Children are social beings who rely on interactions with others to survive and thrive. Since the human brain is wired to connect, cultures in schools and youth organizations must be designed so youth can bond to supportive peers and adults. Children learn through observation, modeling, and responding to people in their environments. Bronfenbrenner…

Learning to recognize and express emotions appropriately is a skill of mastery in human development, and an essential component of living the good life. Because this developmental and social skill is one of the core deficits for people along the autism spectrum, anyone who works with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) should provide them…

Recently, the Center for Disease Control released the findings of a study estimating that 1 in 88 children in the U. S. has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) representing a 78% increase over the last decade. The study also reports that Hispanic and African-American children represent the largest increase. An increasing number…

The authors' commitment to experiential education is rooted in their own training as teachers in Denmark. Throughout college, they engaged in experiential and constructivist learning, placing primary responsibility for learning on the learners. After their graduation, they used the same practices in their work with troubled and troubling youth in…

Unresolved issues from home often spill over into behavior problems at school. This article discusses the five-minute RAP techniques: (1) connect; (2) clarify; and (3) restore. The authors present a case study wherein this brief restorative intervention had been a successful alternative to punishment and exclusion.

For a century, democratic values have called for abandoning coercive approaches and teaching children and youth to be responsible citizens. The authors explore strategies for creating respectful environments and positive group cultures with challenging youth. They offer suggestions to adult group facilitators to support youth in developing…

Positive Peer Culture [PPC] creates a pro-social climate in schools and youth programs by enlisting youth in helping their peers. Research and training in PPC is coordinated by the Academy for Positive Peer Culture. Established in 2006, the Academy provides networking and is a clearinghouse for resources, training, and consultation for PPC. It…

This article explores the evidence base for Positive Peer Culture (PPC) which is a total system for developing positive youth cultures in youth serving organizations. It challenges a popular belief among some researchers that group programs which bring together troubled youth are inherently negative.

The maturation of the adolescent brain is focused on two tasks: developing autonomy and understanding self in context of the community. Therefore, parents and other adults must assure that young people have multiple opportunities to interact in supportive environments where they can develop the capacity to self-regulate and achieve autonomy.…

Jason is a 17-year-old high school senior currently classified as a student who is Other Health Impaired due to anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and germ phobia (an intense fear of something that poses little actual threat--but can cause severe anxiety or a full panic attack). He also has a severe learning disability in reading. Jason is…

Red Flag Reclaiming Interventions are used with students who import problems from the home or community and display them in another setting. This article describes how an incident of violence in the community created a crisis in the classroom. A Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) was used as a student learns to communicate about conflicts…

Discusses how service learning can play an integral role in reclaiming youth. Advocates service learning as an effective part of the reclaiming process because it engages a variety of senses and makes learning more accessible for students with different learning styles. (GCP)

This article describes a strengths-based alternative to substance abuse treatment. Many contemporary youth are experiencing problems with alcohol or other drugs but reject the message of total abstinence and disease models of treatment. The authors draw from their experience and research to combine a strengths perspective with a harm-reduction…

Describes an ethnographic study undertaken with 23 youth, in residential treatment centers, to explore the effect of caring relationships on their lives. Seven elements of caring relationships were identified: trust; attention; empathy; availability; affirmation; respect; and virtue. Describes how the components of successful caring can be used to…

This intervention targets distortions in thinking which contribute to conflict with students and staff. After numerous assault charges in her school, June was placed in residential treatment. During her first sixty days, she experienced several crisis situations which included assaults on staff and students, physical restraints, and eventual…