Coming Soon - Challenging Behavior Support

Challenging Behavior Support Program for Parents and Children

Program overview A structured, multi-component program designed to help families reduce challenging behaviors, build positive parent-child relationships, and increase children's emotional and social skills. The program combines workshops, in-home support, parent support groups, and guided play groups to provide consistent coaching, practical strategies, and peer connection.

Who it’s for

• Families with children ages 0–8 (adaptable to older children upon request)

• Parents, caregivers, and family members seeking tools to manage tantrums, aggression, defiance, excessive crying, sleep challenges, or anxiety-related behaviors

• Children who benefit from guided practice of social-emotional skills in a supportive setting

Program components

1. Parent and child workshops (group classes)

   • Understanding behavior: why children act out and what needs they express

   • Preventive routines: predictable schedules, transitions, and environmental adjustments

   • Positive attention and reinforcement: labeled praise, reward systems, and natural consequences

   • Clear limits and calm responses: setting rules, using brief and firm redirection, age-appropriate consequences

   • Emotion coaching: naming feelings, validating, and teaching coping strategies

   • Teaching replacement skills: communication, problem-solving, self-regulation

   • Safety planning and crisis de-escalation for severe behaviors

   Activities: Demonstrations, role-plays, video examples, short home practice assignments

   Takeaways: Handouts, behavior charts, step-by-step scripts, and home practice trackers

   2. In-home support

• Purpose: Individualized coaching in the child’s natural environment to increase strategy generalization

  • Functional observation

  • Collaborative goal-setting and a tailored action plan

  • Live coaching during meals, transitions, or play to model techniques and support implementation

  • Immediate feedback and adjustment of strategies based on family needs

  • Coordination with other service providers as needed (therapists, early intervention)

• Outcomes: Practical, context-specific strategies that fit family routines; increased parent confidence and consistent responses

  3.Parent support groups

• Format: Ongoing, facilitated groups meeting weekly or biweekly for 60–90 minutes; closed groups for core cohorts or open drop-in groups

• Focus:

  • Peer connection and normalization of parenting challenges

  • Problem-solving and sharing of successful routines and strategies

  • Brief topical presentations (sleep, picky eating, sibling conflict) followed by group discussion

  • Crisis check-ins and planning for families with urgent needs

• Facilitation: Led by a facilitator who maintains a strengths-based, nonjudgmental environment; referrals to additional resources when necessary

• Benefits: Reduced isolation, increased persistence with strategies, shared resources, and social support

  4. Guided play groups (child-focused with parent participation)

• Format: Weekly 45–60 minute small-group sessions (4–8 children) with parent participation or observation

• Goals:

  • Practice social skills: turn-taking, sharing, cooperation, conflict resolution

  • Build emotion regulation through sensory activities, stories, and games

  • Strengthen parent-child interaction using coaching-in-the-moment

• Structure:

  • Welcome/routine to promote predictability

  • Short, scaffolded play activities led by a facilitator who models and prompts desired behaviors

  • Reflection and coaching with parents after each session to reinforce strategies used during play

• Materials and activities: Pretend play setups, cooperative games, calm-down stations, music and movement, sensory bins

• Expected benefits: Improved peer interactions, reduced challenging behaviors during group situations, and stronger parent skills for supporting play at home

Program structure and timeline

• Intake and screening: Brief intake call and standardized behavior screener to determine fit and priorities

• Individualized plan: Families choose a core package (workshops + guided play) or an intensive package (workshops + in-home visits + support group)

• Typical commitment: 8–12 weeks for measurable changes; booster sessions available

• Progress monitoring: Regular check-ins, behavior tracking sheets, and a post-program review with recommendations for maintenance or next steps

Staff qualifications and safety

• Facilitators and coaches trained in child development, positive behavior support, trauma-informed care, and de-escalation

• Background checks for anyone working in homes or with children