So it's good to see a list of techniques which give a supportive look at de-escalation with the sole interest of getting the student back in control of their own emotions, rather that pushing for compliance. It's the essence of how SBM operates
I still read many guides to the style of 'discipline' and 'control' teachers should show in the case of conflict in the classroom, many of which I think are designed to escalate the situation, not de-escalate. Compliance programmes are basically 'my way or the highway' approaches which push the student into compliance or punish them for non- compliance. Used without really careful thought, they can lead to physical conflict, something that should be avoided at all times.
So it's good to see a list of techniques which give a supportive look at de-escalation with the sole interest of getting the student back in control of their own emotions, rather that pushing for compliance. It's the essence of how SBM operates I have frequently been called in to assist with disruptive pupils who are more than likely not in the classroom after some incident. Either they have exited or they have been sent out by an adult, neither situations being bad, but it's often the method of exit and the message sent to the child.
Kids who seem oppositional are often severely anxious and it's the core of this anxiety that we need to be working with, not just the piece of behaviour we have witnessed. This really good article gives some insights into the expression of anxiety that we often see and mistake for simple poor behaviour. It should really be a symptom of poor coping behaviour, a very different anilmal. We frequently have 'anger management' pupils who have special courses with adults which focus on the internal management, but it is really the initial coping mechanism that needs building, and this takes some time. James is terrified of being embarrassed, so when a boy says something that makes him uncomfortable, he has no skills to deal with it, and he freaks out. Flight or fight." Most at risk, she says, are kids with ADHD who've also experienced trauma. "They're hyper-vigilant, they have no executive functioning, they misread cues and go into combat." These examples are most frequently dealt with by fixed term or permanent exclusion, suggesting that the school has exhausted its capacity to manage ie control the child and his outbursts, when in fact, they have simply being doing the same thing, but with more force to gain compliance. It's not compliance training that is needed here, it's capacity building A great article highlighted by Sir Ken Robinson on the approach by at least one doctor in the US.
'We are using a chemical straitjacket instead of doing things that are just as important to also do, sometimes more.” “My kids don’t want to take it, but I told them, ‘These are your grades when you’re taking it, this is when you don’t,’ and they understood,” Ms. Williams said So an interesting side effect of the drive for higher standards, I just wonder how widespread this practice really is, especially here in the UK We all have our views on ADHD and those kids who are diagnosed and sometimes medicated for it. There are lots of conflicting views and pieces of advice. It's difficult to imagine what it must feel like. So how does it feel.
I have sat in many lessons, supporting challenging children and along with them have found myself completely at a loss as to what the task is. Am I ADHD too? Often, I found myself working with predominantly boys in my groups and invariably I had to ask the girls tables for help - it would have seemed to be demeaning to ask the teacher and I would have been accused of undermining the lesson and the teacher. Listening to instructions can be really difficult to follow sometimes, so it was really good to have a chance to listen in on some teacher instructions and try to undertake the task on offer. Just for the record, I only managed to get 2 squares right. I found the task really challenging and frustrating to do. Have a go at this and see if you did any better than me - please post a response if you did Listen to the task here First published 4 Feb 2011 The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has published a guideline on the diagnosis and management of ADHD in children, young people and adults. But what are its implications for schools?
‘Referral pathways can be complicated, and are subject to considerable variation in the local organisation of mental health services for children and young people.’ According to a survey conducted by the World Federation for Mental Health in 2005, the average waiting time to receive an assessment and subsequent diagnosis is 2.44 years, with 17% waiting for more than five years. Wow - no wonder these kids have a hard time in school and often fail and fall out before help and diagnosis arrives The core behaviours of ADHD include being: Inattentive – unable to concentrate for very long or finish a task, disorganised, often losing things, easily distracted and forgetful, unable to listen when people are talking Hyperactive – fidgety and unable to sit still, restless (children may be running or climbing much of the time), talking constantly, noisy, having difficulty doing quiet activities Impulsive – speaking without thinking about the consequences, interrupting, unable to wait or take turns. First published 26 March 2009 Read the whole article here This time last year, Jackie Banks was at an all-time low. The mum-of-three was at her wits' end with the constant unruly behaviour of her two eldest children. Brothers Jaye and Josh were impossible to control.
They'd been thrown out of football clubs, asked to leave schools, were noisy, disruptive and violent and not afraid of the odd public temper tantrum. Jackie felt desperate. She thought everyone was judging her and she didn't know how to cope. ADHD children aren’t stupid. They just have problems “doing what they know”. They know what to do.
ADHD kids seem to have a drive to push themselves to the limits. They don’t know when to stop. They love the thrill of confrontations and the excitement of almost being caught. ADHD is a chronic disability. These children are really difficult to live with and teach, they often have sleep difficulties (50%) and are impulsive and can be overactive. I used to feel that I had failed as a parent Why wouldn’t my child sit still and listen? Why was he so aggressive towards other kids and never invited to parties? Why did he seem to have no sense of danger? Apparently ADHD makes up over 50% of all referrals to child psychiatrists. Alongside medication, behaviour support is vital when working with ADHD children and their families. However, this has to be in place for a long time, as research has shown that as soon as the behaviour programme is withdrawn the difficulties return. These programmes have to be in place for many years until the child’s brain has matured enough to make better choices and think about consequences. The last statement really underlines why SBM needs to be more prevalent in schools if we want to see this up to 10% group of children begin to succeed. If they know what to do, but have problems managing to do the right thing, then surely as educators, we should be doing all we can to help them to manage this in the sometimes unforgiving and foreign school classroom environment. If statistics are to guide us, there's at least one ADHD child in every class of 25 and another 3 with mental issues. Surely these shouldn't be faced with consequence based behaviour policies which don't take any account of their difficulties. Punishing them for their actions really seems very heavy handed to me. First published 22 Jan 2009
So much ignorance - even among teachers I include myself in that - a few years ago, I would have had similar views to many of the posters. Since the birth of my son, now diagnosed with ADHD, APD, and SPD my views have completely changed. I used to have zero tolerance to antisocial behaviour, criminality and the like - now I can see how kids can end up in trouble. Teachers blamed parents, mostly because it was "the easiest option" to pick in the survey. If you take the time to look at the survey report, there is no option for clinical reasons for bad behaviour, and teachers are hardly likely to select "bad teaching / school environment" as a reason for bad behaviour... ADHD and related conditions really impact on a child's ability to learn. These children have poor impulse control - meaning they tend to lash out physically and verbally and this gets noticed. More placid children will cause trouble when no teachers are around, an ADHD child will react whatever the situation -teacher or not THEY CAN'T HELP IT. Additionally the brains of children with ADHD work differently. The feedback loop that helps them to suppress bad behaviour and reinforces good just doesn't work (search for research on Dopamine function with ADHD). Combined with a poor attention span, these kids really struggle in a classroom environment that WE force them to be in.(My emphasis) A hundred years ago, when we had to live by our wits (and perhaps in times to come....) the instant reactions, hyper alertness, and literal thinking of many of these children would have left them far better placed to deal with the world around them than the more placid types who "succeed" today. Discipline methods that work with "normal" children often make things worse with an ADHD child, teachers more than anyone need to understand this, and be made aware of the appropriate way to deal with this. (My emphasis) Unfortunately, I feel the program completely missed the point of clinical reasons for bad behaviour. It is estimated that every class will contain 1 or 2 children with ADHD, many undiagnosed. If not detected, and managed these children can disrupt the class, and end up in a real bad way. A vicious cycle of low self esteem, bad behaviour, and ultimately drug abuse and criminality often results. Which can be a massive burden on society. Take a look here for a child's perspective: http://www.addiss.co.uk/schoolreport.pdf It was great seeing the steps being taken at some schools to deal with the issues - I just felt they are not completely understood. Several of the children in the program appeared to exhibit classic ADHD symptoms. Bad parenting is no doubt the cause of many instances of bad behaviour, and can make the behaviour of a child with ADHD even worse - unfortunately as there are genetic links, many parents of ADHD children are undiagnosed sufferers themselves, making them less able to deal with the situation correctly. However, even with the best parenting in the world, the behaviour of an ADHD sufferer will be challenging and misunderstood by many. Do some research guys - it's not all bad. I know, I've done it. From apssf at http://www.digitalspy.biz/forums/showthread.php?p=29940060 First published Jan 17 2009
Children who exhibit ADHD tendencies are really difficult to manage in a mainstream environment and also find it really difficult to manage in a mainstream environment. They appear to be disruptive, talkative, fidgety, inattentive - all leading to frustration for the teacher. But what about the child. How do they feel? Is it hard to manage their own ADHDness? I came across this report which outlines some of the feelings children with ADHD have and it really hits home when you read some of the personal views that young people with ADHD express 'I never want to tell a girlfriend that I have ADHD' “I buy a pen and lose it on the day I buy it and sometimes I forget my books.” Ben, age 13 “With ADHD sometimes you can make friends easier, but you can’t keep them – you lose them the next day. You can’t concentrate and people don’t want to be friends with people who can’t remember anything. You get too hyper and they like you for that, but the next day they think its lame. They think you’re weird.” Richard, age 11 |
Mike Temple
I'm an independent consultant working in the field of educational Supportive Behaviour Management Useful links:
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