The Focus of Stop Think Do Programs

1. Training emotional intelligence and social skills in children and adolescents



STOP THINK DO is an Australian cognitive-behavioural social skills training program originally devised over 4 decades ago in the Adelaide Women and Children’s Hospital as a treatment program for children and adolescents with social/behavioural difficulties.
The program may be run in clinics or schools, with individuals or groups. The approach is both didactic and experiential, teaching children specific social skills and a process of relating to others so they can make and keep friends.
In liaison with educationalists, STOP THINK DO has also been adapted for teaching directly in the classroom as a social skills curriculum with a preventive focus, aiming to improve the friendship skills of all children from a young age to prevent emotional-social-behavioural friendship problems from developing.



2. Training behaviour management skills in teachers and parents



STOP THINK DO is a complementary behaviour management method for teachers and parents. They solve problems and relate with children in their care using the same skills and process that children learn for making friends with their peers.



3. Devising individual plans for learning and behaviour change



The STOP THINK DO method has been adapted to improve children’s motivation for academic as well as social learning, including for children with special needs. The primary aims are to develop a supportive learning environment in the classroom, and to teach individuals skills to improve problem areas which are preventing them from reaching their full learning potential.