When you notice a child with aggressive behavior toward others, what type of intervention do you perform?

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There are various interventions you can use when dealing with an aggressive child. These interventions include positive reinforcement, shaping, prompting, modeling, and redirection techniques. Positive reinforcement involves rewarding positive behavior to encourage the child to repeat it. Shaping consists in breaking down complex behavior into smaller, more manageable steps. Prompting involves providing cues or hints to help the child understand what is expected of them. Modeling involves demonstrating the desired behavior for the child to imitate. Redirection techniques involve redirecting the child's attention to a more appropriate behavior or activity when they become aggressive. Assure the interviewer that you would work with parents, medical providers, and school staff to adequately monitor and help assist an aggressive child.

"I do not yet have the level of experience for me to perform an intervention on my own personally. However, I have observed some amazing techniques during my schooling and training, which include group therapy, play therapy, and music therapy. I look forward to this opportunity to gain hands-on experience while working with your wonderful mentors."

"I noticed a child at school being unusually aggressive in the classroom and knew I needed to find out what was happening. I contacted the parents for permission to invite the child to a working group I had for kids his age. He's been there for six weeks now and has responded to our group therapy and is improving every day."

"My preferred intervention method is Relationship Development Intervention because parents and teachers can be trained to perform it with children in the home or school setting. I think it is important to get everyone that interacts with the child and is involved in their care to help improve their aggressive behavior."

Anonymous Answer

"When I notice a child with aggressive behavior, I first ask the parents if this aggressive conduct occurs outside the learning center. I try to discover how the parents deal with this behavior. Communication is key, and parents will know their children best and can help me find the best way to calm and soothe their child."

Marcie's Feedback

Good answer! Contacting the parents and talking about the aggressive behavior with them sounds like a great step to take. Consider mentioning some other types of interventions to the interviewer as well, including being calm yet firm when dealing with this kind of behavior, potentially giving the child a time out, talking to the child privately after the behavior has occurred to gain more information, and having the child apologize to any injured parties. Researching and offering up a wealth of information and ideas here will show the interviewer that you are knowledgeable in this area.