Baseline

This chapter describes electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) that stabilized Jonah's rapid-cycling bipolar disorder in 2010 after exhaustive medication trials, elaborate behavior plans, and a ten-month hospitalization failed. It details how Jonah experiences mild episodes of agitation with no obvious environmental triggers toward the end of the treatment interval. It also analyses the term “baseline,” which refers to an original, predisease state. The chapter describes Jonah's treatments that were therapeutic to the extent they restored optimal, baseline functioning. It discusses opponents of medicating children that are fierce and pervasive, such as in books with ominous titles like The Silenced Child and Suffer the Children, and certain articles featured on well-respected platforms.

Providing Support for English Language Learners With Behavioral Needs

The group of students whose primary language is not English, commonly referred to as English language learners, is one of the fastest-growing groups of students. Teachers need to have a clear understanding that English learners may exhibit internalizing or externalizing behaviors related to their language development. When English learners exhibit behaviors that impede their learning or the learning of others, educators need to develop appropriate behavior plans that consider these language-learning factors. This article describes the impact that learning English may have on student behavior, as well as the necessary design modifications for appropriate functional assessments and behavior plans for this population.