When Your Young Client is Defiant is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE) course that provides practical strategies for managing challenging and defiant behavior in young clients.

Adults are often at a loss when it comes to handling defiance and power struggles. Some lecture the child on disrespectful behavior. Others ignore it, hoping it will go away. Often, children with language delays learn to express dissatisfaction by whining, or throwing temper tantrums, or engaging in negative behaviors. Such behaviors frequently have a negative impact on the child’s social development, family relationships, and academic outcomes. Research shows that caregivers and parents of children with difficult temperaments may also experience significant stress. Healthcare professionals are in an ideal position to teach families how to communicate better with their children and to support clients to manage their emotions.

The techniques discussed are appropriate for all learning environments – home, classroom, playground, gym, and the therapy room. They can be used in group or individual therapy sessions, in private practice, and/or school-based settings. The techniques can be modified for each child’s developmental level, from toddler to teen.

The author begins by providing an overview of the various forms of defiant, disruptive, and challenging behavior, as well as highlighting factors that put children at increased risk for displaying such behaviors. This is followed by a discussion on the causes and five main triggers of defiant behavior. The author also provides a detailed explanation of how deficits in executive functioning can impact a child.

The remainder of the course focuses on understanding and managing difficult behavior and verbal defiance. Multiple strategies for supporting clients are discussed at length and the author provides further interventions specifically for managing executive functioning deficits and avoiding power struggles with children.

Author’s note: It should be noted at the outset that the dynamics and techniques described in this course may not be adequate or even appropriate to use with children how have more serious behavior conditions, such as oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorders. They will require more intense and specialized mental health interventions.

Outline

• Introduction
• Section 1: Identification and Forms of Defiant, Disruptive, or Challenging Behavior
• Section 2: What Are the Causes of Defiant Behavior?
• Section 3: What Triggers Defiant Behavior?
• Section 4: Understanding and Managing Difficult Behavior
• Section 5: Strategies for Managing Difficult Behavior
• Section 6: Interventions to Manage Executive Functioning Deficits
• Section 7: Responding Appropriately to Defiance in Verbal Children to Avoid Power Struggles
• Section 8: Freeing Children from Their Defiant Roles
• Appendix: Useful Phrases, Responses, and Processes

Course #31-53 | 2024 | 61 pages | 20 posttest questions