This presentation will share the journey of the Crisis Prevention Institute as we transition from being the world’s largest provider of restrictive intervention training to the provider of solutions that we hope will eliminate the need for restraint altogether. Through our 42,000 Certified Instructors, CPI understands the challenges facing teachers and schools-- and we see it through growing requests for our training. But to quote Desmond Tutu, “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”

When CPI was founded 40 years ago, there was limited research that showed the connection between the brain, nervous system and behavior. Now, research connecting neuroscience and behavior is rich and growing, and yet teachers and staff members are not provided with the training and tools to adopt new practices based on the research. When we assume that everyone is—to some degree—is experiencing stress and trauma, and when we understand what happens to the body when stress becomes toxic, a reframing of behavior and of our responses to it is possible.

In this session (and it can be developed either as one session or two) I will present the basics of brain science with a few key principles: neuroception (and fight, flight, freeze); brain development; interoception and self-regulation, co-regulation, and intentional practices for building relationships. The presentation will also highlight neuroplasticity – what happens to us when we are exposed to prolonged trauma, but also what is possible with the implementation of trauma informed practices. I will highlight the specific perspective of neurodiverse individuals who, merely by living in a neurotypical world, are more likely to experience a lack of felt safety and the unintentional stress responses that result.

I will show examples of how we at CPI are bringing trauma awareness and neuro-informed practices into all our programs, and will highlight our new “upstream” offering, Reframing Behavior. Reframing Behavior is designed to give all teachers, administrators, and staff members a short course on the neuroscience of behavior, but more importantly to expose educators to simple, actionable practices that are easy to implement but that over time can lead to profound cultural change.