Pillars for Success was featured on the highly respected “Business Connection” show hosted by Ted Robertson on KRDO News Radio. “Business Connection” serves as a conduit to introduce some of the best of local businesses in Colorado Springs and surrounding areas to the rest of the community.
I encourage you to learn more about us from this radio broadcast. You can listen to it on the KRDO Radio website or click “play” below.
KRDO Business Connection w/ Ted Robertson featuring Sandra Kwesell, Founder of Pillars for Success
What We Talked About:
The Pillars for Success program reveals answers to seemingly impossible behavior challenges displayed by children and youth of all ages. Having survived struggles in my own family as a result of my brother’s severe and seemingly uncontrollable behavior, I began a journey to find the answers to similar challenges that so many families seek.
In the years following my brother’s suicide, I studied human behavior and began my work with children and families. After earning degrees in Elementary Education, Special Education, and Counseling, I applied a lifetime of experience to existing research and created the Pillars for Success program.
Throughout it’s development, I enhanced Pillars for Success through my experience working in just about every setting on Planet Earth that helps children/families. Additionally, I served more than 25 years as a foster parent for children whose severe behavior made other home-based placements no longer available.
While the Pillars for Success is research-based and evidence-informed, there are additional assets of value:
- Explained in easy-to-understand language so that parents and caretakers can successfully apply the rules and tools of the program.
- Built on a dual foundation of research strengthened by a lifetime of actual experience.
- Proven successful with children ranging from “typical” to those who exhibit multiple behavior challenges.
Basic Human Needs
In the interview, I briefly discuss one of the key aspects of the Pillars for Success: three universal human needs that result in challenging/defiant behavior when they are not satisfied. The Pillars for Success model emphasizes that when even just one of the three basic needs are unmet, the child’s behavior becomes increasingly challenging and often defiant and aggressive.
Why? Because in order to achieve a sense of balance in his/her life all three of these needs must also be “in balance.” Remember, the child will do whatever is necessary to get those needs met and establish that balance. Listed below are those needs that we refer to as “The ABCs of Challenging and Defiant Behavior:”
Attention
Basic Survival (food, warmth, safety, etc.)
Control and Power
That’s it! Clear and concise! Those are the three basic reasons for challenging and defiant behavior. With this in mind, the Pillars for Success teaches the importance of looking at the behavior that is occurring. We teach caregivers to support the child to get all three of these needs met in acceptable ways. As a result, the child establishes a sense of balance in his/her life.
So please listen to the interview to hear more and check out our blog to read plenty of parenting tips!
Recommended: Ted Robertson also interviewed Sandra Kwesell about seeing the signs of stress within the family through the COVID-19 Pandemic.
