Article appeared in the Dec. 15, 2011 issue of the Interlake Spectator…
Healthy Child Manitoba is promoting a new program called the PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX GBG) which began piloting in the Seine School Division in Winnipeg last spring.
The program, which has 35 years of research behind it, is geared toward grade one students. It is said to be like a “behavioral vaccine” if administered at that grade level. The cost per student is about $150, comparable to the cost of vaccinating a child.
The program will begin piloting at the Sigurbjorg Stefansson Early School in Gimli, early in 2012. Two grade 1 teachers will be given the required training at the end of January. The program will then run for the remainder of the school year, during which time data will be collected for the province.
Evergreen School Division Superintendent, Paul Cuthbert, believes that the $150 should not be viewed as an expense, but rather as an investment.
Research shows that this program will pay for itself many times over, in terms of savings that will be seen in the whole of society, as the benefits of the program follow students into adulthood. According to Healthy Child Manitoba, the lifetime benefit-cost return is $96.80 for every dollar invested.
If the PAX GBG were to be implemented province-wide, it would take only three years before it would pay for itself. That figure is based solely on savings that would be seen by a 50 per cent reduction in special education costs alone.
Playing the PAX GBG three to four times per day in school has been shown to immediately reduce disruptive and unproductive behaviours in class. Only one year of playing PAX GBG in grade one is expected to have life-long results.
The Seine School Division saw a 45.4 per cent reduction in Grade 1 class disruptions after only a few months of playing the game.
Based on research completed to date, at age 6 there is a 60-85 per cent reduction in disruptive behaviours, and fewer students are referred for services; at age 7 fewer children require special services or psychotropic medications; at age 8 there is a 25 to 45 percent reduction in psychiatric diagnoses, plus higher standardized test scores. After this age all the prior benefits are shown to be cumulative. At age 9 there is no tobacco use; at age 11 there is a 30 to 40 per cent reduction in delinquency and conduct disorders; at age 13 there is a 50 per cent reduction in the initiation of hard drugs; finally, at age 21 there is 40 to 55 per cent more high school completion, more college entry and employment, and reduction in youth and adult psychiatric disorders, addictions, and crime.
