Special Training: Disability Awareness
By Harriet Bohanan
MHR, LPC, CEO/CLINICAL DIRECTOR
Spectrum Behavioral Health Group – Tulsa, LLC
Join us for an interactive workshop that will help direct care staff's work with
individuals in crisis situations who also have developmental disabilities. Many of the
individuals we serve at Spectrum BHG are victims of trauma. They have a developmental
disability and may also have one or more co-occurring mental illness. Caring for these
children while they are in shelters or other emergency placements can be challenging at best.
Trainers from Spectrum BHG would like to share their knowledge and experience of
working with these children across the state with the hardworking staff that help them
live a more stable life.
We believe that behavioral disruption is often just another form of communication,
albeit an often inappropriate one. By looking at those behaviors through a lens fully
open to the history of trauma, their potential mental illness, and their disability will help
staff in their daily dealings with the child. Questions like - Why does Larry flap his
hands? Why does Sally never make eye contact? Can Johnny just stop hitting? Why
won’t Bryan just listen? Things we may normally see as “behaviors” or “defiance” may
really be ways for these children to communicate. Knowing how to respond is the key.
Understanding the role of childhood trauma and sensory issues for those on the Autism
Spectrum will be presented in these workshops. Going beyond understanding, the
presenters will give practical tips on dealing with these problematic issues that provide a
safety net for both child and direct care staff. Those who participate in the workshop
will learn new de-escalation techniques, ways to understand the role of consistency along
with empathy, how to get to the bottom of sensory issues and their resolutions will all be
covered in the workshop. This workshop will be advantageous for anyone working with children
living in emergency placements, and especially those who are dealing with sensory issues
in combination with another mental illness.