Defiant, Manipulative & Attention-Seeking Students
With many students, trying to maintain classroom order can become a battle for control. A student might say something like: “You’re giving me detention? Good. I like to stay after school because it helps me get my homework done.” What that student is really saying is “You don’t have control of me.” To be successful with difficult students, teachers and administrators must learn how to avoid the “control cycle.”
Seminar Highlights
– What Impacts Student Learning the Most
– Developing Self-Regulation Skills
– Why Many School Discipline Methods Do Not Work
– Employing “Guided Conversations” to Address Critical Moments with Students
– Do’s and Don’t for Establishing Student Responsibility
– Closing the Six Common Exits
Seminar Overview
Working with difficult, demanding, and disruptive students is not a new challenge for educators. However, there are current concerns being voiced regarding the changing nature and intensity of the behaviors of these students. Some educators are reporting increases in selfish, manipulative and hostile behaviors while others are noticing more students who are overly anxious and/or difficult to engage.
- Identify the underlying causes of difficult behaviors in students
- Implement do’s and font’s to address specific behaviors
- Integrate key strategies for migrating from an obedience-centered approach
- Develop innovative ways to support positive behavior
- Apply strategies for preventing the escalation of difficult behavior
Earn 6 Continuing Education Credit Hours
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See What Attendees Have to Say
– Classroom Teachers
– Principals
– Special Education Personnel
– School Counselors & Psychologists
– Other Administrators
– Social Workers (all levels)
– Law Enforcement/SRO
– Counselors & Therapists in Agencies & Private Practice
– Media Specialists
8:00-8:30 | Registration |
8:30-10:15 | The Paradigm Shift in School Discipline
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10:15-10:30 | Break |
10:30-12:00 | Insights, Tips & Strategies for Dealing with Difficult Students
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12:00-1:00 | Lunch (on your own) |
1:00-2:15 | Becoming a Master of Challenging Moments with Students
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2:15-2:30 | Break |
2:30-3:30 | Tying It All Together
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3:45-4:15 | Questions and Answers (Optional Attendance) |
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Certificates of Completion for this seminar, which indicate 6 contact hours of Continuing Education, will be available at the end of the seminar upon completion of a course evaluation. In many cases, depending on your Profession and Jurisdiction, this Certificate of Completion is sufficient for tracking your Continuing Education and Professional Development efforts. We suggest that you contact your local Board or Governing Agency to see exactly what steps are necessary for approval in your particular discipline. Please note that Developmental Resources is also an approved Provider for the following National and Regional Accrediting Agencies.
Developmental Resources Inc. ACE #:1053 is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) Program. The Developmental Resources, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. ASWB Approval Period: 8/13/2016 – 8/13/2019. Social workers should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval for continuing education credits. Social workers participating in this course will receive 6.0 clinical continuing education clock hours.
Developmental Resources has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5602. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.
F.A.Q.
Seminar Information
Click on City Name for Event Time, Location & Registration Information
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With today’s increased focus on academic success and measurable outcomes, how educators handle defiant, manipulative, apathetic or attention-seeking students canoften be the difference between success and failure in a given classroom – or an entire school. The disruption to the classroom and the energy that the educator must expend to address behavioral issues can create serious roadblocks to learning.
Situations with difficult students have a way of intensifying quickly. Before an educator realizes what is happening, an annoying situation can escalate into a full-blown crisis. Suddenly it is no longer the student’s problem, but the educator’s problem. Even well-seasoned, award-winning master educators can be rattled by certain types ofstudents in specific situations.
This power-packed seminar will provide you with up-to-date insights and strategies for reaching and helping these students who can evoke strong feelings of frustration and discouragement. Educators will learn a five-step responsibility-centered approach that has been proven effective in helping educators become masters of challenging moments with students. These skills complement and supplement Response
to Intervention (RTI) and Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS).
You Will Learn to:
• Identify the underlying causes of difficult behaviors in students
Implement do’s and don’ts to address specific behaviors
Integrate key strategies for migrating from an obedience-centered approach to a responsibility-centered approach
Develop innovative ways to support positive behavior
• Apply strategies for preventing the escalation of difficult behavior.
8:00-8:30 | Registration |
8:30-9:00 | Critical Insights about Student Mental Wellness
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9:00-10:15 | “Acting In” and “Acting Out” Disorders: How do These Look in the Classroom
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10:30-11:30 | Key #1 Owning Who You Are: Coaching Students to
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11:30-12:30 | Lunch (on your own) |
12:30-1:45 | Key #2 Reasonable Accommodations in the Classroom
Key #3 Prevention: Avoiding Escalation
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2:00-3:30 | Key #4 No Stigma Zone
KEY #5: A Positive & Welcoming Climate
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3:30-4:00 | Q & A |
– Classroom Teachers
– Principals
– Special Education Personnel
– School Counselors & Psychologists
– Other Administrators
– Social Workers (all levels)
– Law Enforcement/SRO
– Counselors & Therapists in Agencies & Private Practice
– Media Specialists
|
Register 30 days prior to Seminar date and save!
Groups of 20+, call 1-800-251-6805 for special pricing
Certificates of Completion for this seminar, which indicate 6 contact hours of Continuing Education, will be available at the end of the seminar upon completion of a course evaluation. In many cases, depending on your Profession and Jurisdiction, this Certificate of Completion is sufficient for tracking your Continuing Education and Professional Development efforts. We suggest that you contact your local Board or Governing Agency to see exactly what steps are necessary for approval in your particular discipline. Please note that Developmental Resources is also an approved Provider for the following National and Regional Accrediting Agencies.
Developmental Resources Inc. ACE #:1053 is approved as a provider for social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) www.aswb.org through the Approved Continuing Education (ACE) Program. The Developmental Resources, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. ASWB Approval Period: 8/13/2016 – 8/13/2019. Social workers should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval for continuing education credits. Social workers participating in this course will receive 6.0 clinical continuing education clock hours.
Developmental Resources has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5602. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.
Seminar Presenter

Larry Thompson, M.Ed.
Author of Roadmap to Responsibility and Give ’em Five, Larry Thomson, M.Ed., is often called upon to deliver keynote presentations for state and national education conferences because of his knowledge, humor and passion for assisting today’s students. He has helped thousands of educators and schools throughout North America break away from their traditional discipline models to a model that creates a responsible climate and responsible students. Larry has served in a wide variety of roles in education – from special education teacher to alternative and traditional high school principal. As creator of the Responsibility-Centered Discipline program, Larry understands that systems must be created that can be realistically implemented and sustained.

Larry Thompson, M.Ed.
Eric Clark, M. Ed., is a Certified Master Trainer for Responsibility-Centered Discipline and helped shape the implementation materials for the program. He most recently served as Head of School at a progressive private school in the Midwest. Previously he served as Principal in a public school setting, while also serving at the District Technology Integration Specialist. Eric began his education career teaching English Language Arts, Journalism and Media Communications. Between his other responsibilities, he also launched a thriving publishing company. As an administrator, he has successfully implemented the supportive, non-exclusionary principles of Responsibility-Centered Discipline with elementary, middle and high school faculty and students.
*Presenter subject to change. In case of an emergency, an equally qualified presenter will substitute.
Questions? Let us know!
Special Accommodations
If you require special accommodations due to a disability, please fax or email our office at least two weeks prior to event. Also, please note your request on your registration form.
Defiant Student Resources
Roadmap to Responsibility: The Power of Give 'em Five to Transform Schools
by Larry Thompson
Facing disciplinary conflicts and challenging moments with students is hard enough, but not knowing what to do is particularly stressful. Roadmap to Responsibility: The Power of Give ‘em Five™ to Transform Schools represents an unprecedented paradigm shift in the area of school discipline. It provides a step-by-step plan for making a long-term, positive difference in schools that will make educators less stressed and more empowered, while influencing students positively for the rest of their lives.
Roadmap to Responsibility: The Power of Give 'em Five to Transform Families
by Larry Thompson, Melissa Beck & Angela Thompson
Parenting children well is a challenge. Roadmap to Responsibility: The Power of Give `em Five to Transform Families will help adults identify their areas of strength as well as areas where they may struggle or desire to grow. Responsibility-Centered Parenting (RCP) provides a clear roadmap and proven strategies for helping parents grow in confidence, stay motivated, and keep children on the Road to Responsibility as they grow to become mature, responsible adults. Discover the three different styles that parents tend to use: Permissive, Authoritarian and Authoritative.
The concepts and strategies shared in this book, including the Give `em Five conversation, help create a balanced parenting style while pointing out common “exits” off the Road to Responsibility that parents may create for their children. Responsibility-Centered Parenting offers renewed hope for families. Regardless of culture, income level, or family makeup, when it comes to the children in their lives, parents, grandparents, and guardians long for positive, lasting solutions and Roadmap to Responsibility: The Power of Give `em Five to Transform Families can help achieve just that.
Defying the Defiance
by Kim “Tip” Frank, Mike Paget & Jerry Wilde
Every class has a range of students from those who are always cooperative to those who predictably fight the teacher for control every step of the way. In the most challenging classes this oppositional and defiant student is on the verge of preventing him/herself and many of other students from focusing on learning.
This book will help classroom teachers’find effective ways to avoid disruption and increase cooperation from the most resistant oppositional and defiant students. As teachers begin to understand the underlying causes and dynamics of opposition they will be able to develop additional strategies that will lead to increased classroom success and satisfaction for both the defiant student and themselves. Parents will also find this book helpful for providing insights that are useful at home and at school.