The Problems with the Manage-and-Discipline Approach to PBiS

July 2, 2019

Every year I can tell how well teachers and administrators think that their school-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBiS/PBiS) systems are working because there is a massive uptick in my readership stats for behavioral management related posts and, in particular, those outlining my perspective that PBiS is a failed model and in desperate need … More The Problems with the Manage-and-Discipline Approach to PBiS

One Size Does Not Fit All in Special Education: Lessons from Procrustes

January 19, 2019

This is an abbreviated version of the story of Procrustes the Stretched and Theseus from here (emphasis mine). Theseus went on his way again. After a few miles, it got dark. Theseus saw a large house up ahead of him. He decided to ask the owner for a bed for the night, so he walked … More One Size Does Not Fit All in Special Education: Lessons from Procrustes

External Incentives DECREASE Intrinsic Motivation: Implications for Classroom Management

December 19, 2018

This blog post is another in a relatively long string of posts describing why I do not feel reward or incentive-based management systems are appropriate models for school-wide behavioral management (previous posts here). Up until now, I have been addressing the issue from an educational perspective with a particular focus on how rewards can turn … More External Incentives DECREASE Intrinsic Motivation: Implications for Classroom Management

Nonverbal Learning Disabilitiess: an Endophenotype Across Neurodevelpmental Disorders

October 30, 2018

I started working with a student and kept finding they had a pattern of strengths and weaknesses academically that was familiar to a nonverbal disability that I had studied in many neurodevelopmental disorders. In talking to this student’s parents, I learned that what I saw made sense. The student has a genetic disorder similar to … More Nonverbal Learning Disabilitiess: an Endophenotype Across Neurodevelpmental Disorders