Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (C-BAT) is a copyright program developed by John N. Marr Ph.D. Dr. Marr is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Arkansas where he taught for 25 years. In 1980 he began work that led to the development of the (C-BAT) program. This program is only available in this area at Sarasota Educational Resource Center (SERC).

(C-BAT) was developed for children with attention deficit disorder (AD/HD). The program incorporates a "token economy" as a reward system to promote acceptable behavior in AD/HD students. By reinforcing expected behavior at regularly scheduled intervals, the students are taught to follow directions and stay "on task" for designated periods of time. To simulate the classroom environment, the students are exposed to varying degrees of distraction, and as they progress they must accomplish tasks of increasing difficulty and intensity.

During the 24-session program that requires 2 hours weekly, the student learns a variety of skills that assist in managing behavior. This is accomplished by teaching relaxation techniques, self instructional training (SIT), listing of positive characteristics, while incorporating their classroom instructional materials. An essential part of the program includes parent and teacher participation.

C-BAT can help those who have difficulty:

• Staying on task
• Following directions
• Distractibility
• Self-Control

The criteria by which we can measure improvements are:

• Better memory and the ability to follow directions
• More responsibility
• Positive feelings of self-worth
• Improved grades
• Improved relationship with peers