Wednesday, March 28

Something To Be Proud Of!

As you remember from David’s last IEP meeting, the school IEP team discussed possible solutions for David’s habit of continuously tapping his pen and hitting his leg during lessons. It was decided that David would be allowed to hold silly putty in his hand under his desk during lessons. I am very pleased to share with you that David is doing extremely well with this method! The silly putty in his hand is not distracting to him or to other students, but having something to hold and manipulate with his hand has replaced the distracting tapping and hitting.

Silly putty is not the only tool that has been proven successful in helping children like David in the classroom. Click on the link below if you’d like to learn about dozens of other excellent and inexpensive tools that decrease behaviors like tapping and hitting. These types of tools have been proven to calm and refocus the attention of children with certain types of disabilities. Let me know if you see a tool that you think would be more appealing to David than the silly putty, maybe we could give it a try!

http://www.nationalautismresources.com/susi.html

Something To Work On!

Yesterday, I assigned David spelling homework (write three sentences using the Unit 11 spelling words), math homework (three multiplication problems from the textbook), and grammar homework (a brief worksheet). He brought only his grammar homework to class, and was missing his spelling and math homework. He explained to me that he completed all of the assignments last night, but could not find the spelling and math homework today when he got to school.               

 At the end of the school day, David and I had a discussion about trying to take responsibility. We collectively decided that he might have an easier time keeping track of his completed homework if he is better organized. I gave David different colored folders for each subject and helped him label each one. Previously, David would shove all of his sheets of paper into a single, over-stuffed folder.  If you are interested, follow the link below to read more information about helping children develop organization skills.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/feature-articles/2008/september/Keeping-Kids-Organized-for-School.html

Tuesday, March 27

Something To Be Proud Of!

Today, I asked the students to illustrate their favorite scene from the book The Indian Paintbrush. I was thrilled to see David enjoy this activity. He was engaged and focused on the assignment, and I only had to remind him to stay on task once. He clearly has a gift for drawing and coloring. Although David struggles with sharing his ideas with his classmates, he was comfortable telling them about his illustration and why he chose to draw that particular scene.

You mentioned to me that David is hesitant to open up and share his thoughts and emotions when he sees his therapist. Since David has a talent for art and is able to open up about the pieces that he creates, I cannot help but wonder if David would be successful in working through his emotions with a Certified Art Therapist. The article below explores the idea that art expression is a natural and comforting way for children to explore internal conflicts, even if they are having trouble outwardly expressing their feelings in a social context.

http://www.ttlc.org/Wash%20Parent/ArtTherapyNov2007.pdf

Something To Work On!

After the period of time for drawing was over, David argued with me and resisted putting his art materials away. After about five minutes, David complied. However, I am concerned that this time spent arguing and going through transitions from one lesson objective to the next is taking away from the learning experiences of David and the other students in his class. 

I am thinking about instituting a sticker chart as a type of reinforcement system into David’s daily routine for behavior regulation. If David follows directions and participates to the best of his ability, he will receive a sticker for the day. If he is disruptive, he will not receive a sticker. After he has ten stickers on his chart, he can pick a prize from the classroom toy chest. What do you think of this idea? Have you ever used a similar reward system with David at home? If you would like to learn more about the effectiveness of sticker charts and other kinds of reinforcement systems, click on the link below.

http://www.fultonpsychologicalgroup.com/newsletters/Newsletter%202006.pdf

Monday, March 26

Something To Be Proud Of!

Today, David’s class learned about Dr. Seuss. We went over his biographical history and then the students shared which books by Dr. Seuss they are already familiar with. Then, I read a few pages each from some of the author’s most famous stories including The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, and Green Eggs and Ham. David usually struggles with staying focused when we are reading books because he claims that “books are boring”. However, today was the first time that I noticed David truly paying attention during reading time. He loved The Lorax because it is about taking care of the environment, and as you know David is extremely interested in learning about the earth and how to protect it.

You mentioned to me that at home, David almost never sits down to read a book for pure enjoyment. From what I saw in class today, I believe that David could learn to love reading if he has access to books that interest him. If you’re interested, follow the link below for some tips on how to create an at-home library that includes literature to fit David’s specific likes and interests.

http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/articles/getting-your-child-to-love-reading.htm

Something To Work On!

I believe David will benefit from continuing to work on his responses to social cues from peers. Today the students completed a brief, in-class journal assignment. David and his peers store their journals in my resource room. I asked another student in the class to hand out the journals. When David’s classmate handed him the journal, David did not say thank you or lift his head to acknowledge the gesture from his peer.  I would like to see David responding appropriately to everyday social interactions.

Although David was not acting out or disturbing the class, his lack of response to the social cues of his peers is still something that I will work with him to correct by praising him, and other students, when they DO respond to cues appropriately.  I will also try to be a model for appropriate reactions to social cues with my own behaviors. Follow the link below if you’d like to read an article that explains how to model appropriate responses for children who struggle with social cues.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/02/AR2009120202884_2.html?sid=ST2009120204840

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! Did you notice that I did not refer to it as my blog? As an answer to your request for frequent updates on David’s behavior while he is in the resource room, I have created this blog as a way for you and I to communicate on a daily basis. Each day at around 3:30 P.M. once the school day has come to an end, I will post about David’s behavioral struggles, but also about his successes! Feel free to leave me comments or post questions. Also, I sincerely hope you take advantage of some of the resources I provide, I think they could be very beneficial for David. I hope this blog helps us to stay on the same page!