Early Childhood
Mental Health
Consultation
Lessons Learned From
A Pilot Project in Arkansas
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES FOR
WORKING WITH TEACHERS
The Pyramid Model for Promoting the Social and Emotional
Development of Infants and Young Children
The Pyramid Model is a conceptual framework of evidence-based practices
developed by two national, federally-funded research and training centers:
The Center for the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) and the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention (TACSEI) http://www.challengingbehavior.org/do/pyramid_model.htm
You may want to introduce this model to teachers at your center. Based on positive relationships, prevention, and social/emotional learning, it sets a high standard of care for all children, and offers a structured plan for proceeding with more intensive intervention when that is needed. The model is presented in detail at: http://www.challengingbehavior.org/do/resources/documents/yc_article_7_2003.pdf
Pre-K SEL
“Pre-K Social-Emotional Learning (Pre-K SEL) provides teachers of three- to five-year-olds knowledge and skills to build warm relationships with children, parents and co-workers; create positive and productive classroom climates; prevent challenging behavior; manage disruptive behavior and teach children new skills so they enter kindergarten ready to learn.”
This Early Care and Education Projects website from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville includes contact information for free teacher training opportunities at various locations in Arkansas. Social-emotional learning is an integral component of the Pyramid Model. This training could give your teachers a good foundation of skills and a fresh approach to their work with young children.
Positive Behavioral Support (PBS)
PBS can help teachers identify (1) what’s going on in a child’s environment that may be triggering problem behavior, (2) what a child may be communicating with that behavior, and (3) support strategies for preventing problem behavior and teaching new skills.
From the National Association of School Psychologists: “Positive Behavioral Support (PBS) is an empirically validated, function-based approach to eliminate challenging behaviors and replace them with prosocial skills. Use of PBS decreases the need for more intrusive or aversive interventions (i.e., punishment or suspension) and can lead to both systemic as well as individualized change .
PBIS TRAINING COMING TO ARKANSAS
STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION
School Readiness Interactive
(search for “school readiness interactive”)
This ZERO TO THREE Web exclusive is a free interactive learning tool
designed to help parents and caregivers encourage their young children's
early learning.
This Tool Includes:
• Core information about how children develop school readiness skills
and how parents and care givers can nurture and support these skills in
young children.
• Video clips that show children learning these skills through everyday
interactions with their parents.
• Parent-child activities which provide fun ideas for helping children
develop school readiness skills.
• Frequently asked questions that offer answers to common questions
about learning.
Caring for Infants and Toddlers in Groups: Developmentally Appropriate
Practice
(Price: $29.95, click on eStore)
The revised edition of the best-selling
book provides the latest
information about the elements of quality care that support optimal
development and learning for young children. Featuring an age-based
approach to link developmental milestones to positive learning
experiences and filled with research-based information, this guide uses
the science of early childhood to outline ways infant care teachers in
both center-based and family child care programs can positively impact
the learning and lives of the children and families they serve.
Highlights include:
• Details on the significant impact that relationships have on shaping
the wiring of a young child’s brain
• Ways to support language and literacy learning for infants and
toddlers
• Updated information about the elements of quality for group care and
how those elements connect to the learning process
• New insights about the unique challenges and opportunities
infant-toddler care teachers face
• Tools and strategies to help teachers engage in reflective practice
and build respectful and culturally sensitive relationships with both
colleagues and parents
Welcome the Children
http://www.uams.edu/welcomethechildren/
Does your center serve Latino children? The Welcome the Children project provides training for child care providers and other groups who would like to expand their ability to serve Latino children and families.
“Based on U.S. Census data, the number of Latinos living in Arkansas is projected to double in the next 20 years. Child care providers have been greatly affected by this influx of families and children to the state, but providers have received little training to assist them in adapting their services for the children and their families who speak Spanish. To better serve Latino children, additional training must be provided on cultural differences, assessing children for possible developmental delays, and second language acquisition. UAMS Partners for Inclusive Communities is addressing these needs through the Welcome the Children project, funded by the Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education.
Domestic Violence
www.safestartcenter.org
Have you been consulted by a teacher who suspected that one of her
children was living in a home where domestic violence was occurring? The
Safe Start Center website offers many
resources and free articles relating to domestic violence and it’s
effects on children. This one in particular may be helpful in your work
with teachers:
Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: An Early Childhood Educator’s
Handbook to Increase Understanding and Improve Community Responses
“Each year in the US, millions of children are exposed to violence
in their homes, schools, neighborhoods, and through the media.1,2,3,4
Young children are most likely to experience domestic violence – abusive
behavior used by one intimate partner to control and dominate the other.
The young child’s need for predictability and consistency is threatened
by domestic violence. Routines are likely interrupted, and the sounds
and images are distressing. Individuals like you, who care for and teach
young children, are in an ideal position to support their adjustment.