The characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can manifest in challenging behaviour, such as verbal refusal and physical aggression. School personnel often feel ill-equipped to both prevent and de-escalate these behaviours. How should I handle students who 'act out'? What can I do to prevent, manage, and de-brief challenging behaviours? The Nonviolent Crisis Intervention course is based on a program developed by the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI). The program's proven strategies give service providers and educators the skills to safely and effectively respond to anxious, hostile, or violent behaviour. Topics covered include: identifying behaviours that lead to a crisis, verbal and nonverbal techniques to diffuse hostile behaviour, coping with one’s own fear and anxiety, assessing risk levels, disengagement and holding skills, maintaining rapport with the acting-out individual, debriefing after a crisis, and much more! By the end of this course, participants will have an enhanced ability to confidently and competently apply training concepts and intervention strategies to your interactions with individuals in a crisis.

The course is offered in a "flex" model, which involves completion of an online module prior to 6 hours of in-class teaching and hands-on practice.

This course is open for first-time participation or re-certification to BC School District/Independent School personnel, and teachers or education assistants (EAs)-in-training.