Title: Statewide Community Training: Managing Threatening Confrontations
Abstract: Many individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities present complex behavioral and mental health challenges that can take the form of aggression, self-injurious behavior, or property destruction. These behaviors can be rooted in frustration, unmet needs, or an inability to communicate in a typical way. The University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison has a series of programs designed to address these behavioral, psychological, and emotional needs using therapeutic approaches that assure continued participation in supported community life. Managing Threatening Confrontations is one of these training programs that teaches participants how to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities maintain an adaptive lifestyle, and how to manage potentially threatening confrontations and challenging behaviors. The training is for caregivers and focuses on the different stages of escalation with each stage paired with a positive action plan and proactive supports. Between January 2023 and June 2024 – thanks to a Wisconsin Department of Health Services ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) grant – 15 free-of-charge virtual trainings were offered to Wisconsin residents with 946 participants representing all 72 counties in the state of Wisconsin. 90% of the participants stated that they would change the way they provide support due to the Managing Threatening Confrontations training with 97% of participants stating they utilized at least one skill learned during the training when polled three months afterwards. And after three months, 44% of participants said Managing Threatening Confrontations helped them avoid or reduce the use restrictive measures.
About the Programs: Community Outreach Wisconsin (COW) is a group of unique cutting-edge programs within the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the Waisman Center, UW-Madison. These programs work extensively with individuals and community teams supporting persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.