The Pyramid Model: Positive Solutions for Families

Trainers

Martha Daigle Elizabeth Daniels Deborah Scannell

Ground Rules

• Put cell phones on vibrate • Create a safe place to share

thoughts, ideas, and experiences • Make sure everybody has a

chance to share • Don’t judge each other

Objectives

• Participants will have an understanding of the Pyramid Model as a conceptual framework for a comprehensive array of interventions to support infant toddler and early childhood social emotional well-being

• Participants will have an understanding of the importance of the parent-child relationship in social emotional development

• Participants will have an understanding of a variety of strategies to support social emotional development and how to use them

Overview of the Pyramid Model

What’s Happening in Massachusetts

Early Intervention State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP)

Building the capacity of service providers to engage with families Improving better outcomes for children

Dyadic and triadic strategies to enhance the parent child social

emotional relationship

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE): What is Happening Now?

• ESE is working with 19 districts across the state to implement the Pyramid Model and Positive Solutions

Attleboro - Boston – Chelsea – Fall River – Framingham – Gardner – Hanover – Lowell – Malden – Methuen – Nashoba – New Bedford – Pittsfield – Reading – Rockland – Springfield – Weymouth – Winchendon - Worcester

• ESE has developed a cadre of trainers and coaches to provide supports to districts

interested in providing the 6 Positive Solutions modules

• The Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN) has developed a Train the Trainer model and will provide coaching and support for districts in Positive Solutions.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 7

Focus of Positive Solutions • Positive Solutions provides information on:

• Understanding behavior • Using positive approaches to help children develop positive social emotional skills

• The trainings are designed to provide information about key strategies that may be used with all children

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 8

PIWI

Parents Interacting with Infants (&Toddlers)

3 KEY OUTCOMES

Competence Confidence

Mutual Enjoyment

Families are the Cornerstone of the Pyramid Model

It’s All About the Relationship • Attachment and loving guidance • Nurturing and Responsive

Relationships • Supporting environments

Why Do Children Do What They Do?

• Developmentally appropriate

• They want something • They want to escape

something

Parent –child relationships are a critical foundation for early development

Children’s development is enhanced when parents recognize and act on supporting their child’s developmental agenda

Communication is a Two Way Street

What do they want and what do you want?

• Identify behavior – give descriptive words and identify what they want

• Be patient, but you might need to help and give descriptive feeling words for the child and yourself

• Name the problem for child and the problem for you • We can solve our problems

Real Play

Make Your “Expectations” Clear

• Tell your child what to do instead of what not to do. • Clearly and simply state what you expect your child to do. • Have age-appropriate expectations. • Use age-appropriate language. Young children have difficulty with

contractions (two words that are combined to form one, such as “don’t” and “can’t”).

Help Me Be Successful! Teach me what to do!

1. Show and Tell

2. Practice Makes Perfect

3. You Got It!

Using Pictures to Teach Rules • Get out your camera • Snap a photograph of what you

want your child “to do” • Post it, model it, practice it, and

notice when it’s done and praise it!

• If your rule is “clean up”…show him/her

Things to Try at Home

Resources • Center of the Social Emotion Foundations for Early

Learning Family Tools: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/family.html • MA Pyramid Model Web Site coming soon! • Pyramid Consortium • Technical Assistance for the Social Emotional Early

Intervention (TACSEI)