NAPPI S.M.A.R.T. Kids

Teaching Students Behavior Skills

In addition to the NAPPI behavior management model, Eagleton School has also developed and involved its students in the implementation of NAPPI S.M.A.R.T. Kids. This is a relationship-based course, designed to create a culture where children are more able to use their own self-calming skills and staff members are more able to assist students by cueing them to use those skills. This continues a move away from staff control, and toward the child controlling his own behavior, even during times of high stress.

With these additional skills, the students build on the self-management skills they already possess and learn to understand and control their treatment, environment, and behaviors. We invite families to participate in training in the NAPPI model of behavior management and have found that these two programs offer both the family and the student ways to work within the confines of society, both at Eagleton and in the world into which our students return.

All staff members go through NAPPI training; once the staff members have completed NAPPI training, they then begin to teach our children NAPPI through our NAPPI S.M.A.R.T. Kids program. NAPPI S.M.A.R.T. Kids' training is a five week long session in which our students learn to interact with each other. Because of their similar backgrounds, they begin to recognize their commonality; this gives them knowledge they can then use to work with each other.

One of the most important aspects of NAPPI and NAPPI S.M.A.R.T. Kids training is that our students learn to help each other because they learn to recognize their common backgrounds. They also learn the difference between helping each other and needing to ask for help. NAPPI S.M.A.R.T. Kids trains our students to recognize their behaviors and the behaviors of their peers. Our students learn to identify common patterns and how to react to them. This gives them the tools to work with their own behaviors, both at Eagleton and at home in the larger world.

S.M.A.R.T. Kids teaches the students to create a safe and comfortable living environment; it helps make them aware of their own skills and talents. By recognizing their behaviors, they can learn to move beyond them or adapt them in a positive way to their environment. Reinforcement and rewards give the students new ways to believe in themselves. When they learn that they can actually affect positive change with each other, they also learn that they can carry that change into the world outside of Eagleton.