Managing the Cycle of Meltdowns for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

How to keep meltdowns from overheating your classroom This book outlines practical steps for preventing and responding to the various phases of meltdown behavior in students with AUtism Spectrum Disorder. Based on Geoff Colvin′s best-selling book, Managing the Cycle of Acting Out Behavior in the Classroom, this practitioner-friendly guide provides special and general education teachers of autistic students a seven-phase positive behavior support model that includes interventions for each phase. Teachers will find experienced guidance for providing a supportive environment in which students with ASD can succeed.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Richard L. Simpson Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction Section I: A Model for Meltdown Behavior of Students With ASD 1. Autism Spectrum Disorder, Overview 2. The Nature of Meltdowns 3. A Six-Phase Model of the Meltdown Cycle Section II: Strategies for Managing the Phases of the Meltdown Cycle 4. Calm Phase 5. Trigger Phase 6. Agitation Phase 7. Meltdown Phase 8. Re-Grouping Phase 9. Starting-Over Phase 10. The Parent Component Closing Remarks Appendices References Index

About the Author :
Geoff Colvin draws on his experience as a classroom teacher, administrator, researcher and instructor at the University of Oregon, and national public school consultant. Widely recognized as an expert on the subjects of school safety and violence prevention, Colvin has provided inservice training for teachers and administrators in more than 100 school districts and agencies nationally and internationally. He recently served as research associate at the University of Oregon and independent consultant in the areas of schoolwide discipline, school climate, school safety, and violence prevention, classroom management, and individual cases involving students with severe behavior disorders. Geoff also directed a juvenile detention school and a school program for youth with serious emotionally disturbances. Colvin has authored more than sixty publications, books, book chapters, journal articles, and video programs on the subject of teaching and managing students who exhibit the full range of problem behavior. Dr. Martin R. Sheehan, integrates a background in research psychology, Direct Instruction, special education, and media development. He is the owner of Double S Instructional Systems and has received federal funding for over 10 National Institutes of Health Small Business grant projects. He has served as the the Principal Investigator for projects on improving anger management for adults with disabilities, positive behavior supports for educators who work with challenging students, dangerous drug prevention, nutrition, weight loss and exercise, leisure, and future planning programs for individuals with DD. For 12 years he worked as an administrator in charge of programs for high school students with moderate to severe developmental disabilities. At that time he developed and supervised classrooms for students with autism and other developmental disabilities who exhibited severe acting out behaviors. He also has worked in the past as a therapist for a local counseling center and specialized in helping individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities and also with helping parents with their difficult children. Dr. Sheehan continues to serve on numerous NIH Center for Scientific Review study groups, including the Biobehavioral and Social Science Review Group in the area of Risk, Prevention, and Health Behavior.

Review :
"This book provides educators and parents with current research-based strategies for helping to recognize the stages of meltdown in children with ASD and a model for systematic analysis and action. The strategies suggested are comprehensive and sensitive to the diversity of student needs." -- Shannan McNair, Associate Professor "This how-to book provides a good introduction to the meltdown cycle and strategies anyone can implement. I recommend it as a particularly good resource for administrators and others who have had limited experience with autism." -- Wendy Dallman, Facilitator of New Teacher Mentoring Program "This text meets a need for special educators who work with ASD students. The material is useful and easy to navigate. The appendices offered some very concrete examples that are helpful for implementation." -- Mandy Ellis, Special Education Teacher and Learning Intervention Specialist "The author clearly explains the process of meltdown prevention and includes tables, lists and charts that summarize important points in the text. These features help teachers encapsulate the information into manageable, memorable bites, and are helpful for analyzing real-life situations." -- Carole S. Campbell, Early Childhood Consultant "An indispensable resource for teachers working with students with ASD, this book is informative, useful, easy to follow, and loaded with wisdom on analyzing challenging meltdown behaviors, identifying triggers, and implementing effective interventions." -- Catalina Palfreman, Special Education Teacher "As parents of a teenage boy with Autism, we highly recommend this book. Although our son has not had a true meltdown in many years, he still periodically displays the rest of the cycle. We learned from Geoff and Martin's book that what we once regarded as problem behaviors are really very purposeful strategies for achieving his various goals. We wish we'd had this resource 15 years ago! However, we are now better equipped to manage his current needs." -- Greg and Shelley Backstrom, Parents of child with ASD "This book is a key to keeping autistic meltdowns from taking over a classroom. Practical steps to recognizing, preventing and responding to common phases of meltdown behaviors with autism spectrum disorder students provides a guide that advocates positive behavior support and gives basic keys to achieving these goals." -- Midwest Book Review, October 2012