Instructional Playbook

C

Classroom Adjustment Strategy: De-escalation Prompts

HELP The goal of Help is to promote communication of needs and intervene early. A good time to use the Help strategy is when a teacher recognizes that a catalyst has happened for a student or as the student is beginning to de-escalate from the crisis peak.

What to Say

Next Steps

Ask any open ended question or provide choices: How can I help you? What do you need? How are you feeling today? Tell me you need a break. Would you like to take a break in the calm corner or go get a drink of water? Would you like me to help you with this problem or would you like to ask your table partner for help?

If responsive: Praise cOmmunication of needs and provide what they communicated, or an approximation to the request. If student becomes more agitated: Switch to the PROMPT or WAIT strategy as appropriate.

PROMPT One common reaction to agitated or disruptive behavior is to tell the person to stop or calm down. That is not usually helpful and may cause escalation. Instead, it is better to request a specific alternative to the challenging behavior. What to Say Next Steps

Ask student to do something they can do right then or an incompatible behavior to the inappropriate behavior. Take a deep breath Count to 10 Walk with me to the end of the hall Clap your hands Pick up your pencil

If responsive: Praise any cooperation or approximation of cooperation. Continue to prompt until working independently or switch to HELP strategy if appropriate. If student becomes more agitated: Switch to the WAIT strategy.

WAIT In some cases, the best intervention may be to monitor the situation and give the person time. If you know the person tends to become less angry if given time to settle, or if you try other interventions and find that everything you do increases the person’s agitation, then you may consider waiting. You might also use this strategy when the person is telling you to go away. What to Say Next Steps NOTHING. Remember the cue, Why Am I Talking (WAIT). Avoid eye contact, keep face neutral. Only intervene for safety. If student starts to de-escalate: Switch to HELP or PROMPT strategy. Remember they do not need to be all the way calm, just a step down. If student remains escalated: Continue to wait. De-escalation does not have a time limit.