De-Escalation Strategies

Maintain a calm demeanor, and use a non-elevated tone of voice.

Be empathetic and nonjudgemental.

Don't dismiss the student's feelings, even if they are or are not justified.

Remain calm and rational.

Ignore challenging statements or questions.

Make note of your body langauge.

Be mindful of gestures, facial expressions, and tone of voice.

Provide the student with space and time to regulate.

Provide a calm down area that is designated for moments of dysregulation. Only one student should be in this area at a time (Example: calm down corner, calm down kit)

Provide the student with enough time to regulate their own behavior(s), using visuals and timers.

Reinforce positive behaviors.

Notice and recognize the good things a student says and does.

Recognize achievements of all kids, not just behaviors.

Value and help students instill a growth mindset.

Encourage when students do things a little differently, or thing outside the box to find an appropriate or correct solution to a problem.

Respect personal space.

GIve the student space to regulate, while being close enough to monitor the student's behavior.

If it is necessary to enter a sstudent's personal space during dysregulation, explain actions to the student.

Offer chioces, and redirect if needed.

Provide the student with 2-3 choices of acceptabl options for completing the activity or task.

Teach students self-advocacy and self-regulation skills in  everyday curriculum.

Teach and regularly practice regulation strategies with all students. Initially, teach in a clam, relaxed setting and then move into additional settings that may lead to dysregulation for some students. (Example: deep breathing exercises, asking for breaks, getting a drink of water)

Use self-prompting strateiges to prompt use of regulation strategies (Example: timers, visual reminders)

Allow time for reflection, and debrief with the student.

Provide the student with time to regain self-regulation.

Once regulated, reintergrate the student into the activity or class.

Allow the student time to return to baseline before implementing consequences, and before debriefing.

Set time aside to debrief with student. Allow student to descrive their perception of the escalation, and their thoughts and feelings. Discuss appropriate behaviors from student and staff for next time.

Focus on feelings, and avoid overreacting.

Pay attention to the emotions and feelings the student is having. Justified or not, those feelings and emotions are very real to the student, and may be the most important thing in their life at the moment. Watch and listen carefully for the real message.

As the adult, know what your own triggers are for dysregulation.

Remain calm during escalation and don't take things personally.

Co-regulate your emotions with students and model desired behaviors. Then provide positive reinforcement for following expectations.

Use supportive words and responses. (Example: "How did that make you feel?" "That must have been hard for you.")

Pick the battles.

Not every behavior needs a response. Practice planned ignoring.

Know when to walk away.

Don't take things personally. Instead, take a step back and ask yourself, "What does this student need right now?"

Set limits. If the student's behavior is a safety risk for the student or other individuals in the classroom.

Allow time for decision making.

Don't be afraid of awkward silence. Utilize wait time to allow student time to make a decision.

Actively listen to the student and use empathy.

Use phrases like "I hear you...", "I see that...", "I notice...", etc.

Remain calm.

Use few words, but provide clear expectations.

Use explicit, clear, yet positive expectations.

Use shorter, more descriptive sentences.

Allow the student personal space, but stay close enough to monitor behavior.

Limit demands on the student until the student is out of crisis mode.

Reconnect and reintegrate the student into class.

Welcome the student back into the space with a positive demeanor. 

Provide clear expectations for reintegration. 

Document, document, document.

Record data from the incident. Focus on the facts.

Debrief with the student's team, as necessary or as needed.

As the adult, reflect on your own behavior during the incident.

Identify next steps for better supporting the student and preventing future escalations.

Management Strategies

Model, set clear expectations, and be consistent and persistent.

Set your classroom rules and expectations early in the school year, and explain what each means and looks like. Have students help create classroom rules and expectations that are respectful of everyone and everything.

Establish a classroom behavior management plan and determine what you'll say and do, and what the consequence is for certain behaviors.

Stick with and to your expectations and rules, and follow through.

Build relationships.

One of the most important behavior management strategies!

Get to know the students, what they like to do, about their family and friends, etc.

Accommodate all learners and learning styles in your classroom with your lesson and activities.

Provide scheduled breaks and down time.

Build in break times within the student's class schedule.

When lesson planning, allow students a few minutes of down time, as needed.

Incorporate  movement into the school day.

Utilize flexible seating options for all students.

Implement brain breaks or build class breaks into the schedule where students can get up and move around.

Incorporate active learning lessons or activities into lesson plans.

Prepare students for changes in schedule.

Let students know when the schedule is going to be different, when possible.

Use timers, visual schedules, verbal reminders, etc.

Delegate and give students responsibility.

Allow students in the classroom the opportunity to take on responsibilities. Find ways that students can do more for themselves.

Examples: taking attendance, handing out or collecting papers, grading assignments, group work, etc.

Address individual problems individually.

Privately address challenges, as necessary and appropriate.

Use collective punishment sparingly, if at all.

Provide choices.

Provide the student with 2-3 choices of acceptable options for completing the activity or task.

Follow the Behavior Intervention Plan.

If a student has a school-BIP or an IEP-BIP, follow the plan. Implement the strategies in the student's plan and collect ABC data for the team.

Document, document, document!

If it feels like something on the BIP is not working, or that another strategy may work better for the student, collect data and inform the team.

Document, document, document.

Record data from the incident. Focus on the facts.

Debrief with the student's team, as necessary or as needed.

As the adult, reflect on own behavior during the incident.

Identify next steps for better supporting the student and preventing future escalations.

Use positive reinforcement.

Notice and recognize the good things a student says and does. In this case, it's okay to go over the top a little.

Recognize achievements of all kinds, not just behaviors.

Value and help students instill a growth mindset.

Encourage when students do things a little differently, or think outside of the box to find an appropriate or correct solution to a problem.

Be flexible.

Be able to make adjustments to the schedule on the go.

Keep early finisher activities for students who complete work early. Example: task boxes, fine motor activities, center activities

Build extra time into the lesson plans.

Have a designated calm down space.

Provide a calm down area that is designated for moments of dysregulation. Only one student in this area at a time.

Provide the student with enough time to regulate their own behavior(s), and appropriate tools to do so independently.