Derek Saker
Director of Communications
OHEL Children’s Home and Family Services
dsaker@ohelfamily.org
718-686-3333 direct | 347 920 0199 mobile | 718 851 2772 fax
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OHEL INSTITUTE FOR TRAINING WORKSHOP “ADDRESSESING  CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS IN CHILDREN AND TEENS" DRAWS CAPACITY ATTENDANCE  

Why do children develop challenging behaviors? How can parents, teachers and clinicians best address these behaviors?

Parents, advocates, educators, and mental health professionals from all over the greater New York area learned answers to these and related questions at a recent Community Conference sponsored by The Mel and Phyllis Zachter OHEL Institute for Training. Addressing Behavioral Challenges in Children and Teens, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, provided a unique and valuable opportunity for learning and the sharing of ideas.

The May 19th Community Conference featured Ross Greene, PhD, world-renowned child psychologist and professor at Harvard Medical School.  Author of the highly acclaimed books, The Explosive Child and Lost at School, Dr. Greene is the founder of Lives in the Balance, an educational, support and advocacy organization for behaviorally challenging youth and their parents, teachers and other caregivers. 

Drawing on insights from current clinical practice and neuroscience research, Dr. Greene provided conference participants with valuable insights from his innovative Collaborative Problem Solving approach to addressing challenging behaviors in children and teens. 

Dr. Green illuminated many aspects of better understanding behavioral challenges in children and provided more effective and very hands-on ways in addressing. 

A major thesis of Dr. Greene was that the problem is not in trying to better motivate a child to doing their best, but rather to empower a child with the skills to succeed. As Dr. Greene articulated, “All kids want to do their best. Rather, behavioral issues develop when demands being placed on a child at any one time outstrip his or her skills to respond adaptively to those demands.  These child skills may include one or any combination of executive skills, language processing skills, emotional regulation skills, cognitive flexibility skills, social skills.”

These are just some of the comments participants shared at the close of the conference:

“This conference was really eye-opening for me. I feel like I understand my students through different lenses now. I can’t wait to get back to the classroom to try out the skills I’ve learned.” 

“This was really helpful to me as a parent. I feel I have more clarity for helping my son, and look forward to approaching his behavior, and our relationship, in a new way.”

“I’m always looking for more knowledge to help me be a more effective therapist. Today I gained that and much more. I now have a totally different way of looking at the children and teens I work with. This was really inspiring.”

For more information about the Institute and future educational opportunities, visit OHEL’s website at www.ohelfamily.org or call 1-877-EDU-OHEL.

OHEL Children's Home and Family Services is a pioneering social services agency that is markeing its 40th milestone this year. From the early to senior years, OHEL delivers a breadth of community services through OHEL Bais Ezra, OHEL Lifetime Care, OHEL Foster Care, OHEL Mental Health Services , OHEL Camp Kaylie and the OHEL Institute for Training. OHEL provides innovative and cutting-edge programs and services for individuals and families at risk, and individuals with developmental or psychiatric disabilities, in both residential and out-patient settings. Touching the lives of thousands of individuals at every stage, and every day, OHEL’s professional services are available throughout New York, New Jersey and South Florida.