
    In addition, by investigating the complaint to the extent possible -- including by reporting it to
    the Title IX coordinator or other responsible school employee designated pursuant to Title IX
    -- the school may learn about or be able to confirm a pattern of harassment based on claims
    by different students that they were harassed by the same individual. In some situations
    there may be prior reports by former students who now might be willing to come forward and
    be identified, thus providing a basis for further corrective action. In instances affecting a
    number of students (for example, a report from a student that an instructor has repeatedly
    made sexually explicit remarks about his or her personal life in front of an entire class), an
    individual can be put on notice of allegations of harassing behavior and counseled
    appropriately without revealing, even indirectly, the identity of the student who notified the
    school. Those steps can be very effective in preventing further harassment.

    Response to Other Types of Notice


    The previous two sections deal with situations in which a student or parent of a student who
    was harassed reports or complains of harassment or in which a responsible school
    employee or agent directly observes sexual harassment of a student. If a school learns of
    harassment through other means, for example if information about harassment is received
    from a third party (such as from a witness to an incident or an anonymous letter or telephone
    call), different factors will affect the school's response. These factors include the source and
    nature of the information; the seriousness of the alleged incident; the specificity of the
    information; the objectivity and credibility of the source of the report; whether any individuals
    can be identified who were subjected to the alleged harassment; and whether those
    individuals want to pursue the matter. If, based on these factors, it is reasonable for the

    862
    school to investigate and it can confirm the allegations, the considerations described in the
    previous sections concerning interim measures and appropriate responsive action will apply.
    For example, if a parent visiting a school observes a student repeatedly harassing a group of
    female students and reports this to school officials, school personnel can speak with the
    female students to confirm whether that conduct has occurred and whether they view it as
    unwelcome. If the school determines that the conduct created a hostile environment, it can
    take reasonable, age-appropriate steps to address the situation. If, on the other hand, the
    students in this example were to ask that their names not be disclosed or indicate that they
    do not want to pursue the matter, the considerations described in the previous section
    related to requests for confidentiality will shape the school's response.
    In a contrasting example, a student newspaper at a large university may print an anonymous
    letter claiming that a professor is sexually harassing students in class on a daily basis, but
    the letter provides no clue as to the identity of the professor or the department in which the
    conduct is allegedly taking place. Due to the anonymous source and lack of specificity of the
    information, a school would not reasonably be able to investigate and confirm these
    allegations. However, in response to the anonymous letter, the school could submit a letter
    or article to the newspaper reiterating its policy against sexual harassment, encouraging
    persons who believe that they have been sexually harassed to come forward, and explaining
    how its grievance procedures work.

    Prevention
    A policy specifically prohibiting sexual harassment and separate grievance procedures for
    violations of that policy can help ensure that all students and employees understand the
    nature of sexual harassment and that the school will not tolerate it. Indeed, they might even
    bring conduct of a sexual nature to the school's attention so that the school can address it
    before it becomes sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to create a hostile
    environment. Further, training for administrators, teachers, and staff and age-appropriate
    classroom information for students can help to ensure that they understand what types of
    conduct can cause sexual harassment and that they know how to respond.
    PROMPT AND EQUITABLE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
    Schools are required by Title IX to adopt and publish a policy against sex discrimination and
    grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints of
    discrimination on the basis of sex81. Accordingly, regardless of whether harassment occurred,
    a school violates this requirement of Title IX if it does not have those procedures and policy
    in place82.
    A school's sex discrimination grievance procedures must apply to complaints of sex
    discrimination in the school's education programs and activities filed by students against
    school employees, other students, or third parties 83. Title IX does not require a school to
    adopt a policy specifically prohibiting sexual harassment or to provide separate grievance
    procedures for sexual harassment complaints. However, its nondiscrimination policy and
    grievance procedures for handling discrimination complaints must provide effective means
    for preventing and responding to sexual harassment. Thus, if, because of the lack of a policy
    or procedure specifically addressing sexual harassment, students are unaware of what kind
    of conduct constitutes sexual harassment or that that conduct is prohibited sex
    discrimination, a school's general policy and procedures relating to sex discrimination
    complaints will not be considered effective84.
    OCR has identified a number of elements in evaluating whether a school's grievance
    procedures are prompt and equitable, including whether the procedures provide for--

    863
    1. notice to students, parents of elementary and secondary students, and employees of
    the procedure, including where complaints may be filed;
    2. application of the procedure to complaints alleging harassment carried out by
    employees, other students, or third parties;
    3. adequate, reliable, and impartial investigation of complaints, including the opportunity
    to present witnesses and other evidence;
    4. designated and reasonably prompt timeframes for the major stages of the complaint
    process;
    5. notice to the parties of the outcome of the complaint85; and
    6. an assurance that the school will take steps to prevent recurrence of any harassment
    and to correct its discriminatory effects on the complainant and others, if
    appropriate86.

    Many schools also provide an opportunity to appeal the findings or remedy or both. In
    addition, because retaliation is prohibited by Title IX, schools may want to include a provision
    in their procedures prohibiting retaliation against any individual who files a complaint or
    participates in a harassment inquiry.
    Procedures adopted by schools will vary considerably in detail, specificity, and components,
    reflecting differences in audiences, school sizes and administrative structures, State or local
    legal requirements, and past experience. In addition, whether complaint resolutions are
    timely will vary depending on the complexity of the investigation and the severity and extent
    of the harassment. During the investigation it is a good practice for schools to inform
    students who have alleged harassment about the status of the investigation on a periodic
    basis.
    A grievance procedure applicable to sexual harassment complaints cannot be prompt or
    equitable unless students know it exists, how it works, and how to file a complaint. Thus, the
    procedures should be written in language appropriate to the age of the school's students,
    easily understood, and widely disseminated. Distributing the procedures to administrators, or
    including them in the school's administrative or policy manual, may not by itself be an
    effective way of providing notice, as these publications are usually not widely circulated to
    and understood by all members of the school community. Many schools ensure adequate
    notice to students by having copies of the procedures available at various locations
    throughout the school or campus; publishing the procedures as a separate document;
    including a summary of the procedures in major publications issued by the school, such as
    handbooks and catalogs for students, parents of elementary and secondary students,
    faculty, and staff; and identifying individuals who can explain how the procedures work.
    A school must designate at least one employee to coordinate its efforts to comply with and
    carry out its Title IX responsibilities87. The school must notify all of its students and
    employees of the name, office address, and telephone number of the employee or
    employees designated88. Because it is possible that an employee designated to handle Title
    IX complaints may him or herself engage in harassment, a school may want to designate
    more than one employee to be responsible for handling complaints in order to ensure that
    students have an effective means of reporting harassment 89. While a school may choose to
    have a number of employees responsible for Title IX matters, it is also advisable to give one
    official responsibility for overall coordination and oversight of all sexual harassment
    complaints to ensure consistent practices and standards in handling complaints.
    Coordination of recordkeeping (for instance, in a confidential log maintained by the Title IX
    coordinator) will also ensure that the school can and will resolve recurring problems and
    identify students or employees who have multiple complaints filed against them 90. Finally, the
    school must make sure that all designated employees have adequate training as to what

    864
    conduct constitutes sexual harassment and are able to explain how the grievance procedure
    operates91.
    Grievance procedures may include informal mechanisms for resolving sexual harassment
    complaints to be used if the parties agree to do so92. OCR has frequently advised schools,
    however, that it is not appropriate for a student who is complaining of harassment to be
    required to work out the problem directly with the individual alleged to be harassing him or
    her, and certainly not without appropriate involvement by the school (e.g., participation by a
    counselor, trained mediator, or, if appropriate, a teacher or administrator). In addition, the
    complainant must be notified of the right to end the informal process at any time and begin
    the formal stage of the complaint process. In some cases, such as alleged sexual assaults,
    mediation will not be appropriate even on a voluntary basis. Title IX also permits the use of a
    student disciplinary procedure not designed specifically for Title IX grievances to resolve sex
    discrimination complaints, as long as the procedure meets the requirement of affording a
    complainant a "prompt and equitable" resolution of the complaint.
    In some instances, a complainant may allege harassing conduct that constitutes both sex
    discrimination and possible criminal conduct. Police investigations or reports may be useful
    in terms of fact-gathering. However, because legal standards for criminal conduct are
    different, police investigations or reports may not be determinative of whether harassment
    occurred under Title IX and do not relieve the school of its duty to respond promptly 93.
    Similarly, schools are cautioned about using the results of insurance company investigations
    of sexual harassment allegations. The purpose of an insurance investigation is to assess
    liability under the insurance policy, and the applicable standards may well be different from
    those under Title IX. In addition, a school is not relieved of its responsibility to respond to a
    sexual harassment complaint filed under its grievance procedure by the fact that a complaint
    has been filed with OCR94.
    Finally, a public school's employees may have certain due process rights under the United
    States Constitution. The Constitution also guarantees due process to students in public and
    State-supported schools who are accused of certain types of infractions. The rights
    established under Title IX must be interpreted consistently with any federally guaranteed
    rights involved in a complaint proceeding. In both public and private schools, additional or
    separate rights may be created for employees or students by State law, institutional
    regulations and policies, such as faculty or student handbooks, and collective bargaining
    agreements. Schools should be aware of these rights and their legal responsibilities to those
    accused of harassment. Indeed, procedures that ensure the Title IX rights of the complainant
    while at the same time according due process to both parties involved will lead to sound and
    supportable decisions. Schools should ensure that steps to accord due process rights do not
    restrict or unnecessarily delay the protections provided by Title IX to the complainant.
    FIRST AMENDMENT
    In cases of alleged harassment, the protections of the First Amendment must be considered
    if issues of speech or expression are involved95. Free speech rights apply in the classroom
    (e.g., classroom lectures and discussions)96 and in all other education programs and activities
    of public schools (e.g., public meetings and speakers on campus; campus debates, school
    plays and other cultural events97; and student newspapers, journals and other publications 98).
    In addition, First Amendment rights apply to the speech of students and teachers 99.
    Title IX is intended to protect students from sex discrimination, not to regulate the content of
    speech. OCR recognizes that the offensiveness of particular expression as perceived by
    some students, standing alone, is not a legally sufficient basis to establish a sexually hostile
    environment under Title IX100. In order to establish a violation of Title IX, the harassment must
    be sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to limit a student's ability to participate in or

    865
    benefit from the education program or to create a hostile or abusive educational
    environment101.
    Moreover, in regulating the conduct of its students and its faculty to prevent or redress
    discrimination prohibited by Title IX (e.g., in responding to harassment that is sufficiently
    severe, persistent, or pervasive as to create a hostile environment), a school must formulate,
    interpret, and apply its rules so as to protect academic freedom and free speech rights. For
    instance, while the First Amendment may prohibit a school from restricting the right of
    students to express opinions about one sex that may be considered derogatory, the school
    can take steps to denounce those opinions and ensure that competing views are heard. The
    age of the students involved and the location or forum may affect how the school can
    respond consistent with the First Amendment 102. As an example of the application of free
    speech rights to allegations of sexual harassment, consider the followin
    g:
    Example 1: In a college level creative writing class, a professor's required reading list
    includes excerpts from literary classics that contain descriptions of explicit sexual conduct,
    including scenes that depict women in submissive and demeaning roles. The professor also
    assigns students to write their own materials, which are read in class. Some of the student
    essays contain sexually derogatory themes about women. Several female students complain
    to the Dean of Students that the materials and related classroom discussion have created a
    sexually hostile environment for women in the class. What must the school do in response?
    Answer: Academic discourse in this example is protected by the First Amendment even if it is
    offensive to individuals. Thus, Title IX would not require the school to discipline the professor
    or to censor the reading list or related class discussion.
    Example 2: A group of male students repeatedly targets a female student for harassment
    during the bus ride home from school, including making explicit sexual comments about her
    body, passing around drawings that depict her engaging in sexual conduct, and, on several
    occasions, attempting to follow her home off the bus. The female student and her parents
    complain to the principal that the male students' conduct has created a hostile environment
    for girls on the bus and that they fear for their daughter's safety. What must the school do in
    response?
    Answer: Threatening and intimidating actions targeted at a particular student or group of
    students, even though they contain elements of speech, are not protected by the First
    Amendment. The school must take reasonable and appropriate actions against the students,
    including disciplinary action if necessary, to remedy the hostile environment and prevent
    future harassment.

    FOOTNOTES
    1. This Guidance does not address sexual harassment of employees, although that
    conduct may be prohibited by Title IX. If employees bring sexual harassment claims
    under Title IX, case law applicable to sexual harassment in the workplace under Title
    VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a), and Equal Employment
    Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines will apply. See 28 CFR 42.604
    (Procedures for Complaints of Employment Discrimination Filed Against Recipients
    of Federal Financial Assistance).
    2. 20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq., as amended; 34 CFR 106.1, 106.31(a)(b). In analyzing
    sexual harassment claims, the Department also applies, as appropriate to the
    educational context, many of the legal principles applicable to sexual harassment in
    the workplace developed under Title VII. See Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public
    Schools, 503 U.S. 60, 75 (1992)(applying Title VII principles in determining that a

    866
    student was entitled to protection from sexual harassment by a teacher in school
    under Title IX); Kinman v. Omaha Public School Dist., 94 F.3d 463, 469 (8th Cir.
    1996) (applying Title VII principles in determining that a student was entitled to
    protection from hostile environment sexual harassment by a teacher in school under
    Title IX); Doe v. Claiborne County, 1996 WL 734583, *19 (6th Cir. December 26,
    1996) (holding in a case involving allegations of hostile environment sexual
    harassment of a student by a teacher that Title VII agency principles apply to sexual
    harassment cases brought under Title IX); Murray v. New York University College of
    Dentistry, 57 F.3d 243, 249 (2nd Cir. 1995) (while finding notice lacking, court
    applied Title VII principles in assuming a Title IX cause of action for sexual
    harassment of a medical student by a patient visiting the school clinic); Doe v.
    Petaluma City School Dist., 830 F.Supp. 1560, 1571-72 (N.D. Cal. 1993) (applying
    Title VII principles in determining that if school had notice of peer sexual harassment
    and failed to take appropriate corrective action, school liable under Title IX), rev'd in
    part on other grounds, 54 F.3d 1447 (9th Cir. 1995); Kadiki v. Virginia
    Commonwealth University, 892 F.Supp. 746, 749 (E.D. Va. 1995) (in Title IX case
    involving allegations of both quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual
    harassment, court indicated that Title VII standards should be applied).

    In addition, many of the principles applicable to racial harassment under Title VI of


    the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq., and Title VII also apply to
    sexual harassment under Title IX. Indeed, Title IX was modeled on Title VI, Cannon
    v. University of Chicago, 441 U.S. 677, 694 (1979). For information on racial
    harassment, see the Department's Notice of Investigative Guidance for Racial
    Harassment, 59 FR 11448 (1994).
    3. Consistent with Supreme Court decisions, see Franklin, 503 U.S. at 75 (expressly
    ruling that the sexual harassment of a student by a teacher violates Title IX), the
    Department has interpreted Title IX as prohibiting sexual harassment for over a
    decade. Kinman, 94 F.3d at 469 (Title IX prohibits hostile environment sexual
    harassment of student by teacher). Moreover, it has been OCR's longstanding
    practice to apply Title IX to peer harassment. See also Bosley v. Kearney R-1 School
    Dist., 904 F.Supp. 1006, 1023 (W.D. Mo. 1995); Doe v. Petaluma City School Dist.,
    Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration Granted, 1996 WL 432298 (N.D. Cal. July 22,
    1996) (reaffirming Title IX liability for peer harassment if the school knows of the
    hostile environment but fails to take remedial action); Burrow v. Postville Community
    School District, 929 F.Supp. 1193, 1205 (N.D. Iowa 1996) (student may bring Title IX
    cause of action against a school for its knowing failure to take appropriate remedial
    action in response to the hostile environment created by students at the school);
    Oona R.-S. v. Santa Rosa City Schools, 890 F.Supp. 1452 (N.D. Cal. 1995); Davis v.
    Monroe County Bd. of Education, 74 F.3d 1186, 1193 (11th Cir. 1996) (as Title VII is
    violated if a sexually hostile working environment is created by co-workers and
    tolerated by the employer, Title IX is violated if a sexually hostile educational
    environment is created by a fellow student or students and the supervising
    authorities knowingly failed to act to eliminate the harassment), vacated, reh'g
    granted, 91 F.3d 1418 (11th Cir. 1996); cf. Murray, 57 F.3d at 249 (while court finds
    no notice to school, assumes a Title IX cause of action for sexual harassment of a
    medical student by a patient visiting school clinic). But see note 27. Of course, OCR
    has interpreted Title IX as prohibiting quid pro quo harassment of students for many
    years. See Alexander v. Yale University, 459 F.Supp. 1, 4 (D.Conn. 1977), aff'd, 631
    F.2d 178 (2nd Cir. 1980).
    4. The term "employee" refers to employees and agents of a school. This includes
    persons with whom the school contracts to provide services for the school. See

    867
    Brown v. Hot, Sexy, and Safer Productions, Inc., 68 F.3d 525 (1st Cir. 1995) (Title IX
    sexual harassment claim brought for school's role in permitting contract consultant
    hired by it to create allegedly hostile environment).

    In addition, while the standards applicable to peer sexual harassment are generally
    applicable to claims of student-on-student harassment, schools will be liable for the
    sexual harassment of one student by another student under the standards applicable
    to employee-on-student harassment if a student engages in sexual harassment as
    an agent or employee of a school. For instance, a school would be liable under the
    standards applicable to quid pro quo harassment if a student teaching assistant, who
    has been given the authority to assign grades, requires a student in his or her class
    to submit to sexual advances in order to obtain a certain grade in the class.
    5. Alexander, 459 F.Supp. at 4 (a claim that academic advancement was conditioned
    upon submission to sexual demands constitutes a claim of sex discrimination in
    education); Kadiki, 892 F.Supp. at 752 (reexamination in a course conditioned on
    college student's agreeing to be spanked should she not attain a certain grade may
    constitute quid pro quo harassment); see also Karibian v. Columbia University, 14
    F.3d 773, 777-79 (2nd Cir. 1994) (Title VII case).
    6. See e.g., Franklin, 503 U.S. at 63 (conduct of a sexual nature found to support a
    sexual harassment claim under Title IX included kissing, sexual intercourse); Meritor
    Savings Bank FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 60-61 (1986) (demands for sexual favors,
    sexual advances, fondling, indecent exposure, sexual intercourse, rape sufficient to
    raise hostile environment claim under Title VII); Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 510
    U.S. 17, 114 S.Ct. 367 (1993)(sexually derogatory comments and innuendo may
    support a sexual harassment claim under Title VII); Ellison v. Brady, 924 F.2d
    872,873-74, 880 (9th Cir. 1991) (allegations sufficient to state a sexual harassment
    claim under Title VII included repeated requests for dates, letters making explicit
    references to sex and describing the harasser's feelings for plaintiff); Lipsett v.
    University of Puerto Rico, 864 F.2d 881, 903-4 (1st Cir. 1988) (sexually derogatory
    comments, posting of sexually explicit drawing of plaintiff, sexual advances may
    support sexual harassment claim); Kadiki, 892 F.Supp. at 751 (professor's spanking
    of a university student may constitute sexual conduct under Title IX); Doe v.
    Petaluma, 830 F.Supp. at 1564-65 (sexually derogatory taunts and innuendo can be
    the basis of a harassment claim); Denver School Dist. #1, OCR Case No. 08-92-
    1007 (same as to allegations of vulgar language and obscenities, pictures of nude
    women on office walls and desks, unwelcome touching, sexually offensive jokes,
    bribery to perform sexual acts, indecent exposure); Nashoba Regional High School,
    OCR Case No. 01-92-1377 (same as to year-long campaign of derogatory, sexually
    explicit graffiti and remarks directed at one student.)
    7. Davis, 74 F.3d at 1194, vacated, reh'g granted; Doe v. Petaluma, 830 F.Supp. at
    1571-73; Moire v. Temple University School of Medicine, 613 F.Supp. 1360, 1366
    (E.D. Pa. 1985), aff'd mem., 800 F.2d 1136 (3d Cir. 1986); see also Vinson, 477 U.S.
    at 67; Lipsett, 864 F.2d at 901; Racial Harassment Guidance, 59 FR 11449- 50. But
    see note 27.
    8. 34 CFR 106.8(b).
    9. 20 U.S.C. 1687 (codification of Title IX portion of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of
    1987).
    10. 10. See also Shoreline School Dist., OCR Case No. 10-92-1002 (a teacher's patting
    student on arm, shoulder, and back, and restraining the student when he was out of
    control, not conduct of a sexual nature); Dartmouth Public Schools, OCR Case No.
    01-90-1058 (same as to contact between high school coach and students); San
    Francisco State University, OCR Case No. 09-94-2038 (same as to faculty advisor

    868
    placing her arm around graduate student's shoulder in posing for a picture); Analy
    Union High School Dist., OCR Case No. 09-92-1249 (same as to drama instructor
    who put his arms around both male and female students who confided in him.)
    11. Cf. John Does 1 v. Covington County School Bd., 884 F.Supp. 462, 464-65 (M.D.
    Ala. 1995) (male students alleging that teacher sexually harassed and abused them
    stated cause of action under Title IX).
    12. Title IX and the regulations implementing it prohibit discrimination "on the basis of
    sex;" they do not restrict sexual harassment to those circumstances in which the
    harasser only harasses members of the opposite sex in incidents involving either
    quid pro quo or hostile environment sexual harassment. See 34 CFR 106.31. In
    order for hostile environment harassment to be actionable under Title IX, it must
    create a hostile or abusive environment. This can occur when a student or employee
    harasses a member of the same sex. See Kinman, 94 F.3d at 468 (female student's
    alleging sexual harassment by female teacher sufficient to raise a claim under Title
    IX); Doe v. Petaluma, 830 F.Supp. at 1564-65, 1575 (female junior high school
    student alleging sexual harassment by other students, including both boys and girls,
    sufficient to raise claim under Title IX); John Does 1, 884 F.Supp. at 465 (same as to
    male students' allegations of sexual harassment and abuse by male teacher.) It can
    also occur in certain situations if the harassment is directed at students of both
    sexes. Chiapuzo v. BLT Operating Co., 826 F.Supp. 1334 (D. Wyo. 1993) (court
    found that such harassment could violate Title VII).

    In many circumstances, harassing conduct will be on the basis of sex because the
    student would not have been subjected to it at all had he or she been a member of
    the opposite sex; e.g., if a female student is repeatedly propositioned by a male
    student or employee (or, for that matter, if a male student is repeatedly propositioned
    by a male student or employee). In other circumstances, harassing conduct will be
    on the basis of sex if the student would not have been affected by it in the same way
    or to the same extent had he or she been a member of the opposite sex; e.g.,
    pornography and sexually explicit jokes in a mostly male shop class are likely to
    affect the few girls in the class more than it will most of the boys.
    In yet other circumstances, the conduct will be on the basis of sex in that the
    student's sex was a factor in or affected the nature of the harasser'sconduct or both.
    Thus, in Chiapuzo, a supervisor made demeaning remarks to both partners of a
    married couple working for him, e.g., as to sexual acts he wanted to engage in with
    the wife and how he would be a better lover than the husband. In both cases,
    according to the court, the remarks were gender-driven in that they were made with
    an intent to demean each member of the couple because of his or her respective
    sex. See also Steiner v. Showboat Operating Co., 25 F.3d 1459, 1463-64 (9th Cir.
    1994), cert. denied, 115 S.Ct. 733 (1995) (Title VII case).
    13. Nashoba Regional High School, OCR Case No. 01-92-1397. In Conejo Valley School
    Dist., OCR Case No. 09-93-1305, female students allegedly taunted another female
    student about engaging in sexual activity; OCR found that the alleged comments
    were sexually explicit and, if true, would be sufficiently severe, persistent, and
    pervasive to create a hostile environment.
    14. Williamson v. A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., 876 F.2d 69 (8th Cir. 1989, cert. denied
    493 U.S. 1089 (1990) (Title VII case); DeSantis v. Pacific Tel. & Tel. Co., Inc., 608
    F.2d 327 (9th Cir. 1979) (same); Blum v. Gulf Oil Corp., 597 F.2d 936 (5th Cir. 1979)
    (same).
    15. See Nabozny v. Podlesny, 92 F.3d 446 (7th Cir. 1996) (holding that a gay student
    could maintain claims alleging discrimination based on both gender and sexual
    orientation under the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution in

    869
    case in which school district officials allegedly failed to protect the student to the
    same extent that other students were protected from harassment and harm by other
    students due to the student's gender and sexual orientation).
    16. See Vinson, 477 U.S. at 65-66; Harris, 114 S.Ct. at 370-371; see also Hicks v. Gates
    Rubber Co., 833 F.2d 1406, 1416 (10th Cir. 1987) (Title VII case); McKinney v. Dole,
    765 F.2d 1129, 1138 (D.C. Cir. 1985) (Title VII case; physical, but non-sexual,
    assault could be sex-based harassment if shown to be unequal treatment that would
    not have taken place but for the employee's sex); Cline v. General Electric Capital
    Auto Lease, Inc., 757 F.Supp. 923 (N.D. Ill. 1991) (Title VII case).
    17. See Harris, 114 S.Ct. at 370-371; Andrews v. City of Philadelphia, 895 F.2d 1469,
    1485-86 (3rd Cir. 1990) (Title VII case; court directed trial court to consider sexual
    conduct as well as theft of female employees' files and work, destruction of property,
    and anonymous phone calls in determining if there had been sex discrimination); see
    also Hall v. Gus Construction Co., 842 F.2d 1010, 1014 (8th Cir. 1988) (Title VII
    case); Hicks, 833 F.2d at 1415; Eden Prairie Schools, Dist. #272, OCR Case No. 05-
    92- 1174 (the boys made lewd comments about male anatomy and tormented the
    girls by pretending to stab them with rubber knives; while the stabbing was not
    sexual conduct, it was directed at them because of their sex, i.e., because they were
    girls.
    18. The Supreme Court has ruled that agency principles apply in determining an
    employer's liability under Title VII for the harassment of its employees by
    supervisors. See Vinson, 477 U.S. at 72. These principles would govern in Title IX
    cases involving employees who are harassed by their supervisors. See 28 CFR
    42.604 (regulations providing for handling employment discrimination complaints by
    Federal agencies; requiring agencies to apply Title VII law if applicable). These same
    principles should govern the liability of educational institutions under Title IX for the
    harassment of students by teachers and other school employees in positions of
    authority. See Franklin, 503 U.S. at 75.
    19. The Supreme Court in Vinson did not alter the standard developed in the lower
    Federal courts whereby an institution is absolutely liable for quid pro quo sexual
    harassment whether or not it knew, should have known, or approved of the
    harassment at issue. 477 U.S. at 70-71; see also Lipsett, 864 F.2d at 901; EEOC
    Notice N-915-050, March 1990, Policy Guidance on Current Issues of Sexual
    Harassment, at p. 21. This standard applies in the school context as well. Kadiki, 892
    F.Supp. at 752 (for the purposes of quid pro quo harassment of a student, professor
    is in similar position as workplace supervisor).
    20. Kadiki, 892 F.Supp. at 754-755; cf. Martin v. Cavalier Hotel Corp., 48 F.3d 1343,
    1351 n.3 (4th Cir. 1995) (Title VII case); Karibian, 14 F.3d at 777-78; Henson v. City
    of Dundee, 682 F.2d 897, 910 (11th Cir. 1982) (Title VII case).
    21. See note 4.
    22. Restatement (Second) Agency §219(2)(d); Martin, 48 F.3d at 1352 (finding an
    employer liable under Title VII for sexual harassment of an employee in case in
    which the Manager used his apparent authority to commit the harassment; the
    Manager was delegated full authority to hire, fire, promote, and discipline employees
    and used the authority to accomplish the harassment; and company policy required
    employees to report harassment to the Manager with no other grievance process
    made available to them).
    23. See Restatement (Second) of Agency §219(2)(d); EEOC Policy Guidance on Current
    Issues of Sexual Harassment at p. 28; Karibian, 14 F.3d at 780; Hirschfeld v. New
    Mexico Corrections Dept., 916 F.2d 572, 579 (10th Cir. 1990) (Title VII case); Martin,
    48 F.3d at 1352. But see Rosa H. v. San Elizario Ind. School Dist., 1997 U.S. App.
    LEXIS 2780 (5th Cir. Feb. 17, 1997). In San Elizario the Fifth Circuit reversed a jury
    finding that a school district was liable under Title IX for a hostile environment

    870
    created by the school's male karate instructor, who repeatedly initiated sexual
    intercourse with a fifteen year old female karate student. The court held, contrary to
    OCR policy, that a school could not be found liable under Title IX pursuant to agency
    principles.

    However, language in this and previous decisions indicates that Title IX law is
    evolving in the Fifth Circuit. When OCR investigates complaints involving schools in
    the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi), it will in each case determine
    and follow the current applicable law. In light of the evolving case law in the Fifth
    Circuit, adhering to the standards in the Guidance may be the best way for schools in
    these States to ensure compliance with the requirements of Title IX. School
    personnel should also consider whether State, local, or other Federal authority affect
    their obligations in these areas.
    24. Karibian, 14 F.3d at 780 (employer would be liable for hostile environment
    harassment in case in which allegations were that a supervisor coerced employee
    into a sexual relationship by, among other things, telling her she "'owed him' for all he
    was doing for her as her supervisor"); Sparks v. Pilot Freight Carriers, Inc., 830 F.2d
    1554, 1558-60 (11th Cir. 1987) (Title VII case holding employer liable for sexually
    hostile environment created by supervisor who repeatedly reminded the harassed
    employee that he could fire her if she did not comply with his sexual advances).
    25. Cf. Karibian, 14 F.3d at 780.
    26. Id.
    27. The overwhelming majority of courts that have considered the issue of sexually
    hostile environments caused by peers have indicated that schools may be liable
    under Title IX for their knowing failure to take appropriate actions to remedy the
    hostile environment. See note 7 and peer hostile environment cases cited in note 3.
    However, one Federal Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Rowinsky v. Bryan
    Independent School Dist., 80 F.3d 1006 (5th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 117 S.Ct. 165
    (1996), has held to the contrary.

    In that case, over a strong dissent, the court rejected the authority of other Federal
    courts and OCR's longstanding construction of Title IX and held that a school district
    is not liable under Title IX for peer harassment unless "the school district itself
    directly discriminated based on sex," i.e., the school responded differently to sexual
    harassment or similar claims of girls versus boys. For cases specifically rejecting the
    Rowinsky interpretation, see e.g., Doe v. Petaluma, Plaintiff's Motion for
    Reconsideration Granted, 1996 WL 432298 *6 (N.D. Cal. 1996); Burrow v. Postville
    Community School Dist., 929 F.Supp. at 1193.
    OCR believes that the Rowinsky decision misinterprets Title IX. As explained in this
    Guidance, Title IX does not make a school responsible for the actions of the
    harassing student, but rather for its own discrimination in failing to take immediate
    and appropriate steps to remedy the hostile environment once a school official knows
    about it. If a student is sexually harassed by a fellow student, and a school official
    knows about it, but does not stop it, the school is permitting an atmosphere of sexual
    discrimination to permeate the educational program. The school is liable for its own
    action, or lack of action, in response to this discrimination. Notably, Title VII cases
    that hold that employers are responsible for remedying hostile environment
    harassment of one worker by a co-worker apply this same standard. See, e.g.,
    Ellison v. Brady, 924 F.2d at 881-82; Hall v. Gus Construction Co., 842 F.2d 1010
    (8th Cir. 1988); Hunter v. Allis-Chalmers Corp., 797 F.2d 1417 (7th Cir. 1986); Snell
    v. Suffolk, 782 F.2d 1094 (2nd Cir. 1986); Robinson v. Jacksonville Shipyards, 760
    F.Supp. 1486 (M.D. Fla. 1991).

    871
    Language in subsequent decisions indicates that Title IX law is evolving in the Fifth
    Circuit. When OCR investigates complaints involving schools in States in the Fifth
    Circuit (Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi), it will in each case determine and follow
    the current applicable law. However, the existence of Fifth Circuit decisions that are
    inconsistent with OCR policy does not prohibit schools in these States from following
    the Guidance. In order to ensure students a safe and nondiscriminatory educational
    environment, the better practice is for these schools to follow the Guidance. Thus,
    schools should take prompt corrective action to address peer harassment of which
    they knew or should have known. Indeed, following the Guidance may be the safest
    way for schools in these States to ensure compliance with the requirements of Title
    IX.
    28. See Restatement (Second) of Agency §219(2)(b).
    29. As with peer harassment by its own students, a school's liability for the harassment
    of its students by third parties is based on its obligation to provide an environment
    free of discrimination. Murray, 57 F.3d at 250 (student participating in university
    dental clinic providing services to the public alleged harassment by a patient; while
    the court ruled in defendant's favor because of lack of notice, it considered such a
    claim actionable under Title IX); Racial Harassment Investigative Guidance, 59 FR
    11450 (referring to harassment by neighborhood teenagers, guest speaker, and
    parents). See, e.g., 29 CFR 1604.11(e); Sparks v. Regional Medical Ctr., 792
    F.Supp. 735, 738 n.1 (N.D. Ala. 1992) (Title VII case); Powell v. Las Vegas Hilton
    Corp., 841 F.Supp. 1024, 1027-28 (D. Nev. 1992) (Title VII case); Magnuson v. Peak
    Technical Servs., Inc., 808 F.Supp. 500, 512-13 (E.D. Va. 1992) (Title VII case);
    EEOC v. Sage Realty Corp., 507 F.Supp. 599, 611 (S.D.N.Y. 1981) (Title VII case);
    cf. Dornhecker v. Malibu Grand Prix Corp., 828 F.2d 307 (5th Cir. 1987) (assuming
    Title VII required employer to respond appropriately to sexual harassment of an
    employee by a contractor, but finding employer's response sufficient). See also
    Restatement (Second) of Agency §219(2)(b).
    30. For example, if athletes from a visiting team harass the home school's students, the
    home school may not be able to discipline the athletes. However, it could encourage
    the other school to take appropriate action to prevent further incidents; if necessary,
    the home school may choose not to invite the other school back. Cf. Danna v. New
    York Telephone Co., 752 F.Supp. 594, 611 (S.D.N.Y. 1990) (telephone company in
    violation of Title VII for not taking sufficient action to protect its own employee from
    sexually explicit graffiti at airport where she was assigned to work, e.g., contacting
    airport management to see what remedial measures could be taken).
    31. 34 CFR 106.8(b) and 106.9.
    32. See Racial Harassment Investigative Guidance, 59 FR 11450; Murray, 57 F.3d at
    249 (an employer is liable for the harassment of co-workers if the employer "either
    provided no reasonable avenue for complaint or knew of the harassment but did
    nothing about it".
    33. EEOC Policy Guidance at p. 25 ("* * * in the absence of a strong, widely
    disseminated, and consistently enforced employer policy against sexual harassment,
    and an effective complaint procedure, employees could reasonably believe that a
    harassing supervisor's actions will be ignored, tolerated, or even condoned by upper
    management.")
    34. CFR 106.8(b).
    35. If OCR finds a violation of Title IX, it will seek to obtain an agreement with the school
    to voluntarily correct the violation. The agreement will set out the specific steps the
    school will take and provide for monitoring by OCR to ensure that the school
    complies with the agreement. Schools should note that the Supreme Court has held
    that monetary damages are available as a remedy in private lawsuits brought to

    872
    redress violations of Title IX. Franklin, 503 U.S. at 76. Of course, a school's
    immediate and appropriate remedial actions are relevant in determining the nature
    and extent of the damages suffered by a plaintiff.
    36. . Henson, 682 F.2d at 903 (Title VII case).
    37. [T]he fact that sex-related conduct was "voluntary," in the sense that the complainant
    was not forced to participate against her will, is not a defense to a sexual harassment
    suit brought under Title VII * * *. The correct inquiry is whether [the subject of the
    harassment] by her conduct indicated that the alleged sexual advances were
    unwelcome, not whether her actual participation in sexual intercourse was voluntary.
    Vinson, 477 U.S. at 68.
    38. Lipsett, 864 F.2d at 898 (while, in some instances, a person may have responsibility
    for telling the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome, in other cases a
    "consistent failure to respond to suggestive comments or gestures may be sufficient
    ***."); Danna, 752 F.Supp. at 612 (despite female employee's own foul language and
    participation in graffiti writing, her complaints to management indicated that the
    harassment was not welcome); see also Carr v. Allison Gas Turbine Div., GMC, 32
    F.3d 1007, 1011 (7th Cir. 1994) (Title VII case; cursing and dirty jokes by female
    employee did not show that she welcomed the sexual harassment, given her
    frequent complaints about it: "Even if ... [the employee's] testimony that she talked
    and acted as she did [only] in an effort to be 'one of the boys' is ... discounted, her
    words and conduct cannot be compared to those of the men and used to justify their
    conduct.... The asymmetry of positions must be considered. She was one woman;
    they were many men. Her use of [vulgar] terms ... could not be deeply threatening.").
    39. Reed v. Shepard, 939 F.2d 484, 486-87, 491-92 (7th Cir. 1991) (no harassment
    found under Title VII in case in which female employee not only tolerated, but also
    participated in and instigated the suggestive joking activities about which she was
    now complaining); Weinsheimer v. Rockwell Int'l Corp., 794 F.Supp. 1559, 1563-64
    (M.D. Fla. 1990) (same, in case in which general shop banter was full of vulgarity
    and sexual innuendo by men and women alike, and plaintiff contributed her share to
    this atmosphere). However, even if a student participates in the sexual banter, OCR
    may in certain circumstances find that the conduct was nevertheless unwelcome if,
    for example, a teacher took an active role in the sexual banter and a student
    reasonably perceived that the teacher expected him or her to participate.
    40. The school bears the burden of rebutting the presumption.
    41. Of course, nothing in Title IX would prohibit a school from implementing policies
    prohibiting sexual conduct or sexual relationships between students and adult
    employees. 42. See note 41.
    42. In Harris, the Supreme Court explained the requirement for considering the
    "subjective perspective" when determining the existence of a hostile environment.
    The Court stated: "...if the victim does not subjectively perceive the environment to
    be abusive, the conduct has not actually altered the conditions of the victim's
    employment, and there is no Title VII violation." 114 S.Ct. at 370.
    43. The Supreme Court used a "reasonable person" standard in Harris, 114 S.Ct. at 370-
    71 to determine whether sexual conduct constituted harassment. This standard has
    been applied under Title VII to take into account the sex of the subject of the
    harassment, see, e.g., Ellison, 924 F.2d at 878-79 (applying a "reasonable women"
    standard to sexual harassment), and has been adapted to sexual harassment in
    education, Davis, 74 F.3d at 1126 (relying on Harris to adopt an objective,
    reasonable person standard), vacated, reh'g granted; Patricia H. v. Berkeley Unified
    School Dist., 830 F. Supp. 1288, 1296 (N.D. Cal. 1993) (adopting a "reasonable
    victim" standard and referring to OCR's use of it); Racial Harassment Guidance, 59
    FR 11452 (the standard must take into account the characteristics and

    873
    circumstances of victims on a case-by-case basis, particularly the victim's race and
    age).
    44. Harris, 114 S.Ct. at 371; See Racial Harassment Guidance, 59 FR 11449 and 11452;
    Brock v. United States, 64 F.3d 1421, 1423 (9th Cir. 1995) (Title VII case); Simon v.
    Morehouse Sch. of Medicine, 908 F.Supp. 959, 969-970 (N.D. Ga. 1995) (Title VII
    case); Al- Dabbagh v. Greenpeace, Inc., 873 F.Supp. 1105, 1111-12 (N.D. Ill. 1994)
    (Title VII case); Watts v. N.Y.C. Police Dept., 724 F.Supp. 99, 104 (S.D.N.Y. 1989)
    (Title VII case).
    45. Davis, 74 F.3d at 1126 (no Title IX violation unless the conduct has "actually altered
    the conditions of [the student's] learning environment"), vacated, reh'g granted;
    Lipsett, 864 F.2d at 898 ("altered" the educational environment); Patricia H., 830 F.
    Supp. at 1297 (sexual harassment could be found where conduct interfered with
    student's ability to learn); see also Andrews, 895 F.2d at 1482 (Title VII case).
    46. Harris, 114 S.Ct. at 371.
    47. See e.g., Doe v Petaluma, 830 F. Supp at 1566 (student so upset about harassment
    by other students that she was forced to transfer several times, including finally to a
    private school); Modesto City Schools, OCR Case No. 09-93-1391 (evidence showed
    that one girl's grades dropped while the harassment was occurring); Weaverville
    Elementary School, OCR Case No. 09-91-1116 (students left school due to the
    harassment). Compare with College of Alameda, OCR Case No. 09-90-2104
    (student not in instructor's class and no evidence of any effect on student's
    educational benefits or services, so no hostile environment).
    48. Doe v. Petaluma, 830 F. Supp. at 1566.
    49. See Harris, 114 S.Ct. at 371, in which the Court held that tangible harm is not
    required. In determining whether harm is sufficient, several factors are to be
    considered, including frequency, severity, whether the conduct was threatening or
    humiliating versus a mere offensive utterance, and whether it unreasonably
    interfered with work performance. No single factor is required; similarly,
    psychological harm, while relevant, is not required.
    50. See Modesto City Schools, OCR Case No. 09-93-1391 (evidence showed that
    several girls were afraid to go to school because of the harassment).
    51. Summerfield Schools, OCR Case No. 15-92-1029.
    52. See Waltman v. Int'l Paper Co., 875 F.2d 468, 477 (5th Cir. 1989) (Title VII case);
    see also Hall, 842 F.2d at 1015 (evidence of sexual harassment directed at others is
    relevant to show hostile environment under Title VII); Racial Harassment
    Investigative Guidance, 59 FR 11453.
    53. See, e.g., Andrews, 895 F.2d at 1484 ("Harassment is pervasive when 'incidents of
    harassment occur either in concert or with regularity'."); Moylan v. Maries County,
    792 F.2d 746, 749 (8th Cir. 1986) (Title VII case); Downes v. Federal Aviation
    Administration, 775 F.2d 288, 293 (D.C. Cir. 1985) (same); cf. Scott v. Sears,
    Roebuck and Co., 798 F.2d 210, 214 (7th Cir. 1986) (Title VII case; conduct was not
    pervasive or debilitating).
    54. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has stated: "The
    Commission will presume that the unwelcome, intentional touching of [an
    employee's] intimate body areas is sufficiently offensive to alter the conditions of her
    working environment and constitute a violation of Title VII. More so than in the case
    of verbal advances or remarks, a single unwelcome physical advance can seriously
    poison the victim's working environment." EEOC Policy Guidance on Current Issues
    of Sexual Harassment, p. 17. See also Barrett v. Omaha National Bank, 584 F.
    Supp. 22, 30 (D. Neb. 1983), aff'd, 726 F.2d 424 (8th Cir. 1984) (hostile environment
    created under Title VII by isolated events, i.e., occurring while traveling to and during
    a two-day conference, including the co-worker's talking to plaintiff about sexual

    874
    activities and touching her in offensive manner while they were inside a vehicle from
    which she could not escape).
    55. See also Ursuline College, OCR Case No. 05-91-2068 (A single incident of
    comments on a male student's muscles arguably not sexual; however, assuming
    they were, not severe enough to create a hostile environment).
    56. Patricia H., 830 F.Supp. at 1297 ("grave disparity in age and power" between teacher
    and student contributed to the creation of a hostile environment); Summerfield
    Schools, OCR Case No. 15-92- 1929 ("impact of the ... remarks was heightened by
    the fact that the coach is an adult in a position of authority"); cf. Doe v. Taylor I.S.D.,
    15 F.3d 443 (5th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, 115 S.Ct. 70 (1994) (Sec. 1983 case; in
    finding that a sexual relationship between a high school teacher and a student was
    unlawful, court considered the influence that the teacher had over the student by
    virtue of his position of authority).
    57. See, e.g., McKinney, 765 F.2d at 1138-40; Robinson, 760 F. Supp. at 1522.
    58. Cf. Patricia H., 830 F. Supp. at 1297.
    59. See also Barrett, 584 F. Supp. at 24 (harassment occurring in a car from which the
    plaintiff could not escape was deemed particularly severe).
    60. See also Hall, 842 F.2d at 1015 (incidents of sexual harassment directed at other
    employees); Hicks, 833 F.2d at 1415-16 (same). Cf. Midwest City-Del City Public
    Schools, OCR Case No. 06- 92-1012 (finding of racially hostile environment based in
    part on several racial incidents at school shortly before incidents in complaint, a
    number of which involved the same student involved in the complaint).
    61. See note 17. In addition, incidents of racial or national origin harassment directed at
    a particular individual may also be aggregated with incidents of sexual or gender
    harassment directed at that individual in determining the existence of a hostile
    environment. Hicks, 833 F.2d at 1416; Jefferies v. Harris Community Action Ass'n,
    615 F.2d 1025, 1032 (5th Cir. 1980) (Title VII case).
    62. In addition, even if there is no notice, schools may be liable for sexual harassment.
    See previous discussions of liability in situations involving quid pro quo harassment
    and hostile environment sexual harassment by employees in situations in which the
    employee acted with apparent authority or was aided in carrying out the harassment
    of students by his or her position of authority with the school.
    63. See Ellison v. Brady, 924 F.2d 872, 881 (9th Cir. 1991), quoting EEOC v. Hacienda
    Hotel, 881 F.2d 1504, 1515-1516 (9th Cir. 1989) (Title VII cases); Swentek v. USAir,
    830 F.2d 552, 558 (4th Cir. 1987), quoting Katz v. Dole, 709 F.2d at 255 (Title VII
    cases).

    But see Rosa H. v. San Elizario Indep. School Dist., 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 2780 (5th
    Cir. Feb. 17, 1997) and note 23. In San Elizario, the Fifth Circuit held, among other
    things, that liability for hostile environment harassment cannot attach where the
    school has only constructive notice of the harassment. See note 23.
    64. Whether an employee is an agent or responsible school employee, or whether it
    would be reasonable for a student to believe the employee is, even if the employee is
    not, will vary depending on factors such as the authority actually given to the
    employee and the age of the student.

    With respect to the notice provisions applicable to schools under Title IX, one
    Federal Circuit Court of Appeals decision, Canutillo Indep. School Dist. v. Leija, 101
    F.3d 393, 398-400 (5th Cir. 1996), has held, contrary to OCR policy, that a school
    district was not liable in a case in which one of its teachers sexually molested a
    second grade student, because the student and her mother only reported the
    harassment to her homeroom teacher. Notwithstanding that a school handbook

    875
    instructed students and parents to report complaints to the child's primary or
    homeroom teacher, the court held that notice must be given to "someone with
    authority to take remedial action." See also Rosa H. v. San Elizario Indep. School
    Dist., 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 2780 (5th Cir. Feb. 17, 1997), and notes 23 and 64. In
    San Elizario, the Fifth Circuit held, among other things, that although the fifteen year
    old student, whose karate instructor had repeatedly initiated sexual intercourse, "was
    subject to discrimination on the basis of sex," a school district is only liable if an
    employee who has been invested by the school board with supervisory power over
    the offending employee actually knew of the abuse, had the power to end the abuse,
    and failed to do so.
    Based on these and other decisions, Title IX law is evolving in the Fifth Circuit. When
    OCR investigates complaints involving schools in States in the Fifth Circuit (Texas,
    Louisiana, and Mississippi), it will in each case determine and follow the current
    applicable law. However, the existence of Fifth Circuit decisions that are inconsistent
    with OCR policy does not prohibit schools in these States from following the
    Guidance. In order to ensure students a safe and nondiscriminatory educational
    environment, it is the better practice for these schools to follow the Guidance. For
    example, the better practice is for schools to ensure that teachers and other
    personnel recognize and report sexual harassment of students to the appropriate
    school staff so that schools can take prompt corrective action and ensure a safe
    educational environment. In addition, the Guidance makes clear that providing
    students with several avenues to report sexual harassment is a very helpful means
    for addressing and preventing sexually harassing conduct in the first place. Schools
    in States in the Fifth Circuit should also consider whether State, local or other
    Federal laws may affect their responsibilities in this regard.
    65. Racial Harassment Guidance, 59 FR 11450 (discussing how a school may receive
    notice).
    66. See Yates v. Avco Corp., 819 F.2d 630, 634-36 (6th Cir. 1987) (Title VII case); Katz
    v. Dole, 709 F.2d 251, 256 (4th Cir. 1983) (same); See also Racial Harassment
    Investigative Guidance, 59 FR 11450.
    67. Cf. Katz, 709 F.2d at 256 (the employer "should have been aware of the...problem
    both because of its pervasive character and because of Katz' specific complaints...");
    Smolsky v. Consolidated Rail Corp., 780 F. Supp. 283, 293 (E.D. Pa. 1991),
    reconsideration denied, 785 F. Supp. 71 (E.D. Pa. 1992) ("where the harassment is
    apparent to all others in the work place, supervisors and coworkers, this may be
    sufficient to put the employer on notice of the sexual harassment" under Title VII);
    Jensen v. Eveleth Taconite Co., 824 F. Supp. 847, 887 (D. Minn. 1993) (Title VII
    case; "[s]exual harassment...was so pervasive that an inference of knowledge
    arises....The acts of sexual harassment detailed herein were too common and
    continuous to have escaped Eveleth Mines had its management been reasonably
    alert"); Cummings v. Walsh Construction Co., 561 F. Supp. 872, 878 (S.D. Ga. 1983)
    ("...allegations not only of the [employee] registering her complaints with her
    foreman...but also that sexual harassment was so widespread that defendant had
    constructive notice of it" under Title VII); but see Murray, 57 F.3d at 250-51 (that
    other students knew of the conduct was not enough to charge the school with notice,
    particularly in case in which these students may not have been aware that the
    conduct was offensive or abusive).
    68. Schools have an obligation to ensure that the educational environment is free of
    discrimination and cannot fulfill this obligation without determining if sexual
    harassment complaints have merit.
    69. In some situations, for example, if a playground supervisor observes a young student
    repeatedly engaging in conduct toward other students that is clearly unacceptable

    876
    under the school's policies, it may be appropriate for the school to intervene without
    contacting the other students. It may still be necessary for the school to talk with the
    students (and parents of elementary and secondary students) afterwards, e.g., to
    determine the extent of the harassment and how it affected them.
    70. Cf. Bundy v. Jackson, 641 F.2d 934, 947 (D.C. Cir. 1981) (employers should take
    corrective and preventive measures under Title VII); accord, Jones v. Flagship Int'l,
    793 F.2d 714, 719-720 (5th Cir. 1986) (employer should take prompt remedial action
    under Title VII). Racial Harassment Investigative Guidance, 59 FR 11450.
    71. Waltman v. Int'l Paper Co., 875 F.2d at 479 (appropriateness of employer's remedial
    action under Title VII will depend on the severity and persistence of the harassment
    and the effectiveness of any initial remedial steps); Dornhecker v. Malibu Grand Prix
    Corp., 828 F.2d 307, 309-10 (5th Cir. 1987) (Title VII case; employer arranged for
    victim to no longer work with alleged harasser).
    72. Intlekofer v. Turnage, 973 F.2d 773 (9th Cir. 1992) (Title VII case) (holding that the
    employer's response was insufficient and that more severe disciplinary action was
    necessary in situations in which counseling, separating the parties, and warnings of
    possible discipline were ineffective in ending the harassing behavior).
    73. Offering assistance in changing living arrangements is one of the actions required of
    colleges and universities by the Campus Security Act in cases of rape and sexual
    assault. See 20 U.S.C. 1092(f).
    74. See note 30.
    75. University of California at Santa Cruz, OCR Case No. 09-93- 2141 (extensive
    individual and group counseling); Eden Prairie Schools, Dist. #272, OCR Case No.
    05-92-1174 (counseling).
    76. Even if the harassment stops without the school's involvement, the school may still
    need to take steps to prevent or deter any future harassment -- to inform the school
    community that harassment will not be tolerated. Fuller v. City of Oakland, 47 F.3d
    1522, 1528-29 (9th Cir. 1995).
    77. 34 CFR 106.8(b) and 106.71, incorporating by reference 34 CFR 100.7(e). Title IX
    prohibits intimidation, threats, coercion, or discrimination against any individual for
    the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by Title IX.
    78. Tacoma School Dist. No. 10, OCR Case No. 10-94-1079 (due to the large number of
    students harassed by an employee, the extended period of time over which the
    harassment occurred, and the failure of several of the students to report the
    harassment, school committed as part of corrective action plan to providing training
    for students); Los Medanos College, OCR Case No. 09-84-2092 (as part of
    corrective action plan, school committed to providing sexual harassment seminar for
    campus employees); Sacramento City Unified School Dist., OCR Case No. 09-83-
    1063 (same as to workshops for management and administrative personnel, in-
    service training for non-management personnel).
    79. In addition, if information about the incident is contained in an "education record" of
    the student alleging the harassment, as defined in the Family Educational Rights and
    Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232g, the school should consider whether FERPA
    would prohibit the school from disclosing information without the student's consent.
    Id. In evaluating whether FERPA would limit disclosure, the Department does not
    interpret FERPA to override any federally protected due process rights of a school
    employee accused of harassment.
    80. 34 CFR 106.8(b). This requirement has been part of the Title IX regulations since
    their inception in 1975. Thus, schools have been required to have these procedures
    in place since that time. At the elementary and secondary level, this responsibility
    generally lies with the school district. At the postsecondary level, there may be a
    procedure for a particular campus or college, or for an entire university system.
    81. Fenton Community High School Dist. # 100, OCR Case 05-92-1104.

    877
    82. While a school is required to have a grievance procedure under which complaints of
    sex discrimination (including sexual harassment) can be filed, the same procedure
    may also be used to address other forms of discrimination.
    83. See Vinson, 477 U.S. at 72-73.
    84. It is the Department's current position under the Family Educational Rights and
    Privacy Act (FERPA) that a school cannot release information to a complainant
    regarding disciplinary action imposed on a student found guilty of harassment if that
    information is contained in a student's education record unless--(1) the information
    directly relates to the complainant (e.g., an order requiring the student harasser not
    to have contact with the complainant); or (2) the harassment involves a crime of
    violence or a sex offense in a postsecondary institution. See note 80. If the alleged
    harasser is a teacher, administrator, or other non-student employee, FERPA would
    not limit the school's ability to inform the complainant of any disciplinary action taken.
    85. The section in the Guidance on "Recipient's Response" provides examples of
    reasonable and appropriate corrective action.
    86. 34 CFR 106.8(a).
    87. Id.
    88. See Vinson, 477 U.S. at 72-73.
    89. University of California, Santa Cruz, OCR Case No. 09-93-2141; Sonoma State
    University, OCR Case No. 09-93-2131. This is true for formal as well as informal
    complaints. See University of Maine at Machias, OCR Case No. 01-94-6001
    (school's new procedures not found in violation of Title IX in part because they
    require written records for informal as well as formal resolutions). These records
    need not be kept in a student's or employee's individual file, but instead may be kept
    in a central confidential location.
    90. For example, in Cape Cod Community College, OCR Case No. 01- 93-2047, the
    College was found to have violated Title IX in part because the person identified by
    the school as the Title IX coordinator was unfamiliar with Title IX, had no training,
    and did not even realize he was the coordinator.
    91. Indeed, in University of Maine at Machias, OCR Case No. 01-94- 6001, OCR found
    the school's procedures to be inadequate because only formal complaints were
    investigated. While a school isn't required to have an established procedure for
    resolving informal complaints, they nevertheless must be addressed in some way.
    However, if there are indications that the same individual may be harassing others,
    then it may not be appropriate to resolve an informal complaint without taking steps
    to address the entire situation.
    92. Academy School Dist. No. 20, OCR Case No. 08-93-1023 (school's response
    determined to be insufficient in case in which it stopped its investigation after
    complaint filed with police); Mills Public School Dist., OCR Case No. 01-93-1123 (not
    sufficient for school to wait until end of police investigation).
    93. Cf. EEOC v. Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities, 957 F.2d 424
    (7th Cir.) (Title VII case), cert. denied, 113 S.Ct. 299 (1992); Johnson v. Palma, 931
    F.2d 203 (2nd Cir. 1991) (same).
    94. The First Amendment applies to entities and individuals that are State actors. The
    receipt of Federal funds by private schools does not directly subject those schools to
    the U.S. Constitution. See Rendell-Baker v. Kohn, 457 U.S. 830, 840 (1982).
    However, all actions taken by OCR must comport with First Amendment principles,
    even in cases involving private schools that are not directly subject to the First
    Amendment.
    95. See, e.g., George Mason University, OCR Case No. 03-94-2086 (law professor's use
    of a racially derogatory word, as part of an instructional hypothetical regarding verbal
    torts, did not constitute racial harassment); Portland School Dist. 1J, OCR Case No.
    10-94-1117 (reading teacher's choice to substitute a less offensive term for a racial

    878
    slur when reading an historical novel aloud in class constituted an academic decision
    on presentation of curriculum, not racial harassment).
    96. See Iota Xi Chapter of Sigma Chi Fraternity v. George Mason University, 993 F.2d
    386 (4th Cir. 1993) (fraternity skit in which white male student dressed as an
    offensive caricature of a black female constituted student expression).
    97. See Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, OCR Case No. 04-92-2054 (no
    discrimination in case in which campus newspaper, which welcomed individual
    opinions of all sorts, printed article expressing one student's viewpoint on white
    students on campus).
    98. Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Community Sch. Dist., 393 U.S. 503, 506 (1969)
    (neither students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of
    expression at the schoolhouse gates); Cf. Cohen v. San Bernardino Valley College,
    (college professor could not be punished for his longstanding teaching methods,
    which included discussion of controversial subjects such as obscenity and
    consensual sex with children, under an unconstitutionally vague sexual harassment
    policy); George Mason University, OCR Case No. 03-94-2086 (law professor's use of
    a racially derogatory word, as part of an instructional hypothetical regarding verbal
    torts, did not constitute racial harassment).
    99. See, e.g., University of Illinois, OCR Case No. 05-94-2104 (fact that university's use
    of Native American symbols was offensive to some Native American students and
    employees was not dispositive, in and of itself, in assessing a racially hostile
    environment claim under Title VI).
    100. See Vinson, 477 U.S. at 67 (the "mere utterance of an ethnic or racial epithet
    which engenders offensive feelings in an employee" would not affect the conditions
    of employment to a sufficient degree to violate Title VII), quoting Henson, 682 F.2d at
    904; cf. R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377, 389 (1992) (citing with approval
    EEOC's sexual harassment guidelines).
    101. Compare Bethel School Dist. No. 403 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675, 685 (1986)
    (Court upheld discipline of high school student for making lewd speech to student
    assembly, noting that "[t]he undoubted freedom to advocate unpopular and
    controversial issues in schools and classrooms must be balanced against the
    society's countervailing interest in teaching students the boundaries of socially
    appropriate behavior."), with Iota XI 993 F.2d 386 (holding that, notwithstanding a
    university's mission to create a culturally diverse learning environment and its
    substantial interest in maintaining a campus free of discrimination, it could not punish
    students who engaged in an offensive skit with racist and sexist overtones).

    Sexual Harrassment Preamble

    Source:- https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/sexhar01.html

    Sexual Harassment in Schools 

    Nan Stein, Ph.D. 


    National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center
    Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesely College Stone Center 

    What is sexual harassment in schools?

    879
    Sexual harassment in schools is unwanted and unwelcome
    behavior of a sexual nature that interferes with the right to receive an
    equal educational opportunity. It is a form of sex discrimination that is
    prohibited by Title IX, a Federal law establishing civil rights in
    education that addresses issues of sex discrimination and, by judicial
    precedent, sexual harassment. Sexually harassing behaviors that can
    interfere with one�s educational opportunity range from words
    (written and spoken) and gestures to unwanted physical contact. Some
    of the behaviors may also be criminal acts (assault and rape,
    attempted or completed and child sexual abuse).

     Both the Federal courts and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of
    the United States Department of Education (ED) recognize two forms
    of unlawful sexual harassment in education. The first form is quid pro
    quo harassment as defined by the guidance in the "Federal Register,"
    issued on March 13, 1997, by the OCR (ED, 1997). Quid pro quo
    harassment occurs when a school employee explicitly or implicitly
    conditions a student�s participation in an education program or
    activity or bases an educational decision on the student�s submission
    to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other
    verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Quid pro
    quo harassment is equally unlawful whether the student resists and
    suffers the threatened harm or submits and thus avoids the threatened
    harm (ED, 1997).
     The second recognized form of sexual harassment in schools is
    hostile-environment harassment. Hostile-environment harassment
    includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and
    other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature by an
    employee, another student, or a third party. This form of harassment
    requires that the harassing behavior be sufficiently severe, persistent,
    or pervasive so as to limit a student�s ability to participate in or
    benefit from an educational program or activity, or to create a hostile
    or abusive educational environment (ED, 1997). Typically, in school
    settings and particularly between students, allegations of hostile-
    environment harassment are more commonplace than allegations of
    quid pro quo harassment.

    How common is sexual harassment in schools? 

    Hostile Hallways, released in June 1993, was based on a survey conducted by


    Louis Harris and Associates, Inc., in partnership with Scholastic, Inc., with
    funding from the American Association of University Women Foundation.

    880
    The national probability sample of schools and students is generalizable to all
    public school students in the 8th through 11th grade at the 95 percent
    confidence level, with a margin of error of � .04 (AAUW, 1993, p. 5). This
    rigorous survey firmly established that there was a universal culture of sexual
    harassment with no significant racial differences flourishing in America�s
    secondary schools.

     Hostile Hallways randomly sampled 1,632 boys and girls (828


    boys and 779 girls) in grades 8�11 in 79 public schools; classes and
    grades were also randomly selected within the schools. A random
    sample of schools was selected from the database of public schools at
    the National Center for Education Statistics with a proportionally
    drawn sample by grade and regional location. African-American and
    Hispanic students were over-sampled. The sample was 15% African
    American, including 120 African-American females and 138 African-
    American males, and 9% Hispanic, including 70 Hispanic females and
    78 Hispanic males.

    According to Hostile Hallways, 83% of the girls and 60% of the boys
    reported experiencing sexual harassment in school.
    A similar study, conducted in Connecticut during the 1993-94
    school year and released in January 1995, surveyed 547 public high
    school students in grades 10 through 12 . (In Our Own Backyard:
    Sexual Harassment in Connecticut's Public High Schools, Permanent
    Commission on the Status of Women, 1995) 

    The representative sample of students from seven school districts


    selected by the Connecticut Department of Education included 308
    females, 235 males, and 4 students who did not indicate their gender.
    Participating school districts were judged to be representative of the
    socioeconomic status and age of students throughout the State. The
    sample was 78% Caucasian, 8% African American, 6% Latino, 4%
    Asian, and 4% other or unidentified. No age range was provided in
    the report. 

    Seventy-eight percent of students reported experiencing at least one


    incident of sexual harassment since starting high school, including
    92% of the females and 57% of the males (Carlson, 1995; Potopowitz,
    1995). Female students reported, on average, a higher number of
    incidents of unwanted behavior (since they started high school) than
    male students (4.5 incidents for girls and 1.6 for boys).What types of
    school sexual harassment are most common? 

    According to the AAUW survey these are the most frequently types of

    881
    sexual harassment experienced in school in grades 8�11: 

    Types of Sexual Harassment


    Experienced: Girls Boys
    sexual comments, jokes, gestures, or
    looks 76% 56%
    Touched, grabbed, or pinched in a sexual
    way 65% 42%
    Intentionally brushed up against in a
    sexual way 57% 36%
    flashed or mooned
    49% 41%
    had sexual rumors spread about them
    42% 34%
    had clothing pulled at in a sexual manner
    38% 28%

    The Connecticut survey results were similar: 

    Types of Sexual Harassment Experienced:


    Girls Boys
    sexual comments about parts of your body;
    what type of sex you�d be good at; your 67% 26%
    clothing; or your looks
    Unwanted touching, pinching or grabbing
    65% 325
    Suggestive sexual gestures or looks, such as
    howling, whistling, or suggestive lip licking 53% 13%

    leaned over; cornered, or blocked from


    moving; or followed too closely in a sexual 47% 10%
    way
    been told unwanted offensive sexual jokes
    40% 17%
    been the victim of sexual rumors spread about
    (you) 37% 18%
    had your bra snapped
    49% NA

    882
    Where does sexual harassment occur? 

    Of the 81 percent of the students in the AAUW survey who reported


    experiencing sexual harassment in school and the 52% of students in the
    Connecticut study who gave information on the most upsetting incident of
    sexual harassment that they had experienced these were the reported locations
    of the harassment: 

    Locations Sexual Harassment Occurred:


    AAUW Connecticut
    survey survey
    in the hall
    66% 62%
    in the classroom
    55% 44%
    outside of school, on school grounds (other
    than the parking lot) 43% NA

    in the gymnasium, on the playing field, or


    pool area 39% 21%
    in the cafeteria
    34% 31%
    in the school parking lot
    23% NA
    other places (includes parking lot, school
    grounds, etc.) NA 50%

    It�s important to note that two-thirds of the incidents reported in both


    studies occurred in public. 

    Who is doing the harassing? 

    The AAUW study reports that 18% of the students who have been harassed
    were harassed by a school employee and 70% have been targeted by another
    student. Harassers included: 

    Who the Harassers Are:


    Girls Boys
    a member of the opposite sex acting alone
    81% 57%

    883
    a group of members of the opposite sex
    57% 35%
    a mixed group of males and female
    11% 13%
    a single member of the same sex
    10% 25%
    a group of members of the same sex
    3% 14%

    Two-thirds (66%) of all boys and more than half (52%) of all girls admitted
    that they had sexually harassed someone in a school setting. 

    According to the Connecticut study, the perpetrator of the most upsetting


    incident of sexual harassment was a single person in 57% of the incidents,
    though 24% of the students indicated that a group caused the most upsetting
    behavior. The perpetrator was identified as: 

    An acquaintance
    35%
    a friend
    33%
    a boyfriend/girlfriend
    12%
    a stranger
    9%
    a teacher, coach or other staff member
    3.5%

    Seventy five percent of the people responsible for the most upsetting behavior
    were male, and 25% were female. In 16% of the reports on all sexual
    harassment experience at school, the individual was the same sex as the
    student reporting and in 91% the harasser was not of the same sex as the
    victim.At what grade level does sexual harassment start? 

    Hostile Hallways (AAUW, 1993) reports that a student�s first experience of


    sexual harassment is most likely to occur between 6th to 9th grade, with
    7thgrade being the most common: 40% of boys and 54% of girls who have
    been harassed fall into this group. 34% of girls and 32% of boys were first
    harassed before 7th grade. 42% of African American girls and 40% of
    Hispanic girls have been sexual harassed, compared with 31% of white girls. 

    What recourses do victims of school sexual harassment have? 

    If a student is a victim of sexual harassment s/he, a parent or other individual

    884
    should contact a teacher or school administrator to file a complaint. If the
    school fails to take action to remedy the situation, a student should make
    his/her complaint known to the school district. If satisfactory action is still not
    taken, a student may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of
    Education�s Office for Civil Rights and/or turn to the federal courts. 

    What responsibility do schools have to end and/or prevent sexual


    harassment? 

    According to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights�


    guidelines, schools are required by the Title IX regulations to adopt and
    publish grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution
    of all sex discrimination complaints, including complaints of sexual
    harassment. Students should be notified of the procedures which should be
    written in language appropriate to the age of the school's students. Without a
    widely understood grievance procedure in place, a school (or school district)
    is held liable regardless of whether or not sexual harassment has occurred. 

    A school that does have a grievance procedure is liable for any conduct of its
    students that creates a sexually hostile environment where (a) the school
    knows (or should have know) of the harassment, and (b) the school fails to
    take immediate and appropriate steps to remedy it. 

    Sources 

    American Association of University Women. (1993). Hostile hallways: The


    AAUW survey on sexual harassment in America's schools. Washington, DC:
    Author. 

    Permanent Commission (CT) on the Status of Women (1995). In our own


    backyard: Sexual harassment in Connecticut�s public high
    schools. Hartford, CT: Author. 

    Stein, N. (1999) Classrooms and courtrooms: Facing sexual harassment in


    K-12 schools.  New York, NY; Teacher�s College Press, Columbia
    University. 

    U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (1997) Sexual


    harassment: It�s not academic. Washington, D.C.; Author. (also available
    at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/ocrshpam.html) 
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    885
    Sexual harassment in education (brochure)
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    Sexual harassment is a type of discrimination based on sex. When someone is sexually harassed in
    school, it can undermine their sense of personal dignity and safety, disrupt their education, and
    interfere with their ability to reach their full potential in life. If left unchecked, sexual harassment in
    the school setting has the potential to escalate to violent behaviour, including sexual assault.

    A student experiencing sexual harassment may stop doing their school work and taking part in school-
    related activities. They may skip or drop classes, or they may drop out of school entirely.
    Psychological effects may include anxiety, depression, disrupted sleep, loss of appetite, inability to
    concentrate, lowered self-esteem, loss of interest in regular activities, social isolation, and feelings of
    sadness, fear or shame. Some students may abuse drugs and/or alcohol to cope. In extreme cases,
    students may think about or even attempt suicide.

    Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, sexual harassment is “engaging in a course of vexatious
    comment or conduct that is known or ought to be known to be unwelcome.” In some cases, one
    incident could be serious enough to be sexual harassment. Some examples of sexual harassment are:
     asking for sex in exchange for a benefit or a favour
     repeatedly asking for dates, and not taking “no” for an answer
     demanding hugs
     making unnecessary physical contact, including unwanted touching
     using rude or insulting language or making comments toward girls and women (or boys and
    men, depending on the circumstances)
     calling people sex-specific derogatory names
     making sex-related comments about a person’s physical characteristics or actions
     saying or doing something because you think a person does not conform to sex-role
    stereotypes
     posting or sharing pornography, sexual pictures or cartoons, sexually explicit graffiti, or other
    sexual images (including online)
     making sexual jokes
     bragging about sexual prowess
     bullying based on sex or gender
     spreading sexual rumours or gossip (including online).
    Applying the Human Rights Code in education
    The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits sexual harassment in education. “Education” includes
    primary, secondary and post-secondary education, and school activities such as sports, arts and
    cultural activities, school functions, field trips and tutoring. Sexual harassment may also occur as part
    of school rituals, such as when initiating new students, new players in team sports, or new members of
    sororities and fraternities.

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    More and more, students are being sexually harassed online. Technology, such as e-mail, blogs, social
    networking sites, chat rooms, dating websites, text messaging features, etc., provides new frontiers for
    the sexual harassment.
    Example: The Ontario College of Teachers withdrew a 29-year-old teacher’s license because he
    sexually harassed a female student through e-mail. He used a false name and sent messages to the
    student that included information about what she had been wearing that day, what route she took to
    school, and sexual suggestions.
    Educators may be liable for a poisoned environment if school technology is used to sexually harass
    someone. They may also be liable when private electronic devices are used on school premises to
    harass someone.

    Gender-based harassment and bullying


    Gender-based harassment is a form of sexual harassment that is used as a “gender policing tool” to
    enforce conformity with sex-role stereotypes. Gender-based harassment can be particularly damaging
    to adolescent students who are struggling with their identities, and trying to come to terms with their
    sexuality, peer pressure and a desire to fit in. Students who are perceived as not conforming to
    stereotypical gender norms may be particularly vulnerable to gender-based harassment.

    Gender-based harassment in schools is often used as a form of bullying. This seems to happen
    regularly in primary, middle and high school. Students may use sexual information to gain control and
    power over another person.

    Example: To ostracize a rival, a girl starts a rumour that another girl is sexually promiscuous and
    performs sex acts on boys behind the school.
    Sexist and homophobic name-calling, jokes and conduct may also be used as a way to bully and shun
    a person. In some cases, gender-based harassment may look the same as harassment based on sexual
    orientation, or homophobic bullying.

    Example: A grade 9 male student who has many female friends and is more interested in the arts than
    athletics is repeatedly called “fag,” “homo,” “queer,” etc. by a group of boys in the school.
    Preventing and responding to sexual harassment
    Education providers have a legal duty to take steps to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. They
    must make sure they keep poison-free environments that respect human rights. From a human rights
    perspective, it is not acceptable to ignore sexual harassment, whether or not someone has formally
    complained or made a human rights complaint.

    When deciding if an education provider has met its duty to respond to a human rights claim, tribunals
    are likely to think about:

     the procedures in place at the time to deal with discrimination and harassment
     how quickly the organization responded to the complaint
     how seriously the complaint was treated
     the resources made available to deal with the complaint
     if the organization provided a healthy environment for the person who complained
     how well the person who complained was told about the action taken.
    Educators can prevent many cases of sexual harassment by having a clear, comprehensive anti-sexual
    harassment policy in place. In cases of alleged sexual harassment, the policy will alert all parties to
    their rights, roles and responsibilities. Policies must clearly set out how the sexual harassment will be
    dealt with promptly and efficiently. The OHRC’s Policy on preventing sexual and gender-based
    harassment includes suggested contents of an anti-sexual harassment policy.

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    Everyone should know about the anti-sexual harassment policy and the steps in place for resolving
    complaints. This can be done by:

     giving policies to everyone as soon as they are introduced


     making all teachers, school staff, students, etc. aware of them by including the policies in
    orientation material
     training people, including people in positions of responsibility, about the policies,
    and educating them on human rights issues.
    An effective sexual harassment policy can limit harm and reduce liability. It also promotes the equity
    and diversity goals of educational institutions.

    Education providers should monitor their environments regularly to make sure they are free of
    sexually harassing behaviours. Taking steps to keep a poison-free environment will help make sure
    that sexual harassment does not take root, and does not have a chance to grow. You can help to
    prevent sexual and gender-based harassment before it happens by:

     showing a clear attitude that sexual and gender-based harassment will not be tolerated
     showing a clear attitude that discrimination based on sexual orientation, including
    homophobic bullying, will not be tolerated
     having an effective anti-sexual and gender-based harassment policy in place and making sure
    all students know about it
     communicating clearly to the student body the consequences of all forms of sexual and
    gender-based harassment, including online sexual and gender-based harassment
     including online harassment prevention measures in sexual harassment and school Internet
    policies
     teaching students and staff about sexual harassment, including gender-based harassment, sex-
    role stereotyping, and homophobic comment and conduct
     using role-playing and educational exercises to help students be more aware of the impact of
    sexual and gender-based harassment on others
     teaching students media literacy to help their critical thinking and to ask appropriate questions
    about what they watch, hear and read
     teaching students how to protect themselves from online sexual and gender-based harassment
     respecting the confidentiality of students who report sexual and gender-based harassment and
    related bullying. This may encourage other students to report harassment
     making sure staff have enough resources, training and tools to spot sexually
    harassing behaviours, and to identify and report incidents when they do occur.
    For more information:
    Policy on preventing sexual and gender-based harassment
    To file a human rights claim (called an application), contact the Human Rights
    Tribunal of Ontario at:
    Toll Free: 1-866-598-0322
    TTY: 416-326-2027 or Toll Free: 1-866-607-1240
    Website:www.hrto.ca
    To talk about your rights or if you need legal help with a human rights application, contact the Human
    Rights Legal Support Centre at:
    Toll Free: 1-800-387-9080
    TTY:  416 326-0603 or Toll Free: 1-800-308-5561
    Website: www.hrlsc.on.ca
     

    Source:- http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/sexual-harassment-education-brochure

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    How To Prevent Sexual Harassment By Setting
    Boundaries
    By  Dr. Edward F. Dragan on April 7, 2012
    According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 59
    percent of secondary schools report incidents of sexual
    harassment.  

    A large portion of these sexual harassment reports stem from the actions of school


    employees. Scenario's like the ones listed here are not uncommon in junior and senior high
    school.  

    "Should I tell my principal that Bob said he was planning to sleep with one of his students
    during the class trip? I think I will just keep out of it; that's their business."
    "I'm in 10th grade and feel uncomfortable when Mrs. Atkins rubs my shoulders and gets real
    close to me, but I don't know what to do about it?"
    "I am going to tell the principal that Mr. Harris winked at me and rubbed up against me in the
    hallway.  That should get him in trouble for giving me a D on my paper."
    "I can't believe I saw our football coach coming out of the shower with his players, while
    taking a shortcut through the boy's locker room.  It's probably not a big deal and I am
    overreacting, but I wouldn't want my son to shower with his coach."
    In my practice I regularly consult on cases after a report of sexual harassment.  The
    parents sue the school after they discover that their child had been engaged in a sexual
    relationship with a teacher. 
    Students sometimes conceal the sexual harassment because they believe they are in love
    and other times because they are assaulted against their will and ashamed to tell anyone
    from fear of retaliation or that no one will believe them.

    Teachers and even principals too many times see


    another teacher and a student in situations that ought to raise their suspicions of
    inappropriate conduct.  Usually there are clear signs that a teacher is acting inappropriately
    witnessed by teachers and students, but too often those red flags go on unnoticed unless the
    school is pro-active about raising awareness and providing training on reporting and setting
    sexual harassment boundaries.  

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    Parents place their children in the trust of school employees so that children will learn
    academically, socially and emotionally.  School employees and administrators have a duty to
    live up to that expectation and to protect students from harm including sexual harassment. 

    A clear definition and understanding of behavioral boundaries and an understanding of how


    to respond when those boundaries are crossed will protect schools, school employees and
    students. 

    Employee behavior that might lead to sexual harassment charges


    include: 
     Tutoring a student in a secluded area or behind a closed door;
     Taking students home after school in private vehicles;
     Texting or interacting with students via social media;
     Making suggestive comments to students or acting in a flirtatious manner;
     Inviting students to their homes;
     Touching students inappropriately and when they do not want to be touched.
    School employees always must be aware of how student encounters might be viewed and
    interpreted by others.  If a school employee observes a situation between another school
    employee and a student, he or she has the duty to follow up according to school policy and
    procedure, as well as state reporting laws on reporting abuse or sexual harassment to
    appropriate agencies.

    On the other hand, if a school employee is confronted with a student's inappropriate


    behavior, he or she has the responsibility and duty to take direct steps to stop that behavior. 

    School employees should take following proactive steps to stop sexual


    harassment: 
     Stop the behavior and make the student aware of the school's sexual harassment
    policy;
     Document the student's behavior;
     Communicate the student's behavior to school officials and the  student's parent; and
     Notify his or her supervisor. 
    Schools should set appropriate boundaries between students and school employees.  Those
    boundaries should be clearly communicated to the entire school community every year. 

    Provide training to school employees on the school's policies, procedures


    and sexual harassment laws to ensure that everyone understands the
    boundaries and how to respond to inappropriate behavior and report it
    according to policy. 
    These measures will help schools make it a safe environment for learning, protect school
    employees and students from sexual harassment and protect the school and administrators
    from costly lawsuits.

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    Dr. Edward F. Dragan has spent more than 40 years in education as a teacher, school
    superintendent, and an official in the New Jersey Department of Education. 

    As the founder of Education Management Consulting, LLChe is now a legal consultant and
    an education expert for high profile school bullying cases.  He has appeared on NBC Nightly
    News, Today on NBC, PBS’s One on One, The Morning Show on Fox, The Operah
    Show and others.
    Dr. Dragan has a doctorate in Education Administration from Rutgers University, a master’s
    in Education Law from the University of New Hampshire School of Law and a master’s in
    Special Education from The College of New Jersey.

    He is a Certified School Administrator and is the author of  The Bully Action Guide: How to
    Help Your Child and How to Get Your School to Listen.

    Source:- http://www.howtolearn.com/2012/04/how-to-prevent-sexual-harassment-by-
    setting-boundaries/

    FEATURE

    Preventing harassment at
    schools
    Peter Goldblum helps elementary schools promote
    respect and acceptance of diversity.
    By Amy Novotney
    Monitor Staff
    March 2008, Vol 39, No. 3
    Print version: page 18
     Gay- and lesbian-headed households are reported in nearly every U.S. county,
    according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet every day countless children-including
    those with same-sex parents and those who may question their own sexual
    orientation-experience bullying and name-calling because they're deemed
    "different."
    In an effort to combat this statistic, psychologist Peter Goldblum, PhD, MPH-a
    pioneer in the development of mental health programs for the lesbian, gay,
    bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community-has partnered with

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    the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the San Francisco Unified School
    District to help elementary schools promote respect and acceptance of diversity.
    "Actual or perceived sexual orientation is one of the most common reasons that
    students are harassed by their peers, second only to physical appearance," he
    notes.
    Goldblum is evaluating HRC's newly developed Welcoming Schools Guide,
    which helps schools address family diversity, gender stereotypes, name-calling
    and bullying. Teachers and administrators receive training on how to respond to
    typical student questions-about what gay means or how two men can have
    children, for example-and set a positive, inclusive tone for students from all kinds
    of families, says Goldblum.
    Since the early 1990s, the San Francisco school district has integrated
    counseling for LGBTQ youths and their families, as well as an LGBTQ-focused
    curriculum for students from kindergarten to 12th grade. Professional
    development for teachers is also offered through the district's Support Services
    for Gay and Lesbian Youth program, says the program's director, Kevin Gogin.
    "The piloting of the HRC curriculum is to see if it will work with existing curriculum
    to address LGBTQ issues in elementary schools," he says.
    Goldblum, who directs the Pacific Graduate School of Psychology's (PGSP)
    Center for LGBTQ Evidence-based Applied Research, is evaluating the
    additional HRC program's effectiveness at three San Francisco elementary
    schools. Throughout this school year, under Goldblum's direction, a group of
    PGSP professors, students and community psychologists will conduct interviews
    and focus groups with teachers, parents and administrators at the schools in an
    effort to understand their perceptions of the project and barriers to its success,
    such as the ways in which students respond to specific lesson plans.
    He'll also be observing classroom interactions to get a sense of student
    engagement with the curriculum and will integrate this qualitative information with
    findings from a concurrent LGBTQ quantitative school climate survey. The survey
    was developed and conducted at nine test schools by Laura Szalacha, EdD,
    professor of public health, mental health and administrative nursing at the
    University of Illinois at Chicago, to measure the program's outcomes. The hope is
    that HRC will expand the curriculum to all elementary schools in San Francisco
    by September 2009, and that as more schools focus on these diversity lessons,
    the prevailing norm will be one of respect for all students, says Goldblum.
    "We're really trying to change the overall atmosphere in elementary schools," he
    says.

    Source:- http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/03/harassment.aspx

    892
    Strategies to address sexual harassment in schools and youth
    settings
    Everyone has a role to play in addressing sexual harassment with youth.
    Posted on January 23, 2015 by Karen Pace, Michigan State University
    Extension




     inShare0

    Unfortunately, sexual harassment is a common problem in schools and affects


    the education of millions of children. According to a report called Crossing the
    Line: Sexual Harassment at School, students who experience sexual harassment
    report having trouble studying, not wanting to go to school and feeling sick to
    their stomach. Sexual harassment experts emphasize that everyone can help to
    address and prevent sexual harassment. Here are some suggestions from
    the Crossing the Line report:

     Listen to young people carefully and respectfully. Practice listening non-


    judgmentally and always avoid victim-blaming. You can build trust with youth by
    being someone who listens with an open mind and an open heart.
     Create systems that allow youth to report incidents anonymously.
     Hold accountable those doing the harassing behaviors. Never ignore the
    situation, treat it as a joke or encourage the person who is doing the hurtful
    behaviors.
     Offer workshops and in-class discussions on the topic for young people
    and adults.
     Enforce Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, address sexual
    harassment in the official organizational plan and create and publicize a sexual
    harassment policy.
     Appoint an adult as the contact person students and staff can go to with
    questions and concerns as they arise. Keep in mind that schools that receive
    federal funding are required to have a Title IX coordinator whose job it is to take
    leadership for these issues.
     Provide clear guidelines and support to staff about how they should
    handle sexual harassment when it is reported to them.

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     Provide high-quality, in-depth training on sexual harassment for all
    students and staff, including administrators, educators, custodians, secretaries,
    bus drivers, coaches, counselors, lunchroom and playground aides.

    Sexual harassment expert Nan Stein, senior research scientist at the Wellesley


    Centers for Women shares additional strategies for addressing the issue:

     Offer compassionate responses such as individual or group counseling to


    the person doing the harassing in addition to punitive consequences.
     Involve parents in public forums and private conversations about the
    issues—particularly those whose children have been targets of, or witnesses to
    sexual harassment.
     Help protect kids who have been targeted by developing school-based
    restraining and stay-away orders that pay attention to class schedules, walking
    and bus routes, lunch times and other aspects of the student’s schedule.
     Designate several adults as safe, trusted, caring and approachable
    resources for young people and provide them with training.
     Integrate the subject of gender violence and sexual harassment into the
    curriculum and make the discussions engaging, ongoing and age-appropriate.
     Highlight and use the Oct. 26, 2010 “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S.
    Department of Education Office for Civil Rights which focuses on bullying and
    bias-based harassment related to race, color, national origin, sex, gender and
    disability—as well as the responsibilities of schools and other youth settings that
    receive federal funding to effectively address these issues.
     Understand the connections between sexual harassment and domestic
    violence. Stein emphasizes that schools may be training grounds for domestic
    violence through the “public performance of gendered violence that is enacted as
    peer sexual harassment.” If these behaviors are not acknowledged or interrupted
    in public settings in front of peers and adults, then young people may believe that
    it’s okay to engage in harassment and violence in their intimate relationships as
    well.
     Collaborate with staff from domestic violence and sexual assault agencies.
     Collect information from young people about their environment through
    mapping activities that ask them to identify places and spaces where they feel
    unsafe. Mapping activities like this can be found in Stein’s curriculum
    called Shifting Boundaries: Lessons on Relationships for Students in Middle
    School.
     Don’t confuse bullying with sexual harassment. Doing so obscures the
    serious nature of these incidents, deflects the organization’s responsibility and
    potential liability, and moves us away from the discourse of rights that schools
    and other youth organizations must provide to all young people.

    894
    Nan Stein shares additional information and strategies for addressing sexual
    harassment in a webinar available from Michigan State University
    Extension called Is it bullying or sexual harassment? Talking and teaching about
    sexual harassment, bullying and gender violence in schools and other youth
    settings. In addition, MSU Extension offers many resources to support youth and
    adults working in partnership to create settings that are emotionally and
    physically safe. Check out Be SAFE: Safe, Affirming and Fair Environments for
    more information.

    This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more
    information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information
    delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters.
    To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-
    MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

    Source:-
    http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/strategies_to_address_sexual_harassment_in_schools_and
    _youth_settings

    Prevention of Sexual Harassment in Schools


    Background
     
        Consequent to the amendment to the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO)
    that came into effect on 3 October 2008, a sexual harassment act committed by
    any person that creates a hostile or intimidating environment also applies to
    educational settings.  It is the responsibility of schools to ensure that all
    individuals (including all students, staff members, voluntary helpers, contract
    workers/ service providers/ agents) are able to study, to conduct extra-curriculuar
    activities or work or provide services in a safe and sexually hostile-free
    environment.  At the same time, apart from the personal liability to be borne by
    individuals for an unlawful acts of sexual harassment, the schools being
    employers of the staff concerned, may also be vicariously liable.  
     
        As advised by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), schools are
    encouraged to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure that the school is free
    from any sexually hostile or intimidating environment and to avoid the possible
    vicarious liability on the employers, including developing a school policy (in
    written form) to eliminate sexual harassment, raising the understanding and
    awareness of both staff and students about sexual harassment and setting up
    complaint handling mechanism to resolve sexual harassment complaints.
     
        Schools may refer to the relevant amended sections of the SDO at the EOC's
    website (http://www.eoc.org.hk).
     
     Questions & Answers on Preventing Sexual Harassment in
    Schools and Brief Outline of a School Policy

    895
      Q&As on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Schools    (Updated in November
    2013) 
     The EOC's Framework for Sexual Harassment Policies in Schools     (Updated
    in November 2013) 

     
    Briefing Sessions/ Seminars- Presentation Materials for Sharing
    A. Seminars on Formulation of Sexual Harassment Policy in Schools (for School
    Sponsoring Bodies in December 2013)
    (1) Sexual Harassment: Definition and Duty for Schools (Chinese Version Only)   
    (Updated in December 2013) 
    (2) Develop an Effective Sexual Harassment Policy  (Chinese Version
    Only)    (Updated in December 2013) 
    (3) Policy for the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Harassment (for
    students)_Aberdeen Baptist Lui Ming Choi College  (Chinese Version
    Only)    (Updated in December 2013) 
     
    B. Seminars on Formulation of Sexual Harassment Policy in
    Schools (for Primary and Secondary Schools in July 2013)
    (1) Sexual Harassment: Definition and Duty for Schools  (Chinese Version
    Only)   (Updated in December 2013) 
    (2) Develop an Effective Sexual Harassment Policy (2-3 July
    2013)  (Chinese Version Only)    (Updated in December 2013) 
    (3) Develop an Effective Sexual Harassment Policy (4-5 July
    2013)  (Chinese Version Only)    (Updated in December 2013) 
    (4) Sharing on Formulation of a Sexual Harassment Policy and
    Handling Related Complaints  (Chinese Version Only)    (Updated in December
    2013) 
    (5) Policy for the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Harassment (for
    employees)- Aberdeen Baptist Lui Ming Choi College (Chinese Version
    Only)    (Updated in December 2013) 
    (6) Policy for the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Harassment (for
    students)- Aberdeen Baptist Lui Ming Choi College (Chinese Version
    Only)    (Updated in December 2013) 
     
    C. Briefing Sessions (for schools on 23 February 2009)
    To help schools understand the implications of the amendment to the
    SDO, two identical briefing session were held on 23 February 2009.
    (1) Briefing materials
     
     
    Source:- http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/sch-admin/admin/about-sch/sch-sexual-harassment-
    prevention/index.html

    896
    Sexual Harassment: It's Not Academic
    PDF (10 MB)

    Reproduction and Ordering Information


    U. S. Department of Education
    Margaret Spellings
    Secretary
    Office for Civil Rights
    Stephanie Monroe
    Assistant Secretary
    Revised September 2008
    Table of Contents
    Introduction
    Part One: Defining Sexual Harassment
    What is sexual harassment?

    What are some examples of sexual conduct?

    Is all physical contact sexual in nature?

    What if the sexual conduct is criminal in nature?

    Must the sexual conduct be unwelcome?

    When does sexual conduct "deny or limit a student's ability to


    participate in or benefit from a school's education program?"

    Can young school children engage in sexual harassment? 

    Are gay and lesbian students protected from sexual harassment?


    Part Two: Responding to Sexual Harassment
    How should a school respond when it receives information about
    alleged sexual harassment?

    What if the victim requests confidentiality or asks that the


    complaint not be pursued? 

    Does a school have to do anything about sexual harassment if a


    particular incident is not reported to the school?

    What actions, if any, should schools take while investigating a complaint?

    What does a school have to do once the investigation is complete?

    897
    What ares some examples of the steps a school should take to end harassment and prevent
    it from happening again?

    What are some examples of how a school can remedy the effects of sexual harassment?
    Part Three: Reporting and Preventing Sexual Harassment
    Who should report incidents of sexual harassment?

    To whom should a victim or other individual report


    the harassment?

    What if the harasser threatens to retaliate against the victim if he or she reports the incident?

    What procedures must a school have in place to prevent sexual


    harassment and resolve complaints?

    What are grievance procedures?

    What does the Title  lX coordinator do?

    How do I know who my school's Title IX coordinator is? 

    What other steps can a school take to prevent sexual harassment? 

    What is OCR, and how do I report incidents of sexual harassment


    to that office?

    Where can I get more information about a school's responsibilities


    to address and prevent sexual harassment?
    Introduction
    Sexual harassment of students is illegal. A federal law, Title IX of the Education
    Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual
    harassment, in education programs and activities. All public and private education institutions
    that receive any federal funds must comply with Title IX. Title IX protects students from
    harassment connected to any of the academic, educational, extracurricular, athletic, and
    other programs or activities of schools, regardless of the location. Title IX protects both male
    and female students from sexual harassment by any school employee, another student, or a
    non-employee third party.
    Preventing and remedying sexual harassment in schools is essential to ensure a
    nondiscriminatory, safe environment in which students can learn. Unfortunately, students,
    parents, and school staff may not know what sexual harassment is, how to stop it, and what
    can be done to prevent it from happening. This pamphlet uses a question-and-answer format
    to provide students, parents, school administrators, school employees, and others with
    fundamental information on recognizing and addressing sexual harassment under Title IX as
    it is interpreted by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR is
    the federal agency responsible for enforcing Title IX in schools that receive federal funds
    from the U.S. Department of Education.
    Back to Table of Contents | Top
    Part One: Defining Sexual Harassment

    898
    What is sexual harassment?
    Sexual harassment is conduct that:
    1. is sexual in nature;

    2. is unwelcome; and

    3. denies or limits a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from a school’s


    education program.

    Sexual harassment can take different forms depending on the harasser and the nature of the
    harassment. The conduct can be carried out by school employees, other students, and non-
    employee third parties, such as a visiting speaker. Both male and female students can be
    victims of sexual harassment, and the harasser and the victim can be of the same sex.
    The conduct can occur in any school program or activity and can take place in school
    facilities, on a school bus, or at other off-campus locations, such as a school-sponsored field
    trip or a training program at another location. The conduct can be verbal, nonverbal, or
    physical.
    The judgment and common sense of teachers and school administrators are very important
    elements in determining whether sexual harassment has occurred and in determining an
    appropriate response, especially when dealing with young children.
    What are some examples of sexual conduct?
    Examples of sexual conduct include:
     making sexual propositions or pressuring students for sexual favors;

     touching of a sexual nature;

     writing graffiti of a sexual nature;

     displaying or distributing sexually explicit drawings, pictures, or written materials;

     performing sexual gestures or touching oneself sexually in front of others;

     telling sexual or dirty jokes;

     spreading sexual rumors or rating other students as to sexual activity or


    performance; or

     circulating or showing e-mails or Web sites of a sexual nature.

    Example: A school official sends a student a text message to arrange a time


    to meet for a sexual encounter. Sending such a text message would
    constitute sexual conduct.
    Is all physical contact sexual in nature?
    No. Legitimate nonsexual touching or conduct generally will not be considered sexual
    harassment. However, it may rise to that level if it takes on sexual connotations.

    899
    Example: A high school athletic coach hugs a student who makes a goal.
    This by itself is not considered sexual conduct. However, a coach’s hugging
    of a student could be considered sexual conduct if it is unwelcome and
    occurs under inappropriate circumstances.
    What if the sexual conduct is criminal in nature?
    Sexual harassment includes conduct that is criminal in nature, such as rape, sexual assault,
    dating violence, and sexually motivated stalking. Even if a school reports possible criminal
    conduct to the police, that does not relieve the school of its responsibilities under Title IX,
    which are discussed in Part Two.
    Must the sexual conduct be unwelcome?
    Yes. Conduct is considered unwelcome if the student did not request or invite it and
    considered the conduct to be undesirable or offensive. The age of the student, the nature
    of the conduct, and other relevant factors affect whether a student was capable of
    welcoming the sexual conduct. A student’s submission to the conduct or failure to
    complain does not always mean that the conduct was welcome. 
    Example 1: A middle school student makes offensive sexual jokes to
    another student, but the student does not object to the jokes or speak out
    against them. The student’s failure to object does not mean that he or she
    has welcomed the comments.

    Example 2: A female high school student willingly kisses a male student
    on one occasion. When the student subsequently attempts to kiss her again,
    she objects, but he kisses her anyway. This subsequent kiss is considered to
    be unwelcome despite the welcomeness of the first kiss. 
    When does sexual conduct “deny or limit a student’s ability to participate in or benefit from a
    school’s education program?”
    Two general types of sexual conduct can deny or limit a student’s ability to participate in or
    benefit from a school’s program. As discussed below, teachers and other school employees
    can engage in either type of conduct, while students and third parties can engage in only one
    type.
    One form of sexual harassment occurs when a teacher or other school employee
    conditions an educational decision or benefit on the student’s submission to unwelcome
    sexual conduct. If this occurs, it does not matter whether the student resists and suffers
    the threatened harm or submits to and avoids the threatened harm.
    Example: A high school drama teacher tells a student that if she engages in
    sexual activity with the teacher, she will be given the lead part in a school
    play. The student agrees to participate in the sexual act but without desiring
    to do so. The drama teacher thus has limited the student’s ability to benefit
    from the school’s education program by conditioning the benefit of
    receiving the lead role in the school play on the student’s submission to
    unwelcome sexual conduct.

    900
    Sexual harassment also occurs when a teacher, school employee, other student, or third
    party creates a hostile environment that is sufficiently serious to deny or limit a student’s
    ability to participate in or benefit from the school’s program. Whether such a hostile
    environment has been created depends on the particular circumstances of the incident(s).
    Relevant considerations include, but are not limited to:
     how much of an adverse effect the conduct had on the student’s education;

     the type, frequency, or duration of the conduct;

     the identity, age, and sex of the harasser(s) and the victim(s), and the relationship
    between them;

     the number of individuals who engaged in the harassing conduct and at whom the
    harassment was directed;

     the size of the school, location of the incidents, and context in which they occurred;
    and

     whether other incidents occurred at the school involving different students.

    The conduct does not necessarily have to be repetitive.  If sufficiently severe, single or
    isolated incidents can create a hostile environment.
    Example 1: Throughout the school year, Student A repeatedly passes
    sexually explicit photographs to Student B during class. The photographs
    are offensive to Student B, and, consequently, Student B is unable to
    concentrate during class or focus on the subject. Student A has created a
    hostile environment that limits Student B’s ability to participate in the class.

    Example 2: A high school student sexually assaulted another high school
    student on one occasion when the two were alone in a classroom. As a
    result, the victim is afraid of attending any classes or coming into contact
    with the harasser. Although this was an isolated incident, it is sufficiently
    severe to create a hostile environment.
    Can young school children engage in sexual harassment?
    School personnel should consider the age and maturity of students in responding to
    allegations of sexual harassment. When determining whether a young child has
    committed sexual harassment, it is important for teachers and school administrators to
    use good judgment and common sense.
    Example 1: On one occasion, a first-grade student kisses another first-grade
    student on the cheek in the playground. This behavior does not constitute
    sexual harassment.

    Example 2: On numerous occasions over a period of several months, a


    fifth-grade student inappropriately touches another fifth-grade student and
    makes overtly sexual comments and gestures to that student. The conduct is

    901
    unwelcome and results in the victim’s grades falling because he or she is
    unable to concentrate on studying. This behavior constitutes sexual
    harassment.
    Are gay and lesbian students protected from sexual harassment?
    Title IX prohibits harassing conduct that is of a sexual nature if it is unwelcome and denies or
    limits a student's ability to participate in or benefit from a school's program, regardless of
    whether the harassment is aimed at gay or lesbian students or is perpetrated by individuals
    of the same or opposite sex. Title IX does not address discrimination or other issues related
    to sexual orientation.
    Example 1: Throughout football season, a male member of the high school
    football team makes unwelcome sexual advances toward another member of
    the football team, who is a homosexual male. As a result, the victim quits
    the football team. This conduct is sexual in nature, unwelcome, and has
    denied the victim the ability to participate on the school football team. This
    is sexual harassment covered by Title IX.

    Example 2: Students heckle another student with comments that are based
    on the student’s sexual orientation but are not sexual in nature (e.g., “gay
    students are not welcome at this table in the lunch room”). Even if these
    comments are unwelcome and deny the student’s ability to benefit from or
    participate in the school’s education program, the conduct is not sexual, and
    this is not sexual harassment covered by Title IX. 

    Back to Table of Contents | Top


    Part Two: Responding to Sexual Harassment
    How should a school respond when it receives information about alleged sexual
    harassment?
    If a student, his or her parent, or a responsible employee reports the harassment, or a school
    employee observes the harassment, the school should inform the harassed student (and the
    student’s parent depending on the student’s age) of the options for formal and informal
    action and of the school’s responsibilities, which are discussed below. Regardless of whether
    the victim files a formal complaint or requests action, the school must conduct a prompt,
    impartial, and thorough investigation to determine what happened and must take appropriate
    steps to resolve the situation. 
    If other sources, such as a witness to the incident, an anonymous letter or phone call, or the
    media, report the harassment, the school should respond in the same manner described
    above if it is reasonable for the school to conduct an investigation and the school can
    confirm the allegations. Considerations relevant to this determination may include, but are
    not limited to, the:
     source and nature of the information;

     seriousness of the alleged incident;

    902
     specificity of the information;

     objectivity and credibility of the source that made the report;

     ability to identify the alleged victims; and

     cooperation from the alleged victims in pursuing the matter.

    What if the victim requests confidentiality or asks that the complaint not be pursued?
    The school should take all reasonable steps to investigate and respond to the complaint in a
    manner consistent with a request for confidentiality from a student. If a student insists that
    his or her name not be disclosed to the harasser, the school’s ability to respond may be
    limited. The school also must consider its responsibility to provide a safe and
    nondiscriminatory environment for all students. Thus, the school must weigh the
    confidentiality request against the following factors:
     seriousness of the alleged harassment;

     age of the harassed student; and

     other complaints that the same individual has harassed others.

    Example: A female elementary school student describes an incident to her


    teacher that involved another teacher forcing her to engage in sexual
    activity. The student begs the teacher to not tell anybody what happened.
    This is a situation in which the school’s duty to provide all students with a
    safe environment might outweigh the student’s request.
    Additionally, state or local laws may require schools to report incidents to the police. 
    Does a school have to do anything about sexual harassment if a particular incident is not
    reported to the school?
    If the harasser is a teacher or another school employee and if the harassment occurs while
    the school employee is acting, or reasonably appears to be acting, in the context of his or
    her responsibilities to provide aid, benefits, and services to students, the school is directly
    responsible for and must remedy the harassment regardless of whether the school knew or
    should have known that the incident occurred. 
    If the harasser is another student, a third party, or a school employee who is not acting
    within the context of his or her responsibility to provide aid, benefits, or services to
    students, then the school is responsible for investigating the conduct and taking
    appropriate steps to resolve the situation only when it knows or should have known that
    the harassment occurred.
    Example: It is well-known to students and staff that graffiti of a sexual
    nature appears on the sides of buildings throughout a school’s campus in
    plain sight. The pervasiveness of this harassment may be enough to
    conclude that the school should have known that the harassment occurred. If
    so, then the school is responsible for investigating and responding to the
    harassment regardless of whether it received a specific complaint about the

    903
    graffiti.
    What actions, if any, should schools take while investigating a complaint?
    It may be necessary for schools to take interim measures during the investigation of a
    complaint. For instance, if a student alleges harassment by another student, the school may
    keep those students separated until the investigation is complete. If a teacher is the alleged
    harasser, it may be appropriate for the student to transfer to another class.
    It is a good practice for schools to keep the student who alleged the harassment informed of
    the status of the investigation.
    What does a school have to do once the investigation is complete?
    The school must notify the victim (and his or her parents depending on the age of the victim)
    of the outcome of its investigation and of any punishments imposed that directly relate to the
    victim, such as an order for the harasser to stay away from the victim.
    If the school determines that a student was sexually harassed, the school must take
    reasonable, prompt, age-appropriate, and effective action to end the harassment and
    prevent it from happening again to the victim or to others. If the school fails to do so, it must
    remedy the effects of the harassment on the victim that could have been avoided if the
    school had responded promptly and effectively.
    In addition, if the harasser is a school employee and if the harassment occurs while the
    employee is acting, or reasonably appears to be acting, in the context of carrying out his
    or her responsibilities to provide aid, benefits, and services, the school must remedy the
    effects of the harassment on the victim.
    Example 1: A teacher sexually harasses an eighth-grade student in the
    school hallway. The student is not in any of the teacher’s classes and the
    teacher is not a hall monitor. However, in light of the age and educational
    level of the student and the status and degree of influence of teachers in
    secondary schools, the student could reasonably believe that the teacher had
    at least informal disciplinary authority over him or her. Therefore, this
    conduct is considered to have occurred in the context of the teacher’s
    responsibility to provide aid, benefits, and services to students, and thus the
    school must remedy the effects of the harassment in addition to stopping it
    and preventing it from recurring. 

    Example 2: A faculty member of a university’s history department


    repeatedly, over several weeks, touches and makes sexually suggestive
    remarks to a female graduate engineering student while waiting for the
    university shuttle bus, riding on the bus, and exiting the bus. As a result, the
    student stops using the bus and walks the long distances between her
    classes.   This conduct occurred outside of the context of the faculty
    member’s duties to provide aid, benefits, or services to the student, and thus
    the school is not required to remedy the effects of the harassment. However,
    if the school fails to take reasonable and effective action to end the
    harassment after it has received notice of the harassment, the school must
    remedy the effects of the harassment that could have been avoided if the

    904
    school had responded promptly and effectively.  
    What are some examples of the steps a school should take to end harassment and prevent
    it from happening again?
    The appropriate steps should be tailored to the specific situation. For example, the school
    may need to develop and publicize new policies or conduct training. Depending on the
    nature and severity of the harassment, counseling, discipline, or further separation of the
    victim and harasser may be necessary.
    Responsive measures should be designed to minimize the burden on the victim as much as
    possible. If the school’s initial response does not stop the harassment and prevent it from
    happening again, the school may need to take additional, stronger measures.  
    What are some examples of how a school can remedy the effects of sexual harassment?
    If the school is required to remedy the effects of the harassment on the victim, the types
    of action required will vary depending on the circumstances.
    Example 1: A college professor sexually harassed a student in his or her
    class in the context of the professor’s duty to provide services to the
    student. Consequently, the student was unable to concentrate during class
    and did not learn the course material. To remedy the effects of the
    harassment, the school may be required to take such actions as:
     arranging for an independent assessment of the student’s work;
     arranging for the student to take the course again with a different
    instructor;
     providing tutoring;
     making tuition adjustments; or

     offering reimbursements for professional counseling.

    Example 2: A high school student informs the school that another student
    in her class has been sexually harassing her and that, to avoid him, she has
    been coming to class late. As a result, she has missed some pop quizzes. If
    the school delays its response to this complaint and the victim suffers
    additional effects of the harassment, such as missing additional pop quizzes
    because she has to continue coming to class late, the school must remedy
    the effects of the harassment that could have been prevented if the school
    had responded promptly and effectively. In this case, the appropriate
    remedy may include such actions as calculating the student’s grade without
    factoring in the student’s failure to take the quizzes, giving the student
    another opportunity to take the quizzes, or arranging for an independent
    assessment of the student’s work. 

    Back to Table of Contents | Top


    Part Three: Reporting and Preventing Sexual Harassment
    Who should report incidents of sexual harassment?

    905
    Anybody who sees sexual harassment occur should report it; the individual need not be the
    victim of the harassment. Schools should ensure that employees clearly understand the
    extent of their responsibilities for reporting sexual harassment.
    To whom should a victim or other individual report the harassment?
    The harassment should be reported to a responsible school employee, such as a teacher,
    principal, faculty member, administrator, security officer, affirmative action officer, or
    professional staff member in the office of student affairs. Additionally, as every school must
    have a Title IX coordinator, the harassment can be reported to this individual as well.
    A student, parent, or other individual also may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of
    Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), as explained below.
    What if the harasser threatens to retaliate against the victim if he or she reports the incident?
    Title IX also protects students from retaliation. The school must take steps to prevent the
    alleged harasser or anybody else at the school from retaliating against the victim. Such steps
    include informing students that Title IX protects them from retaliation, making sure that
    victims know how to report any future problems, and making follow-up inquiries to see if
    there have been any new incidents. It also may be appropriate to counsel the harasser to
    ensure that he or she understands that retaliation is prohibited. If retaliation occurs, the
    school should take strong responsive actions. 
    What procedures must a school have in place to prevent sexual harassment and resolve
    complaints?
    Every school must:
     issue a policy against sex discrimination;

     adopt and publicize grievance procedures; and

     have a Title IX coordinator.

    What are grievance procedures?


    Grievance procedures are internal school procedures that address violations of a school’s
    policy against discrimination, including sexual harassment.  Grievance procedures must
    provide for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints of sex discrimination.
    The school should make sure that its policy against sex discrimination and grievance
    procedures are widely distributed and easily understood by students, parents of elementary
    and secondary school students, and employees. At a minimum, students must know that the
    grievance procedure exists, know how it works, and know how to file a complaint. When a
    student or parent reports sexual harassment, the school should explain how its grievance
    procedures work and offer the student or parent the opportunity to use them. 
    If a student or parent chooses to not use the school’s grievance procedures, that does not
    relieve the school of its responsibilities to investigate and take appropriate action, as
    explained above in Part Two.
    What does the  Title IX  coordinator do?
    The Title IX coordinator is responsible for coordinating a school’s efforts to comply with and
    carry out its Title IX responsibilities. Every school must have a Title IX coordinator. Title
    IX coordinators must have adequate training in sexual harassment and must be able to
    explain the operation of the school’s grievance procedure.

    906
    How do I know who my school’s Title IX coordinator is?
    Every school must notify all students and employees of the name, office address, and
    telephone number of its Title IX coordinator(s).
    What other steps can a school take to prevent sexual harassment?
    OCR’s experience shows that the best way for a school to deal with sexual harassment is to
    prevent it from occurring in the first place. In addition to the requirements explained above
    (well-publicized nondiscrimination policy, grievance procedures, and Title IX coordinator), a
    school may take a number of other steps to prevent harassment.
    For example, a school may conduct periodic sexual harassment awareness training for all
    school staff, including administrators, teachers, and guidance counselors, and age-
    appropriate sexual harassment training for students. The training can include information on
    the types of conduct that will be considered sexual harassment and the range of possible
    consequences, the damage that results from harassment, where students can find help,
    ways to oppose harassment, and what to do about it.
    What is OCR, and how do I report incidents of sexual harassment to that office?
    OCR is the federal agency responsible for ensuring that schools comply with Title IX and
    other federal civil rights laws. One of OCR’s responsibilities is to resolve complaints of
    discrimination, including sexual harassment complaints. OCR has 12 enforcement offices
    located throughout the country that carry out this responsibility. 
    An individual who wishes to file a complaint with OCR should do so by contacting the
    enforcement office responsible for the state in which that school is located. To find out which
    office is responsible for your state and how to contact them, call 1-800-421-3481 or check
    OCR’s Web site at http://www.ed.gov/ocr. Generally, the complaint must be filed within 180
    days of the date of the incident. Students and parents are not required to use a school’s
    grievance procedures before filing a compliant with OCR.
    Where can I get more information about a school’s responsibilities to address and prevent
    sexual harassment?
    Please read OCR’s Revised Sexual Harassment Guidance: Harassment of Students by
    School Employees, Other Students, or Third Parties, available on the Department’s Web site
    at http://www.ed.gov/ocr/publications.html or from any OCR enforcement office.
    Back to Table of Contents | Top

    This publication is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in


    whole or in part is granted. The publication's citation should be: U.S.
    Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Sexual Harassment: It's
    Not Academic , Washington, D.C., 2008.
    To order copies of this publication, write to:
    ED Pubs 
    Education Publications Center
    U.S. Department of Education 
    P.O. Box 1398
    Jessup, MD 20794-1398;

    907
    You may fax your order to: 301-470-1244 or send an e-mail request
    to: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
    You may also call toll-free: 1-877-433-7827 (1-877-4-ED-PUBS). If 877
    service is not yet available in your area, you may call 1-800-872-5327 (1-
    800-USA-LEARN). Those who use a telecommunications device for the
    deaf (TDD) or a teletypewriter (TTY), should call 1-877-576-7734.
    To order online, point your Internet browser to: www.edpubs.org.
    This publication also is available on the Department's Web site
    at http://www.ed.gov/ocr/docs/ocrshpam.html. Any updates to this
    publication will be available on this Web site.
    On request, this publication is available in alternate formats, such as
    Braille, large print or computer diskette.  For more information, you may
    contact the Department's Alternate Format Center at (202) 260-0852 or
    (202) 260-0818.  If you use a TDD, call 1-800-877-8339.

    Source:- https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocrshpam.html

    908
    THIS SECTION IS INTENDED FOR
    PRINCIPALS, SENIOR TEACHERS AND
    HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS OF PRIMARY
    SCHOOLS AND NON TRADITIONAL HIGH
    SCHOOLS IN JAMAICA (
    Policy-Making Process (HS)
    This page contains a first draft of a summary of the evidence, experience and examples of effective policy-making processes for school-
    based and school-linked health promotion, safety, social development. Visitors to and members of this wiki-based community are invited to
    post comments using the "thread tool" at the bottom of the page or through the Discussions icon found in the top navigation bar. Visitors
    and members are also invited to edit the text of this page by using the "Easy Edit" tool found at the top of the page. (All versions of the
    page are automatically saved, so please feel free to make changes.) As well, visitors and members can still add case studies and other
    additional documents using the "Add a New Page" feature found in the left hand margin navigation menu.

    BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


     (
    Handbook Section: Policy-making Procces in School Health Promotion, Safety and Social Development First Draft prepared December
    2009) This draft is open for discussion
    Writer/Editor: Doug McCall, Coordinator, International School Health Network 
    Contributors: Additional Contributors, Writers are welcome. Please contact dmccall@internationalschoolhealth.org
    Sponsors and Partners: To be determined
    First Draft Posted for Discussion: September 15, 2009 First Edition Completed: December 15, 2009
    Further Comments: This summary has been drafted from an unpublished paper prepared for WHO and the International Confederation of
    Principals 
    Permissions for Use: The authors, writers, editors, contributors, sponsors, partners and the International School Health Network retain the
    right to first publish this document or adapted versions thereof in accordance with regular copyright laws. However, web links to this page
    and excerpts from this document are encouraged. As well, visitors to and participants in this wiki-based community are encouraged to add
    sub-pages or links to additional case studies or other documents and thereby become a contributor to this document. 
    . 
    Related Resources See Policies in School Health Promotion, Safety & Social Development; School Nutrition Policies and School,
    Agency, Ministry Substance Abuse Policies

    Policy-Making Processes in School Health Promotion, Safety and Social Development


    Download to Print Version
    The following summary describes a cyclical policy-making process. This type of process should
    be used in school and agency policy-making about health, safety and social development. This
    document presents a six stage model (which does not necessarily begin at stage one). The six
    stages are then explained, with strategic questions and suggested activities (ways and means)
    that can be used to answer the questions also provided. 

    Policy is Process, More than Product

    Policy-making is more about process than product. Too often we focus on the wording of the draft
    policy. Instead we should see it as an opportunity to create consensus, gather commitments,
    redefine priorities, and re-focus our efforts and resources.
    Policy-making must be cyclical. The first step in developing an effective policy is to understand
    the cycle (Downey, 1979). The model described here is similar to many others. The key is that
    policy-making does not end at the adoption stage. Implementation and evaluation are vitally
    important.

    The Policy-Making Cycle

    909
    Problem Formulation: A common understanding of the problem is a prerequisite for united
    effective action within the school district. A well supported understanding of a realistic role for
    schools in responding to the problem is also necessary.

    Policy Agenda: Getting an issue on the policy agenda is achieved in three basic ways; a school
    trustee or committee of the school board takes interest, a group of teachers, parents,
    administrators, or community representatives prepare proposals; a status report on the issue is
    requested or prepared for the school board.

    Policy Formulation: Effective policy formulation is characterized by: a broad cross-section of


    opinion has been involved early in the process. The strengths and weaknesses of current
    policies, programs, services, and activities have been assessed. Formal mechanisms (surveys
    and questionnaires) as well as internal means (individual interviews) have been used to gather
    facts and opinions.

    Policy Adoption: The key components of this stage are; positive recognition that a problem
    exists; formal, accessible, public decision making process; discussion of changes to system
    (assignments, school responsibilities, budget, training); clearly worded interest

    Policy Implementation: The essentials for effective policy implementation include: a description


    of how curriculum instruction, inservice, administrative practices, services, relations with the
    community, parents or students and teaching duties will change, a description of goals for
    cooperation with other relevant agencies in the community so that their services are integrated
    with the Board Policy, a plan to communicate the policy, in writing, to the media, community,
    parents, staff and students at the time of adoption and periodically after that a timetable for
    implementation, including action plans for the school district, relevant departments and individual
    schools.

    Policy Evaluation: The evaluation of policy should include: a stipulated reporting procedure
    preferably on an annual basis; formative feedback from stakeholders and external groups about
    the implementation of the policy; summative evaluation of the impact of the policy based on
    criteria and procedures determined at the time of adoption; annual progress reports from schools.

    The Key Stages of Policy-Making

    1. Problem Formulation
    A common understanding of the problem is a prerequisite for united effective action within the
    school district. A well supported understanding of a realistic role for schools in responding to the
    problem is also necessary.

    Key Questions
    1. Do you understand the
    problem or issue?
    2. How has the issue been
    handled in the past?
    3. Where does the issue fit
    within your mission, goal,
    priorities and budget?
    4. Do you have a choice in
    the matter?

    Ways and Means to Answer


    these Questions
     Research, literature
    reviews

    910
     Focus groups
     Needs assessment
     District/Community inventories
     Written report to school board
     Meetings with other agencies
     Meetings with teachers
     Meetings with parents
     Meetings with students
     Assess legislation, regulations
     Assess ministry directions
    2. Get on the Policy Agenda
    Getting an issue on the policy agenda is achieved in three basic ways;
    -A school trustee or committee of the school board takes interest.
    -A group of teachers, parents, administrators, or community representatives prepare proposals.
    -A status report on the issue is requested or prepared for the school board.

    Key Questions
    1. Is the issue covered by legislation, regulation or collective agreement? (If so, you already have
    a policy in a de facto sense.)
    2. Do you really need a policy? The board may be able to leave the issue to the professional
    judgment of staff.

    Ways and Means to Answer these Questions


     Seek advice from Community Advisory Committees
     Discuss issue at the annual or periodic "retreats" of the school board and staff.
     Raise the issue when reviewing Board Strategic Plan
     Respond to questions at Board meetings
     Raise issues during regular reviews of School Board policies
    3. Policy Formulation
    The National School Boards Association (NSBA, 1965) has defined policy as: "creating a
    framework within what the superintendent can discharge his/her duties. Policies tell what wanted,
    why the board wants it and how much of it the board wants." Effective policy formulation is
    characterized by:
     A broad cross-section of opinion has been involved early in the process.
     The strengths and weaknesses of current policies, programs, services, and activities
    have been assessed.
     Formal mechanisms (surveys and questionnaires) as well as internal means (individual
    interviews) have been used to gather facts and opinions.
    Key Questions
    1. What do we want from the policy?
    2. Why are we working on this policy now?

    Ways and Means to Answer these Questions


     include input from all sectors within the district
     invite input from other agencies
     do inventories and needs assessments
     survey staff, students, parents and the community
     use informal consultations with key individuals
    4. Policy Adoption 
    The key components of this stage are;
     Positive recognition that a problem exists
     Formal, accessible, public decision making process
     Discussion of changes to system (assignments, school responsibilities, budget, training)
     clearly worded intent

    911
    Key Questions
    1. Who is supposed to carry out the policy?
    2. Is the policy consistent with the Board's mission and goals?
    3. Does the policy specify what the Board wants when the Board wants it?
    4. Have measurable outcomes or objectives of the policy been identified?
    5. Have relevant administrative regulations and procedures been identified?
    6. Have potential implementation problems been discussed?
    7. Does the policy need to be reviewed by the Board's lawyers?
    8. Has a date been set for when the Superintendent will report to the Board on how the policy is
    being implemented?
    9. Has the Board decided what information it wants included in that report?

    Ways and Means to Answer these Questions


     consult stakeholders
     format public notice
     public hearings
     review legislation
     management plans
    5. Policy Implementation
    The essentials for effective policy implementation include a description of how curriculum
    instruction, inservice, administrative practices, services, relations with the community, parents or
    students and teaching duties will change, a description of goals for cooperation with other
    relevant agencies in the community so that their services are integrated with the Board Policy, a
    plan to communicate the policy, in writing, to the media, community, parents, staff and students at
    the time of adoption and periodically after that a timetable for implementation, including action
    plans for the school district, relevant departments and individual schools.

    Key Questions
    1. How will materials (curricula, programs, resources or structures) be changed?
    2. How will practices, behaviour, skills or procedures change?
    3. How will our beliefs, attitudes and understandings change?

    Ways and Means to Answer these Questions


     maintain system orientation,
     address content and process simultaneously,
     use informal networks,
     change jobs descriptions, collective agreements, regulations, procedures, provide
    inducements,
     build capacity
    6. Policy Evaluation
    The Canadian Association of School Administrators CASA (1992) recommends that the
    evaluation of policy should include:
    a stipulated reporting procedure preferably on an annual basis
    formative feedback from stakeholders and external groups about the implementation of the policy
    summative evaluation of the impact of the policy based on criteria and procedures determined at
    the time of adoption
    annual progress reports from schools

    Key Questions
    1. Was the vision underlying the policy communicated effectively?
    2. Was implementation coordinated effectively?
    3. Was adequate assistance provided?
    4. Was there sufficient monitoring, latitude or pressure?
    5. Was there appropriate and adequate teacher effort?
    6. Did the Superintendent actually make the reports?

    912
    7. Did those reports include information on measurable outcomes?
    8. Was the policy adjusted as required?
    9. Were regulations or procedures adjusted as required?

    Ways and Means to Answer these Questions


     survey and questionnaires
     analysis of reports
     case studies
     school, department reports
     monitor student achievement
     monitor system changes
     monitor community change

    Source:- http://www.schools-for-all.org/page/Policy-Making+Process+(HS)

    Section 9. Changing Policies in Schools


    CHAPTER 25 SECTIONS
     Section 1. Changing Policies: An Overview
     Section 2. Promoting Regular Community Assessment, Reporting, and
    Accountability
     Section 3. Using Tax Incentives to Support Community Health and Development
     Section 4. Supporting Local Ordinances to Modify Access to Unhealthy Products
    and Practices
     Section 5. Changing Policies to Increase Funding for Community Health and
    Development Initiatives
     Section 6. Promoting Community-Friendly Policies in Business and Goverment
     Section 9. Changing Policies in Schools
     Section 10. Modifying Policies to Enhance the Quality of Services
     Section 11. Promoting Family-Friendly Policies in Business and Government

     
     WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CHANGING POLICIES IN
    SCHOOLS?
     WHY SHOULD YOU WORK TO CHANGE POLICIES IN
    SCHOOLS?
     WHEN SHOULD YOU TRY TO CHANGE POLICIES IN
    SCHOOLS?
     WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN CHANGING POLICIES
    IN SCHOOLS?
     HOW DO YOU CHANGE POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?

    913
    When the Watsons came to Perryville High School for their eldest son’s first scheduled
    parent conference of ninth grade, they found something that neither ever saw in a school
    when they were students. In the hallways on every floor, as well as in the cafeteria, there
    were vending machines offering soda.
    Rita Watson was a hospital nutritionist, and her husband, Mel, was an athletic trainer who
    worked with the football and baseball teams at the local university. They had always
    provided a healthy diet for themselves and their two sons, and had taught their children
    good eating habits. Both of them were well aware of the rise in childhood obesity – it was
    more and more visible on the streets of Perryville these days – and they knew that soda
    was a major contributor to that rise. They felt that the high school – which, after all,
    offered health classes that taught students about good nutrition – should not be offering
    kids drinks that could be bad for them.
    They returned from the conference with a glowing report of their son’s progress, and the
    beginnings of a plan. As they researched the issue of soda and snack machines in high
    schools, they found that their presence was all too common. They also found that schools
    made a lot of money from contracts with soft drink companies – money that paid for
    extracurricular activities, supplies, and equipment. While the Watsons were supportive of
    these activities – both of their sons were athletes – they felt strongly that the school
    should be safeguarding students’ health, not encouraging unhealthy habits.
    The couple set out to change the school policy on vending machines. They wanted them
    either removed from the school, or to offer only foods and drinks that contributed to,
    rather than harmed, children’s health. Aware that they had an uphill battle on their hands
    – Perryville High made over $50,000 in contracts and soda sales every year – they
    enlisted their friends and determined to keep at it until they were successful.
    Sometimes school policies, like those that allow vending machines that sell unhealthy
    foods, can be harmful to students’ health or education. Sometimes, schools or school
    systems lack policies that would benefit students in particular ways. Sometimes their
    policies, formal or informal, are discriminatory or abusive of students’ rights. Parents,
    students, or concerned citizens often find themselves wanting to change school or school
    system policies…and many do. This section looks at what kinds of issues school policies
    might cover, and what it takes to change policies in a school system.

    WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CHANGING POLICIES IN


    SCHOOLS?
    When the Community Tool Box was conceived, this section was meant to deal
    specifically with changing school policy to encourage healthy behaviors among students
    and discourage unhealthy ones. Since then, it has become obvious that the issue of school
    policy change is far too broad to confine to a single topic. We’ve therefore tried to
    include a range of possibilities to consider, of which health promotion is only one.
    In the U.S., the variation among school systems – from state to state, from community to
    community, even from school to school – is enormous. There are obvious differences in
    size – many rural schools have fewer than 10 students a class, while some urban and
    suburban schools in large cities have thousands of students – but the variation doesn’t

    914
    stop there. Looking at public schools alone, there are comprehensive and specialized high
    schools; charter schools; technical and trade high schools; magnet schools; alternative
    schools for students who can’t function in a standard classroom setting; and community-
    run schools, to mention only a few.
    This section focuses on public schools. While private school policies are subject to
    change from parents and students as well, they present a different situation. Because
    students pay to attend, and the schools are financially dependent on parents’ good will,
    and because they aren’t subject to many of the state rules and regulations that public
    schools are, private schools are usually much more willing than public schools to bend
    rules, make exceptions, and change policy when asked to by parents.
    The ways in which these schools are organized and run vary as much as their purposes.
    Some are relatively independent: what goes on in the school is largely determined by the
    principal and teaching staff. Some involve parents as partners in planning and
    implementing both curriculum and school management. Some, unfortunately, have to be
    concerned with student violence, and feature metal detectors and police patrols. Some
    have strict dress codes – sometimes to the point of requiring uniforms – others have none.
    Some are devoted to academics, and to sending as many students as possible to top-
    ranked colleges; others seem much more concerned with sports or other extracurricular
    activities. By and large, schools mirror the educational philosophy and attitudes of the
    people in their districts.
    All of these schools have policies regarding everything from academic and curriculum
    requirements to the scheduling of lunches. System-wide policies are generally decided
    upon by the local school committee, while policies unique to a particular school are often
    set and implemented by the school staff.
    Most school systems and schools are hierarchical – they have a clear (at least to
    themselves) chain of command, and you have to follow that chain in order to
    communicate with the system. In the U.S., the links in that chain are usually (from the top
    down):
     School Committee
     Superintendent of Schools
     Assistant Superintendents
     Other system-wide administrators (coordinators of curriculum, athletics, special
    education, business, physical plant)
     Principals
     Teachers and other professional employees (nurses, guidance counselors and
    school psychologists, coaches)
     Support and custodial staff

    Each of these levels is one you might have to deal with in attempting to change school
    policy. (See Tool #1 for a more detailed description of “the players.”)
    In addition to whatever difficulties the system hierarchy might offer, there is the fact that
    most public school teachers and other non-administrative employees are unionized, a
    circumstance that can complicate (or, occasionally, make easier) a change initiative. The
    change you’re seeking might – or might appear to – conflict with the union contract, for

    915
    instance, or might require a union member’s job description to change (a circumstance
    that would require union negotiations). Given the two factors of the management
    hierarchy and the union, advocates are often faced with the possibility of having to move
    the whole of a large and resistant bureaucracy in order to affect change.
    There are alternatives. Some schools are relatively independent, and can make decisions
    without having to go through several layers of school system. Some unions are willing to
    make compromises in the service of better outcomes for students. Often, if the policy
    change in question relates only to a particular school, and if it’s not momentous, the
    principal or faculty can make the change quietly, without fanfare or bureaucratic hassle.
    There are many situations where a major policy change initiative like that described in
    this section simply isn’t necessary. If you can accomplish your purpose – placing a
    crossing guard at a dangerous intersection, or opening the school gym in the late
    afternoon for community use – by simply explaining to the principal why it’s important,
    and offering to help make it possible, then that’s the way to go. If the change is small,
    reasonable, and doesn’t involve any major disruption of the school or the system, you can
    probably make it happen in a very low-key way. Even some major policy changes can be
    easy if the need for them is obvious. Don’t organize the community for a minor request –
    the simpler you can make things, the better.
    In general, however, the School Committee is responsible for setting policy, and the
    Superintendent for carrying it out. Although the two advise and consult with each other,
    system-wide policy changes usually have to be approved by the School Committee, but
    that usually means that they must have the approval of the Superintendent as well, since
    most Committees value the Superintendent’s advice. If you can convince the
    Superintendent that change is necessary, it will probably happen, though perhaps not
    always as quickly as you’d like.
    That doesn’t always mean that administrators and teachers will go along. In Philadelphia
    in the 1960’s, a Superintendent was hired to shake things up in a less-than-stellar school
    system. He instituted, with the support of the School Committee, a number of reforms
    that actually spoke to improving education in the district...but the teachers essentially
    ignored them. By a combination of foot-dragging and outright defiance, they were able to
    frustrate most of the Superintendent’s plans, and he was gone within a fairly short time. If
    he had involved the teachers in planning, the situation might have been different, but the
    reality is that policy change was instituted, and nothing happened anyway.
    The Watsons wanted to eliminate vending machines or change their contents. What kinds
    of school policies might you want to change? The list is almost endless – and there is
    often someone who wants a change exactly opposite from the one you want. A short list
    of possibilities:
     Institute a no-smoking policy in the school system (for teachers and
    administrators as well as students).
     Serve healthy food in the cafeteria, and eliminate food that is only empty calories
    or actively bad for kids’ physical and mental development.
     Change the discipline system (to be more rigorous, less rigorous, student-
    generated, to involve parents, etc.).

    916
     Address school prayer (eliminate it; institute a moment of silence; reinstitute
    school prayer – philosophies vary).
     Institute or revamp a health or sex education curriculum.
     Change the dress code.
     Beef up or change the academic content for students at various levels.
     Add ESL (English as a Second or Other Language) or bilingual programs for a
    growing immigrant population.
     Change sexual harassment policies to better protect students and staff.
     Change policies on student use of school computers.
     Change policies toward Channel 1 and other advertising during the school day.
     Tighten or loosen the requirements for participation in extracurricular activities.
     Change the limits of students’ freedom of speech in school newspapers.

    WHY MIGHT YOU WANT TO CHANGE POLICIES IN


    SCHOOLS?
    There are seven overarching reasons to change school policies: to improve students’
    health; to improve education; to meet the needs of particular groups; to improve
    classroom and school climate and culture; to protect students (and staff) from harm; to
    safeguard students’ rights; and to respond to a perceived community need.
    Policies can be changed in different directions. Where a group in one community may be
    attempting to make schools more democratic, a group in another community may be
    concerned with making them less so. While it seems obvious to many which is
    the right direction, everyone has a right to try to change policy in the direction they think
    is appropriate. The one thing to remember is that any policy change should either be
    beneficial to or not detract from the educational experience of students.
    TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ (AND OTHERS’) HEALTH.
    Schools often teach health courses, but they don’t always practice, or encourage students
    to practice, what they preach. Some policies that actually might improve student health:
     Smoke- and tobacco-free schools
     School breakfast as well as lunch, with healthy food for both
     Elimination of soda and snack vending machines
     A physical education or exercise period every day
     A good K-12 sex education curriculum (age-appropriate at each grade level), as
    part of a good K-12 health education curriculum

    TO IMPROVE EDUCATION.
    Changes in curriculum, in educational content, in expectations for students, in teaching
    methods, in class size, in teacher independence – all these and many other factors can
    lead to a better educational experience for students. Some other possible changes involve:
     Class content.
     Textbooks and other instructional materials.
     Foreign language requirements.

    917
     Interdisciplinary approaches.
     Advanced placement.
     Expectations for all students.
     The academic schedule.
     Student assessment (i.e. grades).
     Graduation requirements.

    In 2004, a Dover, PA school board voted to include the teaching of “intelligent design” –
    the assumption that the world and the diversity of species are too complex to have
    evolved in the way Darwin described, and that there must, therefore, be a guiding hand –
    in the ninth grade biology curriculum. Religious beliefs notwithstanding, this assumption
    is not grounded in science and is more appropriate for a theology class. When a federal
    judge in 2005 struck down the vote as an unconstitutional attempt to teach religion in the
    guise of science, he dramatically brought about a change in the content of the curriculum.
     Textbooks and other instructional materials.
     Foreign language requirements.
     Interdisciplinary approaches.
     Advanced placement.
     Expectations for all students.

    There are many studies, going back over 50 years, that demonstrate that expectations
    determine to a very large extent how much students learn and how well they do in school.
    Raising the bar for everyone – starting with the assumption that all students are capable
    of learning just about anything, given the time and appropriate instruction, for instance –
    is likely to make a huge difference for those who would otherwise be mired at low levels
    all through their school careers.
     The academic schedule.

    Many high schools have in the past several years adopted block scheduling, which
    changes the standard class period from 40 or 50 minutes to twice that long, on the
    assumption that fewer, more intense classes give teachers better teaching opportunities,
    and create better learning experiences for students. Others have extended the academic
    year or the academic day. A few have attempted to schedule classes to match
    adolescents’ internal clocks, which are actually on a different schedule from those of
    adults and younger children.
    TO MEET THE NEEDS OF PARTICULAR GROUPS.
    Some groups of students may need services in addition to those offered to the general
    school population, and it may take a policy change to obtain them. These groups include:
     Students with physical disabilities, including speech, hearing, and vision
    impairments.
     Students with emotional difficulties or mental illness.
     Students with developmental disabilities.
     Students with learning disabilities.
     Immigrants or other students who are not proficient in English.
     Teenage parents.

    918
    TO IMPROVE CLASSROOM AND SCHOOL CLIMATE AND
    CULTURE.
    “Classroom climate” is a term that refers to what a classroom feels like – student and
    teacher attitudes, the level of tension, whether the purpose of the classroom seems to be
    work or otherwise, etc.. The culture of a school can be considered in much the same way
    as the culture of a society – the customs, norms, standards, and behaviors that the
    majority of students, teachers, and other school personnel define as appropriate and
    approve of, as well as those that are disapproved by the majority.
    The type of policy change needed in a given situation hangs on the character of the
    school. If the general atmosphere is too chaotic, it needs to be calmed; if it’s too rigid, it
    needs to be loosened up. Some of the potential targets of policy change that follow could
    be changed in either direction, depending upon what’s needed.
     Dress codes. These might be instituted, stiffened, eliminated, etc..
     Disciplinary systems. Discipline could be tightened to reduce in-school violence,
    changed to involve students in generating classroom rules and sanctions, loosened
    to allow particular activities, etc..
     Advising. A change might institute advising groups, change the focus of such
    groups, train teachers and/or counselors to be better advisors, etc..
     Counseling.
     Issues of tolerance. Promoting an atmosphere of acceptance and mutual respect
    among students of different races, ethnic backgrounds, language groups, sexual
    preferences, etc..
     Peer mediation and conflict resolution programs.
     Student-teacher and student-staff relationships.
     Democracy, both in the classroom and among teachers, administrators, and other
    school employees.

    TO PROTECT STUDENTS (AND STAFF) FROM HARM.


    In some schools, particularly in gang- plagued urban neighborhoods – where a culture of
    violence may be entrenched among teens – this may mean protecting everyone from
    gang-related or random physical violence by students or outsiders. But, in any school
    system, it may also mean protecting students from physical or psychological bullying (by
    teachers as well as other students), from safety hazards, and from health hazards.
    There is obvious overlap here among several of the reasons for working toward school
    policy change. Eliminating smoking protects students and staff from secondhand smoke.
    Halting bullying typically means changing the school culture, and redefining what is
    acceptable – for teachers as well as for students. The lines among reasons may blur, but
    the bottom line is always the same: to create the best possible educational experience for
    students.
    Some changes that might help provide protection:
     Metal detectors and police patrols. These may not improve the learning
    experience, but they may be necessary to prevent bodily harm.

    919
     Anti-bullying policies. As mentioned, these can only work by changing the school
    culture. If teachers and other staff don’t see bullying as a problem, it will
    continue.
     Repair of building safety hazards. Falling plaster, broken windows, unshielded
    heaters, etc..
     Elimination of the use of dangerous or toxic chemical solvents, cleaners, and
    pesticides.
     Halting corporal (physical) punishment. There are still many school systems that
    use corporal punishment to discipline students, and many more where it is
    permissible, but rarely, if ever, used.
     Careful oversight of athletics. Guarding against overtraining, inadequate
    protective equipment, heatstroke, potentially injurious training or punishment
    exercises, etc..

    TO SAFEGUARD STUDENTS’ RIGHTS.


    Children have rights, just as adults do, although those rights are tempered by children’s
    need for structure and protection. Nonetheless, when those rights are violated
    unnecessarily, policy change to safeguard them is in order. Some of the constitutional
    rights that should be attended to:
     Separation of church and state. All children have a right to practice their chosen
    religion or lack of religion, and to be free in school of any attempt to impose
    someone else’s beliefs on them. (This doesn’t mean religion shouldn’t be
    discussed or studied, but rather that neither a particular religion nor religion in
    general should be presented as “the truth,” nor made part of any required school
    activities.)
     Free speech and expression. Federal law, dating back at least to a 1969 Supreme
    Court decision that states that students “do not shed their Constitutional rights to
    freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate,” protects students’
    rights in this area to a point. The law makes exceptions particularly in the case of
    speech or expression that is obscene; slanderous or libelous; or that would disrupt
    the orderly functioning of the school (hate speech, for instance, or a call for a
    student strike).
     Civil rights. In a school context, these might include, among others, the right to
    question disciplinary proceedings; the right to a hearing; the right to equal
    treatment regardless of race, ethnic background, gender, religion, sexual
    preference, etc.; and the right to freedom from bodily harm.

    TO RESPOND TO A PERCEIVED COMMUNITY NEED.


    This may have to do with the establishment of a particular course or program (a
    multilingual program as a response to an influx of immigrants, for instance, or a tolerance
    course to address recent hate crimes), safety or security concerns (traffic patterns,
    procedures for school visitors), or the timing of the school day or school year (in
    Aroostook County, Maine, for instance, students get a three-week break in September
    and October to help with the potato harvest).

    920
    WHEN SHOULD YOU TRY TO CHANGE POLICIES
    IN SCHOOLS?
    Changes should obviously be attempted whenever it’s necessary, but there are some
    times that present especially good opportunities.
     Before the beginning of a new school year. Once school is in session, it’s
    difficult to convince a School Committee, administrators, or staff to change what
    they’re doing or to generate new policy. It’s much easier to effect change if you
    start well before you want the change to take place.
     When there’s an obvious need. When classes are overflowing with students who
    don’t speak English well, or when very few students are passing the state math
    exam, it’s easier to convince schools to examine the situation and change policies
    to address it.
     When a situation comes to light that makes a need obvious. When a sexual
    harassment case in the schools breaks, it may bring other students forward and
    highlight a problem that school officials have either been unaware of or have been
    successfully ignoring. The community – and, in the ideal, the schools as well –
    might well see this as an opportunity to change policy to protect students.
     When the School Committee or staff members do something that seems the
    opposite of good educational policy. Examples might be an ill-advised academic
    decision (eliminating foreign language study in the high school, for instance),
    misuse of funds, obvious racial discrimination, gross misconduct, or covering up
    or glossing over that misconduct.
     When there’s a clear threat to students’ or staff members’ health, safety, etc.
    This might be the time to bring up no-smoking policies, or metal detectors.
     When students’, parents’, or teachers’ basic rights are threatened. School
    policies may be contrary to existing law, or there may be no policies that govern
    the present situation. If students’ freedom of speech is being squelched, if teachers
    are being demoted or fired for voicing unpopular or critical opinions, if the wishes
    of a majority of parents for their children are systematically being ignored, there
    is probably support for policy change.

    WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN CHANGING


    SCHOOL POLICIES?
    The more stakeholders – those affected by, or having to implement, the policy in question
    – that can be involved, the more likely it is both that the policy change will take place,
    and that it will be maintained once it’s made. Stakeholders include:
     Students
     Parents
     The School Committee
     The Superintendent
     Other school administrators
     Teachers

    921
     Particular groups affected by the proposed change (Hispanics, for a bilingual
    Spanish program, for instance)
     Groups interested in the issue addressed by the proposed change (e.g., police, for
    a violence prevention program; health professionals for a healthy school food
    initiative)
     Concerned citizens

    HOW DO YOU CHANGE POLICIES IN SCHOOLS?


    School policy change, at least officially, has to happen from the inside. The School
    Committee (or at least the principal, if the change concerns only a single school) has to
    approve and institute the change. Furthermore, as we mentioned earlier, the school staff
    involved in implementing it have to actually do so, rather than just go through the
    motions, if the change is going to mean anything.
    At the same time, policy change often originates from outside the system, and that’s
    where you come in. Schools, as we discussed, are hierarchical, and like many hierarchical
    organizations, they can be resistant to change of any kind. They are often particularly
    resistant to change that implies that what they’ve been doing is wrong, incompetent, or
    harmful. It may take a good deal of pressure from parents, students, community
    members, and/or officials to get them to respond.
    This isn’t always true. Sometimes, the proposed policy change fills such a great need, or
    is so obviously beneficial that all it needs is to be suggested, and adoption quickly
    follows. The steps that follow apply equally to the easy and the difficult changes to put in
    place. You should always develop a strong rationale for changing policy and muster
    community support...and in the ideal situation, you won’t need them.
    MARSHAL YOUR SUPPORT AND BEGIN TO STRATEGIZE.
    The order of steps here is open to discussion. The author of this section sees the logical
    progression as one of putting together a supportive core group, and then learning all you
    can about the situation so that you can decide how to go about effecting change. The
    editor sees the logical order as the opposite: explore the situation, decide how to make the
    change, and then gather a support group. Since both of us have had experience in this
    area, it’s clear that there’s no one right answer. In reality, you’ll probably engage in at
    least part of both steps at the same time. Adapt your process to what makes the most
    sense in your situation.
    Make contact with the allies you’ve identified. As you start to put a group together,
    people will bring others in. You don’t have to be secretive, but at this point, you might
    not want to publicize your effort. You may decide that the best approach is to see if you
    can accomplish what you want without going through the School Committee, in which
    case, the less publicity, the better.
    It is often crucial to find allies within the school system, at as many levels as possible.
    Teachers, administrators, the Superintendent, sympathetic School Committee members –
    anyone who’s supportive of what you’re doing should be involved to the extent possible.
    It’s important not to place anyone in a compromising position, but the more allies you
    can get inside the system, the better your chances of success.

    922
    There are many situations in which allies inside the system may not be needed. That
    crossing guard we used as an example earlier, for instance – you probably won’t need a
    whole crew of teachers lending support to convince a principal or the superintendent that
    a child being hit by a car in front of the school would not be a good thing. Recruit
    teachers and other school employees when you need them, and realize when you don’t.
    Once you assemble at least a core group, drawing from as many sectors of the community
    as possible (the more sectors, the more support you can muster), you need to consider
    how you’re going to approach the situation. There are many possibilities: going around
    the School Committee entirely, a simple request, taking time to build support on the
    Committee, threatening a lawsuit, creating massive publicity through the media, using the
    steamroller of angry parents and community members (if you have one, and it’s
    appropriate)--every approach will work in some situation, and no approach will work in
    every situation. That’s why planning is important, and why it’s important to involve
    others in your planning. You may need only a bare-bones idea of whom to approach, or
    you may need a full-blown strategic plan; either way, you have to do some planning to
    decide on your course of action.
    As with most situations covered in the Community Tool Box, we recommend
    a participatory, collaborative planning process wherever possible. You often end up with
    better ideas, and you’re more likely to end up with a plan that everyone has bought into,
    and will work hard to carry out. If you plan well, you’ll come up with an action that’s the
    simplest, least confrontational, and least expensive – in terms of time, people, and other
    resources – that you can take to solve the problem.
    The other important tasks here are to work out systems of coordination and
    communication. If a particular organization takes the lead in a policy change effort, then
    that organization will usually act as the central point. If the effort is driven by an
    unorganized group of concerned parents, students, and others, they’ll need to establish
    some way to make sure that everyone knows what everyone else is doing, and to get the
    word out when action is needed. You don’t necessarily have to create a formal
    organization to accomplish these tasks, but it is important to set up a structure to make
    sure that they’re taken care of.
    DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
    The more you know about current policy, the school system, the issue your proposed
    changes relate to, and the individuals involved, the better your chances of success will be.
    The homework you need to do:
     Learn about current policy. Find out exactly what the current policy on the
    issue is. If it’s written down, be sure you have a copy. It’s possible that it already
    covers the situation, and that all you need to do is insist that it be followed. It’s
    also possible that it somehow conflicts with federal or state law, something that
    more homework and/or a lawyer can tell you. (It’s also possible that there’s no
    policy relating to your issue at all, which can often work to your advantage, since
    that may provide the opportunity for you to create one.)
     Know the issue inside out. Make sure you understand the issue well enough that
    you can answer any questions put to you, and anticipate and counter opponents’

    923
    arguments. Know your opponents’ arguments as well as your own, and make sure
    they can’t come up with anything you haven’t thought of.

    If your opponents have legitimate arguments you have no answer for, then you should
    either incorporate those arguments into your thinking, or if it’s simply a true difference of
    opinion, acknowledge it as such. (But if it is, try to find as much real evidence as you can
    to back up your opinion.)
     Research the alternatives. If the current policy is unacceptable or isn’t working
    – or if there is no current policy – what should be proposed in its place? It would
    do no good to adopt a policy that, in its own way, is just as harmful or ineffective
    as the one it replaced. Look for best practices, or at least policies that have
    worked elsewhere, to achieve the results you want.
     Prepare a solid rationale for the proposed change. Be prepared to:
    o Explain exactly why the change is necessary. If it’s to remedy a problem,
    you should be able to define and cite examples of the issue, demonstrate
    why it is a problem, and describe what the hoped-for results of policy
    change would look like. If the change is meant to fill a gap or add a
    needed program, you should be able to show convincingly how the change
    will benefit students (or the school, or the community), and how its
    consequences will be an improvement over the consequences of the
    current policy, or lack of one.
    o Show how whatever costs are involved in the change are outweighed by
    its benefits.
    o Refer to research that backs up your arguments. Studies that show
    improvements in various kinds of student outcomes – reading scores,
    attendance and graduation rates, etc. – as a result of the kind of change
    you’re seeking can help to convince the appropriate people to take action.
    o Defend your proposal against attacks and counterarguments. This gets
    back to knowing opponents and their arguments.

    In some cases, your answers to their concerns won’t convince them, because they’ll be
    sure they know you’re wrong despite all the evidence to the contrary. (Many people are
    convinced, for instance, that sex education encourages teens to be sexually active, even
    though studies consistently show the opposite.) If your opponents’ beliefs are based on
    emotion, you may be able to frame arguments that make your case from their emotional
    perspective. When that’s not possible, your arguments can still convince others, and
    provide enough pressure for policy change to take place.
     Consult with or recruit experts in the field to add credibility to your arguments.
    This may be easier if your community houses, or is close to, a college or
    university.

    Make sure that the presence of an outside expert won’t increase tensions between two
    sides of the debate over policy change. While experts can often add the weight of
    authority to an argument, they can also be seen by teachers, superintendents, or School
    Committee members as arrogant, or as interfering in a community they know nothing
    about.

    924
    Sometimes, the best “experts” you can find are students or parents in the community
    who’ve had first-hand experiences that back up the need for change. Personal stories are
    often the most compelling, especially when the people telling them are the neighbors and
    fellow community members of those listening.
     Learn everything you can about the structure of the school system and the
    personalities of those within it. You can’t deal with a school system without
    understanding how it operates. Once again, most systems are hierarchies, and
    hierarchies have protocols – rules – about whom to contact first, who makes
    decisions about various issues, etc.. If you don’t know the protocol, you can easily
    make a mistake that might offend or threaten someone whose support you need.
    An ally or sympathetic advisor within the system may be able to help you
    understand what your best approach might be.

    Take the time to find out the structure of the chain of command in the system. Is it rigid
    or flexible? Who reports to whom? Where do you start if you have a complaint or want to
    discuss an incident or issue? At the lowest level? At the highest? Whom will you offend
    if you don’t follow protocol?
    In most systems, the place to start is closest to the issue. An issue that relates to a single
    classroom should start with the teacher. If the resolution there is unsatisfactory, or if the
    teacher can’t help, the principal is the next step, followed by the superintendent, and
    ultimately by the School Committee. For a system-wide issue, you’d start with the
    superintendent. If the issue called for a system-wide policy change, you’d still start with
    the superintendent, if only to avoid blind-siding her. Ultimately, any major system-wide
    change has to come before the School Committee.
    As important as the protocol are the personalities of the people involved. Who are the
    members of the School Committee? Which members are potential allies in a policy
    change effort, which are potential opponents, and which are the neutrals you’ll have to
    convince? What positions have they taken on the issue in the past? What’s important to
    them? Who are their friends and constituencies? Who is up for reelection or
    reappointment?
    Occasionally, effecting a policy change can be a matter of electing or voting out the right
    person. A change of one or two seats on the School Committee can signal a shift in
    attitude and lead to new policy. That’s what happened in Dover, PA, the town where the
    School Committee decided to teach intelligent design along with evolution. Even before
    the judge’s ruling, eight of the nine School Committee members who had voted for the
    policy were defeated in an election, and their replacements quickly repealed it.
    Attend School Committee meetings to understand how the Committee functions. Who are
    the powerful voices on the Committee? Whose opinions are respected, and whose are
    ignored? Who influences whom? Who responds to what kinds of arguments? Does the
    Committee function well as a body, or is it racked with disagreement and distrust?
    The School Committee is the policy-setting body in most school systems. Some
    committees rely heavily on the advice and consent of the superintendent and/or teachers;
    others make their own decisions, sometimes based on reasoning, sometimes based on
    what they “know,” which may be considerable or very little, may be accurate or far-

    925
    fetched, etc.. It’s important to know whose support you need and whose opposition to
    avoid if policy change is to be relatively easy.
    How are decisions made within the system? The superintendent may be almost totally
    independent, or may only act on the direction of the School Committee. The standard is
    usually somewhere in between, with the superintendent free to develop programs and
    initiatives on his own and/or with staff, but having to get approval from the Committee to
    carry them out. The superintendent’s opinion carries a good deal of weight with most
    Committees. What’s his educational philosophy (or does he have one)? What’s his
    management style? Is he concerned with educational quality, or simply with keeping his
    job?
    Other people to be acquainted with, at least at a distance, include other administrators,
    teachers, and staff, particularly union leaders and activists. Who is influential in the
    system, and whom do they influence? What are their priorities and concerns? What do
    they want and need (it’s often handy to know what you might be able to use as a
    bargaining chip)?
     Identify your allies and your opponents, both in the system and in the
    community. There may be groups that are obvious allies on a particular issue.
    More flexibility in the dress code would probably have strong student support;
    healthier cafeteria meals might garner support from parents, coaches, and health
    professionals.

    Allies and opponents don’t always break down neatly into identifiable groups.
    Sometimes, where a policy doesn’t particularly benefit or harm a particular group, it’s
    simply a diverse collection of individuals on each side of the issue, disagreeing about the
    right way to do things. In that case, you have to identify allies and opponents one by one.
     Decide whether policy change is really what’s needed. Sometimes, a change in
    policy won’t solve the problem, or isn’t necessary. Depending on the situation,
    there may be a range of alternatives.
    o Change of personnel. The problem may not be policy, but simply the way
    an individual or group chooses to do things. Changing the people may
    solve the problem. We’ve already mentioned defeating School Committee
    members in an election. Another possibility is advocating for the firing of
    a superintendent or other school employee.

    Firing someone is a drastic step, and not easy to do. Ironically, the easiest person in a
    district to fire is often the superintendent, since she serves at the pleasure of the School
    Committee. Most other system employees are protected by union rules. They can be fired
    for cause, but the cause has to be documented, and has to be serious enough to justify the
    firing. The fact that you don’t like the way someone teaches, or disagree with the way he
    treats students, will not be enough unless there’s enormous community support for
    getting rid of him, or unless he’s clearly incompetent or has violated important rules.
     Reframing the current policy. The School Committee may be willing to redefine
    the policy in a way that addresses the issue, without actually instituting a change.
     Compromise. A compromise may not give you everything you want, but may
    satisfy the basic need that prompted the effort for change.

    926
     Passage of a law. You may be able to get a bill passed that settles the issue once
    and for all – banning smoking in all public buildings in the state, for instance, or
    making corporal punishment illegal.
     A lawsuit. This should be a last resort, because it’s expensive, hugely time-
    consuming, and there’s no guarantee of the outcome. The chances are that by the
    time the suit is settled one way or the other, the students who were affected by the
    policy you wanted changed will have kids of their own. It’s important to know
    that the option for a lawsuit is there, however, if there’s no other alternative.

    WORK TO GET YOUR PROPOSAL FOR POLICY CHANGE


    IMPLEMENTED.
    Now that you’ve laid the groundwork for policy change, it’s time to start taking action.
    You should almost always start by following established procedure. (You might make an
    exception when there’s already a huge controversy over the issue in the schools and/or
    the community, and you know you have a fight on your hands.) That procedure varies
    from system to system (and sometimes even from school to school within a system), but
    if you’ve done your homework, you’ll know what it is. If following procedure doesn’t
    work – your proposal is rejected out of hand, no one will even give you a hearing, you’re
    blocked by bureaucratic stalling – it’s time for community action. We’ll look at both
    possibilities.
    Draft the policy you want
    It’s absolutely necessary to be crystal clear about what you want the policy change to
    accomplish. The best way to clarify is to draft the ideal policy, so that you know it speaks
    to exactly what you’re looking for. Then review your draft with both your core group of
    supporters and your allies inside the system, to filter out potential snags with community
    members and the institution. If you’re careful and thoughtful in this process, you’ll find
    and correct any flaws in your original ideas as well. Some areas to pay close attention to
    as you work on your draft:
     Beware of unintended consequences. Try to envision all the ways in which your
    new policy could play out, not just the “obvious” positive ones. You might be
    surprised at some of the possible negative results. Better to be surprised now, and
    to revise your policy to guard against negative possibilities, than to be much more
    unpleasantly surprised later.
     Possible misinterpretation, either by the community or by those who will carry
    out the policy. Make sure your draft means exactly what you think it means, and
    that its intent is unmistakable. If people don’t understand it, it could get twisted,
    either in the implementation, or in the way the community views it.
     Possible misuse, intentional or unintentional. Again, if you’re not clear, school
    personnel who misunderstand it, or with a philosophy different from yours, could,
    in the future, use your policy to do the opposite of what you worked for.
     Cultural offensiveness. Make sure that there are no aspects of the policy that are
    culturally offensive to particular groups, unless you’re trying to correct an attempt
    to impose cultural or religious values on the majority, as seen in the evolution
    example earlier in this section.

    927
    Some policies that may seem necessary to one group – sex education, for instance – may
    in fact be offensive to some parents. The fair way to deal with this is to give those
    offended the option of excluding their children from the policy. Exceptions could also,
    for example, be applied by providing exclusion from a no-hats policy for Orthodox Jews
    or Muslim women. This can get complicated if the kids don’t want to be excluded from
    the policy, and may be a counseling issue, and involve consultation with parents.
    Perhaps, if the policy change in question is somewhat controversial, some of that can be
    built in.
    The question arises about what to do when the conflict is between fact and belief. We’ve
    already mentioned that many people are certain sex education encourages adolescent
    sexual activity, even when it’s demonstrated to them that studies overwhelmingly find the
    opposite. There may be little you can do in such situations, or you may be able to put
    your arguments within the context of their world view. Offering a choice seems to be the
    best compromise, but your opponents may object even to that, in the belief that they
    should protect all children, not only their own.
    Make your policy change effort as collaborative as possible. When you can, suggest
    setting up a committee of parents, students, teachers, administrators, School Committee
    members, and/or other interested citizens to consider alternatives, language, etc. to
    present to the School Committee.
    In general, start your discussions at the lowest responsible level in the hierarchy.
    This is both a matter of courtesy and a good strategic choice. Unless you already have an
    adversary relationship (and sometimes especially if you have an adversary relationship),
    it’s usually a bad idea to spring something on a school administrator with no advance
    warning. Suddenly appearing in a principal’s office with a group of angry parents, for
    instance, without first discussing with her the situation they’re angry about is more likely
    to make her defensive and entrenched in her position than to open her up to considering
    policy changes.
    Furthermore, it is very much in your interest to gain the support of the person(s) who will
    have to carry out the proposed policy. If you have to go farther up the chain, that support
    will help at each level.
    The importance of lower-level support depends upon how power is viewed and exercised
    in the system. In a well-managed system, a policy that has the support of teachers and
    principals is very likely to be viewed favorably by the superintendent, and in turn likely
    to be passed by the School Committee. In a system where the superintendent or
    Committee is too fond of wielding power, lower-level support may be seen as a challenge
    rather than a recommendation, and may doom a proposal. In such a situation, while it's
    still important to have the support of teachers and principals, you may have to use
    pressure from parents and the community to sway the School Committee.
    For a system-wide issue, protocol usually requires that you start with the superintendent,
    who will, if he views it favorably, work with you to present a proposal for policy change
    to the School Committee. Even if he doesn’t lend support, he won’t be surprised by your
    eventual approach to the School Committee. (If you’re seeking to change a School
    Committee-generated policy, start with the Committee.)

    928
    An advantage to starting at a low level is that sometimes, an issue can be handled at that
    level without going further. In many systems, a school principal can institute policy in his
    school (assuming it doesn’t have system-wide implications) without having to get
    permission from the superintendent or the School Committee. A teacher may be able to
    institute classroom policy to correct a problem, or may be able to change course content
    without any fanfare.
    If your issue can be resolved at a lower level, you may be able to save yourself a lot of
    trouble. If, however, you want to see broader changes, it still makes sense to start with the
    people who’ll have to implement the policy – especially if you can enlist their support. At
    the very least, they won’t be furious at you for sneaking up on them with something new.
    If you’re successful at this lower level, many of the steps below won’t be necessary. If
    you’re put off or denied, simply go up to the next step on the ladder, until you get to the
    School Committee.
    Get your group on the School Committee agenda.
    If the Superintendent and some Committee members are involved, they can make sure
    that you get enough time for a proper presentation.
    Present the proposed policy change at a School Committee meeting.
    For real results, you have to do more than simply show up. Here’s where your prior
    organizing will pay off.
    Although the assumption here is that your group will present the policy itself, it may be
    even better to have it presented by a sympathetic School Committee member or
    superintendent. That will give it credibility and show that there’s support for it within the
    system.
     Pack the meeting with supporters from as many sectors of the community as
    possible. Students, parents, teachers, interested community members, groups that
    are concerned with the issue the policy addresses (health professionals if it
    concerns smoking, for instance, or police if it concerns violence) – the more
    representation you can produce, the more obvious it is that there’s broad-based
    enthusiasm for your proposal.
     Do all you can to gain media coverage. Call your media contacts, send out press
    releases, etc., to assure that the media will be there, or at least report on the issue.

    In some communities, the media are always there – public access cable often covers
    School Committee meetings, and in large cities, they’re often covered by the network
    affiliates or by popular cable news stations. Most communities at least have newspaper
    reporters present. You should keep this in mind. Never say or do anything that you’re not
    prepared to see on TV or in the newspaper, even if the discussion gets heated. You want
    the media there to generate positive publicity for your proposal, not to make you or your
    supporters look bad.
     Choose spokespeople carefully. If several members of your group are allowed to
    speak, use the opportunity to showcase people who are articulate (but not
    apparently too different from most of the community), represent a range of
    stakeholders (parents, students, particular groups affected), can present

    929
    themselves respectfully but firmly, and have compelling stories to tell or
    arguments to make. Personal stories, particularly, can make a powerful
    impression, especially if those who tell them are familiar to the audience, or are
    people with whom they can identify.
     Make sure your message is clear and consistent, no matter who is delivering it.
    What your group has to say should be straightforward, informative, and non-
    confrontational (this isn’t always possible, but do your best). It should be backed
    up with facts, statistics, study results, the experience of other school systems,
    and/or educational (or psychological or scientific) theory. Most importantly, it
    should emphasize how this will benefit students, education, and/or the
    community. (If it won’t, why are you advocating for it?)
     Be prepared for opposing arguments. Make sure you can counter them with hard
    facts and other substantiation. If your group is asked a non-trivial question you
    can’t answer (no matter how much homework you do, you can’t cover
    everything), offer to find out the answer and bring it to the next meeting. Even if
    the question is trivial, treat it with respect unless it’s obviously meant to ridicule
    or humiliate you. If it is meant as ridicule, answer it with humor, not anger.
     Respect the Committee’s time limits, but don’t allow yourself to be pushed aside
    without making your point.
     Respect the Committee’s decision-making procedures. Some School Committee
    bylaws may mandate a one-or two-meeting delay on policy decisions. Often, even
    in the absence of such a bylaw, major policy decisions are not made the first time
    a policy change is brought up. Rather, time is allowed at one or more future
    meetings for more discussion before the change is brought to a vote. If this is the
    case, just be sure that you continue to produce a large, diverse, and vocal group of
    supporters at School Committee meetings leading up to the vote, and that your
    message remains consistent.

    If it looks like you may not be successful, there are some ways you may be able to
    salvage the situation. One is to be sure you have a fall-back position, a variation of what
    you’re asking for that may not give you everything you want, but that will get at the most
    important points while at the same time dropping the most controversial or difficult part
    of your proposal. Another tactic might be to agree to, or even advocate for, more study of
    the proposal. Given time to reflect (and time for you to gather your support), the
    Committee might realize that a controversial or difficult step is nonetheless necessary for
    the good of the students and the system.
    If your proposed policy change is rejected, regroup and strategize again.
    There are a number of reasons your proposed change might have been rejected.
    In a sense, this may be even harder to deal with than the actual issue at hand. Most
    schools are, in fact, organized around the needs of the adults involved, rather than those
    of the children. “The way we’ve always done it” is often the path of least resistance, and
    steering people off that path can be extremely difficult.
     The Committee honestly felt that it simply wasn’t in the best interests of the
    students. If you continue to believe they’re wrong, you should continue to push
    for change. Put together an even more impressive array of facts and figures to

    930
    support your arguments, continue to build community support in order to exert
    pressure on the Committee, invite Committee members to be part of a group to
    study the issue, work for the support of teachers, etc.. Over time, if your proposed
    change really does make sense and will benefit students, it’s reasonable to expect
    that you’ll bring enough Committee members around to get the policy change
    approved.
     The Committee rejected the proposal because the change wouldn’t fit into the
    way things are done in the system. If a change is educationally beneficial for
    students, it should happen unless it actually isn’t affordable (Everyone knows that
    very small classes are better for students, but most systems can’t raise enough
    taxes to make them possible) or it would impose an unfair workload on teachers
    and administrators. If the reason is simply that it’s too much trouble, or that “we
    don’t do things that way,” that’s a failure of the Committee’s and the system’s
    duty to students. Your efforts should be aimed toward pointing this out, and,
    again, continuing to build support and substantiation.

    In a sense, this may be even harder to deal with than the actual issue at hand. Most
    schools are, in fact, organized around the needs of the adults involved, rather than those
    of the children. “The way we’ve always done it” is often the path of least resistance, and
    steering people off that path can be extremely difficult.
     The Committee rejected the proposal for reasons that are irrelevant to education,
    mistaken, irrational, or simply unacceptable  (lack of belief in evolution,
    unwillingness to confront the fact that a large percentage of teens are sexually
    active, racial prejudice, etc.). In this situation, you may have to convince the
    community either that the Committee is dead wrong, or that their reasons conflict
    with sound educational practice, logic, and/or common decency (not to mention
    the Constitution). That often calls for community action – organizing your
    support, using the media, and engaging in various kinds of direct action.

    The reality is that a social action approach may be necessary in any of these three
    situations, if the School Committee proves immovable and you believe the proposed
    change is necessary for the educational, physical, or psychological welfare of students.
    Some social action tactics that might prove helpful:
     Organize to defeat oppositional School Committee members at the next election.
    This may take some patience. Some communities elect a whole School
    Committee at once for a set period (usually 2 or 3 years). Others stagger three- or
    four-year terms, so that only a third or a quarter of the School Committee is up for
    reelection in any given year. That means that you may have to wait two or three
    years to actually gain a favorable majority on the Committee, even if all your
    candidates win.
     Use the media. You can get your message out widely and quickly through careful
    use of the media. That involves, among other activities, establishing relationships
    with (sympathetic) reporters, editors, station managers, etc.; holding press
    conferences, orchestrating letters to the Editor, and making sure you get coverage
    for events and actions you stage; and contacting state- and nation-wide media, to
    broaden your support and put even greater pressure on the School Committee.

    931
     Maintain a vocal presence at School Committee meetings. If it’s appropriate,
    continue to pack meetings with supporters, and call for the policy change at every
    opportunity. Media coverage of meetings will help spread the word. The worse
    you’re treated by the School Committee the worse they’ll look and the more
    sympathetic the community will be to your cause, as long as you remain
    reasonable and respectful at meetings.
     Take direct action. Stage public meetings, rallies, demonstrations, petition drives,
    picketing, and other events meant to draw attention to and explain the need for
    policy change. Such events will also demonstrate the extent of your support, and
    put pressure on the School Committee, as an elected body, to respond to public
    opinion.
     Recall the School Committee (or the members of the Committee blocking your
    proposal). This takes less time than the election process, but is dependent on there
    being a recall clause in the community’s (or the School Committee’s) bylaws. If
    there is, obtaining a certain number of signatures can force a recall election.
    Before you take this route, you should be sure that there’s at least a reasonable
    chance that the recall will succeed, and that the people who take the places of
    recalled School Committee members will be sympathetic to the policy change you
    want. Recall elections tend to create community divisions and animosities that can
    take years – even lifetimes – to heal, and shouldn’t be entered into lightly.
     Work to pass legislation that will make your policy change into law statewide. If
    you already have a legislative champion, or a relationship with one or more
    legislators, this may be a good direction to take. If you’re starting from scratch, it
    could still be worthwhile, but it will take much longer, and involve a major
    organizing effort. The advantage is, of course, that you won’t have to fight the
    battle over policy change again, and you’ll be benefiting far more students than
    those in your own community.
     File a lawsuit. As explained earlier,this is usually a last resort because of its
    expense and the length of time it’s likely to take. On the other hand, the threat or
    actual filing of a suit may be enough to move the School Committee to change its
    mind. A sympathetic attorney (there may be one among your supporters) can be
    helpful in developing strategy here.

    Once you gain the policy change you’re seeking, reorganize and tackle the next
    issue.
    Whether this effort was easy or difficult, you’ve put together a group that has worked
    together to effect a policy change . . . but your work’s not done. As with so much else
    described in the Tool Box, you need to maintain the gains you’ve made – make sure that
    the policy change is not only carried out, but carried out in the way that’s most beneficial
    to students, and continued for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, it’s unlikely that this is
    the only change necessary, either in the school system or in the community. Take some
    time to savor your victory, to celebrate, to congratulate yourselves . . . and then get back
    to the job of making the school system and the community the best it can be.

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    IN SUMMARY
    Sometimes, it’s necessary to seek policy change in schools or school systems, in order to
    enhance or protect the educational benefits to students, the physical and psychological
    health and safety of students and school staff, or the management and integrity of the
    system. Because schools and school systems tend to be hierarchical and difficult to move,
    this can lead to conflict or impasse, leaving students to suffer the effects of inferior
    learning opportunities, deteriorating or dangerous schools, or unfair or abusive treatment
    by school personnel or other students.
    It’s most effective to work collaboratively with the School Committee, the teachers’
    union, and parents, students, and interested community members to arrive at the best
    solution to the problem and change and oversee policy accordingly. When there’s
    resistance to that course – because of a sincere difference of opinion, because of
    resistance to change of any sort, or because of unacceptable assumptions or ideas on the
    part of the policy makers (racism, for example), conflict of some sort may be inevitable.
    By putting together a strong and diverse community group of supporters of change, and
    by using the leverage that group commands – public pressure, media attention, research
    into best practices, etc. – you can achieve the change you’re aiming for. The less nasty
    and the more collaborative you can make the process, the better the chances will be that
    the next change effort – and there will be a next change effort; there always is – will be
    easier.
    Contributor 
    Phil Rabinowitz

    Source:- http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/implement/changing-policies/school-
    policies/main

    Enhancing Student Achievement


    by Charlotte Danielson
    Table of Contents

    Chapter 6. Policies and Practices Affecting Students

    The policies and practices affecting students are those aspects of a school's operation that
    organize students' experiences within the institution. For younger students, these policies
    and practices also structure the parents' relationship with the school. In considering the
    school's policies and practices affecting students, educators should ask themselves such
    questions as “What is the school policy with respect to homework, or to absences?” “What
    happens when a student is sent to the principal's office?” “How are students treated in the
    lunchroom?”

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    The decisions that a school makes regarding established policies and practices affect
    students enormously. Teachers' instructional decisions influence students' feelings about
    (and success with) the curriculum, but the policies and practices in both classrooms and in
    the entire school provide the context for teacher-student interactions around instruction.

    Relationship to the Framework


    Decisions regarding policies and practices that affect students should draw from earlier
    discussions regarding what we want, believe, and know, and should respect the following
    key concepts.
    A Safe and Positive Environment
    Both the physical and psychological school environments must be safe for all students.
    Broken plumbing and falling ceilings, for example, must be fixed in a timely manner. Such
    problems don't only pose a physical danger; when gone untended, they send a powerful
    message to students that their well-being is not important. Policies and practices must show
    respect for students, who should feel safe at school and feel that it is theirs. Consistency and
    predictability are a part of safety; rules and procedures must be fairly and consistently
    applied, so that they are not regarded as capricious.
    A Culture of Hard Work
    Students derive enormous satisfaction from tackling difficult tasks and succeeding on their
    own. If educators want students to experience the pride of success through hard work, they
    will establish practices that reward hard work rather than natural endowment or luck. In
    addition, homework and grading policies shouldn't handi-cap students who don't “get it” on
    the first attempt; such students should be given a second chance to succeed, and a third.
    A Success Orientation
    The goal of school policies and practices should be student mastery of the curriculum and
    development of their potential. There is no room in a school truly committed to student
    learning for policies that are punitive, turn students away, or undermine their confidence. If
    some students believe that they are forever relegated to a “low group”—that nothing they do
    will ever let them become leaders in student government, because they are somehow not
    regarded as part of the school's “elite”—they will turn their back on the benefits of school. If
    students regard challenging courses or membership in certain clubs as the province of only
    a select few, most will harbor no ambitions for such opportunities.
    A Culture of Respect and Responsiveness to Clients
    In many schools, particularly high schools, students feel that they are the least important
    people in the building: they are kept waiting by teachers or the principal, they are
    summoned to the office for mysterious reasons, and they feel that no one ever believes their
    side of the story. Taken together, the policies and practices in these schools do not produce

    934
    an environment in which students feel respected as human beings and valued as full
    participants.
    Student Leadership and Decision Making
    Opportunities for student leadership can help define the culture of a school. These must not
    be restricted to an elite—there must be broad opportunities for students to develop
    leadership skills, such as by helping establish the homework guidelines, serving as lab
    assistants in science, or lending a hand with younger students.
    Decision making relates more to how policies and procedures are derived than to what they
    are. Students of all ages value the opportunity to shape the rules by which they live. When
    they help create the rules, students are more likely to understand the rationale behind them
    and will comply with them more willingly. In addition, the inclusion of student voices in the
    decision-making process provides educators with access to a valuable perspective. Rules and
    procedures are therefore likely to be stronger if students help create them than they would
    be if mandated by teachers and administrators alone.
    Minimal Competition
    Despite knowing the corrosive effects of competition, many educators continue, largely
    because of tradition, to create policies and practices that institutionalize competitiveness
    into the fabric of the school. Students should only compete against themselves in the
    classroom (e.g., by trying to “top” a previous essay).
    A Culture for Learning
    Learning is an active process, in which students must be engaged as genuine participants.
    And student learning is not limited to the curriculum: students learn from homework and
    discipline policies as well. Consequently, aspects of a school's policies that have an effect on
    student learning should be designed with active learning in mind: for example, if educators
    want students to assume responsibility for their behavior, discipline policies should reflect a
    view of students as active decision makers.
    A school's culture for learning is the implicit sense among students regarding what is valued
    in the school, and whether it is important to be a successful learner. In this context, I use the
    term “culture” in the anthropological sense, meaning the norms and values that prevail in a
    school setting. What is valued? What traits are honored? What are the relative values of
    athletic skill, academic success, and artistic talent? Many schools, and high schools especially,
    suffer from a student culture in which it is not “cool” to be smart, work hard, or earn high
    grades. Educators should bear the following issues in mind when considering their schools'
    cultures:
     School cultures are slow to change. Some students, particularly those who have
    experienced little school success, build their reputations as class clowns. They project the
    image that school is dumb, and that only nerds play the game. Even when faculty makes a

    935
    concerted effort to change this student culture and support a success orientation, the
    students themselves may be resistant to change. As a result, high-school teachers,
    particularly in required courses, may inherit students who have had a long history of failure
    and who are not prepared to risk their self-esteem and reputation with friends for the
    elusive goal of school success. A shift in school culture will take time.
     Different spheres of student excellence merit recognition. Most high schools
    proudly display their athletic trophies, and student athletes are publicly recognized through
    school assemblies and the student newspaper. Likewise, students with leads in the school
    play may be acknowledged. But what about a gifted poet? Or the manager of the props for
    the school play? Or the author of an elegant solution to a mathematics problem? There are
    many areas of excellent student performance, and a school culture that recognizes only its
    celebrities can undermine the confidence of students whose talents lie else where.
     A school culture that supports student learning should be promoted both
    within each classroom and in the school as a whole. This culture should be promoted in
    classrooms—where student creativity and commitment should be recognized on a daily
    basis—as well as throughout the school (e.g., through displays of student work, honor rolls,
    recognition assemblies, or weekly lunches with the principal).

    Categories of Policies and Practices


    Schools have multiple policies and practices that affect students. Some of these have been
    deliberately set in place, and others have evolved with time. Educators are well advised to re-
    examine the accepted ways of doing things at their schools. These practices will be familiar
    to both students and faculty, and if they contribute to a school's focus on learning, they
    should be retained. Practices that do not support student learning should be revised to
    ensure that they do, difficult though it may be to disrupt the status quo.
    The major policies and practices affecting students are described below.
    Attendance Policies
    Most schools establish their attendance policies on the assumption that the students can't
    learn unless they are in school. The goal of such policies is to ensure that students attend
    school as much as possible. Of course, no school wants to encourage students who are sick
    to attend school, lest they infect others. Unfortunately, students will occasionally be sick
    without even knowing it, thereby infecting other students before being sent home. (Many
    elementary teachers have had the experience of chicken pox working its way through their
    class for most of an entire school year.)
    In general, attendance policies should do the following:
     Maximize time in school. Attendance and tardiness policies should be grounded in
    the expectation that school is not optional and that attendance is important. However, staff
    members must allow for illness and recognize mitigating circumstances. Schools should
    therefore probably not set an absolute limit to absences, but might require statements from
    parents or doctors explaining why the child has missed school.

    936
     Be flexible. Attendance and tardiness policies must allow for individual
    circumstances and for situations outside of a student's control, such as the need to care for
    younger siblings.
     Offer opportunities for teaching. Students of all ages can benefit from learning
    how to improve attendance and punctuality. In most cases, this opportunity for teaching can
    be achieved in the classroom setting: students can share strategies for preparing their
    school materials in advance of when they must walk out the door, or for ensuring that they
    make the bus. However, some students—particularly older students who face challenges at
    home—may need individual coaching. A counselor or trusted teacher can be of real
    assistance in these cases.
    Discipline Policies
    Discipline policies are the rules regarding student conduct, both within classrooms and in
    the school as a whole. These include rules about running in the halls, disrespectful language,
    willful disregard of teacher requests, and, for older students, public displays of affection.
    Discipline policies might also include student conduct on the bus and playground, or in the
    cafeteria.
    In a sincere attempt to enhance the quality of their school environment, educators in some
    schools have instituted harsh zero-tolerance policies for students. In some cases, such as
    weapons possession, a zero-tolerance approach is certainly justified. However, it is
    important that educators not confuse being tough with being businesslike.
    Educators must appreciate the relationship between instruction and student conduct. When
    students are engaged in meaningful work and experience learning success, they are not
    much inclined to disrupt a class. But if students are bored, or if they believe that they are
    about to be embarrassed or humiliated, they may actually prefer being sent to the office to
    staying in class. A solution, then, for some student infractions may be to make learning
    experiences more engaging, so that students can be challenged as well as successful.
    Successful standards of conduct will reflect certain characteristics:
     Respectful and appropriate. Discipline policies should reflect a school's belief that
    everyone in the school community—both adults and students—must be treated with respect
    (e.g., no bullying or impolite language). Consequences for student infractions should fit the
    situation, and should not be punitive; students should not be suspended for trivial
    infractions.
     Public. Standards of student conduct should be well publicized and known to
    everyone: students, teachers, and parents. They need to be, and to be perceived to be,
    reasonable and transparent; any appearance of arbitrariness will undermine their credibility.
     Consistent. Standards of student conduct should be consistent across a school,
    rather than dependent on the whim of each teacher. Individual teachers may have their own
    expectations, of course, but the same general rules should apply across an entire school.
    Homework Policies

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    Teachers assign homework to students mainly to extend learning time. Students are in
    school for six hours or so each day; if they complete assignments at home, they can be
    actively engaged in learning for considerably longer than that.
    A school's approach to homework depends on the age of the students. Although it is
    unreasonable to expect young children to spend long hours doing assignments, a well-
    conceived homework policy helps students assume more responsibility for their own
    learning and allows students to continue learning beyond the school day.
    As educators determine their school's approach to homework, the following guidelines may
    be helpful:
     Homework is important. If assigned, homework must be completed; it should not
    be optional, but rather integral to the instructional program. A school's homework policy
    should convey the importance the school attaches to homework and emphasize student
    commitment and responsibility for completing it.
     Student must be able to complete assignments independently. As a general rule,
    students should be able to complete assignments without adult assistance at home. The
    reason for this is simple equity. Some parents are able to substantially assist their children
    by virtue of their own education: they can explain how to factor polynomials, for example, or
    provide feedback on writing. But because other parents are not able to offer this type of
    help, only some students will have the benefit of what amounts to a private tutor at home. It
    is essential that success in school not depend on the availability of parental assistance.
     Assignments should be appropriate to completion at home. Some assignments
    are inappropriate for homework—such as those that represent new learning or learning that
    requires frequent explanations or intervention by a teacher. More suitable homework
    assignments are those that ask students to practice previously learned skills, write essays, or
    memorize vocabulary. Practice increases fluency and facility, and repetition can enhance
    student mastery of a concept.
     Links between home and school should be pursued. Some assignments can
    integrate the home into the learning experience. After studying the Great Depression, for
    example, 11th grade history students might be asked to interview older relatives and
    neighbors regarding their experiences during the Depression and its aftermath. Or 3rd
    graders, after having learned to make bar graphs, can collect data regarding the different
    types of furniture in their homes and display the information in a bar chart; the next day, the
    classroom walls will be covered with charts of chairs, tables, beds, and televisions from
    which patterns may be observed and hypotheses generated.
     Educators should help students deal with emergencies. When unforeseen events
    occur, students should not be unduly penalized. Some students, however, exhibit a pattern
    of suspicious “emergencies”—dogs, after all, can eat only so much paper. Teachers may
    need to help such students to develop a “plan B” that they can implement when
    emergencies arise.
     Teachers should distinguish between completion and effort. Students
    sometimes get stuck in the course of doing their homework because they do not understand

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    something critical. This may be due to poor instruction, lack of clarity about the assignment,
    or day dreaming on the part of the student during an explanation. But the result is that the
    home work is not complete. A reasonable and respectful policy will take these factors into
    account. In addition, teachers should ask students to document what they did before
    abandoning their homework: what approaches they tried, for example, or the names of
    students they phoned for help. Such a policy sends the message that perseverance and
    resourcefulness are important, so students should not give up at the first sign of trouble.
     Teachers should coordinate major assignments. Students are quick to notice
    when major assignments from two different courses are due on the same day, and they are
    not completely open to their teachers' suggestions that a little advance planning would
    mitigate the conflict. If a school wants students to give energy to the work they do outside of
    school, it makes sense for teachers in different departments to share their schedules for
    major assignments with one another. Students should certainly be expected to complete
    small daily assignments in many subjects, but major assignments should be coordinated.
     Teachers should help parents help their children. A school's staff should support
    a richer intellectual environment at home for students, independent of homework, by
    encouraging parental involvement. Educators should enlighten parents who don't recognize
    the educational value of regularly reading aloud to younger children, or of asking them to set
    the table or sort the laundry. Older children can be asked to read bus schedules or road
    maps on car trips, or to determine which brand of soap is the best bargain at the
    supermarket—skills that require higher-order thinking. And children of all ages benefit from
    conversation or keeping a journal. Educators should help parents to appreciate the value of
    these activities, so that they will encourage their children to take part in them.
    Grading Policies
    Of all the policies and practices affecting students, the school's approach to grading has the
    greatest potential to affect students' futures, both within the school and beyond it.
    Furthermore, a school's grading policy will often have a lot of “baggage” associated with it, as
    it is an aspect of school life about which everyone—teachers, students, and parents—feels
    strongly.
    Almost no one believes that conventional approaches to grading are beneficial. There is no
    consensus as to what grades mean; some teachers appear to believe that their grade
    distributions reflect their own teaching abilities or the complexity of the content more than
    they do student achievement; others maintain that their harsh grading policy reflects their
    own high standards. Teachers also tend to disagree on the quality of student work: given the
    same student essay, some teachers would award it an A while others would give it a C.
    Teachers, that is, tend to apply their own standards of quality to student work that are rarely
    communicated to either students or other teachers. Furthermore, many citizens, educators,
    and admissions directors in institutions of higher education think that the distribution of
    grades should follow the bell curve, believing that too many high grades is evidence of grade
    inflation.

    939
    Any discussion of grading policies must begin with their purposes, which include the
    following:
     Motivating students. Educators can use grades to motivate students to work hard,
    study, and learn the content of a course, especially in high school.
     Communicating with students. Grades can help let students know what learning is
    important, as well as how well they are doing, in general.
     Communicating with parents. Grades can help let parents know how well their
    children are progressing in school. Most parents are not interested in the details of their
    children's progress; they are primarily looking for reassurance that their children are “on
    track.”
     Communicating with other teahers. In some schools, teachers use grades to let
    one another know how well students are performing. When students move from one school
    to another—from middle school to high school, for example—grades can be used to
    communicate between the two faculties.
     Communicating with the outside world. Admissions directors at colleges,
    universities, and technical schools, as well as company personnel directors, look to school
    transcripts for clues about students. Educational institutions want to know whether students
    are sufficiently prepared for the rigors of higher education, whereas employers tend to care
    about factors such as punctuality, interpersonal skills, and initiative.
    The following recommendations are based on the assumptions threaded throughout this
    book. Grading is a complex topic on which it is difficult to achieve consensus. The
    recommendations I offer here will, I hope, serve as a basis for structured conversation on
    the subject.
    Reflective of Student Learning in the Curriculum
    A grade for English on a report card should reflect how well the student has mastered the
    content of the English course; if teachers want to comment on participation, effort, or
    behavior in class, they may do so on the report card, but not as part of a grade. Students'
    effort, homework, behavior, and attendance are all important aspects of their work in
    school, and should be part of any comprehensive report to parents. However, when these
    are incorporated into the grading system, the grades become muddled and therefore
    meaningless.
    In addition, an individual student's grades should be allocated independently of any other
    student. If all students master the curriculum at a high level, they should all receive As or Bs.
    Consistency Within a School
    An A from Ms. Jones should mean the same as an A from Mr. Smith; grades should not
    reflect each teacher's idiosyncratic notions of what constitutes quality. Consistency within a
    school (or even a district), combined with the need for grades to reflect student learning in
    the curriculum, suggests that teachers have decided together what the curriculum is and

    940
    how to assess it. It implies, in other words, the use of consistent assessments at the end of
    courses or semesters. (This issue is further addressed in Chapter 10: Assessment.)
    Multiple Measures of Student Learning
    Within the context of a consistent approach to curriculum and assessment, individual
    teachers need to consider many different indicators of student mastery of the curriculum
    when assigning grades. An end-of-course exam for Algebra I that is used consistently
    throughout the mathematics department may be a valuable benchmark of student work, but
    it should not be the only factor used to determine student grades in the course; teachers
    should consider quizzes, projects, and oral presentations as well. Learning, and the
    demonstration of that learning, is what's important—not student performance on a single
    high-stakes test.
    Grade Inflation
    Many observers have noted that grades “just aren't what they used to be.” Commentators
    have bemoaned the fact that, even in the most selective schools and colleges, it is common
    for a majority of students to receive As or Bs, thus rendering the grades effectively
    meaningless. Some argue that the professors who hand out such grades are under pressure
    from students to “doctor the books” and boost their chances at graduate school admission
    or good jobs. These complaints are worthy of serious attention when
     Grades reflect only the idiosyncratic judgments of individual teachers,
     Students have no way to improve their performance,
     Grades are handed out as rewards for compliance in class, or
     Grades have little connection to student performance.

    If, however, grades actually reflect student understanding of the curriculum, then large
    numbers of high grades should be applauded rather than criticized, as this means simply
    that many students are mastering important concepts.
    Complaints about grade inflation make sense only in the context of general confusion about
    the fundamental meaning of grades. If more students are earning higher grades, and if high
    grades represent high levels of achievement, then everyone should be cheering. On the
    other hand, if more and more students are getting A's but nobody knows what the grades
    actually mean, then the concerned voices have an important message.

    Summary
    The nature of students' experience in school is influenced not only by the quality of
    instruction, but also by the school's policies and practices. Students of all ages approach
    school with a positive spirit, and they expect to find success and fulfillment there, so the
    policies and practices affecting them must be clear, fair, and likely to contribute to student

    941
    learning. Such policies can be firm, but they should also be just, and should respect student
    interests and motivations. Policies and practices affecting students are powerful levers that
    help set the tone and direct behavior in a school. The adults involved must ensure that the
    policies they put in place reinforce their goals for students, reflect their beliefs about
    students and their learning, and are supported by research findings.

    Rubric for Policies and Practices Affecting Students

    Poor Basic Exemplary

    A Culture The school has no culture for Some of the school's practices School practices reinforce the
    for learning, or a negative culture. reinforce the culture for culture for learning; students
    Learning Students appear satisfied to learning; students have have internalized this culture
    “just get by.” partially internalized this and make a serious
    culture and some of them make commitment to excellence.
    a commitment to excellence.

    Attendance Attendance and tardiness Attendance and tardiness Attendance and tardiness
    Policies policies are rigid and punitive; policies are focused on policies are focused on
    no attention is paid to student maximizing attendance, but are maximizing attendance and
    learning or flexibility for only partially flexible for student learning, and are
    individual situations. Students individual situations. Students flexible and responsive to
    have had no opportunity to have had some opportunity to individual situations. Students
    contribute to the development contribute to the development have contributed to the
    of the policies. of the policies. development of the policies.

    Discipline Standards of student conduct Standards of student conduct Standards of student conduct
    Policies are arbitrary, and consequences and the consequences for are based on mutual respect,
    for student infractions are student infractions are fairly and consequences for student
    punitive and harsh. Discipline reasonable. Discipline policies infractions are reasonable.
    policies are not well publicized are publicly known and Discipline policies are
    and students have had no students have had some publicly known and students
    opportunity to contribute to opportunity to contribute to have contributed to their
    their development. their development. development.

    Homework Homework policies and Homework policies and Homework policies and
    Policies practices are rigid and not practices are moderately practices are flexible and
    designed to promote student flexible and attempt to promote designed to promote student
    learning. Consequences of student learning. Consequences learning. Consequences for

    942
    incomplete homework are for incomplete homework are incomplete homework are
    punitive. Students have had no fairly reasonable. Students firm but respectful. Students
    opportunity to contribute to the have had some opportunity to have contributed to the
    development of the policies. contribute to the development development of the policies.
    of the policies.

    Grading Student grades are awarded Teachers decide grades Student grades reflect mastery
    Policies according to the bell curve; according to a combination of of the curriculum, and do not
    factors other than mastery of factors that are poorly reflect the standing of
    the curriculum, such as articulated and not well students relative to other
    cooperation, are used to inflate understood by students and students. Factors such as
    poor grades; or grades are parents. Grades reflect not only effort, amount of progress,
    awarded to students based on mastery of the curriculum, but and level of participation and
    the teachers' individual also effort, amount of progress, cooperation are addressed
    preferences and favoritism and level of participation and separately on report cards.
    towards students. cooperation.

    Copyright © 2002 by Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. All rights reserved. No part of

    this publication—including the drawings, graphs, illustrations, or chapters, except for brief quotations in

    critical reviews or articles—may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or

    mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without

    permission from ASCD.

    Source:- http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/102109/chapters/Policies-and-
    Practices-Affecting-Students.aspx

    Rouse Hill High School Policies


    Policies & procedures
    This page contains Rouse Hill High Schools policies and related documents. Categories for
    policy and implementation documents relate to the day-to-day administration of Rouse Hill
    High School, such as assessment, curriculum, welfare, student achievement, student
    services, and general management.
    To view a policy click on the policy listed below:
     
    AEROSOL POLICY
    This policy covers the use of aerosol sprays and perfume pump-packs for students attending
    Rouse Hill High School.

    943
    Aerosol Policy (docx 32 KB)
     
    ANTI-BULLYING POLICY
    This document provides a summary of Rouse Hill High School's anti-bullying policy.
    Anti-Bullying Policy (doc 53 KB)
     
    BOOKWORK POLICY
    This policy covers book work for students attending Rouse Hill High School.
    Bookwork Policy (doc, 212 KB)
     
    CLASS STRUCTURE POLICY
    This policy covers the class structure of Rouse Hill High School for 2013.
    Class structure policy (pdf 100 KB)
     
    FILMING OF TEACHING AND LEARNING POLICY
    This policy covers the practice of filming teaching and learning at Rouse Hill High School for
    the purpose of professional development.
    Filming of T&L policy (pdf 26 KB)
     
    HOMEWORK POLICY
    This policy covers homework for students attending Rouse Hill High School.
    Homework Policy (doc, 273 KB)
     
    LEARNING AND SUPPORT POLICY 
    This policy covers the procedures relating to the learning support team and the development
    and review of Personalised Learning and Support Plans.
    Learning and Support Policy (pdf 471 KB)
     
    MOBILE PHONES AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES POLICY
    This policy covers the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices for students
    attending Rouse Hill High School.
    Mobile Phone Policy (pdf, 111 KB)
     
    NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING POLICY
    This policy covers the procedure and requirements for advertising in the Rouse Hill High
    School newsletter.
    Newsletter advertising (doc 53 KB)
     
    RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

    944
    This policy covers the rights and responsibilities of students attending Rouse Hill High
    School.
    Rights and Responsibilities (pdf, 264 KB)
     
    UNIFORM POLICY
    At Rouse Hill High School we care about our students and their image in the community. The
    way students present themselves conveys a strong message about the students themselves
    and our school. Rouse Hill High School has a strict uniform policy and therefore a NEAT and
    TIDY appearance at all times is essential.
    To view our Uniform Policy click on the link below:
     Uniform policy (pdf 97 KB) (pdf, 230 KB)
    School Uniform Procedures (pdf, 22 KB)
     
    The Uniform Shop is open TUESDAYS from 8am until 10am, WEDNESDAYS 8am until
    10am and THURSDAYS from 2pm until 4pm.
    Uniform Price List (pdf 558 KB)
     
    For policy documents relevant for NSW public schools, NSW Training and Further Education
    (TAFE) and the DoE corporate directorate see the NSW Department of
    Education website. Once on the site there is a section titled 'Go straight to' which contains
    the Departments Policy documents.

    Rouse Hill High School Policies


    Policies & procedures
    This page contains Rouse Hill High Schools policies and related documents. Categories for
    policy and implementation documents relate to the day-to-day administration of Rouse Hill
    High School, such as assessment, curriculum, welfare, student achievement, student
    services, and general management.
    To view a policy click on the policy listed below:
     
    AEROSOL POLICY
    This policy covers the use of aerosol sprays and perfume pump-packs for students attending
    Rouse Hill High School.
    Aerosol Policy (docx 32 KB)
     
    ANTI-BULLYING POLICY
    This document provides a summary of Rouse Hill High School's anti-bullying policy.
    Anti-Bullying Policy (doc 53 KB)
     
    BOOKWORK POLICY
    This policy covers book work for students attending Rouse Hill High School.

    945
    Bookwork Policy (doc, 212 KB)
     
    CLASS STRUCTURE POLICY
    This policy covers the class structure of Rouse Hill High School for 2013.
    Class structure policy (pdf 100 KB)
     
    FILMING OF TEACHING AND LEARNING POLICY
    This policy covers the practice of filming teaching and learning at Rouse Hill High School for
    the purpose of professional development.
    Filming of T&L policy (pdf 26 KB)
     
    HOMEWORK POLICY
    This policy covers homework for students attending Rouse Hill High School.
    Homework Policy (doc, 273 KB)
     
    LEARNING AND SUPPORT POLICY 
    This policy covers the procedures relating to the learning support team and the development
    and review of Personalised Learning and Support Plans.
    Learning and Support Policy (pdf 471 KB)
     
    MOBILE PHONES AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES POLICY
    This policy covers the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices for students
    attending Rouse Hill High School.
    Mobile Phone Policy (pdf, 111 KB)
     
    NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING POLICY
    This policy covers the procedure and requirements for advertising in the Rouse Hill High
    School newsletter.
    Newsletter advertising (doc 53 KB)
     
    RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
    This policy covers the rights and responsibilities of students attending Rouse Hill High
    School.
    Rights and Responsibilities (pdf, 264 KB)
     
    UNIFORM POLICY
    At Rouse Hill High School we care about our students and their image in the community. The
    way students present themselves conveys a strong message about the students themselves
    and our school. Rouse Hill High School has a strict uniform policy and therefore a NEAT and
    TIDY appearance at all times is essential.

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    To view our Uniform Policy click on the link below:
     Uniform policy (pdf 97 KB) (pdf, 230 KB)
    School Uniform Procedures (pdf, 22 KB)
     
    The Uniform Shop is open TUESDAYS from 8am until 10am, WEDNESDAYS 8am until
    10am and THURSDAYS from 2pm until 4pm.
    Uniform Price List (pdf 558 KB)
     
    For policy documents relevant for NSW public schools, NSW Training and Further Education
    (TAFE) and the DoE corporate directorate see the NSW Department of
    Education website. Once on the site there is a section titled 'Go straight to' which contains
    the Departments Policy documents.

    Source:- http://www.rousehill-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/our-school/rules-policies/rouse-hill-
    high-school-policies

    School Operations, Policies,


    and Expectations
    This handbook is designed to accomplish the following goals:

    -To document school district policies and rules to serve as a guide for students and their families
    and to clarify the school district and school building’s processes and procedures.

    -To serve as a source of information for students and their families about the school district and
    the school building, the organizational structure and overall philosophy.

    -To provide students and their families with up-to-date, easy to understand information on the
    range of opportunities and programs available through the school and the school district.

    -To be used as a general guide. This handbook does not contain all rules or procedures under
    which the Gilbert High School is governed. The principal or designee will communicate to the
    students any rules that may apply in their specific areas. The principal or designee will be fair and
    consistent with any discipline associated with all rules.

    Definitions

    In this handbook, the word “parent” also means “guardian” unless otherwise stated. An
    administrator’s title, such as superintendent or principal, also means that individual’s designee
    unless otherwise stated. The term “school grounds” includes the school district facilities, school
    district property, property within the jurisdiction of the school district or school district premises,
    school-owned or school- operated buses or vehicles and chartered buses. The term “school
    facilities” includes school district buildings and vehicles. The term “school activities,” means all
    school activities in which students are involved whether they are school-sponsored or school-

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    approved, whether they are an event or an activity, or whether they are held on or off school
    grounds.

    Equal Educational Opportunity

    No student in the Gilbert Community School District shall be excluded from participation in, be
    denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in District programs on the basis of race,
    color, creed, sex, religion, marital status, ethnic background, national origin, disability, sexual
    orientation, gender identity, or socio-economic background. The policy of the District shall be to
    provide educational programs and opportunities for students as needed on the basis of individual
    needs, interests, abilities and potential. The district believes that the curriculum content and
    instructional materials utilized reflect the cultural and racial diversity present in the United States
    and variety of careers, roles, and lifestyles open to women as well as men in our society. One of
    the objectives of the total curriculum and teaching strategies is to reduce stereotyping and to
    eliminate bias on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and physical
    disability. The curriculum should foster respect and appreciation for the cultural diversity found in
    our country and an awareness of the rights, duties, and responsibilities of each individual as a
    member of a pluralistic society.

    Inquiries and grievances regarding compliance with Title IX, Title IV, Section 504, or Section 601A
    should be directed to the district’s Equity Coordinator:  Carrie Clark Curriculum Director, Gilbert
    Community School District, 103 Mathews Drive, Gilbert, Iowa; 50105 phone number 515-232-3740
    Inquiries may also be directed to: Director, Region VII Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of
    Education, 310 W. Wisconsin Ave., Ste. 800, Milwaukee, WI, 53203-2292, 414-291-1111; or the
    Iowa Department of Education, Grimes State Office Building, Des Moines, IA, 50319-0146, phone
    number 515-281-5294.

    Jurisdiction and Expectations

    This handbook is an extension of board policy and is a reflection of the goals and objectives of
    the school board. The board, administration and employees expect students to conduct
    themselves in a manner fitting of their age level and maturity and with respect and consideration
    for the rights of others. Students, teachers, employees and visitors are expected to treat each
    other with respect and courtesy so that all may be safe within the school environment. Students
    may not use abusive language, profanity or obscene gestures or language. This handbook and
    school district policies, rules and regulations are in effect while students are on school grounds,
    school district property or on property within the jurisdiction of the school district; while on
    school-owned and/or school-operated buses or vehicles or chartered buses; while attending or
    engaged in school activities; and while away from school grounds if the misconduct directly
    affects the good order, efficient management and welfare of the school district or involves
    students or staff. School district policies, rules and regulations are in effect 12 months a year. A
    violation of a school district policy, rule, regulation or a student handbook procedure may result in
    disciplinary action and may affect a student’s eligibility to participate in extracurricular activities
    whether the violation occurred while school was in session or while school was not in session.
    Students are expected to comply with and abide by the school district’s policies, rules, regulations
    and student handbook. Students who fail to abide by the school district’s policies, rules,
    regulations and student handbook may be disciplined for conduct which disrupts or interferes
    with the education program; conduct which disrupts the orderly and efficient operation of the

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    school district or school activity; conduct which disrupts the rights of other students to obtain
    their education or to participate in school activities; or conduct which interrupts the maintenance
    of a disciplined atmosphere. Disciplinary measures include, but are not limited to, removal from
    the classroom, detention, suspension, probation and expulsion. Discipline can also include
    prohibition from participating in extracurricular activities, including athletics. The discipline
    imposed is based upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident and the student’s
    record. The school reserves and retains the right to modify, eliminate or establish school district
    policies, rules, regulations and student handbook provisions as circumstances warrant, including
    those contained in the handbook. Students are expected to know the contents of the handbook
    and comply with it. Students or parents with questions or concerns may contact the Gilbert High
    School main office for information about the current enforcement of the policies, rules,
    regulations or student handbook of the school district.

    Philosophy

    Our school policies and regulations have been established over time and are reflective of the
    expectations of parents, students, and staff. The rules of behavior at Gilbert High School revolve
    around the following concepts:

    1) Common courtesy 2) Mutual respect 3) Common sense 4) The rights of the majority to learn,
    having precedence over the rights of the individual to be disruptive. A good “guiding principle of
    behavior” would be: “BE WHERE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE, AT THE TIME YOU ARE SUPPOSED
    TO BE THERE, DOING WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.” Unfortunately, even after rules
    and policies have been explained and the reasons for them understood, some students will
    violate school rules. Counseling for students will be used when appropriate, along with parent
    conferences, or appropriate program changes. When students violate a school rule or disrupt the
    school day there are several options, which may be used to bring about acceptable behavior.
    They include, but are not limited to, the following: removal from class, restriction during study hall
    time, loss of privileges, detention before or after school or Saturday mornings (“Saturday School”)
    or other non-school days, loss of co-curricular participation privileges, in school suspension, out-
    of-school suspension and in extreme cases, expulsion

    Attendance

    According to the Iowa Code, it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their students attend
    school. Regular attendance and punctuality are vital to academic success. Students are expected
    to attend classes, Success Centers and study halls regularly and be on time in order to receive
    maximum benefit from the instructional program and minimize disruptions to the educational
    process for all students. Students who have good attendance records are more likely to achieve
    higher grades, enjoy school life to a greater degree, and create habits of punctuality that will serve
    them well after they leave school.         Students are expected to be in class on time, and the
    school determines whether an absence is excused or unexcused. Students absent from school
    for any reason may be required by the school to submit a written explanation or specific reason
    for their absence, the specific days and times they were absent, verification by the doctor or
    dentist where appropriate and a signature of the parent.

    There are times when students must miss school. Some of these absences will be unanticipated
    such as illness, death in the immediate family, or a student being needed at home for an

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    emergency situation. For unanticipated absences the parent/or guardian should email
    davisp@gilbert.k12.ia.us or call the school (232-3738) between 7:30 AM and 8:30 AM and explain
    the reason that the child will not be in school for the day.

    Some absences will be anticipated, such as funerals, medical appointments, family trips, and
    school trips. For anticipated absences a written note or telephone call explaining the proposed
    absence should come to the school from the student’s parent/guardian at least one day before
    the absence will occur.  Early out and late start days are the requested days for parents to
    schedule appointments to help prevent students from missing classes. Any absence that is not
    explained in a parental note or phone call (see paragraph above) will result in a detention
    equaling the time of the absence.

    Excused/Unexcused Absence Procedures

    Students who will be absent from school with anticipated absences should secure a make-up
    form in the office prior to that absence. The student should take this make-up slip to each of their
    teachers to get the assignments that will be missed. The students should have the instructor’s
    initial the assignment for each class. This will serve as their records of assignments to be
    completed. Failure to comply with this rule will result in the absence being treated as unexcused.
    When a student wants to receive an excused absence to attend state level activities that occur
    during the school day, the student must be in good standing with the school. (Good standing
    means that the student has C’s or higher in their classes or the teacher of the low score gives the
    student permission as the student is working up to their abilities in the class and the student as
    no detentions to serve.)

    Missing school for any reason impacts a student’s ability to successfully complete work and
    learn the material necessary to be successful for the remainder of the school year and in future
    school years. Absences for any reason will be addressed as follows:

    *Eight absences in a given school year will result in a letter to parents indicating the number of
    absences and explaining the importance of regular attendance.

    *Fifteen absences in a given school year will result in a meeting with parents, the guidance
    counselor or principal, juvenile court officer (if appropriate), and the student. The purpose of the
    meeting will be to discuss the reason for absences, the possible consequences of the absences,
    and to determine whether or not the absences warrant a referral to the county attorney.

    For an unexcused absence the student will be dealt with as follows: 1) the first unexcused
    absence in a year will require the student to attend detention for the time missed while
    unexcused. 2) The second unexcused absence in a year will result in a student being assigned
    Saturday School or equivalent detention/ in-school suspension time. 3) The third unexcused
    absence in a year may result in the student being suspended from school until an agreed upon
    plan between the student, the parents and an administrator has been documented. The student
    may be removed from the class and receive no credit for the semester in each class where there
    have been multiple unexcused absences that have made it difficult for the student to complete
    the work needed to pass the class.  Communications between the principal, the student, and the
    parent(s) will be required for each instance of an unexcused absence. Appeal to these actions
    will be through the regular district grievance procedure as stated in the Board policies.

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    Tardiness

    A tardy is defined as arrival to class/study hall after the published start time. Arrival more than
    fifteen minutes after the period begins will be considered an absence. Any student arriving at
    school after the school day has started should report to the office immediately upon his/her
    arrival at school to record the time of arrival and the reason for being late.

    Students who are tardy will be addressed as follows:

    # Tardy/Class         Action Taken

    4th                    Detention

    5th                    Detention, Letter and/or Call Home to Parents

    6th                    Two Detentions, Student/Admin. meeting, Letter and/or Call Home to Parents

    7th                    Two Detentions, Parent/Student/Administration will meet regarding Mandatory

    Attendance Law and Solutions

    8th                     Half-Day Suspension, Immediate Parent/Student/Admin. meeting to determine


    referral to the

    County Attorney/possible consequences

    *The purpose of all meetings/letters mentioned above will be to communicate the number of
    times the student has been tardy and explain the importance of being on time to class.

    Suspension and Expulsion from School

    The Board of Education may, by a majority vote, expel any student(s) from school for violation of
    the rules and regulations approved by the Board or when the presence of the student is
    detrimental to the best interests of the school. The superintendent or principal may suspend a
    student temporarily (from one to ten days). Notice of suspension shall be in writing and issued in
    a reasonable amount of time to the parents or guardians. When a student has been suspended,
    he/she may be re-admitted by the administrator who suspended him/her after meeting with or
    calling the parent/guardian regarding the suspension. When expelled by the Board, a student may
    be readmitted only by the Board or in the manner prescribed by the board.

    A suspension may be in-school or out-of-school. Both types of suspensions will be treated as


    excused absences. If a student is suspended, it will cause that student to be ineligible for co-
    curricular/extra-curricular activities including practices for the period of suspension. In the event
    of a second case of suspension, the student may be refused re-entry to school until a conference
    between the student, parent(s) or guardian(s), and the principal has been held, if the principal so
    desires.

    Alcohol/Drugs/Tobacco and Other Controlled Substances

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    Students are prohibited from distributing, dispensing, manufacturing, possessing, using, or being
    under the influence of alcohol, drugs or look-a-like substances; and possessing or using tobacco,
    tobacco products or look-a-like substances.  Items of contraband may include, but are not limited
    to, nonprescription controlled substances, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates,
    apparatus used for controlled substances, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, weapons, explosives,
    poisons and stolen property.

    Such items are not to be possessed by a student while they are on school district property or on
    property within the jurisdiction of the school district; while on school owned and/or operated
    school or chartered buses; while attending or engaged in school activities; and while away from
    school grounds if misconduct will directly affect the good order, efficient management and
    welfare of the school district. Possession of such items will be grounds for disciplinary action
    including suspension or expulsion and may be reported to local law enforcement officials. The
    board believes that illegal, unauthorized or contraband materials may cause material and
    substantial disruption to the school environment.

    Dangerous Weapons

    Any student who brings a firearm to school, grounds/vehicles, or to a school activity shall be
    suspended immediately and recommended for expulsion from school for one year unless the
    superintendent elects to recommend modification of the penalty on a case-by-case basis.

    Students shall not possess toy weapons in the school buildings or grounds except with the
    knowledge and permission of the building principal and then only for school or educational
    purposes. Violation of this policy shall result in confiscation of the “weapon” and detention or
    suspension, depending upon the student’s disciplinary history.

    Any student who threatens another person on school property or at a school event with a
    dangerous weapon or an object that resembles a dangerous weapon, including but not limited to
    a toy pistol or rifle, squirt gun, cap gun, rubber knife, or plastic grenade or who displays any object
    in such manner as to reasonably place another person in fear for his or her safety shall be subject
    to discipline by the principal or superintendent including possible suspension and
    recommendation for expulsion.

    Student Lockers

    Student lockers are the property of the school district. Students shall use the lockers assigned to
    them by the school district for storing their school materials and personal belongings necessary
    for attendance at school. It shall be the responsibility of students to keep their assigned lockers
    clean and undamaged. It is important that students keep lockers clean, this includes the gym
    locker. Please remove all food, etc. from lockers on a daily basis to reduce issues with rodents
    and insects.

    To ensure students are properly maintaining their assigned lockers, the principal of the building
    may periodically inspect all or a random selection of lockers. Either students or another individual
    will be present during the inspection of their lockers. Student lockers may also be searched, at
    any time and without advance notice, in compliance with board policy regulating search and
    seizure.

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    Search and Seizure

    School district property is held in public trust by the board. School district authorities may,
    without a search warrant, search students, student lockers, personal effects, desks, work areas or
    student vehicles or protected student areas based on a reasonable suspicion that a school
    district policy, rule, regulation or law has been violated. The search shall be in a manner
    reasonable in scope to maintain order and discipline in the schools, promote the educational
    environment, and protect the safety and welfare of students, employees and visitors to the school
    district facilities.  The school may bring in law enforcement to use animals to conduct both
    general and specific searches. The furnishing of a locker, desk or other facility or space owned by
    the school and provided as a courtesy to a student, even if the student provides the lock for it,
    shall not create a protected student area and shall not give rise to an expectation of privacy with
    respect to the locker, desk, or other facility.  Administration may find it necessary to cut locks off
    of a locker if there is reasonable suspicion of inappropriate material in it.  School authorities may
    seize any illegal, unauthorized contraband or look-a-like materials discovered in the search.
    Items of contraband may include, but are not limited to, nonprescription controlled substances,
    marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, apparatus used for controlled substances,
    alcoholic beverages, tobacco, weapons, explosives, poisons and stolen property.

    Such items are not to be possessed by a student while they are on school district property or on
    property within the jurisdiction of the school district; while on school owned and/or operated
    school or chartered buses; while attending or engaged in school activities; and while away from
    school grounds if misconduct will directly affect the good order, efficient management and
    welfare of the school district. Possession of such items will be grounds for disciplinary action
    including suspension or expulsion and may be reported to local law enforcement officials. The
    board believes that illegal, unauthorized or contraband materials may cause material and
    substantial disruption to the school environment or presents a threat to the health and safety of
    students, employees, or visitors on the school district premises or property within the jurisdiction
    of the school district.

    Academic Dishonesty

    Academic dishonesty occurs when a student uses or attempts to use unauthorized information in
    the taking of an exam/quiz; or submits as his or her own work essays, reports, drawings, or other
    products prepared by another person; or knowingly assists another student in such acts. Such
    behavior is unacceptable to the school district and students found guilty of academic dishonesty
    face penalties that may include reprimand, detention, loss of credit, or suspension. Instances of
    academic dishonesty ultimately affect all students and the entire school district by devaluing the
    work produced legitimately by students.

    Removal from Class

    Teachers may send students from class when the continued presence of the student interferes
    with the ability of other students to learn. This disruption could be for excessive talking,
    insubordination, or other reasons. Upon being sent from class, the student will go directly to the
    principal’s office. If this is the first time the student has been sent from class, the student will
    have a preliminary conference with the principal or designee and, if appropriate, be sent to his/her
    next class at the conclusion of the period. During this conference the principal will counsel with

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    the student as to the rights and responsibilities of the individual along with the expectations of
    proper conduct while in class. After the meeting, between the principal and the teacher, a second
    conference will be held between the student, the principal, and if appropriate, with the teacher to
    determine the final outcome. The second time a student is sent from the same class, the student
    will report immediately to the principal’s office. A similar procedure will be followed with the
    addition of a conference or telephone call between the principal and the student’s parent(s). If a
    student is sent from class a third time, the student can be suspended from the class for the
    remainder of the semester with no right to receive credit. ANYTIME A TEACHER SENDS A
    STUDENT FROM CLASS, THE PARENTS WILL RECEIVE A TELEPHONE CALL FROM THAT
    INSTRUCTOR. In cases of severe disruption, a student may be suspended from the class for the
    remainder of the semester after the first or second incident.

    Detention

    Detention after school is sometimes necessary to make up schoolwork or as a penalty/deterrent


    for disregarding rules. One-day advance notice will be given to allow the student and the parent to
    arrange for transportation. Detention time for tardiness and other attendance violations, as well
    as misbehavior in classrooms or study halls, will be after school on Monday, Wednesday, and
    Thursday from 3:05 – 3:45 in the teacher’s room or in a room assigned by the principal principal’s
    office (assigning teacher’s preference).  If a student skips detention, the following consequences
    may be levied against the student.  The student can be assigned an additional detention to be
    served. If a student skips two detentions, Saturday morning or non-school day detention from
    7:30 – 11:15 may be assigned. If a student skips Saturday morning or non-school day detention,
    two days of in-school suspension will be assigned. Detention may be re-scheduled only with
    approval from the principal. In some cases where the student fails to serve the detention or
    Saturday School/non-school day detention, students may be suspended from classes or co-
    curricular activities until the detention time is completed. Students will serve all detention time
    prior to being allowed to attend dances, prom, or state sponsored extracurricular events or being
    able to walk at graduation.

    Fighting and Swearing

    Few things are as disruptive to the educational process and environment as fighting and/or the
    use of profanity. These actions will not be condoned at school and may result in the student’s
    suspension from school. Profanity can be punished with either detention or suspension.

    Appearance

    The first thing a visitor notices at our school is the building and grounds followed by student
    appearance and actions. The general appearance of students reflects the character of our school
    to the community and visitors at our school and affects the classroom climate and sense of
    respect for public education.

    Student Dress

    Students are expected to wear clothing that is neat and acceptable in appearance. Headwear,
    including “dew rags,” for both males and females is not to be worn during the school day, except

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    for medical or religious exceptions. Sunglasses, hats, bandanas, hooded jackets, and coats are
    generally not permitted to be worn in the building.  The following student attire is deemed
    inappropriate for school:

    1. Clothing with words or pictures should not include profanity, libel, or sexual innuendoes.
    2. Shoes must be worn in the building at all times. Shoes with cleats (except for outdoor
    athletic practices), bare feet, and shoes with wheels are prohibited in the building.
    3. Clothing which advertises or promotes the use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs or related
    materials will not be allowed.
    4. Clothing that exposes a midriff or cleavage, underwear, or pants lower on the waist that
    exposes bare skin.
    5. Backless tops, strapless tops, halter-tops, tube tops, spaghetti strap tops (less than the
    width of two fingers) or any top that does not fully cover all undergarments
    6. Shorts and skirts will cover the leg to mid-thigh or longer.
    7. Clothing that calls undue attention and may disrupt the educational climate.

    Infractions of this policy will result in progressive discipline that would begin with a warning,
    move to the assignment of detention, and then to suspension for repeated violations.  If highly
    inappropriate clothing (i.e. inappropriate language, sexual pictures, racist comments) is worn, the
    assignment of a detention on the first offense may be assigned.  All infractions would be reported
    to a student’s parents.            Depending on the severity of the infraction students may be asked
    to change their clothing immediately. The school may provide a shirt in which a student can
    change into or we will ask the student to go home to change after contacting the student’s
    parents.  The intent for this policy is for students to understand that school is a workplace, and
    what is appropriate outside the workplace may not be appropriate at work.

    Respect for Property

    Students who maliciously or carelessly damage school property shall be subject to reimbursing
    the school district for the cost of replacing or repairing the property as well as other possible
    penalties. Students that steal or vandalize private property while at school will be subject to
    similar retribution.

    Theft/vandalism of either school or private property may result in the student being turned in to
    local law enforcement officials in addition to detention, suspension or expulsion from school
    depending on the severity of the incident.  Students should attempt to minimize the quantity of
    valuable items that they bring to school and take precautions for each item’s safety. Students
    that are the victims of instances of theft or vandalism should report these occurrences to the
    Principal’s office.

    Respect for Individuals

    There should be respect for those persons in leadership roles. All teachers are in positions of
    leadership and students will be expected to respect the authority vested in all faculty members,
    regardless of the teaching assignment. Students are also expected to show proper respect for
    teacher associates, secretaries, custodians, cooks, bus drivers, substitute teachers and other
    school employees. At the same time students have the right to be treated with dignity and
    respect by the faculty and staff.

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    Our world consists of people of diverse backgrounds. Everyone needs to attempt to better
    understand and accept this diversity. Harassment of any kind, including harassment based upon
    age, color, creed, national origin, race, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender
    identity, physical attributes, physical or mental disability, ancestry, political party preference,
    political belief, socioeconomic status, or familial status will not be tolerated in the Gilbert
    Schools. Discipline for any of the above infractions may include detention, loss of privileges,
    suspension, or in extreme cases or repeated cases, expulsion. Concerns or grievances should be
    directed to the building principal.

    Harassment – Students

    Harassment, bullying and abuse are violation of the Gilbert school district policies, rules, and
    regulations, and in some cases, may also be violation of criminal or other laws. The school
    district has the authority to report student violating this rule to law enforcement officials.

    Sexual harassment may include unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors and other
    verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Harassment or bullying on the basis of age, color,
    creed, national origin, race, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
    physical attributes, physical or mental disability, ancestry, political party preference, political
    belief, socioeconomic status, or familial status includes conduct of a verbal or physical nature
    that is designed to embarrass, distress, agitate, disturb, or trouble persons.

    School employees shall be responsible for promoting understanding and acceptance of, and
    assuring compliance with, state and federal laws and board policy and procedures governing
    harassment within the school setting. Students who believe they have suffered harassment shall
    report such matters in a timely manner to a teacher, a counselor, or a building administrator.
    Violations of this policy or procedure will be cause for disciplinary action up to and including
    expulsion.

    Curriculum Requirements for Graduation

    Students graduating from Gilbert High School during the 2015-16 school year are required to have
    earned 46 credits exclusive of physical education.  Students graduating from Gilbert High School
    during the 2016-17 school year are required to have earned 48 credits.   Students graduating from
    Gilbert High School during the 2017-18 school year and beyond are required to have earned 49
    credits.  One credit may be earned for the successful completion of each semester of an
    academic course.

    Students that participate in band will receive 1 credit per semester. Students participating in
    vocal music will receive 1⁄2 credit for mixed choir and 1⁄2 credit for jazz choir per semester.  A
    maximum of eight Band and Vocal credits may be applied towards the total needed for
    graduation.  Students participating in physical education will receive 1⁄2 credit per semester.  

    The following specific courses are required during a student’s high school years:

    English                                  8 credits

    Science                                 6 credits

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    Mathematics                       6 credits

    Social Studies                     6 credits

    Health                                   1 credit

    Life Skills                              1 credit

    Physical Education             4 credits

    *High school credits earned in middle school do not count towards these requirements.

    Early Graduation

    A student may petition for early graduation at mid-year as a senior or in special circumstances at
    the end of their junior year. The student must indicate in writing to the high school office by the
    last student day of first semester of their junior year in order to be eligible for early graduation at
    the end of their junior year. The student must indicate in writing to the high school office by the
    first school day in September of their senior year in order to be eligible for early graduation at the
    end of first semester of their senior year.

    All diplomas will be awarded at the annual graduation time in May.

    Enrollment Policies

    Students are expected to enroll in a minimum of five academic subjects with two exceptions:

    1. Seniors may enroll in four academic subjects.


    2. Students in grades 9-11 who are in Band and Vocal Music may register for a minimum of
    4 academic subjects each semester.

    During the first few days of a semester a course may be added or dropped with the approval of
    the counselor and the principal. Course changes will only be made when it is in one of the
    following categories: A) A teacher requests the change; B) Necessary change for graduation
    purposes (includes contracts for seniors); C) Career goals, as seen by the students, parents, and
    counselor, have changed; or D) Other unusual circumstances as approved by the counselor and
    the principal.  Dropping a course after the first few days may result in an F for the course being on
    the student’s transcript. In some extreme cases a student may drop a class in the middle of the
    semester without resulting in an F with the permission of the principal and teacher and after the
    student and parents have agreed to a set of guidelines.

    Open Enrollment

    Iowa’s Open Enrollment law allows students residing in one district to request transfer to another
    school district upon the parent’s request. Parents/guardians considering the use of the open
    enrollment option to enroll their children in another public school district in the state of Iowa
    should be aware of the following dates: March 1, 2016 is the last date for regular open enrollment
    requests for the 2016-2017 school year. September 1, 2016 is the last date for open enrollment

    957
    requests for entering kindergarten students and those students falling under the “good cause”
    definition for the 2015-2016 school year. Parents/guardians of open enrolled students whose
    income falls below 160% of the federal poverty guidelines are eligible for transportation
    assistance. This may be in the form of actual transportation or in the form of a cash stipend.

    Parents should be aware that open enrollment might result in the loss of athletic eligibility. For
    further details contact the Superintendent’s Office.

    Human Growth and Development

    The Gilbert Community School District provides students with instruction in human growth and
    development. Parents may review the human growth and development curriculum prior to its use
    and have their child excused from human growth and development instruction. Parents should
    contact the principal if they wish to review the curriculum, have general questions, or would like
    their child excused from human growth and development instruction.

    Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Act

    The Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Act allows any junior or senior, as well as sophomores
    and freshmen who have been identified for the talented and gifted program to enroll part-time at
    an eligible community college, state university, or private college or university. This act provides
    students with the opportunity to take courses not offered at the local high school. There is not a
    personal expense for the student enrolled in this program for tuition, textbooks, materials or fees.
    For additional information concerning this program see either a building administrator or a
    guidance counselor.

    Grading Policies

    Grading policies and procedures for students’ grades will be established by each instructor and
    explained to the students at the beginning of each course.

    Grading policies and procedures for students’ quarter grades will be established by each
    instructor and explained to the students at the beginning of each course.  The staff will use
    PowerSchool to formulate the results for student scores. The system will be set to round the
    students’ scores to the nearest whole number with .5 or higher being rounded to the next highest
    whole number. Semester tests will be worth 10% of the student’s grade for the semester with
    each quarter making up 45% of the student’s grade. Students will be required to pass two of the
    three components to pass the class.

    The High School grading scale and values for calculating GPA are as follows:

    A+ 100%-99% (4.0)  A 98%-93% (4.0)  A- 90%-92% (3.67)

    B+ 87%-89% (3.33)   B 83%-86% (3.0)  B- 80%- 82% (2.67)

    C+ 77%-79% (2.33)  C 73%-76% (2.0)   C- 70-72% (1.67)

    D+ 67%-69% (1.33)  D 63%-66% (1.0)  D- 60%-62% (0.67)

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    F 59.9% or below (0.00).

    Pass (P) = 60% and above, Failure = 59% and below

    Honor Roll

    Honor Roll will be awarded at the conclusion of each semester. Students receiving letter grades
    in the minimum required courses with the exception of Band and Choir will be honored. The
    regular honor roll is for a semester GPA of 3.00 – 3.66 and 3.67-4.00.

    Special Programming

    The Gilbert High school attempts to meet the special needs of students in a variety of ways. As a
    part of this process, an extended learning program and an extensive special education program
    are both available. For further information please contact either the building principal or guidance
    counselor.

    Success Center

    Meetings of various school organizations may be held during Tuesday and Friday Success
    Centers. All meetings are to be scheduled in advance with the principal or administrative
    assistant. Students that are involved in meetings should report directly to the room in which they
    will be held. All other students will participate in the student Success Centers.  Success Centers
    are designed to help ensure the success of all students at Gilbert High School.  All current
    students will be assigned to a Success Center.

    Lunch Shifts

    There will be two lunch shifts; schedules will be shared at the beginning of each semester.
    Modifications in the system will be made as necessary to allow the lunch process to operate
    smoothly. We will be serving a large number of students within each of these lunch shifts and
    students’ cooperation with lunch supervisors, food service personnel, and our custodial staff is
    very important in allowing this process to be successful.

    Lunch Period

    During the lunch period students should report to the Commons at the tables that are provided,
    whether they are eating food from the school lunch program or from home. The lunch period is
    closed and all students are expected to eat their lunches in the commons.

    Students should take care to leave the area in a neat and orderly manner. The halls must be kept
    quiet because other classes will be in session. For this reason, students should not be in the halls
    or gyms during their lunch period. Students should remain in the Commons or the area
    immediately outside the North entrance to the commons. Student must have permission from the
    lunch supervisor to go somewhere else in the building. Students eating in the Commons are
    reminded to conduct themselves in a proper manner while using this facility. Students are

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    prohibited from being in or operating automobiles during the lunch period. Failure to abide by
    these rules may result in disciplinary action.

    All students will be issued their own account number. Students will punch in their account
    number on a keyboard, which debits the price of the meal from their account. Ala Carte items, as
    well as second lunches can be debited from a student’s account if there is enough money
    available in their account to pay for them.

    Delivery of Meals

    The school district operates a lunch program. Students may either bring their own lunches to
    school or purchase a lunch or other items, including milk from the school lunch service. Student
    initiated “delivery-service” meals shall not be allowed or permitted in the school building during
    the regular school day. Parents may deliver a meal to the office and the meal will be given to the
    student.

    Carbonated Beverages

    To promote the healthy lifestyle choices among the student body; carbonated beverages are not
    permitted in the school after the start of the school day until the completion of the school day.

    Study Hall

    Regular study hall will in most cases be in the Commons. Students who are struggling
    academically may be assigned to Academic Success Center or Math/English Labs.  Students are
    expected to bring work and study materials to each study hall. Students in regular study hall may
    be allowed to go to the LMC lab for non-academic purposes. Students who are experiencing
    academic issues may be placed in intervention study hall at anytime. Parents will be notified
    and/or a conference held before a student is assigned to the Academic Success Center or
    Math/English Lab.

    Study Hall Expectations:

    Study Halls are a place where students can concentrate on the concepts, objectives, materials,
    and assignments that they have been given by their instructors. To promote the type of
    atmosphere needed for this concentration all students in their study halls should follow the
    following policies.

    1. Students are to arrive to their study hall on time and be quietly seated at their assigned
    location when the bell rings. Students are expected to be actively engaged with their work in this
    quiet manner for at least the first 35 minutes of the period.
    2. Students should bring all necessary study materials with them to the study hall for that
    period. However, study hall supervisors may grant students permission to go to their lockers, if
    there is a need. Students needing to use the restroom should use the restrooms immediately
    adjacent to the Commons area, or closest to their study hall if it is in a classroom. No more
    than one student should be allowed to go to their locker at a time. No more than one student

    960
    should be allowed to use the restroom at a time. Students that abuse this privilege may have it
    revoked.
    3. Snacks and beverages are allowed at the discretion of the study hall supervisor. Study
    Hall is NOT a “game” playing area. Playing cards and other games is not allowed. Music players
    with the permission of the study hall supervisor may be used, but the volume should not disturb
    others in study hall. The Parent-Student Handbook will be enforced.
    4. Students assigned to Study Hall may sign-out to the LMC when given the opportunity to
    do so by the Study Hall supervisor. However, the LMC IS NOT a place to visit or to use as a
    lounge. Students need to use the LMC as a productive work area. Those that do not will have
    their LMC privileges restricted.
    5. Students may sign-in and sign-out of the LMC at any time during the first half of the
    period. After that time students in the LMC will remain there until the bell ending the period.
    6. If a student has need to visit a teacher during his/her Study Hall, he/she should secure a
    pass from that teacher prior to the start of the Study Hall, report to the Study Hall on time, and
    then sign-out of Study Hall with the supervisor; when given the opportunity to do so.
    7. Only a limited number of students will be allowed to talk at any given time. The student(s)
    should ask the Study Hall supervisor for permission to speak. When given permission to talk, a
    student should then move to the person with whom they need to visit. He/she should not take a
    seat at that table or adjoining desk, but should remain standing for the limited time (a maximum
    of approximately five minutes) that it takes for his/her question to be answered.
    8. On infrequent occasions, at the discretion of the Study Hall supervisor, students that have
    class projects may be allowed to work together in Study Hall, quietly.
    9. At the Study Hall supervisor’s discretion, all students may be allowed to move and visit
    quietly during the last five minutes of the period. This is a privilege, not a right.
    10. Three students or less will be assigned to each table in the commons.

    Leaving School during School Hours

    When a student must leave the school premises during the school day, he/she must obtain
    permission and sign out with office personnel in the office. If a student arrives at school after the
    school day has begun, he/she should report immediately to the office to notify office personnel of
    his/her presence. In both of these cases students are responsible to report to the office. Failure
    to follow proper procedure may result in loss of privileges, the assignment of detention time, or
    suspension from school.

    Display of Posters

    Students wishing to display posters within the school building must have these posters approved
    in the office prior to their being displayed. Posters should be restricted to providing factual
    information and may be limited in size, quantity, and location of posting.  Posters that have not
    been approved will be removed.     Posters will be inserted into the tack strips that are located
    throughout the building.  Posters will not be taped to any surfaces and will not be hung anywhere
    except in the tack strips provided.

    Skate Boards and Roller Blades

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    Skateboards are prohibited on school property at all times. Rollerblades are prohibited in the
    buildings and on the track at all times.

    Passes

    Passes will be required for movement in the halls during class time. If you need to see another
    teacher, obtain a written pass from the teacher ahead of time and check out of the study hall.
    Those few people who abuse the present pass system may lose all pass privileges.

    School Cancellations

    The cancellation of school for any reason will be announced over the radio station KASI
    (1430AM), KWBG (1590 AM), and WHO (1040 AM) as soon as such a decision is made. The
    district has

    established an alert system to provide notice to parents via e-mail, text, and phone calls in case
    school is postponed, cancelled, or dismissed early.      In the event of a school closing or early
    dismissal, you will be sent an e-mail, text and/or a phone call as soon as the decision has been
    made.

    Fire and Tornado Drills

    The signal for the fire drill or for fire alert will be a continuous sounding of the fire alarm signal or
    a continuous blast of the portable air horn in the event that electrical power is not available.

    The signal for a tornado drill or a tornado alert will be given over the intercom. When either of
    these signals is sounded, all students are to follow the instructions of the teacher in charge of the
    activity in which they are participating.  Students should go to the classroom assigned area as
    listed on the evacuation posters in each room upon hearing a fire alarm.  All students should
    report to the Safe Room/Wrestling Room upon the notification of a tornado over the intercom.

    Hallway Conduct

    Keep to the right as much as possible when passing in the hallways. Aggressive and irresponsible
    conduct in the halls will not be tolerated. We have too many people using our hallways during
    passing time to allow for “horseplay.” Demonstrate your respect for the rights of others through
    your actions in the hallways.

    Student Interpersonal Relations

    The development of social skills and graces is a vital part of one’s education. In addition to the
    daily contacts between people the school will help by providing various social events throughout
    the school year. The showing of affection should be limited to hand holding while at school.

    Library Media Center

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    The library media center is open from 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The LMC provides students and staff
    a place for research, reading, and study. The collection includes books, magazines, newspapers,
    computer access and other multimedia. Supplemental materials are obtained through the
    Heartland Area Education Agency and the Ames Public Library. Students may schedule the use of
    computers through the LMC. Rules and guidelines are posted in the LMC and the computer labs.

    Assembly Programs

    Assembly programs are provided throughout the school year. Normally they will be announced in
    advance and special instructions will be made at that time. Because of the number of people
    involved, be especially considerate of others and do nothing to disturb them or mar their
    enjoyment of the program. Applaud properly. Stamping, whistling, or shouting is never good
    applause. It is not a compliment to the presenter and it reflects discredit upon the school and
    individual(s) involved. When students attend assemblies, pep fests, etc. in the Auditorium or
    Gymnasium the top row of bleachers or the outside row of seats should be left unoccupied for
    staff members only.

    Report to Parents

    Your parents are vitally interested in your accomplishments in school and for this reason the
    school will report to your parents:

    1. A mid-term report (after the 4th week of each reporting period) for only those students
    who are doing unsatisfactory or failing work;
    2. At the end of the nine week reporting period (electronic report cards)
    3. Parents are welcome and encouraged to contact the school concerning the progress of
    the child at any time.

    The student information system, PowerSchool, will provide a parent portal and student portal that
    will update a student’s attendance and grades. More information can be obtained from the office.

    Visitors at School

    Visitors are welcome. Students from other schools may visit our building during the regular
    school day as guests of a currently enrolled Gilbert student with permission of the high school
    principal or designee. They should register in the office prior to the beginning of their visit.
    Visitors are

    expected to follow the same rules and regulations as their host/hostess. They are the
    responsibility of their host/hostess. A student who will be hosting another student should have a
    note from the hosting student’s parent requesting this privilege. All visitors without permission
    will be asked to leave.

    Open Campus Policy (For Seniors Only)

    1. Seniors may select periods eight and nine  or just period nine during the school day each
    semester that they will not be required to be on campus.

    963
    2. If a senior is involved in open campus he/she should not be anywhere in the building
    during this time. Seniors need to take care of business at your locker quickly and leave the
    building promptly after the end of your last class.
    3. During those periods selected for open campus, a student can sign into study hall at
    his/her option. This would allow them the opportunity to use the LMC or other school facilities.
    Once students are signed-in, they must conform to all requirements for study hall and other
    school rules.
    4. This program is a senior privilege, not a right. This privilege may be revoked by the
    administration for abuse of school rules or if a student is not passing all classes at mid-term or
    getting a C- or higher in all classes at quarter grade dates. Open campus will be revoked if a
    senior has an unexcused absence or on the fourth tardy in a quarter.
    5. Parents or guardians must sign an Open Campus Permission Form for their child to be
    involved in this program.
    6. The parents or guardians waive any and all liability on the part of the school for damages
    and/or personal injuries involving their child while on open campus.

    Source:- http://www.gilbertcsd.org/schools/gilbert-high-school/handbooks/purpose-of-
    handbook/

    Turning Around the Lowest-Performing


    Schools: The Role of the Principal -
    Research Findings to Support Effective
    Educational Policymaking
    contents
    Research Findings to Support Effective Educational Policymaking:
    Evidence and Action Steps for State, District and Local Policymakers

     Introduction
     Turning Around the Lowest-Performing Schools: The Role of the
    Principal
    o Preparing and Developing Effective School Leaders
     Turning Around the Lowest-Performing Schools: The Role of
    Districts
     Supportive State, City and School District Policies

    964
    Research Findings to Support Effective Educational Policymaking:
    Evidence and Action Steps for State, District and Local Policymakers
    "Great principals attract great talent. They nurture that great talent and they develop that
    great talent. Bad principals are the reverse: bad principals don’t attract good talent, they
    run off good talent. They don’t find ways to improve those that are trying to get better.
    They don’t engage the community." — U.S. Education Secretary Arne L. Duncan,
    addressing The Wallace Foundation’s National Conference on Education Leadership,
    October 2009.

    Research confirms that there are no documented instances of failing schools turning
    around without powerful leadership. While teachers have the most direct and obvious
    impact on student learning, leadership is second only to teaching in influencing outcomes
    for all students. For the first time, there is empirical evidence that links what leaders do
    with student performance.

     Regardless of the turn-around approach, investing in good


    principals is a particularly cost-effective way to improve
    teaching and learning throughout entire schools.
    o
    Principals are uniquely positioned to ensure that excellent teaching and
    learning spreads beyond single classrooms.2
    o
    Effective principals can improve learning in large part by motivating
    teachers and by creating "professional communities" – in which teachers
    are no longer acting in isolation but give each other help and guidance to
    improve instructional practices.3

     A good principal is the single most important determinant of


    whether a school can attract and keep the high-quality
    teachers necessary to turn around schools.
    o
    As Stanford University education policy analyst Linda Darling-Hammond
    has stated: "It is the leader who both recruits and retains high-quality staff.
    Indeed, the number one reason for teachers’ decisions about whether to
    stay in a school is the quality of administrative support – and it is the
    leader who must develop this organization."  4

     To turn around schools, principals need to share


    decisionmaking.
    o
    High-performing schools with strong student achievement gains tend to
    have a high degree of "collective leadership." New research concludes:
    "Principals are most effective when they see themselves as working
    collaboratively towards clear, common goals with district personnel, other

    965
    principals, and teachers." Paradoxically, principals willing to share
    authority do not diminish their own.5
    o
    But the principal still must lead school improvement by: creating
    structures and incentives around a common agenda for learning among all
    staff; aligning resources with learning activities, needs and priorities; and
    building external relations that can support a school-wide learning agenda,
    including garnering community support, sufficient resources and
    anticipating resistance or conflict.6

    PREPARING AND DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE SCHOOL LEADERS


    "If our 95,000 schools each had a great principal, this thing would take care of itself." —
    U.S. Education Secretary Arne L. Duncan, addressing The Wallace Foundation’s
    National Conference on Education Leadership, October 2009.

    Experts have raised serious concerns about the quality and relevance of the leadership
    preparation provided by many university-based programs – which are where most of our
    principals are trained – and about the speed and effectiveness of state actions to address
    those shortcomings.7  To attract and keep the right leaders, particularly in low-performing
    schools, states and districts should draw on the following effective but underutilized
    approaches to preparing them for the job:

     Provide better, more selective training to prepare transformative leaders


    whose goal is to significantly improve teaching and learning and to turn
    around failing schools.
    Proven effective practices in the preparation of future school leaders include:
    o
    Selective recruitment to identify expert teachers with leadership potential;
    o
    A challenging, coherent curriculum that focuses on instructional
    leadership, the ability to change the culture of schools and improve the
    skills and effectiveness of teachers;
    o
    Active instruction that integrates theory and practice, problem-based
    learning, budget exercises, hiring and effective data use; and
    o
    Well-designed and supervised internships that provide real opportunities
    for aspiring principals to experience leadership first-hand.8

    Graduates of these more effective preparation programs perform better.


    o
    Graduates of the NYC Leadership Academy, which incorporates the above
    practices, were placed in extremely low-performing schools and improved
    their schools’ academic performance at higher rates than other new
    principals in English-language arts and math.9

    Redesigning training programs has payoffs for districts and for universities.10
    o Districts had an increased pool of better prepared principal candidates.
    o Universities were able to reform and improve their leadership preparation
    programs and gained more prestige.

    966
     Don't ignore state policies that can affect principal training.
    o
    States have a number of policy levers to influence the preparation and
    quality of school leaders, including: improving leader training standards,
    developing tougher program accreditation and leader licensure
    requirements, and allocating funding to the most effective programs.11
    o
    Collaborative efforts by state and local leaders have shown promise in
    improving training programs in some states. About 200 such programs
    located in Wallace-funded states have either been forced to redesign their
    programs to align with new leadership standards and proven training
    practices or, less frequently, have been shut down for failing to do so.

     Encourage school districts to better exercise their own “consumer” power to


    influence the training of the school leaders they will eventually hire.
    Some districts are using their consumer clout by:
    o
    Becoming a discerning customer – for example, by developing district-
    level leadership standards or core competencies and then selecting only
    graduates of programs whose training is redesigned to meet those
    standards (Chicago, Fort Wayne, IN and Louisville, KY).12
    o
    Becoming a competitor – by creating their own district-level leadership
    programs aligned with their standards and priorities (Boston, Springfield,
    MA, Fort Wayne, Providence, Atlanta and New York City).13
    o
    Becoming a collaborator – by using contracts and other inducements; e.g.,
    conferring “preferred provider” status on universities that agree to take
    such steps as changing admissions criteria, curricula, internships, etc., to
    better meet district needs (Louisville, St. Louis, Providence, Chicago and
    Springfield, IL).14

     Provide more and better mentoring for new principals once they’re hired.
    o
    More than half the nation’s states and many districts have recently
    introduced mentoring for principals – a sharp reversal of a long-held
    “sink-or-swim” attitude toward novice school leaders.15
    o
    In the absence of quality criteria, however, mentoring can be just a “buddy
    system” that fails to propel the progress of new principals as effective
    leaders of learning.
    o
    States and districts should ensure that mentoring is focused on student
    learning. For example, the NYC Leadership Academy guides its
    mentoring by using a Leadership Performance Planning Worksheet, which
    identifies key behaviors linked to successful instructional leadership.
    o
    Missouri now provides mentor training both online and in person.

    29. Enhance peer and district support for both novice and veteran principals.
    1. Recognizing that effective instructional leadership requires regular,
    sustained support for both novice and veteran principals, central office
    staff in some urban districts are providing individual support to school
    principals, as well as creating networked groupings where peer principals
    can support each other.16

    967
    2. Districts should also avoid one-size-fits-all professional development for
    its principals and instead tailor it to the differing leadership needs of
    elementary and secondary schools and to school context (size, student
    population being served).17

    References
    2
      Leithwood, et al., 12

    3
    Karen Seashore Louis, Kenneth Leithwood, Kyla L. Wahlstrom, Stephen E. Anderson,
    et al., Learning from Leadership: Investigating Links to Improved Student Learning,
    Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement/University of Minnesota and
    Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto, 2010, 42, 50

    4
      Education Leadership: A Bridge to School Reform, The Wallace Foundation, 2007, text
    of speech by Linda Darling-Hammond, 17

    5
      Seashore Louis, et al., 21, 35, 107

    6
      See Michael Knapp, et al.,  Leading for Learning: Reflective Tools for School and
    District Leaders, Center for the Study of Teaching & Policy, University of Washington,
    2003; see also Leithwood, op. cit.; and Bradley S. Portin, Michael Knapp, et
    al.,Leadership for Learning Improvement in Urban Schools, Center for the Study of
    Teaching & Policy, University of Washington, 2009.

    7
      Southern Regional Education Board,  Schools Need Good Leaders Now: State Progress
    in Creating a Learning-Centered School Leadership System, 2007, 2

    8
      Linda Darling-Hammond, et al.,  Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World:
    Lessons from Exemplary Leadership Development Programs, Stanford Educational
    Leadership Institute, 2007, 6; see also The Wallace Foundation, Becoming a Leader:
    Preparing School Principals for Today’s Schools, 2008

    9
      New York University Institute for Education and Social Policy, The New York City
    Aspiring Principals Program: A School-Level Evaluation: An Update Through 2008-09,
    2011

    10
     Margaret Terry Orr, Cheryl King, Michelle LaPointe, Districts Developing Leaders:
    Lessons on Consumer Actions and Program Approaches from Eight Urban Districts,
    Education Development Center, Inc., 2010, 12

    11
     Orr, et al., 11

    12
     Orr, et al., 5

    968
    13
     Ibid. (See also The Wallace Foundation, Report ’09: Appraising A Decade, 12,
    concerning Atlanta and New York City).

    14
     Ibid.

    15
     The Wallace Foundation, Getting Principal Mentoring Right: Lessons from the Field,
    2007, 3

    16
     See Portin, op. cit., and Margaret Plecki, Michael Knapp, et al., How Leaders Invest
    Staffing Resources for Learning Improvement, Center for the Study of Teaching &
    Policy, University of Washington, 2009.

    17
     Seashore Louis, et al., 101

    Source:- http://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Pages/the-role-of-the-
    principal-findings-to-support-effective-educational-policy-making.aspx

    Five Practices for School Principals that Impact Student Achievement.

    To help you best prepare for changes including Common Core Standards and Principal
    Evaluations, we'll be offering a brief, informative article once a week for the next six
    weeks on topics covering:

    Articulating and Setting a Direction for a School-Wide Vision


    Best Practices for Developing Your Staff
    Three Ways to Strengthen School Culture
    Making the Most of School Leadership Evaluation
    Finding the Best Resources for Your Own Professional Development
    The Professional Development Principals Need to Fully Support Reforms in Your School

    Setting the Direction for a School-Wide Vision

    There's a big difference between œsetting direction and giving directions. Setting
    direction is plotting the big picture, and it calls for different skills. A study commissioned
    by The Wallace Foundation found that as a leader, your ability to define and set clear
    direction makes a huge impact on the culture of your school, which in turn contributes
    significantly to student achievement. So let's unpack what we mean by setting direction.

    Most principals are so busy managing the day-to-day aspects of running a school that
    they have to squeeze in their big-picture leadership plan somewhere between handling
    paperwork, disciplining students, dealing with custodial emergencies, appointments with
    parents, and putting out fires.

    969
    Setting a clear direction with teachers and other administrators means you work to
    develop a shared understanding about your school. You and your teachers know what the
    overarching goal is. Your teachers share and can articulate the mission and vision of the
    organization.

    Sharing a clear, school-wide direction gives you and your colleagues a sense of purpose
    and identity. It gives the entire school a way to measure and monitor daily routines and to
    prioritize activities that directly contribute to furthering the school's direction, goals, and
    vision.

    The Wallace Foundation identified these components of setting clear direction:

    Identifying and articulating a vision


    Fostering the acceptance of group goals
    Creating high performance expectations
    Monitoring organizational performance
    Promoting effective communication throughout the organization
    Drawing on decades of research, Dr. Robert Marzano has identified one critical direction
    that drives the success of students, teachers, leaders, and the school as a whole: A data-
    driven focus on student achievement.

    Such a focus serves several purposes. It is an articulate vision. It sets group goals. It
    conveys high expectations. It uses data as a way to monitor organizational performance.
    And because it is a shared goal, it promotes effective school-wide communication.

    Professional Development for Optimal Student Achievement

    A large body of evidence on leadership effectiveness indicates that developing your


    teachers' potential to the highest degree will profoundly influence not just the success of
    individual teachers, but your students, too.

    It pays, then, to spend time putting together a highly aligned and focused plan for
    teachers' professional development. But are the old ways of offering PD enough to really
    drive improvement and student achievement?

    We say no.

    New ways of defining school leadership demand new ways of thinking about professional
    development for teachers. In a high-stakes era of teacher and leader evaluation, every
    system in the school should be aligned for continuous improvement of instruction. Both
    leader and teacher evaluation frameworks must focus on teacher growth and should
    heavily invest in:

    A clear vision of the philosophy and methods of instruction


    An emphasis on continually enhancing pedagogical skills

    970
    A feedback loop based on ongoing evaluations of teachers' strengths and weaknesses
    Job-embedded professional development directly related to instructional goals
    Ample opportunities for, and encouragement of, teacher collaboration
    Formal ways to discuss improving school operations
    Stanford University's Linda Darling-Hammond sums up the profound impact school
    leaders have on teaching quality in her report, Preparing School Leaders for a Changing
    World:

    It is the work they do that enables teachers to be effective “as it is not just the traits that
    teachers bring, but their ability to use what they know in a high-functioning organization,
    that produces student success. Indeed, the number one reason for teachers' decisions
    about whether to stay in a school is the quality of administrative support" and it is the
    leader who must develop this organization.

    Focus on Making Your School a Collaborative Environment

    Schools making breakthrough gains are led by principals who have carved out a radically
    new role for themselves, including responsibility for school-wide practices to drive both
    student achievement and teacher effectiveness. (New Leaders for New Schools)

    Whether or not we like it, schools are bureaucracies. And we all know that bureaucracies
    can slowly begin to wear down motivation, no matter how good our intentions.

    As a school principal, your primary goal is to develop your school as an effective


    organization where apathy, frustration, and indifference can be kept at bay. Outside
    forces beyond your control will continually test your capacity to do this: state testing,
    national initiatives, new curricula – well-intentioned directives that may cause anxiety
    as teachers struggle to keep up with new responsibilities in a high-stakes environment.

    As you plan, keep in mind: Nothing should erode your teachers' commitment to the
    welfare and high achievement of all students. What can you do keep your school
    focused? You can:

    Continuously strengthen school culture with objectives that may include:


    Continually improving your own professional practice
    Ensuring that the school environment is perceived as safe and orderly
    Effectively managing fiscal, operational, and technological resources
    Regularly acknowledging the success of the whole school
    Focus on modifying organizational structures to allow your teachers and other personnel
    to work effectively. How dynamic these structures are may be determined by the need for
    flexibility in the school's improvement agenda.
    Embed collaborative structures into the fabric of the school culture.*
    *See: Karen Seashore Louis, Kenneth Leithwood, Kyla L. Wahlstrom, Stephen E.
    Anderson et al., Learning from Leadership: Investigating the Links to Improved Student

    971
    Learning, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement/University of
    Minnesota and Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto, 2010, 9.
    This report is available at www.wallacefoundation.org.

    Making the Most of School Leadership Evaluation

    Here's what Time magazine had to say about the pitfalls of our current systems of school
    leadership evaluation:

    School leaders have a multiplier effect "they can put in place conditions that help or
    hamstring effective teaching. "The expertise of a principal determines how random or
    consistent teaching quality will be," says Pam Moran, superintendent of Albemarle
    County Public Schools in Virginia. One reason for this, research shows, is that effective
    principals can attract and retain good teachers, while poor leadership has the opposite
    effect.

    And if that's not disheartening enough, consider the report released last month by New
    Leaders for New Schools, a national nonprofit that trains principals to work in
    challenging schools, which concluded that "most principal evaluation systems tend to
    focus too much on the wrong things, lack clear performance standards, and lack rigor in
    both their design and attention to implementation."

    Whether or not we like it, schools are bureaucracies. And we all know that bureaucracies
    can slowly begin to wear down motivation, no matter how good our intentions.

    A paper prepared for The Wallace Foundation, Assessing Learning-Centered Leadership,


    came to similar conclusions. For example, many districts have been using leadership
    assessments primarily to meet contractual obligations, with little focus on leader
    development or student learning. The identification and development of effective school
    leaders, both individuals and teams, has been significantly hampered by the paucity of
    technically sound tools for assessing and monitoring leadership performance.

    In truth, few leadership evaluation systems are based on systematic review of the
    scientific literature on leadership factors that correlate with successful schools. In a study
    originally conducted in collaboration with the Association for Supervision and
    Curriculum Development (ASCD) which surveyed 2,400 teachers, Marzano et al.
    established five leadership elements that strongly correlated with school success:

    A data-driven focus on student achievement


    Continuous improvement of instruction
    A guaranteed and viable curriculum
    Cooperation and collaboration
    School climate

    972
    That survey has since been distributed to 66,000 additional teachers and supports the
    conclusions of the original findings. The study served as a partial foundation for the
    development of the Marzano School Leadership Evaluation Model.

    A study published in Education Next has found that the effect of highly effective
    principals on student achievement is equivalent to 2-7 months of additional learning each
    school year, while ineffective principals negatively impact student achievement by a
    comparable amount.”
    –Huffington Post

    Finding the Best Resources for Professional Development

    "The expertise of a principal determines how random or consistent teaching quality will
    be."
    Pam Moran, superintendent of Albemarle County Public Schools, Virginia

    Research tells us that the role of the teacher is the single greatest factor impacting student
    learning (Sanders, et al). Research also shows that one of the greatest factors central
    offices can contribute is to maintain a singular focus on improving instruction. (Marzano
    and Waters, 2009). According to a recent report from New Leaders, principal and teacher
    effectiveness accounts for nearly 60% of a school's impact on student achievement. These
    are the most important in-school factors driving school success, with principals
    accounting for 25% and teachers 33% of a school's total impact on achievement.

    But to help your teachers grow and meet their potential, you, too, need to enter a cycle of
    continuous improvement.

    Just like your teachers, you will seek out new resources and mentors, deliberately
    practice new skills (most of them well outside of your comfort zone), receive feedback
    from coaches and superiors, and set out to look for resources and practice skills.

    If you want your teachers and students to flourish, you must flourish, too.

    Most likely, your school is in the process of implementing a new teacher evaluation
    model. It's highly likely that a new principal or leader evaluation system will be the next
    step in creating a aligned, focused system. So the quickest route to your own professional
    development will be a deep dive into the processes you'll need to understand to become
    an expert observer, evaluator, and coach. You will want to know:

    The most efficient way to use your observation tool


    How to achieve inter-rater reliability when conducting observations
    How to plan implementation of new evaluation systems
    How to develop policies and procedures around the new systems
    The fundamentals of deliberate practice

    973
    What to expect from the new Common Core State Standards
    How to get teacher support (or How to get teacher buy-in)
    In partnership with nationally renowned researcher and author Dr. Robert Marzano, the
    Learning Sciences Marzano Center has developed a deep series of professional
    development services for school leaders to help you and your teachers reach your highest
    potential and lead your students to success. Our expert consultants will help you master
    the new challenges of becoming a 21st century school leader. We will help you set the
    vision, develop your staff, redesign your organization, and make the most of your own
    evaluations for optimal success in an era of high-stakes reform.

    Getting the Professional Development Principals Need to Fully Support Reforms in Your
    School

    What do you need to know to be successful in an era of high-stakes education reform?


    With new evaluation systems in place, school leaders need to know just as much about
    instructional practices as their teachers. What to look for during classroom observations.
    How to build their own capacity for inter-rater reliability, so that evaluations are truly
    fair, accurate, and reliable. How to construct feedback to give teachers support for growth
    and improvement throughout their careers. And how to coach teachers in creating units of
    instruction, and in deepening their instructional strengths through deliberate practice.

    As we have emphasized in this series, the research into school leadership is quite clear on
    the role principals play in developing a school-wide culture of excellence that supports
    teacher growth and student achievement. A school leader with the right combination of
    skills and resources can make a lifelong impact on his or her students which reaches far
    into that child's future in terms of adult achievement and earning capacity.

    The Learning Sciences Marzano Center for Teacher and Leadership Evaluation has
    developed a full slate of trainings to help school leaders succeed at successfully
    implementing their new evaluation systems and developing 21st century skills as
    education professionals. Our progression of trainings, from understanding and applying
    the Design Questions of the Marzano Model to Observing for Common Core State
    Standards, covers the full range of what you will need to know. Our progression of
    trainings for leaders includes:

    Domain 1 Overview of the Marzano Teacher Evaluation Model


    Building Inter-rater Reliability
    Side-by-Side Principal Coaching
    Domains 2-4
    Deeper Connections: Connecting the Domains for Deeper Understanding
    Constructing Accurate, Actionable Feedback
    Creating Units of Instruction
    Deliberate Practice for Measuring Teacher Growth
    Observing for Common Core State Standards

    974
    Speak to one of our consultants about the best professional development series for you
    and your school today. Simply fill out the form on the right. We can help you get started
    on the road to building success for your students, your teachers, your school, and your
    community.

    The Learning Sciences Marzano Center offers expert professional development in


    leadership growth and evaluation. Are you ready to find out more? Fill out the form on
    the right for more information.

    Source:- http://www.marzanocenter.com/leadership-evaluation/building-principal-skills/?
    elq=7409b6ecf18c471396bdbfda36ad6de0&elqCampaignId=139

    Role of Principal Leadership in Improving


    Student Achievement
    By: The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement

    The most influential educational leaders are the principal and superintendent, and their
    leadership is inextricably linked to student performance. This article looks at the basics of
    good leadership and offers practical suggestions.
    School and district leadership has been the focus of intense scrutiny in recent years as
    researchers try to define not only the qualities of effective leadership but the impact of
    leadership on the operation of schools, and even on student achievement. A recently
    published literature review titled How Leadership Influences Student
    Learning contributes to this growing body of knowledge by examining the links between
    student achievement and educational leadership practices.

    Authors Leithwood, Seashore Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom (2004) make two
    important claims. First, "leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all
    school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school" (p. 7). Second,
    "leadership effects are usually largest where and when they are needed most" (p. 7).
    Without a powerful leader, troubled schools are unlikely to be turned around. The authors
    stress that "many other factors may contribute to such turnarounds, but leadership is the
    catalyst" (p. 7).

    975
    The review, commissioned by the Wallace Foundation, is the first step in a five-year,
    180-school study of the links between student achievement and educational leadership
    practices. The planned study is a joint effort of the Ontario Institute for Studies in
    Education at the University of Toronto and the University of Minnesota's Center for
    Applied Research and Educational Improvement. The foundation's first report could be
    released as early as November.

    This article summarizes what the review reveals about the basics of successful education
    leadership and offers practical suggestions for their implementation.

    The Basics of Successful Leadership


    The authors warn that it is tempting to get caught up in defining the many adjectives
    often used to describe leadership in education literature (e.g., participative, instructional)
    but note that ultimately these descriptions focus on style, not substance. A more
    productive strategy, they contend, is to examine the following three sets of practices that
    make up the basic core of successful leadership:

     Setting direction.
     Developing people.
     Redesigning the organization.
    The authors acknowledge that "rarely are—[these] practices sufficient for leaders aiming
    to significantly improve student learning in their schools. But without them, not much
    would happen" (p. 10).

    Setting Direction
    Examining the Evidence.
    The review suggests that leaders who set a clear sense of direction have the greatest
    impact. If these leaders help to develop among their staff members a shared
    understanding of the organization and its goals and activities, this understanding becomes
    the basis for a sense of purpose or vision. The authors emphasize that "having such goals
    helps people make sense of their work and enables them to find a sense of identity for
    themselves within their work context" (p. 10).

    The authors suggest that school improvement plans can be a means of setting direction.
    "It's difficult for schools to make progress without something to focus their attention,
    without any goals," says coauthor Kenneth Leithwood, a University of Toronto education
    professor. "Improvement plans are a rational model about how to act purposefully in
    schools."

    Practical Application.
    Effective principals understand direction setting. They know that an investment of time is
    required to develop a shared understanding of what the school should "look like" and

    976
    what needs to be done to get it there. They know that teachers and other staff included in
    identifying goals are much more likely to be motivated to achieve those goals. These
    sentiments are echoed by Doris Candelarie, executive director of School Effectiveness in
    Brighton, Colorado, and former principal of Vikan Middle School in Brighton. "We set
    school goals, individual goals, team goals. That builds community and the spirit around
    it"(Center for Collaborative Education, 2003). Teachers who are asked to engage in open
    and honest communication with the principal, to contribute their suggestions, and to
    voice their concerns are much more likely to follow the direction set by their leader.
    Further information about organizing, planning, implementing and sustaining reform can
    be found in The Center's policy briefs at www.centerforcsri.org

    Developing People
    Examining the Evidence. Much of the focus in education literature regarding the
    principal's role in developing staff members has been on instructional leadership, which
    emphasizes the principal's role in providing guidance that improves teachers' classroom
    practices. Philip Hallinger's instructional leadership model has been the most researched.
    It consists of three sets of leadership dimensions—defining the school's mission,
    managing the instructional program, and promoting a positive learning climate—within
    which 10 specific leadership practices are delineated (Leithwood, Seashore Louis,
    Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004).

    Now, in addition to instructional leadership, the review finds that researchers also are
    paying close attention to what is being termed a leader's emotional intelligence—his or
    her ability and willingness to be "tuned in" to employees as people. "Recent evidence
    suggests that emotional intelligence displayed, for example, through a leader's personal
    attention to an employee and through the utilization of the employee's capacities,
    increases the employee's enthusiasm and optimism, reduces frustration, transmits a sense
    of mission and indirectly increases performance (McColl-Kennedy & Anderson, 2002)"
    (Leithwood, Seashore Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004, p. 24).

    The authors cite the following more specific leadership practices that help develop
    people:

     Stimulate them intellectually.


     Provide them with individualized support.
     Provide them with an appropriate model.
    Practical Application. Schools have interpreted these research findings in a variety of
    practical ways. Group book studies, lesson study in critical friends' groups, professional
    development sessions at conferences, or visits to high-performing schools all provide
    intellectual stimulation. At Deborah Hoffman's Franklin Elementary School in Madison,
    Wisconsin, for example, teachers participate in book groups that focus on race and
    student achievement. They also are encouraged to grow intellectually by pursuing
    additional certification in English as a second language (Hoffman, 2005).

    977
    Developing people through individualized support can take many forms in schools.
    Literacy or math coaches can model lessons, observe classes, and provide constructive
    feedback to teachers. Teachers also benefit from peer observations, debriefing sessions
    with colleagues, and feedback from the principal. New teachers in particular gain support
    from mentor teachers who are carefully assigned to assist them in the first few years of
    teaching. At Eastgate Middle School in Kansas City, Missouri, Principal Tim Mattson
    created a new position for an instructional coach whose job was to serve as a mentor for
    new teachers and help experienced teachers to develop strong leadership skills as well as
    implement effective reading strategies based on their examination of student work
    (Center for Collaborative Education, 2003).

    Redesigning the Organization


    Examining the evidence
    The review notes that the organization teachers and principals operate in can sometimes
    thwart their best intentions to use effective practices. In some contexts, the authors
    observe, high-stakes testing has "encouraged a drill-and-practice form of instruction
    among teachers who are perfectly capable of developing deep understanding on the part
    of their students" (p. 11). Furthermore, "extrinsic financial incentives for achieving
    school performance targets, under some conditions, can erode teachers' intrinsic
    commitments to the welfare of their students" (p. 11).

    Successful educational leaders resist these and other organizational pitfalls. Instead, they
    are purposeful about turning their schools into effective organizations. They do this by
    developing and counting on contributions from many others in their organizations to do
    the following:

     Strengthen the school's culture.


     Modify organizational structures.
     Build collaborative processes.

    Practical application
    What does this process of redesigning the organization look like on the ground?
    Principals strengthen school culture when they clearly and consistently articulate high
    expectations for all students, including subgroups that are too often marginalized and
    blamed for schools not making adequate yearly progress. At an Alliance for Excellent
    Education event in August, Mel Riddile, principal of J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls
    Church, Virginia, eloquently addressed this issue: "We have a moral and ethical
    imperative to educate every student. [If] we let them languish in mediocrity, shame on
    us" (Riddile, 2005). Principals can modify organizational structures, for instance, by
    changing schedules to ensure that teachers share common planning time and use that time
    to discuss improving instruction. This kind of restructuring also reinforces the use of
    collaborative processes among teachers. Given sufficient time and consistent messages
    about the value of collaboration, teachers learn to trust their colleagues and are more
    willing to share their best practices and challenges.

    978
    Redesigning the organization from the inside out requires that leaders identify and
    capitalize on the competence of others and both model and require collaboration. As
    author Carl Glickman (2003) observed: "In successful schools, principals aren't
    threatened by the wisdom of others; instead, they cherish it by distributing leadership" (p.
    56).

    Broad Goals for School Leaders


     .

    Conclusion
    How Leadership Influences Student Learning emphasizes that the most influential
    educational leaders remain the principal and superintendent, and that their leadership is
    inextricably linked to student performance. Having examined a host of factors that
    contribute to what students learn at school, the authors conclude that the contribution of
    leadership is second in strength only to classroom instruction. And, effective leadership
    has the greatest impact where it is most needed—in the nation's challenged schools.
    These facts make the case, the authors assert, for improving not only the recruitment and
    training of school principals but also their ongoing development and evaluation. In
    addition, they cite the need for expanded study of how leadership in other areas of the
    school community—such as teacher leadership—can contribute to student achievement.

    References
    Center for Collaborative Education. (2003, fall). Conversations: Turning Points
    Transforming Middle Schools, 4(1), 1-12. Retrieved September 14, 2005,
    from http://www.turningpts.org/pdf/Conversations_Fall03.pdf

    Glickman, C. D. (2003). Holding sacred ground: Essays on leadership, courage, and


    endurance in our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Hoffman, D. (2005, May). Keynote presentation given at annual Institute for CSR State
    Coordinators, Washington, DC.

    Leithwood, K., Seashore Louis, K., Anderson, S. & Wahlstrom, K. (2004). How
    leadership influences student learning. New York: Wallace Foundation. Retrieved
    September 14, 2005, from http://www.wallacefoundation.org/

    Riddile, M. (2005, August). Presentation given at Alliance for Excellent Education


    "Americans on High Schools: In Need of Improvement!" Washington, DC.

    979
    School Principal - The Role of Elementary and
    Secondary School Principals, Principal Duties and
    Responsibilities, Principal Qualifications

    schools public private students

    The school principal is the highest-ranking administrator in an elementary, middle, or


    high school. Principals typically report directly to the school superintendent, but may
    report to the superintendent's designee, usually an associate superintendent, in larger
    school districts. The highest-ranking school level administrator in some private schools is
    called the head master. Head masters have many of the same responsibilities as
    principals, but they may engage in additional activities such as fund-raising. In some
    school districts, a single person functions as superintendent and principal. Principals,
    head masters, and others who are responsible for the overall operation of a school are
    often called school leaders. In an era of shared decision-making and site-based
    management, the term school leader may also be used in reference to other school
    administrators and leaders within the school such as assistant principals, lead teachers,
    and others who participate in school leadership activities.

    Schools have not always had principals. Around the beginning of the twentieth century,
    as schools grew from one-room schoolhouses into schools with multiple grades and
    classrooms, the need arose for someone to manage these more complex organizations.
    This need was filled initially by teachers, who continued to teach while also dealing with
    their school's management needs. These teachers were called principal teachers. As
    schools continued to grow, principal teachers became full-time administrators in most
    schools. Most principals soon stopped teaching because of the many demands their
    management responsibilities placed on their time. As managers, principals were
    responsible for financial operations, building maintenance, student scheduling, personnel,
    public relations, school policy regarding discipline, coordination of the instructional
    program, and other overall school matters. The management role included some
    curriculum and instruction supervision, but overall school management was the primary
    role principals played until the early 1980s. As the accountability movement gained
    momentum, the role of the principal changed from school manager to school instructional
    leader and then to the school reform leader. With this shift in role focus, principals
    retained their management roles. Principals currently play multiple roles: school
    manager, instructional leader, and the leader of school reform.

    The Role of Elementary and Secondary School Principals

    Principals are responsible for the overall operation of their schools. Some of their duties
    and responsibilities are delineated in state statutes. States and school districts have also
    set expectations for principals through their principal evaluation criteria and procedures.
    During the latter part of the twentieth century, as schools began to be held more

    980
    accountable for the performance of their students on national and state assessments, the
    duties and responsibilities of principals changed. Principals became more responsible for
    teaching and learning in their schools. In particular, their duty to monitor instruction
    increased along with their responsibility to help teachers improve their teaching. With
    this change in responsibilities, principals discovered the need to more effectively evaluate
    instruction and assist teachers as they worked to improve their instructional techniques.
    The principal's duty to improve the school instructional program is mandated by
    legislation in some states. Some state legislation requires the removal of principals when
    schools are classified as low performing (students do not meet achievement expectations)
    for a specified period of time.

    Principal Duties and Responsibilities

    With schools facing increased pressure to improve teaching and learning, the duties and
    responsibilities of principals expanded further to include the responsibility for leading
    school reform that would raise student achievement. Success in leading reforms to
    increase student achievement often hinged upon a principal's ability to create a shared
    vision within the school community and success in implementing new organizational
    structures that engage teachers in shared decision-making. Principals have discovered
    that engaging the entire school staff in making decisions results in more commitment to
    school reform initiatives.

    Principals are also responsible for facilitating their school's interactions with parents and
    others in the school community. This responsibility includes working with parents when
    disciplinary issues arise, when students are not succeeding academically, and when
    parents have concerns. Principals also interact with parents who serve on school advisory
    boards, parent/teacher organizations, and booster clubs. Principals report that they spent a
    significant part of their time working with parents of students who have been identified as
    needing special services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
    Amendments of 1997 (IDEA).

    Principals continue to be responsible for the management of their schools even though
    their primary responsibility has shifted. One major management responsibility is school
    safety. This responsibility includes ensuring that facilities and equipment are safe and in
    good working order, the development of overall school discipline policies and the
    enforcement of those policies, and the assignment of supervisory responsibilities among
    school personnel. At the elementary level, principals are cognizant of their responsibility
    to ensure constant supervision of the very young children in the school. As students
    advance into the higher grades, the need for supervision changes as students mature. The
    responsibility for supervision remains high for older students who are handicapped; who
    are in areas where the potential for injury is greater such as labs, shops, and athletic
    facilities; and who are in situations (field trips, athletic events, etc.) where additional
    caution is required.

    981
    Principal Qualifications

    A license is required for those who seek employment as principals in most states.
    Licensure requirements vary from state to state, but the requirements generally include
    experience as a teacher, graduation from a state accredited principal preparation program,
    and a passing score on a nationally validated licensure exam. Principal qualifications
    have been the subject of considerable debate during the 1980s and 1990s as pressure
    increased to make schools more accountable for student achievement.

    The national organizations representing principals and other school administrators have
    actively engaged in the debate over appropriate qualifications for principals. The National
    Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) took an active role in identifying
    principal qualifications in the 1980s through the creation of an assessment process. This
    process focused on the leadership skills that were determined to most significantly impact
    their ability to effectively lead their schools, and the procedure was based on a task
    analysis conducted in cooperation with the American Psychological Association (APA).
    The skills assessed through the NASSP Assessment Center included leadership,
    sensitivity, organizational ability, judgment, problem analysis, range of interest,
    motivation, decisiveness, educational values, oral and written communication, and stress
    tolerance. Later the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
    created an assessment process that assessed similar skills.

    In the mid-1990s the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA)
    decided to review principal qualifications. The NPBEA included most of the major
    national organizations that represent education administrators from state superintendents
    to principals. The NPBEA also included organizations that represent professors who
    prepare school administrators. One of the members, the Council of Chief State School
    Officers (CCSSO), took on the major role of developing a set of standards for school
    leaders. Working with the member associations and representatives from thirty-seven
    states, the CCSSO led the effort to identify a new set of standards for principals. This
    group was known as the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC).

    The six standards that were created by ISLLC were designed to influence the preparation
    of principals, guide states in the development of their own state principal standards, and
    serve as a tool for licensure or evaluation. The six standards address a principal's need to
    promote the success of all students through the following:


    The creation and implementation of a shared school vision
     The nurturing and sustaining of a culture and instructional program conducive to
    learning and staff development
     The ensuring of the management of school operations to produce a safe and
    effective learning environment
     The collaboration with families and the diverse communities schools serve
     The promotion of integrity, fairness, and ethical behavior

    982
     The interaction with larger political, social, legal, and cultural contexts of
    schooling

    The ISLLC Standards became the basis upon which the Educational Testing Service
    (ETS) developed a licensure assessment for use by ISLLC member states. A number of
    states use this ETS-developed School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA) along with
    other criteria to license principals.

    Research on School Leadership

    Research has consistently shown that principals play a significant role in school reform
    efforts. As the accountability movement gained momentum during the 1980s and 1990s,
    research on school effectiveness, generally referred to as effective schools research,
    focused on principals and their role. These studies consistently found that the principal
    was the key to an effective school. Research found that the unique position principals
    hold, as the one person in a school who is responsible for and empowered to oversee the
    entire school, places them in a powerful position to coordinate the entire school operation
    and move it forward. The research further revealed that the most effective principals had
    a clear vision of how the school could serve its students; had aligned resources and
    priorities with the vision; and could engage other key players, within and outside the
    school, in achieving the goals embedded in the vision.

    Other studies have supported the key roles principals play in their school's success and
    point to other leader characteristics as critical to the principal's success. These
    characteristics include high energy, initiative, tolerance for ambiguity, sense of humor,
    analytical ability, and common sense. As society grows more diverse, researchers are
    beginning to look into the principal's role in leading schools that are increasingly diverse.

    Research on the principalship is focused on the changing role of school leaders in a


    changing society. Thus far, research has shown the principal to be a key to a school's
    successful transition into an institution that will adequately prepare students. This
    research was based upon an existing system of public and private education. As society
    continues to change and technological advances change the tools available for teaching,
    the role of the principal will likely change. Vouchers, charter schools, and technology
    have the potential to change schooling in fundamental ways. As these changes take place,
    the role of the principal will also change. The principal of an online school will function
    in very different ways than the principal of a traditional school.

    Demographic Profile of School Principals

    Demographics on the principalship are collected and reported by the United States
    Department of Education. The National Center for Education Statistics collected data on
    the public and private school principal population in 1987 through 1988, 1990 through
    1991, and 1993 through 1994. These data show a 2.2 percent growth in the number of
    public school principals from 1987 through 1988 to 1993 through 1994. There was no
    significant change in the number of private school principals over the same period. In

    983
    1993 through 1994 the number of public elementary school principals was almost triple
    the number of secondary school principals (71.9% to 24.4%).

    The majority of principals at all three levels of public schooling (elementary, middle, and
    high school) are males; however, the percentage of female principals increased from 24.5
    percent to 34.5 percent from the 1987 through 1988 survey to the 1993 through 1994
    survey. The most significant increase in the number of female principals occurred at the
    elementary level during this period. In 1993 through 1994, 41 percent of public
    elementary school principals were female. The number of female public school principals
    will continue to increase in the future based on data showing that 48.1 percent of the new
    public school principals hired in 1993 through 1994 were female.

    Data on the principalship at the private school level shows that the majority of principals
    are female and the percentage of female principals is increasing. Female elementary
    principals of private schools outnumber their male colleagues three to one; however, this
    ratio is reversed at the secondary level. The number of private school female principals
    has increased from 1987 through 1988 to 1993 through 1994.

    Public and private school principals are predominately white non-Hispanics. The 1993
    through 1994 survey revealed that 84 percent of public school principals and 92 percent
    of private school principals were white non-Hispanics. The percentage of minority
    principals in public schools increased between 1987 and 1988 and 1993 through 1994
    from 13 percent to 16 percent. Most minority public school principals (35%) were in
    central city schools in the 1993 through 1994 survey. There are few minority principals in
    school districts with less than 1,000 students. The number of minority principals
    increases as school district size increases. The percentage of private school principals has
    remained consistent at around 8 percent, and the number of new minority private school
    principals indicates the percentage is not going to change significantly in the future.

    See also: CURRICULUM, SCHOOL; NATIONAL ASSOCIATION


    OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS; NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
    OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS; SCHEDULING; SCHOOL-BASED DECI
    SION-MAKING; SCHOOL FACILITIES; SCHOOL REFORM; SUPERVISION
    OF INSTRUCTION.

    BIBLIOGRAPHY

    JENLINK, PATRICK M., ed. 2000. Marching into a New Millennium. Lanham, MD:


    Scarecrow.

    SERGIOVANNI, THOMAS J. 2001. The Principalship: A Reflective Practice


    Perspective, 4th edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    SEYFARTH, JOHN T. 1999. The Principalship: New Leadership for New


    Challenges. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

    984
    UBBEN, GERALD C.; HUGHES, LARRY W.; and NORRIS, CYNTHIA J. 2001. The
    Principal: Creative Leadership for Effective Schools, 4th edition. Boston: Allyn and
    Bacon.

    INTERNET RESOURCE

    NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS. "Public and Private School


    Principals in the United States: A Statistical Profile, 1987–1988 to 1993–1994."
    <http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/ppsp/97455-2.html>.

    KERMIT G. BUCKNER JR.

    Read more: School Principal - The Role of Elementary and Secondary School Principals,
    Principal Duties and Responsibilities, Principal Qualifications - Schools, Public, Private,
    and Students -
    StateUniversity.com http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2333/Principal-
    School.html#ixzz4eByUs6CH

    SWOT analysis for schools|


    education|colleges|universities
    January 2, 2010 by Mike Morrison
    LinkedinTwitterSubscribeGoogleDiggStumbleuponDelicious

    SWOT analysis for schools, teachers and


    education  |colleges|universities

    Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in an educational environment.

    985
    A SWOT analysis for schools is a tool that can provide prompts to the governors,
    management teachers and staff involved in the analysis of what is effective and less
    effective in the schools systems and procedures. Often used in preparation for a plan of
    some form (that could be an audit, assessments, quality checks etc.). In fact a SWOT can
    be used for any planning or analysis activity which could impact future finance, planning
    and management decisions of the school or establishment. It can enable you (the
    governors and management) to carry out a more comprehensive analysis.

    Definitions

     Strengths – Factors that are likely to have a positive effect on (or be an enabler
    to) achieving the school’s objectives
     Weaknesses – Factors that are likely to have a negative effect on (or be a barrier
    to) achieving the school’s objectives
     Opportunities – External Factors that are likely to have a positive effect on
    achieving or exceeding the school’s objectives, or goals not previously considered
     Threats – External Factors and conditions that are likely to have a negative effect
    on achieving the school’s objectives, or making the the objective redundant or un-
    achievable.
    Before starting any planning or analysis process you need to have a clear
    and SMART goal or objective. What is it that you need to achieve or solve? Ensure that
    all key stakeholders (relevant to the issue being explored) buy into this objective or goal.
    Context for a SWOT and PESTLE analysis is everything.

    Then undertake a PESTLE analysis (or PESTLE in Schools), this will provide you with
    the external factors (OT).

    Use the PRIMO-F model to ensure all internal factors are considered.

    Conducting a SWOT analysis for schools  |


    colleges | universities
    One of the most effective ways to conduct a SWOT analysis for
    schools is not to do it in isolation, but with a team effort. When the
    goal is shared, then a brainstorming session can be run.

    986
    Ensure than when running such
    a session it is facilitated by a person not involved with the content –
    this is best with an independent person. If budgets do not allow this
    – then talk to another establishments head, and arrange a contra
    deal.

    Do this activity in a number of phases:

    1) Share the goal

    2) Data collection (no filtering or comments – record verbatim)


    consider all areas of PRIMO-F

    3) Take a break of at least 1 hr

    4) Filter, sort and analyse into the 4 areas – SWOT – be critical


    and SMART avoid ambiguous statements or ideas at this stage

    READ  Four important questions for leaders

    5) Prioritise the elements

    Have a second session where the planning phase takes this data and
    puts it into a realistic plan.

    987
    IMPORTANT TIP for SWOT analysis in
    schools, | colleges | universities
    Do not hide or underestimate threats or weaknesses – if you ignore
    them or underplay them now they will come back to haunt you at
    some stage – probably when they can do most damage!

    The goal of any session like this is not necessarily to neutralise any
    weakness or threat – that is impossible – but to have it on your radar
    – and where possible take avoiding action. To some extent it is all
    about risk.

    What sort of tasks and issues can a SWOT


    analysis for Schools be used for?
    At its most complex and comprehensive, it can be used for business
    planning, however it is also of value to solving localised issues and
    challenges.

    An Example of a SWOT analysis for schools |


    colleges| universities
    We will use an example of a teacher working within a first school who want to improve
    the relationships with parents of his pupils.

    TASK
    1. Define the goal and measurable outcomes – i.e. to have more than 50% of par
    class per term
    2. Consider the current activities you have in place to encourage parent-partners
    school.
    3. Complete a SWOT analysis, identifying your current strengths and realistically

    988
    weaknesses. This can only be done involving other teachers, pupils and parents
    4. From the current analysis identify factors which could be improved
    5. Identify opportunities that could be created
    6. Put a plan and set of measures in place.
    The school identified the following objective:

     To improve parent-partnership by encouraging parents to visit


    the school and become active members of the community.
     Outcome – to have more than 50% of parents spending one
    day in class per term
    Currently, the school holds an open day once each year. It uses this
    as a way to encourage parents to visit the school and engage with
    school staff. The following is the initial SWOT Analysis for schools.

    Strengths Weaknesses
     Highly-skilled teachers.  Teachers not available to
     History of successful Open meet parents often enough
    day events  Current open days events
     School has a strong ethos not increasing voluntary
    of openness, sharing and activity
    commitment to increasing  Not enough staff time to
    parental confidence plan more events
     Parents wanting to get  Staff not clear of their role
    involved in the parent relationship
     PTA willing to participate  Narrow focus on open
    events not partnership
    activities
     Curriculum too stretched
    for additional activity
    Opportunities Threats
     Active volunteer committee  Confidentiality is at risk
    willing to plan and organise  Pupil coercion to do things
    events they do not wish to do
     Pupils active in the school’s

    989
    Pupil Participation Project can
    be asked for their opinions
    and suggestions.
     Head Teacher is willing flex
    curriculum to free up teacher
    time
     Use parents to contribute
    to curriculum delivery

    READ  Six ‘C's of leadership

    The next step is to develop a plan with interested stakeholders

    SWOT Analysis templates for schools


    & education  | colleges | universities
    SWOT Analysis for Schools | colleges | universities Template/
    Worksheet – use these templates to start your SWOT process

    SWOT Analysis on ____________________ (college|


    university organisation name or product/ service/ project)

    School/ establishment/ organisation Background/ situation


    ________________________________________________
    ____
    ________________________________________________
    __________________________________________
    ________________________________________________
    __________________________________________
    (usual business partners, relationships, channels to market,
    assumptions etc…)

    Date PESTLE completed ____________________

    Date of SWOT Analysis


    ____________________ ____________________v

    990
    INTERNAL
    Under each of Strengths (PRIMO- Weaknesses (PRIMO-
    the PRIMO- F) F)
    Ffactors list the
    relevant strengths  People  People
    and weaknesses. (teachers, (teachers,
    parents, PTA parents, PTA etc)
    List the etc)  ____________
    Opportunities and  __________ _______
    threats from your _________  ____________
    PESTLE analysis  __________ _______
    below. _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    Then considering _________  ____________
    the combination of  __________ _______
    these factors _________  Resources
    generate some  Resources  ____________
    options or  __________ _______
    alternative _________  ____________
    strategies for  __________ _______
    action. _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  Innovation &
     Innovation & Ideas
    Ideas  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________

    991
     __________ _______
    _________  Marketing(com
     Marketing munications)
    (communicatio  ____________
    ns) _______
     __________  ____________
    _________ _______
     __________  ____________
    _________ _______
     __________  ____________
    _________ _______
     __________  ____________
    _________ _______
     __________  Operations(day
    _________ to day running)
     Operations  ____________
    (day to day _______
    running)  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  Finance
     __________  ____________
    _________ _______
     Finance  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________  ____________
     __________ _______
    _________
     __________

    992
    _________
    E Opportunities SO Alternatives / WO Alternatives /
    Strategies Strategies
    X  __________
    _________  __________  ____________
    T  __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
    E  __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
    R  __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
    N  __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
    A  __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
    L  __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________

    993
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
    _________ _______
    Threats ST Alternatives / WT Alternatives /
    Strategies Strategies
     __________
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________

    994
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
     __________ _________ _______
    _________  __________  ____________
    _________ _______
    Try our business SWOT analysis tool for free NOW – Or return to
    our main SWOT analysis page

    SWOT Analysis for Schools | colleges | universities Template /


    Worksheet 2

    SWOT Analysis on ____________________ (School/ establishment organ

    995
    project)

    Background/ situation__________________________________________
    ___________________________________________________________________
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    ___________________________________________________________
     

    (usual operational partners, relationships, channels to market, assumption

    Date PESTLE completed ____________________

    Date of SWOT Analysis ____________________v


    INTE
    Under each of the PRIMO-Ffactors list the relevant strengths and Stren
    weaknesses.

    List the Opportunities and threats from your PESTLE analysis below.

    Then considering the combination of these factors generate some


    options or alternative strategies for action.
    E Opportunities SO A
    X Strat
    T   

    996
    E   
    R
    N Threats ST A
    A Strat
    L

    Try our business SWOT analysis tool for free NOW – Or return to


    our main SWOT analysis page

    SWOT Analysis for Schools |colleges|universities Template /


    Worksheet 3

    SWOT analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and threats

    Date

    Company/ Department name

    Internal Factors

    Our Strengths Ways to exploit Our Weaknesses

    External factors

    Our Opportunities Ways to exploit Our Threats


      

    Try our business SWOT analysis tool for free NOW


    Or return to our main SWOT analysis page
    A SWOT analysis for schools, colleges, universities or other educational
    establishments can be a simple and yet effective way to ensuring
    that all appropriate factors are considered. In this environment it is
    particularly important to use the PRIMO-F template to ensure that all
    elements have been considered. Indeed ensure that under People –
    teachers, support staff, parents and children are considered along
    with third party people (police, local health etc that can form a part
    of your community.

    997
    Teachers, Tutors, Lecturers, Professors, PTA (Parent Teacher
    associations) management committees etc all have a valuable
    contribution to make

    A SWOT analysis for schools |colleges|universities is just as


    valuable as in any other organisation if done at a strategic level.

    Under Resources, remember to include IT, and consumables that


    can be used as part of the process

    Page reviewed May 2015


    Filed Under:  Management,  SWOT Analysis  Tagged
    With:  analysis,  education,  Management,  organisation,  PESTLE,  PRIMO-
    F,  professor,  schools,  Strategy,  SWOT,  teacher,  template,  tutor

    About Mike Morrison
    Mike Morrison is founder of RapidBI
    Mike is a consultant and change agent specialising in developing
    skills in senior people to increase organizational performance.
    Mike is also founder & director of RapidBI, an organizational
    effectiveness consultancy.
    Check out his linkedin profile
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemorrisonrapidbi

    Source:- https://rapidbi.com/swot-analysis-for-schools-and-education/

    998
    SWOT Analysis
    May 01, 2013 Helen Kinkin, Director of Technology

    SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

    A SWOT analysis “enables business entities to understand their Strengths,


    Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats” (Fernandez, 2009, p. 36). Seneca
    High School is fortunate to have the facility and resources afforded from being
    funded by a nuclear power plant. We also have highly-motivated staff members
    that are student-centered. We have already determined some of the weaknesses
    and have addressed them. A new class is being developed for freshmen and
    incoming students that will help then become more familiar with the
    technologies used at Seneca High School. The technology staff is very
    dedicated to researching and providing both current and relevant tools to assist
    classroom teachers where possible. Professional development has been a school
    priority for many years. The current internet has been a sever hindrance. The
    opportunity to increase bandwidth access will show a remarkable improvement
    in the student’s ability to access the internet for education needs. The new
    firewall will provide a more streamlined protection for students and faculty.
    Threats to the project will include the failure to plan for some of the more
    obvious circumstances. While it impossible to plan for every scenario, the more
    common ones have been thought about, discussed and debated.

                

    SWOT Analysis Table

    Strengths Weaknesses

     Financial backing.  Not enough time for staff to


     Staff member who are train and experiment with new
    involved in many co- technologies.
    curricular activities.  Professional development is
     Technology staff. still needed on many web 2.0
     Great teachers who care tools for integration in
    about their students. Blackboard Learn.
     Board and Administration  Current internet speed.
    committed to student  Existing hardware
    success.
     Excellent facilities.
     Community and parent
    support.

    999
    Existing infrastructure.
     Professional development
    in the areas of technology
    training.
     Group collaborative spirit
    among various staff
    members.
     School improvement
    committee working towards
    curriculum and student
    improvement.
    Opportunities Threats

     Touch screen laptops for  Lack of funding.


    faculty and students.  Delayed dark fiber
     Upgraded server hardware. connection.
     Upgraded firewall.  Neglectful / abusive
     Increased bandwidth. handling of devices.
     Extended classrooms  Poor planning.
    beyond the traditional walls  Not having the devices in
    and time schedules. time for configuration.
     Future-proofing the  Additional demand on
    devices to ensure they meet existing technology staff.
    system requirements for the
    next four years.
     Implementing a student
    run help desk.
     

    Reference

    Fernandez, J. (2009). A SWOT analysis for social media in libraries. Online,


    33(5), 35-37. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/199913917
    Source:- https://www.senecahs.org/vnews/display.v/ART/5183e46fc9aac

    S.W.O.T Analysis Of The School


      

     Share on Facebook

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    SWOT ANALYSIS

    STRENGTH WEAKNESSES

    ·         Enough pupils ·         Inadequate finances

    ·         Positive parents ·         Inadequate DESKS

    ·         Active school ·         Lack of feeding programme


    management committee
    ·         Lack of teachers houses
    members
    ·         Unsafe playground
    ·         Qualified teachers
    ·         No library
    ·         Good landscape
    ·         No electricity
    ·         Adequate text books
    ·         Inadequate clean and safe water

    ·         Inadequate office space & furniture

    ·         Small school compound

    ·         Under staffing

    ·         Stigma & discrimination against OVCs & PLWHAs

    OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

    ·         Plenty of forest resources ·         High levels of illiteracy

    ·         Favorable agricultural ·         Unfavorable repugnant cultural belief and practices
    climatic conditions
    ·         Low political willpower
    ·         Ambitious and committed
    ·         High prevalence of poverty
    staff
    ·         High incidence of HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, Cholera & other infectious
    ·         Disciplined and
    diseases
    determined pupils

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      ·         Drug abuse among the youth

    ·         High turnover of teachers & head teachers in the school

    ·         Uncertainty of continuing with  education to the next level

    Source:- http://www.gotkacholaprimary.com/content.php?pid=29

    SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

    The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis guides you to
    identify the positives and negatives inside and outside of your organization. Program
    directors, policy groups and management teams can use this resource to help with both
    strategic planning and decision-making. A SWOT analysis will provide perspective, and
    reveal connections and areas for action.

    Contents:

    What is a SWOT analysis and why should you use one?


    When do you use SWOT?
    What are the elements of a SWOT analysis?
    How do you create a SWOT analysis?
    How do you use your SWOT analysis?
    To Sum Up
    Resources
    Internet Resources
    What is a SWOT analysis and why should you use one?

    The name says it:

    Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat. A SWOT analysis guides you to identify the
    positives and negatives inside your organization (S-W) and outside of it, in the external
    environment (O-T). Developing a full awareness of your situation can help with both
    strategic planning and decision-making.

    The SWOT method (which is sometimes called TOWS) was originally developed for
    business and industry, but it is equally useful in the work of community health and
    development, education, and even personal growth.

    SWOT is not the only assessment technique you can use, but is one with a long track
    record of effectiveness. Compare it with other tools found in the Community Tool Box
    (especially Chapter 3) to determine if this is the right approach for your situation. The
    strengths of this method are its simplicity and application to a variety of levels of
    operation.

    1002
    When do you use SWOT?

    A SWOT analysis can offer helpful perspectives at any stage of an effort. You might use
    it to:

    Explore possibilities for new efforts or solutions to problems.


    Make decisions about the best path for your initiative. Identifying your opportunities for
    success in context of threats to success can clarify directions and choices.
    Determine where change is possible. If you are at a juncture or turning point, an
    inventory of your strengths and weaknesses can reveal priorities as well as possibilities.
    Adjust and refine plans mid-course. A new opportunity might open wider avenues, while
    a new threat could close a path that once existed.
    SWOT also offers a simple way of communicating about your initiative or program and
    an excellent way to organize information you've gathered from studies or surveys.

    What are the elements of a SWOT analysis?

    A SWOT analysis focuses on the four elements of the acronym, but the graphic format
    you use varies depending on the depth and complexity of your effort.

    Remember that the purpose of performing a SWOT is to reveal positive forces that work
    together and potential problems that need to be addressed or at least recognized. Before
    you conduct a SWOT session, decide what format or layout you will use to communicate
    these issues most clearly for you.

    We will discuss the process of creating the analysis below, but first here are a few sample
    layouts--ideas of what your SWOT analysis can look like.

    You can list internal and external opposites side by side. Ask participants to answer these
    simple questions: what are the strengths and weaknesses of your group, community, or
    effort, and what are the opportunities and threats facing it?

    INTERNAL EXTERNAL
    Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

    Or, if a looser structure helps you brainstorm, you can group positives and negatives to
    think broadly about your organization and its external environment.

    Positives Negatives
    strengths
    assets
    resources
    opportunities
    prospects
    weaknesses

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    limitations
    restrictions
    threats
    challenges
    And here's a third option for structuring your SWOT analysis that might be appropriate
    for a large initiative that requires detailed planning or many alternatives. This more
    elaborate "TOWS Matrix" is adapted from Fred David's Strategic Management text (see
    "Print Resources"). Here a working table guides you to identify strategies by matching
    items in each quadrant.

    STRENGTHS

    1.
    2.
    3.
    4.
    WEAKNESSES

    1.
    2.
    3.
    4.
    OPPORTUNITIES

    1.
    2.
    3.
    4.
    Opportunity-Strength (OS) Strategies

    Use strengths to take advantage of opportunities

    1.
    2.
    Opportunity-Weakness (OW) Strategies

    Overcome weaknesses by taking advantage of opportunities

    1.
    2.
    THREATS

    1.
    2.
    3.

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    4.
    Threat-Strength (TS) Strategies

    Use strengths to avoid threats

    1.
    2.
    Threat-Weakness (TW) Strategies

    Minimize weaknesses and avoid threats

    1.
    2.
    David gives an example for Campbell Soup Company that stresses financial goals, but it
    also illustrates how you can pair the items within a SWOT grid to develop strategies.
    (This version of the chart is abbreviated.)

    STRENGTHS

    1. Current profit ratio increased


    2. Employee morale high
    3. Market share has increased

    WEAKNESSES

    1. Legal suits not resolved


    2. Plant capacity has fallen
    3. Lack of strategic management system

    OPPORTUNITIES

    1. Western European unification


    2. Rising health consciousness in selecting foods
    3. Demand for soups increasing annually

    Opportunity-Strength (OS) Strategies

    Acquire food company in Europe (S1, S3, O1)

    Develop new healthy soups (S2, O2)

    Opportunity-Weakness (OW) Strategies

    Develop new Pepperidge Farm products (W1, O2, O3)

    THREATS

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    1. Low value of dollar
    2. Tin cans are not biodegradable

    Threat-Strength (TS) Strategies

    Develop new biodegradable soup containers (S1, T2)

    Threat-Weakness (TW) Strategies

    Close unprofitable European operations (W3, T1)

    This example also illustrates how threats can become opportunities (and vice versa). The
    limitation of tin cans (which aren't biodegradable) creates an opportunity for leadership in
    developing biodegradable containers.

    See Tools for a basic SWOT form that you can use to prompt analysis. Whatever format
    you use, though, don't be surprised if your strengths and weaknesses don't precisely
    match up to your opportunities and threats. You might need to refine, or you might need
    to simply look at the facts longer, from a different angle. Your chart, list or table will
    certainly reveal patterns.

    Listing Your Internal Factors: Strengths and Weaknesses (S, W)

    Internal factors include your resources and experiences. General areas to consider are:

    Human resources - staff, volunteers, board members, target population


    Physical resources - your location, building, equipment (Does your building have a prime
    location? Does it need renovations?)
    Financial - grants, funding agencies, other sources of income
    Activities and processes - programs you run, systems you employ
    Past experiences - building blocks for learning and success, your reputation in the
    community
    Don't be too modest when listing your strengths. If you're having difficulty naming them,
    start by simply listing your characteristics (e.g., we're small, we're connected to the
    neighborhood). Some of these will probably be strengths.

    Although the strengths and weakness of your organization are your internal qualities,
    don't overlook the perspective of people outside your group. Identify strengths and
    weaknesses from both your own point of view and that of others--those you serve or deal
    with. Do others see problems--or assets--that you don't?

    How do you get information about how outsiders perceive your strengths and
    weaknesses? You may know already if you've listened to those you serve. If not, this
    might be the time to gather that type of information. See "Related Sections" for ideas on
    conducting focus groups, user surveys, listening sessions, and meetings.

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    Listing External Factors: Opportunities and Threats (O, T)

    Cast a wide net for the external part of the assessment. No organization, group, program,
    or neighborhood is immune to outside events and forces. Consider your connectedness,
    for better and worse, as you compile this part of your SWOT list.

    Forces and facts that your group does not control include:

    Future trends - in your field (Is research finding new treatments?) or the culture (Do
    current movies highlight your cause?)
    The economy - local, national, or international
    Funding sources - foundations, donors, legislatures
    Demographics - changes in the age, race, gender, culture of those you serve or in your
    area
    The physical environment (Is your building in a growing part of town? Is the bus
    company cutting routes?)
    Legislation (Do new federal requirements make your job harder or easier?)
    Local, national or international events
    As a tool designed for businesses, the major threat to success for most SWOT
    practitioners is "the competition." Programs to improve the health and well being of
    individuals and communities might not have competitors in the market sense, but there
    could be overlap in services with other agencies that you need to consider. Or, perhaps
    preferences for funding aren't favoring you--you're interested in health promotions, but
    treatment is getting all the resources.

    So it can help to think of the "competition" in a broad sense as you consider threats to
    your effort. Perhaps the competition for your target population's time and attention exists
    in a competing unhealthy habit, such as smoking, or in a societal force like tobacco
    advertising, or even in the lure of couch and TV, which occupy time that might be given
    to exercise.

    How do you create a SWOT analysis?

    Who develops the SWOT?

    The most common users of a SWOT analysis are team members and project managers
    who are responsible for decision-making and strategic planning.

    But don't overlook anyone in the creation stage!

    An individual or small group can develop a SWOT analysis, but it will be more effective
    if you take advantage of many stakeholders. Each person or group offers a different
    perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of your program and has different
    experiences of both.

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    Likewise, one staff member, volunteer or stakeholder may have information about an
    opportunity or threat that is essential to understanding your position and determining your
    future.

    When and where do you develop a SWOT analysis?

    A SWOT analysis is often created during a retreat or planning session that allows several
    hours for both brainstorming and more structured analysis. The best results come when
    participants are encouraged to have an open attitude about possibilities. While you might
    "SWOT" in conjunction with an informational or business session, the tone when
    creating a SWOT analysis is usually collaborative and inclusive.

    When creating the analysis, all people involved are asked to pool their individual and
    shared knowledge and experiences. The more relaxed, friendly and constructive the
    setting and environment, the more truthful, comprehensive, insightful and useful your
    analysis will be. [See Checklist for Conducting the SWOT Analysis].

    How do you develop a SWOT analysis?

    Here's one way to proceed in a gathering to produce your analysis.

    Designate a leader or group facilitator who has good listening and group process skills,
    and who can keep things moving and on track.

    Designate a recorder to back up the leader if your group is large. Use newsprint on a flip
    chart or a large board to record the analysis and discussion points. You can record later in
    a more polished fashion to share with stakeholders and to update.

    Introduce the SWOT method and its purpose in your organization. This can be as simple
    as asking, "Where are we, where can we go?" If you have time, you could run through a
    quick example based on a shared experience or well-known public issue (even the new
    TV season).

    Depending on the nature of your group and the time available, let all participants
    introduce themselves. Then divide your stakeholders into smaller groups. If your retreat
    or meeting draws several groups of stakeholders together, make sure you mix the small
    groups to get a range of perspectives, and give them a chance to introduce themselves.

    The size of these depends on the size of your entire group-breakout; groups can range
    from three to ten. If the size gets much larger, some members may not participate.

    Have each group designate a recorder, and provide each with newsprint or dry-erase
    board. Direct them to create a SWOT analysis in the format you choose: a chart, columns,
    a matrix, or even a page for each quality.

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    Give the groups 20-30 minutes to brainstorm and fill out their own strengths, weakness,
    opportunities and threats chart for your program, initiative or effort. Encourage them not
    to rule out any ideas at this stage, or the next.

    You can provide these tips for listing:

    As you list, keep in mind that the way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.
    Refinement can come later. In this way, the SWOT analysis also supports valuable
    discussion within your group or organization as you honestly assess.

    In the beginning, though, it helps to generate lots of comments about your organization
    and your program, and even to put them in multiple categories if that provokes thought.

    In the end, it is best to limit your lists to 10 or fewer points and to be specific so the
    analysis can be truly helpful.
    Reconvene the group at the agreed-upon time to share results. Gather information from
    the groups, recording on the flip-chart or board. Collect and organize the differing groups'
    ideas and perceptions, using one of the following methods.

    Decide beforehand how you will gather the input. There are at least two ways to do so:

    Proceed in S-W-O-T order, recording strengths first, weaknesses second, etc.

    Or, you can begin by calling for the top priorities in each category--the strongest strength,
    most dangerous weakness, biggest opportunity, worst threat--and continue to work across
    each category.

    There are also two ways to take information from the groups.

    Ask one group at a time to report ("Group A, what do you see as strengths?") You can
    vary which group begins the report so a certain group isn't always left "bringing up the
    end" and repeating points made by others. ("Group B, let's start with you for
    weaknesses.")

    Or, you can open the floor to all groups ("What strengths have you noted?") for each
    category until all have contributed what they think is needed.

    Whichever way you proceed, the facilitator or recorder should keep writing until the
    input from all groups is recorded. Note repeated items across groups for "weighting" of
    important possibilities.

    You might want to discuss some of the items as they come up. In fact, cross connections
    between categories--"This strength plays into that opportunity"--is what you're pursuing,
    so a good facilitator will tease out those insights as they arise.

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    At the same time, you want to keep the process moving until all the chart is complete, so
    facilitator and recorder should work together to begin a fifth column or new page one for
    working ideas.

    Encourage the participants to also make notes of ideas and insights as you build, so the
    drawing together process will continue to be creative and collaborative.

    Discuss and record the results. Depending on your time frame and purpose:

    come to some consensus about most important items in each category

    relate the analysis to your vision, mission, and goals

    translate the analysis to action plans and strategies.

    If appropriate, prepare a written summary of the SWOT analysis to give or mail to


    participants for continued use in planning and implementing your effort. [See Checklist
    for Conducting the SWOT Analysis].

    How do you use your SWOT analysis?

    In some ways a SWOT analysis pushes you to think "inside the box" by asking you to
    categorize with such simple terms of opposition. But the purpose of this information
    gathering is definitely to help you move outside the box of any constraints or limitations
    that may have hindered you before.

    Knowledge is indeed power, and knowing what the positives and negatives of your
    program are puts you in a more powerful position for action. While a SWOT analysis is
    not in itself action, it can be a "support team" to help you:

    Identify the issues or problems you intend to change


    Set or reaffirm goals
    Create an action plan
    The example included with this section illustrates how SWOT can help discover areas for
    action.

    And as you consider your analysis, remember the half-full glass. Be open to the
    possibilities that exist within a weakness or threat. Likewise, recognize that an
    opportunity can become a threat if everyone else sees the opportunity and plans to take
    advantage of it--thereby increasing your competition.

    Finally, during your assessment and planning, you might keep an image in mind to help
    you make the most of a SWOT analysis: Look for a "stretch," not just a "fit." As Radha
    Balamuralikrishna and John C. Dugger of Iowa State University point out, SWOT usually
    reflects your current position or situation, therefore one drawback is that it might not
    encourage openness to new possibilities. You can use SWOT to justify a course that has

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    already been decided upon, but if your goal is to grow or improve, you will want to use it
    differently. (See "Internet Resources" below for this article.)

    To Sum Up

    A realistic recognition of the weaknesses and threats that exist for your effort is the first
    step to countering them with a robust and creative set of strengths and opportunities. A
    SWOT analysis identifies your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to assist
    you in making strategic plans and decisions.

    SWOT is a simple yet comprehensive way of assessing the positive and negative forces
    within and without your organization, so you can be better prepared to act effectively.
    The more stakeholders you involve in preparing the SWOT, the more valuable your
    analysis will be.

    Whatever courses of action you decide on, the four-cornered SWOT analysis prompts
    you to move in a balanced way throughout your program. It reminds you to:

    Build on your strengths


    Minimize your weaknesses
    Seize opportunities
    Counteract threats
    A SWOT analysis will be most helpful if you use it to support the vision, mission, and
    objectives you have already defined. The SWOT will at least provide perspective, and at
    best will reveal connections and areas for action.

    Source: University of Kansas, Community Tool Box: http://ctb.ku.edu/

    Resources

    David, Fred R. (1993). Strategic Management, 4th Ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing
    Company.

    Jones, Bernie. (1990). Neighborhood Planning: A Guide for Citizens and Planners.
    Chicago and Washington, D.C.: Planners Press, American Planning Association.

    Internet Resources

    http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JVTE/v12n1/Balamuralikrishna.html

    Radha Balamuralikrishna and John C. Dugger describe use of a SWOT analysis to initiate
    new programs in vocational schools; article appeared in Journal of Vocational and
    Technical Education.

    http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm

    1011
    A quick overview from Mindtools Books.

    SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Renault, Val.


    Community Assessment, Agenda Setting, and Choice of Broad Strategies. University of
    Kansas. n.d. English.

    Source:- https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/operations/mang-
    sys/planning/2SWOTAnalysisS.htm

    Know Your SWOT Written By: |March 4, 2015 |


    Our school on all working days ends with a short evening prayer by teachers and students
    together. As an observer teacher, I always inspire teachers and students to turn their
    attention to the events of the day as recapitulation of what meaningful tasks they did as a
    self evaluation drill. This routine practice, as I have experienced, gives teachers and
    learners the opportunity to analyse themselves independently and prepare for better
    responsibility for the next day.

    For the overall study of a teacher’s career skills as well as holistic progression of learners,
    SWOT analysis tool can come handy to analyse ourselves more structurally if planned,
    prepared and practiced well by pedagogically strong and skilled professionals, analysts
    and teachers and even learners.

    SWOT analysis is an alternative, termed as SWOT matrix, that can be carried on in an


    organisation, place, person, project, or plan. As an individual learner, a group or an
    organisation, we face many hardships in achieving competency while reaching our goals
    and so often we have to give up our plans on the way and our career growth goes down
    the scale of our expectations. Therefore, we remain stunted and below par with our
    counterparts and those to whom we are accountable. Thus, this analysis can be extremely
    beneficial not only for teachers but also for students as SWOT offers helpful baseline
    information for a group of people/learners or organisation that want a vision for their
    future or analyse a problem.

    The term SWOT used in ellipsis stands for our ‘Strengths’, ‘Weaknesses’,
    ‘Opportunities’ and ‘Threats’.

    For instance, the English language teachers’ team in your school might do a SWOT
    analysis to look for ways to grow and become more competent in English language skills.
    At the same time the team or group can sit together and identify the areas of major
    weaknesses of language learners. Similar efforts can be initiated in other subjects as well.

    To carry out SWOT analysis, start by drawing a large square on a white board, chart or
    paper. Divide the square into quadrants. Label the upper left quadrant ‘Strengths’, the
    lower left ‘Weaknesses’, the upper right ‘Opportunities’ and the lower right ‘Threats’.

    1012
    Just let the group undergoing SWOT analysis learn that strengths and weaknesses are
    internal and opportunities and threats are external factors.

    Strengths

    Strength in one’s life has many interpretations. All of us are born with unique capabilities
    and skills, and the way to build one’s strength is to focus on these specific skills and grow
    with them. Some people run fast, others are flexible, some can lift significant weight.
    When it comes to mental muscles, there has been significant research work done in the
    past decade on identifying natural strengths.

    SWOT as a strength measuring tool can be helpful in identifying internal as well as


    external strengths of individuals, children or teachers through giving and taking feedback,
    preparing specific questionnaires, maintaining anecdotal records, conducting group
    activities on inter and intra level.

    In fact, CBSE or ICSE and state board run schools have started implementation of
    students’ core strength measuring under CCE plan. For teachers, CTET is another
    proficiency and skill measuring test. But still there is need for developing more
    comprehensive tools for routine skill evaluation to benefit the larger teaching and
    learning fraternity.

    A methodical study of the individual’s external and inborn strengths and abilities may
    make him/her go from strength to strength. Knowing where one comes in strong and
    where one needs assistance can help him/her to stabilise personal life and foster
    proficiency. By SWOT analysis we can easily carry out a survey of a person’s growth in
    all relevant spheres. Just look at these questions.

    Which of your achievements you are proud of this year?What subjects or topics were you
    good at?What worked for you in your approach to learning?What are you proud of
    achieving?What new skills did you develop?What personal resources can you access?
    What values do you excel in that others fail to exhibit?
    Weaknesses:

    Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, a French bishop, theologian and well-known orator once said,
    ‘The greatest weakness of all is the great fear of appearing weak.’ So often many issues
    concerned with individual growth in career hold us back and we are not able to overcome
    them. For example, in school a teacher may suffer individually from low self esteem and
    the same weakness may pass on to his pupils and vice versa. The first and foremost
    concern here is to analyse weaknesses by choosing a set of evaluation tools by self or
    others objectively or subjectively formulated by test battery questionnaire. For example:

    What were your greatest challenges in achieving your personal goals at school?What did
    you find difficult this year in your vocation/ academics?Are you fully confident in your
    educational skill training and learning level?What are your negative work traits and

    1013
    habits?What skills do you feel needed more work?What areas of your approach did you
    struggle with?When did you not feel confident about your ability to succeed?
    One must consider personal internal or external perceptions in a very truthful and realistic
    way. Always admit that weaknesses occur, be specific about them, seek guidance from
    others, assess yourself regularly, forget the past and do your best for the next time. I
    remember an old Chinese proverb – ‘A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single
    step’.

    Opportunities:

    Opportunities knock at everybody’s door but all can’t dare to get up to open the door and
    hug them whole heartedly. Throughout my teaching career, I have never let a chance or
    opportunity turn back from my door. I recall my school principal who would often put me
    in hard challenges of doing difficult but novel tasks in the beginning of my school
    teaching career. As a learning teacher I never declined to face challenges. This helped me
    to embark upon a successful teaching career.

    In SWOT analysis a teacher or student can be best judged by self or others by giving or
    taking feedback on the following or likewise set of questions individually or in a group
    prepared for self judgment vis-a-vis team or group evaluation.

    What could you do to build your strengths and deal with your weaknesses?Who did you
    encounter this year that might be able to help you on this journey?What will be different
    about next year that will create opportunities to change?What could you personally do
    differently in your approach to school next year?What one thing could you change that
    would make the biggest difference to you in being a more effective teacher/ learner?
    As teachers we too must learn to embrace new opportunities and should take them to
    pupils. Children at school must be given new challenging opportunities like prepare a
    ‘School News Bulletin’, ‘Design a collage on a given topic’, ‘Present a Radio Show’ in
    the morning assembly session, ‘Share your Success story’, ‘Interview of a teacher or the
    Principal by Learners’, etc. Even the slow learners or low achievers must be an essential
    part of new learning opportunities of their level and interest.

    Threats:

    Our assessment system despite several new and novel tools of evaluation still suffers
    from a multitude of defects. It instills in us the fear of failure. In education, SWOT
    analysis at the grass root level may help to redress these fears. Threats are challenges that
    will surely come but no challenge must overpower or overtake us in our drive to success.

    Under SWOT analysis as a teacher we must learn to chalk out the real threats when we
    try to accomplish something. Let us ask ourselves these questions and find out the causes
    of our shortcomings.

    What are the biggest obstacles before you in making changes in your career/ learning?
    Are there other individuals you work with who make your work difficult?What stops you

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    from achieving what you are capable of?What challenges do you face in staying
    motivated to do your school work?What challenges do you face in managing distractions
    and procrastination?
    Make it certain that threats are external trespasses that may attempt to stall your passage
    to new learning. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, and teacher of the
    deaf got many accolades as a child. His later life was full of threats and failures. But his
    SWOT intelligence was strong and he learnt much from his early failures. He himself
    made this famous announcement ‘When one door closes another door opens, but we often
    look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the one which
    has opened for us.’

    Ashok Singh Guleria


    Ashok Singh Guleria teacher of 19 years standing, is a post- graduate in English
    Literature. He writes on pedagogical issues and children’s behavioural concerns.
    Currently, he is the Head of Department of English and Academic coordinator cum
    Teachers’ Trainer at the Akal Academy Group of Schools, Kajri U.P.

    Source:- http://www.progressiveteacher.in/know-your-swot/

    How to Help Your School Thrive Without Breaking the Bank


    by John G. Gabriel and Paul C. Farmer
    Table of Contents

    Chapter 2. Developing a Vision and a Mission

    Imagine that you have a rare weekend without any professional responsibilities: no
    papers to grade, no lessons to plan, no activities to cover. To take advantage of this
    unexpected free time, you and three friends decide to go on a fishing excursion to a lake
    known as one of the best largemouth bass habitats in the eastern United States. Through
    e-mail messages, telephone conversations, and brief get-togethers, the four of you
    coordinate transportation, lodging, the time of departure, and other details.
    It would seem reasonable to assume that you were all going with ambitions to catch
    largemouth bass. However, what would happen to the trip's camaraderie and outcome if
    each person's vision of the weekend differed from that assumption? What if one person
    plans to spot eagles, another is looking for lakefront property, and a third hopes to catch
    anything that will pull on the line, while you are there for sun and leisure?
    You could have avoided any confusion and better harnessed efforts by explicitly asking
    your companions during the planning stages,
    What is the actual purpose of the trip?
    What are the goals of the attendees?
    What does everyone envision for the weekend?
    Has everyone shared these things with one another?
    Whatever the context, the point is the same: if a group wants to move forward, it needs to
    develop an understood, agreed-on purpose. With a couple of word substitutions, you

    1015
    could ask those bulleted questions of any leadership team or department in your school. If
    the team has a healthy culture, its members would likely give similar answers.

    Stopping to confirm common goals among the stakeholders will help the team meet its
    objectives.

    Developing strong vision and mission statements can help stakeholders in your school
    reach such a common understanding. A vision is your school's goal—where you hope to
    see it in the future. The mission provides an overview of the steps planned to achieve that
    future. A vision is concise and easy to recall, whereas a mission is lengthier and more
    explanatory in nature. Your school may also want to establish targets along the way to
    measure progress toward its vision. We begin this chapter with developing your school's
    vision, because you need to know where you want to be before you can determine how
    you plan to get there.
    Drafting the Vision Statement
    According to the Task Force on Developing Research in Educational Leadership (2003),
    "Effective educational leaders help their schools to develop or endorse visions that
    embody the best thinking about teaching and learning. School leaders inspire others to
    reach for ambitious goals" (p. 3). Your school must have a vision that all staff members
    recognize as a common direction of growth, something that inspires them to be better. An
    effective vision also announces to parents and students where you are heading and why
    they should take the trip with you.
    Without a vision, your school lacks direction. As the ancient Roman philosopher Seneca
    observed, "If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind." If you
    don't have a common, agreed-on destination, then everyone is left to his or her own
    devices to imagine one—a scenario that results in unharnessed and unfocused efforts,
    with everyone believing that what he or she is doing is right. A common understanding of
    the destination allows all stakeholders to align their improvement efforts. And the best
    part of planning for this journey is that it doesn't cost anything to decide where you want
    to go.

    One of the most important responsibilities of any leader is establishing a vision and
    inviting others to share in its development.

    As important as the vision is, we have found that keeping it alive throughout the year is
    not an easy task. For you to get the most out of your vision, you must first remove the
    barriers from making it an integral, vibrant facet of the school community.
    Eliminate Obstacles
    One of the first obstacles that will come up is people's fear of change. Creating or
    adjusting a vision statement is an unmistakable indicator of imminent change. It is helpful
    to have an idea of the internal dialogues your staff members will likely be having before,
    during, and even after the development of the new vision. (This also applies to the
    development of a new mission.) Listening to and validating staff members' thoughts will
    help them cope with the change as they ask themselves the following questions:
    What is the need for a new vision?
    Will I be able to live with the new vision?

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    Will I be able to support the new vision?
    What will the new vision expect of me?
    How will my world change as a result?
    Will I be able to continue doing what I've always done? Why or why not?
    Do I believe in this new vision?
    Do I believe in my school's ability to achieve this vision?
    Do I believe I can help make the vision happen?
    Another potential obstacle to creating a powerful vision is the reality that vision
    statements are often created perfunctorily and lack follow-through. They are usually the
    result of a directive to "get it done" by a certain date and delivered to a central office
    supervisor.
    Such directives often lead to vision statements that have been created in a rush by one
    person or by a small group of individuals with no input from other stakeholders. Such
    statements are rarely understood or acknowledged by others in the school, and who can
    blame them? The process precludes genuine buy-in. Although school leadership must
    have a vision for the future, it should be used as a way to open up a dialogue rather than
    be handed down from on high.

    Don't rush the vision statement; doing so leads to skepticism, stress, and distrust, which
    will lead to a statement that will eventually be ignored.

    Because these closed approaches to developing vision statements are incredibly common,
    most staff members are turned off by the mere mention of the words vision and mission
    and groan at the prospect of yet another initiative that will eventually be forgotten—that
    after a flurry of activity, the vision will be shelved alongside the school improvement
    plan, out of the reach and off the minds of staff members. Because they had little
    involvement in it, they see no real reason to dedicate themselves to it. If setbacks occur
    along the way, most will shrug their shoulders because they weren't committed and
    invested in the first place.
    You can avoid these obstacles by creating a fresh and meaningful vision statement with
    the involvement of the entire faculty. The collective force and talent of the faculty is
    more likely to be realized when there is a common understanding of a shared vision. As
    Bamburg (1994) notes, "The schools that have been most successful in addressing and
    increasing the academic achievement of their students have benefited from a clarity of
    purpose that is grounded in a shared set of core values" (p. 14). We define values as the
    behaviors, beliefs, and actions that a school finds important.

    Ask yourself, Do I understand what this organization values, believes in, and hopes to
    be?

    The size of most schools' faculties prevents them from being as productive or as effective
    as smaller groups, but their full investment is still crucial. We recommend that you first
    form a team that, with training and guidance, will introduce the concept of a vision,
    facilitate and engage faculty in the process of writing one, and synthesize the multiple
    values and visions that the faculty develops. Ultimately, this team is the one putting
    together the pieces of the puzzle. This team may be made up of the members of the

    1017
    shared leadership team, or it could be composed of other staff members in the building as
    long as all departments are represented. Opting for the latter provides leadership
    opportunities for staff members who are not already formal teacher leaders. For our
    purposes here, we will refer to this collection of leaders as the vision oversight team.
    Share Examples of Vision Statements
    When you meet with the vision oversight team, sharing examples of vision statements
    with them is an important first step. This will help them better understand what a vision
    statement is, which in turn will help them assist the faculty when they facilitate its work.
    It's easy to find examples of real vision statements on the Internet. Here are a few to start
    with:
    Every Battlefield High School student will achieve personal success and become a
    responsible and productive citizen.
    The Richard Montgomery cluster will work collaboratively to ensure all students
    succeed. Placing the highest priority on reading and writing instruction will support
    consistent student achievement so that all students attain grade-level or higher
    performance levels annually, as measured by county, state, and national assessments.
    Partnerships across the cluster will sustain student success so that all students will read
    fluently by the end of Grade 2, write proficiently in both narrative and expository modes,
    pass algebra by the end of Grade 8, pass all High School Assessments on the first
    attempt, and graduate on schedule with the skills and knowledge required for success in
    higher education and/or the workplace.
    Our vision, as a community, is to inspire a passion for learning.
    All Potomac Senior High School students will achieve personal success in their learning
    and become responsible and productive citizens.
    At Brentsville District we believe that all students can learn to their fullest potential.
    Student learning will be enhanced by national, global, and multicultural perspectives.
    Graduates will possess the basic knowledge and skills that will assure their proficiency in
    problem solving and technology. They will be responsible citizens, lifelong learners, and
    will be prepared for a variety of postgraduation options.
    We will devote our human resources and technology to create superior products and
    services, thereby contributing to a better global society.
    Our vision for the future is to be the customer's first and best choice in the products and
    services we provide.
    There is a "Marriott Way." It's about serving the associates, the customer, and the
    community. Marriott's fundamental beliefs are enduring and the keys to its continued
    success.
    —Battlefield High School, Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia
    —Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
    —John T. Baker Middle School, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
    —Potomac Senior High School, Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia
    —Brentsville District High School, Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia
    —Samsung Electronics, America
    —State Farm Insurance
    —Marriott
    After presenting these examples to the vision oversight team members, give them time to
    discuss their impressions of them with one another, and then lead a discussion with the

    1018
    entire team. You can ask the following questions to generate some dialogue on the
    statements:
    What patterns do you see in the statements?
    What do you like or dislike in the statements?
    Are the statements easy to understand?
    Are the statements too vague, or are they specific enough?
    Are they too long? Too short?
    Do the statements express an idea or a hope for the future?
    Are they too unambitious? Too "pie in the sky"?
    Do they contain adjectives or goals that are more appropriate for a mission statement?
    Do they clarify a direction for the school and for its improvement efforts?
    You should also make sure to have copies of your school's current vision statement at the
    meeting so that participants can compare it with the examples. By discussing the current
    statement, the sample statements, the bulleted questions, and pertinent articles that you
    might wish to share as well, the vision oversight team should be able to reach an
    understanding of what makes a strong vision statement. You might also urge team
    members to explain to the faculty how the vision is a reflection of the school's values and
    hopes: it offers an opportunity to dream bigger, so stress to the team that it shouldn't let
    the faculty develop a "get-by statement," something that expresses a notion of mere
    adequacy. Tell team members to get the faculty to articulate what it is they truly want
    from their students and school. Graduation or job attainment is the bare minimum of what
    most educators hope for their students. The vision oversight team might consider having
    teachers brainstorm a list of adjectives or values and beliefs that will help them come up
    with an inspirational, compelling vision.
    Present Data to the Vision Oversight Team
    Before you involve the entire school in working toward a vision, you should first share
    some data with the vision oversight team. Doing so is important for two reasons. First,
    you want the vision oversight team to be familiar and comfortable with the data; since
    team members will in turn be sharing the data with the faculty, they should have a strong
    working knowledge of them so they are equipped to answer questions and help the staff
    understand what they are looking at. Second, as Bamburg (1994) observes, "Only when
    schools develop a shared understanding of current reality can a commitment to change be
    initiated and sustained" (p. 23). Reviewing data as an oversight team and then as a faculty
    is essential to help everyone identify where the school currently stands while also
    determining where they would like to be. Without a general understanding of the current
    data, the development of the vision could go in as many directions as there are opinions.
    The data provide a common, objective understanding and a solid foundation to build on.
    Important data can be found everywhere in the daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly life of a
    school community. Too often, however, we associate data solely with student test results
    when there are other, sometimes more significant, data to examine. The vision oversight
    team and, eventually, the faculty should review
    Student attendance rates.
    Student tardies.
    Staff attendance rates and days most often missed.
    Department or grade-level staff absenteeism.
    Staff turnover rates.

    1019
    Student enrollment in sports or clubs.
    Disciplinary incidents (including types of referrals and where they occur among teachers,
    teams, and departments) and dispositions (including detention, in-school suspension,
    suspension, and expulsion).
    State assessment results.
    Local common assessment results.
    Standardized achievement test results.
    Advanced Placement (AP) test or International Baccalaureate (IB) test results.
    Preloading the vision oversight team with these data will give team members the
    background knowledge they need to develop a vision in collaboration with the entire
    faculty.
    Involve Staff in Developing the Vision
    It is now time for the vision oversight team to involve the rest of the faculty in
    developing the vision statement. However they choose to present the examples of vision
    statements, data, and professional literature, be sure they give staff clear directions,
    specific questions, and definite time limits; the faculty will quickly discern fluff or a lack
    of organization, which will immediately turn them off. After they have had an
    opportunity to review and discuss the above items, they can craft their vision statement
    (see Resource 5).
    First, the vision oversight team divides the staff into groups of no more than eight people.
    Then they ask each group to discuss the following questions:
    What evidence can you think of that we are meeting our current vision?
    What kind of school do we hope to be?
    What do you think should be reflected in our vision statement?
    What do we need to do differently to achieve this vision?
    How are we different from other schools?

    Key ideas, values, and beliefs are the beginning of powerful visions.

    Each group should have a scribe whose responsibility it is to record responses, ideas, and
    key terms and phrases that come up during group discussions. It is not necessary for
    groups to develop full sentences or statements at this point.
    After group members have had a sufficient amount of time to share their thoughts with
    one another, each group should select someone to present the information to the rest of
    the staff. At this point, you also need to select a "master scribe" to maintain a master list
    of group responses on poster paper. The master scribe does not need to record
    duplications or similar phrases, although he or she may add checks or tally marks to
    indicate patterns or common ideas emerging from the faculty. The groups' presentations
    are an ideal time to validate responses, affirm staff members' commitment to education,
    and reinforce key ideas and values.
    After each group has had the opportunity to share its information, the vision oversight
    team takes the master list and wordsmiths the key concepts and phrases into a vision
    statement—a one- or two-sentence statement that captures the faculty's image of the
    future. Some members of the team will be so excited by the good information they
    received from working with the faculty that they might find it hard to limit the vision to
    something so short. If so, you might have them work with the faculty to create a school

    1020
    "philosophy"—a lengthier paragraph that would extrapolate the vision. Next, each
    department receives a copy of the vision oversight team's draft vision to review, discuss,
    edit, and return to the team, which then makes appropriate adjustments to the statement.

    When developing a vision, remember that less can be more; keep it short, and your staff
    will remember it longer.

    The vision oversight team then unveils the vision statement to the entire staff at the next
    faculty meeting. At this point, you should celebrate your staff's considerable
    accomplishment in guiding school improvement efforts.
    Drafting the Mission Statement
    A mission statement is the wind that brings you to your desired harbor. It guides your
    travel and powers your momentum. Mission statements "give educators stronger
    motivation and provide parents with a clearer picture of what the school values. … A
    clear vision and a common mission that identify the kind of learning to be achieved can
    help keep the school and the efforts of its staff and students on target" (Peterson, 1995).
    Mission statements are the "how-to" statements or action plans that help schools achieve
    their vision. They prompt change and growth. The mission is the touch point that can
    help you determine whether what should be happening is, in fact, happening.
    Share Examples of Mission Statements
    The responsibility of crafting the mission statement can also lie with an oversight team or
    with the shared leadership team. Ideally, you would implement a process that echoes the
    vision development process by preloading the group with the information necessary to
    guide the staff in the development of a mission statement. Consider the following sample
    mission statements:
    At Battlefield Senior High School, we believe that student learning is the chief priority
    and all students can learn to their fullest potential. Students will develop their individual
    talents, critical thinking, and technology skills by being actively engaged in the learning
    process. Continuous commitment to improvement ensures that our students are well-
    rounded, self-directed, lifelong learners. By maintaining a safe and optimum learning
    environment, we provide the opportunity for students to be successful. Promoting high
    standards and expectations, teachers, administrators, parents, and the community share
    the responsibility for advancing the school's mission.
    In order to prepare students to live in and contribute to a changing world and engage in
    active, lifelong learning, Richard Montgomery High School provides a balanced, varied
    school curriculum designed to meet the academic, cultural, and social needs of
    individuals from the diverse backgrounds of our community.
    John T. Baker Middle School seeks to be an exemplary learning community school. We
    build the foundation of this community through meaningful relationships, relevant and
    engaging learning, and effective communication. We challenge ourselves to be better
    than we think we can be, and advocate for the greater good of our multidimensional
    community. Our success in this mission will build lifelong, confident learners, who have
    the tools necessary for success in a changing world.
    Our mission is to empower all students to apply their acquired skills and knowledge, and
    to rely upon their personal attributes to lead productive lives and to become contributing
    members of the global community.

    1021
    Our mission is to provide a high-quality, comprehensive, and meaningful education for
    all students. Each student will be expected to succeed within the bounds of their abilities
    and chosen educational goals. Each student will be treated as an individual, given the
    tools to be a lifelong learner, and taught to function as a member of a group and as a
    productive member of society.
    State Farm's mission is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the
    unexpected and realize their dreams.
    FedEx will produce superior financial returns for shareowners by providing high value-
    added supply chain, transportation, business and related information services through
    focused operating companies. Customer requirements will be met in the highest quality
    manner appropriate to each market segment served. FedEx will strive to develop
    mutually rewarding relationships with its employees, partners and suppliers. Safety will
    be the first consideration in all operations. Corporate activities will be conducted to the
    highest ethical and professional standards.
    To continually provide our members with quality goods and services at the lowest
    possible prices.
    —Battlefield High School, Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia
    —Richard Montgomery High School, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
    —John T. Baker Middle School, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
    —Potomac Senior High School, Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia
    —Brentsville District High School, Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia
    —State Farm Insurance
    —FedEx
    —Costco Wholesale
    This range of examples should spark some discussion among mission oversight team
    members. You can ask the following questions to generate dialogue on the statements:
    What patterns do you see in the statements?
    Are the statements specific enough?
    Do the statements simply state a belief, or do they express a purpose for existence?
    Do the statements clarify what action steps students and staff will be expected to take to
    achieve the vision?
    Do the statements clarify how staff will engage in improvement efforts?
    The mission statement should encompass the values of the staff, the actions that the
    school will take, and the areas it will address (e.g., curriculum, assessments, data) to
    achieve its vision. The mission statement should be longer than the vision statement
    because it is a specific plan for driving the school to fulfill its potential (see Resource 6).
    After the faculty has worked on the mission using the same procedures they used in
    developing the vision, the mission oversight team again attempts to blend key words,
    phrases, and concepts into a viable statement. During this process, they need to ensure
    that the mission they are crafting aligns with the new vision statement—specifically, that
    the steps, actions, and values stated in the mission are things that will help them achieve
    the vision. The relationship between the mission and the vision must be clear.
    After the mission oversight team has completed the draft, it is sent back to the faculty for
    review and discussion. Then the team meets again to review the feedback and make
    necessary adjustments before a final unveiling to the staff.

    1022
    After the school has adopted the final drafts of both the mission and the vision, invite
    multimedia or art classes to design posters prominently displaying the statements.
    Soliciting these classes' assistance saves money and is a good way to make the vision and
    mission a meaningful part of students' lives. The vision and mission should be sent home
    in newsletters and posted in prominent gathering places throughout the school—
    classrooms, the mailroom, the lunchroom, and so on—to keep it at the forefront of
    people's minds.

    Repetition, design, and placement are strategic ways to keep the mission alive.

    Define What You Intend to Accomplish


    The school's next step is to devise a plan to fulfill its mission. The SMART format—a
    widely used method for developing goals in schools and businesses—provides a
    framework for developing goals and action steps to help you focus on what really needs
    to be done. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time
    Frame. Figure 2.1 demonstrates the difference between traditional goals and progressive
    SMART goals. You can use this table as a guideline to develop your goals, checking to
    make sure that they meet the five parameters.

    Figure 2.1. Analysis of a Traditional Goal and a Progressive Goal Using the SMART
    Framework

    Traditional Goal
    Progressive Goal
    Student achievement will improve.
    The passing rate of limited-English-proficient students will increase from 79 percent to
    85 percent on the Algebra I Standards of Learning (SOL) exam in 2008.
    Specific
    This goal needs more specificity. Which students from our population will improve?
    What aspect of their achievement do we want to see improved? Marking period grades?
    Final course grades? Standardized test scores? The desired outcome is unclear.
    This goal identifies a subgroup, a subject, and a target population and clearly defines the
    desired outcome. We could even break this down further by identifying a tested strand on
    this SOL.
    Measurable
    "Improve" is difficult to quantify. What does it really mean? By how much do we want
    achievement to improve?
    This goal is measurable. It clearly identifies the starting point as 79 percent and the
    minimal acceptable value as 85 percent.
    Achievable
    This goal seems achievable. But we do not really know because the goal does not define
    what it means by "improve."
    You can gauge whether a goal is achievable by asking yourself if the goal is pushing you
    beyond your limits or if it is something you can accomplish if you stretch yourself. A
    goal of improving to a 100 percent passing rate in one year would not be reasonable, but
    a 6 percent increase is.

    1023
    Relevant
    Is this goal relevant to the school's vision and mission? We can't tell because the goal is
    not clear on how it relates to them.
    This goal is relevant because it has identified a specific area of need. It is standards-based
    and directly addresses academic achievement.
    Time Frame
    What is the time frame for reaching this goal? We have no idea whether it's a short-term
    goal or a long-range goal.
    The end date for this goal is the 2008 main testing window.

    After creating your goals, the next step is to develop SMART action steps—tasks or
    activities that you will engage in to achieve the goals. Figure 2.2 depicts an action step
    developed to help meet the SMART goal in Figure 2.1.

    Figure 2.2. Development of an Action Step Using the SMART Framework

    Action Step
    Teachers will incorporate foldables and graphic organizers into their Algebra I class to
    reinforce new terminology.
    Specific
    The action step names two specific strategies and clearly states expectations.
    Measurable
    Teachers can measure their application of the strategies against lesson plans or team
    minutes.
    Achievable
    The strategies are achievable because teachers on the Algebra I team who know how to
    use foldables and graphic organizers agreed to share their expertise with the rest of the
    team.
    Relevant
    This is a relevant action step because achievement has been low and limited-English-
    proficient students have expressed difficulty learning the vocabulary in Algebra I.
    Time Frame
    These strategies will be incorporated when new terminology is introduced in the class.

    Specificity and clarity are key elements. When developing each goal and action step,
    consider the following questions:
    Why does it need to be done?
    Who will be affected, who is responsible, and who will participate? Who is the audience,
    and who are the stakeholders?
    What needs to be done? The "what" should be in direct relation to the purpose.
    When will this take place? When will we know we are done? When can our progress be
    measured?
    How will it be measured? How will you know it was successful?
    Using Vision and Mission to Focus School Improvement

    1024
    The school improvement plan (SIP) is the tool that will help you get the most out of your
    vision, mission, and goals. It is a more detailed document than the mission and vision
    statements. Like the mission statement, it falls within the scope of the vision.
    The SIP is a blueprint for the school's progress toward its goals. It helps propel grade-
    level teams, curriculum teams, and departments toward meaningful improvement. It
    provides detailed expectations for administrators, teachers, counselors, and other
    stakeholders and includes specific plans that guide improvement efforts throughout the
    year. Although the majority of school improvement plans focus on improving student
    achievement through such measures as high-stakes tests, advanced placement exams, and
    the SAT, we recommend enriching the document to include several areas outside the
    realm of assessment. For example, you might add a section about improving student
    attendance or reducing the number of disciplinary infractions. You could seek to increase
    participation in extracurricular activities and athletics and improve the delivery of student
    services offered by the guidance department, the career center, and the library. Use your
    SIP as an opportunity to develop goals, plans, and actions to improve all facets of your
    school's life.

    If we ask students to create a plan for their improvement, we should be open to doing the
    same for ourselves.

    Keep in mind the following points as you develop your school improvement plan:
    Make sure the plan includes a proposal for staff development. If teachers aren't learning
    and growing, it is not likely that students are either.
    An improvement plan is only useful when it is doable. All goals that are developed by
    each department in the school should fall under the umbrella of the school system's goals
    and objectives; if not, you could be trying to do too much or go in too many directions
    and will end up accomplishing very little.
    The SIP should help you not only look forward but also evaluate what has been done in
    the past. Without such reflection, your efforts will be random, unfocused, and
    unsupported.
    Building the School Improvement Plan
    A high-quality school improvement plan is essential for establishing and maintaining a
    healthy culture. Because of its importance, the shaping of and responsibility for the SIP
    must not rest in the hands of a select few. In successful schools we have worked in, a
    group of representative staff members referred to as the SIP team is assigned to work
    with school staff to identify areas of need and develop action plans, which are the specific
    steps and tasks articulated to achieve the stated goals. The SIP team typically consists of
    department chairs, team leaders, administrators, a parent representative, and at least one
    support staff member, such as a secretary or an instructional assistant. However, we
    recommend involving potential teacher leaders in the development of the SIP as well.
    You should conduct the selection process for the SIP team each year to allow everyone
    the opportunity to participate. In some schools where we have worked, these positions
    were highly sought after because they offered opportunities for professional growth.
    We recommend that the team include stakeholders who will be affected by the content of
    the SIP. At the very least, the team should include a representative from each department,
    whether it's the department chair or another staff member (although we do not suggest

    1025
    recruiting a novice teacher). The representative does not hold sole responsibility for
    developing his or her department's portion of the SIP; rather, he or she facilitates the
    collection of the information that the department will include. The representative is
    expected to conduct meetings with department members to discuss what should be
    included in the SIP, establish deadlines for submitting this information, polish the
    information, and return it to his or her departmental colleagues for final approval before
    submitting it for inclusion in the school's master SIP document.
    Formatting the School Improvement Plan
    The best way to identify the essential details for your school's SIP is to consult school
    staff during the SIP development process. If your school does not already have a
    prescribed format, you can use the following list as a starting point. These are all items
    that will add value to your SIP. Note that we are not suggesting you include everything in
    the list below in your SIP, nor do we claim that the list is a complete list of everything
    your school or school system needs to consider when developing its improvement plan:
    Cover page. This should include the title, your school's name, and the date.
    Committee member list. This should include the name and title of each member of the
    SIP team.
    State department vision and mission statements. Most state departments of education
    have a published vision and mission.
    School system vision and mission statements. Most school systems have a published
    vision and mission.
    The school's vision and mission statements. The overarching components of the school's
    vision and mission should fall within the parameters of the school system's vision and
    mission. If the school system does not have vision and mission statements, we still
    recommend that your school develop its own.
    School details and demographics. This includes school statistics on ethnicity; gender;
    English proficiency; economic status; educational designation (e.g., general education,
    gifted, special education, and twice exceptional); graduation rates; percentage of last
    year's students who enrolled in a two-year or four-year college or trade school; and
    enrollment in AP/IB courses.
    NCLB AYP Report Card or High-Stakes Report (depending on the state). If provided by
    the state, include a report of the most recent AYP results for your school by subject,
    grade, and subgroup status.
    School system goals and objectives (if available). These are typically created by the
    school board and/or the superintendent's office. They may be referred to as objectives or
    targets, among other descriptors.
    SIP calendar. The calendar should include the dates and times when the SIP team is
    expected to meet and when it is expected to deliver content and evidence of efforts and
    completion.
    Departmental goals. These goals focus on improving student achievement or delivery of
    services (for example, from the guidance department, the main office, and so on) specific
    to each department or team.
    Indicators of achievement. These are specific indicators or results that will be reviewed to
    determine effectiveness.
    Areas of focus. These include specific content areas, skills, standards, anchors,
    populations, and services that are targeted in the SIP.

    1026
    Action plans for each department or grade-level team. Each department's specific action
    plan includes data sources, point of contact, potential costs, staff development efforts,
    required materials, activities, and time line to put the action plan in place and measure its
    effect.
    The sections of the school improvement plan that are specific to individual departments
    and grade-level teams should provide focus for each of the areas with regard to content
    delivery. For example, in our version, items 10–13 would include any department in the
    building. In this case, we use the math department as an example, which might have an
    overall goal such as "Student passing rates on the Geometry Standards of Learning
    [Virginia's year-end high-stakes assessment] will improve from 81 percent to 86 percent
    in the following year." In some cases, the goal may target certain populations, such as
    "The percentage of African American students successfully completing geometry will
    increase from 73 percent to 80 percent by the end of the following school year."
    Departments and grade-level teams should measure their efforts and indicators of
    effectiveness against these goals on a monthly basis to obtain objective information to
    fuel their discussions.
    We purposely mention "areas of focus" in item 12 to hone efforts and add value to
    departmental discussions about curriculum delivery. In this section of the SIP you would
    find statements such as "During the 2008–2009 school year, the mathematics department
    will increase focus on (1) patterns, functions, and algebra and (2) numbers and number
    sense." At least once a month, the department or team should assess the extent to which
    its content delivery hit these specific areas of focus.
    Reviewing the School Improvement Plan
    When the SIP is finalized, it should become a public document, accessible to all staff.
    Posting the SIP electronically will save paper and photocopying expenses, although you
    might want to divide the document by department or team and print a hard copy of each
    section.
    We encourage schools to conduct quarterly reviews of the SIP and periodically monitor
    their progress. Item 13 of the SIP includes timelines for completion and evidence of
    attainment. These checkpoints are a good time to assess the extent to which teams are
    following through on their action plans. Waiting until the end of the year to conduct
    reviews will prevent staff from making needed changes along the way, and the following
    year may start with a stagnant, less-than-effective SIP.
    Realizing Your Vision and Mission
    Vision and mission statements provide schools with an essential overview of where they
    want to go and what they want to be. Few thriving schools or companies attained their
    success without developing such statements as elements of their school improvement
    plans or business plans. But merely drafting statements is not enough. To realize your
    school's vision and mission, you must model your school's beliefs, values, and collective
    commitments while demonstrating enthusiasm for what will come next. Perhaps most
    important, your vision and mission establish clear expectations and standards for your
    staff. We further discuss how to get the most out of your staff in the following chapter.
    Getting Started
    Identify and train vision and mission oversight teams.
    If there are existing vision and mission statements, review them to determine their
    relevance and accuracy.

    1027
    Devise a meaningful plan to involve the staff in either revising the existing vision and
    mission statements or creating new ones.
    Ask probing questions to guide staff in developing their vision and mission.
    Use data to identify areas that need improvement and establish SMART goals.
    Recruit members for a school improvement plan team.
    Copyright © 2009 by Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. All
    rights reserved. No part of this publication—including the drawings, graphs, illustrations,
    or chapters, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles—may be reproduced
    or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
    photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without
    permission from ASCD.

    Source:- http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/107042/chapters/developing-a-vision-
    and-a-mission.aspx

    Insights into Action


    by William Sterrett
    Table of Contents

    Chapter 1. Turning Vision into Reality

    The number-one determinant of a school's success is the leader. I have to be throughout


    the school. When people are on the school grounds, they have got to see and feel my
    leadership in the lobby, to feel me, throughout the halls.
    —Baruti Kafele

    Action Items
    Make morning announcements
    Send a daily e-mail to staff
    Attend community events
    Conduct effective meetings

    A Living Vision
    "Good morning, good morning, good morning," the booming voice intones as students
    step off the bus and onto the school grounds. Principal Baruti Kafele extends his hand to
    and makes eye contact with every student as he or she enters the building—his building.
    Minutes later, over the public announcement system, he urges students to "have your best
    day yet while maintaining a positive attitude." Not content to sit behind his desk and push
    papers, Kafele stresses the importance of articulating a vision and then modeling that
    vision each day—during each classroom visit, each conversation with a staff member,
    and each discussion with a parent.
    Principal Kafele embodies what researchers call change leadership. He began his career
    in education as a substitute teacher in Brooklyn. Just completing his fourth principalship,
    Kafele is known for taking the reins of a school in crisis and transforming the entire
    school community. He served for the last five years at Newark Tech High School in
    Newark, New Jersey, a school where more than 85 percent of students are eligible for

    1028
    free or reduced-price lunch—and one that boasts a graduation rate of over 95 percent.
    Named a 2009 Milken National Educator, Kafele is author of the best-selling book
    Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life and speaks to audiences across
    the United States. He credits his schools' successes to his vision and his visibility.
    The Importance of Vision
    In interviewing Principal Kafele, I quickly realized that he believes the school leader is
    the essential component in realizing a meaningful vision. He is not shy about noting the
    critical factor to transformative change in an education system: "It's me," he says bluntly.
    "I don't care what the circumstances of the students are—where they are from, their home
    life. We have to see success in them, we have to envision excellence in them. That drives
    everything I say, everything I think, everything I do as a leader… The number-one
    determinant of a school's success is the leader."
    Researcher Judith Kafka (2009) agrees, noting that "a growing body of literature suggests
    that there is a discernible relationship between school leaders' actions and student
    achievement" (p. 318). Goldring and Schuermann (2009) take it further, asserting that
    "today's educational leaders need to motivate community-mindedness to address
    communitywide problems that are central to schools and the current imperatives of
    student achievement" (p. 16).
    Kafele stresses, however, that school success cannot rest on one leader's personality. As
    he explains, "My focus is having the students develop a vision for themselves and
    transforming their attitudes, taking ownership of the vision. The rest—the test scores and
    achievement gaps—will take care of themselves."
    Forming, articulating, and living such a vision is crucial to sustained leadership in a
    school. Schools and other organizations spend an abundance of time on developing their
    visions, often bringing in outside consultants to help. A school's vision should be more
    than empty words plastered on a marquee sign; it must have rich, relevant meaning. It is
    up to the leader to embody this vision every day. Each and every interaction serves as an
    opportunity to highlight where the school is headed.
    When I became an elementary school principal in 2006, I wrote a letter to the community
    introducing myself and inviting parents to come in over the summer months to meet and
    chat. Little did I know how busy those "slow" summer months would be. Questions
    abounded about "the new guy," and I'll never forget the first parent who came into my
    office. I tried to make small talk and ask about her summer, but she got right to the point.
    "Dr. Sterrett," she said, looking me straight in the eyes, "what is your vision for the
    school?" I paused. I recognized the importance of the question and knew that the answer
    wasn't something I could just whip up or pull from a book. My response had to be sincere
    and relevant, and it had to speak to her child's success. My mind raced, and I searched for
    something profound to say. Eventually, I came up with "challenging all students to
    achieve high levels of success," which was apparently acceptable to the parent, who
    respectfully nodded in agreement. But that question stuck with me for years.
    Visions drive organizations into the future. Bolman and Deal (2003) note that "vision
    turns an organization's core ideology, or sense of purpose, into an image of what the
    future might become" (p. 252). Because of the importance of vision to a school, it must
    be clear to the entire school community. Sparks (2007) observes that successful leaders
    must "cultivate clarity regarding values and fundamental purposes that are most
    important" (p. 13).

    1029
    In today's schools, particularly in high schools such as the one that Kafele leads,
    educators value their creativity and autonomy. Some independently minded educators
    may equate articulating a consistent, clear vision with attempting to herd cats.
    Fortunately, autonomy and shared vision are not mutually exclusive. Kafele maintains
    that staff members can coexist and thrive under a common vision. He secures the support
    of his staff by rejecting micromanagement in favor of tying teachers' individual strengths
    to a shared vision of success for all students.
    Kafele believes in keeping vision statements simple. Use one sentence—two at most—
    and make sure it identifies a clear direction. Kafele's most recent school's vision
    statement is "Newark Tech will become a national model of urban educational
    excellence" (Essex County Vocational Technical Schools, 2011). This simple, concise
    statement is easily memorized and understood. And, as demonstrated by the many awards
    and accolades received by the school, it has been achieved.
    The Importance of Visibility
    Vision and visibility are necessarily intertwined for today's school leaders. Whereas each
    is important in its own right, given the numerous challenges that today's building leader
    faces, they must be fused together to sustain success.
    Principal Kafele's tall frame is often seen striding down the hallways of his school, from
    room to room, with the deliberate purpose of interacting with students. He explains, "You
    show me a school with a principal behind the desk, and I'll show you a school without
    principal leadership." The successful principal must be constantly "taking the pulse" of
    the school community. Kafele views successful visibility through both an individual and
    a team lens, noting that "in basketball, you recall Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were
    often out there and visible, though they were also content to allow the team around them
    to grow and win. Sometimes they carried the team, other times they were more in the
    periphery, but together they won." Similarly, Kafele notes that although he is usually "out
    there" serving as a visible leader, he can't be everywhere at once; to realize sustained
    success, he must have a strong team around him.
    Above all, Kafele stresses availability and consistency as the key elements of visibility.
    Availability
    Kafele ensures that he is constantly available to those with whom he works, particularly
    students. In a video documentary about Principal Kafele (Milken Family Foundation,
    2010), a parent happily observes that "his students have his cell phone number; they can
    call him 24 hours [a day], and that's really unheard of." He has also been known to tweet
    news of students' achievements from airports while awaiting connecting flights.
    Other educators may make themselves available through designated online office hours
    during which they respond immediately to e-mails or instant messages about school-
    related issues. Availability might mean attending a community breakfast at a local
    housing complex to celebrate a tutoring program in the district, or it might mean
    dropping by a Little League game where a number of students and families congregate.
    Availability says, "I am working with you—here, in our community—to make a
    difference. You matter to me, and I want our work to matter to you." Although the means
    of availability may differ, the importance of it does not.
    Consistency
    Successful educational leaders build regular "touch points" into their day during which
    they consistently reach out to the school community. Kafele's touch points occur during

    1030
    students' arrival at the beginning of the day, morning announcements, and daily
    classroom visits. Other principals may make sure to attend certain sporting events or
    engage in community activities. However leaders choose to structure their touch points,
    they must be willing to be a visible presence, even at the end of a grueling day. Members
    of the school community appreciate being able to count on seeing their leaders
    consistently. As the new principal of a school that had recently experienced rapid
    turnover of principals, I realized that establishing routines and consistently following
    them built important relational trust. I asked our music teacher to identify and update a
    school song, which provided us with a new Friday morning ritual of song and celebration
    over the intercom. I served as a Bingo caller for the community night picnic. And I
    swallowed my pride each year and participated in the annual talent show, usually with a
    break-dancing routine. These touch-point opportunities were a way for me to be a lead
    player in the school community, and students, staff, and parents soon looked to me (and
    my colleagues) to lead and share. This consistent involvement fed an expectation of
    sharing my vision for greater school community in a visible, tangible way. If a school's
    vision includes "growing together as a community," then the school leader must be an
    active presence and willing to build trust, share laughs, and interact in a meaningful way.
    24-Hour Visibility
    The role of educational leader can be compared to the fast-paced 24-hour news cycle.
    Educators, like politicians or other headliners, cannot escape public scrutiny—even in the
    grocery store! As a principal, I was keenly aware of what was in my grocery cart when I
    shopped after a long workday. Parents and students would come up to me, often just to
    say hello—but maybe to peek in my cart, too! It comes with the territory. Although we
    might not feel comfortable giving out our cell phone numbers to the school community,
    we should always be mindful that we are public servants and find ways to use our
    "celebrity" to promote our vision. When you encounter students and their parents at the
    carnival or the local park, remind them of the next school event or praise the students'
    recent achievement gains. When we live the life of a visible leader, reinforcing the vision
    should come naturally.
    Overcoming Challenges
    Putting forth a vision and then living it is no small task. In a school setting, the principal
    is the leader in articulating and living the vision. However, he or she cannot, and must
    not, do this work alone. Shared leadership is vitally important here. As Johnson (2008)
    puts it, "A principal with vision and expertise creates a blueprint of how the school can
    achieve its goals. He or she finds teachers and staff to help make that vision a reality. The
    principal continually coaches and mentors the staff so that together they can accomplish
    the desired results" (p. 72).
    Many leaders can quickly be derailed or lose the support of their school communities by
    failing to recognize what the organization is doing right and affirming "quick wins" that
    are already occurring, or by simply not getting the job done. The leader must be a doer
    and bring the organization—the department or school—along in realizing the vision.
    Work from the Current State
    A successful school leader understands the current state—the reality as it stands now.
    Recognizing the current state requires both personal reflection and the ability to manage
    and make decisions based on data. As Patterson and colleagues (2008) note in the book
    Influencer, it is important to "diagnose before you prescribe" (p. 258). This multifaceted

    1031
    understanding enables the leader to foster change and growth in the organization. A
    successful leader will be able and willing to adapt the school's vision to the ever-changing
    current state to facilitate continued success.
    Find "Quick Wins"
    It is important that the leader notch some quick wins to demonstrate that success is not
    only possible, but is also happening now. Doug Reeves (2009) advises leaders to "pull
    the weeds before you plant the flowers" (p. 13)—that is, reduce existing and less essential
    initiatives to clear space for the critical items that they are "drowning under" (p. 14).
    Establishing clear priorities creates a sense of authenticity and demonstrates that the
    leader will do what it takes to support the common vision. Many successful principals
    make seemingly minor improvements, such as adding a coat of paint or mulching the
    grounds to rejuvenate the school's immediate appearance. These actions will build
    momentum and align support for a shared, larger vision that encompasses every aspect of
    the school community.
    Follow Through
    As obvious as it sounds, it is nonetheless essential for the leader to ensure that the work
    aligned with the vision gets done. As the saying goes, "Leadership is about action, not
    position." Simply manning the desk in an efficient manner does not make a great
    principal; rather, greatness lies in the transformative steps that the leader takes each day
    to make the vision come alive. Bossidy and Charan (2002) note that although planning
    and envisioning are important, it is execution that is the key role of the leader.
    Educational leaders will be seen as truly transformative when actual, noticeable change is
    occurring—particularly when that change is aligned with the vision that has been shared
    and lived in a consistent, visible manner. Davies and Brighouse (2010) note that "values
    without implementation do little for the school. It is in the tackling of difficult challenges
    to change and improve, often by confronting unacceptable practices, that passionate
    leaders show their educational values" (p. 4).
    Baruti Kafele notes that plenty of his peer principals have identified the same challenges
    that he has and are just as aware of best practices and necessary next steps. Not all
    leaders, however, are successful at effective implementation through a determined,
    visionary approach. When Kafele was an assistant principal, "One of the first things I did
    was get permission from my principal to change the look of the building by putting up
    motivational messages and images and speak on the PA system to have morning
    announcements. I needed to change the climate and culture. The very next year, I was
    principal of the school."
    A few specific action items can make a significant difference in realizing a school's
    vision.
    Action Items
    Without action, a vision is just a piece of paper. In education, we have lots of paper;
    sometimes, it doesn't mean much at all. For the vision to be achieved, it must be seen as
    something vibrant and real. The following Action Items will help ensure that your
    school's vision thrives.
    Make Morning Announcements
    Kafele says, "One thing that makes me cringe is when I am visiting a school and the day
    starts and the bell rings, and I don't hear the principal's voice over the intercom first thing.
    [Students] have got to see me first thing; they have got to hear me. It begins with morning

    1032
    announcements. Those interactions, conversations, and delivering that motivational
    message each morning to reverberate throughout the building" convey a message of high
    expectations to students. Kafele structures his announcements to include these four
    components:
    A greeting;
    An inspirational thought;
    Highlights of success within the school; and
    A challenge to begin the day.
    Kafele's announcements are a consistent, visible way to communicate his school's vision,
    and the school community has come to rely on hearing his voice each morning. His
    superintendent notes that he is a "master teacher" through his use of morning
    announcements to recognize student success and, when necessary, encourage students to
    complete work, meet deadlines, and achieve to their capabilities.
    Send a Daily E-mail to Staff
    In a world where teachers and staff are inundated with communications, administrative e-
    mails are often met with groans and cringes—if the messages get noticed at all. I resolved
    this problem in my own school by starting to send a concise daily e-mail (see Figure 1.1
    for an example) that contained useful information and administrative minutiae while also
    tying in the overarching vision of the organization (Sterrett, 2008). Consistently
    providing a single point of communication, affirmation, and clarification to start each day
    shows staff members that you view their "think time" as a valuable resource.

    Figure 1.1. Principal Daily E-mail

    Good morning, staff. Here are a few items for today, Monday, February 1st.
    There will be a Fire Drill at 8:25 a.m. Please review expectations with your students prior
    to this and remember that it is below freezing this morning!
    Team PLC Meetings
    1st Grade—8:45 in Ms. Smith's room
    4th Grade—11:45 in Ms. Jones's room
    Faculty Meeting this Thursday. Please bring your writing sample and rubric guide.
    Refreshments by the 2nd grade team.
    Upcoming—Schoolwide Field Trips to Cape Caverns next week
    Tuesday (Feb. 9)—K–2 teams depart at 8 a.m. and return at 2 p.m.
    Wednesday (Feb. 10)—3rd–5th grade teams depart at 8 a.m. and return at 2 p.m.
    Quote for the day: Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. (Chinese
    proverb)
    Have a great day!
    Dr. Sterrett

    Attend Community Events


    A school's vision is not confined within the walls of the school building or to the hours of
    the school day. Today's educational leader must be prepared to be an active, visible
    embodiment of the work of the school throughout the community and even through such
    venues as the evening news, Twitter, and YouTube. Baruti Kafele speaks to audiences of
    students and staff throughout the United States, and he ensures that his message is

    1033
    consistent and visible by using modern technologies and by staying on message about
    what's important: realizing student success. Speaking engagements and meetings—
    opportunities many educational leaders have—are great forums for leaders to reiterate
    vision. In addition, community events provide opportunities to engage the school
    community and live the vision. For example, a high school principal might make a
    deliberate attempt to shake students' hands at a basketball game and ask them about their
    Spanish club work. An elementary assistant principal might dress up as Dr. Seuss for the
    Wednesday reading night. And the enthusiastic teacher who dons the mascot outfit at the
    restaurant fundraiser will not be forgotten!
    Conduct Effective Meetings
    School leaders should be wary of meetings. In his book Death by Meeting, Patrick
    Lencioni (2004) refers to them as the "most painful problem in business" and poses the
    question, "How pathetic is it that we have come to accept that the activity most central to
    the running of our organizations is inherently painful and unproductive?" (p. viii).
    Educational leaders have the power to change meetings for the better, however. Kafele
    holds only one staff meeting each month. He says, "I have very little time to have
    meetings, and when I do, I want the staff to know that they are important and that I have
    a clear message that is tied to my vision." Author Rick DuFour notes that, as a principal,
    he held only three full faculty meetings each year!
    Meetings are valuable for communicating important information, but they must be
    interactive. As a principal, I realized that most of what I needed to communicate in terms
    of "one-way" updates (or even—gasp!—directives) could be done via e-mail. In my
    fourth year as principal, I structured meetings solely to affirm staff, share highlights from
    within, and give teachers the opportunity to work together (see Figure 1.2 for a sample
    meeting format).

    Figure 1.2. Monthly Meeting Format Example

    What
    Who
    Duration (approximate)
    Refreshments and conversation
    Teams (or departments) rotate each month
    First 10 minutes
    Opening agenda (purpose of the meeting)
    Principal
    2 minutes
    Recognitions: "Woody Bear award" to a staff member; example highlight clips of
    teaching, testimonial
    Principal, teachers
    8 minutes
    Introduction of stated instructional focus
    Principal or teacher leader
    5 minutes
    Teamwork on the specific related focus area
    Led by team (or dept.) teacher leader; all teachers participate

    1034
    50 minutes
    Wrap-up (optional), review of objectives, closing
    Principal or team leader
    5 minutes
    Total duration
    1 hour
    20 minutes

    We opened our meetings by bestowing the "Woody Bear award" on a staff member. This
    oversized, stuffed teddy bear in a school-spirit polo shirt was a token of appreciation
    passed from one staff member to another. Each meeting would start with the current
    guardian of Woody Bear reading a short announcement of affirmation and giving Woody
    Bear to a colleague. We cheered loudly, announced the honoree on the intercom, and
    placed the news on our school web page. Affirmation can be all too rare, but Woody Bear
    ensured that it was a regular part of our routine.
    Education can be an isolating field, and we tend not to see the work of our colleagues
    regularly. So we used a portion of our weekly faculty meeting to share a classroom
    highlight, either by video clip or through a demonstration. Teachers got great ideas from
    one another and gained insights on how to engage students. This meeting segment
    provided an authentic opportunity for shared leadership and ownership of our collective
    work and displayed the great diversity of teaching approaches that led to student success.
    Finally, having team time to work on instructional issues is essential. As a school leader,
    you can carve targeted, protected team time out of staff meetings. This time also provides
    an opportunity to interact with specific teams or have a division coordinator or colleague
    come and touch base with various teams.
    The Importance of Reflection
    The visible leader uses every opportunity to strengthen the vision among the learning
    community. This message is not constrained to meetings or to business cards; it is real,
    organic, and easily recognized. As leaders such as Baruti Kafele demonstrate, the role of
    educational leader is not for those unwilling to be a presence or to take some risks. By
    leading, the leader will stand on a pedestal—like it or not.
    The effective visionary leader must constantly pause, however, to reflect on the vision.
    Be creative in finding opportunities for reflection. For example, if a student at Kafele's
    school makes a mistake, such as violating the dress code or using profanity, Kafele
    assigns them to a "read-a-thon," which entails staying after school and reading
    independently for one hour. Kafele not only monitors students but also participates, using
    the opportunity to read and reflect. "Where else do I get the time to read, uninterrupted,
    something that I actually want to read?" he asks. Constant visibility can be tiring, so
    finding time to reflect and recharge is essential. After all, if you aren't fully energized as
    you greet every student in the morning or grasp the PA microphone, you cannot sincerely
    convey a vision that is alive and evident to the entire school community. Beyond the
    noise and the energy of learning, we must remember to reflect, and to continue our own
    learning.

    In-the-Field Activities

    1035
    Select an educational leader (school, division, or nontraditional) and ask him or her to
    articulate the school's vision. Next, ask three stakeholders (student, parent, teacher, or
    another staff member) the same question. Are their answers aligned? Describe your
    findings and their implications.
    Work with a school leader to create a faculty meeting format that incorporates the
    following items within a 90-minute time frame:
    Affirmation of the school community.
    Instructional highlights from within the building or department.
    Protected team time for instructional issues.
    Review the Action Items from this chapter and develop a plan to implement at least one
    in your school setting. Consider Kafele's use of morning announcements, or my example
    of a daily e-mail, or the potential power of community events. What steps are needed, and
    how will you communicate them to your team? What challenges do you anticipate? How
    will you reflect on your work after implementation?

    Copyright © 2011 by ASCD. All rights reserved. No part of this publication—including


    the drawings, graphs, illustrations, or chapters, except for brief quotations in critical
    reviews or articles—may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
    electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and
    retrieval system, without permission from ASCD.

    Source:- http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112009/chapters/Turning-Vision-into-
    Reality.aspx

    Leading to Change / Making Strategic Planning Work


    Douglas B. Reeves
    For some people, the term strategic planning brings to mind a disciplined and thoughtful
    process that links the values, mission, and goals of a school system with a set of coherent
    strategies and tasks designed to achieve those goals. For others, the term induces a cringe
    brought about by memories of endless meetings, fact-free debates, three-ring binders, and
    dozens of objectives, tasks, strategies, plans, and goals—all left undone after the plan was
    completed. As one frustrated administrator said to me, "When do we get to stop planning
    and start doing?"
    When Planning Goes Wrong
    Advocates of strategic planning (Cook, 2004; Porter, 1980) reason along with Lewis
    Carroll (1898) that "if you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there."
    On the surface, it seems obvious. Who could argue with the need for plans?
    But as Schmoker (2004) noted, many strategic planning processes designed to impel a
    district to action actually have the opposite effect. When he worked with schools to create
    strategic plans in the 1980s, Schmoker found that
    we wound up setting an impossible number of "goals," even as the word was used almost
    interchangeably with "action steps" or "objectives." Even the "evaluation" or "results"
    columns were often indistinguishable from the "goals" and "action steps"—as mere
    implementation or training was used as evidence of having met a goal. Nonetheless, these

    1036
    annual plans, like the hundreds I've seen since then, were approved pro forma. There was
    real fear of criticizing their content and so alienating any of the numerous constituents
    who had spent their valuable time producing them. Instructional quality—and levels of
    achievement—were typically unaffected by any of these processes. (p. 426)
    Kotter (2007) suggests that education is hardly unique in failing to transform strategy into
    action, concluding that more than 70 percent of business strategic plans are never
    implemented. School leaders need guidance to engage in rational planning processes that
    lead to improved student results.
    Elements of Effective Strategic Planning
    Stephen White and I recently analyzed hundreds of strategic plans from schools, central-
    office departments, and entire districts. We used this analysis to develop some practical
    suggestions to get more out of the planning process (Reeves, 2006; White, 2005). At least
    two independent raters reviewed each plan and scored them on about 20 different
    dimensions of planning, implementing, and monitoring. We then compared the plan
    ratings to student achievement at the baseline year and to gains the following year. The
    findings were striking: Even after we controlled for school demographic variables,
    schools whose plans ranked higher on the 20 dimensions had higher student achievement
    and significantly greater achievement gains. The following specific dimensions were of
    particular importance:
    Monitoring. A high monitoring score means that the school conducts consistent and
    frequent (at least monthly) analyses of student performance, teaching strategies, and
    leadership practices. In contrast, low monitoring scores are associated with schools that
    engage in the futile exercise of the educational autopsy—an analysis of last year's scores
    long after it's too late to do anything about them.
    Evaluation. A high evaluation score means that every program, initiative, and strategy in
    the school is subjected to the relentless question, Is it working? Whereas low-scoring
    schools settle for descriptions in the passive voice ("teachers were trained"), schools with
    high scores in evaluation are learning systems in which faculty members challenge
    themselves to understand the relationship between their professional practices and
    changes in student achievement. The distinctive characteristic of schools with superior
    evaluation systems is that their leaders can identify practices that they have stopped doing
    because their evaluations found insufficient evidence of effectiveness.
    Expectations. Schools in which leaders and teachers believe that their work is the
    fundamental cause of student achievement perform significantly better than schools in
    which leaders attribute student achievement primarily to student demographic
    characteristics. This variable is reminiscent of the Pygmalion Effect suggested 40 years
    ago in a classic study by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968). In this study, teachers were told
    that certain students were "late bloomers" who would make rapid progress in the coming
    year, although actually these students had been chosen at random. Within a single school
    year, the chosen students had lived up to teacher expectations.
    Similarly, in the schools we studied whose plans reflected a belief that teaching and
    leadership affect student achievement, achievement gains were three times greater than
    they were in schools whose plans reflected a focus on student demographic
    characteristics as the primary determinants of student achievement (Reeves, in press).
    This new evidence suggests that the Pygmalion Effect is as strong among educators as it
    is between teachers and students.

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    One-Page Plans
    Einstein warned that we should seek to make things as simple as possible, but not more
    so. Therefore, I'm not suggesting that we replace piles of three-ring strategic planning
    binders with catchy slogans. However, there is evidence that schools are well served by
    one-page plans that are clearly focused and simple enough that every participant in the
    process understands his or her role in executing the plan.
    Joe Crawford, former assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Freeport,
    Illinois, told me that during five years in which each school and the district as a whole
    used one-page plans, student achievement improved significantly. The number of
    students meeting or exceeding state standards in reading and math increased for all
    groups of students by more than 30 percent.
    Crawford's Plan on a Page1 identifies four key areas: student performance, human
    resources, partnerships, and equity. For each of these key areas, the plan lists two to five
    goals and measures. Each goal includes a clear statement of actions to accomplish. For
    example, the 2007–08 goal for student performance for the district indicates that by June
    2008, 87 percent of students will meet or exceed reading standards, and 92 percent will
    meet or exceed math standards. An action plan associated with that measure states that by
    August 31, 2007, each school will identify students who need additional support to if they
    are move to grade-level performance.
    A Focus on the Ends
    Contrast these two definitions of strategy. Kotter (2007) offers simplicity itself: Strategy
    is a collection of actions that add value. Cook (2004), on the other hand, suggests that
    strategic planning is the means by which those of one accord continuously create
    artifactual systems to serve extraordinary purpose. All that is required is strategic
    organization, dealing with strategic issues, making strategic decisions, and taking
    strategic action. (p. 75)
    School leaders must decide whether the strategic planning process is a tool to improve
    student achievement (actions that add value) or an end in itself. School leaders should
    embrace the importance of strategy by developing plans that are focused and brief and
    that provide consistent monitoring and evaluation. Most important, the teachers and
    leaders who implement strategic plans should begin the process with the confidence that
    their professional practices truly influence student achievement.
    References
    Carroll, L. (1898). Alice's adventures in wonderland. New York: Macmillian.
    Cook, W. J. (2004). When the smoke clears. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(1), 73–75, 83.
    Kotter, J. P. (2007, January). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard
    Business Review, 85(1), 96–103.
    Porter, M. (1980). Competitive strategy. New York: Free Press.
    Reeves, D. B. (2006). The learning leader: How to focus school improvement for better
    results. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
    Reeves, D. B. (in press). The new framework for teacher leadership. Alexandria, VA:
    Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
    Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L., (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom: Teacher expectation
    and pupil's intellectual development. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
    Schmoker, M. J. (2004). Tipping point: From feckless reform to substantive instructional
    improvement. Phi Delta Kappan, 85(6), 424–432.

    1038
    White, S. (2005). Beyond the numbers: Making data work for teachers and school
    leaders. Englewood, CO: Advanced Learning Press.
    Endnote
    1 Freeport's Plan on a Page document is available for viewing on the ASCD Web site at
    www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/el/Reeves%20Plan.pdf
    Douglas B. Reeves is Founder of the Leadership and Learning Center; 866-399-6019,
    ext. 512; DReeves@LeadandLearn.com.

    Source:- http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-
    leadership/dec07/vol65/num04/Making-Strategic-Planning-Work.aspx

    Four Principles of Strategic Planning


    Jan 04, 2007 3:01 AM By Al Bessin

    22
    One of the best things about being a consultant is the opportunity to see so many kinds of
    businesses. Though different companies are certainly at different stages of their
    lifecycles, strategic planning plays an important role in all of them.

    It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day growth (or even survival) of a business and
    postpone strategic planning. Without strategic planning, however, a business will
    flounder. To keep from floundering, bear in mind the four main principles of strategic
    planning.

    1) The value proposition In any business venture, there needs to be a proposition that
    creates value. This value is the foundation of the offering to the marketplace; it is the
    value that the market perceives in the offering by the business.

    While we are all somewhat jaded by the “mission statement” fad of idealistic and vague
    statements during the past few decades, a business enterprise has to have a clear business
    proposition! As consultants, one of the first things we try to understand about a client is
    what the value proposition is. When it is difficult to identify, it often parallels poor or
    erratic business performance.

    The value proposition is also the foundation for planning and direction of the enterprise
    and the unifying theme that keeps the founder(s) and staff on the same page and going in
    the same direction.

    “Treat every customer fairly” is not a value proposition, it is a value. “We provide avid
    road cyclists with the knowledge to make the right choices in selecting bicycles and
    cycling gear, and with a selection of bicycles and cycling gear that has been carefully
    screened for high quality and functionality” is a clearly defined value proposition.

    1039
    Principle 1: The clearer the value proposition, the more likely the business is to be
    successful.

    Corollary 1a: A value proposition is not the same as corporate values; it is a clearly
    identified, fundamental principle that has value to the market.

    2) Identifying core (and distinctive) competencies

    The value proposition should be well-supported by competencies or skill sets of the


    business. To the extent that these competencies are unique, or that the company is
    particularly skilled in those areas, they create competitive advantage. There are classic
    examples of companies that have developed distinctive competencies and used them
    successfully: Dell with supply chain and logistics excellence, Apple Computer with user-
    centric innovation, Proctor and Gamble with brand management.

    In the multichannel merchant arena, the competencies can vary, but, in all cases, they
    must begin with merchandising and the product offering. A catalog/Web merchant must
    start with a well-targeted product offering that gives it identity. In fact, there is no other
    competency that is more important: merchandise is king.

    There are many other competencies that enable direct businesses to develop competitive
    advantage. Some provide exceptional customer service through their inhouse product
    expertise; others do a fabulous job of marketing and presenting their products to the
    market. When these skills are exceptional, they provide competitive advantage.

    Just to participate in the direct marketing business requires many competencies. For
    example: being able to take orders through multiple channels in an efficient manner,
    being able to ship orders in a timely manner, and being able to cost-effectively target
    advertising. All of these skills are requirements, but all can be learned or outsourced.
    Those skills don’t provide competitive advantage, but lacking them is competitively
    disadvantageous. In fact, competitive advantage can be gained by a business that focuses
    on its distinctive competencies and doesn’t divert attention to activities that can be
    outsourced effectively.

    Principle 2: A merchant business must have a strong core merchandising competency, but
    can learn or outsource many of the other necessary skills.

    3) The strategic plan and management commitment Identifying the value proposition,
    distinctive competencies, and other core competencies is the foundation of the strategic
    plan for a business. Establishing a vision of where the enterprise ought to be in three
    years, supported by the value proposition, drives development of the strategic plan. The
    plan should set goals and identify the major steps necessary to get there.

    A strategic plan crosses all departmental boundaries of a business. This can present a
    challenge for some businesses, but is ultimately a benefit. Going through a strategic

    1040
    planning process is a great way to build a team and gain consensus on objectives. There
    are two extremes that challenge the consensus-building process.

    The first challenge is a business with a strong leader and a passive management team. It
    is too easy for the leader to set the business strategy, have management “agree” as they
    always do, but then have no buy-in or commitment. Worse, management may disagree
    but managers simply verbalize their views, giving them a personal “out” if the plans are
    not executed (the “I didn’t believe in this anyway” excuse). By far the worst outcome,
    however, is when the strategy is not challenged and refined by the team, and is sub-
    optimal as a result.

    The other challenge is a business with strong, independently thinking managers. In this
    case, everyone has lots of ideas and shares them and the individual ownership of those
    ideas is so strong that it is hard for the leader to gain consensus. The team may eventually
    be forced to “agree” to the plan, but will not own it collectively.

    The solution is to go through a planning process that starts with a “green light” session
    that involves key management from all disciplines, where all of the ideas go on the table,
    and vetoes are withheld until later. Then a process of review and challenge refine the
    plan. Finally, the result is specific goals and action items that require accountability of
    each manager.

    When successfully done, strategic planning results in bringing the management team onto
    the same page, with buy-in, with specific goals for each manager, and with mutual
    support for the process. Ideally, there should be varied opinions on many aspects–but
    when everyone leaves the room, there is uniform commitment to the plan.

    Principle 3: A strategic plan is of no value if it is not first challenged, then developed, and
    finally committed to by the management team.

    Corollary 3a: A brilliant strategy that is not embraced by management across all
    disciplines has a poor chance of success.

    Corollary 3b: A good, but not necessarily brilliant, strategy that is embraced by
    management across all disciplines has a good chance of success.

    4) Measuring progress The part of the strategic planning process that makes everything
    work is measuring progress and comparing it to the plan. This is a critical step because it
    does two things: It gives management feedback on how execution is going, and it
    provides feedback on how attainable the plan is and what refinements are needed.

    Think of the planning process as a circle that begins with planning, goes to execution,
    reporting of results, and then refinement of the plan and re-allocation of resources, all in a
    never-ending process.

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    Measurement extends to the choice of metrics that are viewed on a daily, weekly, and
    monthly basis. Of the hundreds of metrics that a direct marketing business can follow, the
    metrics that are used should:

    1. Be actionable–metrics that cannot be acted upon are not useful.

    2. Monitor the performance of core and distinctive competencies–these are critical to


    future performance and sustain competitive advantage.

    3. Monitor the chain that supports the value proposition–this is the foundation of the
    business. Each point in the value chain should be evaluated.

    Principle 4: Choosing the right metrics to monitor is key to successful execution of a


    strategic plan and to maintaining focus.

    Ongoing strategic planning is important for a business and its management team. It
    provides focus and helps the team move in a consistent direction. It begins with a
    planning process, with identification of the value proposition and core competencies,
    includes team feedback and commitment, and is followed up with measurement and
    adaptation as results unfold. As the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

    Al Bessin is a partner with Lenser, a San Rafael, CA-based catalog consultancy.


    Source:- http://multichannelmerchant.com/crosschannel/four-principles-of-strategic-
    planning-04012007/

    Resources Available To The Cumberland High School


    Guidance in Designing Interventions For Students With Learning Disabilities and
    Assisting In The Training of Teachers to Use Chess, Dance, Music and Sports For
    Therapy and Education

    1. The Greater Portmore Health Clinic-Mental Health Staff


    2. The Spanish Town Hospital Mental Health Staff
    3. The Belview Hospital Department of Occupational Psychiatry
    4. The University Of The West Indies Hospital-Ward 21
    5. The University of The West Indies, Faculty of Social Sciences

    For Pallets and Associated Materials For The Making Of Musical Instruments and
    Game Board.

    1. Mega Mart, Portmore


    2. Jung Supermarket on Cumberland Road,

    1042
    3. Rapid True Value Hardware on Port Henderson Boulevard
    4. Kingston Terminals

    For Technical Guidance In Strategic Planning, For Using SWOT Analysis, for using
    Visioning Method, and the Logical Framework Method

    1. Jamaica Social Investment Fund,


    2. The Portmore Community College,
    3. The Mona School of Management, The University of The West Indies
    4. The Faculty of Business and Administration, The University of The West Indies,
    5. The Jamaica Teachers’ Association

    For Dance and Music Teachers

    1. The Edna Manley College,


    2. The EXCED Community College

    The School’s Medical Doctor Will Work With The Mental Health Institution To
    Develop The Skills and Competences Needed To Work On A Long Term Basis On
    Both Physical & Mental Health Interventions and Guidance

    End

    The 7 Principles of Masterful Planning


    By Michael Wilkinson on March 19, 2013

    3 15 18
    The Drivers Model is Leadership Strategies’ methodology for strategic planning and the
    ultimate tool for masterful planning. The Drivers Model process covers seven key
    principles for masterfully planning any activity. The seven principles are summarized
    below. Let’s break down each one.

    Seven Principles of Masterful Planning


    1. Be clear on purpose.
    2. Start with an accurate assessment of today.
    3. Create a shared vision of success.
    4. Identify your critical successful factors and barriers.
    5. Define the drivers: your strategies and priorities.

    1043
    6. Monitor and report results.
    7. Have rewards and consequences to build accountability.

    1. Be clear on purpose.

    With any activity, start with purpose: Why are we doing this? With the house example,
    our purpose was to find a house that was more suitable to our needs. Purpose always
    answers the question why.

    2. Start with an accurate assessment of where you are today.

    You should always start with an accurate assessment of where you are today. Why is that
    important? Because you may think that you have overcome certain barriers when you
    really haven’t.
    Perhaps an example will illustrate the importance of starting with an accurate picture of
    today. Let’s say you wanted to drive from Atlanta, in the southeastern United States, to
    Los Angeles, on the west coast. You would have to drive west to get there. But what if
    your perception was that you were in Atlanta but, in reality, you were in Seattle also on
    the west coast. What happens when you drive west? Let’s just say you might end up a
    little wet, which probably was not part of your vision. So, you may create a compelling
    vision of where you want to be. However, if you do not clearly define where you are
    today, you may end up thinking you are outside certain barriers. As a result, you can end
    up doing the wrong things and not getting the result you want. Therefore, key point
    number one is that you must start with an accurate assessment of where you are today.

    3. Create a shared vision.

    Once you have an accurate picture of today, you then create a shared vision. Not just a
    vision, but a shared vision. You can probably imagine what would have happened if I and
    my wife had a different vision of the type of home we wanted. Yes, we would end up
    getting the house my wife wanted of course! But can you imagine the conflict and
    struggle along the way? Because we would want different things and would be pulling in
    different directions, many of the decisions we needed to make along the way would have
    resulted in a major fight over whose vision would prevail. By creating a shared vision up
    front, we have the “fight” only once. Once the vision was created, we would be able to
    make decisions together in line with achieving that vision.

    In many organizations there are entire departments that have different visions of where
    the organization needs to be. Imagine the chaos when each department goes off in a
    different direction. And sometimes those different directions are mutually exclusive – if
    one is successful, the other has to fail. What a waste – all resulting from lack of a shared
    vision.

    4. Identify your critical success factors and barriers.

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    With that shared vision defined, principle number four is that you then focus on
    identifying the major barriers to achieving that vision. You ask yourself, “Why haven’t
    we achieved our vision already? What’s standing in our way? What’s keeping us where
    we are today?” Then, you must understand your critical success factors. What’s critical to
    getting you where you want to be? What are the key conditions which, if you create them,
    will drive achievement of the vision?

    5. Define your drivers.

    After identifying your barriers and critical success factors, principle number five is to
    define your drivers. What are the key strategies that are going to get you to your vision?
    Remember that the strategies have to address each of the barriers and critical success
    factors.

    6. Monitor.

    With principle six, you monitor your progress to keep on track and stay motivated to
    achieve your vision.

    7. Have rewards and consequences to build accountability.

    Finally, be sure to have rewards and consequences to build accountability. Even with a
    monitoring process, if there is no form accountability people quickly learn that it is not
    essential to perform.

    Learn more on strategic planning and the Drivers Model with this helpful tool: A Quick
    How-To on Strategic Planning

    ________________________

    Certified Master Facilitator Michael Wilkinson is the CEO and Managing Director of
    Leadership Strategies, Inc., The Facilitation Company and author of the new The Secrets
    of Facilitation 2nd Edition, The Secrets to Masterful Meetings, and The Executive Guide
    to Facilitating Strategy. Leadership Strategies is a global leader in facilitation services,
    providing companies with dynamic professional facilitators who lead executive teams
    and task forces in areas like strategic planning, issue resolution, process improvement and
    others. The company is also a leading provider of facilitation training in the United
    States.

    Source:- http://managementhelp.org/blogs/strategic-planning/2013/03/19/the-7-
    principles-of-masterful-planning/

    Section 1. An Overview of Strategic Planning or "VMOSA" (Vision, Mission,


    Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans)
    CHAPTER 8 SECTIONS

    1045
    Section 1. An Overview of Strategic Planning or "VMOSA" (Vision, Mission,
    Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans)
    Section 2. Proclaiming Your Dream: Developing Vision and Mission Statements
    Section 3. Creating Objectives
    Section 4. Developing Successful Strategies: Planning to Win
    Section 5. Developing an Action Plan
    Section 6. Obtaining Feedback from Constituents: What Changes are Important and
    Feasible?
    Section 7. Identifying Action Steps in Bringing About Community and System Change
    Image of hands with a seedling in them and the words Donate Now below them.
    The Tool Box needs your help
    to remain available.
    Your contribution can help change lives.
    Donate now.
    Image of a stack of books with an apple on top of them.
    Sixteen training modules
    for teaching core skills.
    Learn more.
    Main Section Checklist Examples Tools PowerPoint
    Learn how to use VMOSA to take a dream and make it a reality by developing a vision,
    setting goals, defining them, and developing action plans.

    WHAT IS VMOSA?

    WHY SHOULD YOUR ORGANIZATION USE VMOSA?

    WHEN SHOULD YOU USE VMOSA?

    Photo of brain inside head illustration

    VMOSA (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plans) is a practical


    planning process used to help community groups define a vision and develop practical
    ways to enact change. VMOSA helps your organization set and achieve short term goals
    while keeping sight of your long term vision. Implementing this planning process into
    your group's efforts supports developing a clear mission, building consensus, and
    grounding your group's dreams. This section explores how and when to implement
    VMOSA into your organization's planning process.

    WHAT IS VMOSA?
    One way to make that journey is through strategic planning, the process by which a group
    defines its own "VMOSA;" that is, its Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action
    Plans. VMOSA is a practical planning process that can be used by any community
    organization or initiative. This comprehensive planning tool can help your organization
    by providing a blueprint for moving from dreams to actions to positive outcomes for your
    community.

    1046
    In this section, we will give a general overview of the process, and touch briefly on each
    of the individual parts. In Examples, we'll show you how an initiative to prevent
    adolescent pregnancy used the VMOSA process effectively. Then, in Tools, we offer you
    a possible agenda for a planning retreat, should your organization decide to use this
    process. Finally, the remaining sections in this chapter will walk you through the steps
    needed to fully develop each portion of the process.

    WHY SHOULD YOUR ORGANIZATION USE VMOSA?


    Why should your organization use this planning process? There are many good reasons,
    including all of the following:

    The VMOSA process grounds your dreams. It makes good ideas possible by laying out
    what needs to happen in order to achieve your vision.
    By creating this process in a group effort (taking care to involve both people affected by
    the problem and those with the abilities to change it), it allows your organization to build
    consensus around your focus and the necessary steps your organization should take.
    The process gives you an opportunity to develop your vision and mission together with
    those in the community who will be affected by what you do. That means that your work
    is much more likely to address the community’s real needs and desires, rather than what
    you think they might be. It also means community ownership of the vision and mission,
    putting everyone on the same page and greatly increasing the chances that any effort will
    be successful.
    VMOSA allows your organization to focus on your short-term goals while keeping sight
    of your long-term vision and mission.
    WHEN SHOULD YOU USE VMOSA?
    So, when should you use this strategic planning process? Of course, it always makes
    sense for your organization to have the direction and order it gives you, but there are
    some times it makes particularly good sense to use this process. These times include:

    When you are starting a new organization.


    When your organization is starting a new initiative or large project, or is going to begin
    work in a new direction.
    When your group is moving into a new phase of an ongoing effort.
    When you are trying to invigorate an older initiative that has lost its focus or momentum.
    When you’re applying for new funding or to a new funder. It’s important under these
    circumstances to clarify your vision and mission so that any funding you seek supports
    what your organization actually stands for. Otherwise, you can wind up with strings
    attached to the money that require you to take a direction not in keeping with your
    organization’s real purpose or philosophy.
    Let's look briefly at each of the individual ingredients important in this process. Then, in
    the next few sections we'll look at each of these in a more in-depth manner, and explain
    how to go about developing each step of the planning process.

    VISION (THE DREAM)

    1047
    Your vision communicates what your organization believes are the ideal conditions for
    your community – how things would look if the issue important to you were perfectly
    addressed. This utopian dream is generally described by one or more phrases or vision
    statements, which are brief proclamations that convey the community's dreams for the
    future. By developing a vision statement, your organization makes the beliefs and
    governing principles of your organization clear to the greater community (as well as to
    your own staff, participants, and volunteers).

    There are certain characteristics that most vision statements have in common. In general,
    vision statements should be:

    Understood and shared by members of the community


    Broad enough to encompass a variety of local perspectives
    Inspiring and uplifting to everyone involved in your effort
    Easy to communicate - for example, they should be short enough to fit on a T-shirt
    Here are a few vision statements which meet the above criteria:

    Healthy children
    Safe streets, safe neighborhoods
    Every house a home
    Education for all
    Peace on earth
    MISSION (THE WHAT AND WHY)

    Developing mission statements are the next step in the action planning process. An
    organization's mission statement describes what the group is going to do, and why it's
    going to do that. Mission statements are similar to vision statements, but they're more
    concrete, and they are definitely more "action-oriented" than vision statements. The
    mission might refer to a problem, such as an inadequate housing, or a goal, such as
    providing access to health care for everyone. And, while they don't go into a lot of detail,
    they start to hint - very broadly - at how your organization might go about fixing the
    problems it has noted. Some general guiding principles about mission statements are that
    they are:

    Concise. Although not as short a phrase as a vision statement, a mission statement should
    still get its point across in one sentence.
    Outcome-oriented. Mission statements explain the overarching outcomes your
    organization is working to achieve.
    Inclusive. While mission statements do make statements about your group's overarching
    goals, it's very important that they do so very broadly. Good mission statements are not
    limiting in the strategies or sectors of the community that may become involved in the
    project.
    The following mission statements are examples that meet the above criteria.

    "To promote child health and development through a comprehensive family and
    community initiative."

    1048
    "To create a thriving African American community through development of jobs,
    education, housing, and cultural pride.
    "To develop a safe and healthy neighborhood through collaborative planning, community
    action, and policy advocacy."
    While vision and mission statements themselves should be short, it often makes sense for
    an organization to include its deeply held beliefs or philosophy, which may in fact define
    both its work and the organization itself. One way to do this without sacrificing the
    directness of the vision and mission statements is to include guiding principles as an
    addition to the statements. These can lay out the beliefs of the organization while keeping
    its vision and mission statements short and to the point.
    OBJECTIVES (HOW MUCH OF WHAT WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY WHEN)

    Once an organization has developed its mission statement, its next step is to develop the
    specific objectives that are focused on achieving that mission. Objectives refer to specific
    measurable results for the initiative's broad goals. An organization's objectives generally
    lay out how much of what will be accomplished by when. For example, one of several
    objectives for a community initiative to promote care and caring for older adults might
    be: "By 2015 (by when), to increase by 20% (how much) those elders reporting that they
    are in daily contact with someone who cares about them (of what)."

    There are three basic types of objectives. They are:

    Behavioral objectives. These objectives look at changing the behaviors of people (what
    they are doing and saying) and the products (or results) of their behaviors. For example, a
    neighborhood improvement group might develop an objective around having an
    increased amount of home repair taking place (the behavior) or of improved housing (the
    result).
    Community-level outcome objectives. These are related to behavioral outcome
    objectives, but are more focused more on a community level instead of an individual
    level. For example, the same group might suggest increasing the percentage of decent
    affordable housing in the community as a community-level outcome objective.
    Process objectives. These are the objectives that refer to the implementation of activities
    necessary to achieve other objectives. For example, the group might adopt a
    comprehensive plan for improving neighborhood housing.
    It's important to understand that these different types of objectives aren't mutually
    exclusive. Most groups will develop objectives in all three categories. Examples of
    objectives include:

    By December 2010, to increase by 30% parent engagement (i.e., talking, playing,


    reading) with children under 2 years of age. (Behavioral objective)
    By 2012, to have made a 40% increase in youth graduating from high school.
    (Community -level outcome objective)
    By the year 2006, increase by 30% the percentage of families that own their home.
    (Community-level outcome objective)
    By December of this year, implement the volunteer training program for all volunteers.
    (Process objective)

    1049
    STRATEGIES (THE HOW)

    The next step in the process of VMOSA is developing your strategies. Strategies explain
    how the initiative will reach its objectives. Generally, organizations will have a wide
    variety of strategies that include people from all of the different parts, or sectors, of the
    community. These strategies range from the very broad, which encompass people and
    resources from many different parts of the community, to the very specific, which aim at
    carefully defined areas.

    Examples of broad strategies include:

    A child health program might use social marketing to promote adult involvement with
    children
    An adolescent pregnancy initiative might decide to increase access to contraceptives in
    the community
    An urban revitalization project might enhance the artistic life of the community by
    encouraging artists to perform in the area
    Five types of specific strategies can help guide most interventions. They are:

    Providing information and enhancing skills (e.g., offer skills training in conflict
    management)
    Enhancing services and support (e.g., start a mentoring programs for high-risk youth)
    Modify access, barriers, and opportunities (such as offering scholarships to students who
    would be otherwise unable to attend college)
    Change the consequences of efforts (e.g., provide incentives for community members to
    volunteer)
    Modify policies (e.g., change business policies to allow parents and guardians and
    volunteers to spend more time with young children)
    ACTION PLAN (WHAT CHANGE WILL HAPPEN; WHO WILL DO WHAT BY
    WHEN TO MAKE IT HAPPEN)

    Finally, an organization's action plan describes in great detail exactly how strategies will
    be implemented to accomplish the objectives developed earlier in this process. The plan
    refers to: a) specific (community and systems) changes to be sought, and b) the specific
    action steps necessary to bring about changes in all of the relevant sectors, or parts, of the
    community.

    The key aspects of the intervention or (community and systems) changes to be sought are
    outlined in the action plan. For example, in a program whose mission is to increase youth
    interest in politics, one of the strategies might be to teach students about the electoral
    system. Some of the action steps, then, might be to develop age-appropriate materials for
    students, to hold mock elections for candidates in local schools, and to include some
    teaching time in the curriculum.

    Action steps are developed for each component of the intervention or (community and
    systems) changes to be sought. These include:

    1050
    Action step(s): What will happen
    Person(s) responsible: Who will do what
    Date to be completed: Timing of each action step
    Resources required: Resources and support (both what is needed and what's available )
    Barriers or resistance, and a plan to overcome them!
    Collaborators: Who else should know about this action
    Here are two examples of action steps, graphed out so you can easily follow the flow:

    Action Step Person(s) ResponsibleDate to be Completed Resources Required


    Potential Barriers or Resistance Collaborators
    Draft a social marketing plan
    Terry McNeil (from marketing firm) April 2006 $15,000 (remaining donated) None
    anticipated Members of the business action group
    Ask local corporations to introduce flex-time for parents and mentors
    Maria Suarez (from business action group) September 2008 5 hours; 2 hour
    proposal prep; 3 hours for meeting and transportation Corporation: may see this as
    expensive; must convince them of benefit of the plan for the corporation Members of
    the business action group and the school action group

    Of course, once you have finished designing the strategic plan or "VMOSA" for your
    organization, you are just beginning in this work. Your action plan will need to be tried
    and tested and revised, then tried and tested and revised again. You'll need to obtain
    feedback from community members, and add and subtract elements of your plan based on
    that feedback.

    IN SUMMARY
    Everyone has a dream. But the most successful individuals - and community
    organizations - take that dream and find a way to make it happen. VMOSA helps groups
    do just that. This strategic planning process helps community groups define their dream,
    set their goals, define ways to meet those goals, and finally, develop practical ways bring
    about needed changes.

    In this section, you've gained a general understanding of the strategic planning process. If
    you believe your organization might benefit from using this process, we invite you to
    move on to the next sections of this chapter, which explain in some depth how to design
    and develop your own strategic plan.

    Contributor
    Jenette Nagy
    Stephen B. Fawcett
    Online Resources

    1051
    Concerns Report Handbook: Planning for Community Health

    The Free Management Library presents a thorough guide to strategic and action planning,
    plus links to online discussion groups.

    Imagining Our Dream Community provides guidance for visualizing your organization's
    ideal community.

    Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based


    Initiatives

    Preventing Adolescent Substance Abuse: An Action Planning Guide for Community-


    Based Initiatives

    Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based
    Initiatives

    Preventing Youth Violence: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

    Promoting Child Well-Being: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based


    Initiatives

    Promoting Health for All: Improving Access and Eliminating Disparities in Community
    Health

    Promoting Healthy Living and Preventing Chronic Disease: An Action Planning Guide
    for Communities

    Promoting Urban Neighborhood Development: An Action Planning Guide for Improving


    Housing, Jobs, Education, Safety and Health

    Reducing Risk for Chronic Disease: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based
    Initiatives

    The Ruckus Society offers an Action Planning Manual that discusses strategies for
    nonviolent direct action.

    Work Group Evaluation Handbook

    Youth Development: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

    Print Resources

    Barry, B. (1982). Strategic planning workbook for non-profit organizations. St. Paul,
    MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

    1052
    Bryson, J. (1988). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
    strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
    Publishers.

    Coover, V., et al. (1985). Resource manual for a living revolution: a handbook of skills &
    tools for social change activists. Philadelphia: New Society Publisher.

    Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K.., Lewis, R., Williams, E., Harris, K.,
    Winter-Green, K., in collaboration with Bradley, B. & Copple, J. (1992). Preventing
    adolescent substance abuse: an action planning guide for community -based initiatives.
    Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development,
    University of Kansas.

    Fawcett, S., Schultz, J., Francisco, V., Cyprus, J., Collie, V., Carson, V., & Bremby, R.
    (2001). Promoting urban neighborhood development: An action planning guide for
    improving housing, jobs, education, safety and health, and human development.
    Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development.

    Halfon, N., Inkelas, M., Rice, T., Sutherland, C., Tullis, E., & Uyeda, K. (2004). Building
    State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems. Volume 6: A Strategic Planning Guide
    for State-Level Early Childhood Systems-Building Initiatives: From Resources to Results
    for Young Children and Their Families. Los Angeles: UCLA Center for Healthier
    Children, Families, and Communities.

    Kansas Health Foundation. VMOSA: An approach to strategic planning. Wichita, KS:


    Kansas Health Foundation.

    Lord, R. (1989). The non-profit problem solver: a management guide. New York, NY:
    Praeger Publishers.

    Murray, E., & Richardson, P. (2002). Fast Forward: Organizational Changes in 100 Days.
    New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Olenick, J., & Olenick, R. (1991). A non-profit organization operating manual: planning
    for survival and growth. New York, NY: Foundation Center.

    Stonich, P. J. (1982). Implementing strategy: making strategy happen. Cambridge:


    Ballinger Publishing Company.

    Unterman, I., & Davis, R. (1984). Strategic management of not-for-profit organizations.


    New York, NY: CBS Educational and Professional Publishing.

    Watson-Thompson, J., Fawcett, S.B., & Schultz, J. (2008). Differential effects of


    strategic planning on community change in two urban neighborhood coalitions. American
    Journal of Community Psychology, 42, 25-38.

    1053
    Wolff, T. (1990). Managing a non-profit organization. New York, NY: Prentice Hall
    Press.

    Wolff, T. (2010). The Power of Collaborative Solutions: Six Principles and Effective
    Tools for Building Healthy Communities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    WHAT IS A VISION STATEMENT?

    WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?

    WHY SHOULD YOU CREATE VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS?

    HOW DO YOU CREATE VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS?

    Photo of compass in someone's hand

    Creating your organization's vision and mission statements are the first two steps in the
    VMOSA action planning process. Developing a vision and mission statement is crucial to
    the success of community initiatives. These statements explain your group's aspirations in
    a concise manner, help your organization focus on what is really important, and provide a
    basis for developing other aspects of your strategic plan. This section provides a guide for
    developing and implementing your organization's vision and mission statements.

    WHAT IS A VISION STATEMENT?


    Your vision is your dream. It's what your organization believes are the ideal conditions
    for your community; that is, how things would look if the issue important to you were
    completely, perfectly addressed. It might be a world without war, or a community in
    which all people are treated as equals, regardless of gender or racial background.

    Whatever your organization's dream is, it may be well articulated by one or more vision
    statements. Vision statements are short phrases or sentences that convey your
    community's hopes for the future. By developing a vision statement or statements, your
    organization clarifies the beliefs and governing principles of your organization, first for
    yourselves, and then for the greater community.

    There are certain characteristics that most vision statements have in common. In general,
    vision statements should be:

    Understood and shared by members of the community


    Broad enough to include a diverse variety of local perspectives
    Inspiring and uplifting to everyone involved in your effort
    Easy to communicate - for example, they are generally short enough to fit on a T-shirt
    Here are some examples of vision statements that meet the above criteria:

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    Caring communities
    Healthy children
    Safe streets, safe neighborhoods
    Every house a home
    Education for all
    Peace on earth
    WHAT IS A MISSION STATEMENT?
    The next piece of the puzzle is to ground your vision in practical terms. This is where
    developing a mission statement, the next step in the action planning process comes in. An
    organization's mission statement describes what the group is going to do and why it's
    going to do that. For example, "Promoting care and caring at the end of life through
    coalitions and advocacy."

    Mission statements are similar to vision statements, in that they, too, look at the big
    picture. However, they're more concrete, and they are definitely more "action-oriented"
    than vision statements. Your vision statement should inspire people to dream; your
    mission statement should inspire them to action.

    The mission statement might refer to a problem, such as an inadequate housing, or a goal,
    such as providing access to health care for everyone. And, while they don 't go into a lot
    of detail, they start to hint - very broadly - at how your organization might fix these
    problems or reach these goals. Some general guiding principles about mission statements
    are that they are:

    Concise. While not as short as vision statements, mission statements generally still get
    their point across in one sentence.
    Outcome-oriented. Mission statements explain the fundamental outcomes your
    organization is working to achieve.
    Inclusive. While mission statements do make statements about your group's key goals, it's
    very important that they do so very broadly. Good mission statements are not limiting in
    the strategies or sectors of the community that may become involved in the project.
    The following examples should help you understand what we mean by effective mission
    statements.

    "Promoting child health and development through a comprehensive family and


    community initiative."
    "To create a thriving African American community through development of jobs,
    education, housing, and cultural pride."
    "To develop a safe and healthy neighborhood through collaborative planning, community
    action, and policy advocacy."
    "Promoting community health and development by connecting people, ideas and
    resources." (This is the mission of the Community Tool Box)
    WHY SHOULD YOU CREATE VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS?
    Why is it important that your organization develops vision and mission statements like
    those above? First of all, because these statements can help your organization focus on
    what is really important. Although your organization knows what you are trying to do to

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    improve your community, it's easy to lose sight of this when dealing with the day-to-day
    hassles that plague all organizations. Your vision and mission statements help members
    remember what is important as you go about doing your daily work.

    Second, your vision and mission statements let other individuals and organizations have a
    snapshot view of whom your group is and what it wants to do. When your vision and
    mission statements are easily visible (for example, if they are on the letterhead of your
    stationary), people can learn about your organization without having to work hard for the
    information. Then, those with common interests can take the time necessary to learn
    more. Clearly, this can be very helpful when you are recruiting other people and
    organizations to join in your effort.

    Finally, vision and mission statements are also very helpful in having members who are
    focused and bound together in common purpose. Not only do the statements themselves
    serve as a constant reminder of what is important to your organization, the process of
    developing them allows people to see the organization as "theirs." It's common sense:
    people will believe in something more completely if they had a hand in developing it.

    There are many other reasons to develop vision and mission statements as well. For
    example, having clear and compelling vision statements can:

    Draw people to common work


    Give hope for a better future
    Inspire community members to realize their dreams through positive, effective action
    Provide a basis for developing the other aspects of your action planning process: your
    mission, objectives, strategies, and action plans
    Having a clear mission statement can:

    Convert the broad dreams of your vision into more specific, action-oriented terms
    Explain your goals to interested parties in a clear and concise manner
    Enhance your organization's image as being competent and professional, thus reassuring
    funding sources that their investment was (or would be!) a smart choice
    HOW DO YOU CREATE VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS?
    Armed with a better understanding of vision and mission statements, it's time for your
    organization to develop them for itself. If your group has already developed vision and
    mission statements, you might wish to look at them in light of the criteria we discussed
    above. If members of your organization feel your current statements could be improved
    upon, this process can be used to modify them. Ready? Let's go!

    LEARN WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY

    As developing your vision and mission statements is the first step in developing the
    action plan that will guide your effort, it is especially important that these first steps are
    well grounded in community beliefs and values. Knowing the important issues in your
    community is vital for the development of a strong, effective, and enduring action group.

    1056
    Therefore, one of the first steps you should take when developing the vision and mission
    of your organization will be is to define the issue(s) that matter most to people in your
    community. How do you go about doing so?

    There are many different ways you can gather this information, including:

    Conduct "public forums" or "listening sessions" with members of the community to


    gather ideas, thoughts, and opinions about how they would like to see the community
    transformed.

    In public forums or listening sessions, people come together from throughout the
    community to talk about what is important to them. These meetings are usually led by
    facilitators, who guide a discussion of what people perceive to be the community 's
    strengths and problems, and what people wish the community was like. Someone usually
    records these meetings, and a transcript of what is said provides a basis for subsequent
    planning.

    Hold focus groups with the people interested in addressing the issue(s), including
    community leaders, people most affected by the issues, businesses, church leaders,
    teachers, etc.

    Focus groups are similar to public forums and listening sessions, but they are smaller and
    more intimate. Generally speaking, they are comprised of small groups of people with
    similar backgrounds, so they will feel comfortable talking openly about what concerns
    them. For example, the members of a group are generally about the same age, are of the
    same ethnic group, or have another common experience. They are used in much the same
    way as public forums, and also use facilitators and recorders to focus and take notes on
    the work done.

    Your organization may choose to hold focus groups with several different groups of
    people, to get the most holistic view of the issue at hand. For example, if your
    organization is involved in child health, you might have one focus group with health care
    providers, another with parents or children, and still another with teachers. Once you
    have a rough mission statement, you might again use a focus group to test it out.

    Obtain interviews with people in leadership and service positions, including such
    individuals as local politicians, school administrators, hospital and social service agency
    staff, about what problems or needs they believe exist in your community.

    Often, these individuals will have both facts and experiences to back up their views. If so,
    you can also use these data later if and when you apply for funding, or when you request
    community support to address the issues. More information on this topic can be found in
    Chapter 3, Section 12: Conducting Interviews.

    Of course, these different ways to gather information from you community aren't
    mutually exclusive. In fact, if you have the resources, it makes sense to do all of the

    1057
    above: to have some time for the community at large to respond, then spend more time in
    focus groups with the people you believe might contribute greatly to (or be most affected
    by) some of the issues brought up in your community listening session. And finally, some
    one on one time with community leaders can only serve to strengthen your knowledge
    and purpose; remember, there are undoubtedly many people in your community who
    have been wrestling with the same issues you are now looking at for a long time. Take
    advantage of that experience; you don't want to reinvent the wheel!

    DECIDE WHAT TO ASK

    No matter if you are talking to one person or 300, your purpose is the same: to learn what
    matters in your community. Here's a list of questions you might use to focus your
    discussions with community members. These questions may be used for individual
    interviews, focus groups, public forums, or in any other way you choose to gather
    information.

    What is your dream for our community?


    What would you like to see change?
    What kind of community (or program, policy, school, neighborhood, etc.) do we want to
    create?
    What do you see as the community's (or school's, neighborhood's, etc.) major issues or
    problems?
    What do you see as the community's major strengths and assets?
    What do you think should be the purpose of this organization (or effort)?
    Why should these issues be addressed?
    What would success look like?
    When your organization is questioning people, the facilitator should encourage everyone
    to allow their most idealistic, hopeful, and positive ideas to shine through. Don't worry
    right now about what's practical and what's not - this can be narrowed down later.
    Encourage everyone to be bold and participate, and to remember that you are trying to
    articulate a vision of a better community, and a better world.

    DECIDE ON THE GENERAL FOCUS OF YOUR ORGANIZATION

    Once members of your organization have heard what the community has to say, it 's time
    to decide the general focus of your organization or initiative. First of all, what topic is
    most important to your organization and your community? For example, will you tackle
    urban development or public health issues? Racism or economic opportunity?

    A second question you will need to answer is at what level will your organization work.
    Will your organization begin only in one school, or in one neighborhood, or in your city?
    Or will your initiative's focus be broader, working on a state, national, or even
    international level.

    These are questions for which there are no easy answers. Your organization will need to
    consider what it has learned from the community, and decide through thoughtful

    1058
    discussion the best direction for your organization. We suggest you open this discussion
    up to everyone in your organization to obtain the best results.

    Of course, if your organization is receiving grant money or major funding from a


    particular agency, the grant maker may specify what the general goal of your group
    should be. For example, if your group accepts a grant to reduce child hunger, at least part
    of its mission will be devoted to this purpose. Even in these circumstances, however, the
    community should determine the ultimate vision and mission that will best advance what
    matters to local people.

    DEVELOP YOUR VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS

    Now that your organization has a clearer understanding of what the organization will do
    and why, you are in a prime position to develop the statements that will capture your
    ideas.

    As you are looking at potential statements, remember to keep them broad and enduring.
    Vision and mission statements that are wide in scope allow for a sense of continuity with
    a community's history, traditions, and broad purposes. And vision and mission statements
    that are built to last will guide efforts both today and tomorrow.

    Vision Statements

    First of all, remind members of your organization that it often takes several vision
    statements to fully capture the dreams of those involved in a community improvement
    effort. You don't need - or even want - to have just one "perfect" phrase. Encourage
    people to suggest all of their ideas, and write them down - possibly on poster paper at the
    front of the room, so people can be further inspired by the ideas of others. As you do this,
    help everyone keep in mind:

    What you have learned from your discussions with community members
    What your organization has decided will be your focus
    What you learned about vision statements at the beginning of this section
    If you have a hard time getting started, you might wish to check out some of the vision
    statements in this section's Examples. You might ask yourself how well they meet the
    above suggestions.

    After you have brainstormed a lot of ideas, your group can discuss critically the different
    ideas. Oftentimes, several of the vision statements will just jump out at you - someone
    will suggest it, and people will just instantly think, "That's it!"

    You can also ask yourselves the following questions about vision statements:

    Will it draw people to common work?


    Does it give hope for a better future?

    1059
    Will it inspire community members to realize their dreams through positive, effective
    action?
    Does it provide a basis for developing the other aspects of your action planning process?
    A final caution: try not to get caught up in having a certain number of vision statements
    for your organization. Whether you ultimately end up with two vision statements or ten,
    what is most important is that the statements together give a holistic view of the vision of
    your organization.

    Mission Statements

    The process of writing your mission statement is much like that for developing your
    vision statements. The same brainstorming process can help you develop possibilities for
    your mission statement. Remember, though, that unlike with vision statements, you will
    want to develop a single mission statement for your work. After having brainstormed for
    possible statements, you will want to ask of each one:

    Does it describe what your organization will do and why it will do it?
    Is it concise (one sentence)?
    Is it outcome oriented?
    Is it inclusive of the goals and people who may become involved in the organization?
    Together, your organization can decide on a statement that best meets these criteria.

    OBTAIN CONSENSUS ON YOUR VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS

    Once members of your organization have developed your vision and mission statements,
    your next step might be to learn what other members of your community think of them
    before you start to use them regularly.

    To do this, you could talk to the same community leaders or focus group members you
    spoke to originally. First of all, this can help you ensure that they don't find the
    statements offensive in any way. For example, an initiative that wants to include young
    men more fully in its teen pregnancy prevention project might have "Young men in
    Asheville are the best informed" as one of their vision statements. But taken out of
    context, some people community members might believe this statement means young
    men are given better information or education than young women, thus offending another
    group of people.

    Second, you will want to ensure that community members agree that the statements
    together capture the spirit of what they believe and desire. Your organization might find
    it has omitted something very important by mistake.

    DECIDE HOW YOU WILL USE YOUR VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS

    Finally, it's important to remember that while developing the statements is a huge step for
    your organization (and one you should celebrate!), there is more work to be done. Next,

    1060
    you have to decide how to use these statements. Otherwise, all of your hard work will
    have happening for nothing. The point is to get the message across.

    There are many, many ways in which your organization may choose to spread its vision
    and mission statements. To name just a few examples, you might:

    Add them to your letterhead or stationary


    Use them on your website
    Give away T-shirts, or bookmarks, or other small gifts with them
    Add them to your press kit
    Use them when you give interviews
    Display them on the cover of your annual report
    ...and so on. Again, this is a step that will use all of your creativity.

    IN SUMMARY
    Developing effective vision and mission statements are two of the most important tasks
    your organization will ever do, because almost everything else you do will be affected by
    these statements. We hope that this section has allowed you to feel more confident now in
    your group's ability to create successful and inspiring vision and mission statements.
    Remember, think broadly and boldly! Good luck!

    Contributor
    Jenette Nagy
    Stephen B. Fawcett
    Print Resources

    Barry, B. (1982). Strategic planning workbook for non-profit organizations. St. Paul,
    MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

    Bryson, J. (1988). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
    strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
    Publishers.

    Coover, V., et al. (1985). Resource manual for a living revolution: a handbook of skills
    & tools for social change activists. Philadelphia: New Society Publisher.

    Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K. P., Lewis, R., Williams, E., Harris, K.,
    Winter, K., in collaboration with Bradley, B. & Copple, J. (1992). Preventing adolescent
    substance abuse: an action planning guide for community -based initiatives. Lawrence,
    KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development, University of
    Kansas.

    Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K., Lewis, R., Harris, K., Williams, E., &
    Fischer, J., in collaboration with Vincent, M., & Johnson, C. (1992). Preventing
    adolescent pregnancy: an action planning guide for community-based initiatives.

    1061
    Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development,
    University of Kansas.

    Kansas Health Foundation. VMOSA: An approach to strategic planning. Wichita, KS:


    Kansas Health Foundation.

    Lord, R. (1989). The non-profit problem solver: A management guide. New York, NY:
    Praeger Publishers.

    Olenick, J., & Olenick, R. (1991). A non-profit organization operating manual: planning
    for survival and growth. New York, NY: Foundation Center.

    Stonich, P. (1982). Implementing strategy: making strategy happen. Cambridge:


    Ballinger Publishing Company.

    Unterman, I., & Davis, R. (1984). Strategic management of not-for-profit organizations.


    New York, NY: CBS Educational and Professional Publishing.

    Wolff, T. (1990). Managing a non-profit organization. New York, NY: Prentice Hall
    Press.

    Organizations

    American Planning Association


    1776 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
    Washington, DC 20036
    (202) 872-0611
    FAX: (202) 872-0643

    WHAT ARE OBJECTIVES?

    WHY SHOULD YOU CREATE OBJECTIVES?

    WHEN SHOULD YOU CREATE OBJECTIVES?

    HOW DO YOU CREATE OBJECTIVES?

    To obtain long-term results, we need to have mid-term goals that will lead to the
    outcomes we desire. If a child wants to finish high school (his long-term goal), in the
    meantime, he will need to successfully complete the second, third, fourth (and so on)
    grades.

    1062
    Learning to develop these statements of goals is what this section is all about. In the last
    section of this chapter, you learned how to develop your organization's vision (for
    example, "A world without AIDS"), as well as its mission (for example, "To ensure the
    highest quality care of people in our community with HIV/AIDS and halt the further
    spread of the disease through a comprehensive community initiative."). Now we'll look at
    developing the specific objectives that will help to make your vision and mission a
    reality.

    WHAT ARE OBJECTIVES?


    Once an organization has developed its mission statement, its next step is to develop the
    specific objectives that are focused on achieving that mission. Objectives are the specific
    measurable results of the initiative. An organization's objectives offer specifics of how
    much of what will be accomplished by when. For example, one of several objectives for a
    community initiative to promote care and caring for older adults might be: "By 2020 (by
    when), to increase by 20% (how much) those elders reporting that they are in daily
    contact with someone who cares about them (of what)."

    There are three basic types of objectives. They are:

    Behavioral objectives. These objectives look at changing the behaviors of people (what
    they are doing and saying) and the products (or results) of their behaviors. For example, a
    neighborhood improvement group might develop an objective for having an increased
    amount of home repair taking place (the behavior) and of improved housing (the result).
    Community-level outcome objectives. These are often the product or result of behavior
    change in many people. They are more focused on a community level instead of an
    individual level. For example, the same neighborhood group might have an objective of
    increasing the percentage of people living in the community with adequate housing as a
    community-level outcome objective. (Notice this result would be a community-level
    outcome of behavior change in lots of people.)
    Process objectives. These are the objectives that provide the groundwork or
    implementation necessary to achieve your other objectives. For example, the group might
    adopt a comprehensive plan for improving neighborhood housing. In this case, adoption
    of the plan itself is the objective.
    It's important to understand that these different types of objectives aren't mutually
    exclusive. Most groups will develop objectives in all three categories. And all of the
    different types of objectives should be used as intermediate markers of the organization's
    progress.

    The best objectives have several characteristics in common. They are all S.M.A.R.T. +C.:

    They are specific. That is, they tell how much (e.g., 40%) of what is to be achieved (e.g.,
    what behavior of whom or what outcome) by when (e.g., by 2020)?
    They are measurable. Information concerning the objective can be collected, detected, or
    obtained from records (at least potentially).
    They are achievable. Not only are the objectives themselves possible, it is likely that your
    organization will be able to pull them off.

    1063
    They are relevant to the mission. Your organization has a clear understanding of how
    these objectives fit in with the overall vision and mission of the group.
    They are timed. Your organization has developed a timeline (a portion of which is made
    clear in the objectives) by which they will be achieved.
    They are challenging. They stretch the group to set its aims on significant improvements
    that are important to members of the community.
    WHY SHOULD YOU CREATE OBJECTIVES?
    There are many good reasons to develop specific objectives for your organization. They
    include:

    Developing objectives helps your organization create specific and feasible ways in which
    to carry out your mission.
    Completed objectives can serve as a marker to show members of your organization,
    funders, and the greater community what your initiative has accomplished.
    Creating objectives helps your organization set priorities for its goals.
    It helps individuals and work groups set guidelines and develop the task list of things that
    need to be done.
    It reemphasizes your mission throughout the process of change, which helps keep
    members of the organization working toward the same long-term goals.
    Developing the list of objectives can serve as a completeness check, to make sure your
    organization is attacking the issue on all appropriate fronts.
    WHEN SHOULD YOU CREATE OBJECTIVES?
    Your community organization should create objectives when:

    Your organization has developed (or revamped) its vision and mission statements, and is
    ready to take the next step in the planning process.
    Your organization's focus has changed or expanded. For example, perhaps your
    organization's mission relates to care and caring at the end of life. You have recently been
    made aware of new resources, however, to positively affect the lives of those deeply
    affected by the death of a loved one. If your organization were to apply for this new
    grant, it would clearly expand upon your current work, and would require objectives as
    you developed your action plan.
    The organization wants to address a community issue or problem, create a service, or
    make a community change that requires:
    Several years to complete. For example, your child health organization might hope to
    increase the percentage of students who finish high school - a task that may take several
    years to complete.
    A change in behavior of large numbers of people. For example, your organization may be
    trying to reduce risks for cardiovascular diseases, and one of your objectives may be to
    increase the number of adults who engage in physical activity in your community.
    A multi-faceted approach. For example, with a problem as complex as substance abuse,
    your organization may have to worry about tackling related issues, such as access to
    drugs, available drug rehabilitation services, legal consequences for drug use, etc., as well
    as reducing the prevalence (how often or how much) of drug use.
    HOW DO YOU CREATE OBJECTIVES?

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    So once your organization has decided that it does wish to develop objectives, how do
    you go about doing so? Let's look at the process that will help you to define and refine
    objectives for your organization.

    DEFINE OR REAFFIRM YOUR VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS

    The first thing you will need to do is review the vision and mission statements your
    organization has developed. Before you determine your objectives, you should have a
    "big picture" that they fit into.

    DETERMINE THE CHANGES TO BE MADE

    The crux of writing realistic objectives is learning what changes need to happen in order
    to fulfill your mission.

    There are many ways to do this, including:

    Research what experts in your field believe to be the best ways to solve the problem. For
    many community issues, researchers have developed useful ideas of what needs to occur
    to see real progress. This information may be available through local libraries, the
    Internet, state and national agencies, national nonprofit groups, and university research
    groups.
    Discuss with local experts what needs to occur. Some of the people with whom you may
    wish to talk include:
    Other members of your organization
    Local experts, such as members of other, similar organizations who have a great deal of
    experience with the issue you are trying to change
    Your agents of change, or the people in a position to contribute to the solution. Agents of
    change might include teachers, business leaders, church leaders, local politicians,
    community members, and members of the media.
    Your targets of change, the people who experience the problem or issue on a day-to-day
    basis and those people whose actions contribute to the problem. Changing their behavior
    will become the heart of your objectives.
    Discuss the logistical requirements of your own organization to successfully address
    community needs. At the same time your organization is looking at what needs to happen
    in the community to solve the issue important to you, you should also consider what your
    organization requires to get that done. Do you need an action plan? Additional funding?
    More staff, or more training for additional staff? This information is necessary to develop
    the process objectives we talked about earlier in this section.
    At this point in the planning process, you don't need hard and fast answers to the above
    questions. What you should develop as part of this step is a general list of what needs to
    occur to make the changes you want to see.

    For example, perhaps your group has decided upon the following mission: "To reduce
    risk for cardiovascular diseases through a community-wide initiative." At this point in

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    your research (without getting into specifics), your organization might have decided that
    your objectives will be based on the following general goals:

    Begin smoking cessation programs


    Begin smoking prevention programs
    Bring about an increase in aerobic exercise
    Decrease the amount of obesity
    Encourage healthier diets
    Increase preventative medicine (for example, more checkups for earlier detection of
    disease; better understanding of warning signs and symptoms)
    Increase the scientific understanding of your own organization regarding the causes and
    pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease
    Strengthen your organization's ties with national organizations committed to the same
    goals as your organization
    COLLECT BASELINE DATA ON THE ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

    As soon as your organization has a general idea of what it wants to accomplish, the next
    step is to develop baseline data on the issue to be addressed. Baseline data are the facts
    and figures that tell you how big the problem is; it gives specific figures about the extent
    to which it exists in your community.

    Baseline data can indicate the incidence (new cases) of a problem in the community. For
    example, "Malott County has an adolescent pregnancy rate of 12.3 pregnancies for every
    thousand teenage girls." Such data can also reveal the prevalence (existing cases) of the
    problem. For example, "In Jefferson County, 35% of teens reported that they did not use
    contraceptives during the last time they had sex."

    Baseline data may also measure community attitudes towards a problem. For example,
    "65% of the residents of Malott County do not consider teen pregnancy to be an
    important problem for the community."

    Why collect baseline data?

    This information is important because baseline data provides your organization with the
    numbers; the starting points against which you can measure how much progress you have
    made. Not only is this information helpful when originally asking for financial (or other)
    assistance, it can help you show what your organization has done later in its lifetime.

    So, early in your organization's life, you can prove to funders that there really is a very
    significant problem in your community that needs to be addressed ("Malott County's
    adolescent pregnancy rate is the highest in the state of Georgia.") Then, when asked later
    in the life of your community initiative, "What have you done?" you will be able to
    answer, "Since our coalition was formed, Malott County has seen pregnancy among teens
    drop by 35%." If you don't collect (or obtain) the baseline information, you can't prove
    how much you have done.

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    How do you collect this information?

    There are two basic ways to collect baseline data:

    You can collect your own baseline data for the information related to your specific issues.
    Ways to gather this information include the use of surveys, questionnaires, and personal
    interviews.
    You can use information that has already been collected. Public libraries, city
    government, social service agencies, local schools, or city health departments may
    already have the statistics that you want, especially if another organization has already
    done work on a similar issue in your community.
    DECIDE WHAT IS REALISTIC FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION TO ACCOMPLISH

    Once you know what you want to do, as well as exactly how big the problem is, it's time
    to figure out how much you believe your organization can accomplish. Do you have the
    resources to affect all of the goals you looked at in Step Two? And to what extent will
    you be able to achieve them?

    These questions are difficult ones to answer. It's hard for a new organization to know
    what it can reasonably expect to get done. For example, if you are trying to increase rates
    of childhood immunization, will your organization be able to increase it by 5% in three
    years, or by 20% in one year? How do you make these decisions?

    Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. Your organization will need to take a good look
    at its resources, as well as talk to experts who have a sense of what is not only possible,
    but likely. For example, you might ask members of organizations who have done similar
    things, or researchers in your topic area what they believe makes sense.

    Remember, you are attempting to set objectives that are both achievable and challenging.
    It's hard to hit just the right note of balance between these two qualities, and you may not
    always get it just right. Research and experience, however, should help you come closer
    and closer to this goal.

    SET THE OBJECTIVES FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION OR INITIATIVE

    With all of this information in mind, your organization is ready to set some short-term
    goals or objectives that are feasible but demanding. Remember, objectives refer to
    specific measurable results. These changes in behavior, outcome, and process must be
    able to be tracked and measured in such a way to show that a change has occurred.

    A caution: Oftentimes, the objectives of a community initiative or organization are set or


    influenced by the primary funding agency. Regardless of outside influences, each
    community initiative must decide what problems it is going to take on and what
    objectives would define success for their organization.
    Your organization's list of objectives should do all of the following:

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    Include all three types of objectives: objectives that measure behavior change,
    community outcomes, and those that measure important parts of the planning process.
    Include specific objectives that tell how much of what will occur by when. For example,
    "By 2020, rates of teen pregnancy among 12-17 year old girls will decrease by 30%."
    They should include all of the "SMART +C criteria." As we discussed earlier in this
    section, this means that they should be, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant ,
    Time d, and Challenging.
    Let's look at one more example of some objectives; these goals come from an
    organization focusing on preventing adolescent substance abuse.

    Objectives developed by an adolescent substance abuse prevention initiative

    By the year 2012, the use of tobacco among 12-17 year olds will be reduced by 40%.
    By the year 2012, the use of alcohol among 12-17 year olds will be reduced by 50%.
    By the year 2012, the use of marijuana among 12-17 year olds will be reduced by 70%.
    By the year 2012, the use of cocaine among 12-17 year olds will be reduced by 80%.
    REVIEW THE OBJECTIVES YOUR ORGANIZATION HAS CREATED

    Before you finalize your objectives, it makes sense for members of your organization to
    review them one more time, and possibly, ask people outside of your organization to
    review them as well. You might ask members of your organization who were not
    involved in the development process to review your work. You may also wish to get the
    thoughts of local experts, targets and agents of change, and/or of people doing similar
    work in other communities to review what you have developed. You can ask reviewers to
    comment on:

    Do your objectives each meet the criteria of "SMART+C"?


    Is your list of objectives complete? That is, are there important objectives that are
    missing?
    Are your objectives appropriate? Are any of your objectives controversial? If so, your
    organization needs to decide if it is ready to handle the storm that may arise. For
    example, a program that is trying to reduce the spread of AIDS in its community may
    decide clean needles for drug addicts is an objective they wish to strive for; but it may
    very well cause difficulties for that organization. That's not to say the organization
    shouldn't make that an objective, but they should do so with a clear understanding of the
    consequences.
    USE YOUR OBJECTIVES TO DEFINE YOUR ORGANIZATION'S STRATEGIES

    Finally, once you have your general objectives, you are ready for the next step:
    developing the strategies that will make them possible. Once your objectives are finished,
    and satisfactory to members of the organization and important people outside of your
    group, you are ready to move on to developing successful strategies.

    IN SUMMARY
    Developing objectives is a critical step in your planning process. It can also be very
    exciting piece, because this is the time when your organization really start to say what,

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    exactly, you are going to get done in order to realize your dream. In the next section on
    strategies, we get even more detail oriented, as we discuss the broad ways to achieve (or
    even, to exceed) the objectives you have set.

    Contributor
    Jenette Nagy
    Stephen B. Fawcett
    Print Resources

    Barry, B. (1982). Strategic planning workbook for non-profit organizations. St. Paul,
    MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

    Bryson, J. (1988). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
    strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
    Publishers.

    Coover, V., et al. (1985). Resource manual for a living revolution: a handbook of skills
    & tools for social change activists. Philadelphia: New Society Publisher.

    Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K. P., Lewis, R., Williams, E., Harris, K.,
    Winter, K., in collaboration with Bradley, B. & Copple, J. (1992). Preventing adolescent
    substance abuse: an action planning guide for community -based initiatives. Lawrence,
    KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development, University of
    Kansas.

    Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K., Lewis, R., Harris, K., Williams, E., &
    Fischer, J., in collaboration with Vincent, M., & Johnson, C. (1992). Preventing
    adolescent pregnancy: an action planning guide for community-based initiatives.
    Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development,
    University of Kansas.

    Kansas Health Foundation. VMOSA: An approach to strategic planning. Wichita, KS:


    Kansas Health Foundation.

    Lord, R. (1989). The non-profit problem solver: A management guide. New York, NY:
    Praeger Publishers.

    Olenick, J., & Olenick, R. (1991). A non-profit organization operating manual: planning
    for survival and growth. New York, NY: Foundation Center.

    Stonich, P. (1982). Implementing strategy: making strategy happen. Cambridge:


    Ballinger Publishing Company.

    Unterman, I., & Davis, R. (1984). Strategic management of not-for-profit organizations.


    New York, NY: CBS Educational and Professional Publishing.

    1069
    Wolff, T. (1990). Managing a non-profit organization. New York, NY: Prentice Hall
    Press.

    WHAT IS A STRATEGY?

    WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR DEVELOPING A GOOD STRATEGY?

    WHY DEVELOP STRATEGIES?

    WHEN SHOULD YOU DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR YOUR INITIATIVE?

    HOW DO YOU DEVELOP STRATEGIES?

    Photo of a strategy plan drawn on a wall


    WHAT IS A STRATEGY?
    A strategy is a way of describing how you are going to get things done. It is less specific
    than an action plan (which tells the who-what-when); instead, it tries to broadly answer
    the question, "How do we get there from here?" (Do we want to take the train? Fly?
    Walk?)

    A good strategy will take into account existing barriers and resources (people, money,
    power, materials, etc.). It will also stay with the overall vision, mission, and objectives of
    the initiative. Often, an initiative will use many different strategies--providing
    information, enhancing support, removing barriers, providing resources, etc.--to achieve
    its goals.

    Objectives outline the aims of an initiative--what success would look like in achieving
    the vision and mission. By contrast, strategies suggest paths to take (and how to move
    along) on the road to success. That is, strategies help you determine how you will realize
    your vision and objectives through the nitty-gritty world of action.

    WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR DEVELOPING A GOOD STRATEGY?


    Strategies for your community initiative should meet several criteria.

    Does the strategy:

    Give overall direction? A strategy, such as enhancing experience and skill or increasing
    resources and opportunities, should point out the overall path without dictating a
    particular narrow approach (e.g., using a specific skills training program).
    Fit resources and opportunities? A good strategy takes advantage of current resources and
    assets, such as people's willingness to act or a tradition of self-help and community pride.
    It also embraces new opportunities such as an emerging public concern for neighborhood
    safety or parallel economic development efforts in the business community.

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    Minimize resistance and barriers? When initiatives set out to accomplish important
    things, resistance (even opposition) is inevitable. However, strategies need not provide a
    reason for opponents to attack the initiative. Good strategies attract allies and deter
    opponents.
    Reach those affected? To address the issue or problem, strategies must connect the
    intervention with those who it should benefit. For example, if the mission of the initiative
    is to get people into decent jobs, do the strategies (providing education and skills training,
    creating job opportunities, etc.) reach those currently unemployed?
    Advance the mission? Taken together, are strategies likely to make a difference on the
    mission and objectives? If the aim is to reduce a problem such as unemployment, are the
    strategies enough to make a difference on rates of employment? If the aim is to prevent a
    problem, such as substance abuse, have factors contributing to risk (and protection) been
    changed sufficiently to reduce use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs?
    WHY DEVELOP STRATEGIES?
    Developing strategies is really a way to focus your efforts and figure out how you're
    going to get things done. By doing so, you can achieve the following advantages:

    Taking advantage of resources and emerging opportunities


    Responding effectively to resistance and barriers
    A more efficient use of time, energy, and resources
    WHEN SHOULD YOU DEVELOP STRATEGIES FOR YOUR INITIATIVE?
    Developing strategies is the fourth step in the VMOSA (Vision, Mission, Objectives,
    Strategies, and Action Plans) process outlined at the beginning of this chapter.
    Developing strategies is the essential step between figuring out your objectives and
    making the changes to reach them. Strategies should always be formed in advance of
    taking action, not deciding how to do something after you have done it. Without a clear
    idea of the how, your group's actions may waste time and effort and fail to take advantage
    of emerging opportunities. Strategies should also be updated periodically to meet the
    needs of a changing environment, including new opportunities and emerging opposition
    to the group's efforts.

    HOW DO YOU DEVELOP STRATEGIES?


    Once again, let's refer back to our friends at the fictional Reducing the Risk (RTR)
    Coalition that hopes to reduce the risk of teenage pregnancy in its community. We'll walk
    through the process of developing strategies with this group so as to better explain the
    who, what, and why of strategies.

    As with the process you went through to write your vision and mission statements and to
    set your objectives, developing strategies involves brainstorming and talking to
    community members.

    ORGANIZE A BRAINSTORMING MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF YOUR


    ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY

    Remember, people will work best in a relaxed and welcoming environment. You can help
    achieve this by:

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    Making meetings a place where all members feel that their ideas are listened to and
    valued, and where constructive criticism may be openly voiced. To help meet these goals,
    you might post some "ground rules" so people feel free to express themselves. Ground
    rules might include:
    One person speaks at a time
    No interrupting each other
    Everyone's ideas are respected
    Bringing fans or heaters (if needed) so people will be comfortable.
    Asking members to escort each other home or to their cars, the subway, or the bus stop if
    the meeting runs late.
    Providing refreshments. Never underestimate the power of homemade food, drinks, and
    other treats.
    The RTR Coalition held brainstorming sessions among organization members. They
    invited local teens, parents, teachers, counselors, church members, and other community
    leaders to participate in listening sessions. These were used to help develop strategies to
    reduce the risk of teen pregnancy. Homemade cookies, fruit, and coffee helped make
    participants feel welcome.

    REVIEW (IDENTIFY) THE TARGETS AND AGENTS OF CHANGE FOR YOUR


    INITIATIVE

    Your targets of change include all of the people who experience (or are at risk for) this
    issue or problem addressed by your initiative. Remember to be inclusive; that is, include
    everyone who is affected by the problem or issue or whose action or inaction contributes
    to it. For example, a coalition such the RTR Coalition would want to include all teenagers
    as potential targets of change, not just adolescents who seem particularly at risk, and
    parents, peers, and teachers whose actions or inactions might make a difference.
    Your agents of change include everyone who is in a position to help contribute to the
    solution. With the RTR Coalition, examples of agents of change might include teens,
    teachers, guidance counselors, parents of teens, lawmakers, and others.
    REVIEW YOUR VISION, MISSION, AND OBJECTIVES TO KEEP YOU ON THE
    RIGHT TRACK

    It is helpful to review your mission, vision, and objectives to ensure that your strategies
    are all aligned with the goals expressed in your previous work.

    WORK TOGETHER TO BRAINSTORM THE BEST STRATEGIES FOR YOUR


    INITIATIVE

    The following list of questions can be a guide for deciding on the most beneficial
    strategies for your group:

    What resources and assets exist that can be used to help achieve the vision and mission?
    How can they be used best?

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    What obstacles or resistance exist that could make it difficult to achieve your vision and
    mission? How can you minimize or get around them?
    What are potential agents of change willing to do to serve the mission?
    Do you want to reduce the existing problem, or does it make more sense to try to prevent
    (or reduce risk for) problems before they start? For example, if you are trying to reduce
    teen sexual activity, you might consider gearing some of your strategies to younger
    children, for whom sex is not yet a personal issue; or, to promote academic success, to
    work with younger children who still have full potential for learning and school success.
    How will your potential strategies decrease the risk for experiencing the problem (e.g.,
    young girls getting pressure for sex from older men)? How will the strategies increase
    protective factors (e.g., support from peers; access to contraceptives)?
    What potential strategies will affect the whole population and problem? For example,
    connecting youth with caring adults might be good for virtually all youth, regardless of
    income or past experience with the problem. Also, just one strategy, affecting just one
    part of the community such as schools or youth organizations, often isn't enough to
    improve the situation. Make sure that your strategies affect the problem or issue as a
    whole.
    What potential strategies reach those at particular risk for the problem? For example,
    early screenings might help focus on those at higher risk for heart disease or cancer; past
    academic failure or history of drug use, for identifying with whom support and other
    intervention efforts might be focused.
    Let's look at the strategies proposed by the members of the RTR Coalition to prevent teen
    pregnancy.

    Example: The strategies of the RTR Coalition

    We will pursue the following strategies to reach each of our objectives:

    Assist local churches in implementing parent-child awareness sessions (for example, a


    series of talks might be given discussing how to talk to your preteen about sex);
    Include comprehensive sex education in the curriculum of students from kindergarten
    through grade twelve, including information on abstinence, sexual decision-making
    skills, and family planning / contraception at age-appropriate times;
    Incorporate options for teacher-led and peer support programs in the schools;
    Survey and report on student knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to sexual issues;
    Increase access to contraception;
    Organize a school/community action group to create supervised after-school activities,
    mentor programs, etc.
    Things to note about the RTR strategies:

    They give overall direction (without dictating specifics, such as the particular sexuality
    education curricula to be used).
    They fit local resources, including a variety of the available agents of change (in this
    case, peers, parents and guardians, clergy, and teachers).

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    Some of the strategies try to change existing situations (such as increased access to
    contraception); others are geared to stop the problem of teen pregnancy before it starts
    (for example, assisting local churches to improve early parent-child communication).
    The strategies involve many different parts of the community, including churches and
    other groups from whom opposition to some strategies (such as access to contraceptives)
    might be expected.
    The strategies try to decrease some of the probable risk factors for teen pregnancy (lack
    of information, lack of access to contraceptives, peer pressure), and at the same time, they
    try to increase some of the possible protective factors (increased parent-child
    communication, church involvement, education, opportunities for a better future).
    CHECK YOUR PROPOSED STRATEGIES FOR COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY,
    AND WHETHER THEY CONTRIBUTE TO THE VISION, MISSION, AND
    OBJECTIVES

    Contributor
    Jenette Nagy
    Stephen B. Fawcett
    Online Resource

    Tom Wolff / AHEC/Community Partners. (1993). Coalition building tip sheets [Resource
    Sheets]. Amherst, MA

    Concerns Report Handbook: Planning for Community Health

    Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based


    Initiatives

    Preventing Adolescent Substance Abuse: An Action Planning Guide for Community-


    Based Initiatives

    Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based
    Initiatives

    Preventing Youth Violence: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

    Promoting Child Well-Being: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based


    Initiatives

    Promoting Health for All: Improving Access and Eliminating Disparities in Community
    Health

    Promoting Healthy Living and Preventing Chronic Disease: An Action Planning Guide
    for Communities

    Promoting Urban Neighborhood Development: An Action Planning Guide for Improving


    Housing, Jobs, Education, Safety and Health

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    Reducing Risk for Chronic Disease: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based
    Initiatives

    Work Group Evaluation Handbook

    Youth Development: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

    Print Resources

    Berkowitz, W. (1982). Community impact: creating grassroots change in hard times.


    Cambridge: Schenkman.

    Brown, C. (1984). The art of coalition building: a guide for community leaders. The
    American Jewish Committee.

    Fawcett, S., Francisco, V., Paine, A., Fisher, J., Lewis, R., Williams, E., Richter, K..,
    Harris, K.., & Berkley, J., with assistance from Oxley, L., Graham, A., & Amawi, L.
    (1994). Preventing youth violence: an action planning guide. Lawrence, KS: Work Group
    on Health Promotion and Community Development, University of Kansas.

    Fawcett, S.., Harris, K., Paine- A., Richter, K., Lewis, R., Francisco, V., Arbaje, A.,
    Davis, A., Cheng, H. in collaboration with Johnston, J. (1995). Reducing risk for chronic
    disease: an action planning guide for community-based initiatives. Lawrence, KS: Work
    Group on Health Promotion and Community Development, University of Kansas.

    Hawkins, J., & Catalano, R., et al. (1992). Communities that care. San Francisco, CA.

    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (1996). Strategic execution plan (DOT
    HS 808-377).

    WHAT IS AN ACTION PLAN?

    WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR A GOOD ACTION PLAN?

    WHY SHOULD YOU DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN?

    WHEN SHOULD YOU DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN?

    HOW TO WRITE AN ACTION PLAN

    Developing an action plan can help changemakers turn their visions into reality, and
    increase efficiency and accountability within an organization. An action plan describes
    the way your organization will meet its objectives through detailed action steps that

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    describe how and when these steps will be taken. This section provides a guide for
    developing and utilizing your group's action plan.

    WHAT IS AN ACTION PLAN?


    In some ways, an action plan is a "heroic" act: it helps us turn our dreams into a reality.
    An action plan is a way to make sure your organization's vision is made concrete. It
    describes the way your group will use its strategies to meet its objectives. An action plan
    consists of a number of action steps or changes to be brought about in your community.

    Each action step or change to be sought should include the following information:

    What actions or changes will occur


    Who will carry out these changes
    By when they will take place, and for how long
    What resources (i.e., money, staff) are needed to carry out these changes
    Communication (who should know what?)
    WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR A GOOD ACTION PLAN?
    The action plan for your initiative should meet several criteria.

    Is the action plan:

    Complete? Does it list all the action steps or changes to be sought in all relevant parts of
    the community (e.g., schools, business, government, faith community)?
    Clear? Is it apparent who will do what by when?
    Current? Does the action plan reflect the current work? Does it anticipate newly
    emerging opportunities and barriers?
    WHY SHOULD YOU DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN?
    There is an inspirational adage that says, "People don't plan to fail. Instead they fail to
    plan." Because you certainly don't want to fail, it makes sense to take all of the steps
    necessary to ensure success, including developing an action plan.

    There are lots of good reasons to work out the details of your organization's work in an
    action plan, including:

    To lend credibility to your organization. An action plan shows members of the


    community (including grantmakers) that your organization is well ordered and dedicated
    to getting things done.
    To be sure you don't overlook any of the details
    To understand what is and isn't possible for your organization to do
    For efficiency: to save time, energy, and resources in the long run
    For accountability: To increase the chances that people will do what needs to be done
    WHEN SHOULD YOU CREATE AN ACTION PLAN?
    Ideally, an action plan should be developed within the first six months to one year of the
    start of an organization. It is developed after you have determined the vision, mission,
    objectives, and strategies of your group. If you develop an action plan when you are

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    ready to start getting things done, it will give you a blueprint for running your
    organization or initiative.

    Remember, though, that an action plan is always a work in progress. It is not something
    you can write, lock in your file drawers, and forget about. Keep it visible. Display it
    prominently. As your organization changes and grows, you will want to continually
    (usually monthly) revise your action plan to fit the changing needs of your group and
    community.

    HOW TO WRITE AN ACTION PLAN


    DETERMINE WHAT PEOPLE AND SECTORS OF THE COMMUNITY SHOULD
    BE CHANGED AND INVOLVED IN FINDING SOLUTIONS

    If you have been using the VMOSA (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, Action
    Plans) model, you might have already done this, when you were deciding upon your
    group's objectives. Again, try to be inclusive. Most of the health and development issues
    that community partnerships deal with are community-wide, and thus need a community-
    wide solution. Possible sectors include the media, the business community, religious
    organizations, schools, youth organizations, social service organizations, health
    organizations, and others.

    Some members of the community you might consider asking to join the action planning
    group include:

    Influential people from all the parts of the community affected by your initiative (e.g.,
    from churches and synagogues, the school system, law enforcement, etc.)
    People who are directly involved in the problem (e.g., local high school students and their
    parents might be involved in planning a coalition trying to reduce teen substance abuse)
    Members of grassroots organizations
    Members of the various ethnic and cultural groups in your community
    People you know who are interested in the problem or issue
    Newcomers or young people in the community who are not yet involved
    Let's consider some of the people who were involved with the planning group for the
    fictional Reducing the Risks (RTR) Coalition that hopes to reduce the rate of teen
    pregnancy. Some of the members of this planning group included teachers at the local
    high school, local teenagers and their parents, members of the clergy, counselors and
    school nurses, staff of the county health department, and members of youth
    organizations, service agencies, and other organizations that focus on youth issues.

    Convene a planning group in your community to design your action plan. This might be
    the same group of people who worked with you to decide your group's strategies and
    objectives. If you are organizing a new group of people, try to make your planning
    committee as diverse and inclusive as possible. Your group should look like the people
    most affected by the problem or issue.

    Once everyone is present, go over your organization's:

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    Vision
    Mission
    Objectives
    Strategies
    Targets and agents of change (e.g., youth, parents and guardians, clergy)
    Proposed changes for each sector of the community (e.g., schools, faith community,
    service organizations, health organizations, government)
    Develop an action plan composed of action steps that address all proposed changes. The
    plan should be complete, clear, and current. Additionally, the action plan should include
    information and ideas you have already gathered while brainstorming about your
    objectives and your strategies. What are the steps you must take to carry out your
    objectives while still fulfilling your vision and mission? Now it's time for all of the
    VMOSA components to come together. While the plan might address general goals you
    want to see accomplished, the action steps will help you determine the specific actions
    you will take to help make your vision a reality. Here are some guidelines to follow to
    write action steps.

    Members of the community initiative will want to determine:

    What action or change will occur


    Who will carry it out
    When it will take place, and for how long
    What resources (i.e., money, staff) are needed to carry out the change
    Communication (who should know what)
    Example: RTR Coalition's Action Step (a sample)

    One community change sought by this coalition to prevent teen pregnancy was to
    increase publicity about contraception and unwanted pregnancy at the local high school.

    What action or change will occur: Hanging posters, displays, and other information about
    contraception and the facts about unwanted pregnancy in the hallways of the local high
    school. The posters and other information will become a permanent part of the high
    school. Posters and information will be regularly changed as new materials become
    available.
    Who will carry it out: A sub-committee comprised of parents and guardians, teachers,
    students, and coalition members will be responsible for maintaining the displays. The
    coalition as a whole will work towards finding funding to purchase the materials. Maria
    and Alex of the schools action group will be responsible for researching and ordering the
    materials.
    By when will it take place, and for how long: The coalition will try to have posters
    hanging and displays visible within six weeks of deciding on the action step (2/19/2013).
    What resources are needed to carry out the step: The coalition will approach the school
    district to request funding for the project. Otherwise, the group will seek funding from
    other sources such as foundations and local businesses to finance the program.

    1078
    Communication about the action step. The school principal and leadership of the Parent-
    Teacher Organization (PTO) should be given information about this planned change.
    Things to note about this portion of the RTR action plan:

    It appears complete. Although this step seems fully developed, we would need to review
    the entire action plan to see whether all community and system changes that should be
    sought are included.
    It is clear. We know who will do what by when.
    It seems current. We would need to know more about other current work (and new
    opportunities and barriers) to judge whether this portion of the action plan is up-to-date.
    Review your completed action plan carefully to check for completeness. Make sure that
    each proposed change will help accomplish your group's mission. Also, be sure that the
    action plan taken as a whole will help you complete your mission; that is, make sure you
    aren't leaving anything out.

    Follow through. One hard part (figuring out what to do) is finished. Now take your plan
    and run with it! Remember the 80-20 rule: successful efforts are 80% follow through on
    planned actions and 20% planning for success.

    Keep everyone informed about what's going on. Communicate to everyone involved how
    his or her input was incorporated. No one likes to feel like her wit and wisdom has been
    ignored.

    Keep track of what (and how well) you've done. Always keep track of what the group has
    actually done. If the community change (a new program or policy) took significant time
    or resources, it's also a good idea to evaluate what you have done, either formally or
    informally.

    Keep several questions in mind for both yourself and others:

    Are we doing what we said we'd do?


    Are we doing it well?
    Is what we are doing advancing the mission?
    You can address these questions informally (ask yourself, chat with friends and other
    people), as well as formally, through surveys and other evaluation methods.

    Celebrate a job well done! Celebrate your accomplishments; you and those you work
    with deserve it. Celebration helps keep everyone excited and interested in the work they
    are doing.

    AFTER YOU'VE WRITTEN YOUR ACTION PLAN: GETTING MEMBERS TO DO


    WHAT THEY SAID THEY WOULD

    Every community organization has undoubtedly had this happen: you plan and you assign
    tasks to get everything you've planned to do accomplished. Everyone agrees (maybe they
    even offer) to do certain tasks, and you all leave with a great feeling of accomplishment.

    1079
    The problem? At the next meeting, nothing has been done. Besides tearing out your hair,
    what can you do?

    Fortunately, there are several things you can try. It's particularly tricky in the case of
    volunteers, because you don't want to lean too hard on someone who is donating their
    time and energy to begin with. Still, you can make it easier for members to get things
    done (and harder to avoid work) without acting like the mean neighbor down the street.
    Some of these gentle reminders include:

    Regular phone calls from staff members or dedicated volunteers asking others how they
    are doing with their tasks. This should be a supportive call, not a "are you doing what
    you're supposed to" call. The person calling can offer emotional support "how are you
    doing?" as well as see if the group member needs any other assistance. A friendly call
    such as this can be seen as helpful, give the member the sense that he is a very important
    part of the group, and serve as a great reminder to do what he said he would do.
    Distributing the action plan in writing to all members, with names attached to specific
    tasks. (Additionally, this can be a great time to ask for feedback before the plan becomes
    "official.")
    Making sure timelines (with due dates) are complete, clear and current.
    At regular group meetings, such as committee meetings or board meetings, ask members
    to report on accomplishing the tasks they have set out to do. Consider making this a
    regular part of the meeting.
    Celebrate the accomplishment of tasks. It's important that getting something done
    actually means something, and is recognized by the group as a whole.
    Follow up on the action plan regularly. You are asking members to be accountable, and
    to get things done on a regular basis. If they have agreed, you should help them fulfill
    their commitment as best you can.

    Online Resources

    The Ruckus Society offers an Action Planning Manual that discusses strategies for
    nonviolent direct action.

    Preventing Adolescent Substance Abuse: An Action Planning Guide for Community-


    Based Initiatives

    Preventing Youth Violence: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

    Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based


    Initiatives

    Promoting Child Well-Being: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based


    Initiatives

    Promoting Urban Neighborhood Development: An Action Planning Guide for Improving


    Housing, Jobs, Education, Safety and Health

    1080
    Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based
    Initiatives

    Reducing Risk for Chronic Disease: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based
    Initiatives

    Print Resources

    Barry, B. (1984). Strategic planning workbook for nonprofit organizations. St. Paul: MN:
    Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

    Berkowitz, W. (1982). Community impact: creating grassroots change in hard times.


    Cambridge, MA: Schenkman Publishing.

    Bryson, J. (1988). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to
    strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
    Publishers.

    Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K., Lewis, R., Williams, E., Harris, K.,
    Winter, K., in collaboration with Bradley, B. & Copple, J. (1992). Preventing adolescent
    substance abuse: an action planning guide for community-based initiatives. Lawrence,
    KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development, University of
    Kansas.

    Fawcett, S., Claassen, L., Thurman, T., Whitney, H., & Cheng, H. (1996). Preventing
    child abuse and neglect: an action planning guide for building a caring community.
    Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development,
    University of Kansas.

    Kansas Health Foundation. VMOSA: An approach to strategic planning. Wichita, KS:


    Kansas Health Foundation.

    Lord, R. (1989). The nonprofit problem solver. New York, NY: Praeger.

    Olenick, A. & Olenick, P. (1991). A nonprofit organization manual. New York, NY: The
    Foundation Center.

    Unterman, I., & Davis, R. (1984). Strategic management of not-for-profit organizations.


    New York, NY: CBS Educational and Professional Publishing.

    Wolf, T. (1990). Managing a nonprofit organization. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.

    Watson-Thompson, J., Fawcett, S., & Schultz, J. (2008). Differential effects of strategic
    planning on community change in two urban neighborhood coalitions. American Journal
    of Community Psychology, 42, 25-38.

    1081
    WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS?

    WHY SHOULD YOU OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM CONSTITUENTS?

    WHEN SHOULD YOU OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM CONSTITUENTS?

    HOW TO ASK YOURSELF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

    OBTAINING FORMAL FEEDBACK: CONDUCTING A SURVEY

    Image of classmates understanding a study concept.

    Obtaining feedback from your community is vital to understand what the community
    truly needs and how it perceives your organization. This section explores how to obtain
    formal and informal feedback from members within your community so that your group
    may improve its program.

    WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM CONSTITUENTS?


    By obtaining feedback, we simply mean asking questions to determine something you
    want to know. Most often, feedback is sought to determine how well people feel your
    organization is doing, and also how important they believe the goals of your agency are.
    Feedback may be obtained in a number of ways, some as simple as having a casual
    conversation or reading articles and editorials in the paper. Formal feedback--data that
    you can measure--is usually obtained through one of the following methods:

    Personal interviews
    Phone surveys
    Written surveys or questionnaires
    The term constituents, as we use it here, may refer to a variety of people, including those
    who are affected (directly or indirectly) by your agency's work, elected officials,
    members of your coalition, journalists, community leaders, and others.

    WHY SHOULD YOU OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM CONSTITUENTS?


    To understand how your organization is perceived
    To get a better understanding of what the community really needs
    To help prioritize tasks
    To generate renewed excitement and interest in your program
    To have the information ready for future use (such as grant proposals and questions from
    the press)
    To increase community awareness of who you are and what you do
    And overall, to improve your program

    1082
    WHEN SHOULD YOU OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM CONSTITUENTS?
    You should try to obtain informal feedback as an ongoing, continuous process. Formal
    feedback may be done at differing times, including:

    As part of the planning process when you start your initiative


    Any time you start (or are considering starting) a new program
    At the end of a certain program sponsored by your group, such as a two-day workshop
    discussing the risk factors for alcoholism, or a summer bicycle helmet for youths program
    Periodically throughout the life of your initiative (perhaps once a year or every two years)
    However, you should always be sure you know how you will actually use the information
    you obtain. Nothing is more frustrating to your participants than to give feedback that is
    not used.

    HOW TO OBTAIN FEEDBACK FROM CONSTITUENTS


    ASK YOURSELF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

    What do you want to know?

    Some information that you could gather just won't be used, and so it's simply not worth
    the staff time to gather it. For example, perhaps you have received a grant to reduce teen
    pregnancy in your community. Whether or not the community perceives teen pregnancy
    as a problem may be less important to you than other issues, because the program is
    going to be implemented either way. In such a case, it might make sense for your group
    to use your resources in a different way, such as to determine what specific needs
    regarding teen pregnancy need to be addressed.

    Who has already done this?

    Check to see if someone, such as researchers or another agency, has already done a
    survey in your community asking the same questions that you would like answered. Your
    coalition is undoubtedly busy enough; don't try to reinvent the wheel.

    Who do you want to ask?

    Decide whom you would like to survey. There are a variety of people you might decide
    to question, depending on what you would like to find out.

    Possible respondents might include:

    The targets of change, or those whose actions you would like to change
    The people most affected by the problem you are addressing
    Professionals in your area
    Local administrators (directors, coordinators, principals, etc.)
    Possible or current funders for your program
    Elected officials
    Journalists

    1083
    Researchers and field experts
    Members of your coalition
    Further, decide if you want to obtain your information in a closed manner (surveying a
    select group of people) or in an open manner (anyone who is willing to pick up a pencil
    or open their mouths for a few minutes). Be careful not to ask administrators to tell you
    the needs of those most affected; rather, ask those who are most affected themselves.

    How many people would you like to ask?

    If you are only surveying the active members of a small coalition (say, less than 50
    members), you might try to survey everyone. If you would like to learn about the feelings
    of the teenagers in your coalition with regards to drug abuse, however, you might find it
    unfeasible to survey every teen, and instead randomly choose a smaller, more workable
    group to question.

    How do you want to ask people?

    This may be done in a variety of ways, including:

    Listen to the opinions of people you know, researchers at planning agencies, people who
    work in the same or a similar field, and anyone else you can think of
    Suggestion boxes
    Noting chance meetings or comments in a log
    Feedback forms on publications such as brochures or on an agency newsletter
    Comment logs by the phone
    Designated "critique times at meetings"
    A formal survey: either by personal interviews, a phone survey, or a written survey
    GOOD TIPS:

    Keep it secret. Always try to provide instructions that minimize any possibility of bias.
    For example, don't discuss what you hope to learn, what you believe to be true, or what
    earlier surveys have told you when you are writing the instructions. When possible, allow
    surveys to be anonymous.
    Keep your eyes and ears open. Be responsive to all possible means of obtaining data,
    such as learning what has been said at public protests, what complaints have been lodged
    or actions taken, etc.
    Make the best of it. If the response you get from constituents isn't what you hoped for--
    for example, if they respond that what your coalition is doing isn't really important--
    reassess what you are doing, and brainstorm ideas of what else you might do to sway
    public opinion.
    OBTAINING FORMAL FEEDBACK: CONDUCTING A SURVEY
    You've decided to take the plunge and go all out with a formal survey. But where do you
    start? How do you format your work and frame your questions? There are volumes upon
    volumes of information suggesting how you might do this, but please consider the
    following information as a starting point when putting together your survey.

    1084
    DECIDE HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONDUCT YOUR SURVEY

    First, should it be written or oral?

    There are several advantages and disadvantages of each that you should take into
    account:

    An oral survey (in person, on the phone) is often less formal, and may be easier to initiate
    and conduct. However, the body language or tone of the interviewer may affect the
    respondent's answers, and of course, anonymity is not an option for spoken interviews.
    Further, responses from an oral interview are more likely to be vague and rambling,
    taking up valuable time as well as being difficult to chart.
    A written survey may be formal and exact, and thus in the long run more efficient.
    However, it may be more difficult to convince people to respond to a mailed written
    survey than to respond orally, despite the real amount of time involved. Just think: if
    someone called and asked you to answer a few questions, you'd probably say yes, unless
    you were really pressed for time. However, if you got the same list of questions in the
    mail, you might think about answering them, and then forget, or misplace the letter, or
    just throw it away.) To get around this barrier, consider giving a survey to a "captive
    audience," such as a group at a meeting or in a class.
    DECIDE HOW TO FORMAT YOUR QUESTIONS

    They may be written using open or closed questions:

    Closed questions allow the respondent to answer from a menu of different choices. This
    menu might be as simple as responding to a yes/no question. It also might take the form
    of several words (for example, "Which of the following seems to be the biggest health
    concern in our community?"), or a rating scale ("On a scale of one to five, with five being
    most important, how would you rate the importance of stopping merchants from selling
    alcohol to minors?"). A rating scale is often a simple yet very effective way to learn the
    feelings of the people taking the survey. Five point scales (between one and five) and
    seven point scales are often the norm when doing a survey in this manner.
    Open questions allow the respondent to answer questions in their own words, without
    prompts from the survey. An example of an open question would be, "What do you think
    is the most important health concern facing our community, and why do you think so?"
    The advantage of using open questions is that you are able to get deeper, more thoughtful
    answers than from closed questions. However, open questions may also lead to vague
    answers that are hard to interpret and use.
    To get the best of both worlds, you might consider using a survey with closed questions
    that leaves room for additional comments.
    TO THE EXTENT THAT IT IS POSSIBLE, REMOVE ALL POSSIBILITY OF BIAS
    FROM YOUR SURVEY

    This includes:

    When possible, don't require (or even ask for) the names of the respondents

    1085
    Avoid discussing any expectations you might have for this survey
    Don't discuss previous survey results
    DON'T FORGET YOUR MANNERS

    If your mother was going to respond to this survey, what would she want to see? Be sure
    to thank respondents ahead of time, let them know how you will use any information that
    you gather, and thank them again afterwards.

    MAKE IT EASY

    The less respondents are directly involved in your project, the less likely they are to be
    willing to take a lot of time filling out a survey or discussing an issue. Keep your survey
    as short as possible while still getting the information that you want to know. A good rule
    of thumb is simply, don't ask questions you're not going to use.

    MAKE IT EASIER

    If you are mailing your survey, make it easy to return. Always include a self-addressed
    stamped envelope.

    KEEP YOUR COOL

    Don't be frustrated if only a small number of mailed surveys are returned to you; in fact,
    you should probably expect this. A "normal" return rate might only be about half of the
    surveys that you send out are actually completed.

    Contributor
    Jenette Nagy
    Print Resources

    Barry, B. (1986). Strategic planning workbook for nonprofit organizations. St. Paul, MN:
    Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

    Berkowitz, W. (1982). Community impact: creating grassroots change in hard times.


    Cambridge, MA: Schenkman Publishing.

    Bryson, J. (1991). Getting started on strategic planning: what it's all about and how it can
    strengthen public and nonprofit organizations. Audiotape. Jossey-Bass Publishers.

    Cox, F., et al., (eds.). (1984). Tactics and techniques of community practice. Itasca, IL:
    Peacock.

    Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K., Lewis, R., Harris, K., Williams, E., &
    Fischer, J., in collaboration with Vincent, M. & Johnson, C. (1992). Preventing
    adolescent pregnancy: an action planning guide for community-based initiatives.

    1086
    Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development,
    University of Kansas.

    Fawcett, S. (1993). Social validity: a note on methodology. Journal of Applied Behavior


    Analysis, 24, 235-239.

    Lord, R. (1989). The nonprofit problem solver. New York, NY: Praeger.

    Olenick, A., & Olenick, P. (1991). A nonprofit organization manual. New York, NY: The
    Foundation Center.

    Unterman, I., & Davis, R. (1984). Strategic management of not-for-profit organizations.


    New York, NY: CBS Educational and Professional Publishing.

    WHAT IS AN ACTION STEP?

    WHY SHOULD YOU IDENTIFY ACTION STEPS?

    WHEN SHOULD YOU DETERMINE ACTION STEPS?

    HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY ACTION STEPS?

    Identifying action steps from your action plan is essential for acheiving your
    organization's goals. Determining action steps helps your group members find practical
    ways to reach your group's objectives and focus on the details necessary to succeed. This
    section provides a guide for developing action steps in order to increase the efficiency of
    your organization.

    WHAT IS AN ACTION STEP?


    An action step refers to the specific efforts that are made to reach the goals your agency
    has set. Action steps are the exact details of your action plan. They should be concrete
    and comprehensive, and each action step should explain:

    What will occur


    How much, or to what extent, these actions will occur
    Who will carry out these actions
    When these actions will take place, and for how long
    What resources (such as money and staff) are needed to carry out the proposed actions
    Taken together, your defined action steps comprise your group's action plan.

    WHY SHOULD YOU IDENTIFY ACTION STEPS?


    Anticipating the future makes us feel in control, right? That's the major reason why
    identifying action steps is important. You can get prepared for what your next step should
    be. Other reasons are:

    1087
    To concentrate on the details that must occur to succeed in your mission
    To decide on workable ways to reach your goals
    To allow a large number of people to think in a structured way about the future of your
    coalition
    To save time, energy, and resources in the long run: a well structured, thought -out action
    plan will make things much easier for you
    WHEN SHOULD YOU DETERMINE ACTION STEPS?
    You should determine your action steps after you have decided what changes you want to
    occur. You probably do this anyway, at least on a casual level; you decide what changes
    you want to see occur, and then you decide how to go about making them. These "hows"
    are your action steps.

    Ideally, they will be thoughtfully, officially decided upon early in the life of your
    organization, and then updated every year or two as your group grows and changes. Even
    if your organization has been around for a while, though, and doesn't have defined action
    steps yet, it's never too late to decide on them, since we hope you're going to be around
    for a long time!

    HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY ACTION STEPS?


    Determine what your group, as a whole and individually, is really good at. Are you great
    at fund raising? Do you have a member who happens to write for the local paper?
    Brainstorm all the possible strengths of your group, no matter how off the wall they
    might seem. (You never know when an award-winning tuba player will be just what you
    need!)

    Brainstorm different, specific ways that these strengths can be used to carry out the
    changes that you have decided upon.

    For example, if your organization is trying to bring about increased access to


    contraceptives for area youth, you might send your best politician to area drug stores to
    ask to pharmacists to provide contraception in a confidential way. Then, ask the graphic
    artist in your group to design a card with the names of the pharmacies that will do so.
    Consider the possible barriers to implementing your proposed changes, and possible ways
    to remove these barriers. Some questions you might ask yourselves include:

    Do we have enough money to carry out your proposed action steps? (Are there any grants
    we can apply for?)
    Do we have enough manpower? (Can we recruit more volunteers?)
    Do we have enough time to carry out these changes?
    Are these action steps things people can get excited about?
    What kind of opposition can we expect if we put our plan into effect? Are there ways to
    get around it?
    For instance, in the example given above dealing with contraceptives, pharmacists might
    be worried that their name next to the slogan, "Get your condoms here!" might hurt their
    business. A card that just had the names and phone numbers of your agency and of their

    1088
    establishments, however, might calm these fears and give the pharmacies some free,
    welcome publicity.

    Brainstorm different ways (your action steps) to go about implementing the proposed
    changes in each sector that you have chosen. Be sure to have someone take good notes!
    Again, make sure each action step includes:

    What will occur


    How much, or to what extent, these actions will occur
    Who will carry out these changes
    When these changes will take place, and for how long
    What resources (such as money and staff) are needed to carry out these changes
    Example: The RTR Coalition

    One action step might include increasing publicity about contraception and unwanted
    pregnancy at the local high school.

    What action or change will occur: Hanging posters, displays, and other information about
    contraception and the facts about unwanted pregnancy in the hallways of the local high
    school.
    How much, or to what extent, this action will occur: The posters and other information
    will become a permanent part of the high school. Posters and information will be
    regularly changed as new materials become available.
    Who will carry it out: A sub-committee comprised of parents, teachers, students, and
    coalition members will be responsible for maintaining the displays. The coalition as a
    whole will work towards finding funding to purchase the materials. Several coalition
    members will be responsible for researching and ordering the materials.
    When will it take place, and for how long: The coalition will try to have posters hanging
    and displays visible within six months of implementing the action step.
    What resources are needed to carry out the step: The coalition will try to approach the
    school district to request funding for the project. Otherwise, the coalition will seek
    funding from other sources such as foundations to finance the program. To make the
    process as clear as possible, members of the coalition should account for each point of
    each action step. Then, with written goals in hand, you will have the concrete steps you
    need to take in order to implement your plan.
    Determine a final list of action steps for each community sector from the ideas that came
    from your brainstorming. Try to determine lists that are feasible, effective, and
    comprehensive.

    Example:

    Some strategies for preventing child abuse and neglect (from the Work Group for
    Community Health and Development's Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: An Action
    Planning Guide for Building a Caring Community), listed by community sector:

    Changes in the schools:

    1089
    Provide training on anger management and stress reduction techniques for parents.
    Require classes in prevention of child abuse and neglect for renewal of teacher
    certification and for school nurses.
    Provide space and supervision on school facilities for weekend, after-school, and
    vacation activities for children.
    Changes in health organizations:

    Provide health care credits for parents who participate in child abuse and neglect
    workshops.
    Provide training for health professionals on screening for abuse and neglect.
    Develop specific and comprehensive policies regarding mandatory reporting.
    Changes in businesses and work sites:

    Offer workshops on stress relief and anger management to employees.


    Offer training on parenting skills, including prenatal and infant care.
    Provide flexible work schedule to accommodate parents' schedules.
    Changes in government and social services:

    Provide tax incentives to parents who participate in child abuse prevention activities,
    such as classes on parenting skills
    Develop comprehensive laws regarding perpetrators of child abuse and neglect
    Increase protection for all victims of domestic violence through specific policies and
    access to shelters.
    Changes in community organizations:

    Provide a community board that lists job openings, daycare, and important community
    dates and events.
    Provide help in obtaining public or legal assistance for families in need.
    Increase the number of agencies and organizations that conduct parenting classes.
    Changes in religious organizations:

    Create a network among ministers to discuss strategies for preventing abuse and neglect.
    Provide counseling and follow-up with people who feel at risk for abusing a loved one.
    Distribute inserts for church bulletins on the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
    Pat yourself on the back for getting all your planning done, take a deep breath, and go do
    what you've said you are going to!

    Online Resources

    Concerns Report Handbook: Planning for Community Health

    Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based


    Initiatives

    1090
    Preventing Adolescent Substance Abuse: An Action Planning Guide for Community-
    Based Initiatives

    Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based
    Initiatives

    Preventing Youth Violence: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

    Promoting Child Well-Being: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based


    Initiatives

    Promoting Health for All: Improving Access and Eliminating Disparities in Community
    Health

    Promoting Healthy Living and Preventing Chronic Disease: An Action Planning Guide
    for Communities

    Promoting Urban Neighborhood Development: An Action Planning Guide for Improving


    Housing, Jobs, Education, Safety and Health

    Reducing Risk for Chronic Disease: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based
    Initiatives

    Work Group Evaluation Handbook

    Youth Development: An Action Planning Guide for Community-Based Initiatives

    Organizations:

    Kansas Association of Nonprofit Organizations


    P.O. Box 780227
    400 North Woodlawn, Suite 212
    Wichita, KS 67278-0227
    (316) 685-3790
    Fax (316) 686-1133

    Center for Creative Leadership


    P.O. Box 26300
    Greensboro, N.C. 27438-6300
    (919) 288-3999

    Print Resources

    Barry, B. (1984). Strategic planning workbook for nonprofit organizations. St. Paul, MN:
    Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

    1091
    Berkowitz, W. (1982). Community impact: creating grassroots change in hard times.
    Cambridge, MA: Schenkman Publishing.

    Bryson, J. (1991). Getting started on strategic planning: what it's all about and how it can
    strengthen public and nonprofit organizations. Audiotape. Jossey-Bass Publishers.

    Fawcett, S., Paine, A., Francisco, V., Richter, K., Lewis, R., Harris, K., Williams, E., &
    Fischer, J. L., in collaboration with Vincent, M. L. & Johnson, C. G. (1992). Preventing
    adolescent pregnancy: an action planning guide for community-based initiatives.
    Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development,
    University of Kansas.

    Fawcett, S., Claassen, L., Thurman, T., Whitney, H., & Cheng, H. (1996). Preventing
    child abuse and neglect: an action planning guide for building a caring community.
    Lawrence, KS: Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development,
    University of Kansas.

    Lord, R. (1989). The nonprofit problem solver. New York, NY: Praeger.

    Olenick, A., & Olenick, P. (1991). A nonprofit organization manual. New York, NY: The
    Foundation Center.

    Unterman, I., & Davis, R. (1984). Strategic management of not-for-profit organizations.


    New York, NY: CBS Educational and Professional Publishing.

    Wolf, T. (1990). Managing a nonprofit organization. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.

    Source:- http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning/identify-
    action-steps/main

    The Logical Framework Approach--Millennium

    inShare

    ARTICLE Methodology December 2009


    Project Management Journal
    By Couillard, Jean, PhD. | Garon, Serge | Riznic, Jovica R.
    How to cite this article:
    Couillard, J., Garon, S. , & Riznic, J. R. (2009). The Logical Framework Approach—
    Millennium. Project Management Journal, 40(4), 31—44.
    Serge Garon, Canadian Space Agency, Saint-Hubert, Québec, Canada

    Jovica Riznic, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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    ABSTRACT img

    The Logical Framework Approach (LFA) has proved to be a valuable tool for project
    approval, design, and evaluation. However, a few pitfalls make it hard to use within
    today's project management framework and to integrate with other project management
    tools. This article proposes an updated version of the LFA to improve its compatibility
    with today's corporate culture, project management framework, and tools. We propose to
    call the updated tool the Logical Framework Approach–Millennium (LFA–M). The
    LFA–M is a seven-step approach leading to the development of the Logframe–
    Millennium (LF–M), a five-column and four-line matrix describing major project
    commitments and providing an overall understanding of the project. It was successfully
    implemented at the Canadian Space Agency and the Canadian Nuclear Safety
    Commission. The LFA–M fits well within today's project management framework and
    corporate culture and leads easily to other project management tools.

    KEYWORDS: Logical Framework Approach; project design and evaluation;


    stakeholders’ involvement; integrated project management approach

    INTRODUCTION img

    Early in the project life cycle, the project team members and corporate sponsors must
    envision what is the expected contribution of the project to the business goal of the
    organization, what is the purpose of the project, what needs to be done to meet the
    stakeholders’ needs and expectations, and how the work is to be accomplished. Gaining a
    clear vision of the project and understanding the business goal have been found to be
    critical to project success. However, creating a clear vision and goal setting remain major
    challenges for many project teams.

    Over the last 35 years, the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) has been used by many
    public and private organizations as a means of obtaining an overall project vision and of
    determining project goals and objectives. Since its first use in the early 1970s, the LFA
    has gone through periods of great popularity, as well as periods when it was almost
    completely abandoned. Lately, renewed interest in the LFA from many international
    development organizations has led to numerous publications proposing improved
    processes for its implementation. While the LFA has proved to be a valuable tool for
    project design and evaluation, a few pitfalls make it hard to use with today's project
    management framework and to integrate with other project management tools.

    In this article, an updated version of the LFA is developed to improve the compatibility
    of the LFA with today's corporate culture, project management framework, and tools. We
    propose to call the updated tool the Logical Framework Approach–Millennium (LFA–
    M). In the first part of the article, a literature review is done to assess the strengths and
    weaknesses of the current versions of the LFA. In the next section, the objective of the
    article is established, and a description of the methodology used to develop the LFA–M is
    provided. In the third part of the article, the content of the matrix, called Logframe,
    giving the results of the application of the LFA–M, is revised to make it more compatible

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    with today's management framework and then the processes leading to the development
    of the Logframe are reviewed. In the fourth part of the article, case studies are provided
    to show how the revised approach can be implemented. Finally, a conclusion describes
    the potential benefits gained from using the LFA–M.

    Literature Review

    The LFA was developed in early 1969 by the consulting firm Practical Concepts Inc. for
    the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a project design and
    evaluation tool (Practical Concepts, 1978; Sartorius, 1996). One of the main objectives of
    the LFA was to provide a common vision and understanding of the project. The result of
    the implementation of the LFA is a four-column, four-line matrix, called the logframe
    (LF). The four columns are: Narrative Summary, Objectively Verifiable Indicators,
    Means of Verification, and Assumptions. The four lines consist of: Goal, Purpose,
    Outputs, and Inputs. The LF summarizes why the project should be undertaken, what it
    intends to do, what are the outputs or end results of the project, what inputs are required
    to obtain the outputs, and what are the assumptions that must be fulfilled for the project
    to be carried out. The LFA has proved to be effective in many cases as a project design
    and evaluation tool. However, many pitfalls have indented its use as a project
    management tool.

    A major shortcoming of the first generation1 of the LFA was the lack of a clear process
    leading to the development of the LF. The terms used in the LF were considered
    confusing, such as the difference between goal and purpose. The objectively verifiable
    indicators were often misunderstood and difficult to determine, leading to inadequate
    measures of project success. The assumptions were also often ill-defined. Too much
    focus was put on the LF as a final result and not enough was directed on the dynamic
    nature of the project management activities, such as project design and project planning.
    Lack of stakeholders’ involvement often compromises the validity of the LF.
    Consequently, the LFA was deemed inflexible, complex, and difficult to integrate with
    other project management tools (Coleman, 1987; Solem, 1987), and therefore, in the late
    1970s, the use of the LFA began to decline (Sartorius, 1996).

    By the early-to-mid 1980s, a second generation of the LFA was proposed to overcome
    some of the perceived pitfalls of the first generation of the LFA. Many of the
    improvements to the LFA were initiated by a group named the German Technical
    Cooperation, or GTC (German Technical Cooperation, 1987, 1989). They developed the
    LFA into a more practical, systematic, and participative approach, called the ZOPP
    approach (from the German, Zielorientierte Projektplanung) or, in English, the GOPP
    (Goal-Oriented Project Planning) Approach. The ZOPP approach provides a more
    systematic structure for the identification, design, evaluation, and management of
    projects, mostly through ZOPP workshops involving the groups directly influenced by
    the project. The ZOPP approach is composed of the following six steps: (1) situation
    analysis, (2) stakeholders’ analysis, (3) problem analysis, (4) objective analysis, (5)
    alternative analysis, and (6) activities planning. The steps were devised to allow
    stakeholders participation in the development of the LF and to get early feedback and

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    approval. Many international development organizations adopted similar approaches
    (Canadian International Development Agency, 1985; Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
    1990, 1992; USAID, 1991).

    This second generation of the LFA aimed at correcting some of the major pitfalls of the
    first generation of the LFA by proposing a six-step methodology leading to the
    development of the LF and by allowing stakeholder involvement. However, the terms
    used in the LF remained misunderstood and the objectively verifiable indicators difficult
    to obtain. Also, the methodology was deemed rigid and not easy to integrate with other
    project management tools (Cordingley, 1995; Eggers, 1994; Wiggins & Shields, 1995).
    Table 1 presents the changes from one generation of LFA to another, their pitfalls, and
    the means taken to correct some of them.

    By the mid-to-late 1980s, a third generation of the LFA emerged from the renewed
    interest of many international development organizations (Australian Agency for
    International Development, 2003; Canadian International Development Agency, 1997;
    Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1996; Department for International Development,
    2002; European Commission, 1999, 2004; German Technical Cooperation, 1996, 1997;
    Great Britain Equal Support Unit, 2005; International Planned Parenthood Federation,
    2002; Kellogg Foundation, 2004; Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation,
    1999; Swedish International Development Corporation Agency, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006;
    World Bank, 1996, 2000). In addition, integrated and easy-to-use software to implement
    the LF became available such as Team UP-PCM (Team Technologies, 1993), and more
    emphasis was placed on training.

    The third generation of the LFA provided an aid to systematic thinking while promoting
    creative and participative analysis. Its use yields many benefits, such as getting a better
    understanding of the project context and the stakeholders’ needs, establishing a logical
    ends-and-means structure going from the project goal to purpose and to outputs and
    activities, providing a common basis for discussion and for project decisions, fostering
    commitment and participation among stakeholders, providing a summary of the project in
    a standard and condensed format, keeping stakeholders informed and involved,
    identifying potential risk events that may jeopardize the project or its success, and
    establishing how the project goal, purpose, outputs, and activities can be evaluated and
    monitored. The LF approach as it stands stresses the importance of stakeholders’
    involvement and places more emphasis on the processes leading to the LF than on the LF
    as a final result. This third generation of the LFA is now recognized widely as an
    effective project design, evaluation, and management tool, as can be ascertained from the
    number of recent publications on the LFA (Aune, 2000; Baccarini, 1999; Dale, 2003;
    Earle, 2003; Gasper, 1997, 1999, 2000).

    Evolution of the three generations of the logical framework approach


    However, there were problems. For instance, in a few organizations the word “inputs”
    was used instead of “activities,” and for many project managers getting approval was
    seen as an input. Terminology used in the LF is not familiar to today's practitioners.
    While the current LFA terminology was adapted to the specific needs of organizations, it

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    is not readily related to the modern framework of project management. Identifying the
    project goal, the purpose, the outputs, the activities, and the assumptions remains a major
    challenge for many project teams. The difference between goal and purpose remains
    often difficult to understand. The objectively verifiable indicators are difficult to
    establish, and consequently project success is often hard to assess. Determining good
    indicators of physical achievement is considered often difficult to achieve.
    Responsibilities with regard to project success remain unclear. Although the third
    generation promotes the integration of the LFA with other project management processes
    and tools, no means to achieve it was proposed. For example, the LFA could be used to
    support the selection process and the identification of an appropriate general project
    management approach. All of that has created some confusion, and many issues still
    prevailed (Aune, 2000; Dale, 2003; Earle, 2003; Gasper, 1997, 1999, 2000).

    Considering the unsolved issues of the previous three generations as summarized in Table
    1, the LFA needs to be further updated so that it may:

    Support the corporate process to select projects (better integration with other PM
    processes);
    Facilitate analysis and decisions on general project management approaches at a high
    level (better integration with other PM processes);
    Make the project scope and corporate mission evident and well related (clearer
    terminology and more evident links between the levels of the LF);
    Use terms that are consistent with today's project management framework—for example,
    risk identification instead of assumptions (common terminology);
    Foster stakeholders’ involvement and participation (major improvement of the second
    generation);
    Lead the project team members into more effective project planning by identifying what
    needs to be done, why it should be done, how it needs to be done and with what
    resources, which participants should be involved, project success measures, risk events,
    and so on (better integration with other PM processes and tools);
    Show responsibilities with regard to project success (clearer responsibilities with regard
    to project success);
    Allow integration with today's project management tools (better integration with other
    PM tools); and
    Be flexible and suitable to different project management approaches such as agile project
    management and extreme project management (less rigid approach).
    While the content of the LF has changed very little over the years, the underlying
    philosophy has changed. At first, the LF was created to provide a static overview of a
    project under the assumptions that a well-conceived project should change very little over
    its life cycle and that it is the responsibility of a project team to provide this clear vision
    of the project. Under this philosophy, a project has a life of its own. The second
    generation of the LFA recognizes that project success depends mostly on stakeholders’
    perceptions. A project exists (and has value) only within the realm of the stakeholders’
    needs and expectations. Consequently, it is the responsibility of the project team to
    manage the project such that the needs and expectations of the stakeholders will be met.
    In the third generation of the LFA, projects are perceived as complex undertakings

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    involving uncertainties, and consequently changes are inevitable. Projects are thus
    perceived as changing entities. It is the responsibility of the project team to adapt to the
    changes. Based on the above analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the three
    generations of the LFA, the research objective is established in the next section.

    Research Objective

    The objective of this article is to propose a modification of the LFA that will foster its use
    in selecting projects, in better understanding the context of a selected project, and in
    becoming the precursor of choice for the project charter and a highly effective
    communication tool. The revised version of the LFA must be consistent with today's PM
    culture and terminology, and must facilitate integration with today's project management
    tools. We propose to call the updated tool the Logical Framework Approach–Millennium
    (LFA–M). The LFA–M is composed of steps leading to the development of a revised
    version of the logframe that we propose to call the Logframe-Millennium (LF–M). Thus,
    the LFA–M is the process leading to the LF–M.

    Phases of the Research Methodology

    Approach Used

    1. Modification of the logframe

    Expert interviews

    2. Revision of the LFA

    Expert interviews and focus groups

    3. Relationships with other project management tools and documents

    Expert interviews

    Table 2: The three-phase research methodology.

    A three-phase methodology was used to develop the LFA–M to meet the above nine
    requirements. First, the LF was modified to make it more consistent with today's project
    management framework by ensuring its compliance with the terminology of the Project
    Management Body of Knowledge, or, PMBOK (Project Management Institute, 2008).
    Experts’ interviews were used to validate the content of the LF–M with regard to the
    PMBOK. Then, the steps required for the development of the LF–M were established
    through experts’ interviews and focus groups. These steps were devised to allow
    stakeholders’ involvement and to make the development of the LF–M more systematic.
    Finally, in the third phase, through experts’ interviews the relationships between the
    elements (or boxes) of the LF–M and other project management tools and documents
    were determined, facilitating, among other things, integration of the LFA–M with today's

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    project management tools. Table 2 summarizes the three phases of the research
    methodology and the approach used.

    The Logical Framework Approach–Millennium

    Phase 1: Modification of the Logframe

    The proposed LF–M is a five-column and four-line matrix. Table 3 provides a short
    description of the information that should be considered by project teams to develop the
    LF–M. The five columns are: Project Commitments, Success Measures, Means of
    Verification, Risk Events, and Responsible Authority. The lines of the LF–M include
    four essential project commitments: Organizational Value, Scope/Deliverables,
    Activities, and Resources. The next sections describe all the elements of the updated
    logframe, as well as the horizontal and vertical logics between them. It should be noted
    that the proposed LF–M contains most of the information of the Project Data Sheet as
    used in agile project management (Highsmith, 2004), but it is organized in a more logical
    fashion that makes it easier to understand and to update.

    The first line of the logframe, first column, gives the organizational value, also referred to
    as the business objective of the project (at the Canadian Space Agency [CSA], the
    business objective is called the programmatic objective). It describes why the project
    should be undertaken by identifying how the client organization will benefit in the long
    run from the project (the “why”). The organizational value must be related to the
    organizational goals, its mission, and its strategic objectives. For example, the expected
    contributions to the client organization of an information technology (IT) financial
    system can include allowing the end-users to do more advanced financial analysis, or to
    do them better, faster, and/or cheaper by providing new ways to increase the productivity
    of the finance department. The next column gives the success measures for the
    organizational value and provides metrics used to assess to what extent the business
    objective is met and to what extent in the long run the organization will benefit from the
    project. Success measures can include, for example: increasing market share by 10%
    within 5 years, reducing down time by 5% per year, bringing one new product on the
    market every year, increasing customer loyalty by 15% within the next 5 years. The next
    column presents the means of verification for the organizational value of a project
    identifying the data required to quantify the success measures and how they will be
    obtained. These can include, for example, the annual report or a yearly satisfaction
    survey. The fourth column contains the risk events that can compromise the contribution
    of the project to the organizational value. For example, a change of mission, end-users
    refusing to use the new system, or a new improved system becoming available from a
    competitor could be significant risk events. Indeed, even if a project is delivered on time,
    on budget, and within the quality expectations, it is still possible that the client
    organization will not benefit from the project. That has been the case for many IT
    projects that took many years to complete but for which the needs had changed, or even
    worse, no longer existed, and is also the case when the wrong project is undertaken. The
    last column identifies the entity or the person who is accountable for the project being
    and staying in line with the corporate mission.

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    Description of the components of the Logframe–Millennium
    Moving to the second line of the logframe, first column, the scope/deliverable of the
    project gives what the project intends to deliver to achieve the organizational value, and
    hence to contribute to the client organization (the “what”). It can be, for instance,
    developing a new IT system, updating an IT existing system, or buying an off-the-shelf
    IT system. While in those three cases the main deliverable is an IT system, the activities,
    the resources required to carry on the project, and the risk events are quite different. It
    should be noted that more than one means can be identified as contributing to the
    organizational value. It is suggested to consider each one of them as a different project.
    The next column shows the success measures by listing the functionalities and other
    quality attributes that the deliverables must possess to meet the client needs and
    expectations. For example, a desirable functionality could be to enable end-users to
    obtain a list of clients per region, per product, or per amount of sales. To generate a list of
    desirable functionalities, the features breakdown structure (FBS) or the quality
    breakdown structure (QBS) can be used (Paquin, Couillard, & Ferrand, 2000). The next
    column contains the success measures of the scope/deliverables. They assess to what
    extent the quality objectives, including technical performance, maintainability,
    availability, and so on, are to be met (at the CSA, generally speaking, the quality
    objective is referred to as the performance objective). Then in the next column, the means
    of verification indicates how the achievement of the quality objective is to be assessed. A
    means of verification can be, for example, an acceptance test assessing that the
    deliverable possesses all the required functionalities. The fourth column is the risk events
    that can jeopardize the achievement of the quality objective and can include, for example,
    incompatible technologies or unproven technology. Finally, the fifth column shows the
    entity or the person who ensures that the project scope is met.

    The activities associated with the attainment of the deliverables are given in the first
    column of the third line of the logframe. The activities indicate how the project
    deliverables will be done (the “how”). The activities should correspond to the key work
    elements at the second level of the work breakdown structure (WBS). There should be
    one activity for each deliverable. Even at a high level, it is important to identify the
    activities needed to achieve the deliverables in order to obtain an order-of-magnitude
    estimate of the type and amount of resources required. This preliminary LF can be done
    using high-level information prior to detailing the WBS. Then the preliminary LF can be
    updated after the feasibility studies are done or when the WBS is fully developed. The
    preliminary LF could be used, for instance, to show to the stakeholders whether
    feasibility studies are needed or not (if the LF was filled out without issue, then there is
    no need for feasibility studies). The second column contains the success measures
    establishing when the activities must be completed. The third column shows the means of
    verification indicating how the achievement of the time objective will be assessed.
    Earned value management can be used to control the realization on time of the activities.
    The next column contains the risk events that can have an impact on the execution on
    time of the activities, for example: the contractor responsible for the work goes bankrupt,
    one of the team members quits his job, or the material is delivered late. All of these risk

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    events can make the project activities late. Finally, the last column identifies the entity or
    the person who ensures that the activities are completed on time.

    Finally, in the first column of the last line of the logframe, the resources required to carry
    on the activities are listed (the “how much”) at a high level (e.g., total budget, total work
    or full-time equivalent, key permits and contracts, materials, and contingencies). The
    success measures associated with the resources are shown in the second column and give
    the quantity of resources (in dollar value or in hours) required in carrying on the
    activities. The way resources usage is collected gives the means of verification in the
    third column. It can include an accounting system or timesheets. The risk events in the
    fourth column include all negative events that can jeopardize the availability of the
    required resources or that can make the resources insufficient to carry on the activities.
    Inflation and dollar devaluation are among the risk events that could have an impact on
    the cost objective. Finally, the entity or the person who ensures that the resources are
    made available and used efficiently is shown in the last column.

    To these elements, two columns were added to better define the project: (1) the relative
    priorities of the success measures and (2) the risk level. The relative priorities of the
    success measures reflect an agreement among the stakeholders about the possible trade-
    off between them. It is proposed to use the following scale: essential, flexible, and
    adjustable. Essential (E) indicates that failure to meet that success dimension will result
    in the project failure. Flexible (F) is assigned to success dimensions considered as
    important but for which some variation is tolerated (for example, missing the
    commissioning date by 1 week). The relative priority adjustable (A) is given to success
    dimensions that are opened to negotiation throughout the project life cycle.

    The risk level is a subjective assessment of the likelihood and negative consequences of
    the identified risk events. It is proposed to use the following scale: low (L), medium (M),
    and high (H). A low score indicates the assumption that the risk in question, although it
    will still be monitored, will have only minor effects on the project objective. A high score
    means that the risk that has been identified could cause, were it to occur, a major impact
    to the affected objective and possibly the cancellation of the project. The assessment of
    the risk level may help the project team in selecting an appropriate project management
    approach.

    Phase 2: Revision of the Logical Framework Approach

    Completing a logframe should be done systematically. A seven-step approach composed


    of six precursors and the revised LF–M is proposed as follows:

    Analysis of the project's context;


    Problem analysis/situation analysis;
    Stakeholder analysis;
    Options identification and selection;
    Identification of the main activities, their schedule, and the required resources;
    Risk identification; and

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    Logframe write-up and validation.
    The steps do not need to be performed in a linear fashion. It is always possible to go back
    to previous steps as more information is gathered throughout the approach. For example,
    the options identification step might reveal that no affordable or technologically feasible
    solution exists for the problem at hand. It might then be suitable to change the scope of
    the project. The process shall be adapted to each situation and must remain flexible while
    fostering stakeholders’ involvement and participation.

    The first step of the LFA–M consists of performing an analysis of the project's context.
    The purpose of this step is to understand the mission of the organization that the project
    must support and the organizational strategies used to support that mission. In addition,
    the internal and external environments of the organization must be defined. With regard
    to the external environment, questions such as the following must be addressed: Who are
    the customers of the organizations? What are their expectations? What products or
    services do we provide them with? Who are the competitors? To better understand the
    internal environment, the following questions must also be considered: To deliver the
    products or services, what are the operations performed by the organization? What type
    and quantity of resources are used? Technique such as SWOT (analysis of strengths,
    weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) can be used to identify an area for potential
    growth or improvement or a problematic area that needs to be improved. In some
    organizations, the LF can be used instead of a SWOT analysis. However, the SWOT
    analysis is used more to identify worthwhile opportunities or projects, and the LFA is
    used more to give an overall understanding of the project and to decide if the project
    would be the appropriate solution to a corporate need, and/or should be continued.

    The second step is the problem analysis/situation analysis. It is useful to describe the
    actual situation that is unsatisfactory and the desirable situation that we want to achieve.
    The gap between the actual and the desirable situations leads to the need statement. For
    example, the need to improve market share can lead to a new product development
    project or to a marketing project promoting actual products in a new market. It is
    important to identify the causes of the undesirable situation and its effects. The issue is to
    understand clearly the problem before proposing a solution. Many projects have failed
    because a solution was identified prematurely even before a problem statement was
    formulated. It is possible to group the causes into categories leading to different projects.
    The analysis of the effects or consequences of the problem helps in justifying that a
    project is needed. A Statement of Capability Deficiency (SCD) or a need statement must
    be written and reviewed by the strategic stakeholders. This statement shall indicate why a
    project is needed and what value the project is expected to bring to the organization. It is
    important to formulate the need statement as close to the “owner of the problem” as
    possible and not provide solutions at this stage. This need statement will have a direct
    link with the first box (first line, first column) of the LF–M.

    The third step involves a stakeholder analysis, and this will support the whole LF–M but
    mainly the first and second rows. The purpose of this step aims at identifying all of the
    entities or persons who are or will be influenced by or exert an influence directly or
    indirectly on the project. It is important to determine if stakeholders are in favor or

    1101
    against the project, to determine their ability and intent to influence, and then to develop
    means of keeping or gaining their support. Stakeholders’ involvement and support were
    found to be critical project success factors. As well, stakeholders can limit the project
    scope, its duration, and its budget and can request regular progress reports to assess if the
    project should be terminated or continued. This stakeholder analysis will provide more
    assurance that we have identified the correct mission, need, project, and risk.

    The fourth step, options identification and selection, aims to identify and select an option.
    The aim of this step is to identify potential options to solve the problem identified in the
    previous steps and then to do a cost/benefit analysis to select the most appropriate one. If
    the option selected is a project, it must indicate the deliverables that will be produced and
    how they will be produced. Options can include: developing a new system, updating an
    existing system, or buying an off-the-shelf system. The analysis of a given option should
    cover the project success measures, its organizational value (programmatic objective: will
    the project deliverables help in serving the mission and how well, and what is the
    business case?), the quality objective/performance (feasibility of the deliverables), the
    schedule objective (hence, activities list), and cost objective and feasibility. Then, there
    should be a cost/benefit analysis to compare the acceptable options. The benefits should
    relate to the impact of the option on the chance of achieving the mission, the quality of
    the deliverables, the cost, and the duration of the project, as well as the risk involved.
    Essentially here, we are working on the LF–M second and third rows.

    Identification of the main activities, their schedule, and the required resources are
    achieved in the fifth step of the LFA–M. It aims to develop a reasonably detailed plan of
    activities and resources allocation for the selected option. This step aims to identify the
    main activities required to produce the deliverables and the resources required to carry on
    the activities. The activities can include: developing the system requirements, developing
    the system architecture, designing the system, coding the system, and testing the system.
    The type and quantity of resources required to undertake the activities can then be
    assessed. Finally, a milestone chart indicating when the project activities must be carried
    on can be developed. This step will be the main contributor to the fourth row.

    In the sixth step of the approach, risk identification must be performed. For each level (or
    row) of the LF–M, risk events and, as much as possible, risk mitigations also must be
    identified. The stakeholder analysis will contribute here also, since most risk events are
    related to communications, misunderstandings, or not sharing the need, hence, to people.

    Finally, the logframe is written up and validated, using the information obtained in the
    previous six steps. During this final step, the horizontal and vertical logic is verified and
    previous steps are revisited if necessary. The approach ends with the concurrence of the
    logframe by the key stakeholders.

    Phase 3: Relationships With Other Project Management Tools and Documents

    The revised LFA–M and the LF–M are well adapted to today's project initiation and
    management tools and documents. Table 4 illustrates this point by showing the tools and

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    the documents that can be used to further validate the elements of the LF–M. For
    example, the mission statement and priorities, strategic plan, business case, and need
    statement can be used to validate the identified organizational value of the project. In
    addition, the scope/deliverables can be confirmed using feasibility studies, cost-trade-off
    analysis, the product breakdown structure, and the stakeholder analysis. The activities of
    the project can be broken down further during the planning phase using the WBS as
    indicated in the project plan. More relationships with other project management tools and
    documents are given in Table 4.

    Once the LF–M, a high-level document, has been agreed to by the stakeholders, it can be
    used to prepare other necessary project documents. Figure 1 illustrates the flow of
    documents to consider. The left side of the figure represents the seven steps of the LFA–
    M as described in the article, and the right side shows a typical flow of project
    management–related documents. As the flow of documents may vary from one
    organization to another, Figure 1 provides an example of how the LF–M relates to other
    project management documents.

    It all begins with the document describing the mission and the priorities of the
    organization. The mission statement and the related priorities can be used to validate the
    need statement. The need statement will lead to a problem statement. Because projects
    can have significant impacts on many persons, entities, or organizations, a stakeholder
    analysis must be performed early in the project life cycle to ensure that it will benefit all
    of the stakeholders. A business case will determine the relevancy of the project by
    demonstrating its expected contributions to the mission or the priorities of the
    organization. The feasibility studies and/or the cost/trade-off analysis helps identifying
    options and selecting the most suitable one by comparing their expected
    benefits/contributions and their financial and technical viability. The proposed option will
    be used to develop the scope statement.

    The scope statement shall describe the work to be done to produce the project
    deliverables. Completion date for the deliverables can be determined using milestone
    charts. Risk identification at a high level must be done to assess the level of risk of the
    project. Using the information gathered in the previous steps, the LF–M can be
    completed and used as foreword to the project charter. After demonstrating the feasibility
    and the viability of the proposed option, project approval should be obtained, and detailed
    overall project planning (including detailed risk management planning) may be
    performed. However, before writing an overall project plan, quality assurance (QA)
    planning should be performed.

    The goal of QA is to design a system and the means by which it will be realized in such a
    way that the need for quality control is reduced to a minimum. QA also ensures that the
    activities and the appropriate resources to produce high-quality deliverables are used.
    Consequently, the QA plan is done before the overall project plan, as it must reflect the
    decisions made to ensure that high-quality deliverables will be produced. Then a risk
    management plan should be elaborated to identify high-level negative events that can
    jeopardize the project success and appropriate risk responses.

    1103
    The relationships with other project management tools and documents
    The LF–M is an evolving document that needs to be updated as more detailed and
    accurate information is obtained. A first iteration leads to the preliminary version of LF–
    M. The preliminary LF–M can demonstrate the need for more detailed analysis. For less
    complex projects, the preliminary LF–M can be used instead of more formal feasibility
    studies, at least for project approval in principle. A more complete and accurate LF–M
    can be obtained after the feasibility studies are done, the latter generally including
    preliminary WBS, preliminary budget, and so on. This last phase ensures integration of
    the LFA–M with today's project management tools, and, in fact, the LF–M could be
    treated as a supporting document for formal project approval submission.

    Case Studies

    The LFA–M has been implemented successfully at the Canadian Nuclear Safety
    Commission and at the Canadian Space Agency. The next paragraphs present some of the
    results of the implementation of the LF–M in both organizations.

    The LFA–M and the flow of documents


    The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission

    The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is “an independent federal government agency
    that regulates the use of nuclear energy and material to protect health, safety, security,
    and the environment and to respect Canada's international commitments on the peaceful
    use of nuclear energy.” Its mission is “to regulate the use of nuclear energy and materials
    to protect health, safety, security, and the environment and to respect Canada's
    international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

    The LFA–M was used for the probabilistic assessment of leak rate through the Steam
    Generator Tubes Research Project (Revankar & Riznic, 2007). To provide a concise and
    complete overview and understanding of the project, the LFA–M was used. The logframe
    of the probabilistic assessment of leak rate through the Steam Generator Tubes Research
    Project is given in Table 5.

    Steps 1 and 2 of the LFA–M led to the formulation of the organizational value of the
    project as shown in Table 5. It was felt that there was a need to predict more accurately
    tube failures, leak rates, and, ultimately, risk of exceeding exposure dose—that is, all of
    the inspection results are within the requirements of CAN/CSA Standard N285.4 on
    periodic inspection of power plant components, as well, all potentially leaking tubes are
    removed from service during the planned outage, at least with the probability of 0.95 at
    50% confidence. Through Steps 3 to 4 of the LFA–M, a solution to the problem was
    identified. Then, success measures with their relative priority were assigned to each
    project commitment.

    It was decided that this project should aim at updating the originally developed
    methodology for probabilistic assessment of inspection strategies for steam generator

    1104
    tubes as a direct effect on the probability of tube failure and primary-to-secondary leak
    rate. Assessment of the conditional probabilities of tube failures, leak rates, and,
    ultimately, risk of exceeding exposure dose limits is an approach to steam generator tube
    fitness-for-service assessment that has begun to be used increasingly in recent years
    throughout the nuc1ear power industry. The advantage of this type of analysis is that it
    avoids the excessive conservatism typically present in deterministic methodologies
    (Revankar & Riznic, 2007). Thus, the scope/deliverables of the project include: obtaining
    the experimental data, developing the probabilistic model, and giving a seminar on the
    proposed approach. QBS were used to identify the required quality attributes for each
    deliverable (see Table 5 for more details).

    Then, the main activities to obtain the deliverables, as well as the resources required to
    carry them on were identified in Step 5 of the LFA–M. A budget was allocated to each of
    the project activities. Major risk events were identified during Step 6 of the approach for
    each of the four project commitments. A level of risk was assigned to each commitment.
    Finally in Step 7, the logframe was written up and validated. The horizontal and vertical
    logic was verified, and concurrence of the logframe was obtained from the key
    stakeholders.

    The Canadian Space Agency

    The mission of the Canadian Space Agency is “to promote the peaceful use and
    development of space, to advance the knowledge of space through science and to ensure
    that space science and technology provide social and economic benefits for Canadians.”
    Consistent with this overall mission statement and with its internal policies and
    processes, the CSA used the original LFA format on space projects between 1998 and
    2003, and then modified the LFA format internally in a fashion similar to that of the
    LFA–M, so that it better matched the project objectives and terminology in place. The
    CSA has fostered the use of this new LFA format as a precursor to many of its project
    charters since then. The CSA found that the LFA was a very good tool to ensure proper
    connection between supported mission and project deliverables, and their respective
    high-level risks. It also found that the LFA was more effectively completed and used
    when prepared in parallel with the stakeholder analysis, the business plan, and the
    concept analysis; the LFA is normally updated when more detailed project information is
    available, particularly at the transition between major project phases. It is considered that
    the LFA is an excellent communications tool, with corporate- and project-level personnel
    and with other stakeholders, and that it is an effective tool to ensure that the focus is kept
    on what the project needs to accomplish. The LFA is a good trigger to the need to rewrite
    the project charter (if, for instance, the LFA indicates that the corporate mission, the
    project objectives, and/or deliverables do not match, in which case, also, the wrong
    resources would likely be assigned to the project, thus significantly compromising the
    project success).

    The logframe of the probabilistic assessment of leak rate through the Steam Generator
    Tubes Research Project

    1105
    Figure 2 is provided to illustrate the integration of the LFA with the overall project
    approval and management process at the CSA (Canadian Space Agency, 2005). Here, the
    high-level process flow would go from an identified lack of capability (to meet the
    corporate mission) to project implementation, showing where the LFA–M is mainly used,
    and the link with the stakeholder analysis (SA) and the project implementation plan
    (detailed project plan), or PIP. However, the LFA–M is used as a source of information
    for all lower levels of the operation, and is updated (as a corporate tool) at key project
    phases.

    Integration of the LFA–M within the project approval and management approach at the
    Canadian Space Agency
    Conclusion

    Over the last 35 years, the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) has been used by many
    public and private organizations as a means of obtaining an overall project vision and of
    determining project goals and objectives. While the LFA has proven to be a valuable tool
    for project design and evaluation, a few pitfalls make it hard to use with today's project
    management framework and to integrate with other project management tools. Based on
    a literature review, the essential characteristics of an updated version of the LFA were
    identified. To meet these essential characteristics, the LFA–M was developed.

    This article showed how the LFA–M can be used to support the corporate process to
    select projects, to facilitate analysis and decisions on general project management
    approaches at a high level, to make the project scope and corporate mission evident and
    well related, to foster stakeholder involvement and participation, to help in planning the
    project, to show responsibilities with regard to project success, and to allow integration
    with today's project management tools. The LFA–M is also flexible enough to be suitable
    for different project management approaches such as agile project management and
    extreme project management.

    The revised LFA approach was successfully used at the Canadian Space Agency and at
    the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The LFA–M fits well within today's project
    management framework and corporate culture and leads easily to other essential project
    management tools. img

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    1109
    Jean Couillard is a professor at the Telfer School of Management of the University of
    Ottawa, where he has taught since 1983. He received a PhD in operations and decisions
    science in 1987 and an MBA in 1979, both from the Université Laval (Québec, Canada).
    He concentrates his research in the areas of project management, project risk
    management, and quality management. His research has been published in several
    journals and magazines, including IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management,
    Decision Support System: The International Journal, the European Journal of Operational
    Research, the Project Management Journal, and Gestion 2000. Currently, he is involved
    in the development and validation of a new approach, the Earned Quality Method, to
    assess and control the quality of a project end product throughout its life cycle. He has
    served as a project management consultant and trainer for many organizations and
    institutions, including Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Department
    of National Defence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the National Research Council
    Canada, Industry Canada, Statistics Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, the Canadian
    Nuclear Safety Commission, Canada Posts Corporation, Consulting and Audit Canada,
    and Interis Consulting Inc. He has developed and conducted many introductory and
    advanced project management courses and workshops.

    Serge Garon has served as the director of project management at the Canadian Space
    Agency (CSA) since 1999, where he has led a number of space projects and is
    responsible for the project management policy and infrastructure at the CSA. He has
    more than 25 years of experience in project management at various levels, including that
    of director of shock trials for the Canadian Patrol Frigates project, deputy project
    manager for the Canadian Forces Joint Space Project, deputy project manager for the
    Radarsat-2 project, risk manager for the Canadian Space Station Program, and project
    manager for Communication Satellites and other space projects. He has published a
    number of papers on engineering and management, is a lecturer of project risk
    management on a part-time basis, and is a popular speaker at conferences both nationally
    and internationally. He holds a BEng in chemical engineering from Laval University
    (Quebec City); an MSc in naval architecture from University College London (England),
    which includes a submarine designer certificate; two summer study certificates in
    engineering management from the MIT; and a certificate of competency as shipboard
    chief engineer. He has received a number of awards. He has a Canadian Decoration (CD)
    as a retired naval officer and is a Project Management Professional credential holder, a
    certified European engineer, a chartered engineer (England), and a professional engineer
    (Quebec).

    Jovica Riznic has a professional background in mechanical and nuclear engineering. He


    is currently a technical specialist with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).
    Prior to joining the CNSC, he was a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin in
    Milwaukee. He is also a professor of project management studies at Algonquin College in
    Ottawa, Canada. He has written numerous peer-reviewed papers in academic and
    professional journals, and has also authored books, monographs, and other professional
    publications. His teaching and research interests include knowledge management,
    engineering safety, risk and reliability, and project management. Currently he serves on

    1110
    the editorial board of the International Journal of Nuclear Governance, Economy, and
    Ecology.

    1The concept of generation was introduced in Sartorius, 1996. According to Sartorius


    (1996), the first-generation LFA is characterized mainly by the logframe as a final result.
    The second generation puts more emphasis on the team process leading to the logframe,
    while the third generation can be identified mainly by its application to international
    research projects, the recognition of the need for better training, and the availability of
    integrated and easy-to-use software for its implementation. However, a slightly different
    classification scheme is used in this article. The classification is based more on the
    terminology used in the logframe and the steps of the approach.

    This material has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright owner.
    Unauthorized reproduction of this material is strictly prohibited. For permission to
    reproduce this material, please contact PMI.
    Project Management Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4, 31–44
    © 2009 by the Project Management Institute Published online in Wiley InterScience
    (www.interscience.wiley.com ) DOI: 10.1002/pmj.20117

    Source:- https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/logical-framework-approach-millennium-
    2406

    End

    1111

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