The Effect of a Verbal De-escalation Crisis Intervention Program on the Self Awareness of Middle School Students in a Behavior Learning Support Self-Contained Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to create and implement a verbal de-escalation procedural plan that staff can teach and students can implement in order to cut down on physical restraint in a Behavior Learning Support (BLS) self-contained classroom for students with behavioral issues. The study was a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test/post-test assessment strategy. The purpose was to determine if the students who received elements of a Learned Resourcefulness curriculum during a social skills class gained self-awareness of what leads to a crisis. Selfawareness did increase from the results of a pre-survey and post-survey, resulting in the null hypothesis that self-awareness would not increase, not being supported. Overall, further research across a larger population is recommended due to the increase in self-awareness.