working with children and youth: identifying and building on strengths talon greeff, lpc director of...
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Working with Children and Youth: Identifying and Building on Strengths
Talon Greeff, LPC
Director of Residential Care
Utah Youth Village
This training and additional resources can be found at
www.utahparenting.org
Overview
Introduction Why Strength-based rather than problem-
based approach to care? Assessment
Starts with First Meeting Child’s First Week in the Home
Developing Strengths into Skills Troubleshooting Conclusion
Introduction
Statement of Purpose: It is my job to make you better foster parents.
What are some of the difficulties and challenges you have had in doing foster care?
What is it about the way you provide foster care that is so stressful?
What is the worst mistake you have made so far as a foster parent?
Please describe the most embarrassing experience you or your family have had, professionally or personally.
Why Strength-based rather than problem-based approach to care? Helps your home be more pleasant, relaxed
and fun Much more fun to praise behavior than
address negative behavior Skills help address negative or problematic
behavior Seems like more work with the youth but
saves time in the long run Produces better results for the children and
youth in our care
Identifying Strengths
Every child or youth has strengths Survival skills are often strengths Strengths may be hidden in negative behaviors What is the youth doing that would be positive if
viewed by another person or in another environment? Negative behavior – “telling you no” Positive use of this behavior - resisting peer pressure
What are they doing now? How could it be worse? Example - Youth late home from school Could be worse if youth did not come home at all
Starts with your First Meeting
Starts with intake Avoid arguing, demanding – “What is your problem?” Avoiding power struggles
Discussion of strengths Ask parents, previous foster parents, case worker
Be careful about what they report Use this information to help you find out strengths
Ask about strengths in different environments: home, school, church, social groups, with peers, with family and with friends
Ask youth What do you like? We usually like what we do well
Child’s First Week in the Home
Have special meal and family activity Ask youth what they would like to eat or what they would like
to do You can guide the choice to make it reasonable
Talk with the youth and get to know them What kind of music do like? What activities, hobbies do you like? When you have free time what do you like to do? Do activities with your youth
Talk with the youth about your home and expectations Observe the youth with others, school and home Each of these things helps with an assessment of youth
strengths
Building on Strengths Work with child to find “niche” for youth in home
A niche is the thing that the youth is better at than anyone else living there
Reinforce what they do well with specific descriptions “What can we reinforce?” Data shows that typical parents reinforce behavior
1:17 Youth behavior improves with 4:1 ratios Set timer for 15 minute intervals and find something
to praise Sandwich positive interactions between negative interactions
Avoid negative spiral Forces you to find and reward strength or positive
behavior
Building on Strengths
You can address problem behavior with strengths Praise and reward the strengths or positive behavior
that is opposite of the behavior you are concerned about
Develop strengths to address problem behavior “Map” over success and strengths onto problem
behavior Example: If your youth has grades that are an A and a
D ask “What works for you in the class with the A you can use in the class with a D to improve the grade?
“You get along great with Billy. What do you do with him that can help you get along with Sally?”
Help youth figure this out and help them develop it
Strength-based Exercise
Name behaviors that foster children may exhibit when placed: Skipping school Disruptive in school Yelling Hitting Refusing to do chores Refusing to follow laws
Skills to Teach and Reinforce
Problem behaviors Skipping school Disruptive in school Yelling Hitting Refusing to do chores Refusing to follow
rules
Skills to teach or reinforce Social interactions with
peers Able to be on task with
reading or drawing Assertiveness Concern for others Taking care of their
room Rules the youth do
follow or suggested rules
Develop Skills Based on Strengths
Identify the strengths that the youth have List what strengths they identify Others identify What you see while they are in your home
List the skills that you want the youth to learn or they identify that they want to learn
Take the strengths that you see and add the other strengths or steps that the youth need to learn a skill that helps them
Focus on the strengths that will have the most impact Shape and develop strengths into skills Skills can be used to help address negative or
problematic behavior
Example:
Skill#: : Staying Calm Behavior- identifying ABC’s
Behavior- deep breathing
Behavior- counting to 10
Behavior- leaving situation
Behavior- voice/body check
Behavior-
Behavior-
Skill#: : Following Instructions
Behavior- maintain eye contact
Behavior- calm facial expressions
Behavior- calm voice tone
Behavior- acknowledgement
Behavior- completion of tasks immediately
Behavior- checking back
Behavior- asking to help
Focused Teaching
Skill #1 Once this skill is taught, then reinforce the use of the
whole skill Skill #2
When beginning to teach the second skill, stay FOCUSED on this skill
Begin to intermittently reinforce the first skill Once the second skill is taught, then reinforce the use
of the whole skill Skill #3
When teaching the third skill, stay FOCUSED on this skill
Intermittently reinforce the skills that have already been taught
Trouble Shooting
Positive behavioral contracting or charting with “super reinforcers”
Chaining Shaping Chunk it down
Charting or Behavioral Contracting
Use a “super reinforcer” or reward Don’t just focus on the negative consequences Setup contract for youth to stretch, not generate a
new behavior Stretching positive behavior or a strength is much
more likely to lead to success Jumping to a new skill or behavior, especially if it is
difficult, is much less likely to be successful Avoid language that a dead person can do i.e. Don’t
yell, don’t swear.
Shaping – reward small changes toward what you want the youth to do Identify what the youth is currently doing Identify what you want youth to do Use specific steps so you can measure progress Identify some “in-between” goals Explain what you want the youth to do based on the
first “in-between” goal which should have some steps that the youth can already partially do
When the youth meets the first “in-between” goal and can do it for a week, depending on the behavior, explain the new “in-between” goal
Keep doing this until the youth is doing what you want
Shaping – Following Instructions
Follow instructions Eye contact Say ok Forget to do task
Intermediate goal Look down Mumble Do task poorly Check back
Intermediate goal Look down Say ok Do task Check back
Follow Instructions Eye contact Say ok Do task immediately Check back
Praise and reward intermediate goals—building on a strength
Chaining – building the behavior you want by adding behaviors to a strength Identify what the youth is currently doing Identify what you want the youth to do Identify the specific steps that you want the youth to
follow Start with a step or strength the youth already does
or is easily learned Add steps to the skill or behavior one at a time Don’t add another step until the youth has
demonstrated they can consistently do the series of steps without prompting
Keep adding steps until the skill or behavior has been learned
Chaining – Following Instructions
Follow instructions Do task
Intermediate goal Say ok Do task
Intermediate goal Eye contact Say ok Do task
Follow Instructions Eye contact Say ok Do task immediately Check back
Praise and reward intermediate goals—building on a strength
Chunk it Down
If your youth or child is having difficulty doing a task, even if they have been successful in the past “chunk it down”
Chunking it down means dividing the task into parts that the youth or child can do
They may be frustrated, overwhelmed or unable to do the task, chunking it down makes it possible
Chunk the task down to pieces that play to youth skills and strengths
Conclusion
Creates a more enjoyable foster care experience
Produces a more pleasant home environment More effective results for children and youth
This training and additional resources can be found at
www.utahparenting.org
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