This one day focused training emphasizes evidenced based strategies for treating oppositional and defiant behaviors. Contact Steve at svitto@muskegonisd.org

1. BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS
Working with Oppositional & Defiant Students:
Highlighting Prevention & Therapeutic Situational Management Strategies
Administrators, Educators,Support Staff
This day long presentation will focus on evidenced based strategies for working with students who
present oppositional and defiant behavior. While considering the needs of students with social
maladjustment (Attachment Disorder, Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorder) and students with
disabilities that manifest in anger management challenges and defiance, strategies will be presented
for preventing and diffusing outbursts and developing long term coping strategies and replacement
skills. Each participant will receive a Parenting Tips Booklet (in Spanish), a handout, and a CD
containing a toolbox of strategies for oppositional and defiant students, my book “In Search of a
Heart: Creating Caring Conscience and Character in all Children” (2008), Evidence Based Strategies
for diffusing defiant and aggressive behaviors, and resources and strategies for bringing out the best
in challenging home school partnerships. Each participant will have an opportunity to perform a
competing pathways planning exercise on a defiant student (i.e., resulting in a formal intervention
plan outline). In addition, each person will have opportunities to role play diffusing a defiant student.
About the Presenter: Steven Vitto, M.A.., CCII., BTC, MAISD.
Steve has been a teacher and behavior teacher consultant, working in Muskegon for the past 31
years. Steve has degrees in clinical teaching, administration, and education. Steve is a certified Crisis
Prevention (CPI) Instructor, a Certified Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) Instructor, a Certified
Davereux Personal Emergency Intervention Trainer, a Michigan MIBLISi State Trainer, a Certified
Balanced and Restorative Justice Trainer, an Adjunct Professor at Muskegon Community College.
Steve recently has been involved as a college instructor for educational staff working in Michigan’s
Telamon Migrant Head Start Programs. (This project is a statewide effort to encourage literacy and
social skills among migrant and seasonal farm worker children and to stress the enjoyment of
reading). Steve is also currently working with Muskegon’s You Turn Program, a specialized program
which offers school services to expelled youth. Steve recently developed a training process for with
Challenging Home School Partnerships. Steve can be contacted at svitto@muskegonisd.org.
Scope and Sequence:
• Etiology- the origin of attachment problems and social maladjustment
• Symptoms- the characteristics of ODD, Conduct Disorder, and Social Maladjustment
• The Competing Pathways Treatment Model (From Functional Assessment to Replacement Skills
• Setting Event Strategies
• Antecedent or Prevention Strategies
• Teaching Replacement Skills
• Consequence Strategies
• Reward Strategies
• Life Space Intervention
• Strategies for Working with Challenging Families
OUTCOMES: Development of Competing Pathways Positive Behavior Support Plan and Planning Process
For Challenging Families
CONTACT STEVE AT svitto@muskegonisd.org or 231-767-7279