Inner Guidance | Support for Teaching a Child with Conduct Disorder

Attachment Healing Institute provides training for teachers, social workers and officers of the court in brain based learning research that informs the professional on how to more effectively meet the need of a child with out of control behaviors. These children are sometimes diagnosed as oppositional defiant, reactive attachment, or conduct disordered just to name a few. Often times the child is not diagnosed at all. However, they do become labeled as “bad” children.

At the Institute we do not believe these children are “bad”. We do believe they have needs that have gone unmet, and in an effort to get these needs met they have discovered dysfunctional, unhealthy ways of engaging others. These children are often times as miserable as they make those around them. The trouble is the child does not know another way, nor are they even aware that there is another state to live in besides fear, anxiety, terror and pain.

When a child feels this way inside, they tend to make others feel that way based on how they interact with those in their world. Such a child that holds these types of feelings inside is especially cautious around adults.

An out of control child may have trauma in their background, or have an attachment issue where they have not learned that adults are present to help them. A child who has experienced abuse or neglect at the hands of an adult has learned that adults are not to be trusted. Based on earlier childhood experiences, a child might have learned that when adults are in charge the child’s survival feels like it is at stake.

The attachment system is responsible for one’s survival and for emotional regulation. These two go hand in hand. The institute teaches about the attachment system from the neuroscience based perspective of what helps the brain bring about a change in behavior. There is an online course available that provides a brain basics introduction. There is also a classroom management forum for teachers looking to connect with other teachers and therapists who are working from a neuroscience perspective. There is also a Resources page where books that go into more detail around the brain and behavior can be found.

The Institute is available to provide on sight training in addition to the resources found online. We prefer to design a training curriculum based on the needs of your organization. E-mail or call us with questions or to schedule training.