Archives for "SENCE"
Challenging Behaviour
Last week we had so much snow that my children schools were closed for two days. Also one day they were sent home early. However the SENCE group was able to meet. This is a group of parents whose children have special needs and attend my daughter’s primary school. We meet a couple of times a term, sometimes just the coffee and chat and sometimes a speaker is invited. Last week we were lucky enough to have schools educational psychologist. He explained very clearly his role within the authority and how his time was divided between schools. Many parents had personal questions which they were able to ask.
He also gave some very clear advice on children’s behaviour.
He advised us to pick one behavioural trait that we wished to change and concentrate very hard on changing this behaviour. This may take months and it may be a while before you discover how to change it or what triggers this behaviour. Once the child has mastered the change do not immediately introduce another change.
It reminded me of an experience I had as an Au pair… The child I was looking after was tremendously difficult to dress in the morning. She was at a school that did not have uniform so every morning she could choose what she was going to wear. This resulted in a daily fight with me pulling different items of clothing out of her cupboard and her shrieking that she was not going to wear them. I found this embarrassing and needed to find a way of starting the morning without this conflict and time pressure to get up, dressed, breakfast, teeth cleaned and out of the house in time for school. So one day we chose the clothes at bedtime for the next day. We discussed combinations in a calm unpressurised environment. It worked, it really worked.
I recognise that as a mother I find it hard to concentrate on one behavioural trait at a time or to give my daughter’s enough practice at the new behaviour before I move on to introduce yet another change.
Unfortunately the meeting ended early as this was the day the school closed early because of snow!