Reactive, Aggressive, and Withdrawn Kids: A Complete Guide to Transforming Extreme Dysregulation and Challenging Behaviors

Credit

Program Information

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

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Canada Credit - *

NOTE: Each purchase includes CE credit for one individual (participants in full attendance will be able to print the certificate of completion after passing the online post-test (80% passing score) and completing the evaluation). Instructional methods will include PowerPoint, didactic lecture, Q&A, and others.

Continuing Education Information: Credits listed below are for full attendance at the live, interactive webinar only. This webinar is being broadcast live in real-time and must be attended live, in its entirety, in order to earn credit. You will be able to type questions to the speaker. The speaker will see the questions and address them during the presentation as time allows. Please note, your licensing board dictates whether web-based activities are an acceptable form of continuing education, as well as which credit types are acceptable for continuing education hours. Please refer to your licensing board's rules and regulations. If your profession is not listed, please contact your licensing board to determine your continuing education requirements and check for reciprocal approval. For other credit inquiries not specified below, please contact info@pesi.com or 800-844-8260 before the event.

Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of your profession.  As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your profession's standards.

For Planning Committee disclosures, please see the statement above.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

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Canada Credit - ---

Earn up to 6.25 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession. 

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Canada Credit - Canadian Counsellors and Psychotherapists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association to offer continuing education for counsellors and psychotherapists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This activity is approved for 6.0 credit hours.

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Canada Credit - Canadian Psychologists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved for 6.0 continuing education hours. Full credit statement at: www.pesi.com/cpa-statement

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Canada Credit - Other Professions

This activity qualifies for 380 continuing education minutes as required by many national and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your activity advertisement and certificate of completion, and contact your own board or organization for specific requirements. 

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Canada Credit - Social Workers - National ASWB ACE

PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2023 - January 27, 2026. Social workers completing this course receive 6.25 Clinical continuing education credits.

 

Course Level: Intermediate Format: Synchronous Distance.  Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance.

 

Canadian Social Workers: Canadian provinces may accept activities approved by the ASWB for ongoing professional development.

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US National Boards - Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, and Clinical Nurse Specialists – ANCC

PESI, Inc. is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Nurses in full attendance will earn 6.25 contact hours. Partial contact hours will be awarded for partial attendance.

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US National Boards - Occupational Therapists & Occupational Therapy Assistants

 

PESI, Inc.  is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Approved provider # 3322. This Distance-Learning Interactive activity is offered at .625  CEUs Intermediate, OT Service Delivery; Foundational Knowledge. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.   Full attendance at this live activity qualifies for 6.25 contact hours.

 

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Handouts

Speaker

Tere Bowen-Irish, OTR/L Related seminars and products

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Tere Bowen-Irish, OTR/L, has over 45 years of experience as an occupational therapist, specializing in psychiatry and pediatrics across hospital, school-based, and private practice settings. Through her practice, All the Possibilities, she provides consultation, evaluation, treatment, and education to support the functional and emotional well-being of children of all abilities. Tere has delivered continuing education nationally for over two decades, sharing practical, strengths-based strategies with therapists, educators, health professionals, and parents. She is also a certified YogaKids instructor and Mindful Schools Educator. Her publications include the Drive thru Menu Suite of Exercises, Yoga and Me, Come Be a Tree, and My Mindful Music (coauthored with Maryann Harman). Currently, she offers therapy and mindfulness instruction – often with the help of two canine companions – at a therapeutic school serving students unable to attend public school.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Tere Bowen-Irish is the owner of All the Possibilities, LLC., and has an employment relationship with Seacoast Learning Collaborative. She receives royalties as a published author. Tere Bowen-Irish receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Tere Bowen-Irish is a member of AOTA.

Additional Info

Program Information

For live CE credit, you must watch the live webcast in its entirety at its scheduled time and complete the CE quiz and evaluation within one week. You will have access for 90 days after the program for review.

Please note: There will be a 70-minute lunch and two 15-minute breaks; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Lunch and break times will be announced by the speaker and at their discretion. A more detailed schedule is available upon request.

Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.

Objectives

1. Identify the neurological and sensory-based origins of extreme dysregulation in children and adolescents.
2. Identify behavioral outbursts as communication of unmet developmental, emotional, or safety needs.
3. Choose polyvagal- and sensory-informed strategies to support nervous system regulation and resilience.
4. Develop individualized prevention and intervention plans using structured tracking and observation tools.
5. Identify in-the-moment responses to acute behaviors such as elopement, aggression, shutdowns, and self-injury.
6. Utilize relational safety, co-regulation, and recovery rituals to rebuild trust and promote long-term emotional growth.

Outline

Getting the Root of Behavior

Communication, Not Defiance

• Unmet developmental, sensory, cognitive, and social-emotional needs
• Environmental contributors: schedule, demands, transitions, overstimulation
• Emerging diagnoses (ASD, ADHD, PDA & more)
• Gaps in functional skills
• Behavioral patterns across settings: home, school, community
• Relational dynamics: peers, adults, authority
• Sensory processing challenges and common environmental triggers
• Structured behavior tracking and data collection tools

The Role of the Brain & Nervous System

Trauma, Stress and the Developing Brain

• The impact of chronic dysregulation on learning, participation, and relationships
• Brain pruning in the early teen years: Behavioral implications
• Nervous system states explained through Polyvagal Theory
• Differentiating shutdown, fight/flight, and functional freeze responses
• Recognize how your own nervous system impacts responses to dysregulation
• Supporting executive functioning skills: inhibition, flexibility, planning, and self-monitoring
• Limitations of the research and potential risks

Preventative Interventions

Setting the Stage for Success

• Neurodiversity-affirming, sensory-safe environments
• Daily mindfulness practice to build self-awareness
• 20+ movement strategies for use throughout the day:
  • Heavy work to support emotional regulation
  • Vestibular input to facilitate focus
  • Bilateral coordination tasks to facilitate cognitive flexibility
• Visuals, timers, and cues for transitions and predictability
• Go-to menus of coping tools and regulation strategies
• Point-of-performance coaching to build skills in real time
• Choice, autonomy, and refusal as communication
• Play, humor, and connection
• Use-anywhere tools for emotional literacy
• Consistency across home, school, and therapy settings

Acute Interventions

Responding in the Moment

• Meltdown vs. shutdown vs. escalation
• Crisis response team: Trusted adults, not just available staff
• Cues and precursors to acute behavior
• Verbal de-escalation scripts and visual cues
• Structrued exits, alternative escape routes, and break plans
• Elopement, self-harm, or aggression: Safety and regulation as the goal
• Connection during refusal or withdrawal
• “Bounce-Back” systems post-incident to rebuild trust and resilience
• Neuroaffirming incident documentation: No blame-based language

The Human Element in Intervention

• Embedding relational safety as a core strategy
• Co-regulation opportunities
• Consideration of an embodied approach
• Student voice and nervous system signals
• Emotional recovery and re-engagement
• Predictable rituals for repair and reconnection
• Intentional relationship-building

Target Audience

• Occupational Therapists
• Social Workers
• Counselors
• Educators and School Administrators
• School Nurses
• Psychologists
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Physical Therapists
• Psychotherapists