Help me illustrate Positive Behavior Support with example from cinema or television

April 24, 2009 11:23 AM

Help me find movie clips to illustrate concepts of Positive Behavior Support, such as empathy, assertive communication, and avoiding or otherwise resolving power struggles. Other Positive Behavior Support or Behavior Modification Strategies concepts illustrations from popular movies also welcome.

I regularly teach a 16 hour, 2 day workshop for foster parents and caregivers about Positive Behavior Support for behaviorally challenged children and adults with Developmental Disabilities. The class is primarily power point (it's a state certification class, so I must use the approved power point each time), lecture, class exercises and discussion. It's fun class but I'd like to spice the lectures up with movie clips which illustrate certain points.

I currently use a couple of movie clips to illustrate points and supplement the class exercises. I use the water tower scene from "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," and the scene in "A Christmas Story" where Ralphie beats up the bully. We discuss these scenes as crisis behavioral incidents and we diagram the behaviors of the main characters, identifying triggers for the behavior, setting events and environmental factors which contribute to the behaviors , and appropriate responses the the behaviors. I find that my workshop participants respond really well to these exercises.

I'd like to incorporate a couple more movie (or television) clips during the class lectures. Some points I am particularly interested in illustrating are: Using Empathy, Resolving or Avoiding Power Struggles, and Assertive (versus Passive or Aggressive) Communication. I would like clips that illustrate the "right" and "wrong" ways to handle certain situations so that the class can compare and contrast the scenes.

If you are familiar with Behavior Modifciation and Positive Behavior Support, and you have other ideas regarding concepts which might be well illustrated by cinema, please contribute.

Please don't just suggest movie titles. I am fully aware of almost every movie in which the main character is a person with Disabilities. I dislike most of these movies because they do not give an accurate or realistic picture. For instance, please do not suggest: Radio, The Other Sister, or I Am Sam. I disagree with the way people with disablities are presented in each of these movies and I am unlikely use them as class material. Other than that specific limitation, I am open to movies of all genres: Animation, Comedy, Dramas, Musicals, almost anything.

Thanks in advance. I think this will be a good hive mind project and I'm really looking forward to your suggestions.

posted by dchrssyr to media & arts (5 comments total)

ACK. Type-o pre-jump that I didn't catch: "Other Positive Behavior Support or Behavior Modification Strategies concepts illustrations from popular movies also welcome," should read "Other Positive Behavior Support or Behavior Modification concepts illustrated by popular movies also welcome." Sorry.
posted by dchrssyr at 11:27 AM on April 24

I know this is a counter-example, but perhaps it might be useful: a group therapist working with schizophrenics used episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm as a strategy for identifying dysfunctional/anti-social behavior.

In case you think I'm kidding.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 11:37 AM on April 24

I know this is a counter-example, but perhaps it might be useful: a group therapist working with schizophrenics used episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm as a strategy for identifying dysfunctional/anti-social behavior.

Thanks! This is a great example for when I teach mental health workshops, but for this AskMe, I'm mostly interested in illustrating correct and incorrect responses to challenges which are not specific to mental illness so much as behavioral / emotional problems. The workshop participants are not qualified (nor do I particularly want to give them practice in) identifying mental illness. Doing so could actually be quite dangerous/counter productive to thier roles.

Paticipants in my workshops typically provide care to foster children with low to moderate IQs who have suffered abuse or trauma; in addition to caregivers who work in group homes with adults with Developmental Disabilities. Of course there are Dual Diagnosis and mental health issues within both populations but that's covered in a different workshop.
posted by dchrssyr at 11:54 AM on April 24

There are a ton of scenes from later seasons of Malcolm in the Middle, where the youngest son gets put into a class filled with kids who have behavioral problems. Dewey then treats them with kindness and with many of the behaviors you are looking for. One episode stands out because the son invites one friend home and there is a scene with the dad Hal, helping the troubled kid. According to Wikipedia, this plot thread starts in season 5, Episode 18. The episode I am thinking of specifically is titled: Chad's Sleepover and is episode 615.
posted by bove at 12:52 PM on April 24 [1 favorite]

How about Dangerous Minds? I'm not familiar with Positive Behavior Support but this movie does sound like it has what you're looking for. It's about a teacher who begins teaching at an inner city school. Lots of challenges and conflicts, and lots of empathy. You may also like similar movies like Lean on Me or Stand and Deliver, though I can't remember the specifics of those.
posted by yawper at 9:32 PM on April 25