- Impulsive- the inability to put a thought barrier between an thought and an action
- Explosive
- Inflexible
- Immature for chronological age
- Disorganized
- Performance inconsistencies
- Clueless - meaning they don't pick up clues/nonverbal communication that others do.
The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library has a DVD put out by the Joshua Center in Kansas City called Those Darn Inflexible Kids. At one point the idea is presented that we need to understand these students have a neurological basis for their behavior and change the environment, not the child - accept the child. I agree, we expect these students to be like other children when they do have a neurological basis for their behavior, it's not willfulness or laziness. But I also believe IM helps heal many of those neurological challenges and leaves a child better able to function in a typical environment, where we will need fewer modifications to help them succeed.. Here's my notes on this DVD.
Those Darn Inflexible Kids - My notes (they are just notes, not full sentences, etc.)
Seven Characteristics to identify children with neurological difficulties – Often identified as ADD, Tourette’s, Aspergers, OCD, ODD, SI, and some learning disabilities.
1. Impulsivity - might be so impulsive you call them disinhibitive. The inability to put a thought barrier between a thought and an action.
2. Explosive – Does not take much to think if you add impulsivity to explosive reactions to see that these children can easily hit or kick in response.
3. Inflexible – sometimes they seem very flexible it’s as if their mind is just bouncing all over, they appear to have no focus on anything, though in reality they are focusing on everything. The opposite is often true, they can get locked into something to the point of blocking out everything else, such as when playing video games.
4. Immature for chronological age – 2 to 4 years younger in social skills.
5. Disorganized – Executive functions skills involve planning, seeing the big picture as well as breaking it down into smaller parts to sequence, or serialize. Other EF skills include putting things in order, allowing for mid course corrections – change half way through as they evaluate what’s happening. Initiation too, how do I get started on something. When you cover most of the problems on a page, you are helping the child by using your ability to structure things in order to accomplish the task, He can not structure them in a way to complete them. He sees the whole page and emotionally loses it, your ability to break it into parts helps him succeed.
6. Performance Inconsistency – sometimes they can, and then they can’t. 4 conditions cause this: stress (a thought that my abilities are not good enough), excitement (effects body the same as stress) fatigue (we all think less and react more when tired – they often have sleep disorders as well leaving them tired) and sensory integration
7. Clueless - They miss clues, they are clueless, the clues that are going on around them are simply missed. Ie, a teacher stands up and frowns - most children stop talking because they pick up the clue, but the child with neurological difficulties simply misses the clues
How can you tell what’s neurological difficulties or just normal childhood behavior. – These behaviors are much more frequent in their occurrence and much more intense.
Outstide clues to neurological dysfunction might include – clench their fists, grind their teeth, turn red in the face, some show lots of emotions, some with draw, some get in your face. What’s important is the pattern is extremely consistent. If you watch the child carefully, you can identify a pattern.
They are thinking less and reacting more than typical.
4 conditions cause this –
stress (a thought that my abilities are not good enough),
excitement(effects body the same as stress)
fatigue (we all think less and react more when tired – they often have sleep disorders)
sensory integration – if you are dealing with sensory overload, you think less and react more.
Must understand some of these behaviors are caused by a neurological disfunction, therefore you must accept the child. This entails changing the environment instead of only focusing on changing the child. We need to meet his needs.
Childrearing must be consistent and you must talk with significant others to choose which behaviors need to be addressed first.
Imagine a huge thunderstorm – that’s the brain of a child with ND
Rumbling stage – building of the storm. You hear the storm coming. There are small behaviors that tell you a child is building up to a major storm, or rage attack – may be clinching fist, tighting jaw, voice louder, or turns inward, head down, starts to mutter… this is the rumbling that is telling you the kid is about to blow. At this point, you can use some diversion techniques such as moving the kid away from the stressful activity. Proximity control, sometimes just being close helps. Touch may or may not work depending on the child. Humor can often defuse this oncoming anger, but you have to careful so child doesn’t perceive it as focusing on him. Fun activities—divert to an enjoyment activity. Empathy or praise might be helpful. “I know this is really though for you, let me help you.” Walk and don’t talk sometimes helps. When child starts to spout off, sometimes to just walk and not talk at all. Don’t try to convince or teach at this point, just let him spout. Sometimes if child is going into full rage, going to a safe place.
The enemy to the neurologically impaired child is when thinking is less and emotions are high. The higher the emotions, the less access they have to think.You have total reaction to emotional feeling and no thinking. This is when rumbling flows over to the rage stage of the anger cycle.
Lighting – rage stage – you know you are likely to be struck. Lighting is there – child is physically or verbally striking out – swearing, hitting, tend to react very violently. Our goal should be to just get out of the storm with out anyone getting hurt. One needs to plan how you are going to react so the child does not get hurt and you do not get hurt. Be prepared. Adult needs to emotionally pull themselves back from the relationship –do not take it personally at all. Involvement only makes the storm worse. Reduce the audience – the less of audience, the less intensity of an reaction.
Calming – Recovery stage. Builds up quickly and goes away quickly – It’s as if rage never happened for the child. Child forgets it very quickly, the adult may still be having an adrenalin push. Children get over it quickly. Most rages only last 10 – 20 minutes. Unless you are talking to the child – then you are setting up serial rages. Back off, don’t talk at all. Let it cool by itself.
Often they are very apologetic after the rage. It’s sometime hard for adult to understand that the child is really sorry because it happens again the next day, but these children can really feel contrite.
Recovery – able to pull themselves together, they get rid of stress, regain ability to think more clearly, At that point the all clear comes out – that is the time for discipline and education. Can be 20 minutes or several days. But at some point, adults need to help the child set right what they have set wrong. What can they do to pay for damage, it’s important the child feels involved in selecting the discipline – the child then is taking responsibility. For fowl language, cut them a little slack here – teach appropriate word choices early in the process, as an intervention to prevent storm, not afterwards.
Obsessions are very difficult to deal with. Many diversion activities for avoiding rage can be use to help the child get unstuck. Sometimes just to let the obsession run it’s course. Sometimes you can substitute a less destructive ritual for a more disruptive ritual Gradually modify rituals that are more productive. It’s much easier to work with the behaviors than the thoughts. It will make it worse to tell child to NOT do it. You can’t talk someone out of a stuck thought.
Teasing is about making someone else look better by pulling someone else down. Schools need to have a zero tolerance for teasing and bullying. Make sure the peers are informed about why the child acts the way that they do….no different than having to wear glasses, etc. Goal in classroom is the make it so the one or two that don’t get it and tease get the other students to say, come on that’s not cool. Teacher needs to have a very positive relationship with the child – teacher can be a go to person. Help child to know how to deal with it when adults aren’t around. Help the students develop short one liners. Until they can handle it, they need adults near.
Fear of change –change causes anxiety. Inform students so there are as few surprises as possible. Many kids have unrealistic fears or social phobias to the point that the child is in real pain. Require kids to reintegrate into the two are three tasks the child thinks they can do and then build on that until they feel more comfortable. It’s important that the child can be successful. It is through success that we build self esteem, confidence, etc.
Children will get their self esteem from the adults perception of them.
Right after school often the arsenic hours, some kids need physical activities, After school routine needs to be based on child’s needs, not the other’s needs. For the child with neurological problems it takes twice the energy and twice the time to get half the work done. Talk with school to cut out non major, rote work. Joshua center book resource is a good place to find some help.
