De-Escalation Strategies

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De-Escalation Strategies

• Safe Schools Meeting
• 10/22/2007

Jim Wood Sean Bollinger Geoff Smith
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• To provide immediate emotional and environmental
  support in a way that reduces the stress and risk
• To teach better, more constructive and effective
  ways to deal with stress or painful feelings

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• To provide immediate emotional and environmental
  support in a way that reduces the stress and risk

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Crisis Cycle
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4 Questions We Ask Ourselves In A Crisis

• What am I feeling now?
• What does this young person feel, need, or want?
• How is the environment affecting the young
  person?
• How do I best respond?

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Verbal Escalation Continuum
Less rational--Less verbal
interventions/more listening
Energy/Intensity
More rational--More verbal interventions useful
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Non-verbal Indicators of Escalation

• Clenched Fist
• Eyes darting or avoiding eye contact
• Sighs
• Pacing
• Hands on hips/Arms crossed
• Others ?

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• Silence--Allow verbal release !!
• Nods
• Facial expression
• Eye contact
• Body Language ??

TCI TRAINING 22
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Verbal Indicators of Escalation

• Tone
• Volume
• Cadence
• Loss of language capabilities

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• Volume
• Cadence
• Tone
• Simplify Language

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Watch These
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• Identify feelings/function of behavior
• Be non-judgemental, accepting, supportive
• Use Active Listening techniques

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Functions of Behavior

• Attention--Getting Heard
• Escape/Protest
• Possessions --perceived or real
• Power ?
• Losing face
• Others ??

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I ASSIST

• I - Isolate the young person
• A - Actively listen
• S Speak calmly, assertively, respectfully
• S Statements of understanding precede requests
• I Invite the young people to consider positive
  outcomes and behaviors
• S Space reduces pressure
• T Time helps young people respond to requests

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Duties of a Team Leader

• Assess the situation
• Direct the other members of the team
• Communicate with the acting out person
• Decide on a plan

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Who best to be team leader ?

• First one on the scene
• Best rapport/relationship with AOP
• Most experience/expertise
• Others ??

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Activity
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De-escalation Scenario High School/Middle
School As you are walking into the quad you
notice a student who is rapidly walking toward
you with a scowl on his face, staring at the
ground and muttering to himself. You recognize
him as one of the varsity basketball players. You
call his name and he looks up, startled, and
begins to raise his voice exclaiming, I hate
that teacher, and she hates me ! Im gonna get
her back someday ! The boy sits down on a bench
with clenched fists. You realize that lunch will
be let out in less than 10 minutes, where the
whole quad will quickly fill with students and
staff. As you ask the boy if he could come into
the office with you to talk, he verbally
escalates yelling, Im not going anywhere,
nobody in this school gives a crap about me,
except Mr. Charles, and I never wanted to move
here !!! This whole town sucks !!
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De-escalation Scenario Elementary As school lets
out, you notice a group of 5th grade boys by the
bike racks listening to one boy as he says, Im
gonna bust him right in the lip. Then Im gonna
jump him and kick him when hes on the ground.
Which one of these bikes is his ? As you
approach and ask to talk with the boy, he gets on
his bike and pedals off toward the portable
classrooms but does not leave campus. You
recognize him as a boy who has been in the office
a number of times this year due to aggression and
fighting. He even kicked the custodian who tried
to grab his bike when the boy would not walk it
on school grounds. The P.E. Prep teacher, Mr.
Brown, has used him as a T.A. for the younger
classes and this has been very successful. He
appears to be waiting for a certain class to get
out and is talking to a number of students who
are laughing and waiting in the same area.
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Questions/Comments

• Jim- jawood_at_sanjuan.edu
• Sean- sbollinger_at_sanjuan.edu
• Geoff- geoff.smith_at_sanjuan.edu