McGreevy discussed how to turn these very difficult cases around in a two-day workshop for Okaloosa school psychologists, speech and occupational therapists and social workers that finished Friday. He explained that the intense frustration these children experience frequently leads to extreme misbehavior as they grow older.

“I was very impressed by his experience,” commented Mack Sanders, a school psychologist who works in the north end of the county. “It changed the way I look at behavior.”

McGreevy's method strips down communication to its barest essentials, beginning with just a single word. The key to success lies in the choice of that word: it is not a word the child "should" know, or "needs to know" in order to function in society. McGreevy begins with a word a child wants to know.

This seemingly simple change represents a paradigm shift for parents and professionals. By teaching a child what he wants to be taught – i.e. to communicate his desire for something - the therapist essentially frees the child. For the first time, the child is not a passive listener who must follow directions - he is in control; he has finally learned to ask.

Teaching children to make requests – what professionals call mands – is essential to the process of teaching them to communicate, according to McGreevy. It is so essential that where that basic skill is lacking – even if other communication skills, such as the ability to label, are present - he insists that therapists begin from scratch. He teaches a step-by-step method of empowering the students to become speakers, not just listeners.

“It opens a whole new world for them," he says. "You see it by the looks in their eyes. They had no idea that asking was part of life.”

Through his work with school districts across Florida and the nation, he tries to reach children before they develop behavioral problems, but sometimes, in very severe cases, he is the first to teach an adult how to ask for what he wants. When that happens, says McGreevy, the reaction is immediate. “They’ll grab me by the arm and follow me. You expect that from little children, but it is particularly touching when it happens with an adult.”

One of the main topics of the training was how to teach children and young adults how to make appropriate requests. By taking their requests seriously – while not rewarding inappropriate behavior – the therapist (or parent) becomes a true ally of the child, allowing him to express himself in ways which will not alienate him from others. When the child cannot communicate his wants and needs with speech, McGreevy suggests allowing them to use some type of sign instead. Frustration is reduced and with it, incidents of “misbehavior.”

 “He really stressed that we never write anyone off. We [communication professionals] have moved away from using sign language, but he pointed out it’s a precursor to communication,” said Linda Cavett. “He also told us to be tenacious. In one case, it took 8000 tries to get someone to sign. Now he has learned his third ‘mand.’”

“He reminded us no one can really be labeled anything,” added Sanders. “No one is truly anything but human.”

Dr. Lynn Boyer evaluates pre-kindergarten children with special needs. She found that what McGreevy taught can be useful for all parents, especially his method for dealing with tantrums. "You do nothing at all,” she explained. “You don’t ask: ‘What’s wrong?’ because that is a form of reinforcement. You wait until the child returns to a peaceful state and you reinforce good behavior.”

She was particularly interested in McGreevy’s insistence on not teaching anything until the child is paying attention. “He said to wait until they’re interested,” she said. “You don’t try to pull their attention toward something.”

Behavior Specialist Carl Grimes works with children throughout the county. He has had many occasions to train with Dr. McGreevy and is currently pursuing his certification as a Behavior Analyst. “I’ve seen results with his method,” says Grimes. “We all like to be in control and this method gives children more control. We do a lot of preventive work, because behavior impacts academics and learning. We try to reach the children at a young age, because teaching children to be happy and to be able to express themselves is much easier and better than trying to extinguish inappropriate behavior later on. When they can’t communicate in a way that’s understandable to others, they’re frustrated, so their behavior is affected.”

Melody Sommer, the school district’s Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Contract Coordinator, organized the training workshop with McGreevy. She emphasizes that great care is always taken to ensure that the various therapists, teachers and parents of children with special needs work as a team to assess each individual situation and to set appropriate goals and strategies that enable them to succeed.

“Continuity is really important,” agrees Grimes. “Learning doesn’t end when they get on a bus.”

To learn more about the work of Dr. Patrick McGreevy, click here.