A positive behavioral support (PBS) model that has eliminated the use of restraint and seclusion among Cedarhurst School students was highlighted at a recent statewide conference.
The daylong conference, organized by the Interagency Restraint and Seclusion Prevention Committee, a collaborative of Connecticut state agencies that oversee the care, education, and protection of children and adults, was held Wednesday, September 25, 2013 at Central Connecticut State University.
Cedarhurst, an approved private special education program, provides education and support services to day students from local school districts identified as having emotional disturbance or other health impairment. Cedarhurst is a part of Yale Behavioral Health, under the aegis of the Yale Department of Psychiatry.
The School's PBS model, which emphasizes proactive strategies for defining, teaching, and supporting appropriate student behaviors, has been recognized as an exemplar of PBS implementation in an alternative school setting.
Betsy Donovan, M.S., director of Cedarhurst School, presented details of the innovative model to conference attendees.
A level system, in which students achieve levels associated with increasing responsibility, privileges and independence, is the foundation of Cedarhurst's PBS model. Levels are determined by the points that students earn throughout the day in each of three positively stated and taught expectations—safety, responsibility, and respect. Point cards are indicators of a student's progress, where a student is successful, or where a student may need additional support.
Another important component of the School's PBS model is the use of tickets to reward, and thus reinforce, positive behavior. Students earn tickets when they engage in a behavior or make a choice that is consistent with one of the three basic expectations. Students may exchange tickets for a variety of desirable items or privileges.
Positive reinforcement improves the quality of the school environment by creating and sustaining school-wide, classroom, and individual systems of support.
Representatives of Cedarhurst have presented the School's PBS model at conferences across the country including the 10th International Conference on Positive Behavioral Support in San Diego and the 2013 National PBIS Leadership Forum in Illinois and have published on this work in the peer-reviewed literature.