Professional Development

The Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint (AASR) offers professional development for educators and others aimed at creating safer and more supportive environments for children.

Our training programs focus on trauma-informed, neuroscience-aligned, neurodiversity-affirming, relationship-driven, and collaborative approaches to supporting all children. AASR provides courses on how to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion.

Through our online learning platform, educators can access a variety of courses and book studies designed to enhance understanding of student behavior and promote more effective, compassionate interventions.

Our professional development opportunities equip teachers and staff with tools to better support all students while working towards the goal of eliminating harmful practices in schools.

Current Opportunites

• Virtual Training: Beyond Behaviorism RePlay
• Virtual Training: Supporting All Brains RePlay
• Virtual Training: Restraint and Seclusion in Schools
• Book Studies
• Upcoming Speaking Events

Please contact us if you are interested in professional development for your organization. We are happy to work with you to develop training that meets your needs.

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Beyond Behaviorism RePlay

On May 9th and 14th, 2025 we held the Beyond Behaviorism conference, a groundbreaking event where we explored the controversy and alternatives to approaches rooted in behaviorism! The event focused on the following ideas.

Rethinking behavior management: Moving beyond traditional behaviorist approaches to understanding the underlying causes of behaviors, including neurodiversity, sensory processing, and trauma-informed perspectives.

Critiques of ABA and reward-based systems: Exploring the limitations and potential harm of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and extrinsic reward systems, particularly for neurodivergent individuals.

Neurodiversity-affirming practices: Learning strategies to create inclusive, supportive environments that respect and accommodate diverse neurotypes without focusing on compliance or behavior modification.

Trauma-informed care for neurodivergent individuals: Presentations will address how trauma affects neurodivergent people differently and how to implement trauma-sensitive approaches in education and therapy.

Alternative frameworks and tools: Discovering new models like the NeuroRelational Framework, Universal Design for Learning, and restorative practices to support all learners and promote authentic engagement without relying on behaviorist techniques.

The full event plus bonus sessions is now available on our learning management system.

Option One: Single User Registration

Just need access for yourself? You can create an account on our learning management system and you can register a single user for just $79 (USD). Get your access.

Option Two: Multiuser Registration

We have a special payment page for purchasing multiple tickets. You can select the number of tickets you need and complete the purchase. Tickets are $79 (USD) each.

After you place your ticket order, we will send you an email and provide a special coupon code that can be used to register for each participant at no charge. Each participant will need to sign into the learning management system to access the RePlay training.

Option Three: Group Viewing

Would you prefer to purchase a group viewing license to share the training during a staff meeting or as part of your professional learning community? The license grants the purchaser the right to show the Beyond Behaviorism to a group within a single organization or institution. Please note that a group viewing license does not include indivual access to the learning management system.

By purchasing a group viewing license, you agree to comply with these terms and conditions. The Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint reserves the right to revoke this license for any violations of the terms and conditions.

Need to purchase a license for more than 500 participants? Contact us at info@endseclusion.org.

Special Guest Appearances

Speakers and Topics

We have an amazing lineup of speakers and topics for the Beyond Behaviorism RePlay. Many of our speakers are neurodivergent and share their own lived expereinces and expertise.

(Dys)Function of a Behavior: Re-Thinking Behavior Functions and Doing Better Than Behaviorism

This presentation will examine current approaches to behavior management and present a new way of understanding, reacting to, and improving behavior. Greg will re-frame what behavior is and provide a neurodiversity-affirming lens shift to truly understand why a behavior is occurring. Greg is certified in Sensory Integration and the creator of the Model of Child Engagement, a clinical framework to help professionals and parents focus on a child’s safety needs prior to addressing their regulation and sensory processing skills, with the goal of improving a child’s participation in daily activities.

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Before & Beyond ABA: How Learning Autism’s Past Can Help Us Forge a Better Way Forward

In this slide presentation & discussion, autism historian Anne Borden King describes society’s perceptions of autism before ABA was founded, how the ABA model shifted people’s understanding of autism, and how neuro-affirming approaches are upending the ABA model. We’re making more progress than we think–and there’s much to be learned from our past. Anne is the author of a new book, ABA: The Troubling History & Legacy of Today’s Most Popular Autism Treatment. In the book, Anne She outlines the current policy landscape for autism services as well as new directions in autism policy, research, and services that challenge the ABA model.

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Beyond Compliance: The Hidden Costs of Behavioral Control

Many “evidence-based” behavioral approaches—PBIS in schools, ABA for Autism, and Triple P for trauma-informed care—share a core assumption: behaviors are either compliant or non-compliant. Non-compliance is then categorized as “externalizing” or “internalizing” behavior, where often, the hidden cost is that vulnerable nervous systems are exacerbated into toxic stress patterns, among others. The NeuroRelational Framework challenges this assumption, identifying five implicit biases that contribute to toxic stress in children and parents. This framework offers alternative perspectives and practical tools to foster resilience. A one-page summary, The 5 Paradigm Shifts, is available within the NRF’s Free Starter Kit.

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Becoming a Trauma Informed Restorative Educator

Welcome to the journey of becoming a trauma-informed restorative educator—a continuous process of learning and unlearning. As research evolves, we must integrate new insights into trauma, stress, and brain development to better support students. This workshop explores the personal, professional, and social justice aspects of this journey. We’ll examine neuroscience, behaviorism, self-determination theory, and the impact of trauma in classrooms. Through interactive activities, we’ll practice restorative strategies like circles, affective language, and co-regulation. Participants will leave with practical tools to create more supportive, trauma-informed learning environments.

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Teaching Neurodivergent Students: No Reinforcements Required!

Most classrooms have a behavior-based reinforcement system in place to guide classroom management. Reinforcements are typically used to teach new skills, increase appropriate behaviors, and increase on-task behavior. Unfortunately, over time, reinforcements often fail when the reinforcer is no longer motivating to the student. Eventually, it becomes necessary to fade out external reinforcements once the student masters the target behavior. However, I would like to reconsider the necessity of reinforcements. Are they necessary? Do we need to offer reinforcements when teaching new skills? I believe that the answer is “no,” and I plan to teach you how.

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Why Behaviorism Fails PDAers and What to Do Instead

PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance/Pervasive Drive for Autonomy) is a neurodivergent profile rapidly gaining attention. Learning about what supports work for PDA individuals helps us create an approach or mindset that helps support anyone with a sensitive or reactive nervous system. It also helps us understand why a behavioral approach is unhelpful and even harmful for so many of us. Learning about PDA leads to a better understanding of autism and human behavior. It can make us more effective in supporting, providing therapy to, and educating neurodivergent individuals. Diane coauthored the book Navigating PDA in America with Ruth Fiddler.

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The Limitations of Behaviorist Reasoning

This presentation takes a deep dive into what’s missing from behaviorism. Behaviorism is based on the idea that all human behavior can be explained by externally observable factors. The rationale for this relies on faulty assumptions about people’s internal experiences. Choices happen internally, and a lot of behavior isn’t even a choice. Despite the limited applicability, behaviorism is often presented as the solution to a wide range of challenges. In this session, Ande will talk about what can and cannot be learned from behavioral observation, as well as the reasoning errors that lead to the overuse of behaviorist ideas.

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The Illusion of Autistic Inclusion in Trauma-Informed Care: Breaking the Cycle of Behaviorism

Trauma-informed does not include Autistic Trauma. As Autistic individuals, we are often understood solely as having a disorder rather than a whole person. This outdated perspective has created a cycle of unintentional harm, unattuned caregiving, and barriers to healthy development. When the focus remains on changing Autistic behavior, authentic behavior is targeted, fawning is rewarded, and masking is measured as progress. This session addresses the gaps in trauma-informed care by providing an understanding of Autistic trauma and recognizing how these adaptations are misunderstood. Participants can start making intentional changes in their approaches and implement restorative practices toward equitable inclusion.

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Guiding Practice at the Intersection of Neurodiversity Justice and Cognitive Science

In the 30 years since the Neurodiversity Movement began, the Autistic community’s push to lead the conversation on autism has allowed us to steer research, policy, and therapeutic practice. While there is a growing awareness of neurodiversity-affirming education, there are no models to implement in education programs for neurodivergent students. This session will describe how the Divergent Minds framework can be applied through a Universal Design for Learning lens to support students. Building on advances in research and therapeutic practice, this framework shifts the focus from behavior to adaptive environments to support neurodivergent cognitive traits and reduce distress.

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Breaking the Shame Cycle: Advocating for Neurodivergent Learners Beyond Clip Charts and Rewards

Shame-based behavior management tools like clip charts, color-coded systems, and extrinsic rewards not only harm the mental health of neurodivergent learners but also imply that their behaviors stem from ill intent rather than unmet needs. Breaking the Shame Cycle: Advocating for Neurodivergent Learners Beyond Clip Charts and Rewards explores how these traditional approaches contribute to anxiety, masking, and low self-esteem. This webinar will equip parents, educators, and advocates with neuroaffirming strategies that support regulation, autonomy, and authentic learning. Join us to learn how to replace shame with empowerment and advocate for truly supportive educational practices.

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Reset & Return: A Regulating, Relational Space for Learning

In this presentation, Meg will share the work she has done to facilitate a Reset and Return room at an urban elementary school in Wichita, Kansas. The Reset & Return Room serves as a proactive approach to student regulation and skill development, reducing classroom disruptions and improving student engagement. By implementing structured guidelines, scheduled breaks, alternative workspaces, and targeted interventions, schools can foster a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for all students. This approach can help create neuro-informed spaces that promote students’ and staff’s success and well-being. This session will outline the framework and provide resources.

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Healing Responses to Hard Behaviors

In this trauma-informed and sensory-wise talk, you will learn how to calm children and grow their social-emotional skills by meeting children’s immediate nervous system needs, building children’s resilience while keeping them out of toxic stress, developing their ability to reflect on their needs and those of others to solve problems in more harmonious ways, and managing both children’s and your own intense emotions while engaging with the rest of the class or family. This work is based on the NeuroRelational Framework, an equitable approach to reducing stress, building resilience, and teaching social-emotional skills.

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The Dark Side of Rewards

“The Dark Side of Rewards” explores the unintended consequences of using incentives in educational settings. This session will delve into how rewards can decrease intrinsic motivation, increase anxiety and shame, promote a fixed mindset, and mask authentic behavior in students. We’ll examine research showing that rewards often treat symptoms rather than root causes, potentially exacerbating underlying behavioral concerns. While rewards may seem like an effective way to motivate students in the short-term, they can have unintended consequences that outweigh their benefits. Join us to challenge traditional reward-based systems and discover more effective approaches to promote long-term student success and well-being.

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What the Allostasis is Going On?

According to Dr. Stuart Shanker, allostasis refers to the adaptive adjustment of a system’s activity, such as the stress response system or the self-regulation system, to meet the demands of a specific context. This presentation will describe the neurological etiology of stress responses of children who are pathologically labeled by adults. Teresa will share her personal experience of how operant condition systems cannot address medical conditions and how such approaches fail children. In this session, we will discuss how learning is a natural state of curiosity that occurs when all body systems are in allostasis.

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Positive Behaviour Supports Are Compliance-Based

Students most at risk of being harmed by Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and similar behaviourism-based programming are already vulnerable and marginalized: Students in the ethnic minority, students living in poverty, disabled students, and students who are neurodivergent. While these programs purport to reduce concerning, disruptive, and unsafe behaviour in schools, their claims of being proven effective in peer-reviewed studies are highly problematic, in particular due to their narrow definitions of “success”. I will deconstruct the weak evidence used to market PBIS and similar programs and discuss the risks of these programs being widely implemented in public schools.

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Integrating Neurodiversity and Trauma-Informed Practices in Special Education

This session explores the importance of recognizing and supporting neurodiverse students through trauma-informed approaches. By understanding the unique needs of autistic and other neurodivergent learners, educators can create inclusive, supportive environments that prioritize emotional safety, self-regulation, and meaningful learning experiences. Strategies for minimizing trauma triggers, fostering student autonomy, and implementing individualized supports will be discussed, ensuring that special education practices align with both neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-sensitive frameworks.

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A Parent’s Journey: From ABA to a Better Way

When I think back to about five years ago now, around the time that I first learned of my daughter’s traumatic seclusion incident at school from another parent, I was in a state of shock. After running into one frustrating and upsetting experience after another with the school and district, and even in reviewing provincial education policies, the only thing that I could think to do was to search the issue of seclusion and restraint online. This is when I found the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint. In this session, I’ll share my journey as a parent from ABA and behaviorism to finding a better way.

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Lived Experience Panel Discussion

As part of the event we highlighted the voice of lived experience as it relates to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Panel members will share their lived experience with ABA

We thank Jennifer, Melinda, and Damon for their willingness to share their lived experience. The voice of lived experience is critical to understanding the impact of approaches rooted in behaviorism.

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Supporting All Brains RePlay

On January 20th, 2025 we held the Supporting All Brains conference, which was focused on how neuroscience and neurodiversity-affirming approaches can better support all students, teachers, and staff. The event was aimed at helping educators:

Understand the latest neuroscience research and its implications for teaching and learning.

Discover neurodiversity-affirming strategies that promote inclusivity for all students.

Learn how neuroscience-aligned and neurodiversity-affirming approaches help you.

Inspire change in your schools and communities from what you learn at this unique event.

The full event plus four bonus sessions is now available on our learning management system.

Option One: Single User Registration

Just need access for yourself? You can create an account on our learning management system and you can register a single user for just $29 (USD). Get your access.

Option Two: Multiuser Registration

We have a special payment page for purchasing multiple tickets. You can select the number of tickets you need and complete the purchase. Tickets are $29 (USD) each.

After you place your ticket order, we will send you an email and provide a special coupon code that can be used to register for each participant at no charge. Each participant will need to sign into the learning management system to access the RePlay training.

Option Three: Group Viewing

Would you prefer to purchase a group viewing license to share the training during a staff meeting or as part of your professional learning community? The license grants the purchaser the right to show the Supporting All Brains Replay to a group within a single organization or institution. Please note that a group viewing license does not include indivual access to the learning management system.

By purchasing a group viewing license, you agree to comply with these terms and conditions. The Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint reserves the right to revoke this license for any violations of the terms and conditions.

Need to purchase a license for more than 500 participants? Contact us at info@endseclusion.org.

Speakers and Topics

We have an amazing lineup of speakers and topics for the Supporting All Brains RePlay. Many of our speakers are neurodivergent and share their own lived expereinces and expertise.

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Virtual Training: Restraint and Seclusion in Schools

Reducing and eliminating restraint and seclusion begins with understanding its impact and the laws the govern the use of these crisis management approaches.

In this course, we will discuss restraint and seclusion, crisis management strategies used in many schools and facilities worldwide. We address the risks of restraint and seclusion and discuss alternative approaches to create safer schools for students and staff.

We can create safer schools for students, teachers, and staff while reducing and eliminating restraint and seclusion practices.

Register a single participant using the link below. Contact us for group pricing or to schedule in person training for your school or facility.

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Book Studies

We greatly value learning and connection at the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint. We have a fantastic opportunity if you want to learn more and connect with like-minded individuals. Our book studies are an opportunity to learn and discuss books on a range of topics related to our mission with educators.

Interested in hosting a private book study for your team? We can also faciliate a private book study for you and your organization, contact us for details.

Summer 2025 Educator Series Book Studies

Teachers, paraprofessionals, related professionals, administrators – what are you doing this summer? How about joining us for an educators-only book study? Our Summer Educator Program is a book study for educators and is run by educators. Join us and get some new ideas about things to do in your classroom when you head back to school in the fall.

Body and Brain Brilliance: A Manual to Cultivate Awareness and Practices for Our Nervous Systems

Body and Brain Brilliance, a neuro-educational manual for social and emotional development embracing all ages, as well as educator nervous systems, will address the science and the language of our nervous systems as educators and students learn together. Our nervous systems are continually storing, metabolizing, and conserving energy, which is why it is so critical to integrate neuroeducational practices into our schools now. When our nervous system reserves are low to empty, we observe and discipline behaviors that we label aggressive, defiant, or apathetic, to name a few. Still, we miss the dysregulation and pain beneath behaviors, which is what the Body and Brain Brilliance will address.

Dates: 6/18, 6/25, 7/2, 7/9, 7/16
Time: 7 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Cost: $25
Purchase the Book
Register for Book Study

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Becoming a Trauma-informed Restorative Educator: Practical Skills to Change Culture and Behavior

This practical book outlines the values, ideas, and neuroscience behind trauma-informed restorative practice and its proven effectiveness. It clearly explains key theories relating to shame, trauma, and your autonomic nervous system and explains how to apply this knowledge in practice. Examples and stories of restorative practice feature throughout to inspire and emulate, as do practical protocols, tools, and systems to develop your skills as a trauma-informed educator. Critically, it also explains the personal and professional qualities you need to nurture to truly engage in trauma-informed, restorative practice, with reflection points to aid learning and self-development.

Dates: 7/23, 7/30, 8/6, 8/13, 8/20
Time: 7 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Cost: $25
Purchase the Book
Register for Book Study

Learn more about all our book studies.

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