Volume 1 -- Working with Staff to Overcome Challenging Behavior Among People who Have Severe Disabilities
The effectiveness of support plans for reducing challenging behavior among people with severe disabilities is heavily dependent on how those plans are carried out by direct service staff. This book describes a step-by-step approach for ensuring support plans are carried out appropriately and effectively. Relying on their 70 years of combined work experience and over 140 published articles in developmental disabilities, the authors provide tried and tested strategies for enhancing program implementation, including how to prepare program plans to facilitate staff follow through, obtain staff support for the plans, train staff to carry out program procedures, maintain day-to-day staff proficiency in carrying out the plans, and improve nonproficient staff performance. Written specifically for supervisors who oversee staff performance and clinicians who develop support plans, a working protocol of best practices is presented for getting support plans carried out in typical service settings for people who have severe disabilities.
Volume 2 -- Preference-Based Teaching
Teaching new skills to people with developmental disabilities is often hampered by problem behavior during teaching sessions. This highly acclaimed book describes how to make teaching enjoyable for learners with disabilities. When learners enjoy teaching programs, they have no need for problem behavior. Based on 55 years of combined work experience and 100 published articles, the authors describe a step-by-step approach for making the teaching process a preferred activity for learners with even the most significant disabilities. By using the described procedures, learners not only look forward to teaching sessions, their skill acquisition is also enhanced. Thirteen chapters include how to...establish rapport with a learner so the learner enjoys working with the instructor - time the scheduling of teaching sessions to enhance enjoyment - tailor teaching procedures to individual learner preferences - provide preferred events before, during, and after a teaching session - embed learner choices in the teaching process. Special Highlights: Reliance on evidence-based procedures demonstrated through applied research to be effective - concise summary of effective teaching strategies amenable to preference-based teaching - quick ways to identify learner preferences to embed in teaching - practical choice procedures to give learners desired control over aspects of teaching - a ready-to-use checklist for how to do preference-based teaching - how to make teaching enjoyable for teachers and instructors - ways supervisors and administrators can support teachers in making teaching enjoyable.
Volume 3 -- Motivating Human Service Staff
This book presents strategies for enhancing work proficiency and diligence among direct support staff in human service agencies, while ensuring staff enjoy their work. In contrast to typical texts on worker motivation, this book does not focus on theoretical models or interpretations of worker motivation. Rather, the focus is on day-to-day strategies for ensuring staff effectively fulfill their job responsibilities. The strategies are based on over two decades of applied research on enhancing staff performance in human service settings as well as the supervisory experience of the authors and their colleagues.
The main body of this book is organized in three interrelated sections. The Introductory section provides a practical, working definition of motivation along with a brief summary of reasons for the widespread existence of motivational problems among human service personnel. The second section, Enhancing Diligent and Competent Work Performance, describes procedures for ensuring staff know how to perform their jobs, and routinely perform their jobs proficiently. The final section, Enhancing Work Enjoyment, details supervisory strategies for increasing the enjoyment staff experience with their day-to-day jobs, while maintaining competent and diligent work habits.
Volume 4 -- The Supervisor's Guidebook: Evidence-Based Strategies for Promoting Work Quality and Enjoyment Among Human Service Staff
Supervisor's of direct support staff have a critical and often demanding job in human service agencies. This guidebook describes in practical terms what supervisors can do day-to-day to perform their duties successfully and promote quality staff performance. Relying on their 60+ years of combined supervisory experience and over 100 published articles on providing supports for people with disabilities, the authors provide tried and tested means for training, supervising, and motivating direct support staff.
Volume 5 -- Promoting Happiness among Adults with Autism and Other Severe Disabilities: Evidence Based Strategies
Quality of life among adults with severe disabilities receiving supports in human service agencies is heavily determined by the amount of happiness they experience on a day-to-day basis. For people whose challenges make it difficult for them to readily describe their emotional experiences of happiness and unhappiness, support staff must take special care to ensure they promote daily happiness. This book describes in practical terms what human service staff can do to promote happiness among the people they support. Relying on 40+ years of experience and over 100 published articles on providing supports for people with severe disabilities, the author provides tried and tested means for identifying and increasing individual happiness.
